revelation of John chapter 13: read verse 1 2 11 13 15 16 17 18 interpretation of the book Apocalypse

Book of Revelation of John chapter 13 read the interpretation from the Bible about the beast with seven heads and a mortal wound, who will come out of the sea and defeat the saints, and about the human mouth of the beast, speaking proudly and blasphemously. Who are the beast and the false prophet and who are the ten kings or the ten horns of the beast from the book of the Apocalypse. What is a mark and what, in general, is worship . What does verse 1 2 11 13 15 16 17 18 of the book of Revelation of John the Theologian, chapter 13, say? And how the number of the beast is numbered in verse 18.

Revelation John 13 read summary

A beast with seven heads and 10 horns emerges from the sea.
He is given a mouth that speaks proudly and blasphemously.
From all over the earth they worshiped the beast.
The beast is given power to defeat the saints for 42 months.
Here is the patience and faith of the saints.
A beast with two horns emerges from the earth - a false prophet.
The false prophet deceives people into making the image of the beast.
Worship of the beast and his image.
Inscription on the right hand and on the forehead.
Proposal to count the number of the beast 666.

How to Avoid Getting the Mark of the Beast

Today people worry about not receiving the mark of the beast. But what you really need to worry about is how to get the seal of God. Because those who receive the seal of God will no longer be able to receive the mark of the beast. And those who do not receive the seal of God will automatically receive the mark of the beast.

Who Receives the Seal of God?

(Eze 9:4) And the Lord said to him, “Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and make a mark on the foreheads of the mourning people, who sigh over all the abominations that are being committed in its midst.”

Those who were not defiled by all the abominations that the prophet saw will receive a seal from the Lord.

(Rev 14:4) These are they who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins;
these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are redeemed from among men, as the firstborn of God and the Lamb... The best guarantee that we will not receive the mark of the beast is our loyalty to God and closeness to Him.

Read Revelation John 13 in full online

And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns: on its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names.
The beast that I saw was like a leopard; His legs are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great authority.
And I saw that one of his heads seemed to be mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. And all the earth marveled, watching the beast, and they worshiped the dragon, which gave power to the beast, 4 and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast? and who can fight him?
And a mouth was given to him speaking proudly and blasphemously, and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months.
And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme His name, and His habitation, and them that dwell in heaven.
And it was given to him to make war with the saints and defeat them; and authority was given to him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names were not written in the book of life of the Lamb, who was slain from the foundation of the world.
He who has an ear, let him hear.
He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must himself be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.
And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and forces the whole earth and those living on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed; 13And he performs great signs, so that fire comes down from heaven to earth before people.
And with the miracles that it was given to him to perform before the beast, he deceives those who live on the earth, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which has the wound of the sword and is alive.
And it was given to him to put spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would speak and act in such a way that anyone who would not worship the image of the beast would be killed.
And he will cause everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one will be able to buy or sell except the one who has this mark. , or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. He who has intelligence, count the number of the beast, for it is a human number; its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Seal of God

(Rev 7:2) And I saw another angel rising from the east of the sun, having the seal of the living God... do not harm the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.

Chapter 13 gives us a picture of two groups of people:

These are the people who received the mark of the beast, and they are with the beast.
These are the people who stand with the Lamb and have the seal of God.

(Rev 14:1) And I looked, and behold, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him an hundred and forty-four thousand, having the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

Thus the Bible contrasts these two groups of people.

Many people worry that they will somehow, accidentally, receive the mark of the beast.

When people receive the seal of God on their foreheads, it does not mean that this seal is something visible to other people. This is the seal of spiritual nature. Something similar happened in history.

Book of the Prophet Ezekiel

12 years before Jerusalem was destroyed, Ezekiel was in captivity and many people turn to him with the question: when will they return from captivity? And so the Lord shows him this picture: in a vision he takes him to Jerusalem and shows him what people are doing.

Prophecy of Ezekiel 8:5-16

At the gate of the altar in the temple there is an idol of jealousy.

In hidden rooms, the elders of Israel worship various images of reptiles. In the temple courtyard, women bake pies for the sky goddess. There are also people standing in the courtyard with their backs to the altar and worshiping the sun to the east.

When Ezekiel sees all these iniquities that are happening directly in the temple, it becomes clear that no one will return back to Jerusalem. On the contrary, Jerusalem will be destroyed. In fact, this is a verdict for Jerusalem and for the kingdom of Judah. But before destroying the city, the Lord sends an Angel to put a seal on the foreheads of all those who are faithful to God.

(Eze 9:4) And the Lord said to him: Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and make a sign on the foreheads of the mourning people, who sigh over all the abominations that are being committed in its midst.

This sign was not visible to other people, it was a sign for the Angels.

So, the seal of God is a sign of spiritual nature. And since Satan is trying to counterfeit the seal of God with the mark of the beast, then it must also be a sign of a spiritual nature.

Book of Revelation John 13 interpretation

The Apostle John the Theologian devoured the prophetic book given to him by an Angel clothed in a cloud. And now he prophesies about many nations, tribes and languages, which in the language of the Bible means sea. Therefore, he saw a beast coming out of the sea, that is, from many nations.

The prophet Daniel, in his interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about the idol, writes that the last kingdom will be divided and will not merge into one, but will be united through the seed of man. That is, it will consist of many nations. Which, exactly, corresponds to the sea, from which, according to the description of John the Theologian in the book of the Apocalypse, the eighth beast will emerge. Everything matches. It turns out that this will not be one state, but some kind of union.

But, nevertheless, we see great continuity from previous animals. The eighth beast in the book of the Apocalypse is like a leopard, it has bear paws and a lion's mouth. He cannot but be connected with the previous kingdoms, this is the same geographical territory, he is their successor. but he will receive strength, throne and great power from the dragon. However, the previous seven kingdoms also, in fact, belonged to the dragon, because in chapter 12 it is written that he has seven crowns.

King Revelation of John the Evangelist chapter 13 verses 1 2 11 13 16 18

But on the eighth beast in chapter 13 we see ten crowns. These are ten kings who, as kings, will take power with the beast “for one hour.” And they will transfer their power to the beast.

Thus, the beast is the state power. And there is an eighth king - the head of this state, or rather, the allied forces. The power of the beast will last 42 months, when he will defeat the saints of “all the earth”, forcing them to worship him.

Chapter 13 describes that the beast was given a mouth that spoke proudly and blasphemously, like the dragon. Which coincides with the description of the false prophet and the Antichrist. The Antichrist will act precisely in the kingdom of the beast, blaspheming God. So he will sit in the temple of God as God, impersonating him, according to the words of the Apostle Paul. (2 Thess. 2:4)

Next we see a beast from the earth. If the sea is many peoples, then the land is one country. The abyss is larger than the sea, the land is smaller, which means one country. But this country is in the union of ten, of course. The prophet Daniel says that among the three horns out of ten, a little horn will appear and “destroy three.” This will make him grow and become bigger than the rest. That is, at the last stage, the three horns will still unite into one, and the seven will continue to remain in union with them. So he will fight directly against Christians, forcing them to worship the image of the beast.

The Antichrist is not a king, but a major spiritual leader, and a Christian one at that. The Apostle Paul said that he “will go out from us, but will not be ours.” Of course, how else could he sit in the temple of God, posing as God? It is difficult to imagine that any modern head of state would do this. Everything matches. Moreover, this is the largest Christian leader claiming universal power.

Book of Revelation of John the Theologian 13 chapter 15 verse 18

In general, you need to understand that this is the dragon’s war specifically against Christians, he is not interested in the rest. Therefore, the Antichrist will tempt Christians to make an image of the beast and worship it. Through a new law, since it is said that the Antichrist “will set out to change the law and the holidays.” This is the change you should be most afraid of. Because it will no longer be the Law of God, but the law of the Antichrist. And its fulfillment is equated to the worship of the beast and its image.

Book of Revelation John 13 16 17 chapter interpretation of the mark

“And he will cause everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one will be able to buy or sell except the one who has it.” the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Rev. 13:17

Through the acceptance of the mark, it is clear, the worship of the image of the beast will be carried out. And this cannot be done, so as not to fall under the Wrath of God. We need to decide what worship is. What kind of worship do we give to God? We do not offer sacrifices to Him as the Israelites did in their temple. But we fulfill the commandments and this is our Christian law. And we have already mentioned this, that the Antichrist “will set out to change the law” according to the prophet Daniel.

Book of Revelation John 13 18 interpretation

“Here is wisdom. He who has intelligence, count the number of the beast, for it is a human number; its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

The most common interpretation of the number of the beast is the proposal to calculate the name of the beast using numerology. Why we consider such calculation useless and how, indeed, you can count the number of the beast, read in a separate article “Count the number of the beast,” because this topic deserves a separate discussion and explanation.

At the same time, you need to understand that when the beast emerges, it is shown in full historical retrospective, that is, for the entire time of its existence. Therefore he is described with seven heads. In fact, these are his past incarnations. They are given to us to understand the scale of the phenomenon. The conquering beast has been around since the time of the Babylonian Empire. At that time, as the prophet Daniel described, the construction of the Kingdom began, which at the end of time will break the idol. Which means he will defeat the last eighth beast. This will be the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

What to do to be saved in the last times?

What can destroy a person, that is, deprive him of salvation and eternal life

Mortal harm to the soul is caused through sin, through violation of the commandments.

Worshiping anyone or anything is a violation of the first commandment to love God. Anyone or anything except the One God, who is for Christians the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Such worship is also the acceptance of the change of the Word of God by the Antichrist, who, as the prophet Daniel said, “will set out to change it.”

Who will be saved in the last time

Lately, it has been said that the one who does not worship the beast and his image will be saved, will preserve the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and will endure to the end in faith, love and hope, in accordance with the teachings of the Orthodox Church.

If it were different, and the simple receipt and use of a document with three drawn sixes would excommunicate a person from the Lord, then all other works of faith and virtues, prayer, love, repentance, patience, humility and fidelity to the Word of God would be worthless. But that's not true.

The main thing in the matter of salvation

All Scripture says that the main thing is love, faith, hope and works of faith in the name of Jesus Christ, as well as the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Our goal is to become like Jesus Christ. This means acquiring His qualities

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Mf. 11:30

God is love

If we do not have love, then we are animals. Love consists of two commandments:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” and also, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Mf. 22:37-38

The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians writes:

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, then I am a ringing brass or a sounding cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I could move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing.
And if I give away all my property and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good.
Love is patient, merciful, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, is not rude, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; But when that which is perfect comes, then that which is in part will cease. When I was a baby, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, reasoned like a child; and when he became a husband, he left behind his children. Now we see as if through a dark glass, fortune-telling, but then face to face; Now I know in part, but then I will know, even as I am known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greatest of them all. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Conditions of salvation for man

Salvation does not imply faith in general, but faith in Christ: “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned...” (John 3:18).
Faith implies belonging to the United Orthodox Church: “and if he does not listen to the Church, then let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
Faith must be apostolic: “But even if we or an angel from heaven preach to you a gospel other than what we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9).
Faith must be accompanied by corresponding works: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).

Therefore, everyone will be required to give an account of their life. The most important question that God will ask everyone will sound like this: “Do you love Me?..”

Only the one who loves God with all his soul and keeps His commandments has nothing to fear, because he will always be able to recognize everything that can anger his Creator and will never betray the Lord his God:

“The Lord is my enlightenment and my savior, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, from whom I will fear.” Ps. 26:1

While there is time for repentance and study of the Word of God, while Orthodox churches are open and the Divine Liturgy is served in them, before someone comes who will try to deceive even the elect, before the difficult time of temptation comes, follow the narrow path of faith, “seek first the Kingdom God and His righteousness,” and the rest will be added to you.
Anyone who does not know the Word of God will accept the “word of the Antichrist” because he will not be able to distinguish the first from the second. And accepting the second is worship.
Study the Gospel, the Apostles and Revelation while you have time, go to Orthodox churches, repent and accept the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
The Lord is near, at the door

Both the Spirit and the bride say: come! And let him who hears say: Come! Hey, come, Lord!

Read Revelation of John 13 with the interpretation of the holy fathers

Interpretation of the Apocalypse of St. Andrew of Caesarea

Article thirty-six

Revelation John 13: The seven-headed and ten-horned beast

Rev. 13:1. And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns: on its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names.

By “beast,” others mean some lower power of Satan, ruling over other demons, and by the one emerging from the earth after him, the Antichrist. Methodius, Hippolytus and others consider the real beast to be the Antichrist himself, emerging from the sea of life, shaken by storms and greatly agitated. Ten horns with crowns and seven heads indicate that the devil and the Antichrist are one and the same (for this is also referred to above), but at the same time the division in the last times of the earth into ten kingdoms and the seventh kingdom corresponding to this world, measured seven days and divided, as we will see below, into seven periods. Therefore, Satan, who works in him, is called the prince of this age. His blasphemous name is written on his heads, that is, his assistants and servants, for they incessantly blasphemed God from the beginning of the world until the great and pious Constantine, after whom Julian and Valens were blasphemers.

Rev. 13:2. The beast that I saw was like a leopard; His legs are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion;

“Lynx” is the name given to the Greek kingdom, “bear” to the Persian kingdom, and “lion” to the Babylonian kingdom; they will be dominated by the Antichrist, who, coming as a Roman king, will destroy their dominion when he sees their clay fingers, signifying the weakness and destructibility of the kingdom divided into ten parts.

and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great authority.

Satan, this mental serpent, in order to destroy the weak, will give the Antichrist all power and strength in false signs and wonders.

Rev. 13:3. And I saw that one of his heads seemed to be mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed.

The words “I saw one from his heads as if he were tempered into death” indicate either that one of his princes, killed through the spells of the Antichrist and the blinding of people, will be falsely shown to him resurrected, as Simon the Magus did, exposed by the Apostle Peter - or but that the Roman kingdom, as if perishing from division, under the single power of the Antichrist (as Caesar Augustus) will rise again strong.

And all the earth marveled as they watched the beast, and they worshiped the dragon, who had given power to the beast,

Rev. 13:4. and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast? and who can fight him?

“And the whole earth marveled.” A miracle falsely performed by the Antichrist will be attributed to the devil active in him; through him they will worship the serpent; to those who are spiritually blind, he will appear to be the resurrector of the dead and the performer of miracles.

Rev. 13:5. And a mouth was given to him speaking proudly and blasphemously, and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months.
Rev. 13:6. And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme His name, and His habitation, and them that dwell in heaven.

“Forty-two months” means that he, by God’s permission, will have the power to blaspheme God and oppress the saints for three and a half years. “The Dwelling of God” means the incarnation of God the Word, His presence in the flesh, and rest in the saints, on whom, as well as on the Angels, the beast will direct its blasphemy.

Rev. 13:7. And it was given to him to make war with the saints and defeat them; and authority was given to him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
Rev. 13:8. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names were not written in the book of life of the Lamb, who was slain from the foundation of the world.

“And a territory was given to him on every tribe and on the nations.” He will use his power against every tribe and people, but he will take possession only of those whose names are not written in the book of life.

Rev. 13:9. He who has an ear, let him hear.
Rev. 13:10. He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must himself be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.

If anyone takes captive, he himself will be captured, and everyone will receive a reward corresponding to his deeds; Thus, those who plot evil against their neighbor will be captured by the devil and subject to spiritual death from the sword of Satan, as the Apostle Peter says: “Whoever is overcome, he will work for him” (2 Pet. 2:19). Those who have undefiled, pure faith and patience under temptation will not be blotted out from the book of life. May the merciful God deign to be partners with them and us, who consider the sufferings of this life insignificant in comparison with the glory that awaits the saints and courageously walk along the narrow path, so that at the end of it, in the next century, we will achieve glory, peace and breadth of soul and reign with Christ To Him, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is due all thanksgiving and worship, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Article thirty-seven

Revelation John 13: About the False Prophet

Rev. 13:11. And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

According to some, this beast is the Antichrist, and according to others, it is Satan, and its two horns are the Antichrist and the false prophet. If we believe that the false prophet will appear in his own person, then it will not be inappropriate to take the serpent for Satan, the beast emerging from the sea for the Antichrist, and this beast, according to Blessed Irenaeus, for the false prophet. He comes out of an earthly life full of filth and has two horns, like a lamb, in order to hide the murderousness of the wolf with sheep's clothing and because first he will take on the image of piety. Blessed Irenaeus says about this: “About the armor-bearer, who is also called a false prophet, it must be said that he spoke like a serpent. He was given the power to perform signs and wonders, so that, walking before the Antichrist, he could prepare the way for his destruction. We consider the healing of the plague of the beast either as a temporary, apparent unification of the divided kingdom, or as the restoration for a short time by the Antichrist of the dominion of Satan, destroyed by the Cross of the Lord, or, finally, the imaginary resurrection of some deceased person close to him. He will speak like a serpent, for he will do and say things characteristic of the leader of evil – the devil.”

Rev. 13:12. He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and forces the whole earth and those living on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed;
Rev. 13:13. and performs great signs, so that fire comes down from heaven to earth before people.

By magic and deception, the forerunner of the apostate false Christ will do everything to deceive people, so that they consider the Antichrist to be God, as a glorious miracle worker and worthy of such glorification, like the Baptist, who led believers to the Savior, for to deceive people, lies try to imitate the truth. Therefore, it is not surprising if the deluded see with their eyes fire descending from heaven, since we also know from the story of Job that, by God’s permission, through the action of Satan, fire came down from heaven and burned his flocks (Job 1:16).

Rev. 13:14. And with the miracles that it was given to him to perform before the beast, he deceives those who live on the earth,

He deceives those whose hearts are constantly fixed on earthly things, but he cannot deceive those who have acquired residence in heaven, for they are completely confirmed by the prediction of his coming.

telling them that dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast, which has the wound of the sword and lives.

Rev. 13:15. And it was given to him to put spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would speak and act in such a way that anyone who would not worship the image of the beast would be killed.
Rev. 13:16. And he will cause everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
Rev. 13:17. and that no one will be able to buy or sell except he who has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

They say that demons often spoke by magic through images, statues, trees, waters and other things; perhaps even through the bodies of the dead, as Simon the Magus demonstrated this to the Romans in the presence of the Apostle Peter, who exposed his deception by showing the rise of the dead, whom he himself raised. Therefore, there is nothing strange in the fact that the forerunner and squire of the Antichrist, with the help of demons, having made an image of the beast, will falsely show him speaking, order to beat everyone who does not worship him and will try to put the mark of the disastrous name of the apostate and seducer on everyone’s right hands in order to take away the power for doing good deeds, as well as on the forehead, to make those who are deceived bold in deception and darkness. But those whose faces are imprinted with Divine light will not accept it. And he will distribute the seal of the beast everywhere, both for purchase and for sale, so that those who do not accept it will die a violent death from the lack of things necessary to maintain life.

Article thirty-eight

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF JOHN

A BOOK THAT STANDS ALONE

When a person studies the New Testament and begins Revelation, he feels transported to another world.
This book is not at all like the other books of the New Testament. Revelation is not only different from other New Testament books, it is also extremely difficult for modern people to understand, and therefore it has often been either ignored as incomprehensible scripture, or religious madmen have turned it into a battlefield, using it to compile heavenly chronological tables and graphs of what will happen when. But, on the other hand, there have always been those who loved this book. Philip Carrington, for example, said: “The author of Revelation is a greater master and artist than Stevenson, Coleridge or Bach. John the Evangelist has a better sense of words than Stevenson; he has a better sense of unearthly, supernatural beauty than Coleridge; he has a richer sense of melody, rhythm and composition than Bach... It is the only masterpiece of pure art in the New Testament... Its fullness, richness and harmonic variety place it above Greek tragedy.”

We will undoubtedly find that this is a difficult and shocking book; but, at the same time, it is highly advisable to study it until it gives us its blessing and reveals its riches.

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

When studying Revelation, we must remember that, for all its uniqueness in the New Testament, it is nevertheless representative of the most widespread literary genre in the era between the Old and New Testaments. Revelation is usually called the Apocalypse

(from the Greek word
apokaloupsis,
meaning
revelation).

apocalyptic literature
was created the product of an irresistible Jewish hope.

The Jews could not forget that they were the chosen people of God. This gave them confidence that they would one day achieve world domination. In their history, they were waiting for the arrival of a king from the line of David, who would unite the people and lead them to greatness. “A branch will arise from the root of Jesse” (Isa. 11:1.10).

God will restore the righteous Branch to David
(Jer. 23:5).
One day people “will serve the Lord their God and David their king”
(Jer. 30:9).
David will be their shepherd and their king
(Ezek. 34:23; 37:24).
The Tabernacle of David will be restored
(Amos 9:11).
From Bethlehem will come a Ruler in Israel, whose origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity, who will be great to the ends of the earth
(Mic. 5:2-4).
But the entire history of Israel has not fulfilled these hopes. After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom, already small in itself, split in two under Rehoboam and Jeroboam and lost its unity. The northern kingdom, with its capital in Samaria, fell in the last quarter of the eighth century BC under the blows of Assyria, disappeared from the pages of history forever, and is known today under the name of the ten lost tribes. The southern kingdom, with its capital Jerusalem, was enslaved and taken away by the Babylonians at the beginning of the sixth century BC. Later it was dependent on the Persians, Greeks and Romans. The history of Israel was a record of defeats, from which it became clear that no mortal could deliver or save her.

TWO CENTURIES

The Jewish worldview stubbornly clung to the idea of the chosenness of the Jews, but gradually the Jews had to adapt to the facts of history. To do this, they developed their own history scheme. They divided all history into two centuries: the present century,

completely vicious, hopelessly lost.
Only complete destruction awaits him. And so the Jews waited for his end. In addition, they looked forward to the coming age,
which, in their view, was supposed to be excellent, the Golden Age of God, in which there would be peace, prosperity and righteousness, and God's chosen people would be rewarded and take their rightful place.

How should this present age become the age to come? The Jews believed that this change could not be accomplished by human forces and therefore they expected the direct intervention of God. He will burst upon the stage of history in great force to completely destroy and destroy this world and introduce His golden time. They called the day of God's coming the Day of the Lord

and it was to be a terrible time of horror, destruction and judgment, and at the same time it was to be the painful beginning of a new age.

All apocalyptic literature covered these events: the sin of the present age, the horrors of the transitional time and the bliss in the future. All apocalyptic literature was inevitably mysterious. She invariably tries to describe the indescribable, express the inexpressible, depict the indescribable.

And all this is complicated by another fact: these apocalyptic visions flashed even brighter in the minds of people living under tyranny and oppression. The more the alien force suppressed them, the more they dreamed of the destruction and destruction of this force and of their justification. But if the oppressors realized the existence of this dream, things would get even worse. These writings would seem to them to be the work of rebellious revolutionaries, and therefore they were often written in code, deliberately presented in a language incomprehensible to outsiders, and many remained incomprehensible because there was no key to decipher them. But the more we know about the historical background of these writings, the better we can discover their intent.

REVELATION

Revelation is the Christian apocalypse, the only one in the New Testament, although there were many others that were not included in the New Testament. It is written on the Jewish model and preserves the basic Jewish concept of the two periods. The only difference is that the Day of the Lord is replaced by the coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory. Not only the outline of the book itself is identical, but also the details. Jewish apocalypses are characterized by a standard set of events that were supposed to happen in the last times; all of them were reflected in Revelation.

Before moving on to consider these events, we need to understand one more problem. And apocalypses

and
prophecies
concern future events. What is the difference between them?

APOCALYPSE AND PROPHECY

The main differences between prophets and authors of apocalyptic books concern content and methods.

1. The Prophet thought in terms of this world. His message often contained protest against social, economic and political injustice and always called for obedience and service to God in this world. The Prophet sought to transform this world and believed that the Kingdom of God would come in it. They said that the prophet believed in history. He believed that in history and in the events of history the ultimate purposes of God are realized. In a sense, the prophet was an optimist, for, no matter how severely he condemned the actual state of things, he believed that everything could be corrected if people would do the will of God. In the minds of the author of apocalyptic books, this world was already incorrigible. He believed not in the transformation, but in the destruction of this world, and expected the creation of a new world after this one had been shaken to its foundations by the vengeance of God. And therefore the author of apocalyptic books was, in a sense, a pessimist, because he did not believe in the possibility of correcting the existing state of affairs. True, he believed in the advent of the Golden Age, but only after this world was destroyed.

2. The prophet proclaimed his message orally; The message of the author of apocalyptic books was always expressed in written form, and it constitutes a literary work. If it were expressed orally, people simply would not understand it. It is difficult to understand, confusing, often incomprehensible, it needs to be delved into, it needs to be carefully disassembled in order to understand.

MANDATORY ELEMENTS OF APOCALYPSE

Apocalyptic literature is created according to a certain pattern: it seeks to describe what will happen in the last times and the bliss that follows; and these pictures appear in apocalypses again and again. She dealt with the same issues over and over again, so to speak, and they all found their way into our Book of Revelation.

1. In apocalyptic literature, the Messiah is Divine, Redeemer, strong and glorious, waiting for His hour to descend into the world and begin his all-conquering activity. He was in heaven even before the creation of the world, the sun and the stars, and is in the presence of the Almighty (En. 48:3.6; 62.7; 4 Esdras. 13:25.26).

He will come to throw down the mighty from their places, the kings of the earth from their thrones, and to judge sinners
(En. 42:2-6; 48:2-9; 62:5-9; 69:26-29).
In the apocalyptic books there was nothing human and soft in the image of the Messiah; He was a Divine figure of vengeful power and glory, before whom the earth trembled in terror.

2. The coming of the Messiah was to occur after the return of Elijah, who would prepare the way for Him (Mal. 4:5.6).

Elijah will appear on the hills of Israel, the rabbis asserted, and with a loud voice, heard from one end to the other, will announce the coming of the Messiah.

3. The terrible end times were known as the “birth pangs of the Messiah.” The coming of the Messiah should be like birth pangs. In the Gospels, Jesus predicts a sign of the last days and the following words are put into His mouth: “Nevertheless, this is the beginning of disease” (Matthew 24:8; Mark 13:8).

In Greek,
disease is odina,
which literally means
labor pains.
4. The end times will be a time of horror. Then even the bravest will cry out bitterly (Zeph. 1:14);

all the inhabitants of the earth will tremble
(Joel 2:1);
people will be gripped by fear, they will look for a place to hide and will not find it
(En. 102:1.3).
5. The end times will be a time when the world will be shaken, a time of cosmic upheaval, when the universe as men know it will be destroyed; the stars will be destroyed, the sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood (Isa. 13:10; Joel. 2:30.31; 3:15);

the vault of heaven will be destroyed;
there will be a furious rain of fire and all creation will turn into a molten mass (Siv. 3:83-89).
The order of the seasons will be disrupted, there will be neither night nor dawn
(Siv. 3,796-800).
6. In the last times, human relations will be disrupted, hatred and enmity will rule the world, and everyone’s hand will rise against the hand of his neighbor (Zech. 14:13).

Brothers will kill brothers, parents will kill their children, from dawn to sunset they will kill each other
(En. 100:1.2).
Honor will be turned into shame, strength into humiliation, beauty into ugliness.
The humble will become envious and passion will take possession of a person who was once peaceful ((2 Bar. 48:31-37).
7. The last times will be days of judgment. God will come like a purifying fire and whoever will stand when He appears (Mal. 3.1-3

)?
The Lord will execute judgment on all flesh with fire and sword (Isa. 66:15.16).
8. In all these visions, the pagans are also given a certain, but not always the same place.

a) Sometimes they see the pagans completely destroyed. Babylon will come to such desolation that there, among the ruins, there will be no place for a wandering Arab to pitch a tent, or for a shepherd to graze his sheep; it will be a desert inhabited by wild beasts (Isa. 13:19-22).

God trampled the pagans in His wrath
(Isa. 63:6);
they will come in chains to Israel
(Isa. 45:14).
b) Sometimes they see how the pagans gather for the last time against Israel against Jerusalem and for the last battle, in which they will be destroyed (Ezek. 38:14-39,16; Zech. 14:1-11).

The kings of nations will attack Jerusalem, they will try to destroy the shrines of God, they will place their thrones around the city and with them their unbelieving peoples, but all this is only for their final destruction
(Siv. 3:663-672).
c) Sometimes they paint a picture of the conversion of the Gentiles by Israel. God made Israel the light of the nations so that God's salvation would reach to the ends of the earth (Isa. 49:6).

The islands will trust in God
(Isa. 51:5);
the survivors of the nations will be called to come to God and be saved
(Isa. 45:20-22).
The Son of Man will be a light to the Gentiles
(En. 48:4.5).
Nations will come from the ends of the earth to Jerusalem to see the glory of God.

9. The Jews scattered throughout the world will in the last times be gathered again in the Holy City; they will come from Assyria and Egypt and worship God on the holy mountain (Isa. 27:12.13).

Even those who died as exiles in a foreign land will be brought back.

10. In the last times, the New Jerusalem that existed there from the beginning will come down to earth from heaven (4 Ezra 10:44-59; 2 Bar 4:2-6)

and will dwell among men.
It will be a beautiful city: its foundations will be of sapphires, towers of agates and gates of pearls, and its fence of precious stones (Isa. 54:12.13; Tob. 13:16.17).
The glory of the last temple will be greater than the first
(Hag. 2:7-9).
11. An important part of the end-time apocalyptic picture was the resurrection of the dead. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, others to everlasting reproach and disgrace (Dan. 12:2.3).

Sheol and the graves will return those who were entrusted to them
(En. 51:1).
The number of those resurrected varies: sometimes it applied only to the righteous of Israel, sometimes to all of Israel, and sometimes to all people in general. Whatever form it took, it is fair to say that here the hope that there would be life beyond the grave first arose.

12. Revelation suggests that the Kingdom of the Saints will last a thousand years, followed by a final battle with the forces of evil, and then the Golden Age of God.

These are the events that the authors of apocalyptic books attributed to the end times; and, practically, all of them are reflected in the paintings of Revelation. To complete the picture, we will briefly dwell on the bliss of the coming age.

BLESSES OF THE COMING AGE

1. The divided kingdom will be united again. The house of Judah will come again to the house of Israel (Jer. 3:18; Isa. 11:13; Hos. 1:11).

The old divisions will be eliminated and God's people will be united.

2. The fields in this world will be unusually fertile. The desert will become a garden (Isa. 32:15),

it will become like paradise
(Is. 51:3);
“The desert and the dry land will rejoice, ... and will blossom like a daffodil”
(Is. 35:1).
3. In all visions of the new age, a constant element was the end of all wars. Swords will be beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks (Isa. 2:4).

There will be no sword, no war trumpet.
There will be one law for all people and great peace on earth, and kings will be friends (Siv. 3:751-760).
4. One of the most beautiful ideas expressed in connection with the new century is that there will be no enmity between animals or between man and animals. “Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the lamb, and the young lion and the ox will be together, and a little child will lead them” (Isa. 11:6-9; 65:25).

A new alliance will be concluded between man and the beasts of the field
(Hos. 2:18).
“And the child will play with the asp’s (snake’s) hole, and the child will stretch out his hand into the snake’s nest”
(Isa. 11:6-9; 2 Bar. 73:6).
Friendship will reign throughout nature, where no one will want to harm another.

5. The coming age will put an end to fatigue, sadness and suffering. People will no longer languish (Jer. 31:12),

and everlasting joy will be over their heads
(Isa. 35:10).
Then there will be no premature death
(Isaiah 65:20-22)
and none of the inhabitants will say: “I am sick”
(Isaiah 33:24).
“Death will be swallowed up forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces...”
(Is. 25:8).
Sickness, anxiety and groaning will disappear, there will be no pain during the birth of a child, the reapers will not get tired, the builders will not be exhausted by work
(2 Bar. 73.2-74.4).
6. The age to come will be an age of righteousness. People will be completely holy. Humanity will be a good generation, living in the fear of God in

days of mercy
(Psalms of Solomon 17:28-49; 18:9.10).
Revelation is the representative of all these apocalyptic books in the New Testament, telling of the horrors that will happen before the end of time, and of the blessings of the age to come; Revelation uses all these familiar visions. They will often present difficulties for us and will even be unintelligible, but, for the most part, pictures and ideas were used that were well known and understandable to those who read him.

AUTHOR OF REVELATION

1. Revelation was written by a man named John. From the very beginning he says that the vision he is about to recount was sent by God to His servant John (1,1).

He begins the main part of the letter with the words:
John, to the seven churches in Asia (1:4).
He speaks of himself as John, brother and partner in the sorrow of those to whom he writes
(1:9).
“I John,” he says, “have seen and heard these things”
(22:8).
2. John was a Christian who lived in the same area in which the Christians of the seven churches lived. He calls himself the brother of those to whom he writes, and says that he shares with them the sorrows that have befallen them (1:9).

3. Most likely, he was a Palestinian Jew who came to Asia Minor in old age. This conclusion can be drawn if we take into account his Greek language - lively, strong and imaginative, but, from the point of view of grammar, the worst in the New Testament. It is quite obvious that Greek is not his native language; it is often clear that he writes in Greek but thinks in Hebrew. He immersed himself in the Old Testament. He quotes it or alludes to relevant passages 245 times; quotations are taken from almost twenty books of the Old Testament, but his favorite books are the Books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Psalms, Exodus, Jeremiah and Zechariah. But he not only knows the Old Testament very well, he is also familiar with the apocalyptic literature that arose in the era between the Old and New Testaments.

4. He considers himself a prophet, and on this he bases his right to speak. The Risen Christ commanded him to prophesy (10,11);

It is through the spirit of prophecy that Jesus gives His prophecies to the Church
(19:10).
The Lord God is the God of the holy prophets and He sends His angels to show His servants what is about to happen in the world
(22:9).
His book is a typical book of the prophets, containing prophetic words
(22.7.10.18.19).
John bases his authority on this. He does not call himself an apostle, as Paul does, wanting to emphasize his right to speak. John has no “official” or administrative position in the Church; he is a prophet. He writes what he sees, and because everything he sees comes from God, his word is truthful and true (1:11.19).

At the time when John wrote - somewhere around 90 - prophets occupied a special place in the Church. At that time there were two types of shepherds in the Church. Firstly, there was a local pastorate - they lived settled in one community: presbyters (elders), deacons and teachers. Secondly, there was an itinerant ministry, the scope of which was not limited to any particular community; this included the apostles, whose messages were spread throughout the Church, and the prophets, who were itinerant preachers. Prophets were greatly respected; to question the words of a true prophet was to sin against the Holy Spirit, says the Didache,

"The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles" (11:7).
The Didache
gives the accepted order for administering the Lord's Supper, and at the end the sentence is added: “Let the prophets give thanks as much as they want” (
10:7
). Prophets were looked upon solely as men of God, and John was a prophet.

5. It is unlikely that he was an apostle, otherwise he would hardly have emphasized that he was a prophet. John looks back to the apostles as the great foundations of the Church. He speaks of the twelve foundations of the wall of the Holy City, and further: “and on them are the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.” (21,14).

He would hardly have spoken about the apostles like that if he had been one of them.

Such considerations are further confirmed by the title of the book. Most translations of the book's title read: The Revelation of St. John the Theologian.

But in some recent English translations the title reads:
The Revelation of St. John,
and
the Theologian
is omitted because it is not in most of the oldest Greek copies, although it generally goes back to ancient times.
In Greek it is theologos
and is used here in the sense
of theologian,
and not in the sense
of saint.
This very addition should have distinguished John, the author of Revelation, from John the Apostle.

Already in 250, Dionysius, a major theologian and leader of the Christian school in Alexandria, understood that it was extremely unlikely that the same person wrote both the fourth Gospel and Revelation, if only because their Greek languages were so different. The Greek of the Fourth Gospel is simple and correct, the Greek of Revelation is rough and bright, but very irregular. Further, the author of the fourth Gospel avoids mentioning his name, but John, the author of Revelation, mentions him repeatedly. In addition, the ideas of both books are completely different. The great ideas of the fourth gospel—light, life, truth, and grace—do not occupy a central place in Revelation. However, at the same time, in both books there are enough similar passages both in thoughts and in language, which clearly shows that they come from the same center and from the same world of ideas.

Elisabeth Schussler-Fiorenza, an expert on Revelation, recently found that “from the last quarter of the second century until the beginning of modern critical theology, it was widely believed that both books (the Gospel of John and Revelation) were written by an apostle” (“The Book of Revelation” Justice and Punishment of God", 1985, p. 86). Such external, objective evidence was required by theologians because the internal evidence lying in the books themselves (style, words, statements of the author about his rights) did not seem to speak in favor of the fact that their author was the Apostle John. Theologians who defend the authorship of the Apostle John explain the differences between the Gospel of John and Revelation in the following ways:

a) They indicate the difference in the spheres of these books. One talks about the earthly life of Jesus, while the other talks about the revelation of the Risen Lord.

b) They believe that there is a large interval of time between their writing.

c) They claim that the theology of one complements the theology of the other and together they constitute a complete theology.

d) They suggest that the language and linguistic differences are explained by the fact that the recording and revision of the texts was carried out by different secretaries. Adolf Pohl states that sometime around 170, a small group in the Church deliberately introduced a false author (Cerinthus) because they did not like the theology of Revelation and found it easier to criticize a less authoritative author than the Apostle John.

TIME OF WRITING REVELATION

There are two sources for establishing the time of its writing.

1. On the one hand - church traditions. They point out that during the era of the Roman emperor Domitian, John was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he had a vision; after the death of Emperor Domitian, he was released and returned to Ephesus, where he enrolled. Victorinus wrote sometime at the end of the third century in a commentary on Revelation: “When John saw all this, he was on the island of Patmos, condemned by the emperor Domitian to work in the mines. There he saw a revelation... When he was subsequently released from working in the mines, he wrote down this revelation that he received from God.” Jerome of Dalmatia dwells on this in more detail: “In the fourteenth year after the persecution of Nero, John was exiled to the island of Patmos and wrote the Revelation there... After the death of Domitian and the repeal of his decrees by the Senate, due to their extreme cruelty, he returned to Ephesus, when Nerva was emperor " The Church historian Eusebius wrote: “The apostle and evangelist John related these things to the church when he returned from exile on the island after the death of Domitian.” According to legend, it is clear that John had visions during his exile on the island of Patmos; one thing is not completely established - and it does not really matter - whether he wrote them down during his exile, or upon his return to Ephesus. With this in mind, it would not be wrong to say that Revelation was written around the year 95.

2. The second evidence is the material of the book itself. In it we find a completely new attitude towards Rome and the Roman Empire.

As follows from the Acts of the Holy Apostles, Roman courts were often the most reliable protection for Christian missionaries from the hatred of Jews and angry crowds of people. Paul was proud to be a Roman citizen and repeatedly demanded for himself the rights that were guaranteed to every Roman citizen. At Philippi, Paul frightened the administration by declaring that he was a Roman citizen (Acts 16:36-40).

In Corinth, the consul Gallio dealt fairly with Paul, according to Roman law
(Acts 18:1-17).
In Ephesus, the Roman authorities ensured his safety against the rioting crowd
(Acts 19:13-41).
In Jerusalem, the captain saved Paul, one might say, from lynching
(Acts 21:30-40).
When the captain heard that an attempt was being made on Paul's life during the transition to Caesarea, he took all measures to ensure his safety
(Acts 23:12-31).
Desperate to achieve justice in Palestine, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen and addressed his complaint directly to the emperor (Acts 25:10.11).

In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul urges his readers to be submissive to the authorities, for authorities are from God, and they are terrible not for good deeds, but for evil ones
(Rom. 13.1-7).
Peter gives the same advice to be submissive to authorities, kings, and rulers because they are doing the will of God.
Christians should fear God and honor the king (1 Pet. 2:12-17).
It is believed that in the Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul points to the power of Rome as the only force capable of containing the chaos that threatens the world
(2 Thess. 2:7).
In Revelation, only one irreconcilable hatred of Rome is visible. Rome is Babylon, the mother of harlots, drunk with the blood of saints and martyrs (Rev. 17:5.6).

John expects only his final destruction.

The explanation for this change lies in the widespread worship of the Roman emperors, which, combined with the accompanying persecution of Christians, is the background against which Revelation is written.

At the time of Revelation, the cult of Caesar was the only universal religion of the Roman Empire, and Christians were persecuted and executed precisely for their refusal to comply with its demands. According to this religion, the Roman emperor, who embodied the spirit of Rome, was divine. Every person had to appear before the local administration once a year and burn a pinch of incense to the divine emperor and proclaim: “Caesar is Lord.” Having done this, a person could go and worship any other god or goddess, as long as such worship did not violate the rules of decency and order; but he had to perform this ceremony of worshiping the emperor.

The reason was simple. Rome was now a diverse empire, stretching from one end of the known world to the other, with many languages, races and traditions. Rome was faced with the task of uniting this heterogeneous mass into a unity that had some kind of common consciousness. The strongest unifying force is a common religion, but none of the popular religions of that time could become universal, but the veneration of the deified Roman emperor could. It was the only cult that could unite the empire. To refuse to burn a pinch of incense and to say, “Caesar is Lord,” was not an act of unbelief, but an act of disloyalty; that is why the Romans treated so cruelly a person who refused to say: “Caesar is Lord,” and not a single Christian could call him Lord

anyone other than Jesus, because that was the essence of his creed.

Let's see how this worship of Caesar developed and why it reached its apogee in the era of the writing of Revelation.

One very important fact should be noted. The veneration of Caesar was not imposed on people from above. It arose among the people, one might even say, despite all the attempts of the first emperors to stop, or at least limit it. It should also be noted that of all the peoples inhabiting the empire, only the Jews were exempt from this cult.

The worship of Caesar began as a spontaneous outburst of gratitude to Rome. The peoples in the provinces knew well what they owed to him. Imperial Roman law and legal proceedings replaced arbitrary and tyrannical arbitrariness. Security has replaced dangerous situations. The great Roman roads connected different parts of the world; the roads and seas were free from robbers and pirates. The Roman world was the greatest achievement of the ancient world. As the great Roman poet Virgil put it, Rome saw its purpose as “spare the fallen and overthrow the proud.” Life has found a new order. Goodspeed wrote about it this way: “This was the package of the novel.

The provincials could, under Roman rule, conduct their affairs, provide for their families, send letters, and travel in safety thanks to the strong hand of Rome.”

The cult of Caesar did not begin with the deification of the emperor. It began with the deification of Rome. The spirit of the empire was deified in a goddess called Roma. Roma symbolized the powerful and benevolent force of the empire. The first temple to Rome was erected in Smyrna back in 195 BC. It was not difficult to imagine the spirit of Rome embodied in one person - the emperor. Worship of the emperor began with Julius Caesar after his death. In 29 BC, Emperor Augustus granted the provinces of Asia and Bithynia the right to erect temples in Ephesus and Nicaea for the general worship of the goddess Roma and the already deified Julius Caesar. Roman citizens were encouraged and even exhorted to worship at these sanctuaries. Then the next step was taken: Emperor Augustus gave the inhabitants of the provinces, not

those who had Roman citizenship had the right to erect temples in Pergamum in Asia and Nicomedia in Bithynia for the worship of the goddess Roma and
himself.
At first, worship of the reigning emperor was considered acceptable for residents of the province who did not have Roman citizenship, but not for those who had citizenship.

This had inevitable consequences. It is human nature to worship a god who can be seen, rather than a spirit, and gradually people began to worship the emperor himself more, instead of the goddess Roma. At that time, special permission from the Senate was still needed to build a temple in honor of the reigning emperor, but by the middle of the first century this permission was increasingly granted. The cult of the emperor became the universal religion of the Roman Empire. A caste of priests arose and worship was organized in presbyteries, the representatives of which were accorded the highest honor.

This cult did not at all seek to completely replace other religions. Rome was generally very tolerant in this regard. A man could honor Caesar and

their god, but over time, the veneration of Caesar increasingly became a test of trustworthiness; it became, as someone put it, a recognition of the dominion of Caesar over the life and soul of man. Let us trace the development of this cult before the writing of Revelation and immediately after that.

1. Emperor Augustus, who died in 14, allowed the worship of Julius Caesar, his great predecessor. He allowed the inhabitants of the provinces, who did not have Roman citizenship, to worship themselves, but forbade this to his Roman citizens. Note that he did not show any violent measures in this.

2. Emperor Tiberius (14-37) could not stop the cult of Caesar; but he forbade the building of temples and the appointment of priests to establish his cult, and in a letter to the city of Giton in Laconia he decisively refused all divine honors for himself. He not only did not encourage the cult of Caesar, but also discouraged it.

3. The next emperor Caligula (37-41) - an epileptic and a madman with delusions of grandeur, insisted on divine honors for himself, tried to impose the cult of Caesar even on the Jews, who had always been and remained an exception in this regard. He intended to place his image in the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple, which would certainly lead to outrage and rebellion. Fortunately, he died before he could carry out his intentions. But during his reign, worship of Caesar became a requirement throughout the empire.

4. Caligula was replaced by Emperor Claudius (41-54), who completely changed the perverted policy of his predecessor. He wrote to the ruler of Egypt - about a million Jews lived in Alexandria - fully approving of the Jews' refusal to call the emperor a god and giving them complete freedom in the conduct of their worship. Having ascended the throne, Claudius wrote to Alexandria: “I forbid the appointment of me as a high priest and the erection of temples, because I do not want to act against my contemporaries, and I believe that sacred temples and all that in all ages have been attributes of the immortal gods, as well as the special accord given to them honor".

5. Emperor Nero (54-68) did not take his divinity seriously and did nothing to consolidate the cult of Caesar. He, however, persecuted Christians, but not because they did not respect him as a god, but because he needed scapegoats for the great fire of Rome.

6. After the death of Nero, three emperors were replaced in eighteen months: Galba, Otto and Vitelius; With such confusion, the question of the cult of Caesar did not arise at all.

7. The next two emperors - Vespasian (69-79) and Titus (79-81) were wise rulers who did not insist on the cult of Caesar.

8. Everything changed radically with the coming to power of Emperor Domitian (81-96). It was like he was the devil. He was the worst of all—a cold-blooded persecutor. With the exception of Caligula, he was the only emperor who took his divinity seriously and demanded

observance of the cult of Caesar. The difference was that Caligula was a mad Satan, and Domitian was mentally healthy, which is much more terrible. He erected a monument to “the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian,” and began a campaign of severe persecution of everyone who did not worship the ancient gods - he called them atheists. He especially hated Jews and Christians. When he appeared with his wife at the theater, the crowd must have shouted: “Everyone greets our master and our lady!” Domitian proclaimed himself a god, informed all provincial rulers that all government messages and announcements should begin with the words: “Our Lord and God Domitian commands...” Any appeal to him, written or oral, had to begin with the words: “Lord and God.” .

This is the background of Revelation. Throughout the empire, men and women had to call Domitian a god, or die. The cult of Caesar was a deliberately implemented policy. Everyone was supposed to say: “The Emperor is Lord.” There was no other way out.

What could Christians do? What could they hope for? There were not many wise and powerful among them. They had neither influence nor prestige. The power of Rome rose up against them, which no people could resist. Christians were faced with a choice: Caesar or Christ. Revelation was written to inspire people in such difficult times. John did not close his eyes to the horrors; he saw terrible things, he saw even more terrible things ahead, but above all this he saw the glory that awaits the one who refuses Caesar for the love of Christ.

Revelation appeared during one of the most heroic eras in the entire history of the Christian Church. Domitian's successor, Emperor Nerva (96-98), however, abolished the wild laws, but they had already caused irreparable damage: Christians found themselves outside the law, and Revelation turned out to be the trumpet call that called for remaining faithful to Christ until death in order to receive the crown of life .

A BOOK WORTH STUDYING

We cannot close our eyes to the difficulties of Revelation: it is the most difficult book of the Bible, but its study is extremely useful because it contains the burning faith of the Christian Church in an era when life was pure agony, and people were waiting for the end of the heaven and earth they knew, but still They believed that behind the horrors and human rage is the glory and power of God.