the dragon and the future

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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the dragon and the future

Revelation 12:1-18

Revelation 12:1 A great sign appeared in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
Revelation 12:2 She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth.
Revelation 12:3 Then another sign appeared in the sky: Notice, there was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven crowns.
Revelation 12:4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them to the land. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child.
Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne.
Revelation 12:6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be nourished there for 1,260 days.
Revelation 12:7 Then war broke out in the sky: Michael and his agents fought against the dragon. The dragon and his agents also fought,
Revelation 12:8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in the sky any longer.
Revelation 12:9 So the great dragon was thrown out — the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to land, and his agents with him.
Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in the sky say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down.
Revelation 12:11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not care about their throats to the point of death.
Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, you skies, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the land and the sea because the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows his time is short.
Revelation 12:13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the land, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male child.
Revelation 12:14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time.
Revelation 12:15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.
Revelation 12:16 But the land helped the woman. The land opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.
Revelation 12:17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring — those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.
Revelation 12:18 The dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

the dragon and the future

This one gets a bit complicated, but here’s how I see it:

There is an enemy. He is the dragon, the serpent, the devil (9). He opposes God’s plan for the future, and has sought to thwart that plan.

The enemy first sought to thwart God’s plan for redemption and restoration by preventing the birth of the Messiah – the mail child. Before Christ was born, Satan sought to destroy Israel – from whom the Messiah was to descend.

When that didn’t work, Satan set himself and his forces to destroying both Israel (from whom Christ came) and the church (for whom Christ came) (7). Neither of these plans of the devil will be accomplished. While individuals can be killed, God’s plan and his people will survive.

LORD, thank you that the enemy’s plans will not succeed.

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victory in the future

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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victory in the future

Revelation 11:1-19

Revelation 11:1 Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there.
Revelation 11:2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the sacred city for forty-two months.
Revelation 11:3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”
Revelation 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the land.
Revelation 11:5 If anyone wants to wrong them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to wrong them, he must be killed in this way.
Revelation 11:6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the land with every plague whenever they want.
Revelation 11:7 When they finish their testimony, the wild animal that comes up out of the depthless place will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them.
Revelation 11:8 Their dead bodies will lie in the main street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Revelation 11:9 And some of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb.
Revelation 11:10 Those who live on the land will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the land.
Revelation 11:11 But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them.
Revelation 11:12 Then they heard a loud voice from the sky saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to the sky in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
Revelation 11:13 At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand humans were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of the sky.
Revelation 11:14 The second woe has passed. Notice, the third woe is coming quickly!
Revelation 11:15 The seventh agent blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in the sky saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ages and ages.
Revelation 11:16 The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God,
Revelation 11:17 saying, We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
Revelation 11:18 The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your slaves the prophets, to the devotees, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the land.
Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God in the sky was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.

victory in the future

The age in which we live is often one where the people of God and the word of God are in conflict with the kingdom of the world. This chapter reveals that – in the future – that will change. When the seventh trumpet blows, the “kingdom of the world (will become) the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (15).

THere is both persecution from man and protection from God in this chapter, but the most important truth revealed is that the victory will eventually come. The time given for the nations to trample the holy city is limited. The future victory is certain.

LORD, give us strength to endure whatever we might face as we witness to your gospel. We know that the victory you promise is sure.

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a sealed future

Posted on June 8, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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a sealed future

Revelation 10:1-11

Revelation 10:1 Then I saw another mighty agent coming down from the sky, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire,
Revelation 10:2 and he held a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land,
Revelation 10:3 and he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders raised their voices.
Revelation 10:4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from the sky, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!”
Revelation 10:5 Then the agent that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to the sky.
Revelation 10:6 He swore by the one who lives for ages and ages, who created the sky and what is in it, the land and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will no longer be a delay,
Revelation 10:7 but in the days when the seventh agent will blow his trumpet, then the mystery of God will be completed, as he announced to his slaves the prophets.”
Revelation 10:8 Then the voice that I heard from the sky spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the agent who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
Revelation 10:9 So I went to the agent and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”
Revelation 10:10 Then I took the little scroll from the agent’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter.
Revelation 10:11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

a sealed future

John sees the future as a “mystery” that is revealed to him, but he is told to seal it up and not to write it down. It should be enough to know that God has a plan, and that when the time is right, there will be no more delay. Our tendency is to be impatient with God. We have a glimpse in the sweet word of God of the precious inheritance that awaits us, but after eating the little scroll, it turns bitter in our stomach. The troubles of today make us forget about the blessed hope.

One of the big ideas revealed in Revelation is that God has a plan that he has set in motion. It involves “many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” They have a destiny. Because of the gospel we preach – some will come to Christ and join us in eternity. Others will experience his judgment. We do not know the future – at least not all of it. But we can trust the one who does.

LORD, give us the wisdom to proclaim your gospel to the lost, and trust you with the future.

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pain in the future

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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pain in the future

Revelation 8:6-9:21

Revelation 8:6 And the seven agents who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
Revelation 8:7 The first agent blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the land. So, a third of the land was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
Revelation 8:8 The second agent blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. So, a third of the sea became blood,
Revelation 8:9 a third of the creatures having throats in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Revelation 8:10 The third agent blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water.
Revelation 8:11 The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the humans died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.
Revelation 8:12 The fourth agent blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light and also a third of the night.
Revelation 8:13 I looked and heard an eagle flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the land, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three agents are about to sound!”
Revelation 9:1 The fifth agent blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the land. The key for the shaft to the depthless place was given to him.
Revelation 9:2 He opened the shaft to the depthless place, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft.
Revelation 9:3 Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the land, and power was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the land.
Revelation 9:4 They were told not to wrong the grass of the land, or any green plant, or any tree, but only those humans who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads.
Revelation 9:5 They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it stings a human.
Revelation 9:6 In those days humans will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.
Revelation 9:7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. Something like golden crowns was on their heads; their faces were like human faces;
Revelation 9:8 they had hair like women’s hair; their teeth were like lions’ teeth;
Revelation 9:9 they had chests like iron breastplates; the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots with horses rushing into battle;
Revelation 9:10 and they had tails with stingers like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power to wrong humans for five months.
Revelation 9:11 They had as their king the agent of the depthless place; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Revelation 9:12 The first woe has passed. Notice, there are still two more woes to come after this.
Revelation 9:13 The sixth agent blew his trumpet. From the four horns of the golden altar that is before God, I heard a voice
Revelation 9:14 say to the sixth agent who had the trumpet, “Release the four agents bound at the great river Euphrates.”
Revelation 9:15 So the four agents who were prepared for the hour, day, month, and year were released to kill a third of the human race.
Revelation 9:16 The number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number.
Revelation 9:17 This is how I saw the horses and their riders in the vision: They had breastplates that were fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and from their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur.
Revelation 9:18 A third of the human race was killed by these three plagues — by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths.
Revelation 9:19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails, which resemble snakes, have heads that do wrong.
Revelation 9:20 The rest of the humans, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.
Revelation 9:21 And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.

pain in the future

I have not been entirely convinced by the various interpretations of this passage that I have read. This seems like a prophecy requiring a number of clues to get at its interpretation. What I do get is that the events it describes take place in John’s future, but before the return of Christ. The wars and plagues are felt by the population of the whole earth. The most unbelievable words here are “the rest…did not repent.” But we have to admit that it accurately describes the stance this world has taken to the sufferings it has faced.

LORD, help us to listen to our pain. May it drive us to you and not from you.

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citizens of the future

Posted on June 6, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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citizens of the future

Revelation 7:1-8:5

Revelation 7:1 After this I saw four agents standing at the four corners of the land, restraining the four winds of the land so that no wind could blow on the land or on the sea or on any tree.
Revelation 7:2 Then I saw another agent rising up from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four agents who were allowed to wrong the land and the sea:
Revelation 7:3 “Don’t wrong the land or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.”
Revelation 7:4 And I heard the number of the sealed: 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:
Revelation 7:5 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
Revelation 7:6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
Revelation 7:7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
Revelation 7:8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.
Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and noticed a vast crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 7:10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!
Revelation 7:11 All the agents stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four animals they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
Revelation 7:12 saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God for ages and ages. Amen.
Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from?”
Revelation 7:14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. The one seated on the throne will shelter them:
Revelation 7:16 They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any scorching heat.
Revelation 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in the sky for about half an hour.
Revelation 8:2 Then I saw the seven agents who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them.
Revelation 8:3 Another agent, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the devotees on the golden altar in front of the throne.
Revelation 8:4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the devotees, went up in the presence of God from the agent’s hand.
Revelation 8:5 The agent took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the land; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

citizens of the future

Revelation 7:1-8:5. The future will be populated by those redeemed “of the sons of Israel” (the 144,000 representing Jews saved during the first century) and also “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” Their eternal destiny is sure in spite of the fact that harm will come to the earth and the sea. God’s promise to them (us) is that they we will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any scorching heat.

He also promises that he will hear their prayers. The prayers go up to him like incense at the altar.

LORD, we trust you to make our dreams of the future a reality, and to shepherd us during this dark and trying age.

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the age before the future

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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the age before the future

Revelation 6:1-17

Revelation 6:1 Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four animals say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”
Revelation 6:2 I looked and noticed a white horse. Its rider held a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.
Revelation 6:3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second animal say, “Come!”
Revelation 6:4 Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its rider was allowed to take peace from the land, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.
Revelation 6:5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third animal say, “Come!” And I looked and noticed a black horse. Its rider held a set of scales in his hand.
Revelation 6:6 Then I heard something like a voice among the four animals say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not wrong the oil and the wine.”
Revelation 6:7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth animal say, “Come!”
Revelation 6:8 And I looked and noticed a pale green horse. Its rider was named death, and Hades was following after him. They were given authority over a fourth of the land, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the land.
Revelation 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the throats of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.
Revelation 6:10 They cried out with a loud voice: “Lord, the one who is sacred and true, how long until you judge those who live on the land and avenge our blood?”
Revelation 6:11 So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow slaves and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.
Revelation 6:12 Then I saw him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of hair; the entire moon became like blood;
Revelation 6:13 the stars of the sky fell to the land as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind;
Revelation 6:14 the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
Revelation 6:15 Then the kings of the land, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
Revelation 6:16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,
Revelation 6:17 because the great day of their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”

the age before the future

The four chariots of Zechariah 6 represent spying out the land, but the four horses of Revelation 6 are war horses. They represent attacks against the whole earth. This chapter parallels Jesus’ descriptions of this age of tribulation that will continue until his second coming. The saints are not delivered from this tribulation, but endure it. Those who pay the ultimate price for their faith (martyrdom) are told to continue resting (in their graves) until the whole number of martyrs should be complete (11). This age ends with the population hiding in fear from the wrath of the Lamb. The future will be a time of blessing for those ransomed by the Lamb, but a time of wrath and destruction for all others.

LORD, give us the wisdom and courage to reach out to the enemies of the Lamb, so that they do not have to face his terrible wrath.

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a certain future

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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a certain future

Revelation 5:1-14

Revelation 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.
Revelation 5:2 I also saw a mighty agent proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
Revelation 5:3 But no one in the sky or on land or under the land was able to open the scroll or even to look in it.
Revelation 5:4 I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it.
Revelation 5:5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Notice, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Revelation 5:6 Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four animals and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven breaths of God sent into all the land.
Revelation 5:7 He went and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one seated on the throne.
Revelation 5:8 When he took the scroll, the four animals and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the devotees.
Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Revelation 5:10 You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the land.
Revelation 5:11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many agents around the throne, and also of the animals and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands.
Revelation 5:12 They said with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!
Revelation 5:13 I heard every creature in the sky, on land, under the land, on the sea, and everything in them say, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ages and ages!
Revelation 5:14 The four animals said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

a certain future

John sees a scroll – a picture depicting all the events that must take place for all creation to be reconciled to God. The only one worthy of opening the scroll – thus revealing the future – is the Lamb. He was slain, and by his blood has ransomed people for God. That is why we have a certain future. It is certain, and we can know it because it is written on the scroll. The Lamb is revealing it to us. What is certain about our future?

We will be ransomed because of Christ’s death on the cross.
We will be a kingdom of priests.
We will reign on the earth.

LORD, thank you for giving us a destiny, and revealing it to us in your word.

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a Christo-centric future

Posted on June 3, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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a Christo-centric future

Revelation 4:1-11

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and noticed in the sky was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
Revelation 4:2 Immediately I was in the Breath, and noticed a throne in the sky and someone was seated on it.
Revelation 4:3 The one seated there looked like jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that looked like emerald surrounded the throne.
Revelation 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.
Revelation 4:5 Flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven breaths of God.
Revelation 4:6 Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four animals covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side.
Revelation 4:7 The first animal was like a lion; the second animal was like an ox; the third animal had a face like a human; and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle.
Revelation 4:8 Each of the four animals had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying, Sacred, sacred, sacred, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come.
Revelation 4:9 Whenever the animals give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives for ages and ages,
Revelation 4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives for ages and ages. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,
Revelation 4:11 Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your desire they exist and were created.

a Christo-centric future

John’s picture of the future continues with a picture of the redeemed universe. He sees…

24 elders on 24 thrones that make a circle around the perimeter of the scene. The represent redeemed humanity of all time.

Forming a smaller circle around the throne in the center are the four animals. They represent – wait for it – all the animals of the future. They have both diversity and unity. The unity is focused on the final element of the scene.

In the center of the universe of the future is Christ on his throne. He will be eternally praised because he both created all things and brought redemption.

LORD, you are the center of the universe. May we so live as to witness to that reality to a world that has forgotten it.

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the future of overcomers (2)

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

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the future of overcomers (2)

Revelation 3:1-22

Revelation 3:1 “Write to the agent of the congregation in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven breaths of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 3:2 Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God.
Revelation 3:3 Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you.
Revelation 3:4 But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothing, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.
Revelation 3:5 “In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his agents.
Revelation 3:6 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Breath says to the congregations.
Revelation 3:7 “Write to the agent of the congregation in Philadelphia: Thus says the Sacred One, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens:
Revelation 3:8 I know your works. Notice, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have only a little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Revelation 3:9 Notice: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have cared about you.
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the land.
Revelation 3:11 I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.
Revelation 3:12 “The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God — the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of the sky from my God — and my new name.
Revelation 3:13 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Breath says to the congregations.
Revelation 3:14 “Write to the agent of the congregation in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation:
Revelation 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.
Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:17 For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
Revelation 3:18 I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.
Revelation 3:19 All those as I like, I rebuke and discipline. So be passionate and repent.
Revelation 3:20 Notice! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:21 “To the one who conquers I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Revelation 3:22 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Breath says to the congregations.”

20250602 the future of overcomers (2)

Christ promised a future for those who persevered against the difficulties that they would face and stayed true to him:

For overcomers in Sardis, Christ promised the white robes of victory and celebration (1-6; 19:7-8).
For overcomers in Philadelphia, Christ promised stability and a new name – associated with God and his new creation (7-13; 21:10-11).
For overcomers in Laodicea, Christ promised authority and glory represented by sitting on his throne with him (14-22; 20:4).

LORD, help us to persevere through the trials of the present so that we might realize the future you have promised.

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the future of overcomers (1)

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Jefferson Vann

20250601 the future of overcomers (1)

Happy Back to the Future Day by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

Revelation 2:1-29

Revelation 2:1 “Write to the agent of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands:
Revelation 2:2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.
Revelation 2:3 I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name and have not grown weary.
Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the care you had at first.
Revelation 2:5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent and do the works you did first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Revelation 2:6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Revelation 2:7 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Breath says to the congregations. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:8 “Write to the agent of the congregation in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life:
Revelation 2:9 I know your tribulation and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan.
Revelation 2:10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Notice, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience tribulation for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Revelation 2:11 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Breath says to the congregations. The one who conquers will never be wronged by the second death.
Revelation 2:12 “Write to the agent of the congregation in Pergamum: This is what the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword says:
Revelation 2:13 I know where you live — where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was put to death among you, where Satan lives.
Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
Revelation 2:15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Revelation 2:16 So repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Revelation 2:17 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Breath says to the congregations. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Revelation 2:18 “Write to the agent of the congregation in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze:
Revelation 2:19 I know your works — your care, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.
Revelation 2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols.
Revelation 2:21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
Revelation 2:22 Notice, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation. Unless they repent of her works,
Revelation 2:23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the congregations will know that I am the one who examines minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Revelation 2:24 I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven’t known the so-called “secrets of Satan” — as they say — I am not putting any other burden on you.
Revelation 2:25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.
Revelation 2:26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations —
Revelation 2:27 and he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery–
Revelation 2:28 just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.
Revelation 2:29 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Breath says to the congregations.

20250601 the future of overcomers (1)

Christ does not promise a future for mere attenders . He required his churches to produce overcomers. Each church had a danger that it faced. For those within these four churches who overcame – Christ had special promises:

For overcomers in Ephesus, Christ promised the tree of life (1-7; 22:2).
For overcomers in Smyrna, Christ promised the crown of life (8-11; James 1:12).
For overcomers in Pergamum, Christ promised the hidden manna and a new name (12-17; John 6:48-50).
For overcomers in Thyatira, Christ promised authority over the nations (18-29; 20:4).

LORD, grant us the strength to do spiritual warfare wherever you send us – so that we can overcome and inherit all your promises.

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