Caesar

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…

The message is hard to avoid: Caesar is Lord! Coins circulate throughout the Roman Empire proclaiming the Emperor’s divinity. The “divine” power has increased since Julius, the first Caesar, established the Empire in 49 BC. One of his successors, Nero, now uses it in every area of life. In the…

Revelation’s bookend time stamps raise important questions. If we interpret them as literal truth statements, what profound event(s) happened soon after John saw these visions? What fulfilled his about-to-be prophecies? The answer depends on another important question: When did John see these visions? Most conservative scholars limit the possible date…