Revelation Bible Study Notes & Aids

Chapter 5 – The Scroll & The Lamb

Revelation 5 (ESV)

¹ Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” ⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

⁹ And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, ¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” ¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” ¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

——————————————-

“Where the Bible makes plain sense,
seek no other sense,
lest you turn it into nonsense”.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. https://www.crossway.org/

Chapter 4 – Throne Room, Angels, Demons, Satan, Cherubim

Revelation Bible Study Notes & Aids

The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ³ And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings^[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶ and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷ the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!”

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.”

——————————————-

“Where the Bible makes plain sense,
seek no other sense,
lest you turn it into nonsense”.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. https://www.crossway.org/

Revelation Bible Study Notes & Aids

The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ³ And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings^[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶ and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷ the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!”

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.”

——————————————-

“Where the Bible makes plain sense,
seek no other sense,
lest you turn it into nonsense”.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. https://www.crossway.org/

PreMillennialism & Amillennialism Final

Revelation Bible Study Notes & Aids

The Thousand Years

Revelation 20:1  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit^[a] and a great chain. ² And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. ⁴ Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Premillennialism Defined

John F. Walvoord a leading proponent, defines Premillennialism as “an interpretation that the Second Coming of Christ will occur before His literal reign of one thousand years on earth.” After His victorious intervention into history, Christ will personally reign from Jerusalem producing a time of peace, prosperity and righteousness. Premillennialists see the present era as the Church Age, which is a separate and distinct work in God’s plan from that of Israel. Christ’s redemptive work is the only basis for salvation regardless of the period of time a believer lives under.

Premillennialism is the teaching concerning the end times (eschatology).  It says that there is a future millennium (1000 years as mentioned in Revelation 20) where Christ will rule and reign over the earth. 

• At the beginning of the millennium Satan and his angels will be bound and peace will exist on the entire earth.  
• At the end of the 1000 years Satan will be released in order to raise an army against Jesus.  
• Jesus will destroy them, and then the final judgment will take place with the new heavens and the new earth being made.

The basic remaining timeline of God in human affairs for a Premillennialist* is:

• The Rapture of the Church
• The Tribulation for 7 Years (with the last 3.5 years being The Great Tribulation)
• The Battle of Armageddon
• The Second Coming Of Jesus
• Jesus Rules the World from David’s Throne for 1000 Years
• Satan’s Final Rebellion (which Jesus decimates with just a word)
• Satan and the Demons are cast in the Lake of Fire Forever
• The Earth and Heavens are dissolved in fire and re-created anew
• The Great White Throne Judgment
• Eternity Begins

Amillennialism Defined

Amillennialism is described by Floyd E. Hamilton as a view “that Christ’s millennial kingdom extends from His Resurrection from the tomb to the time of His Second Coming on the clouds at the end of this age”. At no time will Christ reign on the earth in Jerusalem. “On earth, Christ’s kingdom ‘is not of this world,’ but He reigns especially in the hearts of His people on earth, . . . for a ‘thousand years,’ the perfect, complete time between the two comings of Christ.” After the Second Coming of Christ, believers from all of history will enter into heaven for eternity immediately following the final and single judgment of all mankind.

Amillennialism teaches there is no literal 1000-year reign of Christ as referenced in Revelation 20.  

• It sees the 1000-year period spoken of in Revelation 20 as figurative.  
• Instead, it teaches that we are in the millennium now, and that at the return of Christ (1 Thess. 4:16 – 5:2) there will be the final judgment and the heavens and the earth will then be destroyed and remade (2 Pet. 3:10).

The basic remaining timeline of God in human affairs for an Amillennialist is:

• We are living in the Millennial Kingdom now which is spiritual, Christ is reigning from Heaven
• The Second Coming
• Satan and the Demons are cast in the Lake of Fire Forever
• The Earth and Heavens are dissolved in fire and re-created anew
• The Great White Throne Judgment
• Eternity Begins

Key Things that Led Me to Believe in PreMillenialism

• A plain reading of Revelation leads to a simple belief in the literal events of Revelation; it is only a system of belief or treating Revelation different from the rest of Scripture that causes us to see Revelation as historic or symbolic
• A new reader of the Bible without the bias of a predetermined belief system imposed on them does not walk away with “the Tribulation is really talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70”. 
  • They come away with that plainly stated Great Tribulation to come, the pouring out of God’s wrath, a 1000 year period (stated 6 times in Revelation) where Christ reigns on Earth and then Eternity.
• The restoration of Israel in 1948 is indisputably supernatural, providential and miraculous.
• The promises made to Abraham and Israel were literal and never transferred to the Church nor could they be; so either they haven’t happened yet or we have to spiritualize them
• How we interpret the rest of the Bible… many Amillennials approach the rest of Scripture literally (Genesis, OT, Gospels, etc) but then simply treat Revelation and prophecy separate even though much of prophecy has been literally fulfilled
  • ONE Book that God wrote—the Bible.
  • TWO parts—the Old Testament and the New Testament.
  • This one book, made up of 66 books has a total of 31,103 verses.
  • Of all the verses in the Bible 8,352 verse are prophetic or spoke to future events.
  • All Biblical predictions about the future in these thousands of verses can be grouped into 737 different predictions.
  • Of these 8,352 verses, 6,312 (or 522 different predictions) have already happened literally, JUST LIKE God’s Word said they would.
  • That leaves just about 2,040 verses with 215 specific predictions from God about the end of the world that are in process of being fulfilled.
  • Each of the prophetic signs Christ and His apostles gave are specific and not vague.
  • Matthew 24:8, 33-34 “All these are the beginning of sorrows. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.”

The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is not symbolic or a history lesson.

• It is a picture of the remaining prophetic events that are yet to occur literally, just the first 522 that have already happened.

———————————————————

In the end, the fork in the road is where you start with

1) Israel/Church (always separate, or the Church has replaced Israel) and
2) literal or symbolic (treat Revelation like the rest of Scripture or declare it symbolic up front).

“Where the Bible makes plain sense,
seek no other sense,
lest you turn it into nonsense”.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. https://www.crossway.org/

PreMillennialism & Amillennialism Cont’d

Note: Recorded this with my iphone… gotta love the fisheye effect… very flattering… 🙂

Revelation Bible Study Notes & Aids

The Thousand Years

Revelation 20:1  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit^[a] and a great chain. ² And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. ⁴ Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Premillennialism Defined

John F. Walvoord a leading proponent, defines Premillennialism as “an interpretation that the Second Coming of Christ will occur before His literal reign of one thousand years on earth.” After His victorious intervention into history, Christ will personally reign from Jerusalem producing a time of peace, prosperity and righteousness. Premillennialists see the present era as the Church Age, which is a separate and distinct work in God’s plan from that of Israel. Christ’s redemptive work is the only basis for salvation regardless of the period of time a believer lives under.

Premillennialism is the teaching concerning the end times (eschatology).  It says that there is a future millennium (1000 years as mentioned in Revelation 20) where Christ will rule and reign over the earth. 

• At the beginning of the millennium Satan and his angels will be bound and peace will exist on the entire earth.  
• At the end of the 1000 years Satan will be released in order to raise an army against Jesus.  
• Jesus will destroy them, and then the final judgment will take place with the new heavens and the new earth being made.

The basic remaining timeline of God in human affairs for a Premillennialist* is:

• The Rapture of the Church
• The Tribulation for 7 Years (with the last 3.5 years being The Great Tribulation)
• The Battle of Armageddon
• The Second Coming Of Jesus
• Jesus Rules the World from David’s Throne for 1000 Years
• Satan’s Final Rebellion (which Jesus decimates with just a word)
• Satan and the Demons are cast in the Lake of Fire Forever
• The Earth and Heavens are dissolved in fire and re-created anew
• The Great White Throne Judgment
• Eternity Begins

Amillennialism Defined

Amillennialism is described by Floyd E. Hamilton as a view “that Christ’s millennial kingdom extends from His Resurrection from the tomb to the time of His Second Coming on the clouds at the end of this age”. At no time will Christ reign on the earth in Jerusalem. “On earth, Christ’s kingdom ‘is not of this world,’ but He reigns especially in the hearts of His people on earth, . . . for a ‘thousand years,’ the perfect, complete time between the two comings of Christ.” After the Second Coming of Christ, believers from all of history will enter into heaven for eternity immediately following the final and single judgment of all mankind.

Amillennialism teaches there is no literal 1000-year reign of Christ as referenced in Revelation 20.  

• It sees the 1000-year period spoken of in Revelation 20 as figurative.  
• Instead, it teaches that we are in the millennium now, and that at the return of Christ (1 Thess. 4:16 – 5:2) there will be the final judgment and the heavens and the earth will then be destroyed and remade (2 Pet. 3:10).

The basic remaining timeline of God in human affairs for an Amillennialist is:

• We are living in the Millennial Kingdom now which is spiritual, Christ is reigning from Heaven
• The Second Coming
• Satan and the Demons are cast in the Lake of Fire Forever
• The Earth and Heavens are dissolved in fire and re-created anew
• The Great White Throne Judgment
• Eternity Begins

The Bible is to be Interpreted Literally

God wants His creations to know His will plainly and even stated child like faith as an ingredient for Kingdom living. God has plainly stated the truth.

• Satan has perpetuated the lie that the Bible is hard to understand and open to anyone’s personal interpretation.
• The overwhelming majority of Scripture has clear meaning upon even casual reading with no external commentary or training needed to correctly discern.
• The few difficult passages are explained by Scripture itself upon deeper study.
• There is only ONE true meaning of any passage: what God meant when He wrote it to the original hearers/readers.
• We are left to mine out that true meaning, then apply it to our personal lives as we transform into the image of Christ.

The Bible certainly employs symbols, allegory, picturesque descriptions and parables, an explanation almost always follows or context is provided for explanation.

• Even where symbols are used it is plainly obvious and represents something literal.
• Spiritualization of the Bible, especially large portions of it, has no proper place in interpreting Scriptures.

Beginning in Genesis 1:1 the Bible is literal except were it plain utilizes symbols or allegory to represent something literal.

“Where the Bible makes plain sense,
seek no other sense,
lest you turn it into nonsense”.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. https://www.crossway.org/

PreMillennialism & Amillennialism

Revelation Bible Study Notes & Aids

The Thousand Years

Revelation 20:1  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit^[a] and a great chain. ² And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. ⁴ Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Premillennialism Defined

John F. Walvoord a leading proponent, defines Premillennialism as “an interpretation that the Second Coming of Christ will occur before His literal reign of one thousand years on earth.” After His victorious intervention into history, Christ will personally reign from Jerusalem producing a time of peace, prosperity and righteousness. Premillennialists see the present era as the Church Age, which is a separate and distinct work in God’s plan from that of Israel. Christ’s redemptive work is the only basis for salvation regardless of the period of time a believer lives under.

Premillennialism is the teaching concerning the end times (eschatology).  It says that there is a future millennium (1000 years as mentioned in Revelation 20) where Christ will rule and reign over the earth. 

• At the beginning of the millennium Satan and his angels will be bound and peace will exist on the entire earth.  
• At the end of the 1000 years Satan will be released in order to raise an army against Jesus.  
• Jesus will destroy them, and then the final judgment will take place with the new heavens and the new earth being made.

The basic remaining timeline of God in human affairs for a Premillennialist* is:

• The Rapture of the Church
• The Tribulation for 7 Years (with the last 3.5 years being The Great Tribulation)
• The Battle of Armageddon
• The Second Coming Of Jesus
• Jesus Rules the World from David’s Throne for 1000 Years
• Satan’s Final Rebellion (which Jesus decimates with just a word)
• Satan and the Demons are cast in the Lake of Fire Forever
• The Earth and Heavens are dissolved in fire and re-created anew
• The Great White Throne Judgment
• Eternity Begins

*There are differing views on when the Rapture occurs; I’ll not address that here. I’ve stated the timeline I believe.

Amillennialism Defined

Amillennialism is described by Floyd E. Hamilton as a view “that Christ’s millennial kingdom extends from His Resurrection from the tomb to the time of His Second Coming on the clouds at the end of this age”. At no time will Christ reign on the earth in Jerusalem. “On earth, Christ’s kingdom ‘is not of this world,’ but He reigns especially in the hearts of His people on earth, . . . for a ‘thousand years,’ the perfect, complete time between the two comings of Christ.” After the Second Coming of Christ, believers from all of history will enter into heaven for eternity immediately following the final and single judgment of all mankind.

Amillennialism teaches there is no literal 1000-year reign of Christ as referenced in Revelation 20.  

• It sees the 1000-year period spoken of in Revelation 20 as figurative.  
• Instead, it teaches that we are in the millennium now, and that at the return of Christ (1 Thess. 4:16 – 5:2) there will be the final judgment and the heavens and the earth will then be destroyed and remade (2 Pet. 3:10).

The basic remaining timeline of God in human affairs for an Amillennialist is:

• We are living in the Millennial Kingdom now which is spiritual, Christ is reigning from Heaven
• The Second Coming
• Satan and the Demons are cast in the Lake of Fire Forever
• The Earth and Heavens are dissolved in fire and re-created anew
• The Great White Throne Judgment
• Eternity Begins

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. https://www.crossway.org/