Here’s a video summary of the first half of Revelation. This is a particularly challenging book, and these videos are a helpful resource!!
THIS WEEK
This section of Revelation immediately continues the story begun in chapters 4-5. The Lamb (Jesus), who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll held by God, begins to open the scroll one seal at a time. After the seventh seal, we begin a second pattern of sevens, the seven trumpets. After each event (seal or trumpet) something momentous occurs, often related to the judgment of God.
The first four seals (6:1-8) unveil the four horsemen. What does each horseman represent?
The fifth seal affirms the faithfulness of the martyrs, both those who have died and those yet to die for their faith. We also see martyrs mentioned in Revelation 11. What is the role of the faithful during the judgment of God?
Notice again that the timeline of Revelation is not linear. The events of the sixth seal sound like the end of the world, and yet the story continues.
What strikes you as particularly strange or confusing in this section? How do you make sense of some of these strange illustrations (for example, the army of locusts with human faces)?
The end of chapter 11 sounds like a natural ending point for the book; and yet it continues. What aspects of chapter 11 sounds like a conclusion to the story?
NEXT WEEK
Chapters 12-14 discuss the dragon, the beasts, and the Lamb - strange stuff! Don’t worry too much about the stuff you don’t understand; just keep reading. Chapters 15-16 include the third group of sevens, the seven bows. This section concludes with a conversation about “the whore of Babylon,” which is a metaphor for the city of Rome.
Stick with it this week!
Peace,
Jim