To Increase Your Knowledge of Revelation Expand Your Vocabulary

If you expand your vocabulary can it increase your knowledge of Revelation? There are a few Greek words in Revelation that your knowing them can greatly increase your knowledge base of this wonderful book.

Revelation isn’t hard to understand even if you do not increase your vocabulary or expand your knowledge base. However, some knowledge of a few words can increase your understanding tremendously.

For instance, look at the word “sorcery” or “witchcraft” in 9:21. Whenever the words sorcery or witchcraft is used elsewhere in the Bible it means an enchantment of spell cast by magic.

We see the word sorcery throughout the Old Testament. Always it has the same meaning. No surprises or shifts in meaning anywhere. However, in the ninth chapter of Revelation, you need to know the vocabulary for the word in order to have knowledge of its usage.

In 9:21 the Greek word which has been interpreted “sorcerer” is pharmakeus, a druggist or someone who uses poison. We get our word “pharmacy” from this Greek word. Therefore, the implication is that a sorcerer is one who sells, makes, supplies or uses drugs.

Other forms of the word is pharmakos and pharmakeia. We only find the forms of this Greek word the last five times that sorcerer, sorceries or witchcraft is used in our Bible: Galatians 5:19; Revelation 9:21, 18:23; 21:8 and 22:15. This would indicate that in the end times, drugs—illegal or legal—will increase greatly. I think we are seeing this take place today. There is a major increase in the use of legal drugs!

Over 80% of the inmates in jails and prisons where I visit are there because of drugs. The increase in inmate population over the last several years has prompted the commonwealth of Kentucky to reconsider using incarceration as a means to combat the drug problems.

Laws are changing so that drug abusers and users will get help in clinics or programs designed to provide a cure rather than in prisons and jails.

Yes, you can expand your knowledge of Revelation when you increase your vocabulary. This is only one place in our study of Revelation where understanding vocabulary can indeed help you understand this fantastic book.

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