In this writing John tells us that “The seven heads of the beast are seven mountains” [Rev. 17:9], scholars say this is a reference to the famous seven hills of Rome. Chapter 13 tells us that the dragon, who is Satan, gave authority to the beast (Rome) to draw worship from the people. The 1st Roman emperor to demand that the people refer to him as “Lord and God” on an empire-wide basis was Domitian. It was under Domitian that the apostle John was sent to the Isle of Patmos. The 1st Commandment told those who believe that they couldn’t worship false gods, so John sounded the alarm regarding Domitian’s challenge.
THE GRAND THEME
It is that of two warring powers, both God and Satan, and of God’s ultimate victory over evil. These two great powers are NOT equal in strength, for God is much stronger than Satan. In spite of Satan knowing his eventual demise, he continues to scheme and plot to trip of the brethren of God. This is only because God allows him to do so for his own purposes. When the final battle takes place we find that it is NO contest, as Satan and his demons are utterly destroyed, without a contest, by fire from above (Rev. 20:7-10).
The apostle John displays God’s majesty and power thru two key words. The first word is found in the image of the THRONE. Elsewhere in the NT the word ‘throne’ is found a total of 15 times; however, in Revelation it occurs a whopping 42 times. The ‘throne’ stands for the rightful reign of God over the course of history. Angelic choruses bow before the ‘throne’ of God and chanting, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty” (Rev. 4:8).
The second key word is ALMIGHTY. Outside Revelation this word only shows up once in the NT (2 Cor. 6:18) but occurs nine times in this book. Once it shows up as the word “OMNIPOTENT” in Rev. 19:6. ‘Almighty’ means essentially “without contenders”. No matter how fierce and evil Satan may be, he cannot defeat ‘Almighty’ God. He will fulfill his promises and accomplish his divine, sovereign purpose in history in HIS time and in HIS way.
Jesus Christ is the central figure in God’s army. Revelation isn’t a book of multiple revelations, but rather ONE revelation; that being Jesus Christ himself. John’s first vision was of Christ standing in the midst of the seven candlesticks, which represent his churches, with eyes blazing like fire, which stands for the “all-seeing” nature of our Lord. He had feet like fine brass which speaks of his being “all-powerful”. His hair was like snow white wool which tells the reader that he is “eternal and all-knowing”. Finally, he had a sharp two-edged sword coming from his mouth which is the “word of truth”. [“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12]
Christ is the “first and the last” (Rev. 1:11; 22:13), whose final promise was and is “Surely I am coming quickly” (Rev. 22:20). As a side note I’d like to point out what 2 Peter 3:8 has to say: “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” So for Jesus to say “quickly” obviously means a lot different that our definition of that word. God isn’t constrained by time as we are. He does whatever he does in his own time, for he knows the perfect time for such things to take place. That’s largely why we must exercise our faith and trust in God. He never fails. His plans are inscrutable; nothing or no one can stop what God has coming for us all.
Next we’re going to continue our deep dive into this all important book. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Source: Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995.
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