Recap

So far in Revelation, we've read through the messages to the seven churches, the courtroom scene, the three sets of seven divine judgements, and the destruction of Babylon. Revelation, attributed to John, reveals the spiritual battles behind earthly struggles, asking: will you choose light or darkness? Addressed to seven churches, it presents Jesus as ruler of kings, cleansing believers through his blood, and uniting Daniel 7’s imagery of God and the Son of Man.

John described seven lampstands representing churches and stars for their angels, with Jesus commissioning him to deliver messages. Ephesus needed renewal, Smyrna was encouraged to stay faithful, Pergamum and Thyatira faced corruption, Sardis needed revival, Philadelphia was promised protection, and Laodicea was urged to recognise spiritual poverty. These messages reminded believers of the spiritual battle and called for repentance.

John saw heaven’s throne, where twenty-four elders symbolised humanity’s restored role as co-rulers with God. Living creatures and elders worshipped, while a scroll sealed seven times awaited opening. Declared worthy, the Lion of Judah appeared as a slaughtered lamb with seven horns, symbolising authority. The lamb’s blood redeemed people from all nations, forming a kingdom of priests. Worship spread to all creation.

The lamb opened the seals, bringing three cycles of seven judgements. The first seals summoned the horsemen—war, conflict, famine, and death. The fifth revealed martyred believers awaiting God’s plan, and the sixth brought apocalyptic upheaval. Between the sixth and seventh seals, John saw believers marked with God’s seal and a vast multi-national crowd purified by the lamb. The seventh seal brought silence before the Day of the Lord.

The seven trumpets echoed Egypt’s plagues, symbolising divine warnings. Between the sixth and seventh trumpets, an angel announced the seventh would reveal God’s mystery and final judgement. John measured the temple, representing believers as God’s true temple, and referenced three and a half years, signifying a period cut short. Two witnesses, symbolising the church, prophesied with power but were seemingly defeated by a beast. Like Jesus, the church rose again, leading to the seventh trumpet proclaiming Jesus’ eternal reign.

John then described signs of a spiritual battle. A woman, representing God’s people, gave birth to a son, Jesus, who was taken to God for safety. A red dragon, Satan, waged war in heaven, defeated by Michael, and cast to earth, where it persecuted believers. Two beasts arose, representing oppressive empires and false worship. The mark of the beast signified allegiance to evil powers, contrasting God’s mark on believers.

During this persecution, John saw the Lamb on Mount Zion with 144,000 loyal followers. Three angels proclaimed worship to God, Babylon’s fall, and judgement on the beast’s followers. Jesus harvested believers while angels harvested for God’s wrath. Seven final judgements unleashed plagues, blood, and fire, echoing Egypt and declaring Babylon’s fall, urging loyalty to God.

John then turned to Babylon symbolised by a seductive woman seated on chaotic waters and a dragon. She embodied economic corruption, rebellion against God, and persecution of believers. Alongside the beast, she represented empires' dual nature. They were war and destruction. She was moral and economic decay.

The beast’s horns symbolised rulers who opposed God, but the Lamb would defeat them as “King of kings.” An angel declared Babylon’s fall, urging believers to separate from her corruption. The world mourned her economic power, but heaven rejoiced at her judgement. Babylon’s culture and influence would vanish, consumed by the chaos it fuelled.

Revelation 19-20

With Babylon, the epitome of all oppressive empires, defeated we move into the final sections of the book. Heaven begins to rejoice for God’s judgement on Babylon and the forces of evil is just and definitive. This praise spreads to the elders and the four living creatures.

Then a voice from the throne calls for all who are servants of God and a great multitude begin praising God, celebrating that it is time for the Lamb to marry his bride. An angel declares that those who are invited to this marriage supper are blessed.

This marriage supper is the ultimate reconciliation of the earth. We’ve seen people enjoying meals with God before (see Genesis 18, Exodus 24:9-11). Isaiah spoke of God hosting many people with a great banquet where we would destroy all evil and death (Isaiah 25:6-8). This is that moment we’re now working to.

But before we can do that, evil and death need to be destroyed. The great empires and forces of oppression have been defeated in Babylon, but there are still the beast and the dragon to defeat.

John then sees a rider on a white horse, who is called Faithful and True. This passage is meant to be a depiction of Jesus and it is filled with Old Testament allusions as well as references to the gospels. He has come to judge in righteousness (Psalm 96:13) with eyes like flames of fire (Isaiah 64:3).

He wears many crowns with a name inscribed on them (potentially a reference to the high priest's turban with the name of God inscribed on it in Exodus 39:30). His clothes are dipped in blood symbolising his sacrifice, and he is the Word of God (John 1:1).

He leads an army dressed in white showing their purity and holiness. His mouth is like a sharp sword and he rules with an iron rod, which is a reference to Psalm 2, which is about the king of God reuniting the nations of the earth.

An angel calls for those ready for the great supper. It’s a gruesome metaphor that describes the bodies of those destroyed in judgement being eaten in the supper. It probably wouldn’t be a metaphor we’d use today, but the point is that this day of judgement will be a point of celebration soon.

And so the two armies assemble to do battle. The forces of evil versus the forces of God. Except to call it a battle is maybe over doing it. The beast and its prophet are immediately captured and through into a lake of fire. And the armies of the beast are put to death.

There was no fight or wrestling. There’s no debate about what the outcome of this battle was going to be. Victory was swift and definitive.

But then we seem to step back, as an angel with keys to the bottomless pit to bind up the dragon for a thousand years. During this thousand years, those who were faithful to God and were killed are raised to life to reign with Jesus.

After the thousand years, Satan, the dragon, will be allowed out to gather its forces for battle. John is drawing on Ezekiel 37-38 with the judgement on Gog and Magog. The dragon and its armies assemble to strike down the believers but fire comes down to consume them and the dragon is thrown into the same lake of fire and false prophet forever.

At which point a throne appears and all that have died, wherever and whenever they died, and they were judged. Those that were judged positively were added to the book of life. And then death itself was thrown into the lake of fire, along with those whose names weren’t in the book of life.

There’s a lot in these passages. What is the thousand years? What is the dragon locked up and then released again? Is the lake of fire an eternal thing that burns forever, or does it just destroy what is thrown into it?

We can’t answer all these questions here. When it comes to the thousand years, there are many interpretations. Amillennialism interprets the thousand years mentioned in Revelation symbolically, viewing it as the current church age where Christ reigns spiritually from heaven, and there is no literal millennium.

Premillennialism holds that Christ will return before a literal thousand-year reign on earth, initiating a period of peace and divine rule known as the millennium.

Postmillennialism believes that Christ will return after a golden age of Christian flourishing and societal improvement on earth, during which the gospel spreads widely, ultimately leading to the millennium before Christ’s second coming.

We have also been reading the much of Revelation as cycles, so it may be that the battle against the beast and the prophet in Revelation 19 are the same battle as the one against the dragon in Revelation 20, and the same battle that defeats Babylon in Revelation 18.

What we can say is John is suggesting that there will be a point of judgement, that he describes in military language, that will mean that all evil, oppression, death, and darkness are done away with, while those that are faithful receive life. So again, we have that unspoken question. Which will you choose?

Psalm 45

This psalm is attributed to the sons of Korah and falls into the category of royal psalm. Royal psalms are psalms that are focused on either God as king or on a human king. This psalm was likely recited at a royal wedding.

Psalm 45:1 - The psalmist introduces themselves

Psalm 45:2-9 - Praise directed at the royal groom

Psalm 45:10-15 - Praise directed at the royal bride

Psalm 45:16-17 - Final blessings over the royal groom

The psalm opens with the psalmist declaring their intentions to sing the king a poem to mark his wedding day.

They then launch into praise for the king, describing his beauty and eloquence of his words. As a king, the psalmist encourages him to step into the authority and victory that is rightfully his, strapping on his sword and going out to battle.

The psalmist points to God’s throne and majesty. Just as God has conquered evil and reigns in power, he has allowed the king to conquer his enemies and reign with authority over the lad. 

Because of this, God has, and will continue to, bless the king with great riches. He has rich oils and fragrances to enjoy, as well as a palace and musicians. His court is filled with many great and upright women, and the greatest of them all stands next to him, ready to be his wife.

At this, the psalmist changes focus to the bride. They acknowledge the homesickness she must feel being away from her people and family, in a foreign land ready to marry the king. But they encourage her not to dwell on it too long.

Instead, she should take pride in her new husband, for, as queen, she is also blessed with great luxuries. Her bed chamber is great, and she has many different expensive clothes to enjoy. The psalmist is trying to show her that she is no longer a daughter in her father’s house, but a queen in her own house.

And so, the psalmist turns back to the king and speaks a blessing over him. He will leave a legacy as his sons will one day take over from him, as he took over from his father and fathers before him. His memory will be upheld and he will be praised among the nations.

Psalm 45 is at face value a hymn to be sung at a royal wedding, and it has value as such. But as well that this psalm would take on a messianic quality, and would come to reflect Jesus’ relationship with the church. We know this because the writer of Hebrews would quote it in reference to Jesus (Hebrews 1:8-9). 

Like the bride, we are called to leave our old life behind and take pleasure in our new king and groom.