The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

Revelation 211
The futurists hold that some passages refer to the contemporary
scene, and some to the return of Christ at the end
of time. The symbolic school sees the book as a dramatic
picture of the war between good and evil, which exists in
varying degrees in every historical age.
The four great visions presented in Revelation are
each introduced with the phrase “in the spirit,” near the
beginning of the first, fourth, seventh, and 21st chapters.
Each of the four visions presents the seer in a different
location, each paints a distinctive picture of Christ, and
each advances the previous vision.
The book is written in three parts. Part 1 features
letters addressed to seven of the groups of Christians of
the Roman province of Asia. The letters of the churches
(chapters 1–3) are thought to have originally existed as
a separate text. They depict Christ’s continuing relationship
with his followers. The seven local churches may
have been chosen to represent successive periods in the
life of the church as a whole.
Part 2 features the visions of judgment and the victory
of God over the forces of evil. By extensive use of the
number 7 and other mystical numbers and symbols, the
book foretells (or “reveals”) a violent end of the world.
First, seven seals are broken on a scroll that reveal visions
of what is to come.
The first four seals reveal the Four Horsemen, often
called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. These are
symbols of the evils to come at the Second Coming: a
white horse (conquest), a red horse (war), a black horse
(famine), and a pale horse (plague).
The fifth seal concerns the vengeance of the saints,
who have been “killed on account of the Word of God.”
They are given white robes and told to be patient a little
longer while more of their fellow servants and brothers
will be killed.
The sixth seal reveals a cosmic catastrophe caused by
the “wrath of the Lamb.” There is a violent earthquake,
the Sun goes black, the Moon turns red as BLOOD, and
stars fall from the sky. All the people of the earth, including
the mighty, hide.
The seventh seal tells how ANGELs are ordered to
wreak destruction upon the land, to strike and kill everyone
save for 144,000 people marked with a cross on
their foreheads. The angels blow their trumpets, and the
earth burns, the seas turn to blood, fire falls from the
sky, and water turns to wormwood. One-third of everything,
including the celestial bodies, is destroyed. The
Abyss opens and belches smoke and pours out locusts
with scorpion tails upon the earth, demonic forces that
torture people.
Signs appear in heaven: a woman clothed with the Sun
and standing on a crescent Moon, who gives birth to a
boy who is taken into heaven; and a seven-headed red
dragon with 10 horns and crowns of coronets. A war—
Armageddon—breaks out in heaven. Michael and his angels
attack the dragon, known as the DEVIL or SATAN, who
fights back with his own army of DEMONs. The satanic
forces are defeated, driven out of heaven, and hurled to
the earth. But it is not yet the end for evil, for Satan rises
anew as beasts from the land and sea. The beast that rises
out of the sea is like a leopard with bear paws and a lion’s
mouth, and the dragon’s seven heads and 10 horns. The
beast that emerges from the earth has two horns like a
lamb and makes noise like a dragon.
The beast worshippers are marked with the number
equivalent to its name, 666 (see SIX-SIX-SIX), while Jesus
and his special 144,000—those who will ascend to
heaven—are marked with the name of God. An angel
warns that beast worshippers will be condemned to eternal
torture and punishment (HELL). The faithful are exhorted
to fear God and glorify him.
God’s wrath has not ended, however. Seven angels
unleash seven plagues upon the earth, including demon
spirits who look like frogs and are able to work miracles.
The whore of Babylon, the “mother of all the prostitutes
and all the filthy practices on the earth,” appears riding
the Satanic seven-headed, 10-horned beast. The dead are
summoned to the throne of God and are judged.
Part three features a vision of heaven. John is taken
to a high mountain, where he looks down on the perfect
holy city of Jerusalem, constructed on the number 12.
God and the Lamb are in radiant glory. There are a river
of life and trees of life. John sees a new heaven and a new
Revelation (© RICHARD COOK)