Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

The Woman and the Dragon
The latter part of today's passage is definitely a weird scene.  What's going on in chapter 12?  Though there isn't complete agreement, here is what the majority of people think about the symbolism:

The woman and the child:
"The support for this identification of the woman is found in the description of her as being clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars (v. 1). This has obvious reference back to Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9, in which the sun and moon and twelve stars (eleven plus Joseph) represented the family of Jacob, the people of Israel. That the Child is Christ is supported by the fact that He is to rule all nations with a rod of iron (v. 5), a promise first made to Christ in Psalm 2:9 and repeated in Revelation 19:15." [1]

More specifically, this is the remnant of messianic Israel, the 144, 000 mentioned earlier in the book.

The dragon - Satan, as revealed in verse 9.  This description is different than some given before, and this is thought by many to be an indication that He is tied to the beast in the next chapter.

So what is going on here?  The symbolism is definitely difficult, but is usually taken to mean that in the last days during the tribulation, Satan will through his actions force the 144,000 Jews that have turned to Christ to flee into the desert to hide.  The war in heaven refers to this real event:

"The event here prophesied was predicted by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 12:1, where it is recorded that Michael shall “stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people.” This event marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation defined in Daniel 12:1. It is undoubtedly the same event as in Revelation 12." [2]

Most agree that these events will take place halfway through Tribulation and will usher in the Great Tribulation that will be in the latter half of the last 7 years of the earth.  Satan is cast down and wreaks further havoc in the world than he already has, in addition to the wrath of God being poured out upon the world already.

Whew - difficult stuff today.  I want to stress again that I and others are doing our best to understand things and that any attempt at a "timeline" of the end times is just that - an attempt.  Hopefully this helps a bit, but with all of the symbolism and times and stuff mentioned, I know it can still be confusing. 

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

The Two Witnesses
Just like in most of our readings in Revelation, there is too much in today's passage to deal with everything.  I'll quickly summarize the first part of the reading, then go a little deeper into the two witnesses.

In the beginning of this passage, an angel appears - some take the angel to be Jesus Himself, which is certainly a possibility.  I would take the angel to be simply another angel because there is no indication here that it is Jesus.  Seven thunders sound, but John is forbidden to write down the meaning of the seven thunders.  Why?  I think Walvoord has it right here:

"When John was about to write what he had heard, however, he was instructed not to do so. … This illustrates a divine principle that while God has revealed much, there are secrets which God has not seen fit to reveal to man at this time." [1]

Revelation tells us much, but it is clear that not everything is for man to know until the appointed time - perhaps ever.

Following this, John is given a little scroll to eat, which is sweet to the taste.  This is clearly a reference to Jeremiah 15:16 and even more likely Ezekiel 3:1-15, where the scroll emphasizes the sweetness of God's word to the mouth of the prophet, but the bitterness that results when the people reject that word.  John has been given the sweetness of God's revelation to write down for the world, but the reality is truly bitter, both because it is words of judgment and because ultimately the judgment is not heeded.


With that we move on to the issue of the two witnesses.  The beginning of chapter 11 gives us a time indicator, which many would take to be connected to Daniel 9:27.  I'm going to attempt to summarize a lot of big issues here without going into the details of them - hopefully it will help to create a clearer picture. Compositing passages in Revelation and Daniel, the picture we get is of a period of 7 years before the world ends called the Tribulation.  This is set in motion by the rise of the antichrist, the occupation of Israel, and possibly a rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, which the antichrist will then defile.  This period is split into two parts of 3.5 years each, the second of which is called the Great Tribulation, marked by even worse woes and disasters than the first.  This is the context in which many futurists understand the events of Revelation.

When speaking about the two witnesses, there isn't a lot of agreement on whether they come in the first part of the tribulation or during the Great Tribulation.  I personally tend toward the beginning of the tribulation.  These two men prophesy about the truth of God during the time of tribulation, giving people clear interpretation of what is going on and how God's hand is in it, so there is no excuse for rejecting it. 

    "The identity of the two witnesses (v. 3) has understandably given rise to a variety of speculations. Most futurists take them to be two actual men who will arise to prophesy in Jerusalem in the Tribulation. The similarity of their miracles to those of Moses and Elijah have encouraged some to believe that the witnesses are Moses and Elijah themselves. Moses and Elijah appeared together with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, and would aptly represent to the Jewish people the Law and the Prophets, respectively, in whom the Jews put their trust. Elijah’s coming was promised in Malachi 4:5–6, which is an added support for his identification with one of the witnesses.
    Some think that it is Elijah and Enoch who appear in this vision. This was the view of the earliest apocryphal writers and the early exegetes of the church. Henry Morris is one modern writer who shares this view. To support this identification, it is stressed that Elijah and Enoch are the only two men who never tasted death, and, since Hebrews 9:27 says “it is appointed for men to die once,” these two men must return to fulfill their missed “appointment.” [2] (emphasis mine)

I'm not sure where I stand on this one, but I think I tend toward the view that they are Enoch and Elijah, both being men who were taken up to heaven before dying.  These men prophesy and nothing can stop them, for they are divinely appointed to continue.  At the end of that time, they WILL be killed, but will be raised to life again and ascend to heaven. 

Look - I know a lot of this is difficult to understand, as prophecy usually is.  Just think of how many didn't properly understand the signs concerning Jesus!  It's hard to picture some of this, but again - if you're interested in getting a clear (if fictional) picture of what some of these things might mean, check out the Left Behind books in our church library.  Of course they aren't going to be 100% correct because no one knows all the details, but they are a good and accessible attempt to visualize these events.

I'm going to include a short clip today from the second Left Behind movie depicting the two witnesses.  My apologies for the bad quality of the video and the cheesiness factor that often accompanies Christian movies, but it at least gives you some kind of depiction of this passage:

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

More Trumpets from the Historicist View
Again today the woes that befall the earth are relatively easy to understand from a "futurist" viewpoint.  We don't totally understand everything - the scorpions/demons that are described here are difficult to totally understand - but we understand the big message clearly:  bad things are happening in order that people might recognize that God is powerful and repent.  Do they repent?  No.  Even in the midst of such heavy signs of judgment, people still refuse to acknowledge God.  I'm going to take this opportunity to encourage you, if you're interested in this kind of thing, to read the "Left Behind" book series.  It presents in fictional form a futurist understanding of the events of Revelation in an engaging way.  Though many have criticisms of it (a lot of them being those who do not see Revelation from a "futurist" view), I think it is a very accessible way to imagine how these events might play out.  LIALC's church library has the series if you're interested.  We haven't gotten into it in Revelation, but the books are also written from a Premillennial and Pretribulational viewpoint.  We'll most likely cover those terms later - they deal mostly with how the timeline of Revelation plays out - not all futurists are in agreement about the order of events and who is effected in the tribulation.

Anyway - for the futurist, today is pretty straightforward because there isn't really symbolism involved:  things will happen just as they are portrayed here.  Because of that, I want to take today to present what is often considered one of the more strong interpretations in the "historicist" viewpoint.  Remember that the historicist sees Revelation as portraying events that occur throughout the history of the Church.  As I said, this section is often considered to be one of the stronger interpretations in this view.  I have an extended quote, then I want to engage with the ideas a bit to show why even in this stronger section I think there are difficulties with this view:

    "To nearly all historicist commentators, the locusts (v. 3) represent the Saracens (Muslim Arabs) and their campaigns against the Eastern Roman Empire from about 612 to 763. The king (v. 11) that is over them is Mohammed. Adam Clarke says that this locust plague “certainly agrees better with the Saracens than with any other people or nation.”
    The star fallen from heaven (v. 1) is a symbol for a prince who has been degraded and deprived of his rank. Mohammed was of princely pedigree, but the previous generation of his family had lost rule.
In biblical times, actual locust plagues often came from Arabia. Elliott comments: “I say the very word for locust might almost to a Hebrew ear suggest Arab: the names of the one and of the other being in pronunciation and in radicals not dissimilar—of the locusts (arbeh), of an Arab (arbi).”
    These locusts, quite unlike the natural locust, were commanded by their king not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing (v. 4). A striking parallel appears in Mohammed’s instruction in the Koran: “Destroy no palm trees, nor any fields of corn, cut down no fruit trees.” This policy was in stark contrast to the slash and burn approach of the Gothic invaders described in the previous trumpet visions (e.g., 8:7). The Saracens were not able to kill (v. 5) papal Rome as a political body, but only to torment it for a while. Accordingly, though they desolated the Greek and Latin churches, they could not exterminate them nor gain possession of the empire. Those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads (v. 4), the targets of the tormentors’ assaults, according to the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, are “corrupt and idolatrous Christians; against whom the Saracens chiefly prevailed.”
    As for the five months (vv. 5, 10), these are seen as five prophetic months of thirty days each: a total of 150 days, or by the year-for-a-day principle, 150 years. Mohammed adopted the policy of making converts by the sword in 612, from which time the Muslim Arabs began to attack the eastern churches and seek to forcibly convert Europe from Christianity to Islam. Their ravages were checked by their defeat at Tours by Charles Martel, in 732. In the year 763, the Muslims ceased their policy of aggression and moved their capital to Baghdad on the Tigris. Thus, “from the time that Mohammed began to propagate his imposture, A.D. 612, to the building of Baghdad, when they ceased from their ravages, A.D. 763, are just 150 years” (Treasury)...
    Matthew Henry takes an entirely different approach to interpreting this vision. Until this point, he has presented the possibility that the trumpets could be describing either political or ecclesiastical events. At this point, he presents only the latter view. He sees the star fallen from heaven (v. 1) as Boniface, the third bishop of Rome, who assumed the title of universal bishop. Having forfeited the “keys of the kingdom of heaven,” he now has the keys of hell, to unleash damnable doctrines and deception upon the church. This damage is spiritual, not physical; these demonic doctrines do not kill (v. 5) people physically, but subject them to spiritual torment for a limited period of time (five months). Mention might be made at this point of the Roman Catholic interpretation of Bellarmine and other Catholic writers, who identify the locusts with the Lutherans of the Reformation. In this view, Luther himself, who defected from the papal church, is the fallen star of the vision. Seiss, the futurist, rebuts this view:

  If Luther was the fallen star, who was the king over the Lutherans? The locusts were to continue “five months,” but the Lutherans have wrought now for more than three hundred and fifty years, and still are the particular grief of the Papists. … The locusts have stings to torment men; the Lutherans have never been tormentors nor persecutors … No people have ever suffered from the Lutherans or their doctrines, as to seek death in order to escape their torments, without ability to find it." [1] (emphasis mine)

Where to begin? The areas above that I've highlighted are areas I consider to be quite problematic.  My overwhelming impression is what I explained on the first day that I presented the views:  it's simply too hard to tie these events to history in any kind of unified way.  In the absence of any shared understanding of this book, why is it even in the Bible?  Why would God give it to us if we are totally unable to understand it?  One writer takes it as Muslim invaders, another the Catholic Church, and the Catholic writers as the Reformation.  Definitely not in any kind of agreement here. 

Also, note the amount of stretching that needs to occur here to make details fit.  If we take the scorpions to be Muslims, the things strongly in our favor are long hair and that they didn't destroy the land.  However, to get to the correct time period even symbolically, we need to take the "months" as "prophetic months" and convert days into years.  We need to understand "torment but not kill" politically, which seems to be a huge stretch to me.  It really feels to me like we're grasping for straws and trying to fit our interpretation to the text rather than taking the text for what it says.  Matthew Henry's interpretation suffers in similar ways:  the torment happens doctrinally, not physically, and who knows what's going on with the five months!

I show you this today to demonstrate why I think the futurist view has a lot more going for it than the others.  As I wrote above, the interpretation that says these events portray the Islamic invasion is considered to be one of the more solid historicist interpretations, yet it is riddled with problems.  Also, remember that I consider to be the historicist interpretation to be second most likely after the futurist interpretation, yet we can see here how far it falls short.  I don't write this to be discouraging, but to encourage us to be faithful to the text and discerning in our understanding of God's Word. 

I'm probably not going to dip into the other views too much after this, but if you are ever just curious as to how some of the other views interpret certain passages, hit me up in the comments and I'll try to explain it.  It's no secret that I'm pretty firmly in the futurist camp, but I'm all for seeking to understand other views as well.  In the case of Revelation they usually serve to solidify that they futurist view is the best one, but sometimes I'm curious too.

Questions?  Comments?

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

The Seventh Seal and the Trumpets
Today's passage starts with another interlude, glimpsing the population of heaven worshiping God, using the words of a song we sometimes sing, "Salvation Belongs to Our God".

After this brief interlude, the seventh seal is opened - silence.  This is most likely in waiting for the great wrath of God that is about to be poured out in the seven trumpets.  The trumpets are pretty straightforward for the most part, but I want to deal quickly with the third trumpet - Wormwood.

Since today's passage is more straightforward, I want to close with a quick though from the Life Application Bible Commentary:

"HOW LONG?
In Revelation 6:10, the martyrs called out to God, “How long will it be before you judge the people who belong to this world for what they have done to us?” (NLT). In 8:3, incense mixed with the prayers of the saints ascends to God, and God responds with judgment in answer to the anguished prayers of the suffering and martyred believers.
As we see the world’s wickedness, we too may cry out to God, “How long?” In the following chapters, the judgment comes at last. We may be distressed and impatient, but God has his plan and his timing, and we must learn to trust him to know what is best. Judgment is coming—be sure of that. Thank God for the time he has given you to turn from sin. Use the available time to warn others to turn to him." [2]

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

The Six Seals and the 144,000
Remember that in yesterday's reading there was a scroll that was sealed with seven seals.  The only one worthy to open those seals is Jesus, and in today's passage He begins to break the seals, bringing forth events with each broken seal.  The appearance of Jesus to break open the seals indicates that the end of all things are at hand and the last days have truly begun - the Tribulation is at hand.

Again, not everyone agrees on the symbolism here, so I'm going to tell you the view that seems to have the most support:

First seal: Rider on the white horse - This is most likely the Antichrist, coming to rule over the nations of the earth in false reign.  See Daniel 9:26 for some context - this is often cross-referenced here.

Second seal: Rider on the red horse - This initiates a time of war and bloodshed on the earth that will ultimately climax with the battle of Armageddon.

Third seal: Rider on the black horse - This speaks of famine conditions that overtake the world due to the season of wars initiated by the previous rider.

Fourth seal: Rider on the pale horse - A killing of one fourth of the world's population.

"Because of the current world population being so great, one fourth of the inhabitants would represent a number larger than those destroyed in Noah’s day. Therefore, this would be the “Great Tribulation” of unprecedented magnitude spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24:21. Since “Great Tribulation” is the term that technically refers to only the final three and a half years of the seven-year Tribulation, some (e.g., Walvoord) believe that these seals apply strictly to that end period." [1]

Fifth seal: Martyrs - These could possibly be those killed for their faith throughout the ages, but more likely those who die for their faith during the Tribulation, since that is where this seal is placed.

Sixth seal: Cosmic disturbances -
"Ryrie (in company with Walvoord, Morris, and others) takes this passage quite literally (except in the case of stars falling, which he thinks refer to a meteor shower). He identifies six catastrophic events calculated “to strike terror into the hearts of men living on the earth. … At this point men will know assuredly that the tribulation has begun, for they recognize it as ‘the great day of his wrath.’ ” [2]

Which brings us to an interlude before the seventh seal.  But what's going on with the 144,000?  The seals have been pretty straightforward other than the horse symbolism, but what is this?

"During the Great Tribulation, a godly remnant of 144,000 Jewish people will be sealed (v. 4) for protection from the later plagues (cf. 9:4)...That these are physical Israelites (not to be confused with the church, as in the historicist and spiritual approaches) is underscored by the division of the group into twelve tribes. The church is not divided into tribal divisions." [3]

So - during this time there will be a turning of a significant number from Israel to God as they recognize God's hand in what is happening.  See Romans 11:25 as a possible reference to this.

I hope that helps! Questions?

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

The Four Views on Revelation
In chapter 4 we enter what most people think of when they see "Revelation" in their Bible - the collection somewhat-confusing prophecies and symbols.  This is the main body of Revelation, and there have historically been four views on it:

–     Preterist:

•      There is no prophecy here – John is writing about events that happened in his day in symbolic terms (such as the destruction of the temple in 70 AD).  Preterists seek to connect the events portrayed in this book with events that occurred in the 1st century


–     Idealist:

•      Revelation is allegorical – the book is a picture of the struggle between good and evil and doesn't refer to specific events, but merely portrays the great struggle in concrete terms


–     Historicist:

•      The symbolism of the book outlines the course of church history.  This is somewhat similar to the next view in that it views SOME of the events in Revelation as happening in the future.  This view, however, understands much of Revelation to have already happened - therefore many seek to connect the events and people portrayed to events and people throughout the history of the church/world


–     Futurist:

•      The book speaks of the past, present, and future.  All prophecies in chapters 4-22 are to be fulfilled immediately before and after the second coming of Christ


As we work through this book, the viewpoint that I'll be taking is the "futurist" viewpoint.  I personally feel that this is the most natural understanding that someone would have if they simply picked up the book and knew nothing about it.  The great criticism that is usually offered of this view is that it takes things too literally, an accusation that I would be glad to be guilty of.  As we work through the book, I may occasionally explain how some of these other views understand a certain section just to help you see how that view works.  This book can be complicated, so we''ll try our best to understand it!

All of that being said, a few notes to help you understand chapters 4-5:

-The number 7:  it's viewed as the "perfect number" or a number of completion.  So, for example as in 5:6 the lamb with 7 eyes and 7 horns should be understood to be all-seeing and all-powerful (the horn is a symbol of power throughout the OT; there are frequent uses of this symbolism in psalms)

-The 24 elders:
"The twenty-four elders around the throne (4:4), like other worshipers in heaven (4:7–9; 5:11–14), illustrate the appropriate response to God’s glory: worship (4:10–11; 5:8–10, 14). While their literary function in this sense is difficult to dispute, their exact identity does not share the same accessibility. Some regard them as angels, others as Old Testament saints.16 But most likely they represent all believers. The doubling of the twelve could represent the Old and New Testament peoples of God together (see 21:12–14). But given their function in worship they probably represent the twenty-four courses of priests in the Old Testament (1 Chron. 24:4)." [1]

-The scroll:  We'll get to the scroll tomorrow, but suffice to say that the important part in today's passage is that we know the lamb (Jesus) alone is worthy to open the scroll.  He is worshiped because He is worthy!

As I said before, I'll make an attempt to answer as many questions as I can, but I'm expecting more than that usual volume of questions when studying this book.  If it takes me a while or I can't answer it, sorry!  I'll try my best!

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

Lukewarm
This appeared a while back in another post, but I'm reposting it both because it is good enough that it deserves to be watched again and because it is directly about the letter to Laodicea in today's reading. 

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

To the Churches
This short section at the beginning of Revelation is really, really good.  John writes to the churches that will receive this letter, commending or rebuking them for various things.  This section is so good, in my opinion, because these are very similar struggles that many churches have today.

I want today to deal with the final two letters in chapter 2.  John writes about issues in a very symbolic way - some would say because of persecution, causing him to write in a kind of "code" - making some of these matters difficult to understand.  I hope some of this background helps you to understand a bit more about what John is writing here and the context behind it:

Pergamum:
"This church faced external as well as internal opposition. Although its general sense is clear enough, the precise referent of “Satan’s throne” (2:13) is disputed. The healing cult of Asclepius was famous at Pergamum; Christians from this city may recognize in Revelation’s serpent (12:9) the chief symbol of their city’s deity. More often scholars think of the famous huge throne-like altar of “Zeus the Savior,” whose sculptures included serpents; it was “a monumental colonnaded court in the form of a horseshoe, 120 by 112 feet,” whose podium “was nearly 18 feet high.”
In addition to opposition from the outside, Pergamum is also experiencing internal problems. Like “Jezebel” in Thyatira (2:20), “Balaam” (2:14) is undoubtedly not the prophet’s own preferred name, but a code name signifying that this prophet is a false one, leading astray the people of God. In the Bible and more clearly in Jewish tradition, Balaam acted out of greed for money (Num. 22:19; Deut. 23:4; Neh. 13:2; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11). He led Israel into sin in order to take them out of God’s favor, recognizing that this was the only way to destroy them (Num. 31:16). Others also acknowledged that Israel could only be crushed if first lured into disobedience to God (Judith 5:20–21; 11:10). The particular sins of Israel in connection with Balaam were sexual immorality and food offered to idols (Num. 25:1–2; cf. 31:8, 16), sins that remained temptations in later pagan society and brought judgment on Christians (1 Cor. 10:7–8; Did. 6.3)." [1]

Thyatira:
"Jesus knows that the Christians in Thyatira, in contrast to those in Ephesus, are doing his works more than they have before (2:5, 19), but one flaw in the congregation proves serious enough to offset this praise: Unlike Ephesus, they are tolerating a false teacher of compromise (2:2, 20). Thyatira was known for its merchants, crafts, and their guilds (cf. also Acts 16:14). Those who participated in this aspect of public economic life would risk a substantial measure of their livelihood by refusing to join trade guilds. The guild meetings, however, included a common meal dedicated to the guild’s patron deity—a meal thereby off-limits to more traditional Christians (Acts 15:20; 1 Cor. 10:19–22). Starting in this general period, aspects of the imperial cult also began to affect nearly every trade guild.
A large number of commentators envision this situation as a primary contributor to “Jezebel’s” appeal. Not surprisingly, a prophet or prophetess who tells people what they want to hear can become readily popular (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3–4). Yet as some in Ephesus falsely claimed to be apostles (Rev. 2:2), some in Smyrna and Philadelphia falsely claimed to be Jews (2:9; 3:9), and the Laodicean Christians claimed to be rich (3:17), this Jezebel falsely claims to be a prophetess (2:20) and to offer “deep secrets” (2:24). Like Satan (12:9; 20:2, 8, 10) and the world system (13:14; 18:23; 19:20), she is a deceiver who misleads God’s servants.
Like “Balaam,” this false prophetess receives a nickname undoubtedly not of her own choosing. Jesus’ title for her, “Jezebel,” immediately calls to mind multiple associations. The biblical Jezebel was not a “prophetess,” but sponsored 850 false prophets (1 Kings 18:19; Josephus, Ant. 8.318); she also sought to take the lives of God’s true prophets (1 Kings 18:13; 19:2; Josephus, Ant. 8.334, 347). She is never accused of literal harlotry, but she sponsored spiritual harlotry by leading Israel away from its God (2 Kings 9:22, where her religious activity is also compared with witchcraft; cf. Rev. 9:21; 18:23). Babylon the prostitute later in this book is probably modeled partly on “Jezebel,” Thyatira’s local embodiment of the larger system of “Babylon,” because she advocated participation in local civic and commercial life even where they demanded compromise with paganism." [2]

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

The Day Has Come
Well...from the very beginning I knew this day would come.  Revelation.  We're in our final book of the New Testament!  It's been a long road, and thanks for sticking with it (for those who did)!  We're starting in on a confusing, encouraging, wonderful book.  I'm going to be trying to explain different views on this book as we go along and offer introductory material over a large span of days than normal.  I'm sure there are going to be A LOT of questions, and I'm not going to pretend that I'll know the answer to all of them.  I'll try my best, but don't get discouraged if it takes some time for me to respond to them or I don't know the answer.  Thanks!

Today, an ATTEMPT at outlining the book.  As we'll see, the first 3 chapters are significantly different than the other ones.   This is the NIVAC outline, though this book is a little difficult to break down that way.  Mostly I want to give you a chance to get the broad scope of the book on this first day, then we'll dig in tomorrow.  If you have any questions about the first chapter, please ask!

"          I.      Introduction (1:1–3:22)
            A.      Title and Blessing (1:1–3)
            B.      Epistolary Introduction (1:4–8)
            C.      Narrative Introduction (1:9–20)
             1.      Setting (1:9–11)
             2.      Vision of the Son of Man (1:12–16)
             3.      Jesus’ Message (1:17–20)
            D.      Letters to the Seven Churches (2:1–3:22)
             1.      Ephesus: Lost Love (2:1–7)
             2.      Smyrna: Suffering Saints (2:8–11)
             3.      Pergamum: Fornicating Faction (2:12–17)
             4.      Thyatira: Compromising Christians (2:18–27)
             5.      Sardis: Sinful Slumber (3:1–6)
             6.      Philadelphia: Persevering Pillars (3:7–13)
             7.      Laodicea: Prosperous Paupers (3:14–22)
          II.      Visions of the Heavenly Temple (4:1–5:14)
            A.      Worship in Heaven (4:1–11)
            B.      Worthy to Open the Book (5:1–7)
            C.      In Praise of the Lamb (5:8–14)
          III.      The Seals (6:1–8:1)
            A.      The Horse Riders (6:1–8)
             1.      Conquest (6:1–2)
             2.      War (6:3–4)
             3.      Famine (6:5–6)
             4.      Death by Various Means (6:7–8)
            B.      Martyrdom and Doomsday (6:9–17)
             1.      Martyred for Their Good News (6:9–11)
             2.      Cosmic Dissolution (6:12–17)
            C.      Interlude: Saints on Earth and in Heaven (7:1–17)
             1.      God’s End-Time Army (7:1–8)
             2.      The Multicultural Multitude of Martyrs (7:9–17)
            D.      The Seventh Seal (8:1)
          IV.      The Trumpets (8:2–11:19)
            A.      Prayers as the Preface of Judgment (8:2–6)
            B.      First Four Plagues (8:7–13)
            C.      Two Plagues of Invasions (9:1–21)
             1.      A Demonic Locust Army (9:1–12)
             2.      Demonic Parthians (9:13–21)
            D.      Second Interlude (10:1–11)
             1.      Seven Secret Thunders (10:1–7)
             2.      A Prophetic Commission (10:8–11)
             3.      Measuring the Oppressed Temple (11:1–2)
             4.      God’s Two Witnesses (11:3–14)
            E.      Final Trumpet: End of the Age (11:15–19)
          V.      The Saints Versus the Serpent (12:1–14:20)
            A.      The Woman and Her Seed (12:1–17)
             1.      God’s People, Christ and Satan (12:1–6)
             2.      Heavenly Warfare (12:7–12)
             3.      The Dragon’s Persecution (12:13–17)
            B.      The Dragon’s Two Beasts (13:1–18)
             1.      The False Messiah (13:1–10)
             2.      The False Priest (13:11–18)
            C.      The Victorious Martyrs (14:1–5)
            D.      God’s Triumph Over Babylon (14:6–20)
             1.      Songs of God’s Triumph Over Babylon (14:6–8)
             2.      Beast-Worshipers’ Damnation (14:9–11)
             3.      Saints Rest in Peace (14:12–13)
             4.      Judgments Against the World (14:14–20)
          VI.      Bowls of Anger (15:1–16:21)
            A.      Narrative Introduction to the Bowls (15:1–16:1)
             1.      Announcement of Plagues (15:1)
             2.      Victorious Martyrs of the New Exodus (15:2–4)
             3.      Judgments From Heavenly Temple (15:5–16:1)
            B.      Bowls of Plagues (16:2–21)
             1.      Five Plagues (16:2–11)
             2.      Armageddon (16:12–16)
             3.      Destruction of the World Order (16:17–21)
          VII.      The Fate of Babylon (17:1–19:21)
            A.      Babylon, the Great Prostitute (17:1–18)
             1.      Viewing the Epitome of Spiritual Immorality (17:1–5)
             2.      Explaining the Mystery (17:6–18)
            B.      Lamenting Fallen Babylon (18:1–19:4)
             1.      Mock Lament for the Prostitute (18:1–3)
             2.      Call to Resist the World’s Seduction (18:4–8)
             3.      Mourning of Kings (18:9–10)
             4.      Mourning Merchants (18:11–19)
             5.      Summons for God’s Allies to Rejoice (18:20)
             6.      Avenging the Oppressed (18:21–24)
             7.      Heaven Celebrates Babylon’s Death (19:1–4)
            C.      Christ Comes in Judgment (19:5–21)
             1.      Marriage Supper for Righteous (19:5–10)
             2.      The Avenging Divine Warrior (19:11–16)
             3.      Feast on the Wicked (19:17–21)
          VIII.      The Hope of the Saints (20:1–22:5)
            A.      Judgments for Righteous and Wicked (20:1–15)
             1.      Binding the Devil (20:1–3)
             2.      Resurrection of the Righteous (20:4–6)
             3.      The Devil’s Last Stand (20:7–10)
             4.      The Final Judgment of the Damned (20:11–15)
            B.      New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s Bride (21:1–22:5)
             1.      The New Creation (21:1–8)
             2.      The Wealth of New Jerusalem (21:9–22)
             3.      The Glory of New Jerusalem (21:23–27)
             4.      The New Eden (22:1–5)
          IX.      Conclusion (22:6–21)
            A.      Focus on God, not His Agents (22:6–7)
            B.      Closing Exhortations (22:10–17)
             1.      The Time Is at Hand (22:10–12)
             2.      Jesus’ First Divine Imprimatur (22:13)
             3.      Fate of Righteous and Wicked (22:14–15)
             4.      Jesus’ Second Divine Imprimatur (22:16)
             5.      Invitation to Jesus and to the Audience (22:17)
            C.      Do Not Tamper With the Book (22:18–19)
            D.      Jesus’ Promised Coming (22:20)
            E.      Epistolary Close (22:21)" [1]

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

Jude

AUTHOR
    A.      Jude (Hebrew, Judah, or Greek, Judas) characterizes himself by two designations
      1.      “a bond-servant of Jesus Christ” - This is not exactly the same as Paul’s usual designation, although they look the same in English.
      2.      “a brother of James” - There are many persons in the NT named James (Jacob), but the name by itself, without any description, reminds one of James 1:1. James, the half-brother of Jesus, was the leader of the Jerusalem church during Paul’s missionary journeys (cf. Acts 15). It has been speculated that both half-brothers chose, out of humility, not to identify themselves as biologically related to Jesus.

    B.      The simple opening reflects someone who was well-known and active (cf. I Cor. 9:3) in the early church, but about whom no information has survived. If someone writing at a later period wanted to write in the name of a famous person from the past (pseudography), Jude would not be a good candidate.

    C.      The ancient tradition that Jude was a Hebrew Christian and half-brother of Jesus (cf. Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3) rests on several assumptions
      1.      a family relationship to James (cf. James 1:1)
      2.      the extensive use of the OT
      3.      the characteristic Hebrew literary use of threes
         a.      3 OT events of apostasy
         b.      3 OT characters
         c.      opening greeting
           (1)      three verbs: “called,” “beloved,” “kept”
           (2)      three prayer requests: “mercy,” “peace,” “love”

RECIPIENTS AND OCCASION
    A.      The early church was not theologically monolithic; even the Apostles emphasized different aspects of the gospel. As the Apostles began to die (or at least were too few and too far away to be consulted) and the Second Coming continued to be delayed, the early church faced the challenge of “standardizing” acceptable parameters for gospel teachings. The OT, the words and stories of Jesus, and the preaching of the Apostles became the standards.

    B.      Jude was written in a day of flux and disruption of clear authority. The believers (whether a local church or geographical area is uncertain) were facing massive invasion of error through speculative theology/philosophy. What is known of the heresy:
      1.      the heretics were part of the church meetings (“love feasts” cf. v. 12)
      2.      the heretics were immoral, manipulative teachers who were causing divisions among God’s people (cf. v. 19)
      3.      the heretics seem to have used or discussed “angels” in their theology
      4.      the heretics seem to have emphasized “knowledge” (gnosis)
      If one is familiar with the Greco-Roman world of the first and second centuries, these characteristics imply the philosophical/theological movement known as “Gnosticism.” It is surely true that the origins of these specific second century heretics were a common element of much near-eastern thought. Elements of the dualism so characteristic of Gnosticism is present in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Many of the NT books (Eph. - Col, the Pastorals, I, II John) were written to combat a similar type of false teaching/teachers.

PURPOSE
    A.      The author desired to write about their common salvation (cf. v. 3).

    B.      The invasion of false teachings and teachers into the inner fellowship times of the church (cf. v. 12) caused the author to address the burning issue of “the faith once and for all given to the church” (cf. vv. 3, 20). His goal was orthodoxy, but he approached the subject through godly living (orthopraxy), not doctrine (very similar to James 2:14–24). How people lived was a clear window into their theology.

    C.      The author wants to encourage believers to
      1.      grow spiritually (cf. v. 20)
      2.      be assured of salvation (cf. vv. 21, 24–25)
      3.      help the fallen (cf. vv. 22–23) [1]