| By Andy Moyle | 39 secs | 0 Comments
While those profiting from Babylon mourn and lament and the saints rejoice, an angel takes a great millstone and throws it into the sea. Babylon has fallen forever. No more of its exploitation and oppression and martyring of Christians. In chapter 19 great worship goes up – repeated Hallelujahs accompanied by the roar of heaven. […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 24 secs | 0 Comments
An angel announces the fall of Babylon – all that the world offers, instead of God, comes to nothing. This passage has many allusions to Old Testament prophecies about ancient Babylon and Tyre (Jeremiah 50-51, Ezekiel 27). Babylon’s fall is complete – nothing left. Unlike Jerusalem in the exile, there will be no remnant or […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 28 secs | 0 Comments
The cycles of judgement have ended! One of the angels comes to John to show him how Babylon, the beast and the prostitute come to a sticky end. In chapter 17 we see how Babylon is the counterfeit church, just as Satan, the beast and the prostitute are a counterfeit trinity. Babylon is corrupt; the church […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 44 secs | 0 Comments
It feels like it’s getting very repetitive! And that’s the point. John is telling the story of the end, leading to the judgement, from different perspectives, rather than giving us a linear timeline of events. After all how many last battles can there be? (6:16-17; 15:1; 16:14) The first bowls are similar to the first […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 19 secs | 0 Comments
The seven bowls are similar to the seven trumpets – the first four will result in devastation of the four regions of the creation – land, sea, fresh water and sky and they are similar to the Exodus plagues. Where the trumpets affected a third of their area, the bowls affect the whole. The seven […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 6 secs | 0 Comments
The 144,000 represents all believers in their completeness, just like in chapter 7. Here sexual purity is a symbol for spiritual purity. Christ’s followers have been made righteous by Jesus and as a pure bride have kept themselves from Babylon, the prostitute and beast! Of course sexual purity is one aspect of spiritual purity, as […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 57 secs | 0 Comments
The beast rises out of the sea, representing a persecuting power – a demonised state – its description is hideous, yet people choose to worship it instead of the loving creator and Father God. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in Daniel 3, experienced this kind of state. While western democracies don’t insist on literal worship, citizens […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 5 secs | 0 Comments
The third cycle is made up of seven symbols or signs, which aren’t numbered, but tell us of the histories of seven key symbolic characters – the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, the 144,000, angelic announcers and the Son of Man. Again it leads up to the second coming in 14:14-20. Opposing the Lord […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 2 secs | 0 Comments
The second part of the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet is the two witnesses. They are like Moses and Elijah, performing miracles. They are like two olive trees and two lampstands, recalling Zechariah 4:1-14. They represent the Lord on earth standing against the beast. Who are they? 1) Two prophets who were martyred […]