END TIMES PART 5
THE REVELATION GIVEN TO
THE APOSTLE JOHN
This study can be read as a stand-alone reference, but it will make far more sense to read the End Times Studies in order:
End Times Part 1 - Ezekiel’s prophesied resurrection of the State of Israel
End Times Part 2 - Ezekiel’s prophecy of WW III
End Times Part 3 - Daniel’s visions of the End Times
End Times Part 4 - Gospel and Epistle prophecies of the End Times
End Times Part 5 - The Revelation given to the apostle John
Scholars are pretty much in agreement that the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation and though the dates that he wrote it vary among scholars most feel that it was written between 81-96 A.D. although farther below I have suggested a far earlier date (39 A.D.) along with my reasons for that date.
John was on the Roman-controlled isle of Patmos, a small island off the east coast of Turkey which hosted a tin mine, important for the making of bronze (tin mixed with copper) an important alloy in weapons manufacture.
John doesn’t specifically say why he was on Patmos but intimates that it was because of
tribulation and the testimony of Jesus Christ, seemingly indicating that he may have been exiled
or imprisoned there.
REVELATION 1:9
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
It is interesting that the seven churches in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) are addressed in the book of Revelation, as for a period of time the apostle Paul was forbidden by the Holy Spirit from preaching in Asia Minor. As Luke recorded;
ACTS 16:6
6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
No reason was given for this in the Scriptures.
The first three chapters of Revelation record the spiritual status of the churches in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) that Paul founded when he was given permission by the Holy Spirit to preach there. Paul had also warned of events that would happen in the churches after his final visits when he said;
ACTS 20:28-31
28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
And true to Paul's word, not long after his death corruption became entrenched in the churches, just like today, as churches then and today are not watchful and diligent to keep false doctrines and heresies out.
Remember, if we don't learn from the past, we WILL be taught by the future!!!
Some years ago, I had a strange dream. I was standing in a lush green field, with bright, warm sunshine all around, and all about me were fat sheep grazing contentedly. But about 20 feet away was a huge tiger who was crouched over the bloody remains of a sheep that he had devoured. He had blood and wool around his mouth, there was blood and wool on the ground in front of him.
He was staring at the rest of the sheep and snarling, and I sensed that he was still hungry, and was about to select his next victim. What surprised me the most, was that the rest of the sheep were still grazing, either unaware of the tiger or uncaring that he was there.
Then the tiger saw me. He immediately raced over to me, springing up with teeth and claws bared to attack. I pointed at him and commanded, "In the name of Jesus Christ, get down!" He immediately crouched at my feet, still snarling, and his eyes literally glowed yellow with rage. I could tell that he wanted to tear me into pieces, but could not do so.
I awoke, and wrote it off as a weird dream. But it kept nagging at me throughout the day, and when I questioned the Lord about it, He told me this;
He said that the sheep are the churches; the tiger is Satan. He said that as the sheep were unaware or unconcerned that the tiger was among them, so are many of the churches today.
They are either asleep, or are more interested in their own comfort, rather than doing God's will. And Satan is destroying them spiritually one by one. Remember, these are God's words, not mine.
When is the last time that you heard a good strong sermon on judgement and Hell? When have you heard a good sermon on the sins of the flesh? The Gifts of the Spirit? Or a good sermon on spiritual warfare? How to fight Satan and win? Jesus spoke more on these things than anyone, and yet many churches are silent on the subject, their leaders afraid of offending their congregations.
Pastors also allow doctrines in the churches that have no Scriptural backing and allow the promotion of clearly unbiblical teachings. It is my sincere hope and prayer to the Father that people who visit here will understand and wake up to what is happening today.
Pastors, you are responsible for the doctrines taught in your church. God has set you up as a teacher for your flock, and He has commissioned you to care for them, and feed them. If you teach or allow doctrines to be taught that you cannot back up with Scripture in context, you are in serious danger of falling into Satan's hands, and taking your congregation with you.
REVELATION 1:1-3
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those
things which are written in it; for the time is near.
John was a pretty common name among the Jews of that time, so John presents his credentials as
a witness of Jesus, showing that he is John the Apostle.
None of the Apostles had any idea when Jesus would return, having asked Jesus about this after His resurrection, but were told;
ACTS 1:6-8
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
This is why John said that the things he saw must shortly take place, not knowing that it would be 2,000 years until we would start seeing the events he prophesied about. Jesus had previously warned that His return would be as a thief in the night and to be constantly ready. But if John had said that the events he saw were for the far future, people would become lax, knowing that He would not return in their lifetime.
I have heard many who don't read Revelation as they say it is not for us, it is too full of symbolism to make sense, etc. But John says in verse 3 above that those who read and keep the words of the prophecy are blessed!
Know and understand that many times even the prophets themselves didn't understand the meanings and events of which they prophesied. The prophet Daniel is a classic example. After recording the prophecies given by the angel Gabriel of future events, Daniel says;
DANIEL 12:8-10
8 Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the end of these things?"
9 And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
God's prophecies are timed, so that the generation for whom they were meant and those following will understand them.
People throughout history since John's time have tried to understand Revelation but have failed, mainly because the key events which needed to take place to understand the prophecies hadn't happened yet. That, and God ensured that the understanding of the Revelation prophecies remained shrouded in mystery until the generation for whom they were meant would arrive.
Now, understanding of the prophecies leading up to and included in the Book of Revelation are becoming clear as God grants us the wisdom and understanding to properly interpret them. In other words, we are the generation in which the events of Revelation will occur and it is vital that we understand what is about to happen, lest we be caught by surprise.
As Jesus warned;
LUKE 21:34-36
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
And the apostle Paul warned;
1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-3
1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.
2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as
labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
REVELATION 1:4-8
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and
who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
It took me a long time to find out what the seven Spirits were in verse 4 above. They are found in the book of Isaiah which says;
ISAIAH 11:1-2
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
The seven Spirits are;
1. The Holy Spirit;
2. Spirit of wisdom;
3. Spirit of understanding;
4. Spirit of counsel;
5. Spirit of might;
6. Spirit of knowledge;
7. Spirit of fear of the Lord
Notice what John says in verse 6 above!!! He says that Jesus has made us ALL priests and
kings before God. With the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. the Jewish priesthood was
destroyed along with the office of the High Priest.
There is no need for an Earthly High Priest any more, as Jesus is the eternal High Priest before God. There is no need for sacrifices as Jesus was the only sacrifice acceptable for sin before the Father. And with sacrifices no longer being needed there is no need for an Earthly, dedicated priesthood, for John says we are ALL priests before God with Jesus as our High Priest.
The apostle Peter understood this also, when he wrote to all believers, saying;
1 PETER 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
And if you carefully read the entire New Testament, there is no provision for the establishment of a replacement priesthood, Jew or Gentile, for if we are all priests, and able to go directly before God through Jesus Christ, what need is there for another intercessory priesthood?
The original priesthood was established to allow priests appointed by God to approach and intercede with God on behalf of the sinner, as Man was separated from God by sin. As priests and High Priests died, they were replaced by another, chosen from the descendants of Aaron’s grandson Phinehas alone. No one outside of the line of Phinehas was legally allowed to be a priest or High Priest.
Do you know one of the biggest reasons why the Temple was destroyed?
When Jesus died, the heavy, woven veil of the Temple between the outer court and the Most Holy place where the Presence of God dwelt, symbolizing the barrier of sin separating Man from God was ripped from top to bottom signifying the end of the sacrificial system, including the entire priesthood. The barrier of sin was removed, and Man could now come into God’s Presence through Jesus Christ without need for an Earthly intercessor.
God gave the Jews 40 years after Jesus’ death to stop the now-useless animal sacrifices, but in unbelief they continued. So in His fury He destroyed the Temple, the priesthood and the nation, scattering the Jews to the four corners of the Earth.
REVELATION 1:7
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
The apostle John makes an interesting statement here in this verse. He says that every eye will
see Him (Jesus), meaning that even they which pierced (crucified) Him will see Him when he
returns. In other words, even the dead in Hell will see Him when He returns in glory to claim
His kingdom!
This will also fulfill the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah concerning His return;
ZECHARIAH 12:9-10
9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
Note an interesting point here! This is an Old Testament prophecy, and Jesus is saying that all
the inhabitants of Jerusalem will see Him who they had pierced, showing that Jesus is the God
who appeared and spoke in the Old Testament as well!!!!
The inhabitants of Israel will see Jesus at His return, and when they see the scars from the nails in
His hands and feet, they will realize that He is indeed the promised Messiah whom they and their
fathers rejected. At that time, they will be in bitterness in understanding that this is the Messiah
they had so long waited for, that the New Testament writings concerning Him are indeed true,
and that it was He who gave the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai.
REVELATION 1:9-11
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
11 saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
In an interesting note, John makes no mention of the destruction of Jerusalem. Sailors back then were notorious gossips and that was a fast way to spread news over wide distances, and the destruction of a city like Jerusalem would have spread through the Roman Empire like wildfire. (In fact, Roman emperor Vespasian had coins minted with the inscription “Judea capta” (Judea conquered) on them, commemorating the destruction of the nation of Judea in 70 A.D.)
Scholars believe that the book of Revelation was written in between 81- 96 A.D. Yet the apostle Paul stated;
2 CORINTHIANS 12:2-4
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows; such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man - whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows,
4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Paul is referring to something the apostle John wrote about in Revelation chapter 10 which we will cover later in this study. Scholars generally agree that 2 Corinthians was written in about 52-53 A.D.
Paul says that John had his vision fourteen years earlier, which would put the vision in about 38-39 A.D., long before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Roman 10th and 13th legions.
Jesus had commanded;
REVELATION 1:11
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Assuming that John was obedient to the vision, he would have written Revelation immediately, he would not have waited 50 years to write what he had seen!!!!
Why God told John to write to the churches in Asia Minor rather than major Christian centers
like Jerusalem or Antioch in Syria is unknown.
John heard the resurrected, glorified Jesus telling him to write to the seven churches of Asia
Minor. Jesus presented His credentials, proclaiming that He is the Alpha and Omega, the First
and the Last, titles which only God can lay claim to, therefore identifying Himself as such to
John.
REVELATION 1:12-20
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hell and of Death.
19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden
lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands
which you saw are the seven churches.
John saw the resurrected Jesus Christ in a symbolic form. The whiteness of His hair represented
His purity, and his face shining like the sun represented His power. It had to be a representation,
for as He told Moses at Mount Sinai when Moses asked to see Him;
EXODUS 33:20
20 But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live."
John says His voice was like the "sound of many waters", in other words a thunderous sound. God spoke to me that way once, and I'll never forget it. It was like standing next to a erupting volcano! His voice shook me to the roots of my being, and I had no doubt as to who it was!!
REVELATION 2:1-7
1 "To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.
6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who
overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of
God."'
The Ephesian church was diligent in works for Jesus, but they now did it as a routine, without the
reverence and faith expected of such service, much as the Jews earlier did concerning the duties
of the Law. The prophet Isaiah said;
ISAIAH 28:13
13 But the word of the Lord was to them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little," that they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.
The church at Ephesus no longer had the reverence and love for Jesus as the reason for what they did, and were in danger of falling away. Jesus tells them that unless they repent and renew their dedication, they will suffer judgment before Him, intimating that they would be destroyed.
The Nicolaitans were a heretical Christian sect that mixed pagan rituals with Christian doctrine. They believed the poisonous doctrine that the flesh was sinful but the spirit was incorruptible, therefore the flesh could indulge in sin while the spirit could remain pure, not understanding (or ignoring) the warning in Hebrews which says;
HEBREWS 10:26-27
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour
the adversaries.
REVELATION 2:8-11
8 "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, 'These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:
9 "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."'
This church had been suffering from attacks by those calling themselves Law-abiding Jews, but were not (possibly of the sect of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, Greek-speaking Jews who followed Greek custom and religious beliefs and caused problems for the early church, resulting in the stoning death of Stephen);
ACTS 6:8-10
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.
9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) - Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia - who began to argue with Stephen.
10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
They were Jews ethnically, but not in heart. As Paul stated;
ROMANS 2:28-29
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
As prophesied by Jesus, in 301 A.D. a savage persecution under Roman Emperor Diocletian broke out and continued until 311 A.D., a ten-year period. It stopped when Diocletian and his court realized that despite torture and executions the persecution only made Christianity grow. Much like stamping on a fire to put it out, you may extinguish the main blaze, but the sparks will scatter, starting new fires.
REVELATION 2:12-17
12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
13 "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who
overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone,
and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."'
Apparently Pergamos was the area that Satan chose as his base of operations for a period of time.
God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, which mean He knows everything, is
everywhere simultaneously and is all-powerful, while Satan is none of these. Therefore Satan
has to physically move his throne from place to place to direct his operations here on Earth.
As the book of Job records;
JOB 1:6-7
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Locating his throne in Turkey makes sense as if you go north, you’re in Russia; going east and south puts you in the Middle East; going south puts you in Africa; and going west puts you in Europe. So a location in Turkey would be an ideal, centralized location for Satan’s base of operations.
According to ancient records Antipas was stuffed into a huge hollow bronze bull statue under which a fire was kindled. The bull was created so that the screams coming out of the bull's open mouth as the victim burned to death inside sounded like a bull bellowing.
Balaam was a Midianite false prophet and sorcerer that Israel encountered when they came out of Egypt who induced Israel to worship Baal and carouse with pagan women. God became angry for they had just seen Him on Mount Sinai, had seen Him destroy the Egyptian army in the Red Sea and now they were worshiping pagan gods. As a result, He sent a plague among them which killed 24,000 Israelites and God commanded the ringleaders to be hung from a tree as a curse in the sight of the people.
The sinful practices of the Nicolaitans have been discussed in the letter to the Ephesian church above.
But there were some in Pergamos who remained faithful to Jesus which must have irritated Satan no end. And apparently when we get to Heaven we will be given a new name which only we will know, just like Jesus;
REVELATION 19:11-12
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
REVELATION 2:18-23
18 "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:
19 "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.
20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.
22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
Thyatira was a contrast between the faithful and those who openly taught corruption within the church. Satan is busiest within the churches and far too many tolerate corrupt practices and teachings within their congregations and become useless as a result.
Jezebel is held up in the Old Testament Scriptures as the prime example of a sinful woman, and while the woman in Thyatira was probably not named Jezebel, in God's eyes she was just as bad. By the sounds of it, she may have been a 'temple prostitute' like some of the pagan religions of that time. And God was going to give her an incurable disease (more than likely a sexually transmitted disease) and those who caroused with her would suffer intense persecution (perhaps the same 10 year persecution under Emperor Diocletian, discussed earlier.)
REVELATION 2:24-29
24 "Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.
25 But hold fast what you have till I come.
26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations--
27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels' as I also have received from My Father;
28 and I will give him the morning star.
29 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
Jesus was pleased with those who remained faithful, only warning them to remain faithful. Jesus' reign when He returns will be strict but fair. Sin will be punished equally without partiality or respect of persons. And we will have the authority to rule in the same fashion under Jesus' worldwide reign.
As we shall see in Revelation chapter 22, Jesus calls Himself the 'Morning Star'. We will belong to Him and He will belong to us.
REVELATION 3:1-6
1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
6 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
The church in Sardis was so corrupt that Jesus labeled them as 'living dead' - alive physically, but
dead spiritually. He warns them that if they do not repent He will bring judgment upon them
without warning, something we ALL need to heed.
There is a poisonous doctrine circulating among the churches today, of 'once saved, always
saved', which says that when we accept Jesus, if we later fall away we will not lose our salvation
despite Scriptural warnings to the contrary. Peter warns;
2 PETER 2:20-22
20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."
The author of Hebrews is even more blunt when he says;
HEBREWS 10:26-31
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people."
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Note especially in Revelation 3:5 above, your name can be blotted out of the Book of Life!!!
Even Moses knew about the Book of Life, when he said after the Golden Calf incident;
EXODUS 32:30-33
30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!
32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."
33 And the Lord said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
God hates sin, and it is the peak of arrogance to believe that we can willfully sin and still make it to Heaven! In the greatest act of love and mercy ever known God sent Jesus to suffer and pay the price for our sins, allowing us to escape Satan's eternal punishment. If we love sin more than Jesus, then we have chosen Satan as our god and we will surely follow into his eternal punishment.
The choice is yours alone to make. Don't wait too long as you don't know how long you will live. And after death you can repent all you wish but it will be too late. Your reservation in Hell and later the Lake of Fire will be set.
Remain faithful and Jesus will confess your name with joy before the eternal Father at your Judgment and will welcome you into Heaven.
REVELATION 3:7-13
7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens"
8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
13 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
Some people feel that the letters written by John to the seven churches in Asia Minor
(present-day Turkey) represent seven periods in church history, and that the church of
Philadelphia represents the churches of today. While there may seem to be similarities in
some cases, (especially the letter to the church of Laodicea below) there is no evidence to
support this.
The 'pre-Tribulation Rapture' believers point to verse 10 above and claim that this is proof that
Jesus will return for His Church before the Great Tribulation. Jesus warned us to the contrary and
I have proven this in the End Times Part 4 study and will show further proof later in this study.
Jesus was correct in that the church in Philadelphia was spared from tribulation, but I believe he was referring to the savage ten year persecution of the Christians throughout the breadth of the Roman Empire begun in A.D. 301 by Roman Emperor Diocletian. He set before them an “open door” meaning there would be no hindrance to their preaching the Gospel to non-believers.
The “synagogue of Satan” He spoke of may refer to the same group of Hellenized Jews (Greek speaking Jews who followed Greek customs and religious practices) spoken of in Jesus’ rebuke of the church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:9 above.
These “Hellenized Jews” also comprised the sect of the Sadducees in the Gospels.
REVELATION 3:14-22
14 "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
17 Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked--
18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'"
This is an example of a totally complacent, arrogant, worldly, spiritually dead church. They are comfortable and rich, mistaking physical wealth for spiritual health. Yet Jesus who sees their spiritual state says that they instead are poor, blind, naked, wretched and miserable.
He advises that they buy gold (faith) refined in the fires of persecution, eye salve that they may discern spiritual matters, and white robes of righteousness so that they will be clothed at their Judgment. (This indicates that the unrighteous will appear naked at their Judgment, to their shame)
Jesus also says that complacent, lazy Christians are an abomination to Him, and He will vomit their name out of His mouth with revulsion and contempt at their Judgment. These are Christians who want Heaven and the world as well. We either must be either totally for Him, or totally against Him, there is no “neutral ground”. We can't 'sit on the fence' as it is like trying to balance on a razor. No middle ground, only a choice of sides.
For those who don't want to choose sides, like in any war, you must choose one side or the other. There is a war between God and Satan for the souls of men, and you must choose sides whether you like it or not. And by not choosing sides, you have already chosen sides. And that choice will send you to Hell with Satan. There is no “neutral ground” here.
Note that Jesus says that He knocks on the door of our heart. This indicates that we must open our heart to Him from the inside, He will not forcibly enter. We must open ourselves to Him willingly.
REVELATION 4:1-3
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
This is truly remarkable in that while the God the Father is often spoken of, with the exception of a brief description in the book of Daniel, the Father is never seen. But here He is described as being human-shaped, although He is seen to be like a jasper stone (clear quartz) and a sardius stone (deep red) in color. His throne is also surrounded by a complete circular rainbow of green color like an emerald.
John described seeing a door standing open in Heaven. Jesus always spoke in simple terms so that the uneducated people could understand what He meant. He had previously described Heaven as being like a sheepfold with Himself as the entry door.
He said He is the true Savior and Shepherd. Others had appeared, but the sheep (believers) knew they were wolves in shepherds clothing and wouldn't care for the sheep, so they wouldn't listen. Jesus is the true Door and is He who determines who enters Heaven. As He Himself said;
JOHN 10:7-10
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Shepherds will oftentimes allow their flocks of sheep to graze together in a pasture. But when it
is time to leave, they call their sheep and the flocks follow their own shepherd and will ignore
anyone else. Fascinating to watch!
REVELATION 4:4-5
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
The 24 elders are the 12 original patriarchs from whom the 12 tribes of Israel formed, and the 12 apostles of Jesus, showing the continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The 7 spirits of God represented by lamps of fire before His throne were previously identified in chapter 1 as;
1. The Holy Spirit;
2. Spirit of wisdom;
3. Spirit of understanding;
4. Spirit of council;
5. Spirit of might;
6. Spirit of knowledge;
7. Spirit of fear of the Lord
REVELATION 4:6-8
6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,Who was and is and is to come!"
Here we come to an interesting point. John sees four creatures with four faces, and six wings. These are seraphim, rarely mentioned in the Bible. They guard God's throne and praise Him forever. The many eyes on them signify the fact that God is all-seeing. The meaning of the four heads has long been debated over and myriad theories given, but Scripture is silent concerning them.
These were first seen by the prophet Isaiah when he saw a vision of them in Judah;
ISAIAH 6:1-4
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
Apparently cherubim look almost exactly like them, with the exception that they have only four wings, and do not have the eyes that seraphim do. The prophet Ezekiel described them when he was a captive in Babylon;
EZEKIEL 1:4-12
4 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
5 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves' feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze.
8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings.
9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.
10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.
11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies.
12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
Ezekiel again describes the cherubim he saw;
EZEKIEL 10:14-15
14 Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar.
There has been some confusion as to the faces of the cherubim for in the verses above he
describes them as having faces of a lion, cherub, man and eagle, whereas in Ezekiel chapter 1:10
he says they had faces of a lion, ox, man and eagle. And in Ezekiel 10:15 he says that they were
the same creatures he had seen at the first.
So, all of the old paintings of cherubs looking like babies with two wings and a baby face are
wrong. (Not unusual, many paintings like the famous "Last Supper" are wrong. The table at
which the disciples and Jesus sat was actually horseshoe-shaped and in Roman custom Judas lay
at the left end of the table as the honored guest, reclining on His left elbow, with Jesus in like
fashion reclining to His right, and John to His right leaning against His chest. The other disciples
would have been to John's right with Peter at the other end, across from Jesus and John. Tables
were horseshoe-shaped so servants could serve the guests directly from the front. The guests
would have eaten with their right hand. Thus Jesus could have easily have fed Judas the piece of
wine-soaked bread at the Last Supper.)
Cherubim and Seraphim are virtually identical except that Seraphim have six wings and Cherubim only have four; and Seraphim are full of eyes round about, Cherubim only have the usual two. Both have four faces, that of an ox, a lion, a man and an eagle.
REVELATION 4:9-11
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11 "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."
The elders cast their crowns before the Father in thanksgiving and praise and that the glory of their crowns may be added to His glory.
REVELATION 5:1-4
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?"
3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
John saw God the Father sitting on His Throne, holding a scroll sealed with seven seals. Seals on scrolls in ancient times were usually sealed with melted wax or more commonly with a blob of wet clay. The seal (sometimes a carved ring, or a "bulla" a clay cylinder with an inscription cut into it) was pressed into the wax or clay. The image created would be easily seen and would tell the courier or recipient who the letter was from. If the seal was broken, it would be known that the letter had been opened and read before reaching the recipient.
One can understand John's tears, more than likely of frustration, because the scroll is presented, but no one is worthy to open it, but John is then told that Jesus, having been made equal to His Father was worthy to open the scroll.
It is interesting to note the contrasts in Jesus. He is called “the Lion of Judah” meaning He has the attributes of a lion, namely power, might, majesty and royalty, but He is also portrayed as a Lamb, sweet, gentle and innocent. Only God could incorporate both natures in one Person!
REVELATION 5:6-8
6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
We saw earlier what the seven spirits of God were, according to what was told to the prophet Isaiah;
1. The Holy Spirit;
2. Spirit of wisdom;
3. Spirit of understanding;
4. Spirit of council;
5. Spirit of might;
6. Spirit of knowledge;
7. Spirit of fear of the Lord
I suspect that the twenty four elders will be the twelve Old Testament patriarchs from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve apostles even though John was there observing. After Judas Iscariot committed suicide, the apostles cast lots for a replacement and a man named Matthias was chosen.
Note especially in verse 8 that our prayers are like incense before God, a sweet aroma to Him!!!
REVELATION 5:9-14
9 And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
12 saying with a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!"
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
Something to note here; The number of angels is listed as over 100 million plus unknown
thousands. When Satan rebelled he took 1/3 of the angels with him, so that gives a rough idea of
the number of demons in his kingdom!
REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was
given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
John watches as the Lamb (Jesus) opens a scroll sealed with seven seals, each seal containing a prediction of things to come. The first seal reveals the rise of the Antichrist, who is given authority to conquer wherever he goes and wherever he wishes as we have previously seen in the studies from the Old Testament book of Daniel, (End Times Part 3).
The white horse is deceptive; he will appear to be righteous but will be Satan's version of Jesus. The Jews were expecting a warrior-Messiah when Jesus appeared the first time, ignoring the Scriptural passages of the Suffering Servant in the Old Testament book of Isaiah for example;
ISAIAH 53:2-12
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked-- but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with
the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the
transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
The Antichrist in turn will appear as a great, mighty martial ruler who will guarantee seven years of peace to Israel through a treaty after WW III as prophesied by Daniel in the Old Testament book that bears his name, and the Antichrist’s 'prophet' companion will perform miracles, seeking to show that the Antichrist is the Messiah that the Jews and the world has been waiting for. Unfortunately, much of the world (with Satan's direct help) will believe him. As Scripture says;
2 THESSALONIANS 2:8-12
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Many wonder how this could happen to the Jewish people, especially as they have had the Torah (Law given to Moses) and the prophets for thousands of years. Yet there is much confusion among the Jews as to the nature of the Messiah.
Many Jews do not believe that He will be divine, believing instead that God is too great to be contained in a human body. Therefore they will be looking for a human Messiah, a great conqueror who will save Israel from their enemies which the Antichrist will do.
I am not going to get into further speculation concerning how the Jews will be deceived by the
Antichrist as the Bible does not give any details. But he will deceive them, Scripture is clear on
that account, using false miracles to do so.
REVELATION 6:3-4
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take
peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a
great sword.
The second seal reveals war. This will include World War III, which means that the Antichrist will begin his rise before WW III comes to pass. He will not begin to take the reins of world control until after the war is finished, as by then Europe, from where he will rise, will be the only cohesive political and military confederation capable of attempting world domination. (For more information on WW III, please see the End Times Part 2 (WW III) study in this site)
We have seen the effects of this seal being opened with the wars that we continually hear about. Africa is constantly convulsed by wars, South America has continual brush fire wars, conflicts in the Balkans, the recent war to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan, the present Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Russian invasion of Crimea, the ongoing war in Syria to name a few examples.
I believe that the second seal has been opened, and if the second seal is open, the first is open also. This means that he who will be called the Antichrist is alive and waiting to take power during or right after WW III.
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
After World War III famine will run rampant throughout the world, represented by the balances carried by the figure on the horse.The fact that the horse is black reinforces the concept.
This would make sense as with the devastation that World War III will cause, world economies will collapse. Those countries that will be most directly affected by the war (the United States and Russia) will suffer terribly under the scourges of radiation, disease, poisoned water, polluted air and famine. People won't be able to go to the local grocery store, as it won't be there any more, or if it is, it will have nothing to sell. Without electricity food in refrigerators will quickly perish without cold to preserve it. People will murder each other for whatever food and water can be found. It will be even worse if it happens during the winter!! (Much of Europe gets its natural gas from Russia, and with Russia destroyed there will be no natural gas for heating.)
Delivery systems for food and supplies will grind to a halt in countries not directly affected by the war, especially in Third World countries as foreign aid ceases. Also weather changes caused by the war and radiation-poisoned land being unusable for crops will cause starvation to run rampant worldwide.
Europe will survive relatively intact, for as the European Union is to become the power base of the Antichrist in the End Times, Europe will declare neutrality when the war breaks out, leaving the United States and Russia to face each other on the battlefield at last. The United States and Russia will destroy each other, and Arab power will be shattered forever as prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39 (End Times Part 2), leaving Europe as the only cohesive world power left with the political, military and economic clout capable of taking the reins of world power. China will not be ready to seek world dominance until shortly before Armageddon as we will see later.
The fact that food will be highly priced is evident in verse 6, for a denarius as spoken of here was
a day's wage when John wrote the book of Revelation. The amounts mentioned were enough to
make a small loaf of bread. So the amount of flour required to make a loaf of bread will cost a
day’s wages.The fact that luxury goods such as oil and wine aren't priced to me indicates that
their value in relation to basic foodstuffs will be insignificant. Food will be the supreme goal in
the eyes of the survivors.
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see."
8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and
Hell followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill
with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
This verse says that one quarter of the world's population will be destroyed by World War III and its after-effects. After the initial nuclear strikes are over, forest fires will be raging out of control especially in America and in Russia. Food and water will be scarce, poisoned, or non-existent, as will medical supplies, shelter, fuel, etc.
Radioactive dust will be carried for thousands of miles on prevailing winds generated by the nuclear strikes and the huge firestorms in the forests of Russia and the United States. Such radiation will render millions of acres of farmland useless, increasing the world famine.
Animals, especially dogs, will turn wild as starvation sets in and will hunt in packs, attacking humans as food. Starving people will kill each other for food and in extreme cases will even turn to cannibalism just to survive.
Disease epidemics caused by millions of unburied dead bodies and biological toxins used during the war will sweep the world, adding to the horrors of radiation sickness. Those who die during the initial nuclear strikes will be considered lucky by the survivors.
The fact that Hell is following Death on the same horse, shows the destination of many of
those who will die during these times. And the many diseases and causes of death described
in the book of Revelation will be caused by the aftermath of the war.
REVELATION 6:9-11
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
These are the souls all of the martyred saints who have been killed down through history from Abel the brother of Cain in the book of Genesis, to this point of events in the prophetic calendar. And another very important point is made here! They are told to rest until the rest of their brethren who are to be killed as they were are accomplished.
In other words, they are told to rest until the number of believing Jews and Christians who are to be killed during the great Tribulation under the Antichrist are put to death. Then, and only then will God avenge their blood on those who destroyed them, namely when Jesus comes for His saints who are still alive when He returns at Armageddon.
The apostle Paul speaks of this when he said;
2 THESSALONIANS 1:7-10
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
Again, this points to a post-Tribulation return of Jesus!
REVELATION 6:12
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Here we see a repetition of the promise of events that will occur before Jesus' return, as prophesied in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (Please see End Times Part 4 for these references) Jesus spoke of an increase in earthquakes (there has been a one thousand percent increase in quakes since 1900!).
Just before His return, the sun will also go out, and in some fashion the Moon will turn red, much
as it does during a Lunar eclipse. I suspect the sun will slowly burn out, growing dimmer and
redder as it does. The Moon, reflecting the sunlight, will turn red as well.
REVELATION 6:13
13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
This shows Satan and his demons being violently cast out of Heaven for the last time, never to
appear there again. They will be cast down to the Earth to make their final stand before Jesus
returns. We'll see more of this in chapter 12.
REVELATION 6:14-17
14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
Here John jumps ahead in time to the actual return of Jesus during Armageddon. The sky will split and roll back, and there will be an earthquake of a magnitude never before experienced by man. (We'll see more of this in Revelation 16)
He will then destroy the Antichrist and his empire, and will rule the Earth directly.
The One sitting on the throne will be God the Father, and the Lamb is of course Jesus, in fulfillment of;
DANIEL 7:9-14
9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire;
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.”
11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.
12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.”
13 “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”
(Note: the horn seen by Daniel represents the Antichrist. For more information, please see the End Times Part 3 study in this Web site).
REVELATION 7:1-8
1 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
3 saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
The fact that John saw four angels holding back the four winds indicates that there will be a short space of peace prevailing before the Tribulation, as winds in prophecy usually represent changes in political issues, as were shown in the book of Daniel. The fact that they are holding the winds from blowing on the whole earth, shows that the politics of the one-world government under the Antichrist is already in place.
However, the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's youngest son has been substituted for the tribe of Dan in the list of Jewish tribes above. The Old Testament describes the tribe of Dan as falling into idolatry (Judges chapter 18), and I suspect that the entire tribe eventually died out. Thus we see the house of Manasseh taking Dan's place, in fulfillment of his father Jacob's prophecy to his son Joseph of;
GENESIS 48:22
22 Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow."
Thus Joseph received a portion of his own and another through Manasseh his son in the blessings of the future inheritances for the twelve tribes in Jesus' coming kingdom.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that 144,000 of their members will inherit heaven while the rest of the redeemed will inherit a new Earth. Yet Scripture clearly states here that 144,000 of the descendants of the original twelve tribes (except Dan) will be anointed and separated to God.
And as we shall soon see, the Scriptures clearly state that the 144,000 will be virgin Jewish Messianic men, who will be a form of a personal retinue for Jesus. And yet the Jehovah's Witnesses still teach that 144,000 men of their religion will form this group.
It is for reasons such as this that we must know Scripture, or we will be caught up in such false doctrines!
And as the original documents containing the genealogies of the descendants of the twelve tribes
was destroyed with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. by the Roman 10th
and 13th legions, no Jewish person today truly knows what tribe he or she is descended from.
There are several very good reasons why God in His wisdom allowed this.
Please read this next part very carefully!
One of the reasons God allowed the Temple to be destroyed is that there is no longer a need for a
separate, dedicated priesthood. That office was ended when the Temple curtain was ripped from
top to bottom at Jesus' death on the cross. The barrier of sin represented by that curtain was taken
away, and Man could now go directly to God through Jesus Christ to confess sin without the
need for a priest to intercede for him.
In the Old Testament, the priests interceded before God for the sins of the people, as sin separated Man from God when Adam sinned in the garden of Eden, and the Law required a mediator chosen by God to act as a go-between to intercede between man and God.
When Jesus died, He took the sins of the world into His body, and when He died, the sins died with Him. At that point, the sins were taken away, and there was no longer a need for a man to intercede with God for sin. Jesus is now the only acceptable intercessor, and He alone can forgive our sins, and allow us access to His Father, not an Earthly priest.
As Scripture states:
I TIMOTHY 2:5-6
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
The destruction of the Temple eliminated the need for animal sacrifices. With Jesus' death, animal sacrifices were no longer necessary, as Jesus was the perfect, sinless sacrifice required by the Law. And again, with the need for sacrifice taken away, there was and is no longer a need for a priesthood. The Jews continued performing now-useless sacrifices for 40 years after Jesus' death, until God in His fury at their disobedience and unbelief destroyed the Temple, the priesthood and the entire Jewish nation for 1,878 years.
Finally, no one can now claim to be the Messiah. The Messiah was to come from the line of David and with the genealogical records being destroyed, no one knows which tribe he is descended from.
Some believe that the 144,000 Jews will preach the Gospel during the Tribulation period, but there is nothing in Scripture to support this.
REVELATION 7:9-17
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying: Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"
14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to
living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
John sees a multitude of saints standing before God, Christians who have been killed during the
last great Tribulation under the Antichrist. John sees their eternal reward at the end of time, when
God the Father Himself will dwell among them, and they will no more suffer pain, hunger or
thirst, but will dwell in eternal peace and joy before the throne of Almighty God Himself. Amen!
The magnitude of destruction during the Tribulation is shown by the fact that John sees an innumerable multitude of people who have been martyred for their faith. Jesus spoke of this when He said;
MATTHEW 24:21
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
I can't be certain here, but I'm pretty sure that the half hour of silence coincides with the sealing
of the 144,000 descendants of Israel as was seen in Revelation 7:1-8. God waits until this event is
complete before moving on to the next step.
REVELATION 8:2-3
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
This is an important area of Scripture which needs to have careful attention paid to it!
First there are seven trumpets to be blown. Remember what Jesus said about returning with the sound of a great trumpet and the voice of the archangel, and what Paul said in;
I CORINTHIANS 15:51-52
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Jesus said He would return with the sound of a trumpet, Paul says it will be at the sound of the LAST trumpet. Seven trumpets are to be blown in the book of Revelation. Hold that in mind.
Also it is interesting to note that to God, our prayers are offered with incense to create a sweet
aroma before His Throne. This shows the value and care that God places upon personal prayer
lifted up to Him. He pays personal attention to prayers, takes personal pleasure in them, and they
are as sweet incense to Him!
REVELATION 8:4-5
4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth:
and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
There will be many earthquakes recorded in the book of Revelation, but the location of many of
them is not given.
REVELATION 8:6-7
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they
were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was
burnt up.
This is a hard one, as Scripture really doesn't give a clue as to whether this is a real hailstorm, or
a symbol. A similar literal hailstorm fell upon Egypt as one of the plagues of God by Moses, in
which fire was mixed with the hail. Whether this was a form of chain-lightning or something else
isn't given. What IS important is the fact that one third of the trees are destroyed, and all green
grass is destroyed.
I think the green grass being destroyed is a symbol, for if all of the grass were destroyed, virtually
every herbivorous animal would starve to death. I think we are seeing the results of World War
III and it's aftermath. The massive firestorms in the United States and Russia that will be ignited
by the war could fit the category of one third of the trees being burned.
REVELATION 8:8-9
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the
third part of the ships were destroyed.
Much press has been given recently to asteroids that periodically cross the earth's orbit. Scientists say that if such an asteroid were to approach the Earth, we may have at best only several hours or several days of warning. In other words we couldn't do anything to stop it. And from what John describes here, it will be a total surprise when it impacts.
A number of times in the past few years we've had small asteroids pass close by that weren't detected until they were past the Earth on their way toward the sun!
Such an impact, if it hits somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, (which is where I am about 99% certain it will strike), would fit the bill for what John describes here. This would make the most sense to me, as a Pacific strike would spare Europe the devastation caused by the tremendous tsunamis, heat and blast effects and titanic storms that would be generated by such an event, leaving the power base of the Antichrist intact. An Atlantic strike would devastate the eastern coasts of North and South America, the entire western coast of Europe, the entire Mediterranean coastline and north Africa to a lesser extent, while a strike in the Indian Ocean would certainly affect Israel, from which the Antichrist will rule toward the end of the End Times.
Scripture doesn't record disasters of the magnitude here as affecting Africa, Europe or the Middle East, so therefore a Pacific Ocean strike is the most likely place for this asteroid to impact. If I were to give a location, I would say the central to south Pacific ocean would be the most likely candidates.
Coming in at 30,000 to 45,000 miles per hour (48,280 - 74,420 km / hr), the impact would create a plasma fireball many miles wide which would rise to the top of the stratosphere within minutes. Shock waves of superheated nearly - solid air would blast out in all directions at over 600 miles per hour (966 km/hr), destroying everything on the surface for hundreds of miles from the point of impact, generating storms of incredible ferocity, and altering world weather patterns for years.
The vaporized mud and debris generated by such an impact could conceivably destroy one-third of the life in the sea, as shock waves race across the sea floor and as the acid rains generated by the flash-vaporized seabed poison the sea and land for hundreds, even thousands of miles in all directions.
Tsunamis, racing across the sea at hundreds of miles per hour and conceivably reaching hundreds
of feet in height upon approaching shorelines would devastate the maritime capabilities of the
entire Pacific Rim, literally destroying one third of the world's shipping, inundating thousands of
cities, causing untold millions of deaths, and poisoning millions of square miles of land with
saltwater driven by the tsunamis. Silt runoff and debris from the waters retreating from the land
after the tsunamis would also contribute to the poisoning of the sea.
Volcanologists have found evidence that the explosion of the volcano Thera (legendary Atlantis)
in the Aegean Sea east of Greece in circa 1531 B.C. generated tsunamis that reached up to 600
feet in height in places in Turkey, hundreds of miles to the east.
The ancient Minoan culture of the island of Crete 60 miles to the south of Thera was quite advanced for it's time, having internal plumbing and hot-and-cold running water in their homes. Their ships plied the Mediterranean sea, and apparently even traded with Egypt. They were not, however, the "super-race" that legends make them to be. One of their greatest advantages was that they could make iron weapons when the rest of the world could only manufacture bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) weapons.
When Thera erupted, the volcano blew a hole a mile deep in the ocean and is deemed the largest known volcanic explosion in recorded history. The explosion destroyed the advanced Minoan culture in the Cyclades islands of the Aegean sea, and totally devastated the island of Crete to the south with superheated air blasts, and massive tsunamis. The Minoan survivors of this explosion who fled the island before the eruption conquered their way down the Mediterranean coast, invaded coastal Palestine, and became the Philistines. As Scripture records,
JEREMIAH 47:4
4 Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for the Lord shall plunder the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.
Caphtor is the ancient name for the island of Crete. Note that God calls them the remnant
of the country of Caphtor, showing that they were survivors of some disaster, more than
likely the eruption of Thera.
The magnitude of an asteroid strike described in Scripture would make Thera look like a
firecracker, as far as energy release. Tsunamis would race in all directions at velocities up to 600
miles per hour or greater to scour the coastlands of the entire Pacific region, followed by storms
of unimaginable ferocity which would rage over what was left. Such devastation is hard to
imagine, and the loss of life and commerce will be appalling.
REVELATION 8:10-11
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became
wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
I believe that this indicates the end result of pollution. Radioactive fallout from WW III, acid
rains, industrial wastes, water-borne diseases carried into water supplies from unburied bodies
will finally reach a point of where one third of the world's water supply will become undrinkable.
This plague goes hand in hand with the next one below.
REVELATION 8:12-13
12 Then the fourth angel sounded: and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"
This does not mean that one-third of the sun will be black. I believe that this means that the sun will have to rise 60 degrees into the sky before it can break through the dust and pollution that will fill the atmosphere, and will disappear within 60 degrees of the horizon at sunset.
Dust from the nuclear strikes of World War III, smoke from the resulting forest fires, industrialized pollution, dust from volcanic eruptions and the dust, water vapor and sulfuric acid vapor droplets generated by volcanic eruptions and by the asteroid strike will all combine to put a pall of sunlight-blocking particles in the atmosphere.
There will be an incredible increase in respiratory problems during this time! And as verse 13
states, there are still three more trumpets to sound!
REVELATION 9:1-11
1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.
8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.
9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.
10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
I have wrestled with this one for a long time. The star falling from heaven to earth is obviously Satan, the Great Destroyer (both Abaddon and Apollyon mean "Destroyer"). This could show Satan being cast out of Heaven to make his final stand on Earth as prophesied in Scripture.
He will be allowed to open the pits of Hell, and release a plague upon the earth of what appears to be mutated locusts. This could either be a plague of demons, or could be the result of genetic engineering gone horribly wrong. I have had no word from the Lord concerning the meaning of this, so I can only speculate here.
But note one thing: they will be allowed to sting anyone who does not have the Seal of God given to the 144,000 Jews on their foreheads! This means that Christians will suffer this plague as well!
Many will probably argue with me over this, but remember ALL of Egypt (including the Jews)
suffered under the first three plagues of Egypt (bloody water, frogs, lice) before God kept the
plagues from affecting the Israelites in Goshen. (Exodus chapters 7 & 8)
REVELATION 9:12-16
12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.
13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.
Now comes the beginning of the Armageddon buildup. There are four of Satan's demons bound in the river Euphrates who will be released for the very purpose of stirring China to battle. And what is even more fascinating is that China has long boasted that it has a two hundred million man standing army ready to move at any time.
Also, historically the river Euphrates has been the "dividing line" between Asia and Europe. As
we will soon see, the Euphrates will be dried up to prepare the way for the Chinese forces. And
what's worse the Chinese will be able to kill 1/3 of mankind who survived WW III!
REVELATION 9:17-19
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto
serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
I am guessing here, but I think John is describing some sort of a tank. If John saw an armored
tank, the sun reflecting from the armor would look like fire, and the smoke and fire erupting from
the main gun would seem to be like fire erupting from the head of a lion. The serpents could be
the top-mounted machine guns and the heads those of the gunners. Like I said, I am guessing
here, so it could be a tank, or with the advances in weaponry, something entirely different.
These weapons will kill one third of humanity who have survived the rest of the plagues that have descended upon the Earth! Jesus spoke truly that if He didn't shortened the days, no flesh (Greek: sarx, literal flesh) would be saved! As He, Himself said;
MATTHEW 24:21-22
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake
those days will be shortened.
REVELATION 9:20-21
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
The demonic influence in people's lives under the Antichrist will be so great that instead of
repenting and turning to God because of these plagues, they will still perform the evil in their
hearts, bringing more destruction upon themselves. The idols they will worship will more than
likely be the idols made to the Antichrist. Hard to believe, isn't it?
REVELATION 10:1-7
1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
2 He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them."
5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven
6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,
7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the
mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.
This is what the apostle Paul was referring to when he said;
2 CORINTHIANS 12:2-4
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows; such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows;
4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Again, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians in about 53 A.D. so John must have seen and have written his vision of Revelation 14 years earlier in about 39 A.D. not 100 A.D. as many seem to think.
Here at last is the key to the seven trumpets! In the days of the seventh angel, when he sounds his trumpet, it will all be finished! Jesus will return as He has promised, with the last (seventh) trumpet, and will gather His redeemed from Heaven and Earth, and will set up His kingdom!
Note the angel also says that when the last trumpet sounds, there will be no more waiting for all
things to be fulfilled. The redeemed will no longer be subject to time, for we will be in our new,
immortal, glorified bodies! And as there will be no more sun for the glory of Jesus will
illuminate the Earth, time will be meaningless.
Please hold this thought in mind for a little while longer, and we'll see what happens when
the last angel sounds.
REVELATION 10:8-11
8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, "Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth."
9 So I went to the angel and said to him, "Give me the little book. And he said to me, "Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth."
10 Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
11 And he said to me, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings."
The preached Word is sweet to relate and hear, but the conviction of the heart can be bitter, as
John is experiencing here!
REVELATION 11:1-2
1Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.
2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
Forty two months....... three and a half years....... time, times, the dividing of time..... sound familiar from the Old Testament book of Daniel? The Antichrist will rule from the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem for three and a half years, persecuting the Jews and Christians and causing all who live to receive his mark and worship him, or be killed.
For more information on this, please see the study of the book of Daniel (End Times Part 3).
REVELATION 11:3-5
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the Earth.
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
These men will not have literal fire coming from their mouths, but will have spoken authority from God to destroy those who oppose them. They will be allowed to continue for three and a half years during the Great Tribulation while opposing the Antichrist and being a source of hope for believers.
They are also the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophet Zechariah's vision;
ZECHARIAH 4:1-5
1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.
3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left."
4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?"
5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord."
ZECHARIAH 4:11-14
11 Then I answered and said to him, "What are these two olive trees--at the right of the lampstand and at its left?"
12 And I further answered and said to him, "What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacle of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?"
13 Then he answered me and said, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord."
14 So he said, "These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth."
REVELATION 11:6
6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and
they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues,
as often as they desire.
Some believe that these men will be Moses and Elijah resurrected, but these will be two men
chosen by God for this particular ministry much like John the Baptist. And while they will be
given the same authority as Moses and Elijah, they will not be Moses and Elijah resurrected, for
all of the dead must wait until Jesus brings them back with Him.
REVELATION 11:7-14
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
Here we see the spiritual state of Jerusalem. God equates it spiritually with Sodom and Egypt in His sight because of all of the abominations that have been committed within it throughout history. The Antichrist will be allowed to kill the two witnesses, so that God can demonstrate His power in them three and a half days later.
The earthquake spoken of here is the great earthquake following the opening of the 6th seal spoken of in Revelation 6;
REVELATION 6:12-14
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
This earthquake was foretold by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah when he said;
ISAIAH 24:17-23
17 Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after many days they will be visited.
23 Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously.
A number of things to note here:
A monstrous earthquake strong enough to rock the planet is spoken of in both Isaiah and Revelation;
Isaiah speaks of the punishment of the evil beings in Heaven, and Revelation speaks of the stars being cast down to Earth. The apostle Paul speaks of these when he said;
EPHESIANS 6:12
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Isaiah says that God will take the sinners on Earth as well as Satan and his demons, and will shut them up in Hell (prison) while Jesus rules the Earth. As we will see later in Revelation, Jesus will cast Satan into Hell for 1,000 years when He returns. The wicked will remain there until called to Judgment after the 1,000 years are finished.
The sun and Moon will “be ashamed” according to Isaiah, and the sun will burn out according to Revelation. I suspect the sun will cool before it burns out, turning red as it does, and the Moon will reflect the red light.
Three and a half days after the two prophets are killed, they will be resurrected at which time I believe the Rapture will occur. The two men hear a voice from Heaven telling them to come up, and they rise into Heaven in a cloud.
The apostle Paul states,
I THESSALONIANS 4:14-18
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Note that Paul states that the dead in Christ shall rise first, meaning those who have died will rise from the dead. Then we who are still alive will be transformed into our new immortal bodies, and we shall ALL rise together with them in the air to be with Jesus forever!
Also note that in verse 13, John says that there were 7,000 men killed in the earthquake. Adding the women and children also killed, this number could reach upward of 15,000 people killed in this single event.
The third woe? The coming vengeance of Jesus against the world and it's wickedness, when He
with His mighty power destroys the Armageddon armies and takes personal control of the Earth!
REVELATION 11:15-19
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"
16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying: We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the Earth."
19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in
His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
At last it has come.
As Scripture records, only when the seventh and last trumpet is blown does the time come
for Jesus to claim His kingdom. This is the trumpet that Jesus spoke of, and I strongly
suspect that the voice of the archangel will shout the words contained in verse 15, to herald
the coming of the King of kings, Jesus Christ. This is also "the last trumpet" that the
apostle Paul spoke of in;
I CORINTHIANS 15:50-52
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
But for those of you who may still believe that the Rapture will occur sooner, please keep reading, as we'll see the final piece of evidence in the 15th chapter of Revelation.
REVELATION 12:1-2
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
I have seen a statue in the Roman Catholic cathedral in Monaco, France, where this woman is
depicted as Mary, the physical mother of Jesus. However this does NOT refer to Mary, but refers
to the nation of Israel! Any attempt to equate this with Mary is a twisting of Scripture, and should
be corrected immediately!
Please read the following sets of verses below, and you'll see why this cannot refer to Mary.
REVELATION 12:3-4
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the Earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
I am going to have to jump ahead a bit to explain some things here.
First of all, the dragon is Satan, as you have probably guessed. The ten horns are the ten nations of the European Union, which will be the power base of the Antichrist. The seven crowns refer to the fact that as we saw in the study of the book of Daniel (End Times Part 3), three of the original ten rulers of these nations will resist him, and will be overthrown by the Antichrist and will be ruled by puppet rulers while those who supported him will rule as kings. Seven crowns, not ten.
The seven heads? I will have to wait for chapter 17 to tell you, as it needs to be seen in the context it was written in. Please bear with me in this. You'll see why when we get there.
The fact that the dragon threw one third of the stars of heaven to the earth, refers to the fact that one third of the angels joined Satan in his rebellion, and will be cast down to Earth with him to make their final stand, as we'll see shortly.
REVELATION 12:5
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
This is pretty self-explanatory. This verse refers to the fact that Jesus was crucified, and waits in
Heaven for God the Father to give Him permission to come back and claim His kingdom. When
He returns, His reign on Earth will be strict, but fair.
REVELATION 12:6
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
Right here is proof that the woman cannot be Mary. When the Antichrist sets himself up in the Third Temple and sets up the abomination of desolation, he will start the Great Tribulation by ordering that everyone worship him as God. The Christians and Jews in Israel will flee to the wilderness to escape him. There God will take care of them during the three and a half years of the tribulation, events which will have happened nearly 2,000 years after Mary's death.
And for those who might argue that this period refers to the time that Joseph and Mary were in Egypt, remember, verse 5 above shows that Jesus had already been crucified and resurrected.
Also the following verses below show differently. Besides, the verses above state that the woman
will flee to the wilderness, NOT to Egypt as Joseph and Mary did when Jesus was born.
REVELATION 12:7-12
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the Earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."
Satan is at last thrown out of Heaven, never more to appear there. Much like Job in the Old Testament (Job, chapters 1 and 2), Satan's main purpose up to this point has been to accuse the believers of their sins before the Throne of God day and night, trying to move God to act against us, while his demon princes direct his schemes here on earth.
When he is cast out of Heaven he will be banished to Earth to make his final stand, and will personally direct his forces while he is here. The fact that he knows that he has but a short time left shows that it is during the time of the end that this will occur, again proving that the woman could not be Mary, but Israel. I suspect the war and Satan's banishment will occur right around WW III or shortly afterward.
Note that in verse 10, Satan is said to accuse believers day and night before God’s throne, trying to move Him to punish believers for their sins. He also seeks permission to afflict believers as he did to Job in the first two chapters of the Old Testament book of Job.
One time I was working on one of the studies for this site, and I was alone in the house. Suddenly I heard a voice clearly say, “Neither you nor your servants will afflict him, neither will you hinder him in his work. Depart from Me.’
Startled, I looked around then realized that God had allowed me to hear His response to
Satan’s petition to hinder me in working on the study.
REVELATION 12:13-16
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.
14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the
flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Time, times, and half a time. One year, two years, half a year. As was seen in the book of Daniel, this represents the three and a half year period of terror under the Antichrist called the Great Tribulation. Israel will flee from him into the wilderness, and will be nourished and protected by God there. I wouldn't be at all surprised if He sends manna to feed them again, as He did during their travels in the wilderness during the time of the Exodus.
Satan sends out an army after the fleeing Jews, (kinda like Pharaoh during the Exodus?) but the ground swallows the army whole, I suspect in similar manner as the ground swallowed rebel leader Korah and his followers whole during their rebellion against Moses.
NUMBERS 16:28-34
28 And Moses said: "By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will.
29 If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.
30 But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord."
31 Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them,
32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods.
33 So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up also!"
REVELATION 12:17
17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Satan, when he sees that He has been thwarted by God in his attempt to destroy the Jews, will
turn his fury against the believing Jews and Christians and will begin the great three and a half
year Tribulation.
REVELATION 13:1-2
1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his
mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great
authority.
Here John sees the total embodiment of the four great empires that the prophet Daniel and Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar saw, namely the Babylonian empire (represented as a lion), followed by the Persian empire (represented by a bear), which was succeeded by the Greek empire (represented by a leopard) which was in turn conquered by the Roman empire (represented by the seven heads, further explained in chapter 17) and the empire of the Antichrist (10 crowns) all in one creature.
The beast rising out of the sea parallels the prophet Daniel's vision in which he saw four separate beasts rise out of the sea. The "sea" as we have previously discussed represents multitudes of people, so this beast represents a human empire. The fact that they are all included in one beast shows that the spirit of these empires is consolidated in one man, in this case the Antichrist.
Satan will give this man his power, his throne and authority on the Earth to act in Satan's name.
The reason for this will be to give Satan an agent totally sold out to him who will carry out his
will. Satan, being a spirit, needs human agents here on Earth to accomplish his purposes, and this
man will be Satan’s final attempt to rule all of mankind.
Just as Jesus acted as God’s representative here on Earth, the Antichrist will be Satan’s
representative here on Earth.
REVELATION 13:3-4
3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
The Antichrist will be given a deadly wound, and will give the appearance of death. However he will not be dead, as Satan cannot animate a dead body, so he will only appear to be dead. He will then stage a pseudo-resurrection and will "come back to life". (I will prove the identity of the "wounded head" in chapter 17, so please bear with me.)
I can only speculate here, but I suspect it will be a zealous but misinformed Christian (or one posing as a Christian) who will "assassinate" the Antichrist. This would give the Antichrist the justifiable excuse in the eyes of the world to persecute the Christians and Jews after his "resurrection", and Satan would definitely exploit such an opportunity.
This will set the stage for the Antichrist’s claim to be the Messiah the Jews have been waiting for. He will probably have a "message from beyond" when he "returns" also. And because those who choose not to believe in Jesus Christ will be under strong delusion from the Lord, they will believe in this man, and will worship not only him, but Satan who gave him power. The apostle Paul says;
2 THESSALONIANS 2:5-12
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Note: World War III has already been finished. Europe will stay neutral during the war, and will still retain enough military might, including NATO nuclear weapons under their control, to take up the reins of world power when the war ends. That is why people will say, "Who is able to wage war with him?”, much like Adolf Hitler during WW II
With the United States and Russia out of the way, he will have pretty much free reign over the
Earth. (For more on World War III, please see the study End Times Part 2)
REVELATION 13:5
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given
authority to continue for forty-two months.
Note carefully that he will be allowed to continue after his "death" for forty two months, or three and a half years; (time, times and the dividing of time, according to the book of Daniel). Note also, the power he will have to continue for forty two months will be given to him by God.
As we have previously seen in the book of Daniel, he will sign a seven-year peace treaty with
Israel, so in the middle of this seven year period is when the "assassination" will occur. And as
we have also seen, he will savagely persecute and destroy the Jews and the Christians for the last
three and a half years of his rule.
REVELATION 13:6-9
6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
Remember the "little horn" that the prophet Daniel saw, the one which uprooted three others as it
appeared? And remember how this horn was allowed to "wear out the saints of the Most High for
“time, times, and the dividing of time" (three and a half years), while blaspheming God and those
that dwell in Heaven? John is seeing a repeat of what Daniel saw nearly 600 years earlier.
REVELATION 13:10
10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be
killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
The Holy Spirit is expressing an important point here. If you live by violence during these
times, you will die by violence, and if you take captives, you will be taken captive in turn.
God is expressing that the saints are to flee when they see this man arise, and are not to try to go
to war with him. God is the avenger, and He will deal personally with the Antichrist.
Remember Jesus' words to Peter when Peter cut off a servant's ear as the mob came to arrest Jesus;
MATTHEW 26:51-52
51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52 But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will
perish by the sword
We must have faith that God will deal with this man, and will punish him for his evil. The Scriptures say that he must rule in terror for three and a half years, and we cannot stop him. Like any good soldier, we can only fight the battles that our Commander sends us to fight, not fights of our own choosing.
REVELATION 13:11-14
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the Earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
Here we see the rise of what has been labeled as the False Prophet. This man will appear to be religious (lamb's horns) but will speak the words of Satan (speaking as a dragon). He will heal the Antichrist of his deadly wound, and will direct all worship to the Antichrist, and his master, Satan.
His power in the presence of the Antichrist will be so great, that Satan will create fire from heaven to burn the Earth in the sight of men. And for those who don't think that Satan has such power should read the first two chapters of the book of Job in the Old Testament! Remember, even Jesus warned us that false prophets would show signs and wonders to even try to fool the elect!
The false prophet will go even so far as to have people create idols of the Antichrist, and will
have them worship them. I suspect that he will do this as an excuse to persecute the Christians
and practicing Jews, as he will know that they cannot worship idols and still serve God.
REVELATION 13:15
15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the
beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to
be killed.
This shows the awesome power that the False Prophet will be able to wield! He will order the
image that he will construct of the Antichrist to live, and will cause the idol to order that all who
do not worship the image of the Antichrist are to be killed! Some may think that this will be a
marvel of computer engineering, but I think people are smart enough to not be fooled by such a
device. I personally think that a demon will inhabit the statue, and will speak through it, as Satan
has no power to create life.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it
is the number of a man: His number is 666.
Now we come to the infamous Mark of the Beast. This will be an ingeniously clever trap to force everyone into the World System that Satan will set up. Those who refuse to receive the Mark will not be allowed to buy or sell, and will perish.
(Note: children under the age of accountability (God will determine this age) will not be required to take the Mark as they really can't make such a decision for themselves yet. Only those who have the capability to fully understand their decision will be allowed to receive the Mark.)
I have talked to many people, especially non-believers who arrogantly say, "I'll never take the Mark!" Easy for them to say now...... but what about when they're starving? And they are watching their family starve also? Or when they are told to either receive the Mark, or be immediately murdered? Will it still be easy to decide?
And what of those who do receive the Mark? By the word of the Lord, there will be no hope or mercy for those who receive the Mark. They will have given their allegiance to Satan and the Antichrist, and there will be no turning back. They will have Satan's seal and will become immediately possessed by demons to the point of where they will no longer have a free will of their own. And they will end up in the Lake of Fire even as Satan, his angels, and his followers, including the Antichrist and the false Prophet.
Note that the "Mark" will consist of one of three things; a visible mark of some sort; the name of the Antichrist; or the number of his name.
Some think that the Mark will be a bar-code but this does not match with the description given in Scripture. Some think it will be a micro-chip, but this doesn't fit either. More than likely it will be a visible tattoo of some sort to immediately identify you to the authorities as a member of the One World System.
As for the number of his name, many language systems have numerical equivalents attached to the letters of the alphabet. For example, a=1, b=2, etc.; the numbers go from 1 - 9, 10 - 100, 100 - 1000 and so on.
For example, the word "fox" in English = 666; F=6, O=60, X = 600.
So the letters of the name of the Antichrist will equal 666.
REVELATION 14:1-5
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb
5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Here are the REAL 144,000 who will be specially chosen by Jesus as his personal court. The
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that 144,000 of their members, both men and women, will make it
to heaven while the rest of the saints inherit a new Earth, but here Scripture makes it very clear as
to who these 144,000 people will be. They will be 144,000 virgin Hebrew Messianic men who
will be set apart for service to Jesus alone.
REVELATION 14:6-8
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people--
7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."
8 And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
I'll have to wait until we reach chapters 17 and 18 before I describe which Babylon is being
talked about. Please continue to bear with me until then.
REVELATION 14:9-13
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them."
When Jesus returns there will be an immediate judgment of those still living. Those who have received the Mark will be immediately sent to Hell, as will Satan and his demons. Those found not worthy of death (I suspect mostly children) will be allowed to live on in the flesh into the thousand-year rule of Jesus on Earth.
The wicked in Hell, along with Satan and his demons will be tormented with fire and brimstone (burning sulfur) and will have no rest during the entire thousand years of Jesus' reign.
Many uninformed people believe that Satan is in charge of Hell and that he torments those who are sent there.
Neither is true. Satan is NOT in charge of Hell, neither does he want to go there. He is terrified of Hell and even more frightened of the Lake of Fire, knowing that he will spend 1,000 years being tormented in Hell during Jesus' reign on Earth and eternity being tormented in the Lake of Fire.
Here you have it from God Himself. Those who receive the Mark will suffer torment in Hell for 1,000 years and will suffer eternal torment in the Lake of Fire after the Judgment. They will never have rest, but will be tormented forever.
Remember the fate of the rich man of whom Jesus spoke;
LUKE 16:19-26
19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And being in torments in Hell, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
Remember, Hell and the Lake of Fire were not originally created for us, but for Satan and his angels. And if people choose to follow Satan, they choose his fate also. (For those that have a problem with this, please see the study on Hell in this site concerning how a loving God can send people to Hell.)
REVELATION 14:14-16
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Here Jesus is shown coming for His church, and is shown having a sharp sickle in His hand. The reaping is the rapture, in which the dead in Christ are resurrected and those who are alive are taken off of the Earth with them. This equates to the parables of the wheat and the tares and the gathering of fish put forth by Jesus in the book of Matthew. (Please see End Times Part 4 for these parables and their explanation)
Note that Jesus is coming on a cloud, just as He promised. There is no mention of an invisible
"second coming" followed by a visible "third coming". The reaping is done only once, at
His return after the seventh and last trumpet sounds. And for those of you who are still skeptical,
please humor me until the next chapter.
REVELATION 14:17-20
17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe."
19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
Wow. The second reaping is the destruction of the Armageddon armies, an event so titanic that the blood will flow about four feet high for 185 miles!
Notice the sequence of events, though. Jesus raptures His church from the Earth just before He destroys the armies of Armageddon! And notice that it is an angel who does the reaping this time, not Jesus! And note also that the angel gathers the grapes of wrath, but does not tread the winepress as Jesus has reserved the destruction of the Armageddon armies for Himself.
REVELATION 15:1
1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven
last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
This event appears to happen between the blowing of the seven trumpets. The timing seems to be
somewhere between the fifth and seventh trumpets, as we will see.
REVELATION 15:2-4
2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all
nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested."
As we see here, the tribulation saints stand on a sea of glass mixed with fire, praising the Lord
after having been martyred for their faith.
REVELATION 15:5-8
5 After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.
6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.
8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
The bowls contain the full measure of the wrath of God, poured out in full strength upon the
Earth. No one is able to enter the Temple because of the fury of the Lord. This cannot be
happening after Jesus comes for His church for when He comes, as we will see, He will
immediately destroy the armies of Armageddon, and begin His rule. So therefore these events
must happen before the last trumpet is blown.
Things will be happening in rapid succession now.
REVELATION 16:1-2
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the Earth."
2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the Earth, and a foul and loathsome sore
came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
By description this will be a result of receiving the Mark; a virulent and running form of skin
cancer on the site of the Mark on the skin, more than likely produced by hard ultraviolet radiation
from the sun reacting with the ink used to create the Mark. Nuclear strikes during WW III will do
much for destroying the atmospheric ozone layer to the point of where hard, short-wave
ultraviolet (ultraviolet B) radiation will pour through the atmosphere in full strength.
REVELATION 16:3
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a
dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
This shows the final stages of pollution in the ocean caused from waste runoff from land, the
pollution caused from the asteroid strike, radioactivity, etc. The sea will become lifeless and
stagnant. Already we're hearing alarms that "dead zones" are forming in the oceans and in
freshwater rivers. It is already unstoppable now and this will be the end result.
REVELATION 16:4-7
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due."
7 And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and
righteous are Your judgments."
With the oceans becoming 'like the blood of a dead man', it can be safely assumed that much of the pollutions came from poisonous river and stream runoffs feeding into the oceans. Therefore the 'blood' it speaks of would also be like 'the blood of a dead man.' We see in the news a lot about industrial wastes poisoning our waterways, so this should come as no surprise.
REVELATION 16:8-9
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
This points to an increase in the temperature of the sun, and I think it will be coupled with the final destruction of the ozone layer. Nitrogen compounds created by nuclear detonations will destroy what is left of the ozone layer, allowing hard ultraviolet radiation from the sun to pour upon the earth. This would definitely cause the skin cancer on those who receive the Mark of the Beast. 'Global warming' will have nothing to do with it. By the same token, increased heat from the sun indicates that the sun will be burning hydrogen at a fantastic rate.
This could be related to the sun going out just before Jesus returns, due to lack of fuel.
REVELATION 16:10-11
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds
This is a difficult one, as it depends on where the 'throne of the beast' is when this happens. If it is still in Europe, I would point to an old volcanic caldera called "Campi Flegrei" (Italian: burning fields) just outside of Naples, Italy to the southwest.
It has been showing increasingly worrisome activity, to the point of where geologists have raised the hazard index from green to yellow. Yellow means that the caldera is being monitored 24 hours a day and could be an indicator of a future eruption. (Note: this volcano is located just a few miles west and south of mount Vesuvius, which in 79 A.D. buried the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum under as much as 30 feet (10 meters) of volcanic ash.
A caldera is formed when a volcanic cone collapses because the eruption empties the magma chamber supporting the cone. The collapse creates a deep crater which many times fills with water and can create some beautiful lakes (Crater Lake in Oregon is one such lake).
The problem is that Campi Flegrei is the site of a "super-volcano" complex which has had massively violent eruptions in the past. Another violent eruption of this caldera could blanket all of Europe with a dense cloud of ash and could blacken the skies over Europe for days, if not weeks.
This volcanic complex at one time erupted 120 cubic miles (500 cubic km) of ash and magma in one eruption. Much of the caldera lies underwater, increasing the danger of an eruption and in December of 2016 it was feared that an eruption was imminent.
Apparently the pain from the infection at the site of the Mark will be bad enough that men will
literally chew their tongues in agony and will curse God rather than repent.
REVELATION 16:12
12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
Remember, in chapter 9 we saw the release of the four fallen angels (demons) who were bound in the river, so they could prepare the way for the “kings of the East” (China).
The Euphrates river is to be dried up to prepare the way for China to enter the Armageddon battle. The sixth trumpet shows the Chinese army moving into the Middle East, destroying everything in its path, and the sixth plague removes the major obstacle to their march. I'm not sure if the plague of great heat will dry up the river, or a dam cutoff will cause this phenomenon but it will allow China to move its armies west and south to Armageddon.
REVELATION 16:13-14
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Satan begins gathering the armies of the world to the Valley of Armageddon. His purposes here are twofold. He knows that the return of Jesus is imminent, and he will try to gather enough human armies together to try to stop that from happening.
Failing that, he will attempt to destroy as much of humanity with this frightful war as he can before Jesus returns. As Jesus Himself said, if the days had not been cut short, there would be no flesh saved. Literally, no flesh. He didn't say "souls"or "spirits of men". The inference here is that all life on earth would perish, and Jesus would come back to a dead planet.
As for unclean spirits looking like frogs, I believe John saw them in their natural forms. I've seen accounts of people seeing demons that looked like fat, slimy, gelatinous frogs. I myself have seen three demons, one of which was humanoid from the waist up, but his lower half looked like the body of a huge, gray scaly snake; another was a huge, hulking, humanoid with shiny black skin like polished leather and a deeply-creased reptilian face; the third looked surprisingly like a fat gray version of Yoda from Star Wars although much bigger; its ears were on top of its head like a dog's and its eyes were the size and color of raw egg yolks. The wickedness of demons has physically transformed and twisted them into non-human shapes and forms.
REVELATION 16:15
15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
Here is the final proof of the timing of the Rapture!!
It is vital that you understand what is happening in verses 15 above and 16 below! In verse
15, Jesus is STILL saying "Behold I come as a thief", which means that He hasn't taken
His church from the Earth yet! He is still warning us to watch and wait! Now, read the next verse!
REVELATION 16:16
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Here is the final reference to the Rapture that I have been talking about. God is gathering the armies of Armageddon together, and Jesus is STILL saying He is coming as a thief! He hasn't returned yet at this point!
Know this once and for all. We Christians will go through the tribulation. We will suffer at the hands of the Antichrist until Jesus returns at Armageddon to take His church off of the Earth.
Jesus himself told us to count the cost of discipleship.
LUKE 14:25-33
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,
26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it--
29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'?
31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple..
When Jesus said we need to hate father, mother, sisters and brothers he did not mean that literally. He was establishing priorities in our relationship with Him. He must come first in our lives in all of our relationships, and will accept nothing less.
If we choose to follow him, we must be ready to suffer persecution and death for his sake. If we're not willing to pay the ultimate price for him as He did for us, He doesn't want us as his disciples.
Allow me to be blunt. We sing about being soldiers for Jesus, but when Satan starts to join battle with us and we start to get hurt, do we start begging our Commander to airlift (Rapture) us out of the battle? God never promised us that we wouldn't go through the Tribulation; rather the prophets say we will!
And if God were to Rapture us out at the beginning of the Tribulation, He would have to apologize to every Christian martyr from Stephen down to the last faithful saint murdered by the minions of the Antichrist!
How many Christians were martyred during the persecutions under the Roman empire? During the 400 awful years of the Roman Catholic Inquisition? Did God Rapture them? Are we more righteous today than they were?
Didn't Jesus Himself say;
LUKE 21:12-16
12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.
13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.
14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will
put some of you to death.
Please understand, Jesus never promised us that we would escape these things! If we were to
escape them, He would not have warned us concerning the Great Tribulation to come. The
prophet Daniel was told that believers would fall by flame, spoil, captivity and plunder for "many
days" (42 months), and it would be the final test of their faith. Jesus was faithful unto death for
us, and He expects us to do the same for Him. If not, He doesn't want us.
I'm sure the early Christians who died during the persecutions generated by the Roman Empire
held the same fears as we feel, as did the Christians who died during the 400 years of the Roman
Catholic Church's terrible Inquisition. But they were faithful unto death, and set the examples for
us as to the strength of faith when the final test comes.
REVELATION 16:17-21
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent.
Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
Time skips about here for a bit. The seventh bowl is poured out just after the seventh trumpet is blown. The great earthquake of Revelation 11:13 occurs, killing 7,000 men in Jerusalem and an untold number of women and children. Jerusalem is split into three parts, one tenth of the city is destroyed, and the heavy hail described in Revelation 11:19 falls on men, each hailstone weighing about 75 pounds. And even then they are so demon-driven that they curse God for the devastation caused by the hail.
Time in the vision then moves back a bit, in which the great abomination of a church called
Mystery Babylon is punished by God, as we shall now see.
I have dreaded this next part of the interpretation of Revelation since I first started this study. I know that there will probably be many people who will be offended by what is said here, but please remember, God is giving His judgment here, not me. I am merely relaying to you what He has shown me, and if you are offended, I deeply apologize. But truth is truth, and I must relate what I have been shown.
Please keep an open mind and consider the facts objectively. Remember, just because you may not like it, doesn't mean it's wrong.
REVELATION 17:1-2
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Once again, Scripture is talking about waters, meaning multitudes of people.
REVELATION 17:3-6
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
John is shown a woman, a harlot, a mockery of Jesus' bride, the church, sitting on the beast
representing the European Union under the Antichrist. The woman is drunk with the blood of the
saints and martyrs that she has murdered, and is clothed luxuriously in royal colors of purple and
scarlet, crusted with gems. The fact that she rides the beast either shows that she has some power
over it, or they are helping each other. But who is she? Wait a bit, and her identity will become clear.
REVELATION 17:7-8
7 But the angel said to me, "Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to
perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in
the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is
This tongue-twister represents the Roman Empire as we have previously seen. And when John is being shown the future, the beast;
Was - it had previously existed as the Roman Empire, as the prophet Daniel saw, a dreadful beast with 10 horns;
Is not - in the future that John saw, the Roman Empire, the great, terrible beast that Daniel had seen, had fallen.
Yet is - The beast that John now saw is a resurrected form of the Roman Empire (bear with me here, I'll show you how we know this shortly).
The prophet Daniel had been told that the driving spirit that formed the Roman Empire would "mingle with the seed of men" and we have seen this throughout history. Emperor Charlemagne was the leader of the "Holy Roman Empire"; Napoleon compared himself to Caesar; the title "Kaiser" is the Germanic form of "Caesar"; as is the Russian title "Czar". Each was a leader of an empire, powerful, ruthless, just like the true Roman Empire before it.
In other words, John is seeing the beginning of the rise of the beast to power, and the fact that the woman is riding on the beast indicates that she and the beast are working together, and she may at the time have some control over it.
We have seen earlier that there will be 10 European States that will form the power base of the Empire of the Antichrist, represented by the 10 horns of the beast, which horns were seen by both Daniel and John.
The woman rides the beast, showing some control of it, however I am reminded of the limerick of the lady and the tiger which says;
There was a young lady from Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside
And the smile on the face of the tiger.
What is unusual is that the woman is shown here, drunken with the blood of the martyred saints
of history, not only drinking from a cup full of abominations, but sharing it with kings and rulers
as well, showing that she is a well-known figure to them.
REVELATION 17:9-10
9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And
when he comes, he must continue a short time.
Ok, here we go. There is only one city famed for sitting on seven hills, and that is Rome. So this harlot will come from the city of Rome. The seven kings described are;
1. Julius Caesar - fallen (dead)
2. Augustus Caesar - fallen (dead)
3. Tiberius Caesar - fallen (dead)
4. Caligula Caesar - fallen (dead)
5. Claudius Caesar - fallen (dead)
6. Nero Caesar - still living when John saw this vision.
7. Antichrist - not yet come
So here we have the five kings that were fallen, and the sixth still living (five are fallen, and one is...).
And it was during the reign of Nero Caesar that Judea was destroyed as a nation, so all of the emperors who followed Nero are not mentioned in Scripture, as Scripture only concerns itself with those rulers who affected Israel and Judea as a nation. And when Nero committed suicide, the family line of the Julian Caesars came to an end.
The seventh "king" that the Jews will have to deal with, the one who "has not yet come" will be the Antichrist ruling from the revived Roman empire. Thus he is the seventh "Caesar" who will affect the State of Israel, as Israel is once again a nation. And as we have already seen, he will rule for seven years, thus "he must continue a short time".
REVELATION 17:11
11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is
going to perdition.
This is a fascinating point of Scripture. As we have seen in Revelation 13, the Antichrist, the living embodiment of the four great world empires (Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman) will be assassinated, will give the appearance of death and will accomplish a pseudo-resurrection. Thus he is the seventh ruler, and by false resurrection will also be the eighth ruler of this empire!
And as we shall see, he will indeed "go to perdition".
REVELATION 17:12-14
12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.
13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord
of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.".
The ten horns will be the ten heads of the ten European nations that will give all of their
allegiance to the Antichrist, and will rule with absolute authority with him during the last days.
REVELATION 17:15-18
15 Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth."
Again, John is given the identity of the Great Harlot. Rome was the dominant power of it's time,
ruling over multitudes of people and nations and while Rome itself will not again attain to that
prominence, the Empire that it represented will again appear. Bear with me for a bit as we go on,
and I will seek to clarify a few things.
REVELATION 18:1-8
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.
7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.'
8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day--death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
The city of Babylon was destroyed by a coalition of Medes and Persians in 539 B.C. and never rose again. Scripture has long associated Babylon with wickedness. And while Saddam Hussein attempted to rebuild the city, it will never again rise to rule the Earth as it did. Therefore the Mystery Babylon of Revelation is a different entity.
God had prophesied that Babylon would never be rebuilt after it was destroyed;
JEREMIAH 50:39-40
39 "Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals, And the ostriches shall dwell in it. It shall be inhabited no more forever, nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors," says the Lord, "So no one shall reside there, nor son of man dwell in it."
Before he was overthrown, Saddam Hussein was rebuilding Babylon as he wanted to make it the capital of Iraq in place of Baghdad. He associated himself so closely with Babylon that he had coins struck with his and ancient Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar's image on one side and an image of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon on the back.
I had remembered the prophecy that Babylon would never be rebuilt, so I watched in fascination to see what would happen. Then God commanded George Bush Senior to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and he instead destroyed Saddam’s armies but left him in power.
As a result, Saddam again started rebuilding Babylon and George Bush Sr. lost the next election. God then commissioned his son George Bush Junior to overthrow Saddam, which he did, and God awarded him two terms as President, despite Satan's best attempts to thwart Him with ballot issues.
Many liberal Democrats condemn George Bush Jr. even today, but how many Democrats can claim to have been chosen by God to fulfill a 2,500 year old prophecy?
As we have seen, Babylon is represented by a woman, a harlot, who has committed fornication with the kings of the Earth, and who has slaughtered the saints of God and the martyrs of Jesus. This also proves that this could not be the Babylon of ancient history, as by the time of Jesus' birth Babylon had been an abandoned mound of rubble, dust and dirt for over 500 years.
And the Rome spoken of by John could not be ancient imperial Rome, because the
prophecy John saw was for the far future, during the End Times. Therefore the harlot
could not be ancient Rome, but a Roman entity that would rise to power after the
destruction of the old Roman Empire.
The woman is also clothed in purple and scarlet, and decked with pearls and precious stones,
considers herself a queen, and has made merchants rich through trading with her.
Ok, time to pull the veils away.
There is only one organization that fits this description, and that is the Holy Roman
Catholic Church. This church which calls itself "Holy Mother Church" (note the female
gender), is based out of Rome, and is in it's own way mightier than Imperial Rome ever
was, ruling over more people than any Caesar could have imagined. Ancient Imperial
Rome never considered itself to be a "queen", in fact it was very much a male-dominated
society.
Those who feel that the description portrays Imperial Rome need to remember that John was seeing 2,000 years into the future, at a Rome-centered Empire far different from the Roman Empire of his time.
The Roman Catholic Church wielded incredible power during the Dark Ages, with kings trembling in fear if they heard that the "Holy Father" was "displeased" with them. The Popes commanded mighty armies and crowned or overthrew rulers at their pleasure.Thus John saw the woman riding the Beast in his vision.
Numbers vary as to the numbers of people who were tortured and killed during the years of the Inquisition (1478-1854 A.D.) but is estimated that it was in the thousands, their only crimes being that they resisted the corrupt teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
Please understand I am not maligning believers who attend the Catholic Church. Many of them are devout believers, but they have been deceived by their church, and have been blinded as to it's true nature. And for those Catholic believers who read this, before you immediately react in anger and lash out, please read through the rest of this study, and then make your decision as to whether the harlot and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same.
There are definite similarities between ancient Rome and the Roman Catholic Church;
Caesar - Absolute ruler of the worldwide Roman empire, requiring the absolute allegiance
and obedience of all within it's realm.
Pope - absolute ruler of the worldwide Catholic church, requiring the absolute allegiance
and obedience from every Catholic believer.
Caesar - Supreme religious leader of the empire, with the title of "Summus Pontifex Rex" or "Supreme Builder of Bridges".
Pope - Supreme religious leader of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, often called
"Pontiff" from the Latin "Summus Pontifex Rex", or "Supreme Builder of Bridges".
Imperial Rome - citizens of the empire could attain Roman citizenship, and while still considered citizens of their respective countries, their first allegiance had to be to Rome and the ruling Caesar.
Roman Catholic Church - Believers are considered citizens of their respective countries, but their first allegiance must be to the ruling Pope and the Church.
Imperial Rome was founded in a city that sat on seven hills and ruled the Earth physically,
The Roman Catholic Church was founded in the same city and rules the Earth spiritually.
These are just a few of the similarities between the two entities, making the connection between
them unmistakable.
The Roman Catholic Church rich beyond belief. It owns many priceless works of art, which decorate its halls; many of its churches and cathedrals have untold amounts of wealth within them in the form of gold and silver ornaments, paintings, and sculptures, all under the control of the Vatican.
The Roman Catholic Church also owns many multi-national companies and is considered the
richest organization on the face of the earth.
Much of it's present wealth was attained during the 400 years of the Inquisition in which thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured and put to death by the inquisitors on the order of the reigning Popes, and their property and wealth confiscated by the Church.
Thus she is drunken with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus. Also, the Holy Office of the Inquisition was never disbanded. It's name has been changed to the Holy Office for the Doctrine of the Congregation of the Faith, known today as the Holy Office.
The Vatican has, to my knowledge, never admitted guilt for creating and sponsoring the Inquisition. Pope John Paul II said the Inquisition was a "mistake", but that was as far as it went.
Remember, Jesus had nowhere to lay His head, no property to call His own when he was here, and the only thing He did own were His simple clothes, and even those were taken from Him at the cross. And yet the Pope and his cardinals, bishops, and priests sit in cathedrals that look more like palaces, clothed in splendor, and surrounded by riches in violation of Jesus' command of;
MATTHEW 6:19-21
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The bishops and cardinals of the church dress in purple and scarlet robes, call themselves
"princes of the church" and many own jeweled crucifixes, attributes ascribed of the harlot, who is
also dressed in scarlet and purple, having gold and pearls adorning her.
The Scriptures regard this place as a demon-infested cage, and God calls for His people to come
out of her organization lest they receive of her punishments which are due. Also note that the
Latin word "VATICANUS" from which the word "Vatican" is derived means "place of
divination" or "place of sorcery".
Scripture says that her sins have reached to Heaven - seeing all of the recent scandals concerning
pedophile priests and Vatican efforts to hide the events and protect pedophile priests from
prosecution, it’s not hard to see the parallels.
REVELATION 18:9-10
9 "The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,
10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city
Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'
I had often wondered at the idea of merchants standing afar off for fear of her torment, until I
realized that the only thing that could cause people to stand at a distance after the destruction of
the city, would be radiation.
The ten nations of Europe under the Antichrist will seemingly destroy the Vatican with a possible battlefield nuclear weapon, a weapon big enough to accomplish the job, yet small enough to limit the area of damage. Revelation 17:16 says that the ten nations of the European Union will "burn her with fire", and a small nuclear weapon would fit the description given here. But as no other description is given, I can only speculate .
If the Antichrist had been indeed assassinated by a supposed "Christian", at his "resurrection" the
Antichrist would be filled with vengeance. Most people consider the Vatican the visible symbol
of Christianity, and what better way to start the Tribulation than to destroy its self-proclaimed
head in such dramatic fashion?
REVELATION 18:11-24
11 "And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:
12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.
14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 and saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.' Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance
18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What is like this great city?'
19 "They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.'
20 "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!"
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.
22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.
23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth."
The above verses are pretty well explanatory, I think.
This also knocks ancient Babylon out of the running, as it was nowhere close to the sea but was far up the Euphrates River, whereas “Mystery Babylon” gains much of its riches from sea trade.
REVELATION 19:1-9
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!
2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her."
3 Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!"
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen! Alleluia!"
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!"
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of
the Lamb!'" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."
Here we see the true church which is portrayed as the wife of Jesus, who has made herself ready
and has faithfully waited for Him, in white, clean attire. Note especially that this only happens
after the judgement and destruction of the abominable great harlot, the mockery of His bride. He
will judge and destroy the false church before He comes for His true church!
REVELATION 19:10
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
John falls at the feet of the angel to worship him, and the angel himself says not to do this. Angels are not worthy of worship, not even Michael the Archangel! They are created beings just as Man and Satan are! No created being is worthy of worship! If you pray to Mary, "saints" or angels, you are making them gods worthy of worship, for prayers are only offered to deities.
God is a jealous God, and he clearly stated in;
EXODUS 20:3
3 "You shall have no other gods before Me."
If you are praying to Mary and the "saints" you are also guilty of necromancy, which is communication with the dead, forbidden in Scripture;
DEUTERONOMY 18:10-11
10 There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
They are alive to God but are dead to us. The dead do not communicate with the living!
Remember in the description in the Gospels of the Transfiguration on the Mount where Moses and Elijah appeared and talked to Jesus, but they did not talk to Peter James and John who were watching.
For more on this subject, please see the study concerning worship of Mary and the "saints" in
this Web site.
REVELATION 19:11-21
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,
18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."
19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Jesus at last returns as King of kings, and Lord of lords to claim His kingdom. Armies of angels follow Him on horses, and by His word, the sword from His mouth (remember, the Scriptures are called the Sword of the Spirit) He destroys the armies of Armageddon.
The Antichrist and the false prophet are captured and are thrown alive into the Lake of Fire, and will be there by themselves for 1,000 years. This is not Hell, for as we shall soon see, Hell will be thrown into the Lake of Fire also. Hell is a prison where the unrighteous are kept until they appear before the Throne of Judgment to be judged for their sins.
Isaiah prophesies of events surrounding Jesus' return and especially the magnitude of the great
earthquake after the seventh angel pours out the seventh plague bowl (Revelation 16:18);
ISAIAH 24:17-23
17 Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit. And will be shut up in the prison; after many days they will be visited.
23 Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously.
Isaiah vividly describes the magnitude of the final earthquake at Jesus' return which will be so violent that the Earth will literally reel in its orbit. Revelation 16:19 states that all of the cities of the nations world-wide will be leveled.
REVELATION 16:19
19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
Hell is often referred to as "the pit", and Satan will be bound in Hell for 1,000 years. Note that
God punishes the “host of exalted ones", referring to the punishment of Satan and his demons, as
well as the kings of the earth, referring to Armageddon.
They are to be "shut up in the prison, and after many days they will be visited." This refers to the fact that Satan and his demons will be shut up in Hell for 1,000 years, while those humans killed during Armageddon will stay in Hell awaiting the Great Judgment. After the 1,000 years are finished, Satan and his demons will be released for a time before the Great Judgment.
REVELATION 20:1-3
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he
should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after
that he must be loosed a little season.
Satan is bound and cast into Hell to be tormented for 1,000 years during the reign of Jesus here on Earth. God sets a seal on him, to ensure that he remains imprisoned there until the 1,000 years are finished. Note that he isn't confined to the sides of the pit as others are (see below), which means he will be at the lowest (and worst) part of Hell during the entire 1,000 years! And as we will soon see, he apparently learns nothing from the experience.
As for Hell, it is considered virtually bottomless (it has a bottom, but it is so deep so as to be considered bottomless We have bodies of water that are considered 'bottomless' because they're so deep.) So the graves of the wicked are set in the sides of the pit. And the lower you go into the pit, the worse the torment becomes.
When Egypt tried defeating king Nebuchanezzar of Babylon for control of the Middle East at the Battle of Carchemish (605 B.C.), the Egyptians lost and Pharaoh Necho II was killed along with much of his army. God told the prophet Ezekiel concerning the Egyptians and their Assyrian allies;
EZEKIEL 32:20-23
20 "They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword; she is delivered to the sword, drawing her and all her multitudes.
21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Hell with those who help him: 'They have gone down, they lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'
22 "Assyria is there, and all her company, with their graves all around her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23 Her graves are set in the sides of the Pit, and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark
upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
years.
This is a segment of the judgment of the righteous at Jesus' return. Those martyred during the
Tribulation of the Antichrist will be resurrected, judged by Jesus, and will receive their crowns
and their assignments as kings and rulers of the Earth for a thousand years under Jesus' kingship.
REVELATION 20:5-6
5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
This is the blessed promise given to all who remain faithful to God and Jesus. The "second death" spoken of here is the eternal damnation that will be the fate of those who reject God and His Son, those who will end up in the Lake of Fire with Satan, his demons, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.
REVELATION 20:7-9
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
Satan obviously doesn't learn too easily. Jesus will release him from his prison after the 1,000 years are finished, and Satan will again gather the nations of the earth to battle against God and His resurrected saints. He will prepare to attack, and God the Father will strike from Heaven and will destroy the armies and the whole Earth. The resurrected saints will not suffer any harm in this.
Why will God release Satan? God is a just God, and with Satan bound in the bottomless pit, and Jesus reigning physically here on earth, sin will be pretty much held in check. Sin will still be in the world, but Satan will not be there to excite the sinful lusts of men.
So, just as we must choose whom we will serve, those people born and living during the Millennium must be given a choice whom they will serve also. Satan will be allowed to tempt them even as he has done to us, and sadly enough, it looks as if many will follow him.
Therefore God will release Satan and Satan will start another war against Jesus and His
resurrected elect.
REVELATION 20:10
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
At last Satan receives his due punishment for his sins. Hell and the Lake of Fire were created specifically for him, and he will now remain in the Lake of Fire to be tormented for eternity. Unfortunately those who reject God have given their allegiance to Satan and will follow into his eternal punishment also.
Remember when Jesus confronted the demon-possessed men;
MATTHEW 8:28-29
28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"
The demons and Satan have already been judged and sentenced to Hell and afterward to the Lake of Fire. They know they cannot escape their punishment, and they know that they will be cast into Hell when Jesus returns. When Jesus appeared in human form, they were terrified that He would throw them into Hell before the appointed time.
There are demons who are already chained in Hell awaiting the Judgment, as Peter quoted;
2 PETER 2:4
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to Hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
Apparently their sin was so grievous, God sentenced them to Hell immediately after their Rebellion.
Jesus’ physical brother Jude wrote concerning this:
JUDE 1:6
6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;
REVELATION 20:11-15
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
After God thwarts Satan's final assault and destroys the earth and the heavens, Satan and his demons will be cast into the Lake of Fire, to be tormented forever.
Then will come the second resurrection, the resurrection of the damned, namely all those who have died in their sins. They will appear before the great Throne of Judgment, and will be allowed to plead their case before Jesus and the resurrected believers. Their words and works will be examined and judged from the books of their life. They will be given opportunity to see that their names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and they will receive their sentence of destruction in the Lake of Fire from the Lord.
And when the Judgment is finished, the last enemy of God, Death itself and Hell will both be thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternity, along with the spirits of all of the dead whose names are not written in the Book of Life.
Note: Hell and the Lake of Fire are two different things! Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire
which will be far worse than Hell!
REVELATION 21:1
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away; and there was no more sea.
God will create a new Heaven and Earth, for the old Heaven and Earth are tainted with sin.
Therefore Jesus will destroy the old Heaven and Earth and will create a new, sinless Heaven and
Earth, an Earth which does not require a sea any more, an Earth of glory that we cannot even
begin to imagine.
REVELATION 21:2-3
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be
with them, and be their God.
When the new Heaven and Earth are created, God Himself, the Almighty Father will dwell with us forever! AMEN! And we will live forever with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the new Jerusalem which will descend from heaven.
REVELATION 21:4-7
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
Note what the Father says in verse seven! We will be sons of God, just like Jesus! Essentially Jesus will be our "older brother"!
When the lost are cast into the Lake of Fire, I believe that the resurrected believers will weep, hearing the heartrending cries of the condemned as they are driven from the Lord's presence. God Himself will wipe all tears from our eyes, and will take away our memories of pain and sorrow, and of this Earth. As He told the prophet Isaiah;
ISAIAH 65:17
17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be
remembered, nor come into mind.
REVELATION 21:8
8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death."
Note also that God says the fearful will be among those who have their part in the Lake of Fire.
God understands the terror that death poses for us, having died Himself for our sins. But if we
forsake Him to save our lives, we will be sentenced to the Lake of Fire as He will consider us to
be not worthy of Him. Remember, count the cost of discipleship before you choose whom
you will follow!
REVELATION 21:9-17
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure
of a man, that is, of an angel.
Wow! This is a city that only God could build! The walls will be 216 feet (65.8 meters) thick,
and the length, width, and height will be 1,377 miles (2,216 km)! Only an architect or an
engineer could even begin to appreciate the workmanship of such a city! (Note - most
commercial aircraft only fly at a maximum of twelve miles above the earth!)
Note: Jasper is a form of quartz.
REVELATION 21:18-20
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the
ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
We have an interesting choice of colors for the foundations of the walls of the city.
Jasper - a clear stone, like clear quartz
Sapphire - deep blue
Chalcedony - a striped stone, with colors of brown, blue and black in bands; a form of an agate
Emerald - deep green
Sardonyx - a combination of sardius (deep red) and onyx (by ancient description, soft gray color, usually in banded layers)
Sardius - deep red
Chrysolite - described in old texts as a deep golden yellow color
Beryl - described as a pale green or bluish color, possibly an aquamarine
Topaz - described as having a pale green color, unlike the yellow or blue topaz of today
Chrysoprase - a light to grass-green colored gem, chemically similar to Chrysolite, but with nickel impurities which gives it its color
Jacinth - deep blue color, thought to be possibly a form of zircon
Amethyst - deep purple
Can you imagine these colors with the light of the Lord shining through them?
REVELATION 21:21- 27
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).
26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
The redeemed will rule as kings on the Earth and they alone will be worthy to enter the New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ. It’s hard to imagine gold so pure that it is crystal clear, but with God, nothing is impossible!
REVELATION 22:1-4
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
Here we see that the curse that was placed on the Earth in Genesis because of Man's sin will at
last be removed. God the Father and Jesus His Son will dwell among us forever, and we will
have perfect fellowship with Them and with each other. And at last we will see the face of the
Father directly.
We now know what happened to the Tree of Life; apparently the Tree of Life was taken from the
Garden of Eden to Heaven when the Flood destroyed the Earth. The Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil? Having accomplished its purpose, I suspect it was destroyed during the Flood.
REVELATION 22:5-9
5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
6 Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true." And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
7 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."
8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9 Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of
your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."
I have spoken to people who tell me that we are not meant to understand the book of Revelation, and yet the angel tells John that they that keep the words of the book are blessed.
One thing we need to bear in mind. God's prophecies are timed so that the generation for whom they were meant would understand them. Daniel was not given the meanings of his prophecies, because they were not meant for him, or his generation.
The book of Revelation has been kept a mystery by God for thousands of years, as the time had not approached for the "terminal generation" to understand what it had to say. But now the veils are being removed, and people are starting to understand what the prophecies mean.
Again, John falls at the feet of the angel to worship him, and is told not to do this. And again, the angel directs all worship to God, who alone is worthy of worship.
REVELATION 22:10-13
10 And he said to me, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still."
12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
Something interesting appears here! Daniel was told that his prophecy was sealed, for it referred to the time of the end, while John is told to not seal his prophecy! When Daniel saw his visions, Jesus had not been born yet and his prophecies were of events leading to Jesus' birth and death. John's visions were to show the End Times and reinforce Jesus' role as King and Messiah from John's time through the far future. Therefore as the events of Daniel are becoming clear today, so is the Revelation given to John!
Basically Daniel saw the time of the end through a telescope, and John saw it through a microscope. And blessed are we who can see and understand both sets of prophecies!
REVELATION 22:14
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
I have to say something about this verse. As you well know, there are many different versions of the Bible to choose from, and here I will tell you why I trust the King James and New King James Bibles above all others.
The King James Version says of verse 14, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
The New American Standard and others say, "Blessed are they which wash their robes that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
A big difference here! There are other differences, but I will not go into them here as I will be
covering this issue in another study.
Only those who do the commandments of Jesus will enter the gates of Heaven! Heaven is
not a Laundromat where you have to wash your robes before you can enter!
REVELATION 22:15-21
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Please pay careful heed to the warnings in verses 18 and 19, especially verse 19! And may the Lord return quickly for His church!
I hope that all of you who have read this study series now understand the prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel, the Gospels, the Epistles and Revelation concerning the End Times. We are seeing the "beginning of sorrows" as spoken by Jesus, and He told me that when 'gay' marriage was made legal, we had just passed through the gateposts to the End Times and events since then have shown that He is right.
May the Lord richly bless you with wisdom and understanding as you search for His truths!!!
Questions? Comments? E-mail me at watchmen_777@yahoo.com