Thursday, August 11, 2016
Revelation 12 thru 14
Various Personages and Events (chs. 12-14)
- The Woman and the Dragon (ch. 12)
- The Two Beasts (ch. 13)
- The Lamb and the 144,000 (14:1-5)
- The Harvest of the Earth (14:6-20)
Revelation 12 NLT
1 Then I witnessed in heaven an event
of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
2 She was pregnant, and she cried out
because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth.
3 Then I witnessed in heaven another
significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns,
with seven crowns on his heads.
4 His tail swept away one-third of the
stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the
woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it
was born.
5 She gave birth to a son who was to
rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the
dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days.
7Then there was war in heaven. Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.
8 And the dragon lost the battle, and
he and his angels were forced out of heaven.
9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent
called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down
to the earth with all his angels.
10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting
across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom
of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers
and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our
God day and night.
11And they have defeated him by the blood of
the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that
they were afraid to die.
12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens!
And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and
the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has
little time.”
13 When the dragon realized that he had
been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the
male child.
14 But she was given two wings like
those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the
wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a
time, times, and half a time.
15 Then the dragon tried to drown the
woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth.
16 But the earth helped her by opening
its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon.
17 And the dragon was angry at the woman
and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s
commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.
18 Then the dragon
took his stand on the shore beside the sea.
Revelation 13 NLT
1 Then I saw a beast rising up out of
the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And
written on each head were names that blasphemed God.
2This beast looked like a leopard, but it
had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast
his own power and throne and great authority.
3 I saw that one of the heads of the
beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole
world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast.
4 They worshiped the dragon for giving
the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as
the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”
5 Then the beast was allowed to speak
great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he
wanted for forty-two months.
6 And he spoke terrible words of
blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who
dwell in heaven.
7 And the beast was allowed to wage war
against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to
rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.
8 And all the people who belong to this
world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in
the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world
was made.
9 Anyone with ears to hear should
listen and understand.
10 Anyone who is destined for prison
will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the
sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and
remain faithful.
11 Then I saw another beast come up out
of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the
voice of a dragon.
12 He exercised all the authority of the
first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first
beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.
13 He did astounding miracles, even
making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching.
14 And with all the miracles he was
allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who
belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first
beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life.
15 He was then permitted to give life to
this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that
anyone refusing to worship it must die.
16 He required everyone—small and great,
rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the
forehead.
17And no one could buy or sell anything
without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number
representing his name.
18 Wisdom is needed
here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the
beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
Revelation 14 NLT
1 Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount
Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written
on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like
the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the
sound of many harpists playing together.
3 This great choir sang a wonderful new
song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the
twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had
been redeemed from the earth.
4 They have kept themselves as pure as
virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from
among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
5 They have told no lies; they are
without blame.
6 And I saw another angel flying
through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who
belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
7 “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory
to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made
the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”
8 Then another angel followed him
through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because
she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate
immorality.”
9 Then a third angel followed them,
shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark
on the forehead or on the hand
10 must drink the wine of God’s anger.
It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be
tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and
the Lamb.
11 The smoke of their torment will rise
forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have
worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”
12This means that God’s holy people must
endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith
in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven
saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on.
Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their
hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
14 Then I saw a white cloud, and seated
on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head
and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15 Then another angel came from the
Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the
time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”
16 So the one sitting on the cloud swung
his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.
17 After that, another angel came from
the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
18 Then another angel, who had power to
destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp
sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines
of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”
19 So the angel swung his sickle over
the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
20 The grapes were
trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress
in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Revelation 8:2 thru 11:19
The Seven Trumpets (8:2;11:19)
- Introduction (8:2-5)
- First Trumpet: Hail and Fire Mixed with Blood (8:6-7)
- Second Trumpet: A Mountain Thrown into the Sea (8:8-9)
- Third Trumpet: The Star Wormwood (8:10-11)
- Fourth Trumpet: A Third of the Sun, Moon and Stars Struck (8:12-13)
- Fifth Trumpet: The Plague of Locusts (9:1-12)
- Sixth Trumpet: Release of the Four Angels (9:13-21)
- The Angel and the Little Scroll (ch. 10)
- The Two Witnesses (11:1-14)
- Seventh Trumpet: Judgments and Rewards (11:15-19)
Revelation 8 NLT
2 I saw the seven angels who stand
before God, and they were given seven trumpets.
3 Then another angel with a gold
incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was
given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold
altar before the throne.
4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with
the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the
angel had poured them out.
5 Then the angel filled the incense
burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder
crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.
6 Then the seven angels with the seven
trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and
hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the
earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green
grass was burned.
8 Then the second angel blew his
trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the
water in the sea became blood,
9 one-third of all things living in the
sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.
10Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and
a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of
the rivers and on the springs of water.
11 The name of the star was Bitterness.
It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the
bitter water.
12 Then the fourth angel blew his
trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and
one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was
dark, and also one-third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and
I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror,
terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when
the last three angels blow their trumpets.”
Revelation 9 NLT
1 Then the fifth angel blew his
trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was
given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
2 When he opened it, smoke poured out
as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the
smoke.
3 Then locusts came from the smoke and
descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions.
4 They were told not to harm the grass
or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on
their foreheads.
5 They were told not to kill them but
to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting.
6 In those days people will seek death
but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!
7 The locusts looked like horses
prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and
their faces looked like human faces.
8 They had hair like women’s hair and
teeth like the teeth of a lion.
9 They wore armor made of iron, and
their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle.
10They had tails that stung like scorpions,
and for five months they had the power to torment people.
11 Their king is the angel from the
bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is and in Greek, —the Destroyer.
12 The first terror is past, but look,
two more terrors are coming!
13 Then the sixth angel blew his
trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar
that stands in the presence of God.
14 And the voice said to the sixth angel
who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great
Euphrates River.”
15 Then the four angels who had been
prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill
one-third of all the people on earth.
16 I heard the size of their army, which
was 200 million mounted troops.
17 And in my vision, I saw the horses
and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and
dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and
burning sulfur billowed from their mouths.
18 One-third of all the people on earth
were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur
that came from the mouths of the horses.
19 Their power was in their mouths and
in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure
people.
20 But the people who did not die in
these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They
continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and
wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!
21 And they did not
repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their
thefts.
Revelation 10 NLT
1 Then I saw another mighty angel
coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head.
His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire.
2 And in his hand was a small scroll
that had been opened. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot
on the land.
3 And he gave a great shout like the
roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders answered.
4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was
about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the
seven thunders said, and do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel I saw standing on the
sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven.
6 He swore an oath in the name of the
one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them,
the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said,
“There will be no more delay.
7 When the seventh angel blows his
trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he
announced it to his servants the prophets.”
8 Then the voice from heaven spoke to
me again: “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel who is
standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and told him
to give me the small scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be
sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!”
10 So I took the small scroll from the
hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed
it, it turned sour in my stomach.
11 Then I was told,
“You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Revelation 11 NLT
1 Then I was given a measuring stick,
and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the
number of worshipers.
2 But do not measure the outer
courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the
holy city for 42 months.
3 And I will give power to my two
witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those
1,260 days.”
4 These two prophets are the two olive
trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth.
5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire
flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who
tries to harm them must die.
6 They have power to shut the sky so
that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to
turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind
of plague as often as they wish.
7When they complete their testimony, the
beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them,
and he will conquer them and kill them.
8 And their bodies will lie in the main
street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,”
the city where their Lord was crucified.
9 And for three and a half days, all
peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will
be allowed to bury them.
10 All the people who belong to this
world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the
death of the two prophets who had tormented them.
11 But after three and a half days, God
breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring
at them.
12 Then a loud voice from heaven called
to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as
their enemies watched.
13 At the same time there was a terrible
earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in
that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of
heaven.
14 The second terror is past, but look,
the third terror is coming quickly.
15 Then the seventh angel blew his
trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now
become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and
ever.”
16 The twenty-four elders sitting on
their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him.
17 And they said, “We give thanks to
you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you
have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were filled with wrath,
but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and
reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who
fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who
have caused destruction on the earth.”
19 Then, in heaven,
the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside
the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an
earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Revelation 6 and 7 and 8:1
The Seven Seals (6:1;8:1)
- First Seal: The White Horse (6:1-2)
- Second Seal: The Red Horse (6:3-4)
- Third Seal: The Black Horse (6:5-6)
- Fourth Seal: The Pale Horse (6:7-8)
- Fifth Seal: The Souls under the Altar (6:9-11)
- Sixth Seal: The Great Earthquake (6:12-17)
- The Sealing of the 144,000 (7:1-8)
- The Great Multitude (7:9-17)
- Seventh Seal: Silence in Heaven (8:1)
Revelation 6 NLT
1 As I watched, the Lamb broke the
first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living
beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”
2 I looked up and saw a white horse
standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He
rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.
3 When the Lamb broke the second seal,
I heard the second living being say, “Come!”
4Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its
rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth.
And there was war and slaughter everywhere.
5When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard
the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its
rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice from among the
four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will
cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal,
I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!”
8 I looked up and saw a horse whose
color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the
Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill
with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.
9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I
saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God
and for being faithful in their testimony.
10 They shouted to the Lord and said,
“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who
belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”
11 Then a white robe was given to each
of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of
their brothers and sisters —their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be
martyred—had joined them.
12 I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth
seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth,
and the moon became as red as blood.
13Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth
like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind.
14 The sky was rolled up like a scroll,
and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places.
15 Then everyone—the kings of the earth,
the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free
person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the
mountains.
16 And they cried to the mountains and
the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the
throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
17 For the great day
of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”
Revelation 7 NLT
1 Then I saw four angels standing at
the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow
on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel coming up
from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those
four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea,
3 “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea
or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his
servants.”
4 And I heard how many were marked with
the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
5 from Judah 12,000 from Reuben 12,000
from Gad 12,000
6 from Asher 12,000 from Naphtali
12,000 from Manasseh 12,000
7 from Simeon 12,000 from Levi 12,000
from Issachar 12,000
8 from Zebulun 12,000 from Joseph
12,000 from Benjamin 12,000
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too
great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing
in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes
and held palm branches in their hands.
10 And they were shouting with a great
roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the
Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing
around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they
fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God.
12 They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory
and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the twenty-four elders
asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come
from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the
one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great
tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made
them white.
15 “That is why they stand in front of
God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the
throne will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or
thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the
throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving
water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 8 NLT
1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal
on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour.
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