Day 189: May 5, 2026 – Revelation 7-12

There is a real difference between prophecy and prediction. People have always considered Revelation to be predictive, but it is actually prophetic, which means that it is telling the people how to act and how to respond to the promises of God in the midst of severe persecution and hardship. This is what the people of the first century were facing and so this is what the author is leaning into. Letting the people of God know that there were going to be woes and sufferings, but they would be protected by God, while those who do not know God will not be protected. I’m not sure that is the same message that we have in the rest of the Gospel.

I love the fact that the historical explosion of Vesuvius is present in Revelation 8:8 where we see the mountain of fire go into the sea. That is exactly what happened to Vesuvius and it would have happened right before this would have been written.