Questions about the book of Revelation (not questions about the revelation of God's will/plan/instruction in general).
11
votes
4answers
1k views
What is meant by “Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire”?
In Revelation 20:14 (ESV) we read:
"Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the
second death, the lake of fire."
The concept of "fire" is used multiple times in the New ...
10
votes
2answers
346 views
Who is the woman in Revelation 12?
She is introduced:
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.—Revelation 12:1 (NIV)
Who is the ...
10
votes
1answer
100 views
Why is the tribe of Dan missing from Revelation 7:5-8?
We have been studying the book of Revelation and it was noted that the tribe of Dan was missing from the list of tribes of Israel listed in Revelation 7:5-8. Is there any biblical explanation why Dan ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
Revelation 21:21 - How can gold appear clear?
"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass." (Revelation 21:21 NASB)
How are we to ...
9
votes
3answers
686 views
Who are the morning stars in Job 38:7?
In Job 38:7 (ESV), Jehovah claims that the cornerstone of the earth was laid
when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy
implying that the morning stars were ...
8
votes
3answers
278 views
Is Revelation 3:14 saying that Christ was created by God?
Revelation 3:14 (KJV)
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Most ...
8
votes
5answers
3k views
What is the “hidden manna” and the “white stone”?
From Revelation 2:17:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a ...
7
votes
3answers
309 views
What is the meaning of “calculate” in Revelation 13:18?
This is perhaps the most famous prophesy in popular culture:
This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his ...
7
votes
1answer
54 views
Why are there two harvesters in Revelation 14?
In Revelation 14:15-16, at seemingly the end of the age, we have this scene:
Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your ...
6
votes
2answers
187 views
Who/what are the two witnesses in Revelation 11?
In Revelation 11:3-12, God says he will appoint his two witnesses - "two olive trees", "two lampstands" - as prophets for 1260 days. They end up being overpowered and killed by the beast, seemingly in ...
6
votes
1answer
218 views
Does the seventh seal do anything?
In Revelation 6 the Lamb begins to open the seven seals of a scroll. Six seals are opened in this section. After the sixth seal is opened and its judgements unleashed, everyone hides from the wrath of ...
5
votes
5answers
164 views
Are there any rules on which things in Revelation must be interpreted literally and which symbolically?
Are there any rules on which things in Revelation must be interpreted literally and which symbolically? The one that comes from the back of my mind is that if a certain thing or a character is already ...
5
votes
3answers
311 views
Who are the 144,000 sealed in Revelation 7?
In Revelation 7:4-8, John hears the number of those sealed: 144,000 from the tribes of Israel (with Dan notably missing, but Manasseh rounding out the twelve). The same(?) 144,000 also appear with the ...
5
votes
2answers
360 views
Did Jesus wear pants?
While researching this question, I came across an article I'd rather not link to1 that asserted that Jesus wore pants. The particular bit of evidence they cited was:
Then I saw heaven opened, and ...
5
votes
3answers
163 views
How are we to interpret the Moon turning into blood, in Joel 2:31 and Rev 6:12?
In Joel the moon is mentioned as getting 'dark'.
The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. (Joel 2:10, ESV)
...
4
votes
4answers
152 views
Contextually, which English translation/ Greek text seems more probable in Rev. 5:10?
In the King James Version of Rev. 5:10, we find the following phrase,
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
If we examine the immediate context, the ...
4
votes
6answers
1k views
What is the “first resurrection”?
Finishing up the year in the Bible, I heard this passage:
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been ...
4
votes
1answer
103 views
Who is speaking in Revelation 1:8?
Revelation 1:8 (NIV):
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
In the NASB, the quote above appears in red letters (i.e. words ...
4
votes
1answer
107 views
How do Revelation 19 and 20 relate to one another?
I know some people think that the visions in Revelation 20 are a chronological continuation of the one at the end of chapter 19, while others think that the visions in chapter 20 are a re-framing and ...
3
votes
1answer
133 views
Are there intra-textual supports for a politicized reading of Revelation?
I've just read Nelson Kraybill's "Apocalypse and Allegiance" and have become fascinated by the idea of Revelation as a political manifesto concealed as apocalyptic literature in the style of Daniel.
...
3
votes
1answer
42 views
Why does Revelation 8:1 use ὅταν instead of ὅτε?
I do not know Greek, so hopefully I am not just embarrassing myself with this question; but here goes.
For the first six seals in Revelation, John introduces them using ὅτε:
1 - Καὶ εἶδον ὅτε ...
2
votes
3answers
279 views
Are the twenty-four elders of Revelation 4-5 angels or humans?
In Revelation 4-5, John pictures a scene of worship around God's throne in heaven. Around the throne are twenty-four other thrones on which are seated twenty-four elders (πρεσβυτέρους). I've always ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Who is the bride of Christ?
If the church is the bride of Christ"
Eph. 5, II Cor. 11:2:
I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to
one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to ...
2
votes
2answers
77 views
Does Revelation 21:9-11 equate the Bride of the Lamb with the City Jerusalem?
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
And ...
2
votes
1answer
110 views
What kind of theological meaning does “pantokrator” carry?
Revelation 4:8 refers to God as κύριος, ὁ θεός, ὁ παντοκράτωρ, generally rendered Lord God Almighty. I'm interested in the last word: ὁ παντοκράτωρ. Would this have connoted omnipotence as the English ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
Who is judging who in Revelation 20:4?
The following verse towards the end of Revalation has an interesting turn of phrase:
Revelation 20:4 (ESV) (emphasis mine)
4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the ...
2
votes
2answers
94 views
Is there any exegetical reason for believing the seven churches of Revelation correspond to seven successive “church ages”?
The Book of Revelation self-identifies as a letter to seven churches:
John to the seven churches that are in Asia -v.4
John explains his experience to them as follows:
I, John, your brother ...
1
vote
4answers
238 views
What is the status of the Law in the Messianic Age? [closed]
In Isaiah 2:3, we are told the following:
And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ...
-1
votes
1answer
211 views
Why is Revelation included in the New Testament canon? [closed]
The book of Revelation seems to be very different from the other books included in the New Testament. What reasons are there that legitimatizes its place in Biblical canon?
