Study Guide on Revelation

By Shaliza R. Hosein- James

A Study Guide on Revelation takes you  on an epic journey through the entire Bible  to better understand the writings of John  on the island of Patmos. 

This book provides an in-depth, detailed view through the lens of the Jewish Messiah to discern the ti

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Apr 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887384702

Shaliza R. Hosein- James

Shaliza R. Hosein-James is a Trinidadian-born writer living here in the USA. Shaliza is a chartered accountant by profession and has worked in full-time ministry for the last thirteen years of her life. She is passionate about the times we live in and determined to win souls for the Kingdom!

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A Study

Guide

on

Revelation

Shaliza R. Hosein-James

Greyscale Trilogy logo

A Study Guide on Revelation

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2023 by Shaliza R. Hosein-James

Scripture quotations marked ASV are taken from The American Standard Version, 1901. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked CSB are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible, and CSB®, are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked LSB are taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946,1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

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Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-469-6

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-470-2

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my husband, Darren, my daughter, Isabella, and my mother, Gloria. Without them, I would have never been able to write this book.

Special thanks to my Women of War, the women who were with me

as we studied the Bible line by line, precept upon precept:

Debbie, Bonnie, Beth, Wanda, Laura, and Trish.

In loving memory of my dear father, Kelvin M. Hosein.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Revelation

Chapter 2: The Churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira

Chapter 3: The Churches of Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea

Chapter 4: The Throne Room

Chapter 5: The Scroll and the Lamb

Chapter 6: The Seals

Chapter 7: The Great Multitude

Chapter 8: The Trumpets (Part 1)

Chapter 9: The Trumpets (Part 2)

Chapter 10: The Angel and the Little Scroll

Chapter 11: The Two Witnesses

Chapter 12: The Woman and the Dragon

Chapter 13: The Two Beasts

Chapter 14: The Trampling of the Winepress

Chapter 15: The Plagues

Chapter 16: The Vials/Bowls

Chapter 17: Babylon the Great Has Fallen (Part 1)

Chapter 18: Babylon the Great Has Fallen (Part 2)

Chapter 19: The Heavenly Warrior

Chapter 20: 1,000 Years

Chapter 21: The New Heaven and Earth

Chapter 22: Forevermore

Sections of His Address

Prayer for Salvation

Appendix

Introduction

My love for the study of the book of Revelation started when I was around ten years old. Around that time, my father was getting ready to baptize me and my older brother. In the days leading up to the baptism, he would sometimes, at night, go through little things in the Bible to make sure that we knew what being baptized was truly about. He would often tell us that Jesus was coming soon.

It seems funny when I look back to him saying that because that was over thirty years ago, but I can say this… if He was coming soon then, then He’s coming even sooner now. Every prophecy must be fulfilled before the Rapture has happened. We are living in what I like to call borrowed time.

These chapters of this book are a compilation of my study notes that I put together. They are not meant to be used alone. You need to read the book of Revelation from your Bibles and supplement with these notes. I hope that they bless you the way that they have blessed me. It is my sincere pleasure to share the pages of this book with anyone who was interested. I implore each of you to read your Bible. The answers to life and beyond are all in there. Ask the Lord, and He will show you what you desire to know.

If anyone lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

— James 1:5 (NIV)

Why Study the Book of Revelation?

The book of Revelation is the only book that carries a twofold blessing. There is one for reading it and one for taking it to heart.

Studying the Word of God is pleasing to God. So why not do it? Second Timothy 2:15 tells us that we should study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of God.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

— 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV)

If Jesus is coming soon, and I think that it is pretty obvious that something is getting ready to bust open wide by the way things are going, shouldn’t we know enough of the Word to tell others about it? I am not saying that we need to rush to the closest soap box stand to preach on Main Street corner, but what if one day, an unsaved person asks you about the rapture? Or about Bible prophecy? Shouldn’t we, as Christians, know what to say to them? The truth is, we need to always be prepared to give an account of what we believe. We need to be ready in and out of season.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

— 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)

Often, when people hear the word Apocalypse, they instantly become pale with fear. In reality, the Greek word for Revelation is Apocalypse, and it means an unveiling or revealing. The book is not meant to be scary or spooky because it is a revelation or unveiling of our Lord Jesus in His majesty and glory, not only to us alone but to the World. This book is actually meant to be encouragement to the believer and a hope for our future. How good it is to know that we are not doing all of this in vain, but the reward and majesty will come one day, and everything He ever promised will be fulfilled… it will be unveiled or revealed.

Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

— Revelation 22:12 (ESV)

Is the Rapture Biblical? Will This Really Happen?

All my life, I was told that we (believers) would be caught up in the sky to meet Jesus to go to our forever home, heaven. After would come the Tribulation on earth and then the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth. I assumed all believers thought this, as it is what the Bible teaches. However, a couple of years ago, I had the privilege of looking at a documentary called The Coming Wrath. (You can find it on Daystar TV on demand or Amazon Prime). It was eye-opening! It showed the statistics of how many believers no longer believed in the Rapture. Many of them came to this conclusion as they said the actual word Rapture was not found in the Bible. This is true, but so is the word Trinity. It is not found in the Bible, yet it is the acceptable term meaning Heavenly Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Ghost. So too, the term Rapture has been coined to mean being caught up in the sky with Jesus. The Greek word used in the original text is "harpazo, and it means being caught up (in Latin, it is rapturo"). You will literally find that the Bible speaks of being caught up, so there must be a Rapture to take place. Just a few of these verses are found in Matthew 11:12, Matthew 13:19, John 6:15, John 10:12, John 10:28–29, Acts 8:39, Acts 23:10, 2 Corinthians 12:2, 2 Corinthians 12:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Jude 1:23, and Revelation 12:5.

Will We Know When He Is Coming?

In short, the answer is no. Not even Jesus knows (Mark 13:32). This information is known to the Heavenly Father alone. However, and this is a big however, I am certain that we will know the season. The Bible is a highly prophetic book. Many of the prophecies have even already come to pass. There is so much information throughout the entire Bible about the Rapture and the Second Coming (with heavy concentration on the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation) that I don’t understand why others think that we will not know the season.

Think of it like a pregnant woman. She has no idea the day and time the baby will come. Not even her doctor really knows. He assumes by the information presented to him, but he does not really know exactly when the baby will arrive. He does know, though, the season in which the baby will arrive based on the mother’s symptoms. It is the same for us, we may not know the day or time, but based on the Word and the symptoms we see in the world, we should know the season. Many quote the Bible and say that Jesus will come like a thief in the night, and He will! However, careful analysis of this Word (Matthew chapter 24) will show you that He only comes as a thief in the night for those not going with Him. Notice in Matthew chapter 25, the virgins who went with Him were fully prepared for Him. They were looking out. My favorite television preacher, Pastor John Hagee, has a saying, and it’s not in the Bible, but it’s funny, and it bears truth. He says, If you’re not looking for Him, then He’s not coming for you! It may sound crass, but I believe it is true.

When Was the Book of Revelation Written?

There are two basic thoughts on this. The first is that it was written somewhere between 68–69 ce (common era), during the reign of Roman emperor Nero. The other thought is that it was written around 95 ce, during the reign of Roman emperor Domitian. During both times, the church faced massive persecution. Christians were boiled in oil, crucified, eaten by lions, and even gored to death in the Roman Colosseum. Make no mistake, early Christians faced torment unto the point of death. As the world turned darker and darker for them, the light of Jesus in them shone brighter and brighter! No matter what they faced, they held onto the Lord, and the Gospel was spread like wildfire, and there were signs, miracles, and wonders!

Today we may be facing darkness everywhere we turn. It may seem daunting and depressing, but, child of God, lift up your head for your redemption draweth neigh! Our King is coming soon! Let His light in you overpower every darkness of this world. I believe before we leave here, there will continue to be revival (there is already revival going on, but it is not captured on fake mainstream news), and there will be signs, miracles, and wonders!

Who Is the Book of Revelation Written To?

To everyone. God’s will is that all be saved and that none perish. So, the words of this book are for you, regardless of if it says it is addressed to a church or an angel… it is really for you!

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

— 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)

What Exactly Will Happen in the Future?

In short version, we are currently living in the time period known as the birth pains, according to Matthew chapter 24. There is trouble all around, and it will continue to intensify. I apologize to all of you who thought that things would get back to normal after the hit of COVID-19. COVID may, in fact, go away, but trouble will come in another form. Take heart, though, because Jesus assures us that He has already conquered it all and that He is coming back for us. We win! When we see the signs of the times, it is not for us to run and hide and speak of doom and despair. It is time for us to look up because it means He’s coming soon. I am aware that for many years Christians have proclaimed that Jesus was coming soon, and the truth is that there may have, in fact, been signs of His coming back then. However, there has never been a time in which all the signs were fulfilled simultaneously, except now!

One day the birth pain time will come to an end (we will go into the signs later in this study), then the Rapture of the church will occur. The dead in Christ will rise (meaning they will get their glorified bodies; they are in a temporary glorified body right now in heaven), and we who are alive in Christ will rise (literally) to meet Him in the air. After this, the Antichrist will reveal himself and take world domination with the aid of a false religious leader (the False Prophet). They will rule the world. It will last for seven years. It will be hell on earth. After the seven years, Jesus will return with the heavenly host and us (the Second Coming) to fight in the battle of Armageddon. He will win (of course). He will then set up His Kingdom here on earth for 1,000 years of peace (the millennial reign). The devil will be bound for the 1,000 years of peace. After which, the devil will be let out again for a short period of time. After this, there will be the white throne judgment. The judgment of unbelievers. All unbelievers will then be cast into the lake of fire forever. God will then destroy this present earth and give us a new, perfect one… of which there will be no end. Now, there are lots of details to absorb in this story. The outline given above is a very brief summary. In this study, I will attempt to go into all the minor details and all the major details. Stay tuned!

Signs of His Coming—The Rapture

Chapter 1

The Beginning

of the Revelation

The book opens with the Revelation of Jesus Christ, given by an angel to John on the island of Patmos. (Patmos is found off the coast of Greece.) During this time, Patmos was a barren island that prisoners went to. There was nothing but the sound of the waves and screeching seagulls. John, the disciple of Jesus, was banished to Patmos during the latter years of his life. It is believed that he was banished by the Roman government for preaching the Gospel. When Rome had exiled John to Patmos, he was the last remaining member of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. He was the disciple that often called himself the one that Jesus loved. It is interesting to me that John was the only disciple that was not killed. Was there something to his reliance and constant confession of the Lord’s love for him? It makes me think that when we really realize how deep the love of the Lord is for us, we come into another dimension. Power is found in this love.

John is told that there is a twofold blessing for reading this book and adhering to the words of it. This is the only book where I have seen this twofold blessing. That should make any person interested enough to read and listen to it. We even see that a blessing is attached to the adherence of the Word, as it is said that the time is near. But what does that really mean? Well, at face value in English, it would appear that when these words were written, the coming of Jesus would be near. However, a closer look would tell us that the word in the original Greek does not mean near or soon at all. The original term in Greek is actually "en tachei." This, when taken literally, means when it starts to happen, it will happen rapidly. That is to say, a correct interpretation of Scripture would point to the fact that when we start to truly see the signs of the end of the age occur, it will happen like… bam! Bam! Bam! From one thing to the next. Much like the events of our lives today… one thing after the next. War today, famine tomorrow, natural disaster the day after!

As the book unfolds, we see that John is instructed to write letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). So, why that area? one might ask. On a natural basis, the location of the seven churches was on the route of trade/business in that time, so by circulating these letters to these seven, all the churches and believers would have gotten the message. The deeper part of this is that these seven churches bore characteristics of the different churches (as a collective group) during different periods of time, all across the church age. (The church age started on the day of Pentecost when the church began and will end on the day of the Rapture.)

Timeline starting in the Age of Law and ending with the Rapture. The Church Age begins after the Day of Pentecost (around AD 30) and lasts until the present. It is divided into the following 7 segments, each associated with a church in Asia: AD 30 - 100 (Ephesus); 100 - 313 (Smyrna); 313-600 (Pergamum); 600-1517 (Thyatira); 1517-1648 (Sardis); 1649-1900 (Philadelphia); and 1900-Present (Laodicea).

The opening curtain presents John greeting the seven churches in Asia that are his designated audience. He employs the customary apostolic greeting, wishing his readers grace and peace. The two qualities are in an appropriate order: grace is mentioned first and is followed by peace. It is worthy to note that grace is God’s undeserved favor from which everything good and necessary flows. Whereas peace is the state of wellness of heart and soul. It is impossible to experience peace without first experiencing divine grace. I thank God for His grace and peace every day.

In this text of Revelation chapter 1, we will notice that John identifies the triune God as the source of grace and peace. We see that in three references:

God the Father is viewed as eternal, existing in the past, present, and future. The one who was, is, and is to come. John goes on to mention that this grace and peace is also extended from the seven spirits before God’s throne. So, who are these seven spirits?

The reference to the seven spirits here is a reference to the Holy Spirit. The number seven, when used in a biblical sense, tends to illustrate perfection—and often is used in connection with the Holy Spirit. As He is perfect. If we were to visit Isaiah 11:2–6, we would find a clear explanation that the Holy Spirit performs seven major ministries, and those ministries are directed to the term seven spirits. How interesting…

John then goes on to state that the grace and peace are also from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. John goes on to give admonition to our King as he reminds himself that we are freed from our sins by Jesus’ blood. My friends, never forget this. This is the entire backbone of our faith. Without Jesus’ blood, there would have been no remission for sin. Because of His blood, we have been reconnected to our Heavenly Father, and we are able to serve Him as kings and priests! The glory belongs to Jesus forever!

As we sum up the greetings of this book, we find that John the revelator then jumps forward in time for a second. You see, as John was putting quill to papyrus on the island, he was having this vision. He was being spoken to by an angel, and he was allowed to see into the future. And wow… does he see the most awesome thing. He sees Jesus coming in the clouds and the people of the world mourning. So, when is this, and what does this mean?

This, my friends, is the Second Coming of Christ (not to be confused with the Rapture). In the Rapture, we (believers) will meet Him in the air. The entire world does not see Him. Only we, the living church and the dead in Christ will behold Him as we meet Him in the air (the dead in Christ rise up in the air before us). In the Second Coming, however (seven years after the Rapture, right after the Tribulation), Jesus will return to the earth. The people mourning know that it is Jesus, and they know He means business, hence the reason they mourn. They mourn because they know that their day of recompense for the evil they’ve done has come.

If we go back and look carefully at verse 7, we would find a reference to some of the mourners as even those who pierced Him. The reference here refers to the Jewish people who are left on the earth after the Rapture and are alive at the end of the Tribulation. Remember, they would have denied and had been blinded to behold that He was the Messiah all along. They do not make up all the mourners of this scene, as there would be Gentiles too in the bunch, but they are there in the number. I am sure this is a pretty grim day for them all!

What a lot for John to take in! Remember, John would have been foretold by Jesus about all of this while Jesus walked the earth, but now He was seeing how it would really take place at the time of the end. As John was taking it all in, he then heard the voice of the Lord, telling him that He was the Alpha and the Omega, the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. I am sure glad that the Lord did that. I can see how John may have been confused otherwise. Remember, John may have been an awesome man, but he was still a man.

As we continue on this chapter, we see in verse 9 that John hears a voice like a trumpet speaking to him, so he turns around. The voice, like a trumpet, is none other than the voice of God. We can glean this by going back to Exodus chapter 19; we see that it tells us that there was a loud sound like trumpets as God came to Mount Sinai to give the Ten Commandments. In this particular instance of Revelation chapter 1, we conclude that this trumpeting makes John turn around, and boy does he get an eyeful! He sees seven golden lampstands and someone standing in the middle of it.

The seven golden lampstands represent the seven churches, all of whom he was getting ready to write the letters to. The one in the middle of them is nobody but the Son of God, Jesus. John describes Him as wearing a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest. This garment down to feet to represent that He is both the royalty of a King and of a Priest. It is white because He is pure and holy.