Jews and The Revelation of John
First, please let me affirm for you that Jesus' Jewishness was very important to him and to his ministry. As you note in Romans 11, being Jewish is even important for Gentile Christians. In the Old…
Righteous Scarcely Saved
The point of Peter's argument in this section of the letter is that Christians should expect to suffer for Christ's sake (1 Pet. 4:12-16), and that in their suffering they should entrust themselves…
Tribulation and the Antichrist
This is typically drawn from Daniel 7 and 9; Revelation 11:2; 13:5; etc. It relies on understanding the 42 months or 1260 days of Revelation 11:2,3; 12:6; 13:5 as the "time, times and half a time" of…
Loss of Salvation in Revelation
It kind of sounds like Revelation 22:19 is teaching that we can lose our salvation, doen't it? We know from the rest of the Bible, though, that our salvation is secure. The tricky part in this…
Rapture, Millennium, Wrath
If I understand you correctly, you understand the Bible to teach that there will be a future period of tribulation, followed by the return of Christ and the rapture of the church. Generally, when…
Mark of the Beast
Let me preface this answer by saying there is incredible disagreement over the interpretation of Revelation, and great speculation in many cases. In approaching this difficult book, I presuppose a…
144,000 People
Revelation does not specifically identify the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7 and 14, so my answer will have to be somewhat speculative. I should begin by stating that I do not ascribe the visions…
Knock, Knock
There are at least a couple ways to answer your question: First, Revelation 3:20 is part of a letter written to the Christian church in Laodicea. There is no indication that the people who open the…
Prostitutes and Marriage Beds
1 Corinthians 6:18 This vese speaks of prostitution, not masturbation. Prostitution is explicitly identified as the topic of Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 6:15-17. 1 Corinthians 6:18 begins a…
John and Patmos
We are not told specifically why John was on Patmos, but the Roman Empire used the island as a place for exiles. In Revelation 1:9 John related that he was on Patmos as a "fellow partaker in the…
Is it Wrong to Confess Your Sin?
Bob George's doctrine that Christians should not confess their sins to God is totally unbiblical, his interpretation is unsound, and those who follow his teaching cut themselves off from an important…
Sin that Leads to Death
On the issue of sins that do and don't lead to death, in my estimation Paul and John may be speaking of different kinds of death. Paul is speaking of eternal death as a spiritual state (in contrast…
Evil and the Binding of Satan
First, I think it is worth noting that Revelation 20 does not say there will be less evil in the world when Satan is bound. Rather, it says that there will be less demonic deception. Demonic…
3 Covenant Groups
Yes, in the New Testament we also have three communities, just like in the Old Testament. Those who break the new covenant were only ever part of the visible community, not the invisible. If we are…
The White Horseman
The context of Revelation does not seem to suggest that the white horseman is either antichrist or Jesus. Rather, the context of the horsemen seems to indicate that each one represents a typical form…
Jude 23
In the Epistle of Jude, Jude is writing against different types of false brethren within the church, and exhorting the church to be faithful. Verses 22 and 23 contain Jude's instructions on how the…
How "Bound" is Satan?
There isn't really one single position that amillennialism takes on the binding of Satan. Rather, there is an assortment of views that amillennialists take. My understanding, which is pretty common…
Using 666
In the context of Revelation 13:18, it is a symbolic number that is associated with the antichrist. Suggestions have been made regarding its referent, including Nero Caesar, whose name can be counted…
Unchangeable Christ
The book of Hebrews spends much energy describing Christ's superior priesthood, and explains his superiority partially in terms of his permanence. Because he abides a priest forever, he is able to…
Revelation Date of Composition
That's a really good question! I'm afraid, however, that I can't answer it. Scholars hotly debate the issue of the dating of the writing of Revelation. The biggest question on everyone's mind is…
Canon Closed
I know that some people have argued that Revelation closes the canon so that no further revelation can follow, but I don't think this is a compelling argument. The biggest problem is that "this book"…
Identity of Seven Spirits
Revelation does not make entirely clear who/what these spirits are. They are mentioned in 1:4; 3:1; 4:5 and 5:6, but even this frequency does not make it easy to discern. I really haven't come to any…
Revelation and Interpretation
Revelation is interpreted in different ways by different people. Some people read its style as purely allegorical, others understand it in a woodenly literal fashion, and others believe that some…
Sanctification in Hebrews 12:14
Although there are many mentions of holiness or sanctification as definitive consecration in Hebrews, in this particular case the author was speaking of progressive purity. One way to know this is…