Revelation 12:9: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
Millennialism is the conviction that human history will end in a Golden Age. Reverend McKendree Robbins Long (1888-1976), a Presbyterian minister and artist from North Carolina, was influenced by the premillennial fundamentalist ideology that grew in the South in the early 20th century.
Renowned as an evangelist and fiery preacher, Long's artistic talent was as strong as his religious passion. Throughout his life, he created many Biblical drawings and paintings. Later in his career, he illustrated a series of vivid scenes from the Revelation to John, also known as the Book of Revelation. One of the earliest illustrations from that series is "A Horseman from the Vision of the Sixth Angel."
"To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" Revelation 5:13.
According to Revelation, the Lamb and his followers are victorious. The Lamb is mentioned 31 times in Revelation alone and is thought to represent Jesus symbolically giving of his life as an atoning sacrifice. The Beast or Dragon, often represents Satan. McKendree Robbins Long portrayed these figures in his art.
"Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." John 1:29.
Eschatological passages are found in many places in the Bible, both in the Old and the New Testaments. Reverend Long was also fond of creating illustrated sermon outlines, which he followed when preaching. In the sermon outlines shown here, Long focuses on the Tribulation, Hades, and the Apocalypse of Saint John.
