Reference: Revelation, The
Morish
This may be said to suitably follow the Catholic Epistles. In them the last times are in view, and evil is pointed out in connection with the church: then follows this prophecy, the first part of which concerns the church viewed as a lightbearer on earth: rejection awaits it as judgement awaits the world. The Revelation was given to Jesus Christ by God as sovereign ruler. It was signified to John, and he wrote what he saw and heard. It is not known when the book was written, nor by what emperor John was banished to the Isle of Patmos. Some judge that it was Claudius (A.D. 41-54), others Nero (A.D. 54-68), and others Domitian (A.D. 81-96): it is more generally attributed to the last named, and if so, the date of the book would be after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
There are fewer ancient manuscripts of the Revelation than of any other part of the N.T., and some of those now known were not discovered till after the date of the A.V.; this makes the 'various readings' now introduced very numerous, some of them being important.
The book evidently divides itself into three parts: see Re 1:19.
1. "Things which thou hast seen"
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"I solemnly tell you," replied Jesus, "that in the New Creation, when the Son of Man has taken His seat on His glorious throne, all of you who have followed me shall also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
"At that time they will deliver you up to punishment and will put you to death; and you will be objects of hatred to all the nations because you are called by my name.
I know that, when I am gone, cruel wolves will come among you and will not spare the flock; and that from among your own selves men will rise up who will seek with their perverse talk to draw away the disciples after them.
and so all Israel will be saved. As is declared in Scripture, "From Mount Zion a Deliverer will come: He will remove all ungodliness from Jacob;
You are a building which has been reared on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus Himself,
For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.
Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against, and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God. read more. Do you not remember that while I was still with you I used to tell you all this? And now you know what restrains him, in order that his true character may be revealed at his appointed time. For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed, and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming. The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works-- and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.
And at the appointed time He clearly made known His Message in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Saviour:
To the pure everything is pure; but to the polluted and unbelieving nothing is pure, but on the contrary their very minds and consciences are polluted.
Write down therefore the things you have just seen, and those which are now taking place, and those which are soon to follow:
Dismiss your fears concerning all that you are about to suffer. I tell you that the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be put to the test, and for ten days you will have to endure persecution. Be faithful to the End, even if you have to die, and then I will give you the victor's Wreath of Life.
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed because of the word of God and of the testimony which they had given. And now in loud voices they cried out, saying, "How long, O Sovereign Lord, the holy One and the true, dost Thou delay judgment and the taking of vengeance upon the inhabitants of the earth for our blood?" read more. And there was given to each of them a long white robe, and they were bidden to wait patiently for a short time longer, until the full number of their fellow bondservants should also complete--namely of their brethren who were soon to be killed just as they had been.
When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven for about half an hour.
And in the name of Him who lives until the Ages of the Ages, the Creator of Heaven and all that is in it, of the earth and all that is in it, and of the sea and all that is in it, he solemnly declared,
And just as that time there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city was overthrown. 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven. The second Woe is past; the third Woe will soon be here. read more. The seventh angel blew his trumpet; and there followed loud voices in Heaven which said, "The sovereignty of the world now belongs to our Lord and His Christ; and He will be King until the Ages of the Ages." Then the twenty-four Elders, who sit on thrones in the presence of God, fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, "We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Ruler of all, Who art and wast, because Thou hast exerted Thy power, Thy great power, and hast become King. The nations grew angry, and Thine anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and the time for Thee to give their reward to Thy servants the Prophets and to Thy people, and to those who fear Thee, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."
The nations grew angry, and Thine anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and the time for Thee to give their reward to Thy servants the Prophets and to Thy people, and to those who fear Thee, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." Then the doors of God's sanctuary in Heaven were opened, and the Ark, in which His Covenant was, was seen in His sanctuary; and there came flashes of lightning, and voices, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and heavy hail.
And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.
Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death. And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, read more. in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.
Then I saw a door open in Heaven, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was named "Faithful and True" --being One who in righteousness acts as Judge, and makes war.
He closed the entrance and put a seal upon him in order that he might be unable to lead the nations astray any more until the thousand years were at an end. Afterwards he is to be set at liberty for a short time.
Then there came one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the Bride, the Lamb's wife."
Then he showed me the river of the Water of Life, bright as crystal, issuing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. On either side of the river, midway between it and the main street of the city, was the Tree of Life. It produced twelve kinds of fruit, yielding a fresh crop month by month, and the leaves of the tree served as medicine for the nations. read more. "In future there will be no curse," he said, "but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in that city. And His servants will render Him holy service and will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no night there; and they have no need of lamplight or sunlight, for the Lord God will shine upon them, and they will be kings until the Ages of the Ages." And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the Prophets, sent His angel to make known to His servants the things which must soon happen. I am coming quickly.' Blessed is he who is mindful of the predictions contained in this book." I John heard and saw these things; and when I had heard and seen them, I fell at the feet of the angel who was showing me them--to worship him. But he said to me, "Oh, do not do that. I am a fellow bondservant of yours, and a fellow bondservant of your brethren the Prophets and of those who are mindful of the teachings of this book. Worship God." "Make no secret," he added, "of the meaning of the predictions contained in this book; for the time for their fulfillment is now close at hand. Let the dishonest man act dishonestly still; let the filthy make himself filthy still; let the righteous practise righteousness still; and let the holy be made holy still." "I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, that I may requite every man in accordance with what his conduct has been. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes clean, that they may have a right to the Tree of Life, and may go through the gates into the city. The unclean are shut out, and so are all who practise magic, all fornicators, all murderers, and those who worship idols, and every one who loves falsehood and tells lies. "I Jesus have sent My angel for him solemnly to declare these things to you among the Churches. I am the Root and the offspring of David, the bright Morning Star. The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come;' and whoever hears, let him say, 'Come;' and let those who are thirsty come. Whoever will, let him take the Water of Life, without payment. "I solemnly declare to every one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book, that if any one adds to those words, God will add to him the plagues spoken of in this book; and that if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take from him his share in the Tree of Life and in the holy city--the things described in this book. "He who solemnly declares all this says, "'Yes, I am coming quickly.'" Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.