Seven Plagues to Complete God’s Wrath Today’s passage: Revelation 15 Focus verse: I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. (Revelation 15:1) Revelation 15 seems out of order. In it seven plagues of God’s wrath are unleashed even though his harvest already […]
The Harvest Today’s passage: Revelation 14 Focus verse: “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (Revelation 14:15) A heading later added to Revelation 14:6 in some Bibles says, “The Three Angels.” Yet a careful reading of this chapter reveals seven. The first angel […]
Whoever Has Ears Today’s passage: Revelation 13 Focus verse: Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Revelation 13:9) After the expulsion of the dragon (that is, Satan, the devil) from heaven, he comes to earth and waits at the seashore. A beast emerges and the dragon gives him power. The beast blasphemes God, slandering God’s name, heaven, and […]
The Blood of the Lamb Today’s passage: Revelation 12 Focus verse: They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. (Revelation 12:11) The phrase “the blood of the Lamb” only appears in the book of Revelation and then just twice. We referred to the first occurrence in “17: […]
Praise and Worship Today’s passage: Revelation 11:15–19 Focus verse: And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God. (Revelation 11:16) With the second woe complete, the seventh angel sounds his trumpet. Whereas the first six trumpet blasts bring forth immediate death and destruction to the earth, […]
Two Witnesses Today’s passage: Revelation 11:1–14 Focus verse: “And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days.” (Revelation 11:3) As we work our way through the second of three woes, we come across two witnesses. God appoints them to prophesy for 1,260 days, almost three and a half years. In a […]
The End Is Near Today’s passage: Revelation 10 Focus verse: “There will be no more delay!” (Revelation 10:6) John’s vision takes a bit of a diversion before the seventh and final trumpet. After the sixth trumpet blast, we’d expect people to repent of their wrongdoing. They don’t. They persist in their sinful behavior. At this point, […]
Some Still Will Not Repent Today’s passage: Revelation 9 Focus verse: The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands. (Revelation 9:20) After the opening of the scroll’s seventh and final seal, seven angels receive seven trumpets. The first four have already blown their […]
Seven Trumpets and Three Woes Today’s passage: Revelation 8:6–13 Focus verse: I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” (Revelation 8:13) With the seventh seal broken […]
Silence from the Seventh Seal Today’s passage: Revelation 8:1–5 Focus verse: When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (Revelation 8:1) Finally, Jesus breaks the seventh and final seal of Father God’s scroll. At the opening of each of the first six seals, something immediately happened in John’s […]