2017

Revelation’s fourth vision—that of Seven Mystic Figures (Rev. 12:1–14:20)—ends without a full resolution. We have seen six of the seven figures. John has revealed the destiny of the Man-Child; he is in heaven on his throne (Rev. 12:5). The Lamb is on Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1). However, John will not reveal…

Our application of inmillennialism to this section of Revelation (Rev. 14:1–5) introduces the sixth mystic figure in this vision—the Lamb on Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1). The Dragon (Satan) has attempted to destroy the Man-Child (Christ) at his birth (Rev. 12:4; cp. Matt. 2:16). When the Man-Child ascended to heaven (Rev.…

We now come face-to-face with an evil triad. The Seven Mystic Figures vision has already revealed the Dragon (Rev. 12:3–17) and the Sea Beast (Rev. 13:1–10). Now John introduces us to the Land Beast (Rev. 13:11–18). “This second beast completes the triumvirate of evil—the dragon, the sea beast, and the…

We need to chat about prophetic beasts. Our interpretation of Revelation using the inmillennial model requires it. They will play a major role in the rest of Revelation’s drama. In an earlier post, we saw how the Seven Mystic Figures vision describes the generation between Jesus’s birth and the destruction of the…

Only once in world history has an entire generation served as a picture of a future generation. The apostle Paul said this was true for the generation alive during Israel’s Exodus from Egypt (1 Cor. 10:6, 11). The events of that generation were “types” (or pictures) of events during the…

The Seven Mystic Figures vision makes a slight change to the timeframe of the first two judgment visions. They concentrated on the “great tribulation” Jesus predicted in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:1–3, 21, 34; Rev. 7:14). This vision focuses on the entire generation of Jesus’s life on earth. It begins with…

666 conjures up mystical images of evil. That fact that 666 is the sum of the numbers on a roulette wheel, or that the Aryan Brotherhood uses it in tattoos, or that Apple, Inc. used it as the name of a wicked computer virus does not surprise us. Many Christians…

If I were John Bunyan, author of the famous Pilgrim’s Progress, I might write an allegory about Mr. Inmillennialist traveling through the book of Revelation with four companions, Misters Premillennialist, Dispensationalist, Postmillennialist, and Amillennialist. At the end of the third vision, they would say to him, The first six trumpets…

This post deals with the “two witnesses” John describes in Revelation 11. We are publishing it on Oct. 31, 2017. This day marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg. This act started the Protestant Reformation. We will recognize this historic…

One proof of a good theory is its ability to suggest answers to difficult problems. We have seen how our prophetic model—inmillennialism—does this in Hebrews. We are now applying this framework to John’s visions in Revelation. The complications increase here due to the many prophetic images in this book, but,…