The Devil's Party

The end of the end! The architecture and community of the celestial city is delineated, and our author sends us out with his benediction - and his curse! What is the authorial status of these epilogues? And what, finally, did we learn from this weird, wonderful, and upsetting book?

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3  And there shall be no more curse: but the thr...

The new heaven and new earth are come - and from out of the sky comes...the weirdest thing you've ever seen. It's the HAPPY ENDING of Revelations, and it seems that ending is gonna be...a big square in the sky? What are we to make of the New Jerusalem? What does it tell us about John of Patmos's important and fascinating place in Jewish history? And does God really live in a space cube...

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his...

It's the end of the world! Sort of. Actually we have to hang around for 1000 years under the...personal kingship of Jesus? And his martyrs? A baffling theological conundrum rears its head! What are its stakes and provenances? And who ARE Gog and Magog?

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3  and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: an...

The Hallelujah Chorus! The Wedding of the Lamb! The White Rider! A passage full of weird, wild imagery that explodes like a series of fireworks towards the end of Revelations projects...yet calls back to several key moments in Jewish apocalypticism.

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2  for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3  And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up...

The Book of Revelations pauses for a devastating, eerie 11 o'clock number, as our revelator sings a dirge for the Whore of Babylon. But as this book moves to its close, what is behind this passage's strange, mournful effect?

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Many Waters...ENTER THE WHORE OF BABYLON! A late addition to the text, this remarkable and memorable character has left a significant dent on the Christian imagination! Who is she, and how do we read this strange figure? Questions? Comments? Want to support? Join us on Patreon!

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2  with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the...

God sent his plagues, but I'm BACK baby! The divine temper tantrum reaches its climax and everything ends. It's pretty spooky! A rehearsal of the ten plagues of Egypt takes on some fascinating new features, and a few weird mysteries develop. And what the heck is "Armageddon"?

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 2  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. 3  And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and...

Reading Revelations 15, providentially landing during Passover, which John magisterially sweeps into his own cosmic drama. This week's reading is short, but full to bursting with magnificent poetry - and a glimpse of horrors to come. DAYSPRING is available now! Support the podcast (and access our episode chats!) on our Patreon !

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3 And they sing the son...

One of Revelation's most visceral and weird images drops, along with a stage suddenly swollen with the return of several figures from earlier in the text. Can we coordinate any new meanings among these reassembled figures - and what IS a virgin, anyway??? Support our work and join in our discussion on Patreon !

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. 2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3  and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beas...

This week, the dragon is flung to Earth, and summons up his TWO BEASTS to wreak his vengeance on the children of the lamb!! Who are these nefarious creatures, and what can we glean from their confused and horrific iconography? and what, at last, is the NUMBER OF THE BEAST?? Want more content AND to support our work? Check out Patreon.com/meakoopa for our bustling community and bonus mailbag episod...

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3  And I saw...

This week, we come between the dragon and his wroth! One of Revelations's most famous and infamous passages as the woman clothed in the sun flees the great red dragon - but under the pop culture and theological barnacles, what is this passage really about?

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2  and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4  And his tail drew th...

Our narrator recounts the strange episode of the two witnesses who testify for time, and times, and half a time (that's fancy-talk for three and a half years). Who are these mysterious figures supposed to be, and how can they be folded into the larger narrative of Revelations? Support us on Patreon !

And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall...

Before the last trumpet sounds (hey there's where that comes from!) an angel appears to our narrator with a strange (and kind of sexy?) request. Is this an interlude - or the key moment of understanding for the text itself?