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Showing posts from June, 2020

Seven Seals - Overview

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In many interpretations, the forces unleashed by the breaking of the “ Seven Seals ” are linked to the horrific calamities that unfold on the Earth prior to the coming of Jesus at the end of the age, especially so when the first four seals are opened. Apparently, His patience with humanity exhausted, God pours out plagues on the world in a last-ditch effort to bring men to their knees in repentance.
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Worthy is the Lamb

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In Chapter 5, John saw the “ Sealed Scroll ” held tightly in the right hand of the “ One Who Sits on the Throne .” A search was made of the entire creation for someone who was “ worthy ” to open the scroll. Alas, no one was found, and this caused John to begin to weep profusely. If the scroll remained sealed, its contents could not be implemented. However, one of the twenty-four “ elders ” tells John to cease weeping, for the “ lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David overcame .”
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The Sealed Scroll

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In Chapter 5 of  Revelation , John saw the Scroll that was sealed shut with Seven Seals and tightly held in the “ right hand ” of the “ One Who was sitting on the Throne .” He dispatched a “ mighty angel ” to discover whether anyone in the created order was “ worthy ” to take and open the “ Sealed Scroll .” Despite an exhaustive search, at least momentarily, no one “ worthy ” could be found.
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The Throne

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The vision of the “ Throne ” is the theological center of the Book of Revelation and sets the stage for the visions that follow it. In Chapter 4, John sees the Divine “ Throne ” and the “ One Who Sits on it ” reigning from the center of the Cosmos. In Chapter 5, he sees the “ slain Lamb ” take the scroll “ Sealed with Seven Seals ” from the “ Throne ,” an act followed by all creation declaring the Lamb “ worthy ” to break its seals and open the “ Sealed Scroll .”
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Laodicea

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The church and its “ messenger ” in Laodicea received no words of praise from the Risen “ Son of Man .” Apparently, this congregation was in poor spiritual condition, and the letter indicates apathy had replaced its original zeal for the Lord. The best if not only hope for this church was to become purified like gold is refined in fire, presumably, by undergoing trials, impoverishment, and persecution.
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Faithful Philadelphia

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Philadelphia was located fifty kilometers southeast of Sardis and straddled a major road into the interior, making commerce and trade with the other cities of the province vital to its economy. It was established in 189 B.C. by the king of  Pergamos  and came under Roman rule when the last Pergamene king bequeathed the kingdom to Rome in 133 B.C.
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Sardis

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The city of Sardis was situated approximately sixty kilometers south of Thyatira, near the crossroads between Smyrna and Pergamos, and commerce was vital to its economic and cultural life. Sardis is mentioned in Obadiah, with the name “ Sepharad ” being its Hebrew form (“ They of the captivity of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South ”).
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Thyatira

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In the letter to the “ messenger ” in Thyatira, a structural change occurs. In the first three letters, the call to heed the Spirit’s voice preceded the promises to overcomers. From this point forward, it follows the promises and concludes each letter. This serves to emphasize the need to “ hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches ” through the seven letters sent by the risen Son of Man.
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Missing Seventy Weeks

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The book of  Revelation  never refers to the “ seventy weeks ” prophecy in  Daniel , directly or indirectly, a passage in the Hebrew Bible that is foundational to the chronologies and expectations of many interpretations of  Revelation , a rather striking omission.
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Silence in Heaven

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At the end of the seventh seal, seven angels prepare to sound their trumpets, unleashing judgment on the “inhabitants of the earth”  – Revelation 8:1-6.  The saints have been “ sealed ,” washed “ in the blood of the Lamb ,” and brought safely through the “ great tribulation .” The full complement of “ witnesses ” has been assembled, and the time has arrived for judgment to be rendered against the “ inhabitants of the earth ” that persecuted the martyrs. Their plea for “ vengeance ” is about to be answered.
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Sorrow Not

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Foundational to the believer’s future hope is the bodily resurrection of the righteous dead when Jesus arrives in glory . Paul’s description of the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus in his first letter to the Thessalonians was written to comfort the Assembly concerning the fate of their compatriots who died before that event could take place. They needed not sorrow “ like the others ” since the righteous dead would be resurrected when the Lord “ arrived ” from Heaven.
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