Read Revelation 19:11-16, then read Isaiah 63:1-6. Isaiah 63:1-6 presents a picture of a divine warrior who has come to exact vengeance. The metaphor used is of treading a wine press till his robe is stained red; it is the blood of his enemies. This is the imagery that John is using in Revelation 19:11-16, but there is an important difference. Has Jesus, the rider on the white horse, come from battle? Or does he come to battle? Whose blood is on his robe if the battle has yet to be fought in this picture?

What does it mean to have the mark of the beast on one’s forehead and hand in light of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-9?

What are the traits of Babylon that you have become most comfortable with in your own life and work? Are there things of ‘demonic’ nature that you have settled with?

The ones whom God vindicates in the end are those who have laid down their lives because they would not bow the knee to the beast. They conquered by the blood of the lamb. In what way is God calling you to lay down your life in your resistance of the beast?