Taia Colai Tiniyara

Let us take time to examine the historical setting in which the book of Revelation was written. Says the apostle, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 1:8) During the reign of Domitian (r. 81-96 CE), Christians were persecuted for their refusal to participate in the imperial and state cults of Rome, which held the emperor as a god who should be worshipped. Christians were charged with atheism, or disbelief in the gods. This was a crime, that of treason, as angering the gods meant that you could threaten the prosperity of the Empire. Thus, Christians to the lions for their refusal to honor the gods. According to the theologian Tertullian (155AD-220AD) in his book On The Prescription of Heretics , John was banished to Patmos after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing f...

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8) John was still writing through the opening statements of the book of Revelation when the above statement was made by the Lord. In the Old Testament, "The Lord" was always transliterated from the Hebrew word "yeh-ho-vaw" or Jehovah. By John, it was transliterated from the Greek word "kurios" which means supreme authority. The speaker in Revelation 1:8 is Jehovah, the supreme authority, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty. Let's identify who exactly was speaking here: Alpha and Omega: In the beginning of his vision, John saw the Alpha and the Omega and "...fell at his feet as dead...", but He laid His hand on John and said, "...Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell an...

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:7) In our previous studies, we looked at how the book of Revelation, even though it was given by God the Father, is centered on Jesus Christ. We looked at the authorities behind the book - The Father, The Seven Spirits of God, and Jesus Christ Himself. The verse above depicts the second coming of Jesus Christ and fulfills one of the profound prophecies made by Jesus Christ while He was on Earth. On the night of His arrest, the high priest posed a question, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus replied, "Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 24:63-64) Those who "pierced" Jesus were all the peo...

The book of Revelation is about God revealing secrets to His servants the prophets, written by John the disciple, and sent to seven churches that were in Asia Minor during his time. After the opening statements from verses 1 to 3, the authors of the book now introduce themselves and greet their readers. "Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:4-6) The Father Him which is, and which was, and which is to come was seen by John sitting on a throne before which were seven Spirits. This is none other than God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the originator of th...

In previous posts, we looked at the meaning and significance of prophecies given to John by God through the book of Revelation. His writings on Patmos were addressed to “…seven churches which were in Asia…” (Revelation 1:4), a region known today as modern Turkey. We will look into the details of these churches in a later post, but for now, we will study the number seven. Seven is the one most significant numbers associated with God. In the book of Revelation, you will find it embedded in most of its main lines of prophetic events e.g. 7 churches, 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 heads of the beast, 7 heads of the dragon, and 7 plagues. What does the number seven symbolize in prophetic terms? Let us look at a few examples: The Bible says that God created within “…six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:11) At the end of the sixth day “…God saw every thing that he...

Time is the most important resource on planet earth. Everything that exists on its surface has a beginning and an end. The wise king Solomon says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) God's prophecies are made up of three notable features: An event The time of the event The purpose of the event The book of Revelation was given to Jesus by His Father "...to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass..." (Revelation 1:1) Everything God does in the book of Revelation is for this one reason - to "...save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) Every event, every admonition, every exhortation is to fulfill this grand purpose. Said the apostle Paul: "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, ...

In Our Christian experience, many of us have testified of God's working in our lives and the lives of others. It is interesting to note that Jesus Christ also has a testimony to tell. John bore record of "... the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all the things that he saw." (Revelation 1:2) The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ. (John 5:39) In the pages of the Bible, Jesus, who is the Word of God (John 1:1-4, 14), gives the testimony of how He saves the world through God's mercy and justice. In Revelation 19:10, John's guiding angel tells John, "... I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The angel repeats this the a similar statement in Revelation 21:9, "I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." Let's do a comparative analysis of the t...