Glossary of Key Terms
Seals: A series of seven judgments in Revelation, primarily representing the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire.
Trumpets: A series of seven judgments in Revelation, primarily representing God's call to the Romans to repent through various afflictions.
Bowls (Vials): A series of seven intense judgments in Revelation (specifically Revelation 16), depicting God's direct and culminating wrath against the Roman Empire.
Roman Empire: The historical empire identified as the primary target of God's judgments (seals, trumpets, and bowls) in this interpretation of Revelation.
Babylon the Great: A symbolic term in Revelation, linked to the Roman Empire, representing sin and its corrupting influence on history and society.
Mark of the Beast: A symbolic designation in Revelation representing a deliberate choice to align with the "beast" (identified with the Roman Empire and Satan); it is not acquired accidentally.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The symbolic riders described in the first four seals, representing different forms of persecution faced by Christians from the Roman Empire.
Euphrates River: A significant geographical feature mentioned in the sixth bowl, symbolically representing the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire and the direction from which "kings from the east" (e.g., nomadic invaders like the Mongolians) would emerge.
Kings from the East: Forces or empires from beyond the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, potentially referring to groups like the Mongolians, whose arrival is facilitated by the drying of the Euphrates in the sixth bowl.
Armageddon: A Hebrew place name mentioned in the sixth bowl, where kings of the whole world are assembled for a final battle on the "great day of God Almighty." The speaker cautions against misinterpreting it through cultural assumptions.
Dark Ages: A historical period following the collapse of the Roman Empire, characterized by a decline in cultural growth, technological advances, and centralized power, which the speaker connects to the "darkness" of the fifth bowl due to internal Roman sinfulness.
Play-Doh Analogy: An analogy used by the speaker to warn against combining disparate parts of Revelation or unrelated cultural ideas when interpreting the book, emphasizing that doing so distorts the intended meaning.
