Lesson 2The Alpha and the Omega (Part 2)

Amen! Hallelujah! – A Study of the Book of Revelation

By Dale Wells

Text: Rev 1.1-8; Rev 22.8-12

The Old Testament background of the book

In 404 verses, there is not a single OT quote Yet, there are hundreds

of allusions to the OT 278 verses (70% of the

book) references the OT UBS Greek NT cross-

references the OT 500+ times

By contrast, Paul's letters contain only 95 direct quotes and about 100 other allusions to the OT

In Revelation, we see, among many others …

Balaam & BalakJezebelThrone in heavenFour living creaturesBeast out of the seaSong of MosesFall of BabylonNew heaven and earthNew JerusalemTree of lifeAll right out of the OT

Seven golden lampstands

Rev 1:12 WEB I saw seven golden lampstands. Reminiscent of the menorah in the tabernacle and in Zechariah's vision. Exo 25:31-40 WEB “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. … You shall

make its lamps seven. Zec 4:2 WEB He said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I have seen …a

lampstand all of gold, with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon …

One like a son of man.

Rev 1:13-16 WEB And among the lampstands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. …

The picture comes from OT image of the Messiah

Dan 7:13 WEB I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man,…

The scene in Revelation 4-5 takes place around God's throne in heaven

Rev 4:2-5 WEB … Behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting on the throne … There was a rainbow around the throne … There were seven lamps of fire burning before his throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

The description imports aspects of the visions of several prophets

Isa 6:1 WEB … I saw the Lord sitting on a throne... Dan 7:9-10 WEB I saw until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat … his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels of it burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him...

Around God's throne in Revelation 4, John saw 4 living creatures

Rev 4:6-8 WEB … The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each … having six wings, are full of eyes around about and within. …

The words are reminiscent of OT images of God

Eze 1:5-10 WEB Out of the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. ... Everyone had four faces … the face of a man … the face of a lion … the face of an ox … the face of an eagle.

When the Lamb opens the first 4 seals, John sees 4 horses and riders

Rev 6:1-8 WEB …the Lamb opened one of the seven seals … And behold, a white horse … When he opened the second seal, … Another came forth, a red horse. … When he opened the third seal … behold, a black horse … When he opened the fourth seal, … behold, a pale horse

The horses and riders are a reminder of God's judgments in the OT

Zec 6:1-8 WEB … I … saw … four chariots … In the first … were red horses; in the second … black horses; in the third … white horses; and in the fourth … dappled horses, all of them powerful … “These are the four winds of the sky, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. …

Rev 7 depicts 4 angels being held back until God's people are sealed.

Rev 7:1-8 WEB … I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. I saw another angel … having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Don't harm the earth … until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!” …

This picture is reminiscent of a similar passage in Ezekiel 9

Eze 9:1-6 WEB … Behold, six men … every man with his … weapon in his hand; and one man … clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. … The glory of the God of Israel … called to the man clothed in linen, … Go … set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh … over all the abominations … To the others he said … Go you through the city after him, and strike: don't let your eye spare, neither have you pity; … but don't come near any man on whom is the mark …

In Revelation 10, John is told to eat a little book that an angel gives him

Rev 10:8-11 WEB … “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” I went to the angel … He said to me, “Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter...

This episode is reminiscent of an experience of the prophet Ezekiel

Eze 2:8-3:3 WEB … When I looked, behold, … a scroll … He said to me, Son of man, eat that which you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll. He said to me, Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

In Revelation 11, John is told to measure God's temple

Rev 11:1-2 WEB A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, “Rise, and measure God's temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don't measure it, for it has been given to the gentiles. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months.

Zechariah similarly envisioned a man measuring Jerusalem

Zec 2:1-5 WEB … behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then I asked, “Where are you going?” He said to me, “To measure Jerusalem ...” … and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, 'Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, … For I,' says Yahweh, 'will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.

In Rev 12, John sees a war in heaven with Satan thrown to earth

Rev 12:7-9 WEB There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. They didn't prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

The description sounds like a similar description in Isaiah 14

Isa 14:12-15 WEB How you are fallen from heaven, day-star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; … I will make myself like the Most High. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

In Revelation 13, John sees a beast coming out of the sea

It has features of a leopard, bear and lion.Rev 13:1-2 WEB Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

In a similar OT passage, Daniel saw four beasts coming out of the sea Dan 7:1-7 WEB … I saw in my vision … behold, the four winds of the sky broke forth on the great sea. Four great animals came up from the sea... The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings… another animal, a second, like a bear… another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; … a fourth animal … and it was diverse from all the animals that were before it; and it had ten horns.

In Rev. 14, God's judgment is seen as a harvest of grain, then grapes

Rev 14:14-20 WEB … “Send forth your sickle, and reap… for the harvest of the earth is ripe!” He … thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped … “Send forth your sharp sickle … for the earth's grapes are fully ripe!” The angel … gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The winepress was trodden … and blood came out … even to the bridles of the horses, as far as one thousand six hundred stadia.

In the OT, harvesting grain and grapes depict God's judgment

Joe 3:12-14 WEB "… Put in the sickle; For the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full, The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.” … Isa 63:1-6 WEB Who is this who comes from Edom … Why are you red in your clothing, and your garments like him who treads in the wine vat? I have trodden the winepress alone… I trod down the peoples in my anger … and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.

Rev. 18 begins with the proclamation that “Babylon the great” has fallenRev 18:1-3 WEB After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky… He cried with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great… For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.”

The prophets made similar proclamations in the OT

Isa 21:9 WEB Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the … images of her gods are broken to the ground. Jer 51:7-8 WEB Babylon … who made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed…

We could go on and on

These examples barely scratch the surface of the rich allusions to the Old Testament that permeate Revelation. John refers to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Psalms, Exodus, and Deuteronomy. He often reinterprets Old Testament passages, giving them new meanings. In order to understand Revelation, you have to know the Old Testament.

The historical setting of the book

Julio-Claudian Dynasty Augustus (27 BC-14 AD) Tiberius (14-37 AD) Caligula (37-41 AD) Claudius (41-54 AD) Nero (54-68 AD)

Civil WarGalba (68-69 AD)Otho (69 AD)Vitellius (69 AD)

Flavian DynastyVespasian (69-79 AD)Titus (79-81 AD)Domitian (81-96 AD)

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Imperator Caesar Augustus

Emperor 27 BC - 14 ADFounder of the Roman Empire & nephew of Julius Caesar.

On Caesar's death (44 BC), he used Caesar's money and name (both acquired by will) to raise an army and extort a consulship from the Senate.

He had the Senate declare Julius a God, thus making himself the “son of god.”

Octvaius took the western Roman world, leaving Antony the eastern. Octavius defeated Antony & Cleopatra in 31 BC and emerged as the sole ruler of the Roman world.

The significance of the throne name Augustus

His throne name, Augustus (“exalted”), had religious overtones.Rome gave him the title Pater Patriae (‘Father of his Country’) in 2 BC, and on his death made him a god (Divus Augustus).Augustus accepted deification in the Roman provinces, thus laying the foundation for the concilia, or emperor cult. Jesus was born during his reign. Luk 2:1-5 WEB Now it happened in those days, that a decree went

out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. … (4) Joseph … went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; (5) to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus

Emperor 14 – 37 ADStepson of Augustus.

His reign was a political disaster and a reign of terror by the praetorian prefect Sejanus.

The people despised him. He moved to the island of Capri in 26 & never returned to Rome.

Jesus’ ministry and death occurred during his reign.

Luk 3:1-2 WEB Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar… (2) in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula)

Emperor 37 – 41 ADYoungest son of Germanicus and Agrippina.

He was brought up in an army camp and nicknamed Caligula from his little boots (caligae).

He was extravagant, autocratic, vicious, and mentally unstable.

He wreaked havoc with the state finances and terrorized those around him, until he was assassinated.

He demanded worship and ordered that his statue be placed in the Jerusalem temple, but he died before the order was carried out.

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Emperor 41 - 54 ADNephew of Tiberius.

He was kept secluded because of physical disabilities.

He became emperor after Caligula's murder.

He was progressive, engaging in public works and reform.

Poisoned by his fourth wife, Agrippina.

He expelled Jews from Rome. Act 18:1-3 WEB … (2) He found

a certain Jew named Aquila … who had recently come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome …

Imperator Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Emperor 54 - 68 ADAgrippina, urged Claudius to adopt Nero, then poisoned him, making Nero emperor.

First years were good, thanks to his mother, Seneca, and the Praetorian Prefect Burrus.

After his mother's murder (59), corruption set in.

He was blamed for the Fire of Rome (64) and tried to blame Christians.

Rome endured four more years of tyranny before he was toppled by the army, and forced to commit suicide.

Peter and Paul were martyred during Nero’s reign.

Civil War

69 AD – The Year of Four Kings On January 1, 69 AD, Galba was on the throne On December 31, 69 AD, Vespasian was on the throne. Between Galba and Vespasian, two emperors occupied the throne.

Otho (3 months) Vitellius (8 months)

Flavian Dynasty

Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus

Emperor 69 – 79 ADDeclared emperor by the troops during the Jewish Revolt.

He ended civil wars, put Rome on a good financial footing, and restored military discipline.

He built the Colosseum.

His last words: “Puto deus fio” (“I think I'm becoming a god”). After death, he was deified.Revelation was likely written during his reign.

Rev 17:9-11 WEB ... The seven heads … (10) … are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come … (11) The beast … is … an eighth…

Imperator Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus

Emperor 79 - 81 ADElder son of Vespasian. He was popular for his generosity, charm, and military prowess. He was exceptionally good-looking, cultivated, refined and friendly. Suetonius called him “the darling of the human race”. He engineered the destruction of Jerusalem (70) and suppressed the Jewish Revolt. He completed the construction of the Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Colosseum. His sudden death at age 41 was likely hastened by Domitian.

Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus

Emperor 81 – 96 ADYounger son of Vespasian, and last of the Flavians. He was paranoid about opposition after the revolt of Saturninus, the Governor of Upper Germany (89). He unleashed a reign of terror in Rome that lasted until his assassination.He demanded to be called Lord and God. He initiated an extremely severe persecution of Christians. Revelation was written to prepare Christians for his persecution.

The essential message of the book

Revelation is a message to seven churches in First Century Asia Minor.

Rev 1:4-5a WEB John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia …

These seven churches are typical of the church as a whole. We know that, because each letter ends with a word to all the churches.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22 WEB

The author identifies himself as John four times.

Rev 1:1 WEB This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ … which he ... made known by his angel to his servant, John, Rev 1:4 WEB John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia … Rev 1:9 WEB I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev 22:8 WEB … I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things …

Revelation was written as Christians were facing impending persecution.

Most hold it was during the reigns of Nero (54-68) or Domitian (81-96). I believe it was during Vespasian's reign (69-79).

Rev 17:10-11 WEB They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven...

The 5: Julio-Claudians: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero The 3: Flavians: Vespasian, Titus, Domitian

Roman authorities were beginning to enforce emperor worship.

Christians were facing increasing hostility.

Warning to Smyrna: Rev 2:10 WEB ... the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be

tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Promise to Philadelphia: Rev 3:10 WEB … I … will keep you from the hour of testing which is to come on the

whole world ...

Christians were already suffering for their faith.

In Pergamum, Antipas had given his life. Rev 2:13 WEB … You hold firmly to my name, and didn't deny my faith in the

days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Others had been martyred. Rev 6:9 WEB … I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been

killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had.

John had been exiled to a penal colony on Patmos.

Rev 1:9 WEB I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

John's purpose in writing is clear.

He writes to encourage the faithful to resist the demands of emperor worship. He tells his readers that the final showdown between God and Satan is imminent. Satan will increase his persecution of believers, but they must be faithful, even if it means death. They are sealed against any spiritual harm and they will be vindicated when God judges his enemies and rewards his people.

The message is “grace” and “peace”.

“Grace” refers to blessings we don’t deserve.“Peace” refers to harmony with God in the middle of turmoil. There is a good reason why biblical writers like Paul and John made use of the combined greeting: “Grace and peace”.

In the 1st Century, the greeting of the Greeks was the Greek charis, meaning “grace”; the greeting of the Jews was the Hebrew shalom, meaning “peace”.

By using both greetings, the writers emphasized the inherent unity of Jew and Gentile in Christ!

Who is the author of grace and peace?

The eternal God, “who is … was and … is to come”. This is the way God identified himself to Moses.

Exo 3:14 WEB God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: “I AM has sent me to you.”

It is also one way God identified himself to Israel. Isa 41:4 WEB Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh,

the first, and with the last, I am he.

The meaning of “Yahweh” is “the existing one”. It doesn't matter whether you are talking about the past, or the present, or the future, God always IS!

Grace and peace are also gifts from the Holy Spirit.

“[T]he seven Spirits who are before his throne” refers to the Holy Spirit. The NIV footnote suggests an alternate reading that may actually give us a better concept of what John is getting at: “the sevenfold Spirit”. Remember the use of numbers in the Book of Revelation? To say that the Spirit is “the sevenfold Spirit” is to say that the Holy Spirit is engaged in seeing that the whole work of God is accomplished. It is God's Spirit at work!

Last, but not least, grace and peace are the gift of Jesus Christ, himself.

Jesus is described three ways.

He is the “faithful (reliable) witness”. Rev 3:14 WEB “The … Faithful and True Witness … says... Rev 19:11 WEB I saw … a white horse, and he who sat on it is called

Faithful and True …

He is the “firstborn of the dead”. This is reminiscent of the Davidic king.

Psa 89:27 WEB I will … appoint him my firstborn Paul describes Jesus this way:

Col 1:18 WEB He is … the firstborn from the dead

He is “ruler of the kings of the earth”. The descriptions of the king and of the Messiah.

Psa 89:27 WEB I will … appoint him ... highest of the kings of the earth. Rev 19:16 WEB “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation turns on the question: Who rules?

The emperor thought he ruled the world. He was mistaken! Revelation has as its theme: God Rules!

Doxology

At this point in the text, John erupts in spontaneous praise. He extols the wonderful works that Jesus has done on our behalf! Rev 1:5b-6 WEB To him who loves us, and washed us from our

sins by his blood; and he made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

He begins with the words, “To him who loves us”.

This is a present, active participle. (The KJV incorrectly renders it as a past tense, “loved”.) Often, in Greek, when a word is in the present tense and active voice, it conveys both (1) present action, and (2) ongoing action. Thus, the meaning is not just that Jesus loves us now, but that he never stops loving us! His love continues – past, present, and future. There is no end to Jesus' love for us!

John says that Jesus “washed us from our sins by his blood”.

That may be an incorrect translation. Most modern Greek editions have lusanti, (“loosed”), not lousanti (“washed”). They sound

the same, but they are spelled slightly differently. Regardless of whether we read “loosed” or “washed”, the meaning is not radically different

for the Christian.

It is the form of the word that is telling. It is an aorist participle – referring to a completed past action. Jesus has “loosed” or “washed” us from our sins, so that we are no longer bound to, or

sullied by them.

John continues to say that Jesus has made us into something special.

Rev 1:6 WEB... [H]e made us … a kingdom, priests to his God … This was God's plan for Israel:

Exo 19:6 WEB “you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” Isa 61:6 WEB But you shall be named the priests of Yahweh; men shall call you the ministers of our

God…

The church, “God's Israel” (Gal 6:16), is “a kingdom” (not “kings”, as in KJV); Christians are “priests”.

1Pe 2:9 WEB But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

The coming of the Lord

Rev 1:7 WEB Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen. The Bible says a lot about the “coming” of the Lord. Most people do not understand the “coming” of the Lord. Most think of the “Second Coming”.Much of the time, when the Bible talks about the Lord “coming”, it is not talking about the "second coming."The Bible speaks of several times when the Lord has “come”.

Prophets used it to describe God's judgment on a nation, or a people.

Isa 13:9-11 WEB … the day of Yahweh comes … For the stars of the sky and the constellations of it shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity: and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. This is not the end of the world, but the end of Babylon's world:

Isa 13:1 WEB The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah … did see.

In other passages, the same motif occurs.

Isa 19:1 WEB The burden of Egypt. Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. According to Isaiah, God is riding on a cloud and wreaking all sorts of

havoc in the world. But the text clearly says that this is God's judgment on Egypt.

Isa 30:30-31 WEB Yahweh will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, and tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of Yahweh shall the Assyrian be dismayed; with his rod will he strike him. In this text, God describes a coming judgment on Assyria in terms

reminiscent of the Book of Revelation.

When you read those texts a common theme emerges.

The Coming, or Day of the Lord, refers to the day when the Lord judges a nation and punishes it for its sins. John says the Lord is coming. We must view that from a First Century perspective.

God had judged Babylon, Egypt, Assyria and Israel with previous comings.

John assures 1st Century Christians that he is going to judge Rome, as well. As we shall see, that is the empire against whom the Lord's coming is directed in the Book of Revelation.

And the ungodly will be sorry about the way they treated Jesus.

Rev 1:7 “[E]very eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him.” That is reminiscent of the prophet Zechariah.

Zec 12:10-14 WEB I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, …

The “coming” of the Lord is the day of reckoning and the day of reward! Whether the coming of the Lord is good news or bad news depends entirely on your relationship to him when he comes!

Trust God!

Rev 1:8 WEB “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”Revelation's message is simple: “Trust God”.God describes himself as “the Alpha and Omega”. These were the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. That is like saying he covers our needs from “A to Z”. There isn't anything he isn't capable of dealing with.

He is the one “who is and who was and who is to come”.

This reminds us of his self-revelation to Moses at Sinai. Exo 3:14 WEB God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You

shall tell the children of Israel this: “I AM has sent me to you.”

Yahweh signifies existence. God IS! Others come and go. In Egypt, there were many Pharaohs and

many dynasties. One had a 10 lesson course in who rules – we call it the plagues. He finally learned that Pharaohs come and go; but God IS and God RULES!

Down through the OT, others had to learn their lesson the hard way.

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that led to him being deposed. He was off the throne, and quite insane, until he acknowledged that God IS and God RULES! You can read the story in Daniel 4, but the bottom line was Nebuchadnezzar's final realization:Dan 4:34-35 WEB At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation. …

Revelation was written when the church was facing more upstart kings

In First Century Rome, there was a group of fellows who thought they ruled the world.

Revelation is God's promise that the Roman emperors were going to learn the same lesson Egypt's Pharaohs and Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar learned:

Kingdoms of the world come and go; God's kingdom remains. In other words, God IS and God RULES!

There is one last, great word that John uses to describe God.

It is the Greek pantokrator, which means “all powerful”.

This is a word that we're going to find in a number of contexts through the book.

Those around God's throne extol him as “the Almighty”.

Rev 4:8 WEB The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around about and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!”Rev 11:16-17 WEB The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God's throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned.

The “Song of the Lamb” and the altar praise God as “the Almighty”.

Rev 15:3 WEB They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations.

Rev 16:7 WEB I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”

There is a battle on “the great day of God, the Almighty”.

Rev 16:13-14 WEB I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, something like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go forth to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty.

When God judges Rome, the elders praise God as “the Almighty”.

Rev 19:6 WEB I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! Jesus executes the wrath of God, “the Almighty”.

Rev 19:15 WEB Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.

In the description of the “the new Jerusalem”:

Rev 21:22 WEB I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

John never lets us forget that God is “the Almighty”.

He doesn't want the reader to lose sight of who’s really in control – God IS and God RULES!