WeeKly BooK oF Revelation
paraphrased study
When we left off last week, the dragon was raging, now to be more attentively upon “the faith’s other children” - which, surely(?) brings us to Revelation 16’s gathering to Armageddon battle (Mt.13:30). End of chapter 12. End of one of three tellings of the vision. Chapter twelve being the middle telling. “..And the dragon stood on the sand of the sea shore”.. How he turns rage on Israel and takes the world to Armageddon brings us to chapter 13.
13:1 - And I saw a (many headed geopolitical) beast (entity, institution) rising up, out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on the horns of it, and upon the heads of it, names of blasphemy [blasphémia - slander]. 2 And the beast that I [John] saw was like a leopard, but with feet like a bear's, and its mouth, like a lion's mouth. (All predators.) And the dragon gave to it, his power and his throne and gave it great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound was healed. (And it comes about that) the whole world is filled with wonder [thaumazó - marvel, wonder, admiration] and will follow after the beast. 4 And (so) they revered the dragon, who had given the authority to the beast, and they revered the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? And who can make war against it?” (“And they shall say ‘Peace! Peace!’” But *alas! Dan.12:11 and 2:43; Dan.12:11-12 w/ Lk.19:41-44 and 1Cor.3:16.)
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and slanderous/blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. (This is the second 42 months/3.5 years of the lauded peace [covenant, treaty, league] that *alas, will only last seven years, and will be broken in the middle against Israel - Rev.12:17.) 6 It opened its mouth to utter slanders against God, blaspheming his name and his tabernacle, and those tabernacling in heaven. [Angels.] 7 Also it was allowed to make war upon the saints [believers/followers] and to conquer them. And authority was given to it over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 And all who dwell upon earth will revere it, everyone whose name has not been written in the book of life of the lamb who was slain from the founding [katabolé - laying down] of the world [kosmos - order, the world, a properly ordered system, universe, creation]. (Why was that the remedy? The slain lamb, remedy of what God knew was bound to occur.. his having allowed that man and angel be thinking, reasoning beings, which includes having some power of choice. God surely(!?) does not need to be appeased, though think of the guiltiest of guilty consciences.. At the same time, yes Jesus paid - in biblical manner of speaking - our debt to universal society, and the remedy must be strong enough to convince all, from the most ‘innocent’ among us, to the most heartless and cruel. The penalty/result of straying from God who is Life, is death, this entropy and passing away. But “death could not hold him” for he is and was Perfect, the only straight out from God one. Entering death he had the key to unlock death and so set the captives (all of us) free. Important note - The initiaL conditions of some upon GWT judgment ‘day’ is portrayed in the rich man and Lazarus parable, and in the outside of the vision narrative of Rev.22.)
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🗝️ [ ] - word/language insights, facts, cross references, etc.
( ) - thots
See Intro - This Year’s Revelation Study
📜🍞+🍷🕊️(+Logic)
The logic of things running their
course as opposed to some
sort of ant farm.
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