Revelation

1. Revelation “He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the Lamb” (14:10)

2. “Dr. Cole, I’m relatively new to your Bible study. You talk a lot about Satan. I’m just wondering why you emphasize this point so much.”

3. Cosmic Conflict: relevant, explanatory power for understanding our world God Non-Humans Humans

4. Cosmic Conflict: Identifying the problem • Creation • “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2) • “Formless and void” in the Bible symbolizes ‘The forces that oppose [Yahweh] and his acts of creation—the forces of disorder, injustice, affliction, and chaos, which are, in the Israelite worldview, one.” Jon Levenson, Creation and the Persistence of Evil

5. Cosmic Conflict: Identifying the problem • Snake in the tree • “War in Heaven” (12:7) • What was said at the tree? • “Eve believed the words of Satan, and the belief of that falsehood in regard to God's character, changed the condition and character of both herself and husband...” R&H 1886

6. Cosmic Conflict: Old Testament • “The LORD's spirit left Saul, and an evil spirit sent by the LORD tormented him.” (1 Samuel 16:14; 18:10-12; 19:9) • “The LORD was angry at Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel 24:1) • “Satan wanted to bring trouble on the people of Israel, so he made David decide to take a census.” (1 Chronicles 21:1)

7. Cosmic Conflict: The life and death of Jesus • “The hour” of Jesus • “Now my heart is troubled---and what shall I say? Shall I say, 'Father, do not let this hour come upon me'? But that is why I came---so that I might go through this hour of suffering…Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown (exposed).” (John 12:27, 31)

8. Cosmic Conflict: Revelation and eschatology • God is not the only acting subject • Revelation is not only the story of the Lamb, it is the story of the Dragon

9. Cosmic Conflict: The future showdown • Satan • Coercion • Force, fear and intimidation • Shrouded in mystery, lies and deception • God • The truth is spoken in love, people are free to decide • God’s power is selfless love and service • God’s government is transparent

10. Cosmic Conflict: Theodicy • Christ: • The 3 and ½ years of Jesus’ ministry as God’s response to all suffering • The Healer • The One who goes to the lowest point, suffering the most • The Cross • Satan: • the Destroyer • The one who strives for the highest point; survival of the fittest • During the life and death of Jesus, Satan is exposed

11. Cosmic Conflict: God’s apparent inaction

12. “Daniel, don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayers ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in order to rain understanding. I have come in answer to your prayer.” (Daniel 10:1,11-13)

13. “The angel prince of the kingdom of Persia* opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief angels, came to help me… Now I have to go back and fight the guardian angel of Persia. After that the guardian angel of Greece will appear. There is no one to help me except Michael, Israel’s guardian angel. He is responsible for helping and defending me” (Daniel 10:13,20; 11:1). • “We wanted to return to you, I myself tried to go back more than once, but Satan would not let us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:19)

14. Cosmic Conflict: spectator to participant • Daniel’s prayer • “And God, our source of peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20)

15. The Good News and Judgment • “Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal (everlasting) message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation. He said in a loud voice, ‘Honor God and praise his greatness! For the time has come for him to judge all people. Worship him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the springs of water!’” (Revelation 14:6-7)

16. Judgment • ‘This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light...” (John 3:19) • “The Father judges no one. He has given his Son the full right to judge…And he has given the Son the right to judge, because he is the Son of Man.” (John 5:22,27).

17. How does Jesus judge those who reject his message? • “If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!” (John 12:47-48)

18. What words, what message, what truth will be the judge? • “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” (John 14:8) • “…according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.” (Romans 2:16)

19. “God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance. For we are like a sweet-smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost. For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16 – GN)

20. “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Now the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants…’” (Exodus 9:34-10:1 – NKJV)

22. Separation: • Seal of God • Mark of the Beast

23. 2nd Angel’s Message • “A second angel followed the first one, saying, ‘She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She made all peoples drink her wine---the strong wine of her immoral lust!’” (Revelation 14:8)

24. 3rd Angel’s Message • “A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11 – NIV)

25. “The rivers of Edom will turn into tar, and the soil will turn into sulfur. The whole country will burn like tar. It will burn day and night, and smoke will rise from it forever. The land will lie waste age after age, and no one will ever travel through it again. Owls and ravens will take over the land. The LORD will make it a barren waste again, as it was before the creation.” (Isaiah 34:9-11)

26. 3rd Angel’s Message • “A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11 – NIV)

27. “Because the LORD your God is like a flaming fire.” (Daniel 4:24) • “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29)

29. “The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: ‘Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?’ He who walks righteously and speaks what is right…” (Isaiah 33:14-15 – NIV)

30. Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm • For love is as strong as death… • Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. • Many waters cannot quench love, • Nor will rivers overflow it; (Song of Solomon 8:6-7 NASB)

31. Fire from the opposing side • “This second beast performed great miracles; it made fire come down out of heaven to earth in the sight of everyone.” (Revelation 13:13) • 6th Trumpet: Demonic mounted troops and that “from their mouths came out fire, smoke and sulfur…a third of the human race was killed by those three plagues: the fire, the smoke and sulfur coming out of the horses mouths.” (Revelation 8:19)

32. Fire from the opposing side • “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me and said, ‘Come, and I will show you how the famous prostitute is to be punished, that great city that is built near many rivers.’” (Revelation 17:1) • “The ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore; they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire” (Revelation 17:16).

33. Who makes war in Revelation? • “The dragon and his angels warred” (12:7); “Then the dragon…went off to make war…” (12:17); “And it was allowed to make war on the saints” (13:7); “the beast…will make war on them” (11:7); “these are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for war…” (16:14); “Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider…” (19:19)

34. “Blood as high as the bridles” • “The wine press” where “blood flowed…as high as the bridles of the horses, for a distance of about two hundred miles.” (14:20) • Context: “In those days…a stream shall flow with their blood. For a man shall not be able to withhold his hands from his sons nor from (his) sons’ sons in order to kill them. Nor is it possible for the sinner to withhold his hands from his honored brother. From dawn until the sun sets, they shall slay each other. The horse shall walk through the blood of sinners up to his chest; and the chariot shall sink down up to its top” (1 Enoch 100:3).

35. “You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire from within you, and it consumed you. I let it burn you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.” (Ezekiel 28:18, NLT)

36. “The great day of the LORD is near---very near and coming fast! That day will be bitter, for even the bravest soldiers will cry out in despair! It will be a day of fury, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a black and cloudy day, a day filled with the sound of war trumpets and the battle cry of soldiers attacking fortified cities and high towers.” (Zephaniah 1:14-17) • See Ezekiel 38:18-23 and Zechariah 14:12-13

37. The Ending: Bookend to Genesis • Genesis: God is an untrustworthy and arbitrary liar (3:1-5) • Revelation God “is called Faithful and True” (19:11), Jesus is referred to as “the faithful witness.” (1:5) The Serpent is unmasked as “the Devil, who deceived them…” (20:10) • Genesis: God’s mere presence caused his children to tremble in the bushes (3:8); “No one can see my face and live.” (Exodus 33:20) • Revelation: God’s people are now “protected by his presence” (7:15); “They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” (22:4)

38. The Ending: Bookend to Genesis • Genesis: “Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse.” (3:17) • Revelation: “Nothing that is under God’s curse will be found in the city.” (22:3) • Genesis: Adam and Eve lost access to the tree of life. (3:24) • Revelation: “I will give the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life that grows in the Garden of God…the leaves of its tree will heal the nations.” (2:7, 22:2)

39. The Ending: Bookend to Genesis • Genesis: Separated from God, Adam and Eve were warned of a hard life of struggles, hardship and ultimately death, “You were made from the dust, and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19) • Revelation: “Now God’s home is with people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared.” (Revelation 21:3,4)