This was the final section of the listening program we did at church this fall. I can tell you that I picked up a lot during our listening. One of my upcoming posts is a list of everything that I want to study further because of this. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the last six chapters of the Bible:

• Even though there is a lot of weirdness in chapters 17 and 18, basically, they tell of the rise and eventual fall of the coming global religion, government, and economy – the enemy’s best shot at ruling the earth
• War is never pretty, but this one will be unmatched in its gruesomeness
• God has promised Israel that they will one day own their land and be ruled in complete justice by their Messiah. We call this time the Millennium, because it will last for 1,000 years.
• The devil will be sent to the lake of fire “with the beast and the false prophet” – they were put there 1,000 earth years earlier, showing that separation from God in the lake of fire truly is eternal punishment for its inhabitants. This is the final destination of every person who rejects Jesus as their Savior.
• On the cross Jesus said, “It is finished”. One day he’ll be able to say, “Everything is finished.“
• I think it’s cool that there will still be kings and nations in eternity. I don’t know exactly what that means, but it’s an interesting concept to me.
• This almost sounds too good to be true, but when we finally understand the relationship God wants with his people, this description is nothing compared to the reality he is waiting to offer those who will come in faith to him.

This middle section of the Revelation (actually chapters 6-19) describes the future time period known as the Tribulation. This will be a time of terror of humans on humans and the judgment of God on humans and spirits alike. Regardless of how you think the end times are going to play out, you definitely don’t want to be on the earth during this time!

• We don’t know exactly how long the time of the seven trumpet judgments will be, but you can be sure that it will seem longer than it really is.
• The “first” horrible thing? The stuff in chapters 6 and 8 aren’t considered horrible?
• Yes, God uses even those who are rebellious against him to carry out his plan
• What a sad commentary on the human heart – even under such horrible judgments people refuse to turn to God
• There is no one who will be able to escape God’s judgment except through his way of rescue
• Chapter 12 is confusing because people try to find lots of hidden meaning in it. It’s actually a pretty cool summary of the New Testament and some future events.
• People who think they want a global government, global economy, and global religion will one day get their wish (chapter 13). They won’t be happy with the result.
• Even throughout this awful time of judgment God will offer his salvation to those who had not yet sided with the enemy. The choice to side with the enemy cannot be taken back.
• Just like Jesus, it took their deaths in order to defeat the enemy. For believers, death is not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
• “The sea turned into blood like that of a dead person” (read: coagulated)- that’s just nasty!

I’m way behind in getting these (and other things) posted, but my plan is to get caught up this week.

So, finally, here are my thoughts on the first section of the Revelation:

• All people from all time will see Christ’s return, even those who stuck a sword in him, though they are long dead and probably in hell
• I like “Patmos Island” rather than “Isle of Patmos” – I don’t know why I’ve never said it that way before
• “Think about where you have fallen from” – strategic evaluation is necessary in order to know where growth and progress is needed. Pray for our church leaders as we get ready to go into a season of evaluation and planning.
• How terrible it would be to hear Jesus say, “I have a few things against you“!
• “I will treat each of you as you deserve” – enough said!
• Obedience is a big factor in Jesus’ evaluation of these churches and us today
• How frustrating it must have been for John to try to describe what he saw. Notice how many times he used the word “like”.
• I have to admit that the song-parts of chapters 4 and 5 were pretty boring to me. I hope that our praise in heaven is a lot more upbeat, loud, and joyous than that!
• Now we start getting into the weird parts of the book. Some of this stuff is difficult to understand in any translation.
• I love that the voices of the four living creatures in chapter 6 match their appearance in chapter 4.
• Some people are under the mistaken impression that only a few people will ever be saved. (Usually this comes from a misunderstanding of Matthew 7:13-14.) I think the “large crowd with more people than can be counted” would have to disagree with that! And those are just the people who were saved out of the Tribulation!