Bible History
Picture Study Bible with Maps and Background Information
5. upon . . . forehead . . . name--as
harlots usually had. What a contrast to "HOLINESS TO
THE LORD," inscribed on the miter on
the high priest's forehead!
mystery--implying a spiritual fact heretofore hidden, and
incapable of discovery by mere reason, but now revealed. As the union
of Christ and the Church is a "great mystery" (a spiritual truth of
momentous interest, once hidden, now revealed,
Eph 5:31, 32),
so the Church conforming to the world and thereby becoming a harlot is
a counter "mystery" (or spiritual truth, symbolically now revealed). As
iniquity in the harlot is a leaven working in "mystery," and
therefore called "the mystery of iniquity," so when she is
destroyed, the iniquity heretofore working (comparatively) latently in
her, shall be revealed in the man of iniquity, the open
embodiment of all previous evil. Contrast the "mystery of God" and
"godliness,"
Re 10:7;
1Ti 3:16.
It was Rome that crucified Christ; that destroyed Jerusalem and
scattered the Jews; that persecuted the early Christians in pagan
times, and Protestant Christians in papal times; and probably shall be
again restored to its pristine grandeur, such as it had under the
Cæsars, just before the burning of the harlot and of itself with
her. So HIPPOLYTUS [On Antichrist] (who
lived in the second century), thought. Popery cannot be at one and the
same time the "mystery of iniquity," and the manifested
or revealed Antichrist. Probably it will compromise for
political power
(Re 17:3)
the portion of Christianity still in its creed, and thus shall prepare
the way for Antichrist's manifestation. The name Babylon, which in the
image,
Da 2:32, 38,
is given to the head, is here given to the harlot, which marks
her as being connected with the fourth kingdom, Rome, the last part of
the image. Benedict XIII, in his indiction for a jubilee, A.D. 1725, called Rome "the mother of all
believers, and the mistress of all churches" (harlots like herself).
The correspondence of syllables and accents in Greek is
striking; "He porne kai to therion; He numphe kai to arnion."
"The whore and the beast; the Bride and the Lamb."
of harlots--Greek, "of the harlots and of
the abominations." Not merely Rome, but Christendom as a whole,
even as formerly Israel as a whole, has become a harlot. The invisible
Church of true believers is hidden and dispersed in the visible Church.
The boundary lines which separate harlot and woman are not
denominational nor drawn externally, but can only be spiritually
discerned. If Rome were the only seat of Babylon, much of the
spiritual profit of Revelation would be lost to us; but the harlot
"sitteth upon many waters"
(Re 17:1),
and "ALL nations have drunk of the wine of her
fornication"
(Re 17:2;
Re 18:3;
"the earth,"
Re 19:2).
External extensiveness over the whole world and internal conformity to
the world--worldliness in extent and contents--is symbolized by the
name of the world city, "Babylon." As the sun shines on all the earth,
thus the woman clothed with the sun is to let her light penetrate to
the uttermost parts of the earth. But she, in externally Christianizing
the world, permits herself to be seduced by the world; thus her
universality or catholicity is not that of the Jerusalem which
we look for ("the MOTHER of us all,"
Re 21:2;
Isa 2:2-4;
Ga 4:26),
but that of Babylon, the world-wide but harlot city! (As Babylon
was destroyed, and the Jews restored to Jerusalem by Cyrus, so our
Cyrus--a Persian name meaning the sun--the Sun of righteousness,
shall bring Israel, literal and spiritual, to the holy Jerusalem at His
coming. Babylon and Jerusalem are the two opposite poles of the
spiritual world). Still, the Romish Church is not only accidentally and
as a matter of fact, but in virtue of its very
PRINCIPLE, a harlot, the metropolis of whoredom,
"the mother of harlots"; whereas the evangelical Protestant Church is,
according to her principle and fundamental creed, a chaste woman; the
Reformation was a protest of the woman against the harlot. The spirit
of the heathen world kingdom Rome had, before the Reformation, changed
the Church in the West into a Church-State, Rome; and in the
East, into a State-Church, fettered by the world power, having
its center in Byzantium; the Roman and Greek churches have thus fallen
from the invisible spiritual essence of the Gospel into the elements of
the world [AUBERLEN]. Compare with the "woman"
called "Babylon" here, the woman named "wickedness," or "lawlessness,"
"iniquity"
(Zec 5:7, 8, 11),
carried to Babylon: compare "the mystery of iniquity" and "the
man of sin," "that wicked one," literally, "the lawless
one"
(2Th 2:7, 8;
also
Mt 24:12).
JFB.
The Book of Revelation
Revelation 1:9-11 - I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Revelation 19:11-16 - And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 22:18-20 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation in The New Testament - A Brief Overview
Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620
Introduction to The Book of Revelation
Brief Summary. John describes the seven churches in Asia, he records the visions that he received, and in the prophecy Jesus returns as the kinsman redeemer to claim this world as His inheritance. The final battle unfolds in a 7 year period through a series of seal, trumpet, and bowl judgements, He casts the antichrist and false prophet into the lake of fire and sets up the New Jerusalem, the new heaven and new earth for the redeemed. The book of Revelation is in harmony with the prophecies in the Old Testament especially the ones written by Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah.
Summary of The Book of Revelation
Author. John the apostle names himself as the one who wrote down what the Lord said through the angel. The earliest writers in the church like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria and the Muritorian all credit John the apostle as author of the book of Revelation.
Date. John indicates that he was on the Island of Patmos when he received the prophecy (Revelation 1:9). According to tradition John wrote during the reign of the Emperor Domitian which would have been around 95 AD. Tradition also states that John was released the next year and was allowed to return to Ephesus. Domitian was perhaps the cruelest Emperor toward the Christians, demanding that he was to worshipped as deity, or be put to death.
Audience. John said that the prophecy was directed to the seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:4).
Outline of the Book of Revelation
Description and Fate of False Teachers - 1:1-16
Encouragement to Believers in Christ - 1:17-25
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus"
would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or
consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A).
Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means
"The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".
The Book of Revelation Resources
Map of the Roman Empire (14 A.D.) - This map reveals the Roman Empire during the time shortly after the birth of Jesus, in 14 AD at the time of the death of Augustus. The order which prevailed in this extensive empire, the good military roads, and the use of Koine Greek as the general language of culture throughout the area were among the factors which multiplied the rapid spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey (48 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia Minor where Paul visited in his first missionary journey. Around 48 AD, in the springtime, Paul and his companions Barnabas and Mark were sent on a mission from the church in Antioch. This would be the first of Paul's Missionary Journey's. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey (51 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his second missionary journey. Paul re-visits a couple cities in Asia, one of which was Lystra where he was stoned and left for dead a few years earlier. He later has a vision that leads him over to Greece and Paul and his companions travel and minister in various cities in Greece (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth. Later Paul returns to Ephesus and finally to Caesarea and Antioch. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Third Missionary Journey (54 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his third missionary journey. On Paul's third missionary journey he returned to the cities he had first visited on his first missionary journey. During this time he decided to remain in Ephesus for about 3 years, and this city was the main focus of his activities and an important Christian community (Acts 19). (Color Map)
Map of the New Testament World - This map reveals the "Nations" within the ancient world during the first century A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the areas of Israel, Asia, Greece, and Italy. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Greece This map reveals the cities within Greece in the ancient world during the first century A.D.,The map includes the principal cities of Greece like: Athens, Corinth, and Thessalonica, and provinces like Macedonia and Achaia. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Asia - This map shows the cities within
Asia Minor during the first century A.D., the time of the New
Testament. The map includes the principal cities of Asia
including Tarsus, Ephesus, and Colossae, and provinces like
Galatia and Pamphilia. (Color Map)