Queen's Road Cell

For Thought and Discussion:  a. Why are the dead who die in the Lord from this point on blessed? " Write this "  John is commanded to write twelve times—three times in relation to the book as a whole, seven times for the messages in Revelation 2–3, and twice of statements here and in 19:9–which emphasizes the importance of what is spoken.   These are the ones who endure, keep God's commandments, hold on to their faith, whose deeds are good in the sight of God.   " Those who die in the Lord " includes all those who come to the end of life before Jesus returns, and not merely those who are martyred.  " From this moment on " refers to the period that began with Jesus’ death, and the assurance is similar to Paul’s assurance for the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 4:13–18) that, because of Jesus’ resurrection, death is not the end but a time of awaiting the general resurrection of all humanity. {Paul, Tyndale Commentary)   It is possble that the dead in Christ afte...

Some think Revelation 14:1-5 portrays the 144,000 in Jerusalem after they have passed through the beasts' persecution and reached glory in the heavenly Kingdom.   Mount Zion (14:1). Zion was the fortress of Jerusalem, the city David captured and made into his capital. Zion came to be used as a synonym for Jerusalem. There is a heavenly Mount Zion, as in Hebrews 12:22-24 (" But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering")   In 21:2-3, the heavenly Jerusalem/Zion comes down to the new earth. (cf. Gal 4:26 "the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother", Ps 2:5 - the King is set in Zion, Ps 74:2 - God dwells in Zion.)   1. Explain in your own words the chief characteristics of the redeemed 144,000 (14:4-5 ). They have the Lamb's name and the Father's name writen on their foreheads (v.1). In contrast to the mark of the beast, they belong to God. They  sing a new so...

In his campaign to make war on the woman's offspring, the dragon employs two agents: the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth John's beast from the sea sums up characteristics of all four of Daniel's (Da 7). It represents every empire. The beast from the earth is elsewhere called the false prophet (16:13, 19:20, 20:10). Greek has two words for another. One means "another of the same kind" and the other means "another of a different kind." In Revelation 13:11, the word refers to another beast of the same kind as the first one. In a similar way, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be "another Counselor" like Himself (John 14:16)     8. As Christ is God's representative, so the sea beast is Satan's. He is often called the antichrist for this reason: he is a gross parody and opposite of Christ. Below, describe the ways in which the beast distortedly mimicks what Christ is and does.      Christ The beast f...

1. Briefly describe what John sees in each of the following passages: 12:1-6   The woman and the dragon. Not "And I saw..." but "And a great sign appeared", suggesting public knowledge.  12:7-12  War in heaven, a hymn of praise. Initiated by the enthronement of the male son in death and resurrection (Jn 12:31). 12:13 - 13:1   Deliverance of the woman from the dragon.  13:2-10  The beast from the sea 13:11-18   The beast from the earth    2. In your own words, explain what you think is the meaning of John's vision in 12:1-6.   The woman is the faithful people of God, from whom the Messiah come s (cf. Gen 37:9).  The woman is in distress from labour pains (cf. Is 26:17, 66:7-9). The child is prophesied in Ps 2:9, seen again in Rev 19:15. The people and the Messiah are always the target of Satan, but they are protected    3. What can we learn about Satan (his character, activities, and destiny) from 12:7-1...