The Book Of Revelation: The Dragon, The 7 Bowls, Babylon, The Millennial Reign, And The New Jerusalem

"The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of His Messiah have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out:

the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives

in the face of death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens,

and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, for the Devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows he has a short time.” -Revelation 12:10-12

Revelation 12 seems to me to be the center point of the book of Revelation, the first 11 chapters have really dealt with one main theme, the scroll sealed 7 times being opened seal by seal by Jesus. But in Revelation 12 we see this mysterious depiction of war in heaven, particularly focusing on 3 elements, a woman, a child, and a dragon.

It's very mysterious and to understand it we have to first understand that Revelation 12 seems to be set up in a chiastic format. A sort of mirror effect of main point 1, main point 2, main point 3, then main point 2, and main point 1. A sort of rise and fall.

But basically, the entire chapter seems to center on the theme of Satan being cast out of heaven. We don’t have time to get too much into Revelation 12. But it’s very important, really the center piece of the entire book of Revelation. And this great controversy in the universe centers on one creature, the serpent, the dragon, Satan. And his crazed rebellion.

So next in chapter 13 we see the anti-christ, this mockery that Satan has developed to be an opposite to Jesus. Very strange and mysterious. It says,

Revelation 13:1-4 "And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. He had 10 horns and seven heads. On his horns were 10 diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear’s, and his mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but his fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against him?”

The Mark of the beast is dealt with at the end of Rev 13. It says,

Revelation 13:15-18 “15 He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of his name."

Buying or selling is restricted by the world government existing at this future date in history. But it seems to be a world-wide religion in which this mysterious "beast" is worshiped by almost all people. But somehow this "mark" gives the beast control of people, where they are no longer eligible for salvation if they take the mark. So it's a choice to do it or not to do it. But they pressure you by eventually saying, you can't even buy or sell anything unless you take it. That's a lot of pressure. No buying? No food. No nothing.

Then it says in verse 18: "Here is wisdom: The one who has understanding must calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man. His number is 666.”

I'm not going to speculate on 666. But it's certainly something worth exploring. But it's important to remember. This won't seem like the nightmare that it is. It’s going to seem great. It’s going to seem like utopia, like a paradise. But it’s all a deception.

Revelation 14:1-3 “Then I looked, and there on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was also like harpists playing on their harps. 3 They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”