Behold He Cometh!

An Exposition of the Book of Revelation

By Herman Hoeksema
Table of Contents
  1. The Revelation Of Jesus Christ  (1: 1-3) 
  2. Salutation And Blessing  (1:4-8) 
  3. Christ In The Midst Of The Golden Candlesticks  (1:9-20)
  4. The Beginning Of Decline  (2:1-7)
  5. The Church Strong in Tribulation (2:8-11)
  6. The Church Lax In Discipline (2:12-17)
  7. The Church With A Mystic Tendency  (2:18-29)
  8. The Church About To Die  (3:1-6)
  9. The Church With The Promise Of An Open Door   (3:7-13)
  10. The Church Nauseating To The Lord  (3:14-22)
  11. The Vision Of The Throne Of God (4)
  12. The Vision Of The Sealed Book  (5)
  13. The Four Horsemen (6: 1-8)
  14. The Slain Witnesses And Their Outcry (6:9 -11) 
  15. The Shake-up Of The Physical Universe  (6:12-17)
  16. The Sealing Of The One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand  (7: 1-8)
  17. The Numberless Throng  (7:9, 13-17)
  18. The Song Of The Redeemed And Of The, Angels  (7:10-12)
  19. The Presentation Of The Prayers Of The Saints (8:1-6)
  20. The First Four Trumpets  (8:7-12)
  21. The Locusts Out Of The Abyss (9:1-12)
  22. The Sixth Trumpet (9:13-21)
  23. An Interlude (10: 1-7)
  24. The Little Book (10: 8-11)
  25. The Measuring Of The Temple (11: 1, 2)
  26. The Identity Of The Two Witnesses (11:3, 4)
  27. Witnessing, Slain, And Glorified (11:5-13)
  28. The Blowing Of The Seventh Trumpet (11 14-19)
  29. The Two Signs In Heaven (12:1-6) 
  30. War In Heaven (12:7-12)
  31. The Conflict Between The Woman And The Dragon (12:13-17)
  32. The Power Of The Antichrist (13: 1 -10)
  33. The Beast Out Of The Earth (13:11-18)
  34. The Lamb On Mount Zion (14: 1-5)
  35. The Angels And The Voice (14:6-13)
  36. The Harvest And The Vintage (14:14-20)
  37. The Song Of Moses And Of The Lamb (15)
  38. The First Four Vials (16:1-9)
  39. The Battle Of Armageddon (16:10-21)
  40. Babylon, The Bride Of Antichrist (17:1-6)
  41. The Mystery Of The Beast (17:7-14)
  42. The Judgment Of The Harlot (17:15-18)
  43. The Fall Of Babylon (18)
  44. The Voice Of Joy (19:1- 5)
  45. The Marriage Of The Lamb (19:6-10)
  46. The Final Victory Of The Lamb Over Antichrist (19:11-21)
  47. The Binding Of Satan With A View To Gog And Magog (20: 1-10)
  48. The Final Judgment (20:11-15)
  49. The Blessedness Of The New Jerusalem (21:1-4)
  50. True And Faithful (21:5-8)
  51. The Holy City, New Jerusalem (21:9-27)
  52. The Paradise Of God (22: 1-5)
  53. The Epilogue (22:6-21)
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;...Revelation 1:1
Editor's Preface

The following pages contain the deceased author's exposition of the Book of Revelation which first appeared serially in the magazine of which he was for many years the editor, The Standard Bearer. Tentative plans for publication had been made before the Lord took him to glory. In fact, the title of this volume is of the author's choosing. However, before final preparation of the contents could be completed, the author died. My father and I had consulted on some of the preparations for publishing. Besides, I fell heir to the vast amount of notes and sermon outlines on the Book of Revelation which he had amassed over the years of his long ministry. This made my task of editing much easier. My part in this volume has been mostly editorial. The only exception to this is a few chapters involving parts of Revelation 19-22 which the author himself would have rewritten. Due to various circumstances, as originally written, these chapters were very abbreviated and were not consistent with the others in length, style, and format. On the basis of my father's notes and sermon outlines, I have revised and expanded these few chapters in the hope that this would enhance the value of this commentary.
 
Perhaps a few biographical notes will not be out of place. The author loved to preach and to teach from the Book of Revelation, perhaps more than from any other book. Twice during his long service as pastor of a large congregation he preached through the entire book. The first series of sermons was shortly after World War I. The second series belonged to the era of World War II. The latter series I remember well from the days of my youth. Besides, more than once the author led his large adult Bible Class through a detailed study of parts or all of the Book of Revelation. His sermons, of which there were two complete sets totalling well over a hundred sermons, were characterized by lucid, simple, and yet thorough exposition; and they were delivered with a warmth and fervor which kept a large congregation at spellbound attention Sunday after Sunday. It is my hope that something of these virtues is reflected in this commentary, which, for the sake of both interest and clarity, was written in essay form, rather than in the form of a verse-by-verse explanation.

May the Lord so bless this effort and sanctify this explanation of the last book of Holy Writ to the hearts of the readers that we may look more earnestly for the coming of our Lord.

Homer C. Hoeksema
Copyright © 1969 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reprinted in any form without permission from the publisher, except in the case of a brief quotation used in connection with a critical article or review.

For information, address
The Reformed Free Publishing Association
Box 2006
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501


Library of Congress Catalog No. 70-82449
ISBN 0-8254-2809-2 (Cloth)
ISBN 0-916206-28-9 (Paper)

This book is used by permission of the Reformed Free Publishing Association, for which permission we express our thanks.

CGPRF Rev. Thomas Miersma

Web editing note: To facilitate its use on the web the original Roman numerals have been converted to modern numerical format.
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