This is the Second Part of a Four Part study of the book of Revelation. The study is a collection of teachings of the servants of God and throughout the study abbreviations are used as references. Derick Prince [D.p], Duane Sheriff [D.s], Joseph Prince [J.p], Kenneth E. Hagin [K.h], Dr. Michael Brown [Dr.M.b.], Rabbi Jason Sobel [R.J.s]. Contributions from, David Hogan, Heidi & Rolland Baker, Roberts Liardon, Andrew Wommack and others.
Point of Note: We need to make it CLEAR, the content of this study does NOT necessarily wholly reflect the beliefs of the ministers cited, however the study is composed of truths from revelations God has given to various ministries and aims to present it free from any Scriptural conflicts as to be able to stand scrutiny. So we wholeheartedly encourage the reader to critically examine these truths and any input you might have would be greatly appreciated.
You can download a PDF of this study: A Study of the Book of Revelation. [Chapters 6-11]
Contents:
- Revelation 6: The Gospel and the Birth Pains.
- Revelation 7: The Fruits of the Gospel of Grace.
- Revelation 8: The Announcement of a Counter Kingdom.
- Revelation 9: The Inauguration of the Night.
- Revelation 10: The Day of Vengeance of God.
- Revelation 11: First Half – The First will be Last.
Revelation 6: The Gospel and the Birth Pains.
Now since in the last two chapters we have established that the RAPTURE of church has NOT YET taken place, we now can fully assert that this chapter represents an overview of the entire period of the end times, from the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to the very last day of judgement, spanning 3000 years. This chapter is ROOTED in the vision of the SLAIN Lamb taken up to heaven and receiving the SEALED SCROLL from God. So what the blood of Jesus Christ purchased is the FOREMOST event which this chapter BEGINS to describe. As the Lord said, “Thus it has been written: “The Christ was to suffer and to rise out from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed in His name to all nations, having begun from Jerusalem.” Luke 24:46-47
With this point securely in mind we will be able to reconcile the Seals with the Lord’s own prophetic declaration of the times to come. In that respect the seals the Lamb opens here describe elements of the birth pains, which He described in Matthew 24:4-14 and Luke 21:10-11. These are, wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilences, many being deceived by false teachings and lawlessness abounding, All of which follow after the proclamation of the Gospel of the Grace of God. So the SEALS are describing for us events that will transpire during the period of God’s grace, from the Gospel going out into the world to the final day of judgement. The point is, the seals are NOT a description of God judging the earth, since God had proclaimed “goodwill and peace toward mankind” at the birth of Christ, but the expression of the fury of the devil being vented out because he knows his time is short. [Revelation 12:12]
So the Lord described the false messiahs, the rumours of wars, the famine, and earthquakes as one part of the BEGINNINGS of the BIRTH PAINS. [Matthew 24:8] This is NOT because the Earth has never experienced famine or earthquake or wars before this, the bible itself records many famines, one under Abraham, one under Isaac and another in Jacob. However the Lord is pointing out from this moment forth, these events that transpire are in relation to what is being birthed on the Earth: that is the Kingdom of God. And in the Lord’s description of the birth pains there are events that affect mankind and there are events that affect the earth. And the SEALS address these events from the point of view of mankind, in terms of life and death, wars, inequality, judgement and so on as moments in the age described in the coming forth of the Horsemen. So as the time draws closer for the kingdom of God to be birthed the more violent and more frequent the devil’s reaction will be, simulating the birth pains.
Now the discourse of the Lord in Matthew 24:4-14 is used as a road map for INTERPRETING Revelation 6. Based on this, many have attributed the opening of the first seal and the coming forth of the Horseman on the white horse to be the Antichrist. This is a CRITICAL error that will affect every subsequent interpretation.
When the Lord said, “Take heed, lest anyone mislead you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many.” Matthew 24:4-5 The Lord is NOT speaking of the Antichrist but FALSE MESSIAH(s), NOT the one and only “man of lawless” but MANY false deceivers. So the issue being the muddling of two fundamentally opposing concepts. The Antichrist is a spirit that denies Christ ever came in the flesh [2 John 1:7] and the final expression of the Antichrist is manifested in the man of lawlessness who gives no regard to God. [1 John 2:22] The Antichrist does NOT seek to pretend to be Christ, he comes in place of Him, his ideology is humanistic and an ABSOLUTE disregard of God, declaring himself to be God. Derek Prince made the point that when Christ was crucified the people chose Caesar instead of Him saying, “We have no king except Caesar.” John 19:15 and it is in the same respect those who reject Christ now will also choose a WORLD figure in place of Him. On the other hand False messiah(s) seek to deceive people in faith, predicated on the belief of God, so the Lord says to the church, “Take heed, lest anyone mislead you.”
So the UNDENIABLE FACT IS the first SEAL is NOT ABOUT the Antichrist but the Gospel of the Kingdom.
“And I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard ONE of the four living creatures saying, as a voice of thunder, “Come!” [vs. 1]
The point is Jesus died and was raised to life for the PURPOSE of opening this scroll. “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and You purchased to God by Your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9 And it is this truth of redemption the first seal represents. Therefore this portion of prophecy is not speaking of the judgement of God but describing the times that will come to pass over this period of His grace. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” Luke 9:56 So when the Lamb opened the first seal, the first one that came to the world was NOT the spirit of the antichrist but the Holy Spirit coming to proclaim the message of the gospel. It is describing Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples and at the preaching of Peter 3000 were saved and the church of the overcomers [conquerors] was born. The spirit of the antichrist comes when the Third Trumpet sounds and a great star falls to the earth.
FIRST SEAL: Proclamation of the Gospel.
“And I looked, and behold, a WHITE HORSE, and the one sitting on it having a BOW; and a CROWN was given to him, and he went forth OVERCOMING, and that he might CONQUER.” [vs. 2]
So Derek Prince teaches the One riding on the white horse is Jesus Christ, the One who has overcome the world and is conquering with the message of His gospel. And he quotes this Psalm to be an aspect of His conquest, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, With Your glory and Your majesty. And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; The peoples fall under You.” Psalm 45:1-5
Therefore the first seal is the representation of the gospel message being proclaimed by CHRIST through the Holy Spirit. We might be the feet on the ground but it is Christ in us who does the work! “The one abiding in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me you are able to do nothing” John 15:5 It is in HIS name the message of salvation is proclaimed, it is HIS victory we tell the world. So the Horseman is CHRIST going forth conquering the world. Paul described his ministry in this terms, “I have been entrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision just as Peter of the circumcision— For the One having worked in Peter for apostleship of the circumcision, did also in me toward the Gentiles—“ Gentiles 2:7-8
Crown [Wreath]: Now the word used for crown differs between [στέφανος: stephanos [wreath] & διαδήματα: diadem]. Now the commonly accepted interpretation is that “Diadem” is worn by royalty, that is by one who has the right of rule. While “stephanos” is a crown in the likeness of a wreath and is worn by one who wins a competition. So the fact the first Horseman was given a wreath, not a diadem has been used as grounds to identify him as the Antichrist. This a VERY WRONG assumption to make since the twenty-four elders also wore a stephanos [wreath] in Revelation 4:10. And a diadem is worn by the Lord in Revelation 19:12 as well as by both the dragon in Revelation 12:3 and the beast which himself is the representation of the Antichrist in Revelation 13:1.
Now the question is how does this stephanos [wreath] apply to Christ, in terms of the first Horseman? The Lord Jesus Christ received rulership over the earth, which Adam had lost, through His death and resurrection and said, “All authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Me.” Matthew 28:18 He was then taken up to heaven and received the kingdom of heaven at which point the devil and his angels were cast out. However the earth even though He has all authority the kingdoms of the world have yet to become the kingdom of God. Paul says, “Then the end, when He shall hand over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He shall have annulled all dominion, and all authority and power. For it behoves Him to reign UNTIL He shall have put all the enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:24-25 So the Lord still needs to conquer the world in respect to His subjects for whom He was crucified.
So here the application is stephanos [wreath], because it is in respect to running the race of the GOSPEL. The Lord instructed His disciples saying, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole earth, for a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 So He needs to conquer the CAPTIVES by the preaching of the gospel. [Isaiah 61:1] And to those who give heed and overcome, He awards the crown, stephanos [wreath] of life. As Paul said of his course, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on the crown [stefanos] of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me in that day.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 So at the moment the Lord Jesus Christ is NOT taking over governments, or kingdoms or nations but ONLY winning SOULS, this has been His main focus for the last 2000 years. However He will also do that during His millennium reign. David wrote, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.You shall break [rule] them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalm 2:8-9
Therefore even though the Lord has overcome the world, the kingdom of the world did not become His until the LAST of His elect from among the Jews are gathered to Him. When Christ has won the last of His subjects from the world then ALL the world has been conquered by the message of the Gospel. Then the angel will announce “The kingdom of the world has become that of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign to the ages of the ages.” Revelation 11:15 So we see the Lord portrayed here as a conquering Hero wearing the rightful crown of a Victor, stephanos [wreath]. Note: when the angel announced in chapter 11 the kingdoms of the earth have become the kingdom of God and His Christ, three and half years later the whole thing was finished in a final battle and the Kingdom of Christ was established on earth for a 1000 years. So as the devil was cast out of heaven after a great battle when Christ received the kingdom of Heaven, the devil will also be cast out of the earth into the bottomless pit after a great battle when Christ receives His kingdom on Earth.
The Bow in His hand represents strength. Jacob prophesied over Joseph saying, “But his BOW remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel).” Genesis 49:24 Now the fact He carries no arrows has also been used to counter the idea that it is not the Lord. However arrows can mean to afflict: if we consider the story of Elisha and king Joash [2 Kings 13:14-19] and David says, “He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.” Psalm 18:14 Isaiah also says, “Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies;” So the fact the Horseman is not carrying arrows speaks more to the fact that He has not come in vengeance as in the day of the Lord but in peace. No arrow means NO ACT of aggression, signifying the gospel is sent to save mankind not to destroy; so the Lord said to His disciples, “Behold, I send you forth as SHEEP in the midst of WOLVES;” Matthew 10:16
Now even if we say that the first horseman represents the Antichrist, is he going out to conquer and to make war, WITHOUT ARROWS, a soldier without a sword? The Lord said of the enemy, “When men slept the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and left.” Matthew 13:25 The point is when the enemy comes he also comes with words with arrows. Paul in Ephesians speaks of the fiery darts, “arrows” of the enemy. Ephesians 6:16 So the lack of arrows speaks more to PEACE than anything else.
Another reference that supports this point of view of Jesus Christ as the rider of the white horse is, “And I saw heaven having been opened, and behold, a white horse, and the One sitting upon it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” … “And His name is called The Word of God.” Revelation 19:11,13 So the first seal that is opened by “the Lamb as though it had been slain,” is the proclamation of the message of the gospel to the world which His blood has purchased for us.
Note: We need to consider, what need does the Antichrist have to conquer? The world is already under the sway of the evil one from the day Adam fell. [1 John 5:19] And everyone who has not accepted Christ already belongs to him, he does NOT need to conquer, he simply needs to continue to deceive, to blind them from knowing the truth. [2 Corinthians 4:4] However, the Gospel needs to conquer to snatch people from the jaws of death! And a conquering force is an outside force, it is the coming of the kingdom of God. The Lord gave the example, “When the strong man being armed might guard his house, his possessions are in peace. But when One stronger than he, having come upon him, shall overcome him, he takes away his complete armour in which he had trusted, and he divides his plunder.” Luke 11:21-22 In this example the strong man is the devil, the house is the world and one stronger than he is the Lord. Christ is the conquering force, the devil is defending his ground. The world without the countering force of God does not need to be conquered; it will willingly accept the enemy. In Revelation 17:13 the kings of the earth WILLINGLY gave themselves to reign with the beast for one hour being of one mind with the beast.
SECOND SEAL: Ethnic & Kingdom Wars.
“And when He opened the second seal, I heard the SECOND living creature saying, “Come!” And another horse went forth, BRIGHT RED; and to the one sitting on it, to him was granted to take the peace from the earth, and that they will slay one another; and a GREAT SWORD was given to him.” [vs.3-4]
Now the opening of this seal along with the next two is referring to the time the Lord spoke about saying, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many. And you will begin to hear of WARS and RUMOURS of WARS. Behold, do not be alarmed; for it is necessary to take place, but the end is not yet For NATION [ethnic] will rise up against NATION [ethnic], and KINGDOM against KINGDOM, and there will be FAMINES and EARTHQUAKES in various places. And ALL THESE are the BEGINNING of birth pains.” Matthew 24:5-8 Here the Lord attributes all these events to be the beginnings of birth pains.
The coming of the RED horse is in response to the gospel. Wars have always been a part of world affairs since the fall, however after the CROSS they are an expression of birth pains because they are in RESPONSE to the Gospel. And the FIRST expression of such WAR is the turmoil that surrounded the earth during the Great Tribulation, when the devil sought to destroy Jerusalem and the Roman empire was ravaged by civil wars at the death of Emperor Nero. And of the Siege of Jerusalem the Lord said, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you that your enemies will cast around you a barricade, and will surround you and will hem you in on every side. And they will level you to the ground, and your children within you, and will not leave a stone upon a stone within you, BECAUSE you DID NOT KNOW the season of your VISITATION.” Luke 19:42-44 The Lord attributed the destruction of Jerusalem to her rejection of the Gospel.
And wars have been an increasing part of world affairs, the 20th Century especially has been the most bloody in history. It had witnessed two great world wars in which millions lost their lives and great atrocities were committed. The following world accord has not helped to stem the bloody carnage. The neatly carved out manageable, map divisions have propagated continual ethnic wars that have engulfed the whole world. There are wars of ideology, wars for resources, and wars of oppression.
Now the Lord said, of wars and rumours of wars, “do not be alarmed; for it is necessary to take place,” this is in respect to wars being a necessary aspect of a fallen world, evil forces MUST be countered. Paul in Roman 13 demonstrated that authorities were put in place as means to keep peace and to punish evil doers. “For he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For He is God’s servant, an avenger for wrath to the one doing evil.” Romans 13:4 It is the same concept on the world stage, there has to be a hindering force to keep evil at bay.
THIRD SEAL: Great Inequality.
“And when He opened the third seal, I heard the THIRD living creature saying, “Come!” A BLACK HORSE, and the one sitting on it having a PAIR OF SCALES in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, a choenix of wheat for a denarius, a and three choenixes of barley for a denarius; and you should NOT INJURE the oil and the wine.”] [vs. 5-6]
Derek Prince teaches, the fact that the horseman holds in his hand scales signifies great inequality that will be upon the world. The scale of the inequality is portrayed in what it costs to purchase the basic necessities, wheat and barley with a denarius which is a working man’s daily wage. Choenix or a quart measures to be 1.1 liters of wheat for a day’s wage or 3.3 liters of barley for a day’s wage. And at the same time he points out the proclamation, “you should not injure the oil and the wine.” Which are symbols of luxury.
We can [choose] to look at this as the time of great unrest that arises to address those questions. The failed Soviet and China Atheistic Communistic experiments through which many were made destitute and lost their lives are evident. And Keneith Hagin’s vision addresses the resurgence of those ideologies in the western Judo-Christian civilization. 1963 Kenneth Hagin Sr. Prophetic Word Regarding America: Darkness, Atheistic Communism. The poorest, oppressed and most destitute nations are those who put their hands to the communistic ideologies. So this seal is a representation of a time of great disparity in the world!
FOURTH SEAL: Without the Gospel.
“And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the FOURTH living creature saying, “Come!” A PALE HORSE, and the one sitting on it, the name of him was DEATH, and HADES was following with him; and authority was given to them over the fourth of the earth, to KILL with SWORD, and with FAMINE, and with PLAGUE, and by the BEASTS of the earth.” [vs. 7-8]
Derek Prince points out the significance of this seal as it pertains to Death and Hades riding out together. “Death kills the body while Hades takes the soul.” The implication is a proportion of the world who perish without the gospel, because those whom Death has killed Hades has possessed their soul. So Derek Prince says, “The gospel must stay ahead, we must be careful to present the gospel before these events.” [D.p]
We see here, under this one horse ALL the previous horses’ activities are mentioned. Times when the cumulation of all the events which the Lord described as the beginning of sorrows occur with a pronounced effect on a great part of the world. So this seal points to the time when the contraction of the birth pains are STRONGER and MORE FREQUENT and many fall without knowledge of the gospel. “There will be both great earthquakes, and famines and pestilences in different places. ” Luke 21:11 And will ravish places especially where the gospel is not fully established.
The idea is the SEALS are conveying to us chronological events that increase in INTENSITY as we approach the end of the “AGE” NOT of the Earth. And the Lord describes these days as, “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth DISTRESS of nations with PERPLEXITY, sea roaring and surge rolling, MEN FAINTING from FEAR and EXPECTATION of that which is coming on the EARTH.” Luke 21:25-26 The world we NOW live in has been gripped by fear of the expectation of the end of the earth. Such belief has affected politics, business and common relationships with one another. Fear of this impending doom is propagated by every media avenue and has become an everyday part of life.
Here we want to point out that two angels, Death and Hades are mentioned under this one seal. So in fact we may consider that there are FIVE horsemen described in the seals, NOT FOUR. Death and Hades have different functions and in Revelation 20:14 they were both cast into the lake of fire. The merit of this assertion becomes evident when we associate it with the five angels described in the Seventh chapter, the fifth being tasked with sealing the servants of God, while the four were given authority to harm the EARTH. So likewise here the four horsemen are given authority to harm MANKIND of which two are Death and Hades. Therefore the First Horseman which corresponds to the Fifth Angel is also engaged with the same task of SEALING the servants of the Lord, as He goes forth conquering.
Now between the FOURTH and FIFTH seal is the time the church of God is raptured. Here we see Death and Hades given authority over one fourth of the earth. Though it says the Earth, the implication is mankind purely because Hades is mentioned along with Death. Hades is an angel who collects the soul of mankind. So as [D.p] showed the significant meaning of these two being mentioned together is to show the destruction of LOST SOULS. The point is WHEN the decree is given subjecting the quarter of the earth to Death and Hades, the church of God is STILL present on the earth. And the event described here finds its fulfillment at the announcement of the SIXTH Trumpet. Now the apparent discrepancy in values given here with the values given in Sixth Trumpet are resolved when we account for the rapture of the church.
That is, a QUARTER of the Earth being subject to Death and Hades, while the church is on the Earth will EQUAL to a THIRD of the Earth being subject to the four angels when the church is RAPTURED. This apparent overlap is explained, in the words of the Lord when He said, “And of these things BEGINNING to COME to PASS, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28 The Lord showed the Church will witness the beginning of these events, hence the calculation here accounts for the church being present in the world.
FIFTH SEAL: The Rejection of the Gospel.
“And when He opened the FIFTH seal, I saw under the ALTAR the SOULS of those having been SLAIN because of the WORD OF GOD, and because of the testimony which they had UPHELD. And they were crying in a loud voice, saying, “Until when, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood from those DWELLING UPON the earth?” And to each of them were given WHITE ROBES, and it was said to them that they shall rest yet a LITTLE TIME, until their FELLOW SERVANTS would also be complete, and their brothers, THOSE being ABOUT TO BE KILLED as they also had been.” [vs. 9-11]
Now what is being birthed on earth is the kingdom of God. Paul wrote, “For the earnest expectation of the creation awaits the REVELATION of the SONS of GOD. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of the One having subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole CREATION GROANS together and TRAVAILS together until now.” Romans 8:19-22 So as we have seen in the previous seals the building up of intensity of the birth pains, THIS SEAL marks the final moments before the kingdom of God is birthed on earth. So this final INTENSE moment covers a very SHORT AND HORRIFIC period. And it is measured by, the gap that is between the souls of those slain because of the word of God described here, and those who have yet to come to faith in the Lord and to suffer the same fate as their brethren before them. Marking the END of the preaching of the Gospel. “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole earth, for a testimony to all the nations; and then the END WILL COME.” Matthew 24:14
That is the rejection of the word of God is measured by the life of His servants. Jesus said, “The one hearing you hears Me; and the one rejecting you rejects Me; and the one rejecting Me rejects the One having sent Me.” Luke 10:16 And the Lord showed this concept in the parable of the Vineyard keepers, “And when the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, to receive his fruits. And the farmers having taken his SERVANTS, one they BEAT, and one they KILLED, and one they STONED. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. And afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the farmers having seen the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and gain possession of his inheritance.’ And having taking him, they CAST HIM OUT of the vineyard and KILLED HIM. Matthew 21:34-39 This parable ends with the owner of the vineyard destroying those vineyard keepers, which was an act of judgement.
Now this parable was told in relation to Israel and the Lord, and the destruction that came upon them because they did not know the time of their visitation. However it is the SAME concept that is being played out in the present. The gospel is being preached to the Gentile nations while Israel has been in partial blindness for the last 2000 years, “until the FULLNESS of the Gentiles has come.” Romans 11:25 So when the Lord said, “Then will they deliver you to tribulation, and WILL KILL YOU, and you will be hated by all the NATIONS on account of My name.” Matthew 24:9 The significance of which is that the world has heard the message of the Gospel and have fully rejected it and their rejection is expressed in the same manner as in the parable, in hate and killing of His servants. Note, in order to be hated by ALL NATIONS it requires that they in effect must have heard the gospel message first.
And the Lord described their rejection in these terms, “And then many will FALL AWAY, and they will betray one another, and will hate one another; and many false prophets will arise, and will LEAD MANY ASTRAY. And because LAWLESSNESS is to be multiplied, the love of the many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:10-12 In this respect Paul makes two major points, there will come a time when people will no longer heed sound doctrine but will turn their ears to fables and when they no longer have love for truth and will seek to believe a lie.
Those who were misled by the false teachings, “But the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will DEPART from the FAITH, giving heed to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, in the hypocrisy of liars, having been seared in the own conscience, forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods that God created for reception with thanksgiving.” 1 Timothy 4:1-3 This in regards to false teachers and prophets. And Paul further asserts in regards to the people that even if one is to tell them the truth they will not accept it, choosing rather to believe what suits them. “For there will be a time when they will not endure sound teaching, but according to the own desires, having an itching ear, they will gather around them teachers to suit themselves, and indeed they will TURN AWAY from hearing the TRUTH, and will be turned aside unto MYTHS.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 That is they themselves will seek out false teachings, and the result of their departure is expressed in persecuting those who are in faith. Finally those who reject through unbelief, which Paul calls the working of the mystery of lawlessness, which is brought about by the working of the evil one in opposition to all things God. [2 Corinthians 4:3-4]
And the END of ALL those who gave no regard to the truth of Christ, Paul writes, “God will send to them a working of DELUSION, for them to believe what is FALSE, in order that all those NOT having believed the truth but having delighted in unrighteousness should be judged.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 That is total blindness will come upon the Gentile nations for their rejection of the Gospel truth, in the same capacity Israel fell into partial blindness at her rejection of the Lord.
So when John sees here the SOULS of servants that were slain for the word of God under the ALTAR, which is in Heaven it is to represent the RAPTURE. Now this is NOT from the point of view of the church being received into the CLOUDS, but the EVENT that expresses the SAME truth FROM heaven perspective, of the fullness of the time coming MEASURED by the life of the Lord’s witnesses. When Jerusalem rejected the gospel she drove out the apostles, murdered James the brother of the Lord and silenced the believers in her midst; this was in effect a signal of full rejection and the next event that followed was her destruction. Likewise when the LAST of the ELECT from among the Gentiles are gathered into the kingdom, the REST of the nations in effect having heard the gospel, have chosen to reject the message, to ridicule and abuse the Lord’s servants and EVEN seek out measures to SILENCE them then the end of the times of the Gentiles has also FULLY come. And this is marked by a significant event that is by the RAPTURE of the church. [Luke 21:24,27]
Now in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, [Galatians 3:26-28] however OUTSIDE of HIM there is DISTINCTION. [Romans 11:25-26, 1 Corinthians 10:32] Otherwise the partial blindness that is upon the Jews does not make sense. And at present the bride of Christ by enlarge is made up of the Gentile nations. This theme is foreshadowed in the history of Israel, Joseph, who is a foreshadow of the Lord, had a different name given to him “Zaphnath-Paaneah,” was unrecognised by his brothers and was married to Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah an Egyptian. And from the genealogy of the Lord, Judah had children by Tamar [Not from the family Abraham, Isaac or Jacob], Salmon was married to Rehab [Jericho] and Boaz was married to Ruth [Moab]. ALL of the women mentioned here were Gentiles. [R.J.S] Now Christ is also married to the Gentile church. The significance of which is, as the Lord said, “salvation is of the Jews,” John 4:22 through whom the Lord married the nations.
So when the souls under the altar in heaven asked, “Until when, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood from those dwelling upon the earth?” The Lord gave them the answer that there are yet “the LAST” to be won, those who have yet to suffer and be killed for their faith, which is during the 7 years of wrath, which will USHER the Lord’s Second coming. That is after the church has been raptured, God will AGAIN make distinction between Jews from Gentiles as described in Revelation 11:1-2. The Gentiles that are left on earth are now outside and in total blindness as Paul describes in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 and will NOT come to repentance ANY MORE. This short period, to build on the previous phrase, is, “the times of the Jews.”
And Hosea describes the repentance of Israel in this terms, “For the children of Israel shall abide many days WITHOUT king or prince, WITHOUT sacrifice or sacred pillar, WITHOUT ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall RETURN and SEEK the Lord their God and David their King. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the LATTER DAYS.” Hosea 3:4-5 The period Hosea is describing is from the time the second temple is destroyed [AD70], until the Rapture of the church at which point Israel will recognise the Lord as her Messiah. The bulk of the last 2000 years Israel has been without a nation [king], without a temple [no sacrifice] and without the priesthood [ephod].
Hosea supports this by a second prophecy, “After TWO days he will REVIVE us; on the THIRD day he will RESTORE us, that we may LIVE in his PRESENCE.” Hosea 6:2 The point we want to make here is how closely the time between these two events is framed. “After two days” logically should be the third day, however Hosea puts the reviving AFTER the second day and the restoration ON the third day, almost as an overlap. We can better understand this if we compare it with the prophecies of Ezekiel 37. In Ezekiel’s prophecy the restoration of Israel is broken into two stages, the first part when Ezekiel prophesies, the bones joined together, tendons and flesh covered their body but they had no life in them, which is the REVIVE aspect. [Ezekiel 37:7-8, 12] The second time he is commanded to prophesy that breath may enter into them and as he does, life entered into them and they stood up, which is the RESTORE aspect. [vs. 9-10, 14]
Now the restoration is in respect to, relationship with God, which Hosea backs with saying “to LIVE in HIS presence.” And Ezekiel affirms this point by describing the giving of the Holy Spirit, “I will put MY SPIRIT in you and you will LIVE, and I will settle you in your own land.” Ezekiel 37:14 To be born again is to have the Spirit of God in us. [Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:25-27, Romans 8:9] So it is NOT just the concept of being brought to the Land of Israel but having a relationship with Him being one in Spirit. And Ezekiel makes this point clear saying, “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one Shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.” Ezekiel 37:24-25 The giving of the Holy Spirit is tied with living in His presences, which is at the Second coming of the Lord, ON the THIRD day.
The main point of this discussion is to pinpoint the event that would facilitate Israel’s Desire to seek after God and David their King, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. That event is the RAPTURE of the church which transpires BETWEEN “after the second day,” and “on the third day.” And God affirms this point in the explanation He gives to Ezekiel of what the bones coming to life means, “Then He said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They SAY, ‘Our bones are dried up and OUR HOPE IS GONE; we are CUT OFF.’” Ezekiel 37:14 Here the Lord identifies the day through the response of Israel when she comes to know the truth and recognises the cost, that they themselves have been cut off from God, which Zachariah also describes as the mourning of the whole house of Israel. [Zachariah 12:10-14]
So the Jewish believers who come into faith during this period will have to face the beast and the false prophet which Revelation 13:7 refers to, Revelation 16:16 marks the beginnings of and Revelation 15:2 is a spiritual expression of the end. And we see these brethren who would be killed for their faith, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, the beast and the false prophet have been defeated and Satan is thrown into the bottomless pit for 1000 years. The graves are opened and the martyrs of the Lord Jesus Christ are raised up by the Holy Spirit, “The SOULS of those having been BEHEADED because of the TESTIMONY of JESUS and because of the word of God and those who did NOT worship the beast, nor his image, and did NOT take the mark upon the forehead, and upon their hand.” Revelation 20:4. So the majority of those to be gathered from among the children of Israel will miss out on the wedding feast of the Lamb, as the Lord told it in the parable. [Luke 14:16-24] This is the fullness of Jews coming in, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which Paul described as “all Israel will be saved.” Romans 11:26 The End has NOW come.
So between the fifth Seal and the sixth Seal there is a vast period of 1000 years when Christ will reign on Earth from Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God is NOW born on the earth, and ALL creation rejoices at the revelation of the children of God.
SIXTH SEAL: Final Judgement.
“And I saw when He opened the SIXTH seal, There was a great EARTHQUAKE, and the SUN became BLACK as sackcloth of hair, and the whole MOON became like BLOOD, and the STARS of heaven FELL to the EARTH, as a FIG tree casts its unripe figs, being shaken by a great wind. And Heaven departed like a scroll being rolled up, and every MOUNTAIN and ISLAND were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great ones, and the commanders, and the rich, and the powerful, and every slave and free, hid themselves in the caves, and among the ROCKS of the MOUNTAINS. And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the FACE of the One sitting on the throne, and from the WRATH of the LAMB, because the great day of Their wrath has come, and WHO IS ABLE TO STAND?” [vs.12-17]
This seal is describing the end of ALL Creation, it is the passing of the FIRST heaven and earth. And the most pressing question of the first creation is asked, “Who is able to stand?” Everything that is described here is the things that will NOT stand. From creation itself that will pass away, the spiritual forces that will be brought down [Satan, Death, Hades] and with them all the dead who have refused the Gospel of Christ. ALL of which will be cast into the lake of fire, as Peter says, “The heavens will pass away with a roar, and elements will be dissolved, burning with heat, and the earth and the works in it will not be found. … But according to His promise, we are awaiting NEW heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:10,13 So this seal is referring to the event that is described in Revelation 20:11-12 just before the coming of the New Heaven and the New Earth addressed in Revelation 21.
God made a covenant with Noah saying, “WHILE the earth REMAINS, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night SHALL NOT CEASE.” Genesis 8:22 The Great Earthquake described here is in respect to the earth passing away, which Isaiah also gives a similar description saying, “The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly. 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.” Isaiah 24:19-20 And the event of the Earth is followed by the SUN becoming black as a sackcloth of hair and the MOON as blood which is in respect to day and night and the seasons CEASING because the earth is NO MORE. Note: the Earth was created first in Genesis followed by the great light [Sun] to govern the day and the lesser light [moon] to govern the night. [Genesis 1:14-19]
Now before the rolling up of heaven as a scroll, in respect to the firmament we see which Revelation 20:11 describes as “from Whose face the earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them,” the STARS are described as falling from heaven to the EARTH. The OBVIOUS point is stars are HUGE celestial bodies they are NOT likely to fall on the earth, rather the earth is more likely to fall into one. So the description given here of the stars falling onto the earth, must be addressing something else. Isaiah describing the exact same event as above says, “All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a SCROLL; All their HOST shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as FRUIT FALLING from a FIG TREE.” Isaiah 34:4 Isaiah uses HOST to describe the STARS, these are the same ones which Paul described as, “the cosmic powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Revelation 6:12 And Revelation 12:4 attributes the stars to the angels that followed the devil to their destruction.
Now the use of Fig tree is in reference to the fruit which Adam and Eve ate in the garden, being deceived by the devil. Which is the EXACT moment that marked the END of the devil and all those who followed him. From which Adam and Eve also sewed together to make covering for themselves that is in reference to the wisdom they now acquired from the same tree. We cover our sins in the justification we give according to our knowledge of good and evil, Adam blamed his wife, she blamed the snake. So the analogy of the fruits of fig tree falling is in respect to the event that marked the fall of these heavenly hosts, as Paul says, “For surely He helps NOT the angels, but He helps the seed of Abraham.” Hebrews 2:16 That is they needed help for the fall that occurred to both mankind and angels at the VERY SAME TREE.
As the stars [angels] falling from heaven were tied with heaven itself being rolled up as a scroll that is their dwelling place, here also the Mountains and Islands being moved out their places is in respect to the ground on which mankind lives on being destroyed. We need to keep in mind, the earth itself with all of mankind both slave and free are represented as ONE UNIT, the fate of one is the same as the other, ALL are DUST. So we see the dead seeking to be swallowed up by the earth’s rock and mountains. The point is both the dead and the earth are burned up in the lake of fire TOGETHER. As Peter says, “The world at that time perished, having been deluged with water. But by the same word now the heavens and the earth exist, having been stored up for FIRE, being KEPT UNTO the day of judgement and destruction of UNGODLY MEN.” 2 Peter 3:6-7 That is the current earth is reserved for fire with ALL her inhabitants as the previous was for water. However the children of God are NOT of the earth, they are Heavenly as Christ is, [Third heaven] so there is NO mention of them in the description given here. [1 Corinthians 15:47] Creation is separated in three parts, the Third heaven where God dwells [2 Corinthians 12:2], the Second heaven the firmament [Ephesians 6:12] and the first heaven the earth. “In the beginning God created the heaven(S) and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 So it is the second heaven and the earth that is destroyed. The removal of things that will be shaken so the things that will not be shaken may remain. [Hebrews 12:27]
The WRATH of God and the Lamb: is respect to the life of the Son of God which was FREELY given to ALL of mankind from which these have turned away. Paul asks the question, “How much worse punishment do you think will he deserve, the one having trampled upon the Son of God, and having esteemed ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and having insulted the Spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:29 That is the punishment is equated to the value of the life that was given to save us; that is the life of the ETERNAL GOD. So to the question asked here, everyone found to be of the Earth and of the Second Heaven was found to be UNABLE to stand before God and the Lamb.
How Seven Trumpet and Seven Bowls fit into this perspective: The first seal describes the opening of the preaching of the gospel of grace and the sixth seal describes the cumulation of all events to its final conclusion on the day of judgement. Therefore the seven trumpets that are to follow are not successive events to the seals but are warnings that are contained within the period described within the six seals. The trumpets announce counter events that run concurrently to the message of grace. In the parable of the tares, the Lord gave this example, “And the servants, having approached the master of the house, said to him, ‘Sir, did you not SOW GOOD SEED in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy did this.’ And the servants said to him, ‘Then do you desire that having gone forth, we should gather them?’ And he said, ‘No, lest gathering the weeds, you would uproot the wheat with them. ALLOW BOTH TO GROW together until the HARVEST.” Matthew 14:27-30 The enemy has sought to counter the message of the gospel from the very beginning and has used all means to counter it and this period ends with the rapture of the church with a TRUMPET sound. This is the basic relationship between the seals and the trumpets. The bowels being the final conclusion.
The Summary of the Seals: [1-5]: Is the AGE of the Holy Spirit to gather the bride of Christ ending with the Rapture. [5-6]: Is the AGE of the millennium reign of Christ beginning with the deliverance of the Jews and ending with final judgement when every rule, power and authority is brought to an end, the last enemy being death. [1 Cor. 15:24-28]
Revelation 7: The Fruits of the Gospel of Grace.
[Bible Project] summarises this chapter as an answer to the question that was asked by the sixth seal of the last chapter, “Who is able to stand?” That is, Chapter 7 is a continuation of the Sixth Seal. As the first part described those who are NOT able to stand and are judged into everlasting fire [Revelation 20]. This chapter describes those who are able to stand and are awarded everlasting life in the presence of God and the Lamb, in the New Heaven and the New Earth where righteousness dwells. [Revelation 21,22]
The prophecy of Joel ties together the sixth seal with the events described in this chapter. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into DARKNESS, and the moon into BLOOD, before the coming of the GREAT and AWESOME DAY of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever CALLS on the name of the Lord shall be SAVED. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.” Joel 2:30-32 These are those described in this chapter who called on the name of the Lord and are saved.
“After these things I saw FOUR ANGELS standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding the FOUR WINDS of the EARTH, so that no wind would blow on the EARTH, nor on the SEA, nor on any TREE. And I saw another ANGEL, having ASCEND from the RISING of the SUN, having the SEAL of the living God. And he cried in a loud voice to the four angels to whom it had been given to them to harm the earth and the sea saying, “DO NOT HARM the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we shall have SEALED the SERVANTS of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of those having been sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, having been sealed out of EVERY TRIBE of the SONS of ISRAEL.” [vs. 1-4]
This chapter covers the entire period described by the Seals above, starting from the First Seal, the preaching of the Gospel to the Sixth Seal, God’s final righteous judgement. Now the first thing we need to do is associate the FIVE ANGELS described here with the horsemen described in the last chapter. The FIRST HORSEMAN riding on a white horse to whom a crown was given who went about conquering, corresponds with the FIFTH ANGEL, that ascends from the rising of the sun having the Seal of the living God. And the FOUR ANGELS described here to whom authority has been given to harm the EARTH and SEA, correspond to the FOUR HORSEMEN that followed after the WHITE HORSE described in the Second, Third and Fourth Seals to whom it had been given Authority to harm MANKIND. Only two of the horsemen are mentioned under the FOURTH seal, as Death and Hades, who themselves are angels and will be cast into the lake of fire. [Revelation 20:14] It is an obvious point to make but, mankind is bound to the earth, so what affects the earth bears consequence on mankind thereby the opportunity to hear the salvation message.
The next thing we need to do is identify what the four winds of the earth refer to. God speaking to Ezekiel said to him, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the FOUR WINDS, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may LIVE.” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Ezekiel 37:9-10 And Ezekiel later explains the significance of this statement as the Spirit of God entering and raising up the children of Israel from their grave saying, “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. ” Ezekiel 37:14 Which in effect is the NEW CREATION, when the elect of God are being sealed by the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, “In whom you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel your of salvation, in whom also having believed you were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Ephesians 1:13 So the four winds are an expression of the Holy Spirit coming into the world to be the life of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now it might seem a strange sight to see these four angels holding back the Spirit of God. However this effect is best illustrated in the words the Lord Himself said to Moses, “Truly, as I live, all the earth SHALL BE FILLED with the glory of the Lord—” Numbers 14:21 Also in Habakkuk, “For the earth WILL BE FILLED with the knowledge of the GLORY of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14 That means there was a point in time when God was NOT free to cover the earth by His Spirit. That is before Jesus Christ purchased the world by His blood the ruler of this world was the devil and Death and Hades took possession of every soul who died in Adam’s SIN. But after Christ has put away SIN, “He has been revealed once in the consummation of the ages for the putting away of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Hebrews 9:26 Now the earth was opened to receive the Spirit of God. [Joel 2:28-29]
This is the image described here, the BEGINNINGS of the REMOVAL OF the restraining forces, as the angel RISES from the rising of the SUN to proclaim the Good News, as an illustration that a NEW Day has NOW DAWNED. And when the day of Pentecost came, the Holy Spirit came as a mighty rushing wind and SEALED the firstfruits of the kingdom of God. And Peter preached the first sermon saying, “But this is that having been spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it will be in the last days, God says, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.” Acts 2:16-17 NOTE: it is NOT to give these evil spirits equal power with God, but an illustration of how God works through His word and since He had given the earth to Adam and He could not JUSTLY violate that until He rightly won the world back through Christ.
Now the angel ascending from the rising of the sun with the seal of God gave a loud command to these four angels, “Do NOT Harm the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” That is, a short period of time is specified from the first moment when the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost and the Gospel message was preached UNTIL the release of the FOUR angels, marking the beginnings of the birth pains. Which John later describes as, “And when He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Revelation 8:30 This period was fulfilled when the condition that the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel were SEALED. That is as Paul said, the Gospel must be first preached to the Jews. [Acts 13:46; Romans 2:7-11] NOTE: John is NOT saying only these will bear the mark of the Seal of God on their foreheads, since every child of God is sealed by the Holy Spirit. [Ephesian 1:13, Revelation 22:4] However he is describing that the four angels will be released to harm the earth after these FIRSTFRUITS are first sealed with the Seal of God!
And this short time period is illustrated in the first TWELVE chapters of the book of Acts dedicated MAINLY to the preaching of the gospel message to the Jews through the ministry of Peter starting from his first sermon in Acts 2. The ministry of Philip in Acts 8 to Samaritans, and the ministry to the Hellenists in Chapter 11 were all centred around Peter who was an apostles to the Circumcision to which the Samaritans and the Hellenists qualify. And this period ends in chapter 12 when James [Jacob] the brother of John [Grace] is killed and Peter was put into prison by Herod in Jerusalem for a while before escaping, “And having gone out, he went to another place.” Acts 12:17 This is the point we want to mark as the fulfilment of the 144,000 firstfruits of God and the Lamb having been SEALED, because Chapter 11 ends with, the restraint the FIFTH ANGEL had put on the four angles to whom it has been given to harm the earth being lifted with the proclamation, “Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus, having risen up, signified by the Spirit that a GREAT FAMINE is about to be over the WHOLE WORLD—which came to pass under Claudius.” Acts 11:27-28 Which was one of the events the Lord described as, “The beginning of birth pains.” Matthew 24:8
Now from Acts 13 to the very end, it is centred around Paul the apostles to the Gentiles. Starting with his first recorded sermon he preached in a synagogue in Antioch through which most of the Gentiles in the city came to faith in Christ and the Jews [populace] stood in opposition for the first time. And Paul made the comment, “It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken first to you. But since you thrust it away and do not judge yourselves worthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For thus the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you for a light of the Gentiles, you to be for salvation to the uttermost part of the earth.’” Acts 13:46-47 which in part is the expression of the death of Jacob. And the book of Acts ends with Paul put in prison in Rome, where it is widely accepted as having been executed. [2 Timothy 4:6-7]
Now there is significance to why Paul’s death was NOT recorded as James [Jacob’s] was. According to the theme of our study it is to signify the RAPTURE, Paul simply disappeared. The point being once the message of the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, illustrated here in the Roman empire then the end will come, with the rapture of the mainly Gentile church represented in the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul. One teacher described the book of Acts of the Apostles as the book of Acts of the Holy Spirit. The significance for us is that as Paul disappeared, the Holy Spirit will also be taken away at the point of the revelation of the man of lawlessness, also represented here in the person of Caesar, a world figurehead as described in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.
So the association to the book of Revelation is, the marking of the servants of God from among the Jews having been completed, the four angels to bring about harm on the earth are released. Thereby Ushering a NEW ERA, the Gospel message going out to the Gentile world. From this point forward Israel was in Partial Blindness as the Gentiles came to faith as Paul says, “A hardening in part has happened to Israel, UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles may come in.” Romans 11:25 This is illustrated in the image of Jacob [James the brother of John] dying and Peter being bound for a while. [Isaiah 49:6]
Now as Paul’s ministry was symbolic to the Gentile church, Peter’s ministry is also symbolic to the Jewish church. Peter’s ministry to the Jews is broken down into 2 portions, which is illustrated in his 2 letters. In his SECOND epistle Peter ends with the same declaration of his impending passing as Paul did saying, “Knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle is impending, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.” 2 Peter 1:14 However Peter associates his death with the vision he saw of the Lord coming in His kingdom. [Matthew 16:28] That is Peter the apostles to the Jews proclaims the manner of his death in his SECOND ministry as an expression of the suffering the Jews will have to endure before Christ returns. “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were YOUNGER, you dressed yourself and walked where you desired; but when you shall be OLD, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will dress you and will bring you where you do not desire.” John 21:18 We see here the Lord also breaking Peter’s ministry into two portions: YOUNG and OLD. That is when the church is young in the FIRST ministry to the JEWS and when the church is old in the LAST ministry to the JEWS. This is also a clear indication of the ERROR of the catholic church, if indeed there was to be one to represent, an apostolic succession of viceroys to Christ for the PRESENT church it would NOT be according to Peter it would have been according to Paul. Peter’s ministry has been suspended to a large extent in the partial blindness of Israel.
So John calls these 144,000 the firstfruits of God and the Lamb. “And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing upon Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred forty-four thousand having His name and the name of His Father having been written on their foreheads.”….“These have been redeemed out from men as FIRSTFRUITS to God and to the Lamb.” Revelation 14:1,4 They are the firstfruits, because they are the first to believe in Christ and follow Him, they are children born in youth.
“Out of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand having been sealed, out of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand having been sealed.” [vs. 5-8]
Now from the list above there are two tribes that are not listed, Dan and Ephraim. Though Ephraim is the son of Joseph he was given the privilege to be listed among the children of Jacob along with his brother Manasseh. The fact that they are missing has a significant point to make. Paul in Romans quotes Isaiah and says, “And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” Romans 9:27 The point being Dan and Ephraim represent unfaithfulness to God from two perspectives, as per the individual and as per a body. The magnitude of this view is forceful when looking at one nation but it is the same thing that is being exhibited in the world.
[Dan]: Is the first tribe to go astray from God, and he represents the individual. From the moment the tribe of Dan first entered the promised land and took possession of their inheritance to the time they were taken by the king of Assyria, the tribe of Dan had an idol they worshipped which they took from a house of Micah. “Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, ALL THE TIME that the house of God was in Shiloh.” Judges 18:30-31
[Ephraim]: Is a term used to describe the 10 tribes of Israel, as a body and a kingdom, while Judah represented the rest. Ephraim is also viewed according to his unfaithfulness to God. From the moment the ten tribes of Israel were torn out of the hands of the son of Solomon, they came under the hand of Ephraim. And they had departed from following the Lord because of the influence of Jeroboam [an Ephraimite] their first king. They worshipped the golden calves he made and they did not depart from it until they were taken by the king of Assyria. “After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.” 1 Kings 12:28-30 That is Jeroboam placed one idol in a city that belonged to Ephraim the other to Dan. [Joshua 16:1]
So these two tribes represent those who fall away from obtaining the promised inheritance that is through Jesus Christ, therefore are not listed here. Dan represents those who go astray by their own volition, while Ephraim represents ALL the rest who are misled seeking to identify themselves according to a group. As the Lord spoke through Isaiah saying, “O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.” Isaiah 3:12 Which is a representation of the great part of Israel for the last 2000 years, while the few who have believed are in respect to the tribe of Benjamin who remained faithful to Judah.
“After these things I looked, and behold, a GREAT MULTITUDE, which no one was able to number it, out of EVERY NATION, and TRIBES, and PEOPLES, and TONGUE, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, having been clothed with WHITE ROBES, and palm branches in their hands. And they were crying out in a loud voice, saying: “Salvation to our God, the One sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb!” [vs. 9-10]
Then John follows that with a vision of countless multitudes that were redeemed from the world. That is after the fulfilment of what the Lord told His disciples, to preach first to Judea then to Samaria now John sees the result of the message being preached to the rest of the world. “You will receive power, the Holy Spirit having come upon you, and you will be witnesses for Me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.”Acts 1:8 The first 144,000 were called the servants of the Lord, the implication being these countless multitudes were the fruits of their labour. Chapter 14, shows a similar picture, first Christ was on Mount Zion with 144,000 called the firstfruits, then an angel flying in the midst of heaven with gospel to proclaim to every nation, tribes, peoples and tongue.
“And all the ANGELS stood around the throne, and the ELDERS, and the four LIVING CREATURES, and they fell upon their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and strength, to our God, to the ages of the ages! Amen.” And one of the ELDERS answered, saying to me, “These having been clothed with the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?” [vs. 11-13]
The elder does not ask John about the tribes of Israel which would be obvious but those that are brought from the nations. And John was unable to give him an answer, the point being none of the apostles were able to COMPREHEND the MAGNITUDE of the salvation of God that was to reach the end of the earth. As Isaiah says, “Indeed He says, ‘It is TOO SMALL a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the TRIBES of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. ” Isaiah 49:6 So here we see the COMPLETE picture of ALL those who will be with God and the Lamb in the New Heaven and New Earth forever. That is BOTH Heaven and Earth in ONE unity, from the angels to the four living creatures and the Elders in relation to both Jews and Gentiles.
“And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the GREAT TRIBULATION, and they have WASHED their ROBES and made them WHITE in the BLOOD of the LAMB. Because of this, ‘They are before the throne of God, and SERVE Him day and night in His temple; and the One sitting on the throne will TABERNACLE over them they will not hunger any more, neither will they thirst anymore, nor shall the sun at all fall upon them, nor any scorching heat; because the Lamb in the centre of the throne will shepherd them, and He will lead them to fountains living of waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” [vs. 14-17]
The first thing we want to show is the clear CONTINUITY that is expressed in chapter 6 and chapter 7 with the end of events described in Revelation 20, 21 and 22. We have shown above the SIXTH seal reference to the events described in Revelation 20:11-15. So the events described in this chapter are also associated with an announcement that is made in Revelation 21:3-4 in regards to the NEW heaven and NEW earth and God dwelling among mankind, AWARDED to those who are able to STAND on that great and awesome day of the LORD, having washed their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb. Further details that associate these chapters are given in Revelation 21:23-24; 22:3-5. The point is Chapter 7 is NOT some disjointed chapter as traditionally accepted but a PERFECTLY FITTING event that relates to the Sixth SEAL and events that are to be described in chapter 8.
Now the elder speaking with John identifies the multitudes described here as ones who came out of the great tribulation. So the question is, is there a great tribulation to come? Better way to answer this is, to ask when did the time of tribulation start? John writes, “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great FURY, knowing that he has a SHORT TIME.” Revelation 12:12 And the expression of his great fury was first against the woman who gave birth to the male Child [Israel]. [vs. 13] This is the FIRST and GREAT TRIBULATION and of that day, the Lord says, “For then there will be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never shall be.” Matthew 24:21 The devil, no doubt hoping to destroy all aspects of the message of the gospel of Christ, sought to destroy all the Jewish people, in the same way he sought to destroy all the NEW BORN born in Bethlehem when Christ was born.
AND from this day FORWARD a time of tribulation was decreed and John says, “And the dragon was ANGRY with the woman, and he went to MAKE [to] WAR with the REST of HER CHILDREN keeping the commandments of God and holding the testimony of Jesus.” Revelation 12:17 That is a reference to the Church, and there is no closing period to this state of enmity but a perpetual declaration of war on all those, “keeping the commandments of God and holding the testimony of Jesus.” This state of enmity will continue until the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of the Lord.
The Lord preparing His disciples of the times to come says, “Then will they deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of My name.” Matthew 24:9 And He follows that with, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole earth, for a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 The Lord says these things as a matter of fact, tribulation is part and parcel of preaching the gospel. When we consider those to be saved are in the clutches of the enemy, it is clear to see it cannot be in any other way. The church of God is not built in quiet times but in troubled times. So opposition, persecution, hindrances will always be there. However the bulk of the burden was borne by the early Christians. The Lord giving a parable of the workers hired to work in the vineyard makes this comment, “These the last have worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, the ones having borne the BURDEN OF THE DAY and the SCORCHING HEAT.” Matthew 20:12
Therefore there will always be forces that will clamour to SILENCE the preaching of the gospel. Abuse, ridicule, and some parts of the world imprisonment and the lives of christians are made forfeit. In the advanced world, the values and stands of Christians are actively being eroded, the propagation of Christian values and messages are purposely hindered. Governments instigate laws to stop the perching of Christ and infringe on the rights of those who seek to worship Him. As Paul says, “And all also desiring to live piously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and imposters will advance to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:12-13 Peter and James also speak of the necessity of the testing of faith through trials that grieve. [James 1:2-3, 1 Peter 1:6-7] The Lord said, “I have spoken these things to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 So Christians WILL ALWAYS come out of this world having faced much tribulations. [Acts 14:22] Therefore there is no great tribulation to come, just perpetual troubled times. The ONE great tribulation was described by the Lord on this basis, “Truly I say to you, no not even a stone shall be left here upon a stone, which will not be thrown down.” Matthew 24:2
So when thinking of the 144,000 it is very WRONG to project them to the FUTURE. This chapter is describing the whole redemption of mankind, but a special emphasis is given to the FIRST Christians who bore the burden of the day, these are 144,000 firstfruits of God and the Lamb and they will be with the LORD always. These are the ones that went into the world, that dedicated their lives [even to neglect marriage as Paul and Barnabas have done] and through their work the salvation of countless people from every tongue, tribe, nation which it continues to these VERY DAY is attributed. And the multitude that follow AFTER are the entire bride of Christ.
The Lord said, “For truly I say to you, you shall NOT have COMPLETED the cities of Israel until the Son of Man COMES.” Matthew 10:23 Here Jesus made it VERY CLEAR that the ministry to Jews will NOT be completed until He returns. The significance is “There are LAST who will be FIRST, and there are FIRST who will be LAST.” Luke 13:30 that is the gospel is working its way back to Israel. And when the gospel returns to Israel as Paul said, it is the end. “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their ACCEPTANCE be if not LIFE OUT form the DEAD?” Romans 11:15 Then the gospel would have gone FULL CIRCLE around the world, Israel being the FIRST [young] also the LAST [old].
The final end to the symbolism of Acts 12 is that, Herod being an Edomite [Esau], a brother of Jacob but one who has bound himself in allegiance to Caesar represents both the Antichrist & the false prophet. He went down to Caesarea [in reference to Caesar] where he gloried in himself to the point of even being adorned as a god. Which the Antichrist will also do, being supported by the false prophet, “—so as for him to sit down in the temple of God, setting forth that he himself is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 & [Revelation 13:14-15] And Acts 12 ends with God striking Herod to death, being eaten by worms which is a representation of being thrown alive into hell, where the worms do not die. Which Christ will do at His return to consume the Antichrist and the false prophet with the breath of His mouth and the brightness of His coming, and cast them both alive into hell. [Revelation 19:19-20]
Revelation 8: The Announcement of a Counter Kingdom.
As the Seals are a representation of the AGES to bring about the kingdom of God through the proclamation of the Gospel message, now a new form of method is used to describe CONTRARY events that are to unfold during this period. So we need to have the correct view of what the Trumpets represent. Ezekiel writes, “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: “When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the TRUMPET to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.” Ezekiel 33:2-4 Therefore the primary image the trumpets should conjure in our mind is one of announcements of WARNINGS.
So the TRUMPETS can be summarised as contrary events that are to come to pass during this period of God’s Grace, told from the point of view of Creation. The FIRST: Earth, tree, grass & the SECOND: Sea, the creatures that live in it are in terms of mankind’s food. However the THIRD: rivers and springs of water & the FOURTH: greater and the lesser light are in respect to spiritual understanding, sight and sustenance of mankind. These are counter events that directly come to contradict the message of the Gospel through corrupting the wisdom of mankind and it is spearheaded by the devil himself. Leading to the FIFTH: This in effect leads to a separation between those who belong to God [God’s Wisdom] and those who are deceived [Mankind’s wisdom]. Between FIFTH and SIXTH, spiritual mankind is Raptured. Finally the SIXTH: great destruction when a third of mankind is killed. So we have the third of the EARTH , the third of the SEA, the third of RIVERS and upon SPRINGS of WATER, the third of SUN and MOON and STARS, finally the third of MANKIND is destroyed, which equates to the THIRD of ALL CREATION being destroyed.
So the basic essence is as the Gospel is the wisdom of God brought forth in the Seals, equally in the Trumpets there is also an expression of the corruption of natural wisdom through evil forces and CREATION itself is used to portray this. Now we should not look at the events the TRUMPETS announce as a singular one of events with only a specific immediate outcome. Rather as events the devil himself will sow on the earth, which will continue to bear fruit throughout the entire course of the period of grace. Just as when the FIRST Seal was opened the message of the gospel went out and when every subsequent seal was being opened the underlying event was that the White Horseman was still going forth conquering. Likewise here the events the trumpets announce will have a similar effect as the forces of darkness are unleashed on the world, as a consequence of heaven itself being shaken by the Gospel of Christ.
SEVENTH SEAL: Seven Trumpets.
And when He opened the SEVENTH SEAL, there was SILENCE in heaven for about HALF an HOUR. And I saw the SEVEN ANGELS who stand before God, and SEVEN TRUMPETS were given to them” [vs.1-2]
The Seventh Seal is the LAST Seal to be broken of the Scroll, and what it does is in effect takes us back to the beginning to unveil a NEW set of events that will run concurrently from the FIRST to the FIFTH Seal. The best expression is as the SEALS described the effect on MANKIND, a parallel events are now described to us as through the effect on CREATION itself. So Chapter 7 begins with the announcement “And he cried in a loud voice to the FOUR ANGELS to whom it had been given to them to harm the EARTH and the SEA, saying, “DO NOT HARM the EARTH, nor the SEA, nor the TREES, until we shall have SEALED the SERVANTS of our God on their foreheads.” Revelation 7:2-3 These angels were granted to harm the earth and sea, in the same respect Death is granted to kill us. The illustration being the Earth is portrayed as a living being, as an extension of ourselves.
That is when SIN entered the world through Adam to affect ALL of mankind to be subject to death and corruption, it also affected CREATION [the Earth] to be under the SAME judgement. God said, “Cursed is the ground for your sake.” Genesis 3:17 And Paul in Romans writes, “For the CREATION was SUBJECTED to futility, not willingly, but because of the One having subjected it, in hope that the creation itself WILL ALSO be SET FREE from the BONDAGE of DECAY, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and travails together until now.” Romans 8:20-22 So just as we had to die, the earth also enters into this death process. Now as the Earth reflected Adam’s death when Christ returns the Earth will also reflect His life. “Creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” And just as Christ entering our hearts brings with Him the Living-water, the earth also receives Living-water to heal her when Christ returns to rule from Jerusalem. Zechariah writes, “And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.” Zechariah 14:8 As an expression of CREATION itself being redeemed from CORRUPTION.
So when SEVENTH SEAL was opened it was followed by HALF an HOUR of silence. Now keeping with the narration of the story of the gospel of grace being unfolded, what we are witnessing here is, advantage being given for the message of the gospel to go forward before concurrent contradictory forces are released on the earth. As the FIRST event of the birth pains that came forth according to MANKIND was the Second Horseman to whom was granted to take peace from the earth. Similarly here we have events that bring devastation upon the EARTH being announced in the Trumpets. The FIRST of these events is a Great Famine that came upon the earth at the completion of the sealing of the 144,000 servants of God, to which this half hour is referring to. [Acts 11:27-28] NOTE: The Trumpet are warnings, as such the Prophet Agabus standing up and declaring the coming Famine is the SOUNDING of the Trumpet to those who would hear.
So the SEVEN ANGELS with the SEVEN TRUMPETS are about to announce events that will affect all of CREATION.
“And another ANGEL having a golden censer came and stood at the ALTAR, and much incense was given to him, that he will offer it with the PRAYERS of ALL the SAINTS upon the golden altar before the THRONE. And the smoke of the incense went up before God, with the prayers of the SAINTS, out of the HAND of the ANGEL.” [vs. 3-4]
The prayer of the saints coming before the throne of God is an expression for heaven being opened. In the Law the people prayed toward Jerusalem where the Mercy seat was, where incense was daily offered. When king Solomon consecrated the Temple of God he prayed, “Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.” 1 Kings 8:29-30 The significance of this declaration was not lost on Daniel, even though Jerusalem and the Temple of God were burnt to ashes, he opened his window towards Jerusalem and prayed three times a day giving thanks to God. [Daniel 6:10]
However here we see heaven itself opened to receive the prayers of the saints. Paul in Hebrew writes, “For Christ has entered NOT into holy places made by hands, copies of the true ones, BUT into heaven itself, now to appear for us in the presence of God.” Hebrews 9:24 The significance of which is He has made a way for us, by entering the true one He invalidated the copy. “Therefore brothers, having confidence for entering the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He dedicated for us through the veil that is His flesh, and having a Great Priest over the house of God, we should draw near with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith.” Hebrews 10:19-20-22 Paul makes this point Not only in relation to our entrance into heaven but to the privilege we have NOW in the present, that is we enter into the Presence of God when we offer up our prayers. As he says in another place, “Therefore we should come with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 So here we see the angel burning incense with the prayers of the saints before the throne of God as the high priest once did on earth before the Mercy seat. The illustration being the servants of the Lord having direct access to heaven, to the throne of Grace. So Paul makes the point that, “having a Great Priest over the house of God.” That is Christ in heaven, which in effect means our prayers are directly accepted before God. [John 15:16, John 16:26-27, Philippians 4:6-7]
“And the angel took the censer, and filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast it to the earth; and there were thunders, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. And the seven angels having the seven trumpets prepared themselves, that they might sound the trumpets.” [vs. 5-6]
This event marks the end of the half hour with the successful marking of the first-fruits of God and the Lamb, who were to take His message to the world. The opening of heaven to directly receive the prayers of the saints also means the CLOSING of the earthly temple dispensation. Though the Temple was destroyed by the rage of the dragon it was not until the expiration of time given by God had come. In [Luke 19:42-44] destruction of the temple is clearly associated with the rejection of the Gospel, which in effect means the firstfruits have already been sealed.
[Subjective]: The significance is Acts records, even though many myriads of Jews had believed yet they were all bound to the ritualistic service of the Temple Worship which NO LONGER had any application. [Acts 21:20-29] GRANTED the First Trumpet will announce a Great Famine, BUT it also signifies that the Last of the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel have NOW been SEALED, meaning the times of the Gentiles have come, therefore from this point forward the inevitable end of Temple worship was determined, which happened in AD70.
So the angel throws the censer with fire from the altar where now the prayers of the saints are to directly rise before God. That is God is no longer bound to a single place, as the Lord said, “Believe Me, woman, that an hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is of the Jews. But an hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in SPIRIT and TRUTH; for the Father also seeks such who worship Him. God is Spirit, and it behoves those worshipping Him to worship in SPIRIT and TRUTH.” John 4:21-24
Thunders, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake: We will see this statement repeatedly being proclaimed throughout the book of Revelation. Revelation 8:5, Revelation 11:19 and Revelation 16:18, these are all pivotal moments in the dealings of God with mankind. Each proclaim a great event, A COMPLETION. In this chapter it is in terms of prayers directly being received into heaven, mankind permitted to come boldly before the throne of God, the end of the old dispensation and the beginning of the new. As pivotal as the devil being cast out of heaven, and NO MORE accusations coming before the throne of God. The next event is in the proclamation that the LAST of the body of Christ having been gathered and the mystery of God is now finished. Finally, it is when destruction is determined upon those who are gathered against the Lord, marking the end of the current age of the world and the beginning of the reign of Christ for which there is no end.
FIRST TRUMPET: The Earth!
“And the FIRST sounded his trumpet, There was HAIL and FIRE having been mixed with BLOOD, and it was cast upon the earth. And a THIRD of the earth was burned up, and a THIRD of the TREES were burned up, and ALL the GREEN GRASS was burned up.” [vs. 7]
The first point we need to address is, when John says, “HAIL and FIRE having been mixed with BLOOD” is thrown on earth, to what does the blood refer to? Now in every expression of blood in the bible it is almost always associated with death. From its first mention, God said to Cain, “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10 To the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ which meant His life, so blood means death.
And at CREATION the life of the Earth was expressed, in grass, herbs and trees, without which a land is normally considered barren. “And the EARTH brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.” Genesis 1:12-13 This was followed by another set of creation on the SIXTH DAY. “Then God said, “Let the EARTH bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.” Genesis 1:24 Finally MANKIND was also completed, whose origin is formed from the dust of the ground and received the breath of life from God. [Genesis 2:7] Then “God said, “See, I have given you every HERB that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every TREE whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for FOOD. Also, to every BEAST of the earth, to every BIRD of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.” Genesis 1:29-30 So the blood is a reference to the Earth’s ability to sustain life which will be diminished by a third.
Hail and Fire are an expression by which the vegetation of the earth was destroyed as it was in Egypt. “So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every HERB of the field and broke every TREE of the field.” Exodus 9:24-25 As the judgement upon Egypt took away the means of her sustenance, here also it means the destruction of the main source of food for every living creature that came forth from the ground.
Now when the first Trumpet sounds the FIRST event that takes place is the very thing the angel with the seal of God in his hand commanded the four angels saying, “Do not harm the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until…” which means the restraining condition was now fulfilled. And the first manner of harm that came upon the earth is described as an expression of FAMINE, in the burning up of trees and green grass, which we have associated the beginnings of which in the previous chapter to the Great Famine that was declared in Acts 11:27-28 at the fulfilment of the sealing of the 144,000 firstfruits. As mentioned above this is NOT a one off event but the beginning of the birth pains which will continue to increase in frequency and strength, as described in the Fourth Seal. So the trees, and green grass being burned up is the death process of the earth that will continue throughout this age. Which can also be expressed as birth pains of the earth, in terms of sufferings, with the expectation of the Kingdom to come.
And as this age is coming to a conclusion we are witnessing great frequencies of the manifestations of these events. Great expansion of deserts, vast area forest cleared by mankind as well as great events that burned vast areas of forest. It is important for us to bear in mind this is NOT the judgement of God, the one that causes these havoc is the devil, as Isaiah says of him, “Is this the man who made the earth TREMBLE, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a WILDERNESS and DESTROYED its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?” Isaiah 14:16-17 As death was the power through which he ruled over mankind, destruction and deserts are his corresponding effect on the earth.
SECOND TRUMPET: The Sea!
“And the SECOND angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a GREAT MOUNTAIN burning with fire was cast into the SEA. And a THIRD of the sea became BLOOD, and a THIRD of the CREATURES having life in the sea DIED, and a THIRD of the SHIPS were destroyed.” [vs. 8-9]
As explained in the introduction to this chapter the SEA is a domain. John wrote of the angel, “He swore by the One living to the ages of the ages, who created HEAVEN and the things in it, and the EARTH and the things in it, and the SEA and the things in it.” Rev 10:6 We without a glorified body cannot live in heaven, no more than a fish can live in our land. So the Sea is a domain just as heaven and earth. So when John says, one third of the living creatures in the sea died, he means exactly that.
So with the same principle as the previous Trumpet the next expression of the death of the earth is related in regards to the Sea. “So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” Genesis 1:21-23 So when the third of the sea turned to blood it killed the third of the living creatures. Again the point to stress is, this is not a one off event but an event that will run the course of this age. Which will reach climax just before the return of the Lord when all the life in the sea is dead. [Revelation 16:3] So the blood is a reference to the SEA’s ability to sustain life that it will be diminished by a third.
The Lord in the gospel of Luke describes the events that follow after the Great Tribulation of Jerusalem, as the result of the heavens being shaken. “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity, sea roaring and surge rolling, men fainting from fear and expectation of that which is coming on the earth. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Luke 21:25-26 What the Lord is describing for us is, the worsening condition of the sea we in our generation are witnessing through pollution, the scarcity of fish through over fishing, neighboring nations on the fringe of war and diplomatic upheaval over fishing rights. That is the result of events building up to our generation beginning from this initial event.
And John makes a note that a third of ships were destroyed, that is the livelihood MANKIND make from using the SEA will be reduced. The reverse of this effect is described in Ezekiel when the Lord returns, “Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its WATERS are HEALED. And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very GREAT MULTITUDE of FISH, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that FISHERMEN will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they WILL be PLACES for SPREADING their NETS.” Ezekiel 47:10
Therefore we are NOT to expect some meteor to hit the ocean to kill and destroy ships. No more than we expect a great censer to fall from the sky to burn the green things. More so if a Meteor the size of a Great Mountain fell into the sea, that would create a wave that would encompass a great part of the earth, which in effect invalidates the Noah covenant. [Genesis 9:11]
So what does the GREAT MOUNTAIN burning with fire refer to? [Subjective] This can be linked to a Volcanic Eruption, like the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, through which the content of the MOUNTAIN in the form of BURNING Hot ash and pumice was spat out. And this in turn may have affected the surrounding SEA’s ability to sustain life, the water having become acidic killing the fish, especially around the Mediterranean area thereby affecting the livelihood of a great portion of the coastal areas. This ASSUMPTION is taken because THIS event described in the Second Trumpet has ALREADY happened, and precedes the fall of Satan. And the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius surrounds the time of Great Tribulation [70 AD] which the Lord associated with heaven being shaken. “And immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’” Matthew 24:29 The latter part of this verse describes the casting out of heavenly hosts which the THIRD and FOURTH trumpet will address. Therefore just as the Great Famine announced in the First Trumpet in relation to the Earth was pointing to the initial event that occurred during Emperor Claudius time as described in Acts 11:27-28, the event described in the Second Trumpet is also pointing to the initial event that is described above in relation to the Sea. That took place during the reign of Emperor Titus, the son of Emperor Vespasian, who tasked his son with the destruction of Jerusalem.
THIRD TRUMPET: Fall of Satan!
“And the THIRD angel sounded his trumpet, and a GREAT STAR fell out of heaven, BURNING like a TORCH. And it fell upon a THIRD of the RIVERS, and upon the SPRINGS of WATERS. And the name of the star is called WORMWOOD. And a THIRD of the WATERS became wormwood, and MANY of the MEN DIED from the waters, because they were made BITTER.” [vs. 10-11]
The first thing we need to do is identify what is meant by a Great Star falling out of heaven. The Lord gives us a reference by which we may correctly interpret what He meant by star, “The seven STARS are the angels of the seven churches.” Revelation 1:20 So we know heavenly bodies are used as an expression for heavenly beings angels. [Revelation 9:1] Daniel, also says “And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the STARS to the GROUND, and trampled them.” Daniel 8:10 And John describing the same scene as Daniel writes, “And the GREAT DRAGON was thrown out, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, deceiving the whole inhabited world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his ANGELS were thrown down with him.” Revelation 12:9 Therefore the GREAT STAR that fell is none other than the GREAT DRAGON, the devil himself. [Isaiah 14:12]
The next point is he is described as falling like a BURNING TORCH. A torch is a tool someone uses to guide their way in the dark of night, specifically for use outside, a fire that is persistent in burning. Now the Lord also described Satan’s fall as, “I beheld Satan having fallen as LIGHTNING out of heaven.” Luke 10:18 In another place, the Lord used lighting as an example of a sure sign of an event to come, that is as a description of something that is NOT HIDDEN. [Luke 17:24] From these two descriptions we can conclude the fall of Satan to the earth was first described as lightning to show it was not some hidden event but with fire, war, and great destruction. The events that surrounded AD 70, which John associated with the time of Great Tribulation bear witness to that. [Revelation 12:13-17] As the Lord also addressed it in Matthew 24:29.
The other explanation for the burning torch, is in respect to his appearance to mankind as a one to guide their way in the darkness. This symbolism is illustrated in creation, “God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give LIGHT on the EARTH.” Genesis 1:16-17 The sun to govern the day, the moon the night, that helps mankind to see, however the stars are used for navigation [as a guide]. So Paul in this respect says of the devil, “For such are FALSE APOSTLES, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-14
As we have said, above these events are a direct response to the Gospel message being preached. Prior to Christ victory, all the devil had to do was entice us to sin and we are dead. “Death spread to all men because all sinned.” Romans 5:12 But through Christ’s blood, redemption is now freely available to all, so the devil had to implement various tricks to maintain his objective. It is no longer a mere enticement to sin, but a DEDICATED effort to BLIND the minds of people from EVER seeing the merit of salvation that is available through the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ, which he has to maintain throughout the course of their lives. A mere taste of sin killed us before, but now a mere FAITH in the saving GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ will save the most vile sinner if he truly believes. So while his job before was to accuse us before God, in respect to our countless failures, [Revelation 12:10] now since he himself was cast out of heaven never to appear before God, his method is to deceive us, from knowing the truth. Paul described it as, “But if indeed our gospel is concealed, it is concealed to those who are perishing, in whom the god of this age has BLINDED the minds of the UNBELIEVING, so as for NOT to beam forth the ILLUMINATION of the GOSPEL of the GLORY of CHRIST, who is the IMAGE of GOD.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
This is the MAIN area of NOTE of this COUNTER EVENTS, that is his ability to DECEIVE. Paul said, “So that we should not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11 His work is a complete work of deception, in every area of life by any means necessary. So to “Greeks who seek knowledge,” to such he will appear as a torch bearer to unveil the mysteries of the natural world in deception, the Evolution theory, the big bang theory, socialist philosophy are all such examples which aim to promote Atheism. And to those predisposed to faith, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 by which he may corrupt the way of truth, and to others still he brings teaching that suits and serves him, to bind them to a lifetime of fearful servitude to himself. Revelation 13 gives a clearer description of his kingdom in these two concepts. As the Antichrist he presented himself as a world leader in opposition to God, and a champion of Atheistic humanistic values. [Revelation 13:4-8] To the others he appeared as a false prophet, resembling a lamb but spoke as a dragon, using religious persecution to subdue people in fear. [Revelation 13:11-18]
And John captures the effect of his deception in natural terms, in that he fell, on a THIRD of the rivers, upon the springs of water. Now unlike seawater, these are fresh waters and the significance is they are vital for mankind. And the effect of his fall on the fresh waters was to turn them bitter so that those who drank from it died. We have an example from which we can draw meaning, when Israel came out of Egypt there was an incident that was recorded. “Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were BITTER. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a TREE. When he cast it into the waters, the WATERS were MADE SWEET.” Exodus 15:23-25 [J.p] Teaches the tree is a picture of the cross of Christ through whom the bitterness of death is taken away. “Truth and grace came through Jesus Christ.” The significance for us is, the Lord relates the sweetening of the water with serving Him, so He makes a statue with them right at that point. The bitter water is an expression of our own souls, which is purified by the blood of the Lamb. Hebrews says, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, PURIFY OUR CONSCIENCE from dead works, IN ORDER to SERVE the LIVING GOD!” Hebrews 9:14 So sweet water means life, bitter water means death, through being corrupted in sin.
Note: Israel in the natural, could not drink the bitter water, while here mankind is deceived to drink the bitter water unto death. That is they do not recognise the water to be bitter, because they have not known or heard the truth.
The next description given to this star is, it is called Wormwood. [Subjective] A fitting description for him, like being called worm meat. Isaiah says, “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.” Isaiah 14:11 However the other application is, Amos writes, “You who turn JUSTICE to wormwood, and lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”Amos 5:7 He is saying, who twist justice to corrupt it and make it better, and “cast truth to ground.” Daniel 8:12 The opposite of justice is lawlessness and the opposite of righteousness is sin. That is what the devil seeks to do through this age, is to promote lawlessness and to corrupt the way of righteousness in deception. [D.s] teaches the SIN of the current generation is eating from the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, that is they through their own wisdom seek to determine what is good and what is evil and have been deceived by the devil. The result of which is, they end up calling good evil and evil good. As Isaiah says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 Yet they are unaware as they do so.
The general concept is, the Lord said, “But whoever may drink of the WATER that I will give him will never thirst, to the age. Instead, the water that I will give to him will become in him a SPRING of WATER, welling up into eternal life.” John 4:14 This is in regard to the individual. And again, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. The one believing in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Out of his belly will flow RIVERS of LIVING WATER.’” John 7:37-38 In regards to the benefit of others. The Lord also said, “If you abide in My WORD, you are truly My disciples. And you will KNOW the TRUTH, and the truth will set FREE you.” John 8:31-32 [John 15:7-8] And Paul in Ephesians compares the word of God to water and says, “[The Lord] having cleansed her [the Church] by the washing of water by the word.” Ephesians 5:26 So the point is that rivers and springs of water are an expression of teachings, and we have an option to drink from the fountain of living water, the Lord or from the corrupted wisdom of the world. Rivers flow, to affect the lives of those who encounter them.
So the devil has corrupted a THIRD of the FLOW of wisdom of the natural world, in readily accepted teachings and ideologies and those who drink from its bitter waters, end up denying the Lord, being blinded by the devil in false wisdom, the end of which is in death. [2 Cor. 4:3-4, 2 Thes. 2:9-12] Others have drank from a fountain of false religion and they, also unwilling to listen to the truth, have also died from corrupted water. [Matthew 24:11,24, Rev. 13:11-18] Again others have been deceived through the deception of evil spirits and doctrine of demons, drinking from sweet water made bitter, and those who refuse to listen to sound teaching in order to be corrected will also die. There is a greater example of such in the bible, the corruption of the GRACE message through the religion of works, Acts 20:30, 2 Cor. 11, Galatians, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:25-26, Titus 1:10-16, 2 Peter 2, Jude 1. There are still others also those whom he hindered through the spirit of the antichrist [1 John 1:18-19, 2 John 1:7]
Again the waters made bitter is not a once done event but a continual event that culminates to the day of wrath [Revelation 16:4] when people have fully turned themselves away from hearing the truth. The final end of which Paul describes as, “The working of Satan, in every power, and in signs, and in wonders of falsehood, and in every deception of wickedness unto those perishing, in return for which they did not receive the love of the truth in order for them to be saved. And because of this, God will send to them a working of delusion, for them to BELIEVE what is FALSE.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 So this Trumpet simply sounds the first instance of sowing such seeds, which is related to his fall. In the first Christian church it is illustrated in the coming of the spirit of the Antichrist. [1 John 1:18-19, 2 John 1:7] The progression of his efforts is, every rejection of the truth giving him access to do his work. “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, the elect.” Mark 13:22 Building to the final day, when he goes out to deceive the nation into battle, through the two servants he will raise up, in relation to an atheistic government and false religion.
The main point is the battle is in the knowledge of the truth, TRUTH that will set FREE or LIES that will KILL.
FOURTH TRUMPET: Fall of his Angels!
“And the FOURTH angel sounded his trumpet, and a THIRD of the SUN was STRUCK, and a third of the MOON, and a third of the STARS, so that a THIRD of them should be DARKENED, and the DAY should not appear for a third of it, and the NIGHT likewise.” [vs. 12]
The description here is in relation to the fourth day of creation. “God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give LIGHT on the EARTH.” Genesis 1:16-17 However as above the application is to the heavenly beings, angels. That is, this event is tied to the event of the previous trumpet, of Satan being cast out, and John writes, he brought down the third of heaven’s angels with him. “And another sign was seen in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads, seven diadems. And his TAIL DRAGS a THIRD of the STARS of HEAVEN, and he CAST them to the EARTH.” Revelation 12:3-4 As also Daniel described in Daniel 8:10.
Now the meaning of the third of these heavenly lights being darkened is found in the teaching of [D.s] where he explains to be bound in darkness is to be blinded from seeing the light. Peter wrote, “For if God did not spare the ANGELS having SINNED, but having cast them down to Tartarus, in CHAINS of GLOOMY DARKNESS, delivered them, being KEPT for JUDGEMENT.” 2 Peter 2:4 His point being chains of gloomy darkness is NOT a place, but a state of being. God said, of Lucifer, “You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought FIRE from YOUR MIDST; It devoured you and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.” Ezekiel 28:18 [Subjective] that is to say the devil was given over to the vileness of his own nature and it consumed him. So the angels are also here given over to the darkness they aligned themselves with. It is the same effect which Paul described in 2 Thessalonians 2 of those who rejected truth, “They did NOT receive the LOVE of the TRUTH in order for them to be saved. And because of this, God will send to them a working of delusion, for them to BELIEVE what is FALSE, in order that ALL those not having believed the truth but having delighted in unrighteousness should be JUDGED.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 That is to says, from this point forward, they are blinded from knowing the truth, cast into state of darkness [chained to it], no longer able to repent, they like the angels are also awaiting judgement, in this seared state.
The point that is being illustrated here is, the third of the heavenly hosts that followed the devil are cast out of heaven to the earth, now they are in the state of darkness, unable to see the light of God awaiting the day of their judgement when they will be cast into everlasting fire. [Matthew 25:41] And their fall has the same consequences on mankind as the fall of Satan described above. He is their head, and their purpose is in the promotion of his kingdom, as the Lord said, Satan is not divided against himself. [Luke 11:18-19]
The Darkening of the Sun and the Moon, in terms of the DAY becoming dark for the third of it and the NIGHT also. We need to know what the day refers to as well as the night. Paul writes, “For you are all sons of LIGHT and sons of DAY; we are NOT of NIGHT nor of DARKNESS. So then we should not sleep as the others, but we should watch and we should be sober. For those sleeping, sleep by night; and those becoming drunk, get drunk by night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5-7 In this statement Paul described two states of people, those of the day who are sober and awake, and those of the night who are drunk and asleep. So the day is in reference to the knowledge of righteousness. [Malachi 4:2, Revelation 7:2] And the night in reference to a natural state of mankind. [John 3:19-21]
Now the effect of the darkening of the day and the darkening of the night can be expressed in these statements of Paul’s:
Darkening of the DAY: “But the Spirit expressly states that in LATER TIMES some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits and TEACHINGS of demons in the hypocrisy of liars, having been seared in their own conscience.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2 That is people will be moved away from the TRUTH of GOD. The effect of which is the way of righteousness was corrupted through laws and traditions of men inspired by these evil spirits. As described in the previous chapter, there are many warnings in regards to this, [Acts 20:30, 2 Cor. 11, Galatians, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:25-26, Titus 1:10-16, 2 Peter 2, Jude 1], all of which seek to corrupt the day.
Darkening of the NIGHT: “But realise this, that IN THE LAST DAYS difficult times will be present. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, proud, verbally abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, savage, haters of good, betrayers, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 Here Paul describes the darkening of natural mankind, those who are in a state of sleep growing in depravity, yet appear as having a form of godliness, that is self righteousness.
“And I looked, and I heard one EAGLE FLYING in Mid-heaven, saying in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those dwelling on the earth, because of the remaining voices of the TRUMPETS of the THREE ANGELS being about to sound their trumpets!” [vs. 13]
The first thing we want to relate is these “WOEs” that are announced here are rooted in the narration John gives in chapter 12. “Woe to the earth and its inhabitants for the devil has come down to you…” Revelation 12:12 which relates to the announcements of the two previous trumpets, that is the fall of satan and his angels and the consequences unleashed on the earth, in respect to the end of the dispensation of the Law.
[This is an Important point]: The events announced by the Four Trumpets thus far have described for us the days that SURROUND the GREAT TRIBULATION. So this point in the book Revelation is referring to the period around AD70. The Gospels of both Matthew and Mark relates this event to us as, “But in those days, those AFTER the TRIBULATION, ‘The SUN will be darkened, and the MOON will not give its light; and the STARS will be falling out of the heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.’ And then will they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” Mark 13:24-26 [Matthew 24:29] So the moments which Daniel prophesied, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 8:10-14, Daniel 9:26-27, Daniel 11:29-35, and Daniel 12:1,7 ALL END HERE, with the destruction of Jerusalem. And John also summarised the events of those days in Revelation 12:13-16.
Now from the end of Revelation 12 to the beginnings of the description of Revelation 13, is a VAST period of two thousand years. So Revelation 8:13 is like an intermission between this great moment in time, captured between the FOURTH trumpet and the FIFTH trumpet. This is the TIME of GENTILES, which Luke wrote of saying, “And they [the Jews] will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; [AD70] and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the TIMES of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Luke 21:24 Here the Lord associated the beginning of the times of the Gentiles with the destruction of Jerusalem. Which Daniel also described as, “When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.” Daniel 12:7
And John describes the coming days of the times of Gentiles in Revelation 14, after describing the sealing of the 144,000 firstfruits of God and the Lamb from among the Jews, he writes, “And I saw another ANGEL FLYING in MID-heaven, having the everlasting glad tidings to PREACH upon those dwelling on the earth, and upon EVERY NATION and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice, “FEAR God and GIVE Him GLORY, because the hour of His JUDGEMENT has come. And worship the One having made heaven, and the earth, and sea, and springs of waters.” Revelation 14:6-7 Which is essentially the same message Paul preached to Gentiles, in Acts 14:15-17 and Acts 17:29-31. Now the angel mentioned in Revelation 14, is in the likeness of the one mentioned here. However while the one mentioned in the “Trumpet” is relaying for us warnings, but the one in Revelation 14, in the proclamation of the everlasting gospel to ALL the world, these are two sides of the same coin. One is proclaiming the gospel while the other is proclaiming the judgement to come.
Now the Lord associated the shaking of heaven to be followed by His return. This can confuse our understanding, however, these two events are sequential from heaven’s perspective. As Revelation 14, described one ANGEL flying after another, each proclaiming events that are vastly separated. That is, while many events and years may have passed on earth, from heaven’s perspective the casting out of the devil and his angels is immediately followed by another major event, the return of the Lord when the times of the Gentiles will be completed with the RAPTURE of the Church.
The point we want to illustrate is, we can use the prophecies of Daniel in respect to the Great Tribulation to be a guide to interpret the coming days of Woes. That is the same kind of destruction falling upon the world for their rejection of the Gospel as it did on the Jews in the Great Tribulation. Daniel spoke of the closing of the age according to the Law NOW John describes the closing of the age according to Grace.
The period Daniel prophesied about can be encapsulated in these terms, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” Daniel 8:13-14 This is the period of two thousand three hundred days which saw the end of Jerusalem in a war. And Again, “The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Daniel 9:26-27 So the period of two thousand three hundred days equals to Seven years.
That is when the dispensation of the Law was closed, the Roman Emperor made a covenant with Jerusalem for a period of seven years. The first portion [Woe] a period when worship continued as normal, in the covenant he made [for seven years], which he broke 42 months later the second portion [Woe] started when he stopped the daily sacrifice, finally another 42 months later the final period [Woe] when he set up the abomination of desolation resulting in war and desolation. Similarly these three “woes” are a significant marker for us of the closing of the age of Grace, and represent the same exact periods of time. So the announcement of these “woes” are covering a period of 7 years, of the day of vengeance of the Lord. And the first “Woe” is announced at the rapture of the church, marking the start of the SEVEN year period.
Revelation 9: The Inauguration of the Night.
Revelation 8, was a description of the BEGINNINGS of contradicting events that run concurrent to the Age of Grace. As such the events described in the first Four Trumpets surround the times of AD70, that is the CLOSING of the ERA of the LAW. It incorporates the sealing of the firstfruits, the great famine, the war in heaven and the corresponding event on earth, the destruction of Jerusalem. And we have shown the last announcement made by the EAGLE flying in the midheaven to be a declaration of the USHERING of the time of the Gentiles, which came to full effect at this time. As Daniel said, “When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.” Daniel 12:7 Which the Lord described as, “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, UNTIL the TIMES of the Gentiles are FULFILLED.” Luke 21:24
Now the next significant event the Lord declared will come to pass is His Return. [Matthew 24:29-30] So the history of Christianity as we have KNOWN it has come to pass between the announcement of the Fourth and the Fifth Trumpet. That is we are the generation that came two thousand years later from the first proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. Therefore the Fifth Trumpet by some measure MUST be a portrayal of the end TIME society which is present at the closing of the times of the Gentiles. THIS is where we find ourselves!
Based on this the first thing we need to do is to assess our society according to the description which the Lord gave of the last days saying, “And as it came to pass in the DAYS of NOAH, thus also will it be in the DAYS of the SON of MAN: They were eating, they were drinking, they were MARRYING, they were being GIVEN IN MARRIAGE, until that day Noah ENTERED into the ARK, and the flood came and destroyed all. Likewise, as it came to pass in the DAYS of LOT, they were eating, they were drinking, they were BUYING, they were SELLING, they were PLANTING, they were BUILDING; and in that day Lot WENT OUT from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed all. It will be ACCORDING to THESE in that DAY the Son of Man is REVEALED.” Luke 17:26-30 So the idea is, the condition of the people of Noah’s and Lot’s days should reflect our own condition.
In order to do this, we need to determine what distinguishes Noah’s or Lot’s days from any other day. Mankind has been marrying and giving in marriage, has been buying and selling, building and planting, ever since the beginning of creation. Therefore for the Lord to give these as a sign for us, it must by its very concept relay information to us by which we will enable us to distinguish THAT day. Otherwise people marrying, eating and building is an everyday part of life which is indistinguishable from any other day.
The bible describes the days of Noah as: “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and THEY TOOK WIVES for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and THEY BORE CHILDREN to them. Those were the MIGHTY MEN who were of old, MEN of RENOWN. Then the Lord saw that the WICKEDNESS of man was GREAT in the earth, and that EVERY intent of the THOUGHTS of his heart was only EVIL CONTINUALLY.” Genesis 6:1-5
And the days of Lot were described in the book of Ezekiel as, “Look, this was the INIQUITY of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had PRIDE, FULLNESS of FOOD, and ABUNDANCE of IDLENESS; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were HAUGHTY and committed ABOMINATION before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” Ezekiel 16:49-50 The height of this haughty depraved state was described in Genesis 19 when the men of the city sought to FORCE themselves upon the angels of God. And the bible says, “They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.” Genesis 19:11 This blindness has significance in order for us to understand the end time society. Their blindness was NOT being struck as unable to see the sun, they were simply unable to turn away from their condition. That is why they KEPT trying to find the door! The blindness is like the one Elisha brought upon the Syrian army, it is to be in a state of bewilderment, unable to recognise the events that are taking place. Elisha and his servant did NOT lead an entire army holding them by their hands, the army simply FOLLOWED them to the very centre of the city of Samaria, STILL with the same AIM of capturing Elisha, and they did not know where they were. [2 Kings 6:17-20]
These are the bases on which we will interpret the events that are to unfold in the last THREE trumpets.
The next point that helps us to understand the image described to us by John in this chapter is the statement the Lord made to His disciples when they said to Him, “And the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the DEMONS are SUBJECT to us through Your name. And He said to them, “I beheld Satan having fallen as lightning out of heaven. Behold, I give you the AUTHORITY to tread upon SERPENTS and SCORPIONS, and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Yet do not rejoice in this, that the SPIRITS are subjected to you;” Luke 10:17-20 The Lord in this one statement associated serpents and scorpions to be spirits. As such their influence over mankind can be described as an OPPRESSION or POSSESSION. And The Lord told His disciples, “And going on, proclaim, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near!’ Heal the ailing, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, CAST OUT DEMONS!” Matthew 10:7-8
And the next two events to be announced by the FIFTH and SIXTH trumpet are specifically characterised by “SERPENTS and SCORPIONS.” That is in regard to the release of demonic evil spirits to cause much havoc on the earth. Even the effect of Satan over mankind can be described as a possession, John writes of Judas, “After the morsel, then Satan entered into him.” John 13:27 and Judas went out to do his will. And Paul also describes such states as, “They might come to THEIR SENSES out of the snare of the devil, having BEEN CAPTURED by him for his will.” 2 Timothy 2:26 So in this chapter we see the effects these evil spirits have over mankind, in terms of affecting our behaviour, in relation to the days of Noah and Lot.
FIFTH TRUMPET: Tails like Scorpions.
“I saw a STAR having FALLEN out of heaven to the earth, and the KEY of the PIT of the ABYSS was given to it. And he opened the pit of the abyss, and SMOKE went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a GREAT FURNACE, and the SUN and the AIR were DARKENED by the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke, LOCUSTS came forth unto the earth, and power was given to them, like the SCORPIONS of the earth have power. ” [vs. 1-3]
Though when the devil was cast out of heaven he dragged the third of the heavenly hosts with him, the term a star having fallen out of heaven is not used to describe any other angel. He is described as falling “as lighting” in Luke 10:18 and “a star as a burning torch” in Revelation 8:10 and “falling from heaven.” Isaiah 14:12. The rulership of the dragon is expressed through the authority he gives to these heavenly hosts of his that are manifested as various kingdoms of men on earth. So we can say this star also refers to the devil himself. And in Revelation 13:1-3 we see the devil standing on the sea shore as the angel who received the mortal wound rising before him, which we will shortly find out, the events described in this chapter are a prelude to the rise of the spirit of the Antichrist: Abaddon. So we see the devil OPENS the way for the purpose of bringing his final deception into the world.
Now when the PIT was opened SMOKE came out first, and darkened the Sun and Air. In the previous chapter we have shown that the Sun represents knowledge of righteousness. [Air:??] So the representation here is a darkening state of mind. And we have also shown above, Satan only blinds the minds of the unbelieving, that is we have to be first unbelieving in order for him to blind us. [2 Cor. 4:3-4] That is a person being ready and willing to give themselves to the deceit of the enemy because they have chosen to disregard God.
In the [K.h] vision that is referred to above, there is an explanation that the Lord used to describe the dark smoke that engulfed continental US. And He informed [K.h] that it is a way of thinking that affected even men with power and brought with it much conflict even among the races. “Son, that is the darkness of atheistic communism that is sweeping across the nation—even in the minds of MEN IN HIGH PLACES and POLITICIANS with great power.” It is in the darkness of our mind and heart that the devil has influence, a mind that is set on the course of the world is darkened. “You are no longer to walk as also the Gentiles are walking, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in the understanding, being ALIENATED from the life of God because of the ignorance being in them on account of the hardness of their heart.” Ephesians 4:17-18 The state [K.h] describes is a growing state of people as a DIRECT result of disregarding God. So here we have the Sun and Air being darkened, this is to express the light of the world [the sun] that is the basic concept of the fear of God we have in the world being overshadowed. And the effect of this destructive state is felt by all those who are in the world.
It might seem like a natural progression to us, but that is because we are swallowed up by the streams and powers that drive the world and we are daily persuaded to cast aside the ONLY ANCHOR we have; the word of God. The result of which is described as a state of being in a darkened mind, as Paul describes it in Romans 1:28-31 [Dr.M.b] makes an observation, how in the past sex change operations were rare and how the psychologists were the consciences of the natural world and were there to help and aid the abused and afflicted. But now they themselves [being in this state of darkened mind] have become the enablers, and lawmakers to fan the flame of this disorder as a natural expression. Blind guides, guiding the blind, even as to subject little children to this depraved moral experiment, with the full backing of Governments ready and willing to enforce such delusion against parents wishes, all because they are without the fear of God. As [K.h] says men in high places and politicians with great power.
The next point we need to address is to identify these Locusts like beings that came out from the depth of the PIT? Peter describing the days of Noah says, “For if God did not spare the angels having SINNED, but having CAST them DOWN to Tartarus, in chains of gloomy darkness, delivered them, being kept for judgement; and He did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, one of eight, having brought the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” 2 Peter 2:4-5 Here Peter by association describes to us theses angels who were cast into the depth of Tartarus, to be those who joined themselves with mankind as to procreate with them, “when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and THEY BORE CHILDREN to them.” and Jude also affirms these saying, “And the angels NOT having KEPT their own DOMAIN, but having abandoned the own dwelling, He keeps in eternal chains under darkness, unto the judgement of the great day.” Jude 1:6 That is these angels were those who left their abode in heaven coming down to the earth and SINNED by taking wives from the daughters of men.
Paul said, “For truly man was not created on account of the woman, but woman on account of the man. Because of this, the woman ought to have authority on the head, on account of the angels.” 1 Corinthians 11:9-10 That is to say a woman is to be off limits to the angels, being the body of man. That is the UNITY that is between man and woman is BECAUSE woman was first taken OUT of man. As Adam says, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 1:23-24 Their unity is to express the completeness that existed before as to become one flesh. This is the absolute uniqueness of a woman as to bring forth mankind, which Adam and ALL the angels of God had no course to make happen before Eve was taken out of Adam. [1 cor. 11:11-12] This is the reason marriage CANNOT be between MAN and MAN or WOMAN and WOMAN. Nor with angels even though they within themselves have seed to create, it’s UNLAWFUL for them to break into this sacred union, because woman is not taken out of an angel but of man.
So there are angels who were cast into chains of darkness in the days of Noah and those who were driven from heaven when Christ ascended into heaven. Satan and the third of his angels were the ones that were cast out of heaven when the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and lifted up to sit on His Father’s throne. However these angels Peter and Jude speak about were cast down to Tartarus, and kept in a state of darkness that is to be in unrepentant, devoid of light state, in the days of Noah. [D.s] So when the fallen angel [the devil] opens the pit, it makes sense, that it is these same angels who are rising out to bring about once again the condition that was in the days of Noah to be also in ours. Satan himself, after being bound, chained and thrown into the SAME PIT as them, will rise after 1000 years, to do exactly the same thing he has always done, to deceive the nations. [Revelation 20:7-8] And these Locusts are followed by the champion of Atheism, the angel Abaddon who ruled in the days of Rome.
Paul describes the DARKENED state of the end time society as, “But realise this, that in the LAST DAYS difficult times will be present. For men will be LOVERS of SELF, lovers of money, boasters, PROUD, verbally abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, savage, HATERS of GOOD, betrayers, reckless, puffed up, LOVERS of PLEASURE rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Now the people Lot dwelt among can be described as having such an abundance, the pursuit for pleasure became their primary GOAL in life. “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) LIKE the GARDEN of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.” Genesis 13:10 This is to illustrate that the richness of the environment to give mankind success can become a source of pride to the point of disregarding God. As the Lord warned Israel when they were coming to a land flowing with milk and honey, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, LEST—when you have EATEN and are FULL, and have BUILT BEAUTIFUL houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks MULTIPLY, and your SILVER and your GOLD are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your HEARTS is LIFTED UP, and you FORGET the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; … then YOU say in YOUR HEART, ‘My power and the might of MY HAND have GAINED me this WEALTH.” Deuteronomy 8:11-15,17
That is to say, AS IN the days of Lot, your buying and selling yielding much [silver and gold], your buildings have become GRAND and YOUR planting yielding much fruit THEN we also have become PROUD to the point of denying God to say, our knowledge in science is what made all these possible. And the next act of rebellion as it was in the days of Lot is haughty acts of abomination in pursuit of fleshly lusts to the disregard of the ordinances of God. If we do not believe in Him, it does not make sense why we should be restricted by anything He says, if it feels good to do it. We also have become puffed up, exalting the pursuit of pleasure rather than God.
“And it was said to them that they SHALL NOT HARM the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but ONLY the MEN NOT HAVING the SEAL of GOD on the foreheads. And it was GRANTED to them that they SHOULD NOT KILL THEM, but that they shall TORMENT them FIVE MONTHS. And their torment was like the torment of a SCORPION when it might STRIKE a man. And in those days, men will seek death, and will not find it; and they will long to die, and death shall flee from them.” [vs. 4-6]
These are Locusts, who were given the same power as the Scorpions of the earth. Locusts affect mainly vegetation, as they devour grass, trees or any green thing, leaving a wake of devastation behind them. [Exodus 10:12-15] However the effect of these Locusts is to be against mankind who do not bear the seal of God, that is to devour their lives. Now we know what the effect of Locusts is on green things, but we have no idea how they will affect mankind, so the manner of their effect is given in the description of the Locusts which the next few verses will do.
Now the Locusts were given power like the scorpions of the earth, that is to say, POSSESS or OPPRESS, as the Serpents and Scorpions which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of in respect to Demons that took possession of mankind. [Matthew 10:7-8] So these likewise were granted the means by which they are able to devour the lives of mankind. The distinguishing feature of this “Woe,” is it is the only one that takes place while the children of God are in the world. For this reason John makes a distinction between those who have the seal of God on their foreheads and those who do not, that is between the CHURCH and the rest of the world. So mankind who do not know God will fall under the influences of these evil spirits and will be tormented by them for a time. Therefore these spiritual forces have a GREAT PART to play in affecting the conduct of the end time society, as we continue to separate ourselves from the only source of light that is the truth of God, we make ourselves to be PREY to them. There is NO other alternative, to step out of the light means to be engulfed in darkness.
So when John says they Shall NOT harm the earth, this has a specific significance, famine harms the earth, pollution harms the earth, wars harm the earth, but their effect is specific to mankind, as an attack on our very nature, from which there is no escape. It is NOT in plagues or any other mass disaster because they are not allowed to kill them but to affect the state of mind. Paul in Romans says, “And as they did not see fit to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do things not being proper.” Romans 1:28 This is NOT judgement, but God simply granting them their wish. So when he says as a scorpion strikes to torment, as we have already established it is to take possession or oppress a person to the performance of whatever these evil spirits desire. To be compelled to do those things which are not fitting, and it will be people will hate and despise themselves for the things they do. SCORPION in general when it strikes it releases its venom and the victim is tormented for a period and hardly anyone dies from it in most cases.
NOW there is mercy in ALL this, NOT to kill them means there is STILL an opportunity for them to REPENT. However ONCE the CHURCH is raptured, as we will see at the end of this trumpet, such opportunity will NO LONGER EXIST and the angels that are released by the next trumpet will decimate the third of the world population. As portrayed by the opening of the Fourth Seal, when Death and Hades ride out together to kill and possess their souls.
What does 5 months stand for? If in the coming chapters John used 42 months to mean exactly that, THEN we have to apply the same principle here. Now, [This is Very SUBJECTIVE], however based on the possibilities of repentance we assert it is to give people a last opportunity by being subjected to the depravity of SIN. We make this ASSUMPTION by comparing it to the Law, that the weight of the Law was meant to drive Israel to seek mercy, as the Lord said, “‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13 However the Law is NOT applicable to Gentile nations, they are NOT labouring to do right under an established Law of God. But they are bound in the deeds of Sin, and it is the weight of these deeds that may compel them to seek mercy from God. So by a general comparison Paul says, to the Jew, “Whatever the Law says, it speaks to those under the Law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be under judgement to God.” Romans 3:19 However to the Gentile he says, “in the things of which you are now ashamed.” Romans 6:20-21
So the assertion is that, these 5 months represent a period in the lives of unsaved mankind when they are made subject to such depravity of compulsion of sin, hopefully bringing them to seek mercy from God.
“And the APPEARANCE of the LOCUSTS was like HORSES having been PREPARED for BATTLE, and upon their heads were something like CROWNS, like GOLD; and their faces like the FACES of MEN. And they had HAIR LIKE hair of WOMEN, and their TEETH were like those of LIONS. And they had breastplates like BREASTPLATE of IRON, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots of horses rushing into battle. And they have TAILS and STINGERS like SCORPIONS, and their power to injure men for five months is in their tails. They have a KING over them, the ANGEL of the ABYSS. His name in Hebrew is ABADDON, and in the Greek, he has the name Apollyon.” [vs. 7-11]
So the TIMES we are living in can be described according to the manner of influence these Locusts have on mankind. John describes the Locusts as,
Like horses prepared for Battle: Note, at the beginning, John made it clear they are not permitted to kill them, so the battle referred here is not war. Again, it is subjective but the expression given here is of war not in the strictest sense but for hearts and minds. It is the indoctrination of minds, through media, through education systems and so on.
Something like Crowns like Gold: Now the first point of note is, why like crowns, like gold NOT golden crowns? Crowns of Gold represent righteousness, Paul said, “From now on the crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me in that day.” 2 Timothy 4:8 And we see the 24 Elders with the same crown of gold. So we know that “like crowns, like gold” then is a representation of an image of SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Paul said of the end time society, “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:4-5 So the effect of these spirits is to manifest in mankind under the guise of righteousness, doing what is just and right, an apparent heartfelt act of kindness to the disenfranchised, standing for a good cause, however it is all in deception, it is in the pursuit of pleasure at the expense of truth. An age of Deceptive righteousness. [D.s] gives an example of such deceptive righteousness in regards to people who fight tooth and nail for the right to abort babies yet have a heart that bleeds for stray cats and dogs.
[D.s] teaches extensively on this matter in his Counter Culture series. The current fad of Woke ideology, that has captivated the mass and men and women with great power is an example of such an illustration of Self Righteousness. Even to infect the minds of leaders of some church organisation, who have chosen to stand with the whim of trend rather than the established truth of God. [D.s] points out, what they deem to be right and good is in STARK contrast to the word of God, therefore by the very stand they take and policies they seek to implement they are declaring their righteousness far exceeds that of God’s. And he summarises this generation’s SIN as eating from the fruit of good and evil. That is, they seek to determine what is right and good APART from GOD, and this is an IMPOSSIBLE task as the Lord said, “No one is good, EXCEPT GOD ALONE.” Mark 10:18 So as a result they end up calling good evil and evil good.
FACES like MEN and HAIR like WOMEN: Now this is the body of the matter, [D.s] teaches as mentioned before, we recognise each other by our faces, so here also the essence of the works of these evil spirits that eat away the lives of people is described. That is they are identified as having faces like Men and hair like Women. Now Paul teaches that long hair is given as a glory to women and points out, “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it is a dishonour to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is to her glory? For the long hair instead of a covering is given to her.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 THAT IS the long hair by nature itself is given as a sign, so these spirits are described in a manner that brings to question GENDER. They are described neither as man nor woman. NOTE: The purpose of John describing them is for our benefit, to show the effect they will have on us, they know what they are, it is us who need to discern the manner they manifest among us.
Now, gender issues are a prelude to the great delusion that will be unleashed into the world. As basic a FACT as Gender is from time beginning, it is NOW darkened in the understanding of mankind. That is these locust, evil spirits are manifested as an ambiguity of gender in the minds of those whom they torment. And any sound of mind society would seek to help people who are obviously deceived and are entertaining such extreme delusions, but the light of the world is [SO] darkened that we seek to enable such conditions. Thinking they are helping in fulfilling desires but they are becoming the instrument that fans their torment even to force children to the whim of this delusion.
So what are the consequences of Gender ambiguity in a society? Now the days of Noah were mainly identified by, “the marrying of wives and giving in marriage,” which was in relation to the UNLAWFUL UNION of mankind with angelic hosts and the influence this had on mankind. The result of which was the utter corruption of mankind’s heart, to be darkened continually for evil. [Genesis 6:5] And God said, “The earth also was CORRUPT before God, and the earth was FILLED with VIOLENCE. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” Genesis 6:11-12 So the assertion we are making here is, the SAME angels who took delight in breaking the ordinance of God according to marriage in Noah’s days, are the ones described as rising from the PIT to do the same thing in ours. That is the corruption of marriage covenant through unlawful union, which is an abomination in sight of God. [D.s] teaches, we are the first generation to have questioned the sanctity of marriage, as not to be limited to covenant union between man and woman but extended to apply to same sex union. More so we are the ONLY generation that questioned GENDER. So their purpose as it was then is to destroy the covenant value of MARRIAGE, to spoil the image of God in mankind. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 which is singularity in plurality.
So the rise of these evil spirits [fallen angels] affects mankind, as we give in to them, in acting out of self harming lustful intents, in addictions, in immoralities, in corruption of natural wisdom. Therefore we may say our generation is a depiction of the fulfilment of the word of the Lord, as it was in the days of Noah, so it is in ours.
Teeth was like a LION: In order to identify the meaning of this we will first refer to Daniel’s description of the Fourth beast, “It had large IRON TEETH; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.” Daniel 7:7 So we may say teeth represent the aspect of devouring as to crush. Now the meaning for mouth of a lion is from the description John gave of beasts rising up from the sea, “And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and its feet like a bear’s, and its mouth like the mouth of a lion.” & “And a mouth was given to it, speaking great things and blasphemy, and it was given authority to act forty and two months.” Revelation 13:2,5 So the mouth of a lion is to express authority and rulership.
So “their teeth were like those of lions,” is to express the Forceful enforcement by GOVERNING bodies, of the ideologies or concepts these evil spirits are pushing. As to devour and to consume the whole earth, a manner of conquest to shape the mind and influence the world. The forceful manner this has been propagated is illustrated by the Laws that are being established in western democratic world. To hinder the preaching of the truth of God, and tie the hands of those MOST equipped to help those who suffer from such delusions. While giving free reign to butchers to mutilate the bodies of children. This is where we identify the second identifying mark of our day in the description the Lord gave saying, “as it was in the days of Lot.”
Peter again gives further insight into those days, “And He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, having reduced them to ashes, having set an example of what is coming on the ungodly; and He rescued righteous Lot, being DISTRESSED by the conduct in sensuality of the lawless (for that righteous man dwelling, among them, day after day, was TORMENTED in his righteous soul, THROUGH SEEING and HEARING their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows to deliver the devout out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous being punished unto the day of judgement.” 2 Peter 2:6-9 The main point we gather from the description of the days of Lot is, the oppression of the righteous man being made subject to SEE and HEAR the lawless deeds. We normally study Lot as one who subjected himself to this condition, and the consequences that befell him, however the point Peter was making is how Lot was FORCED to ENDURE, and Peter laboured to show us that Lot was righteous. This is what it means to be in the world and not of it, as Lot was in Sodom so we are also in the world in the same manner as he.
As we have addressed in the previous section how gender and the value of marriage covenant was under attack according to the days of Noah. Now in the days of Lot, we are seeing the forceful enforcement of those ideologies by governing bodies to subject the wider society to give in and accept these unlawful unions. [D.p] teaching on the subject of end time society points out, it is not so much as people indulging in their sinful lust in their private sphere, but going beyond as to take their sin [to the public square] in order to force and subject others to approve and accept their deeds. This is the concept, the days of Lot mirrors in our days. The subjecting of the wider society to approve, accept, celebrate, and be associated with such acts of lawlessness OR be subject to ABUSE, even threats of imprisonment with the full backing of governing bodies, in order to silence people who dare to speak against.
To use the expression from [K.h]’s vision, men in high places and politicians with great power, to show the forceful manner this ideology is being forced upon people. From every level of society, reaching even against the authority parents have over their own children. To affect schools, entertainment and even as to press against the house of righteousness to approve such concepts in the sight of God. All with the idea of propagating the obvious DECEPTIVE CONCEPT that Gender is fluid and NOT a FACT of nature and the implication this would have on the Covenant of Marriage.
Isaiah says, “The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ORDINANCE, broken the Everlasting Covenant.” Isaiah 24:4-5 The ordinance Isaiah refers to is not times and seasons but the everlasting covenant of Marriage. It is the same term God used to describe the deeds of Sodom saying, “They were haughty and committed abominations before Me.” Ezekiel 16:50 Marriage was established as a covenant from the beginning of creation with these words, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
Breastplate of IRON: Again to use Daniel as grounds to interpret this, Iron is the material that is used to to depict the fourth beast, representing the Roman Empire. Daniel extends the influence and representation of this empire right down to the feet and toes. “Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked CLAY and partly of IRON, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay.” Daniel 2:41 So the expression of “breastplates of iron,” is to show the heart, the root of this deception which these locusts manifest stems from the root of Iron that is Western Civilization. This interpretation is given more support in the fact these locusts with breastplates of Iron have as king over them Abaddon, the angel who ruled during the height of the Roman empire, an empire depicted by Iron.
The sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots of horses rushing into battle: [any input in regards to what this means will be greatly appreciated.]
Tail and stingers like SCORPIONS: As we have discussed this to show the power that is given to these Locusts in the likeness of Scorpions. And we have shown scorpions is the term used for demons who possess mankind to torment them. [Luke 10:17-20] So the overall expression is these Locusts taking possession of mankind who do not have the SEAL of God to perform all the things which we have described above.
A king over them, the angel of the abyss [Abaddon]: The angel who is being introduced here has a great part to play in the end times. This is the angel whom John will later describe as, “The BEAST that you saw WAS, and IS NOT, and IS ABOUT TO come up out of the ABYSS and go into destruction.” Revelation 17:8 That is to say, it once was, was dead and is about to come out of the Abyss and finally be destroyed in everlasting fire.
So the first thing we need to do is to establish how this angel ended up in the abyss in the first place? Daniel writing of the Fourth beast which was an expression of the Roman Empire, with large teeth of Iron and claws of bronze says, “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. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.” Daniel 7:11-12 The horn is an expression for the emperor of Rome, but the beast is the expression of the angelic host that upheld that empire as Ezekiel describes the relationship between the king and prince of Tyre in Ezekiel 28.
Now Daniel describes the fourth beast as, “‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.” Daniel 7:23-24 That is to say, the angel Abaddon being the prince of the people of Rome [Daniel 9:26] was responsible for the crucifixion of the Lord under Emperor Tiberius, and also for the destruction of Jerusalem under Emperor Vespasian. So we may say the death of this princely host was the beginning of the end of the Roman empire and he was crushed for raising himself against the Lord and his body was thrown in the burning flame, abyss. And of his rise, John says, “And one of its HEADS was as having been SLAIN to DEATH. And its wound of death was HEALED, and the whole earth marvelled after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon, who had given authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast.”” Revelation 13:3-4
The Locusts that came before him are his representation, so we can expect they will exhibit parts of his character. And Daniel describes him as, “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule. And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even RISE against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.” Daniel 8:23-25 Point to bear in mind is there are two manifestations of the same angel, one in the days of Rome [leg of iron] now we will expect to see him to rise again in our day [feet of iron and clay]. And we can FULLY expect that he will do EXACTLY the same things which he has done in the days of Rome.
So his defining qualities are sinister schemes, deception, love of money, it is under his influence deceit is taken to new levels. This is a warning of the path the world is taking, we are seeing the first instance of his calling card. In recent years we have witnessed an explosion of fake information. Lies seem to be practised at the highest level of governmental office. Politics has become a game of PR the twisting of information to hide or smear with no regard for truth. Great financial mismanagement that has affected the entire world. An Age of MISINFORMATION: A truth misrepresented to bring about the effect of a lie is still a LIE.
Now the first instance of his FULL return is described in the war that he makes against the two witnesses of God in the middle of the seven years of tribulation. “And when they shall have completed their testimony, the beast coming up out of the abyss will make war with them, and will overcome them, and will kill them.” Revelation 11:7 That is when he rises, the Church is NOT present in the world. Abaddon is the expression of the Antichrist as he was represented in the days of Rome. Daniel describes Abaddon through his earthly representative as, “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.” Daniel 11:36-37 Which closely matches the description Paul gives of the man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and the one John describes in Revelation 13:6-8. His other defining feature is the stand he takes against God’s people, the Jews. So when he rises he will seek to destroy Jerusalem as he did before. [AD70: Daniel 7:25; Daniel 9:26-27; In Coming days: Revelation 13:7; Revelation 16:13-16]
As stated before we make a HUGE mistake when we read Daniel, in future tenses, ALMOST ALL the events he is speaking about has already happened, BUT they are VALUABLE to us because it is the basis on which we can understand the days to come.
“The FIRST WOE has passed. Behold, TWO WOES still are coming after these things.” [vs. 12]
The announcement of the passing of the first “Woe” describes a period before the RAPTURE, when both those who are of the world and the elect of God are on earth. These locusts that come up out of the earth are given permission only to harm those, “not having the seal of God on the foreheads.” The Fifth and Sixth trumpet are separated by this “Woe” because they are pronounced at different ends of the period of Grace. What follows at the end of the Fifth trumpet and AT the announcement of the Sixth trumpet is the RAPTURE of the CHURCH and the beginning of the closing of the Age of Grace.
We have shown in the previous chapter how this period coincides with the closing of Law in the days that preceded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. Therefore the passing of this Woe is the beginning of the Seven Year period of Wrath. NOTE: There is a difference between the Great Tribulation and the Days of Wrath. The Great Tribulation was the furious reaction of the Devil to bring about destruction upon the earth because his time was coming to end. [Revelation 12] However the Days of Wrath are God’s judgement being poured out on those who refused the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, MAINLY upon the Gentile world. [Revelation 16]
So between Fifth and Sixth TRUMPETS we expect God to remove His church, since those who have set their hope on the Lord Jesus Christ CANNOT be subject to HIS WRATH. [Isaiah 54: 9-10] [J.p] Now the RAPTURE of the CHURCH is not explicitly mentioned here, but it is to be INFERRED. We have seen in Chapter 6 how between the opening of the Fifth Seal and Sixth Seal, there is a gap of 1000 years of the rule of the kingdom of God through the Lord Jesus Christ which also was not mentioned, nonetheless it is there. Likewise we have a great event that is not mentioned between the fifth and sixth trumpet that is when the church is taken up with the Holy Spirit at the return of the Lord, marking the beginning of great destruction upon the earth.
Throughout the book of Revelation the Rapture is not explicitly mentioned but it is HINTED at. The first instance of which was between Fourth and Fifth SEALS in the cry of the souls under the altar in heaven, THEN between Fifth and Sixth TRUMPETS by the distinguishing mark of the seal of God, AND in Chapter 14, the gathering of the wheat by the Son of Man sitting on a cloud distinct from grape harvest and the final harvest of the Jews [Chapter 15]. FINALLY in Chapter 19, in the wedding celebration of the Lamb in HEAVEN and the return of the Lord with ALL His saints. ALL with the exception of Chapter 14 INDIRECTLY point to this day.
“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. And they will see the SON of MAN coming on the CLOUDS of HEAVEN, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a GREAT TRUMPET CALL, and they will GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens to the ends thereof.” Matthew 24:30-31
SIXTH TRUMPET: Tails like Serpents.
“And the SIXTH ANGEL sounded his trumpet, and I heard one VOICE from the four horns of the GOLDEN ALTAR before God, saying to the sixth angel, the one having the trumpet, “RELEASE the FOUR ANGLES, those having been bound at the Great RIVER Euphrates.” And the four angels having been prepared for the hour and day and month and year were released, so that they might KILL a THIRD of MANKIND. And the number of the ARMIES of the CALVARY was twice ten thousand ten thousands; I heard the number of them.” [vs. 13-16]
We are continuing on the theme of the word of the Lord when He said, the days of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah and Lot. So far we have evaluated the expression of our society according to those days. The second portion of that assessment is according to the events that are to come to pass on the world according to when Noah and his family entered the Ark and Lot and his family left Sodom. That is when the Son of Man comes to receive His elect to Himself [the Rapture] that very moment will also be followed by disaster on the earth which this Sixth Trumpet declares.
The times of the Gentiles has come to a close and the affliction that follows is markedly a reflection of what had happened to Jerusalem when they rejected the gospel for themselves and stoned and killed those sent to them. The Lord said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those having been sent to her! How often would I have gathered together your children, the way in which a hen gathers together her chicks under the wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” Matthew 23:37-38 describing the destruction of AD70 after nearly 40 years of preaching of the gospel. We also now have a same level event coming to the world. The nations have heard and people have rejected, they have bound, they have restricted and have chosen to no longer hear. So the Lord returning to receive His people will ALSO mean the nations will be given over to the judgement of death.
Golden Altar can be contrasted against the bronze altar of the judgement that was on the earth. The golden altar is of righteousness, it is gold because it is not our righteousness but God’s own righteousness. In the Law God was judging people for their SINS, but now God is judging them for Righteousness. [Acts 17:31] And the command that comes out from the altar to release the four angels so they may devastate the earth means, people are NO LONGER being marked with the seal of God, which is of His own righteousness. So the Voice that comes out of the Golden Altar before God is to announce the Righteous Judgement of God on the world and the beginning of the Day of Wrath has come.
The Four Angels: As mentioned before the event described here is rooted in the description given in the breaking of the Fourth Seal, that is they are both pointing to the same event. “Behold, a pale horse, and the one sitting on it, the name of him was Death, and Hades was following with him; and authority was given to them over the FOURTH of the earth, to KILL with SWORD, and with FAMINE, and with PLAGUE, and by the BEASTS of the earth.” Revelation 6:8 Now we have already addressed the apparent discrepancy in regard to the Quarter of the population against the Third that is mentioned here that the issue is resolved when we take the RAPTURE into account.
Now the association we are making is, the Four angels mentioned here are according to the method by which Mankind is to be killed, Sword, Famine, Plague and Beasts of the earth. Throughout the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel God’s judgement upon Israel was based on these four categories. “For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when I send My FOUR severe JUDGMENTS on Jerusalem—the Sword and Famine and Wild Beasts and Pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it?” Ezekiel 14:21 also in Jeremiah 14:2; 24:10; 27:8; 29:17; and many more. That is each of these events are attributed to the work of an angel, to dispense judgement according to the Law as specified in Deuteronomy 28. [Exodus 23:21]
Now the first two, we can simply attribute to the likeness of the Second and Third Horsemen, as described in chapter 6. As for Pestilences we can use the example when David sinned by numbering the armies of Israel and Judah and the judgement of God came upon him and he was given a choice, “Shall seven years of FAMINE come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you [SWORD]? Or shall there be three days’ PLAGUE in your land?” 2 Samuel 24:13 And David choosing to fall into the hands of God, chose the Plague, and an angel was released to bring great devastation of Plague on the land of Israel until God restrained his hand. [2 Samuel 24:15-16] Now the Fourth part, the wild beasts is not so much to do with killing but an expression of dishonour, that there will be no one to bury them, their corpse will be like refuse on the ground to be devoured by the beasts of the earth and birds of the air. [Jeremiah 7:33] And even this is associated to the work of an angel, “And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in loud a voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, “Come, gather yourselves unto the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of horses and of those sitting on them, and the flesh of all, both free and slaves, and small and great.” Revelation 19:17-18
The assumption we are making is that such methods of dealing with mankind, by Sword, Famine, Plague and Beasts of the earth were BOUND during the age of Grace. God was NOT punishing the world, because He was NOT imputing our sins to us. [2 Corinthians 5:19] And Paul relegating the judgement of God to the day of wrath says, “But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are treasuring up to yourself wrath in the DAY of WRATH and REVELATION of the righteous judgement of God.” Romans 2:5 So EVERY AFFLICTION that came on MANKIND during the period of GRACE was the work of the devil. [Revelation 12:12] However we see these FOUR angels being released because NOW the day of GOD’s WRATH has come. So as there is an angel with the authority of fire [Rev. 14:18], and an angel with authority over the waters [Rev. 16:4] there are also angels with the authority to bring the Sword, Famine, Pestilence and Beasts of the earth.
The River Euphrates: The Terms God used to define the borders of Israel. “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory.” Deuteronomy 11:24 Again to Joshua He said, “From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.” Joshua 1:4 These are the borders of Israel from East to West, between the Great River and the Great Sea as specified by GOD.
Now the Great River Euphrates is a representation of a border in respect to the Nations. In Revelation 16:12 we see the River Euphrates dried up to make way for the kings of the east to make war against Israel. So here we have the outer borders of Israel in terms of the nations being defined, the significance of which is Judgement coming upon the nations. When the Law came to a close it was Jerusalem that borne most of the consequences. However now, the Land of Israel is under a final dispensation when the Gospel will once again be proclaimed by the two prophets to come. The ISOLATION of Israel is illustrated by the angel who stood on the Sea and Land in Revelation 10:2. The ASSUMPTION is he stood on the Western Sea and on the Land of Israel that is WITHIN its borders, holding a scroll to be proclaimed. And this specific separation is again illustrated in Revelation 11:1-2 when John is asked to measure the Temple and DISREGARD the outer courts, the Gentiles. Now this does not mean Israel will all together escape judgement since Revelation 11:13 mentions a great earthquake that killed 7000 people.
However the dealings of God in the world can best be described in these terms, “So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.” Exodus 14:20 Light to one darkness to the other. And for the best part of the last 2000 years the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has been light to Gentiles and Israel has been in partial darkness. [Romans 11:25] Likewise in this coming FINAL harvest, God’s salvation will be sent to the Jews and the Gentiles who rejected the Gospel of Grace are given over to Darkness and Judgement, while the same event brings forth repentance in Israel. So the overall subjective conclusion is, these Four angels were bound at the outer borders of Israel, for this day, month and year to bring judgement on the nations!
“And thus I saw the HORSES in the vision, and those sitting on them, having FIERY and HYACINTHINE and BRIMSTONE breastplates. And the heads of the horses were LIKE HEADS of LIONS, and out of their mouths proceed FIRE and SMOKE and BRIMSTONE. By these THREE PLAGUES, a third of mankind was KILLED, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone proceeding out of their mouths. For the POWERS of the horses are in their MOUTHS and in their TAILS; for their tails are LIKE SERPENTS serpents having HEADS, and with them they injure.” [vs. 17-19
Horses are an expression of spirits, Zechariah in a vision saw, “The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.” Zechariah 6:2-5
Breastplate Fiery, Hyacinthine and Brimstone: [Subjective] In the previous Trumpet, we have the Locusts described as having the breastplate of Iron. And we have shown that to mean the sphere of their influence to be in Western world whose root can be traced to Rome, the kingdom of Iron. So the description of the colours of the breastplate here, is to represent their sphere to be the ENTIRE WORLD, those who are made subject to the Judgment of God and whose End is to be in the everlasting Fire. That is everyone who rejected the Gospel of the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Heads like Lions: [any input in regards to what this means will be greatly appreciated.]
Fire, Smoke and Brimstone: these are the plagues by which a third of mankind is killed. And we have identified these in the previous verse to be, Sword, Famine and Pestilence. However there is a reason why the Lord chose to describe them in this manner. Fire, smoke and brimstone are the descriptions used for Hell. John, warning those who worship the beast and receive his mark says, “He will be tormented in FIRE and BRIMSTONE before the holy angels and before the Lamb. And the SMOKE of their torment goes up to ages of ages;” Revelation 14:10-11 and also [Revelation 19:20] So the point of the description of death in such a manner is to coincide with the description given by the Fourth Seal according to Death and Hades. That is in this one statement we see described the judgement of death by sword, famine and plague at the same time their final end of their Souls to be in Hell.
Tails like Serpents: Again in the previous Trumpet we have the description of Locusts having stingers [tails] like Scorpions and authority was given to them that they may torment mankind for five months. However the horses described here have tails like Serpents head, the significance being they are given authority to KILL. Beginning from the Garden of Eden, the venom of a serpent is a depiction of death. Note: the previous had tails like scorpions but these have tails like the head of the serpent, obvious point but it is to show the point is the VENOM. Paul writes, “Now the sting of death is SIN, and the power of sin is the Law. But thanks be to God, the One giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 The significance here is that the people who die here die in their sins because they have rejected the Lord. The Lord said, “I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will DIE in your SINS.” John 8:24 The same principle is portrayed in the story of Israel in the wilderness, when they were beaten by the fiery serpents and were saved when they looked onto the brazen serpent on the pole, which Moses made. [Numbers 21:4-9]
So as we stated before according to the teaching of [D.p] Death killed the body and Hades possessed their Souls, so those killed by these events of Fire, Smoke and Brimstone are a depiction of lost souls who have died in their sins. The Mouth is [cause] Death and the Tail is [end] Hades.
“And the REST of the MEN who were not killed by these plagues DID NOT REPENT of the works of their hands so that they will NOT worship the DEMONS, and the golden and silver and bronze and stone and wooden IDOLS, which are able neither to see, nor to hear, nor to walk. And they DID NOT REPENT of their MURDERS, nor of their SORCERIES, nor of their SEXUAL IMMORALITY, nor of their THEFITS.” [vs. 20,21]
Here we have an illustration of the hardening of the heart of mankind. In the previous Trumpet we have shown how when the day Lot went out of Sodom the Angels of God struck the people of Sodom with blindness. And we have explained that this was NOT physical blindness as being unable to see daylight but to be in a state of being UNABLE to REPENT. For this reason the people of Sodom kept searching for the door to abuse the men until fire rained down from above. [D.s] describes this state according to angels, “And the angels not having kept their own domain, but having abandoned [their] own dwelling, He keeps in eternal chains under darkness, unto the judgement of the great day.” Jude 1:6 He points out this chain of darkness is not so much a place but a state of being. That is they have NO OTHER recourse but to await JUDGEMENT. As Peter also says, “The Lord knows to deliver the devout out of temptation and to KEEP the unrighteous being punished unto the day of judgement.” 2 Peter 2:9
Likewise here the people on earth also have no other recourse, they are given to blindness, so they do not seek to turn away from the manner of their old practices as did the men in Lots day. Paul writes of those who have chosen to reject truth and to love a lie he says, “And because of this, God will send to them a working of delusion, for them to believe what is false, in order that all those NOT having believed the TRUTH but having DELIGHTED in unrighteousness SHOULD BE JUDGED.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 So the people on the earth will continue in this state, as being chained in darkness to await judgement. NO more REPENTANCE comes forth from the Gentile nations from this point forward. The TIMES of the GENTILES is now CLOSED.
Revelation 10: The Day of Vengeance of God.
“And I saw another MIGHTY ANGEL coming down out of heaven, clothed with a CLOUD, and a RAINBOW upon his head, and his face was like the SUN, and his feet like pillars of FIRE, and having in his hand a LITTLE SCROLL being open. And he placed his RIGHT foot upon the SEA, and the LEFT upon the EARTH. And he cried out in a loud voice as a lion roars. And when he cried out, the seven thunders sounded their voice.” [vs. 1-3]
This chapter is describing the closing of the Age of Grace and the opening of the Day of Vengeance of the Lord. “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God;” Isaiah 61:2
Now the description of the Mighty Angel, in terms of clothed with a cloud and pillars of fire bearing a message to bring, should invoke the image of God’s ministry to the children of Israel when He brought them out of Egypt to lead them to the promised land. “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.” Exodus 13:21 And this description is followed by, “And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.” Exodus 14:19 And Stephen summarises the interaction of Moses from the first instance at Mount Sinai in the bush to the giving of the Law to be through the intermediary of angels. [Acts 7:30-38] As Paul also affirms saying, “[The Law] was added on account of transgressions, until the seed to whom promise has been made should have come, having been ORDAINED through ANGELS in the hand of a mediator.” Galatians 3:19 God also confirms this that the angel that went before Israel to bring them to the promised land bears His Name. [Exodus 23:20-21] The closest illustration is that we under Grace are the ambassadors of God in Christ, that is we represent Christ’s body on earth, that is we bear His name and do the works He does, as if Christ Himself does the work. [Galatians 2:8]
In reading the Old Testament, we have mostly taken it for granted that when it made a reference to the Angel of the Lord, it was referring to the pre-incarnate of the Lord Jesus Christ. However this is NOT right, the angel referred to is the angel who is given charge over Israel to watch over them in all their ways [according to the Law], as described in Exodus 23:20, and according to Daniel 10:21; 12:1 that Angel is Michael. That is the administration of the Law was through angels [as through guardians], to bring them to the Lord, as described by Paul Galatians 3:19,23-24; 4:1-5. Even though the Lord Jesus Christ was depicted as a Rock that followed Israel in wilderness from Whom came forth water, Israel’s dealing with God was mainly through the intermediary of angels. [1 Corinthians 10:4]
Rainbow upon his head: Ezekiel gives a similar description of the four living creatures he saw, above their head was the throne of God and around the throne was a rainbow. [Ezekiel 1:26-28] John also describes the throne of God in heaven as having a rainbow around it. [Revelation 4:2-3] The head represents authority, Christ is the Head of the Church. Paul says, “I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3 Therefore the symbol of the rainbow upon this angel’s head is to represent the authority the angel is under. As the angel that went before Israel in whom was the name of God, as well as the Cherubim Ezekiel saw above whose head was the throne of God, here also we can take the Rainbow upon his head to mean this mighty angel is representing the throne of God.
Now the fact that this angel is clothed in a CLOUD has significance. We can compare it to the coming of the Son of Man, “And they will see the Son of Man coming on the CLOUDS of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great trumpet call, and they will GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens to the ends thereof.” Mathew 24:30-31 And also in Revelation, “And another angel came out of the temple, crying in a loud voice to the One sitting on the CLOUD, “Put forth Your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth has ripened.” And the One sitting upon the cloud put forth His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was harvested.” Revelation 14:15-16 Though both these examples are of the same event, the rapture of the church, the point we are inferring is as the angel that led Israel out of Egypt to bring them to their land, the significance of the CLOUD is in terms of gathering of the elect to the kingdom of heaven. [Cloud represents the kingdom of God, from earth perspective.]
The scroll in the hand of the angel is according to Ezekiel, words of God to be declared over the whole world. When Ezekiel was given a similar scroll, he was sent specifically to the house of Israel. And the period being described here is covering a time between the closing of the Age of Grace and the start of the Millennium Reign of Christ. The times of the Gentiles have come and gone and the Rapture has already taken place. So we have no grounds to determine the manner of ministry that is to take place during this period. The mandate the Lord has given to the Church to proclaim the gospel to the nations, has ended at the rapture. However, when Moses by the hand of the angel brought destruction upon Egypt, the act of judgement on the world was to be a TESTIMONY and redemption of Israel. And God said of those who did not believe Him, “All these men who have seen My glory and the SIGNS which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.” Numbers 14:22-23 Likewise written upon the scroll we have similar events to be declared upon the nations through which the elect of God FROM the JEWS are to be gathered to the Kingdom.
Finally, John takes great care to convey to us the manner this angel is STANDING, as putting his RIGHT feet on the SEA and his LEFT on the LAND. In the previous chapter we have attributed the Great River Euphrates to be the Eastern border of Israel. Now the Sea that is described here is the Western border of Israel, that is the Great Sea, the Mediterranean. So we may say the angel whose FACE is shining like the SUN is facing toward the SOUTH, down the length of the land of Israel and his BACK is to the REST of the WORLD. The point this image illustrates is the separation of Israel, [NOW] it is DARKNESS to the world and LIGHT to Israel. [Exodus 14:21]
[Subjective Deduction]: When Israel came out of Egypt the face of the angel of God was upon Israel and his back was towards the Egyptians in darkness. We can apply the same principle here, the way the angel is standing is bringing light to Israel but his back is toward mainland Europe, and this is where we should expect the Antichrist to rise from. [Not RUSSIA, not until the 1000 year reign of Christ is finished.] We will come across more evidence to support this conclusion in Revelation 13-16. Now we may be tempted to take offence at this, but “we are citizens of heaven.” The Antichrist will simply rise in a place where there is no faith in God. Our responsibility is to take as many people with us as possible from the sphere God has given to us, the kingdom of God is our destination, not the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms.
“And when the SEVEN THUNDERS had spoken, I was about to write. But I heard a voice out of heaven, saying, “SEAL what the seven thunders have spoken, and DO NOT WRITE them.” [vs. 4]
What the seven thunders uttered is not made known to us. But the Lord teaches us saying, “Like it was the days of Noah so shall it be the coming of the Son of Man,” and also with Lot. [Luke 17:27,29] The Lord constantly points to events of the PAST to be a guide to understand the FUTURE. The bible records, when the Law was given 3000 people died but the day the Spirit was given 3000 people were saved. These events give us a means by which we may draw a parallel, as it was the opening of the ages so shall be the closing. Therefore we have used the prophecy of Daniel to be a guide to understand the closing of this age.
“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for ONE WEEK; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” [Daniel 9:27]
As when the Law was closed it was closed with a SEVEN year covenant followed by a tribulation and wars, the closing of the Age of Grace will also incorporate a SEVEN year period of wrath before the final battle of the great day. So we have chosen to associate what the Seven thunders uttered to the declaration of the SEVEN YEAR covenant that was given when the Age of the Law was brought to a close.
“And the angel whom I saw standing on the SEA and on the LAND lifted up his right hand to heaven, and he swore by the One living to the ages of the ages, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it. There will be NO MORE DELAY! But in the days of the voice of the SEVENTH ANGEL, when he is about to sound the trumpet, then the MYSTERY of GOD would be COMPLETED, AS PROCLAIMED to His servants, the prophets.” [vs. 5-7]
The angel lifts his hands and swears by God that there will be no more delay. He is announcing the ultimate end, when the Seventh Angel sounds the trumpet the final bit of leeway will be closed. So he is pointing to us from this announcement until the SEVENTH angel there are events that must take place which chapter 11 will cover. We can draw similarities with prophecies of Daniel when he said, “Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river [Tigris], when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a TIME, TIMES, and HALF a TIME; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.” Daniel 12:7 However, the difference here is the angel clothed in CLOUDS, is declaring the words of God to GATHER His elect, specifically from the house of Israel.
So we have good grounds to expect from this moment until the Seventh Trumpet when the passing of the Second Woe is announced there is a period of “time, times and half a time,” when God will fulfil His promises to bring Israel into repentance. Time, times and half a time is three and half years or 42 months or 1260 days. And we can choose to associate the events here with promises God made in Ezekiel, “Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our HOPE is LOST, and we ourselves are CUT OFF!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will OPEN your GRAVES and cause you to come up from your graves, and BRING you into the LAND of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall LIVE, and I will place you in your own land.” Ezekiel 37:11-14 And Hosea also says, “After TWO days He will REVIVE US; On the THIRD day He will RAISE us up, that we may live in His sight.” Hosea 6:2 The ONES Hosea is referring to are the children of Israel, who have been in a state of slumber for the last two days that is two thousand years.
When Israel first partook of the Passover in the wilderness there was an incident where some having been defiled by a dead body missed out and God made a provision for them to eat it on the second month. [Numbers 9:6-11] The point is there is precedence that God provided to account for Revelation 11, the preaching to Israel to bring here to repentance. At the rapture of the church Israel has seen and realised the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah. So they cry out, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” We can also carry the analogy further with Joseph when he commanded all the Egyptians to depart from his presence and made himself known to his brothers saying, “I am Joseph whom you sold to Egypt.” Genesis 45:1-5 the departure of the Egyptians being likened to the rapture.
The Mystery of God: “then the MYSTERY of GOD would be COMPLETED, AS PROCLAIMED to His servants, the prophets.” He is saying it will be COMPLETED not Revealed. Completed Means, the purpose which He has ALREADY REVEALED as Paul says, to His apostles and prophets will be FULFILLED. Paul speaking of Mystery of Christ says, “By reading, you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as now it has been REVEALED in the Spirit to His holy APOSTLES and PROPHETS, that the Gentiles are joint-heirs, and a joint-body, and joint-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus, through the gospel.” Ephesians 3:5-6 Paul gives this description after he has established in Ephesians 2:13-22 that both Jew and Gentile are brought to be one in Christ. [Galatians 3:27-28]
“Now to Him being able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the REVELATION of the MYSTERY having been kept secret in times of the ages, but now having been made MANIFEST also through the PROPHETIC Scriptures, according to the commandment of the Eternal God, having been made known to ALL the GENTILES unto the OBEDIENCE of FAITH—” Romans 16:25-26
So at the announcement of the Seventh angel, the LAST of Israel who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ are ushered into the kingdom of God and the body of Christ is now COMPLETE, comprising both Jew and Gentile! Paul in Romans describes the end of THIS MYSTERY as once the fullness of the Gentiles has come then all Israel will be saved. “For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this MYSTERY, so that you may not be wise in yourselves: A hardening in part has happened to Israel, until the FULLNESS of the GENTILES may come in. And so all ISRAEL will be SAVED.” Romans 11:25-26 As John also pointed out in the Fifth Seal when the last of the brethren who are to be killed for the word of God are gathered. [Revelation 6:10-11]
And Paul elaborates on this mystery which encompasses ALL creation and says, “To enlighten ALL what is the administration of the mystery having been hidden from the ages in God, the One having created all things. So that NOW through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ACCORDING to the purpose of the AGES, which He ACCOMPLISHED in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [vs.9-11] Which is the MAIN Purpose God has always intended which Paul introduced in the beginning of the epistles, “Having made known to us the MYSTERY of His will according to His pleasure, which He purposed in Him for the administration of the fullness of the times, to bring together all things in Christ—the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth— Ephesians 1:9-10 That is, the body of Christ the Church is the means the Lord Jesus Christ will Rule and Reign. These are the blessed ones that will take part in the FIRST resurrection to reign with Him on earth for 1000 years, bringing every rule, authority and power under His feet. [Revelation 20:6, 1 Cor. 15:24-25]
“And the voice that I heard out of heaven was speaking with me again and saying, “Go, take the LITTLE SCROLL having been OPENED in the hand of the angel standing upon the SEA and upon the LAND.” And I went to the angel, saying to him, “Give me the little scroll.” And he says to me, “Take and EAT it; and your STOMACH it will make BITTER, but in your MOUTH it will be SWEET as HONEY.” [vs. 8-9]
Once again like the scroll that was given to Ezekiel to eat so he may prophesy to the house of Israel, John is also given a scroll. The SIGNIFICANCE of which is to show the grace of God is now closed. This is illustrated in JOHN whose name means the Grace of God, to him is given a scroll that pronounces the judgments of God upon the nations. However John himself does not make these pronouncements, but the two prophets to come.
“And I took the little scroll out of the hand of the angel, and I ATE it; and it was SWEET as HONEY in my mouth; and when I had eaten it, my STOMACH was made BITTER. And they say to me, “It is necessary for you to PROPHESY again concerning many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” [vs. 10-11]
The words were sweet to his mouth but bitter when swallowed. The words God gives us are wholesome and full but when spoken at times draw sharp responses of attack from those who do not receive it. Jeremiah said, “O Lord, You know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. Your WORDS were found, and I ATE them, and Your WORD was to me the JOY and REJOICING of my HEART;” Jeremiah 15:15-16 This is the sentiment that is being portrayed here, Jeremiah who spoke such STERN words of JUDGEMENT, like no other prophet has, to him the words of God were joy and rejoicing of his heart but it drew to him GREAT persecution from those who did not receive it and his LIFE was made BITTER. Likewise here, this is what is to take place to him who speaks the words contained within this scroll, which are words of judgement to be spoken over, “many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
There is a similar event that is recorded in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel also received a scroll, containing words of such lamentations, “Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were LAMENTATIONS and MOURNING and WOE.” Ezekiel 2:9-10 As John, Ezekiel was also instructed to eat the scroll. “Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my MOUTH like HONEY in SWEETNESS. Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and SPEAK with My words to them.” Ezekiel 3:1-4
Notice the contrast, Ezekiel also received a scroll, containing words of such lamentations, and to him also the scroll was as sweet as honey in his mouth. Nonetheless, Ezekiel’s stomach was NOT made bitter by what he ate, as John’s was nor as Jeremiah because he did not receive persecution from the Jews that were exiled in Babylon, in fact they came to hear him and be entertained. The Lord said to Ezekiel, “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.” Ezekiel 33:30-32 However, Jeremiah at the same time, in the midst of Jerusalem prophesying the words of judgement, woe and lamentation, his life was made bitter.
Revelation 11: First Half – The First will be Last.
This chapter is a continuation of the events described in chapter 10. The scroll the angel gave to John is proclaimed in this chapter by the two witnesses of God. This chapter covers the LAST ministry of God to bring the children of Israel to repentance in the likeness of the ministry of Moses and Elijah, when they proclaimed judgement in the demonstration of the power of God.
So this chapter is the fulfilment of the word of the Lord when He said, “Many who are FIRST will be LAST, and the LAST FIRST.” Matthew 19:30 That is to say, those who went into the labour of the kingdom is a reference to the children of Israel with whom God first established His covenant. The Lord said, “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and will recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth.” Matthew 8:11-12 The Lord is making the point that the inheritance belonged to them FIRST as it did to Ruben, yet those who were far off have come into the inheritance ahead of them. The inheritance of Ruben, as the firstborn was given to Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh who were born to him from his Egyptian [Gentile] wife. So Ruben represents Israel as the firstborn of God, those who fall away in unfaithfulness while Ephraim and Manasseh represent those from among the Gentiles who come to faith in God, and be included in the inheritance of Israel through Joseph, who is a representation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul also makes this point saying, “Israelites, whose is the divine adoption as sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the lawgiving, and the service, and the promises.” Romans 9:4 And pointing to the day when God will reestablish His promise to Israel says, “God did not reject His people, whom He FOREKNEW.” Romans 11:2
So the Gentiles who are far off, have become FIRST and many of those who were first [Israelites] are now LAST.
“And a measuring [rod] like a staff was given to me, saying, “Rise and MEASURE the TEMPLE of God, and the ALTAR, and those WORSHIPPING in it. And LEAVE OUT the COURTYARD outside the temple, and DO NOT MEASURE IT, because it has been GIVEN UP to the NATIONS, and they will TRAMPLE upon the holy city FORTY and TWO MONTHS. And I will grant to My TWO WINTENESS, and they will prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in SACKCLOTH.” [vs. 1-3]
This chapter describes the first half of the 7 year, Day of the Vengeance of God. The second half of that period is described in Chapter 16. We can compare this portion of time to that which Daniel prophesied about the end of the age of Law, “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” Daniel 9:27 As we have repeatedly pointed out, the strain is to ensure we don’t mix the two, Daniel is speaking about the end of the consummation of the age of the Law. However John here is speaking of the consummation of the age of Grace. Daniel was speaking from the perspective of the Roman Empire and the beast that upheld her before the devil unleashed his wrath upon Judea. [Daniel 9:26] John is speaking from the perspective of God, and this is His final plea to bring Israel into repentance before God unleashes His wrath upon the world.
For many the opening sentence, “measure the temple of God, and the altar,” is evidence that a Third Temple will be built in Jerusalem, but with the exception of this sentence there is no other evidence to back that belief. As long as the Holy Spirit is in the world the Temple of God is the believers in whom the Spirit of God dwells. Paul writes, “Having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the CORNERSTONE, in whom the whole BUILDING, being fitted together, is increasing into a HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:20-22 Again Paul makes this point clear saying, “Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Now Zechariah while in the process of building the Second Temple does prophesy of another temple, which the Lord Himself will build, “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord; Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall SIT and RULE on His throne; so He shall be a PRIEST on His THRONE, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zechariah 6:13 The point being the events that were recorded in the days of Zechariah were a prophetic symbolism of a time to come. “Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, YOU and YOUR COMPANIONS who sit before you, for they are a WONDROUS SIGN; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.” Zechariah 3:8 That is, Joshua the high priest & Zerubbabel the son of David, are a representation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Branch, represented in both His offices as King and High Priest. And the expression, “the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation stone, his hands shall also finish it,” that is the setting of the capstone, with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” is a representation of the Church which the Lord Himself builds. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself being both the foundation [1 Corinthians 3:11] and the Chief Cornerstone. [Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:4-6]
This point is FIRMLY ESTABLISHED in the explanation Paul gives in regards to the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. “For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah, A TRIBE AS TO which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And it is yet more abundantly evident if another priest according to the likeness of Melchizedek arises, who has been constituted NOT ACCORDING to a LAW of a FLESHLY commandment, but according to the power of an indestructible life.” Hebrews 7:14-16 The UNDENIABLE point which Paul is making is that the Temple, the BRANCH is building CANNOT be according to the LAW of MOSES. Because according to the Law of Moses, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David of the tribe of Judah is excluded from serving as High Priest. Therefore He cannot serve as both King and Priest, as Zechariah says. So he says, “From His place He shall branch out.”
Therefore from this point forward there ought to be NO expectation of a PHYSICAL Temple, but an administration according to Melchizedek, a Priest of the Most High God and a King of Righteousness and Peace ruling from His throne, in Jerusalem. [Hebrews 7:1-2] The Temple over which the Lord presides is according to an indestructible life, that is the LIFE of GOD in those who believe in Him. Furthermore, Zechariah describing the days when the Lord rules on the earth from Jerusalem, makes NO reference to a physical temple, only that ALL of Jerusalem and Judah will be made holy to the Lord. [Zechariah 14:16-21] Which is a representation of the New Jerusalem to come, where there will be NO TEMPLE in it, the Lord God and the Lamb being its Temple. [Rev. 21:22]
Now even though the interpretation may seem to suit a predetermined purpose, the significance of John measuring the temple is to describe the setting apart of a people. The period John is describing here is after the rapture, when the church of God has been received into heaven. Now in the world there are again two sets of people, the children of Israel and the Gentiles according to the classification which Paul used, “Be you without offence both to Jews and Greeks, and to the church of God—” 1 Corinthians 10:32 So the angel tells John to measure the temple and altar and “those worshipping in it.” He is saying this to distinguish a COVENANT relationship, which the ALTAR signifies. The altar worship which Abraham, Issac and Jacob practised, according to whom the children of Israel are beloved. [Romans 11:28-29]
A Measuring ROD like a Staff: When God approached Moses to bring Israel from among the Egyptian, Moses had in his hands a rod through which God performed His wonders signs. And God sent Moses and Arron to Egypt saying, “Now you shall speak to him [Aaron] and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And you shall take this ROD in your hand, with which you shall do the SIGNS.” Exodus 4:15-17 The significance is, the measurement is specifying the sphere of ministry of the two prophets, that is they are ONLY sent for the benefit of the house of Israel. As Moses used the ROD of Judgment to separate Israel from Egypt, the ROD in the hand of John is also used to express the same effect, to separate Israel from the world. Staff is an implement of a shepherd to guide the flock, a Rod is an implement of correction, a means of judgement. The shepherd to guide Israel to the promised land with a staff in his hand, and Rod to fight off the wild animals.
Those Worshipping in it: Ezekiel writes, “I will make you PASS under the ROD, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will PURGE the REBELS from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 20:37-38 The same thing which the Lord spoke to Moses when Israel disobeyed Him in the wilderness. [Numbers 14:23] The point is God is seeking acknowledgment of Him, NOT perfection in word and deeds but simply acknowledging God. Ezekiel follows this with the grounds why God will do this thing saying, “I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an OATH to give to your FATHERS.” [vs.42] Finally, “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My NAME’S SAKE, NOT according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’” Ezekiel 20:44
The point is two fold, measuring the temple and excluding those outside is describing a sphere of ministry, that is to the Jews with the exclusion of the Gentiles. A staff to the Jews and Rod to the Gentiles. However, within this measurement those who are included from among the Jews are those who are worshipping in it. That is, the Jews are also made to pass under the Rod, which is a selection process to separate the strong from the weak, the proud from the meek, the rebel from the obedient. So those who do not acknowledge God, and reject Him are purged.
So when he says, “And leave out the courtyard OUTSIDE the TEMPLE, and do not measure it, because it has been given up to the nations, and they will trample upon the holy city forty and two months.” Outside is the term used for Gentiles who are without a covenant relationship with God. As Paul says, “At that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, not having hope and without God in the world.” Ephesians 2:12 And these Gentiles are given up to be under the sway of the man of lawlessness, whom they chose by default when they turned away from the Lord Jesus Christ. [Rev. 13:5-7] So the temple John is measuring is a symbolism of a people being set aside and 1260 days is a reference to the first portion of the SEVEN year period when Israel is being witnessed to, by the two prophets. By the same effect those outside the Gentiles are those in darkness and they are also referred to as being under the total influence of the Antichrist for 42 months, which is the reference to the second portion of the Seven year period.
Now, the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is the Antichrist, he who comes in place of [a substitute], NOT as a false Messiah but as a direct result of the world’s refusal to believe in God. So the world will have a leader according to their desire given to them. The MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is Anti-GOD, in fact he is against any god for that matter.“The one opposing and exalting himself above EVERY so-called god or object of worship—so as for him to SIT down in the TEMPLE of GOD, setting forth that he himself is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 That is he is vehemently AGAINST any worship of God. The record of him sitting in the temple of God in Jerusalem is an expression of his conquest of Israel on the last day. The Antichrist will invade Israel with the help of the surrounding nations. [Zechariah 14] The reference Paul makes, [we have accepted to mean] he will set up his throne on the very site where the temple once stood as an ACT of defiance, as Absalom constructed a temporary structure on the roof of his father David’s palace to defy him in the sight of all Israel. [2 Samuel 16:22]
King David, even before setting a single stone to build the temple of God, he consecrated the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite where he offered sacrifice to stop the plague to be a place where the house of God was to stand saying, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the ALTAR of burnt offering for Israel.” 2 Chronicle 22:1 And his son Solomon built the temple of God on that very site. [2 Chronicles 3:1] As we have mentioned before, even Daniel, being fully aware the temple Solomon built was burned down and Jerusalem left desolate, he still prayed towards Jerusalem to the place where the Temple once stood. The point is a third physical temple does not need to be built in order for Paul’s statement to have significance.
The Lord said to the woman at the well, “Believe Me, woman, that an hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is of the Jews. But an hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth.” John 4:21-23 However this period in effect comes to an end when the Holy Spirit of God is taken from the world, along with the Church. REVERTING back to the previous covenant which God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh to inherit the LAND and the practice of worshipping at the altar. Now, Mount Morea where Abraham offered the Ram with Isaac [Genesis 22:1-2] and where David built the altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, where the temple once stood is of SIGNIFICANCE.
Clothed in Sackcloth: Throughout the old testament before the Law and under the Law, the act of putting a sackcloth is a sign of afflicting one’s FLESH, an act of mourning by humbling the flesh. Now such, manner of serving God, was brought to a close with John the Baptist, announcing the coming of the Lord. Daniel prophesying of that day says, “To seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Daniel 9:24 Zechariah also speaking of the end of such days says, “And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a ROBE of COARSE HAIR to deceive.” Zechariah 13:4 That is to say Sackcloth. So the significance of the two witnesses prophesying wearing SACKCLOTH is in reference to the REESTABLISHMENT of ministering according to the FLESH. Which has significance since they are ministering ONLY to the children of Israel, being ELECTED according to the flesh, based on the covenant God made with their fathers. [Romans 11:28]
“These are the TWO Olive Trees and the TWO Lampstands STANDING before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone should desire to harm them, FIRE goes out of their MOUTH and devours their enemies. And if anyone should desire to harm them, thus it is necessary for him to be killed. These have the power to SHUT the SKY, so that NO RAIN shall fall in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over the WATERS, to TURN them into BLOOD, and to STRIKE the EARTH with every PLAGUE, as often as they might desire.” [vs. 4-6]
Now there is some speculation as to who these two prophets are, some expect them to be Enoch and Elijah simply because they have not died. However this is flawed since everyone who is alive and remains when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, will be raptured therefore would not know physical death also. The other is, they are Moses and Elijah because the signs these two prophets perform is the same as the ones they did. This is further supported by the event at the mount of transfiguration, when the Lord took Peter, John and James to the top of Mount Hermon, “And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” Matthew 17:1-3 The conclusion being, what they witnessed was the Lord of the Earth in His glory and before Him were Moses and Elijah. However this also is flawed because, “Inasmuch as it is apportioned to men to die ONCE.” Hebrews 9:27 And Moses did die and was buried, therefore it is NOT possible for him to die again as these two prophets will do. [Deuteronomy 34:5-6]
These two witnesses were prophesied by Zechariah saying, “What are these two Olive Trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that DRIP into the RECEPTACLES of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who STAND beside the Lord of the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:11-14
Keeping with the theme as it was in the days of Noah and Lot so shall be the day of the Son of Man. Based on this principle, we identify the two witnesses which both Zechariah and John speak about to be ANGELS. When Lot was taken out of Sodom we have two angels that came into the town to bring about the judgement of God. “So it came to pass, when they had BROUGHT them OUTSIDE, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” And he follows that with “Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Genesis 19:17, 22 The point of Note is as Lot was going out, which represents the Rapture of the church, the two angels were left standing outside of the city. And the two angels who were to bring the judgement of God appeared to the people of Sodom as men. [Genesis 19:1-5]
Now the dealing of God with Israel according to the flesh can be summarised under this one statement, “Behold, I send an Angel before you to KEEP you in the WAY and to BRING you into the PLACE which I have prepared.” Exodus 23:20 From the dream Jacob had, where he saw a ladder set on earth and its top reaching up to heaven upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending, above of which the Lord stood promising to give Jacob the land upon which he lay. [Genesis 28:12-13] To the ministry of Moses from the first appearance in the bush to bringing Israel out of bondage and the giving of the Law and leading them to the promised land was ALL done through the intermediary of angels. [Acts 7:35-38; Galatians 3:19] So the two witnesses are depicted as an Olive tree and Lampstand, that is the expression of the ministry they render to the children of Israel. Paul describes the ministry of Moses as fading glory, that is the face of God was not revealed directly, but was reflected to Israel through the proxy of angels. However the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as a Son, brought ALL the GLORIES of God, being the exact image of God. [2 Corinthians 3:7-11; Hebrews 1:1-3]
There are several references where God is depicted with two angels, the first instance is when the Lord appeared to Abraham, “Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him.” Genesis 18:1-2 And as the Lord stood talking with Abraham the two angels proceeded to Sodom to bring about the event described above. [Genesis 19:1] When Moses was instructed to build the Ark, he was told to build the Mercy seat covered by two Cherubim. [Exodus 37:6-9] And on the day the Lord was raised from the dead, Mary Magdalene looking into His tomb saw, “Two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.” John 20:12 [J.p] teaches this is the representation of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ark. Finally, the day the Lord was taken up in CLOUD two angels appeared to His disciples in white apparel saying to them, “This Jesus, having been taken up from you into heaven, will thus come in that manner you beheld Him going into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11 The reference the angels were making is to the Rapture, when the Lord returns in the CLOUD of heaven. Then by reason of deduction we can expect two angels to also appear on the earth on THAT day.
Daniel also in his vision in chapter 8, 10 and 12 describes three angel like beings, one of whom is described as the Lord Himself in Daniel 8:15 and Daniel 10:5-6. The other two are described as assisting Him, asking questions and bringing revelations as instructed by the One who normally is described as standing above the river waters. The first is identified as Gabriel who came to bring MESSAGES to Daniel, and reveal their secrets, Daniel 8:16 and Daniel 9:21. The other is Michael who was tasked with ASSISTING the Lord and to stand watch over the children of Israel. [Daniel 10:13, 21, Daniel 12:1] And we have a description of all three interacting, “Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on THIS riverbank and the other on THAT riverbank. And one said to the Man clothed in linen, who was ABOVE the waters of the river, “How long shall the fulfilment of these wonders be?” Daniel 12:5-6 So we may say, we see the Lord of the earth and before whom stood the two angels; Gabriel and Michael.
Furthermore we have Gabriel being sent forth to announce the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah the priest [not coincidence] who saw the angel standing at the right of the altar of the incense and was rebuked by him saying, “I am Gabriel, the one STANDING before God; and I was SENT to speak to you, and to bring these glad tidings to you.” [Luke 1:11-20] The same one was also sent to announce the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ to Mary. [Luke 1:26-27]
So we have Gabriel depicted as one who declares the word of God, as the ministry of the PROPHETS and Michael is depicted as one who performs the great JUDGMENTS of God, the LAW. The Lord said to Moses, “Beware of him and obey his voice; do not provoke him, for he will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in him.” Exodus 23:21 These are the similarities that are portrayed in the act which these two witnesses will perform, in the likeness of the ministry of Moses and Elijah, MORE so in the likeness of Moses and Aaron equipped with the Rod of God. Moses, represents the Law and the testimony given to Israel through the judgments pronounced on the world, to bring ISRAEL out of the world and into the kingdom of God. [Exodus 23:20] While Elijah, represents the Prophets, a calling back to repentance to turn the hearts of people back to God. [Malachi 4:5-6]
When John says, “fire goes out of their mouth and devours their enemies,” it is according to the word God gave to Jeremiah saying, “Because you speak this word, behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” Jeremiah 5:14 When a prophet named Hananiah spoke falsehood opposing the warning God gave to the children of Israel through Jeremiah. Jeremiah spoke saying, “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.’ So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.” Jeremiah 28:16-17 It is to the same effect the words these two prophets speak will carry that much weight. And in the days of their prophecy that is the entire period of three and half years there will be no rain on the whole earth.
Rod of Judgement: When Moses asked God, how he may convince the children of Israel that God has sent him to them to deliver them, God gave Moses three signs that he may perform to the children of Israel so that they may believe. The First was to turn the Rod into a snake, the Second was to put his hand under his clothing and to turn it to be leprous and the Third was to turn the river water and turn into blood. [Exodus 4:2-9] The Point is the ROD of JUDGMENT that will befall the world is to be a WITNESS to the children of Israel as it was in days when God brought them out of Egypt. NOTE,they are called WITNESS, that is the act they perform in turning water to blood and striking the EARTH with plagues is an ACT of bearing witness to the children of Israel with the purpose of bringing the Jews to their own land. [Ezekiel 37:21]
The final point to support this view is, as we take the symbolism of Acts 12 which we started in Revelation 7 to its full conclusion. We described the suspension of ministry of the Gospel Grace to Jews, represented by the death of James [meaning Jacob] brother of John [meaning Grace], and Peter [an apostle to the circumcised] being bound, representing the current partial blindness of the Jewish people. The next event which corresponds to the events described in this chapter is, Peter being set free by an ANGEL who loosened his bondage, brought him out past the guard posts and through the IRON gate and DISAPPEARED from his sight. [Acts 12:6-10] That is the Angel [STRUCK] Peter [Israel] awakened him from a state of partial blindness and brought him OUT of the kingdom of the beast represented by the IRON GATE, leading him into the city [Jerusalem].
When the angel disappeared [Raptured], AT which point Peter, acknowledged the Lord had delivered him by the hand of an angel. “And having considered it, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, who is called Mark, where there were MANY having GATHERED together and praying.” Acts 12:12 Now there is subjective interpretation here; the use of John whose surname is Mark [a Gentile name, of Latin and Greek origin] is to express the hellenization of Jews in the last days that is a state of being in disobedience. Paul speaking of this day says, “For just as you once were DISOBEDIENT to God, but now have been shown mercy by the disobedience of these, so these [the Jews] also now have been DISOBEDIENT for your mercy, so that they also NOW may have MERCY shown them.” Romans 11:30-31 So Peter informs those gathered that they may GO and tell it to JAMES [meaning Jacob] the BROTHER of the LORD, reestablishing Israel’s SIGHT through the knowledge of God’s GRACE in recognising the LORD JESUS CHRIST as their Messiah. As Joseph, after he made himself known to his brothers, told his brothers to go to the Land of Canaan to tell Jacob their father. [Genesis 45:3-11] So we see Jacob being REVIVED from the grave through the knowledge of God’s grace, WITNESSED by Angels. [Genesis 45:27] That is Israel physically RETURNING to their own Land is an IMPORTANT aspect of THEIR redemption.
Note the Contrast, the first James [Jacob] was the brother of John, that is an expression of those SAVED by GRACE through FAITH. However the reference here is James [Jacob] the brother of Lord, the implication being, Israel being elected as through the FLESH. Point to bear in mind is this ministry is OUTSIDE the scope of the Church, the period the Gospel of Grace has expired at the Rapture, so God is NOW dealing with Israel to bring them to the kingdom through FIRE. When Israel came out of EGYPT only one thing counted, that is they were Jews and they believed the SIGNS Moses and Arron performed, and followed them out of Egypt, NO OTHER MERIT counted! God brought them out to fulfil His own promises to their fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, giving no mind to their unfaithfulness. This is the ministry God will once more perform through the hands of the two angels. [Ezekiel 20:42-44]
It is an expression of the PURE Mercy of God toward Israel. Paul speaking of THIS day said, “And so ALL Israel will be SAVED, as it has been written: “The One Delivering will come out of Zion, HE will REMOVE ungodliness from Jacob. And this is the covenant FROM Me to THEM, when I shall TAKE AWAY their SINS.” Romans 11:26-27 The point is Paul used these verses to apply to Israel in a DISTINCT way, after the FULLNESS of the Gentiles has come in that is AFTER the Rapture. And he attributes this qualification to NOTHING else but on the account of their fathers. [Romans 11:28-29] Paul presents the MERCY of God that is different from the gospel of Grace which is at work in the present, that is in a manner of the ministry of Moses and Arron leading Israel physically out of Egypt in the Grace of God.
Furthermore this view is supported by the final verse of Acts 12, “And Barnabas and Saul returned, having fulfilled the mission to Jerusalem, having taken with them John the one having been called Mark.” Acts 12:25. That is the apostles to the Gentiles returning from Jerusalem that is the heavenly one representing the church coming back with the Lord, and they took to themselves the Jews that came to faith represented in John whose surname is Mark. The completion of the body of Christ, the LAST being received as raised from the dead by the HOLY SPIRIT. [Ezekiel 37:14; Revelation 20:4]
Now there is a point to address, that is the “the house of Mary the mother of John, who is called Mark.” [SUBJECTIVE]: The house of Mary can be an expression for the Roman Catholic church which itself is in a state of disobedience. The Narrative being, at the Rapture, the Jews have come to understand the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Now in desperation they seek to find HIM in the only place that is left on earth that knows something about the Lord, that is the Roman Catholic church [Babylon]. As John says, “There were MANY having GATHERED together and praying.” However, now the eyes of Jews are being opened and their bondage is broken, so the call goes out, “COME OUT of her, My people, so that you may not have fellowship in her sins, and so that you may not receive of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4 which is expressed in Peter knocking on a door of the house of Mary to instruct them to “come out” and to return to their own land!! Note: Peter does not go in, into the house of Mary, this door is ALREADY CLOSED, but he instructs his people to come out and to Go to Jacob, Israel.
The whole of Acts 12, represents the state of the Jews from the death of James the brother of John to Peter being released after being bound for a while. The only reference to the Gentiles in this period is the house Mary, which itself is out of place! That is a Gentile church being present in the world during this moment of awakening of the Jews is EVIDENCE in itself of MISSING the RAPTURE, that is of a FALLEN church. This is followed by the antics of Herod, an expression of the Antichrist ENDING in destruction. In Herod we have the connection of the Roman Empire [Iron] and the surrounding nations [Clay] that is to represent the alliance of the Antichrist with the false prophet. Of Herod, Luke writes, “And having been EATEN by WORMS, he breathed his last.” Acts 12:23 This is to illustrate both the Antichrist and the false prophet being thrown ALIVE into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. [Revelation 19:20] As the Lord says, “To be cast into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:47-48
“And when they shall have COMPLETED their TESTIMONY, the BEAST coming up out of the ABYSS will make war with them, and will OVERCOME them, and will KILL them. And their body will be upon the street of the great city, which is called spiritually SODOM and EGYPT, where also their Lord was crucified.” [vs. 7-8
At the end of the 1260 days of their witness. The beast coming up the abyss, that is the beast whose deadly wound was healed which Revelation 13:3 speaks about. The same beast that represented the Roman Empire, whose body was once cast into the burning flame. Which now represents the IRON portion of the final kingdom, the angel of the bottomless Pit, Abaddon will make war with them and kill them. Now the question is can angels die as men? Angels can be struck down, Abaddon was counted as one that has died having received a mortal wound. “I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.” Daniel 7:11 So these two witnesses, the same angels that walked the plains of Sodom as men and brought about its destruction in fire and brimstone, will fall by the hands of the beast, the angel that rises from the bottomless pit.
Paul says of the Antichrist, “The man of lawlessness shall have been REVEALED—the son of destruction, the one opposing and exalting himself above every so-called god or object of worship—” & “For the mystery of lawlessness is working already; there is only the One at present restraining it, until He might be gone out of the midst. And then the lawless one will be REVEALED, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 7-8
Now how the beast that rises from the bottomless pit, will be manifested on the earth is a point worth considering. Daniel speaking of his FIRST appearance, writes “The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.” Daniel 7:24-25 Daniel here describes 11 horns that represent the Roman Empire, the last horn being the express image of the beast, the spirit that upheld that kingdom.
And Daniel DIRECTLY describes the character of the prince of the people of Rome, that is the angel Abaddon as, “When the transgressors have reached their FULLNESS, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. “Through his CUNNING he shall cause DECEIT to prosper under his rule; And he shall EXALT himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even RISE AGAINST the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.” Daniel 8:23-25 This is a direct description of the fourth beast which Daniel saw coming out of the sea. [Daniel 7:19-20] which bears a striking resemblance to the last horn described above.
However, the beast that is to come which John speaks of has no such representative. Now we have established, it is the same spiritual being, the Angel Abaddon which Daniel spoke of. John also described him as having 10 horns representing 10 kings which are part of his kingdom, however there is no description of an eleventh horn. John writes, “And a MOUTH was given to it, speaking great things and blasphemy, and it was given authority to act forty and two months. And it opened its mouth unto blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, those dwelling in heaven. And there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.” Revelation 13:5-7 John describes exactly the same things as Daniel which this beast will do, except this time a mouth is given to the beast DIRECTLY not as the previous time, “And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.” Daniel 7:8 The point being, the Angel Abaddon will himself be directly manifested on earth as a man, in the same manner as Gabriel and Michael.
The angel Abaddon is the embodiment of Sin [lawlessness], he is the full expression of it. He was described as being crushed to receive a deadly wound of death and thrown into the bottomless pit, when the Lord put away SIN. This is the one described as coming out of the abyss to go into destruction, which Paul describes as the son of destruction. So the first 1260 days are given to Gabriel and Michael manifested as men, the following 42 months likewise are given to Abaddon: the beast, and his false prophet who goes to deceive people saying they ought to worship the beast and to receive his mark. [Revelation 13:12-14]
Final point to consider is Paul in his description of the coming of the man of lawlessness, shows the Holy Spirit has been restraining his revelation for the last 2000 years. And Lawlessness abounding is a sign of his coming.
Sodom and Egypt: Here John describes Jerusalem as, “spiritually called Sodom and Egypt,” meaning Sin and Bondage. He is describing the spiritual condition of those to whom they are sent to minister, when half the children of Israel have turned away from God and the others are under bondage of the Law.
Sodom represents Sin, Ezekiel comparing Jerusalem to Sodom says, “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” Ezekiel 16:49-50 When we think of Sodom we automatically think of sexual sin, but that is not the point but a product of when the people’s hearts turn away from God through the abundance of their success, and the pursuit of life becomes to obtain the maximum amount of individual pleasure. Sodom was once described as the garden of Eden but the abundance of her success without grounds in God became a breeding ground for sin.
Egypt represents Bondage an expression for slavery, it is Hagar who was Sarah’s slave who was an Egyptian. Paul, teaching on the spiritual significance of the two covenants said, “For these are two covenants: one indeed from Mount Sinai, begetting unto slavery, which is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, who is our mother.” Galatians 4:24-26 Here Paul describes the whole of Jerusalem as in bondage.
“And those of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations GAZE upon their BODIES three and a half days, and they will not allow their bodies to be put into a tomb. And those dwelling on the earth REJOICE over them and make merry, and will send gifts to one another, because these two PROPHETS have TORMENTED those dwelling upon the earth.” [vs. 9-10]
The two Prophets are witnesses for the children of Israel. God said, “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.” Ezekiel 37:21 So the acts these two prophets will perform in the nations is for the purpose of bringing Israel back to their land, it is DISTINCT from the wrath of God which is yet to come. [Revelation 16] Though the acts are similar the purpose is different, it is to elicit repentance from Israel. As described above, the three signs which Moses was given to perform was to convince the children of Israel, God was delivering them, to bring them to the land He promised to their fathers. So these witnesses also perform these acts of turning water to blood and strike the nations where Israel is driven to with plagues, in order to bear witness to them that the time has come for them to return to their own land. During the first Exodus, the bible says,“The Egyptians urged the people, that they may send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “we shall all be dead.” Exodus 12:33 Likewise here.
So the nations have a moment of celebration, especially over these two witnesses who have been the means by which the acts of God were performed on all who dwell on the earth.
[Consider]: The dead bodies lay in the city of Jerusalem for three and half days, yet neither Israel nor the nations permitted them to be buried. The point is their witness will not be readily received by all of Israel.
“And after the three and a half days, the SPIRIT of LIFE from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and GREAT FEAR fell upon those beholding them. And they heard a great voice out of heaven, saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven [in the cloud], and their enemies beheld them. [vs. 11-12]
Here we see the two prophets being raptured, a cloud is a depiction of Rapture. None of those who dwell on the earth who witnessed the deeds done by these two prophets repented. Not until this great event when they were raised from the dead and taken up to heaven. Everyone, all their enemies saw them, while this became a testimony for some to turn to God, the rest were hardened.
The final point to consider is when these two witnesses were raised they received the Spirit of life from God, NOT the Holy Spirit. The difference is when we are raised up from the dead we have the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit Himself is our life through Christ. “Having been put to death indeed in the flesh, but having been made alive in the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:18 Peter says this of the Lord who is the firstborn from the dead in whose image we are created. Paul also affirms this point saying, “Now you are not in flesh but in Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Romans 8:9 The point is this supports the concept that the two witnesses are angels NOT mankind.
There is a difference between the Spirit of life Adam received when he was raised from the clay and the indestructible life we receive through Christ. Adam having the spirit of life was made lower than the angels, however we through Christ receive the Spirit of God and are elevated above the angels of God with Him. “Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to Him.” 1 Peter 3:21-22 That is the new birth, receiving the promise of the Spirit. “The blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Galatians 3:14
“And in that hour there was a GREAT EARTHQUAKE, and a TENTH of the CITY fell, and SEVEN thousand names of men were KILLED in the earthquake. And the rest became TERRIFIED and gave glory to the God of heaven.” [vs. 13]
[J.s] the city that is referred to here is Jerusalem, where the two prophets died and were raised back to life and taken up into heaven. This is the ONLY and LAST time repentance was actually recorded from among those who remain on the earth. The rest became terrified, is a reference to the inhabitants of Jerusalem who witnessed the destruction and death of the 7000, and acknowledge God by giving Him glory. In all the other times when judgement is poured out on the inhabitants of the earth, from the Sixth Trumpet to the Wrath of God being poured out, they blasphemed God and would not give Him glory nor repent from their deeds. [Revelation 9:20-21; 16:1-11] This is according to the SPHERE of influence limited to the temple of God, the altar and those who worship there, that is LIGHT to receive REPENTANCE will be only FROM among the Jews.
“The SECOND WOE has passed. Behold, the THIRD WOE is coming quickly.” [vs. 14]
The announcement of the passing of the Second “Woe” covers the period of time 1260 days from the closing of Age of Grace to the killing of the two prophets, which resulted in the repentance of Israel.
Which in proportion to the days Daniel prophesied about we can equate this to the time from beginning of the seven year covenant to the moment the daily sacrifice was stopped. The coming of the Third Woe, incorporates the coming time of setting up the abomination of desolation, which is a reference to the 42 months of the rule of the man of lawlessness to the point he conquers Israel to sit in the Temple of God.
SEVENTH TRUMPET: The Mystery Of God Completed.
“And the SEVENTH angel sounded his trumpet, and there were great voices in heaven, saying: “The KINGDOM of the WORLD has BECOME that of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign to the ages of the ages.” [vs. 15]
The Seventh Trumpet is the announcement of the beginning of the new age. When Christ was lifted up into heaven the next thing that followed was war in heaven and the casting out of the devil and his angels to the EARTH. Here also that is what is being announced is the beginning of Christ’s direct rule on the earth which will also be birthed through war. And the victory of the day to come is comparable to that of heaven. “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come, because the ACCUSER of our brothers has been THROWN DOWN, the one accusing them before our God day and night.” Revelation 12:10 This was the first celebration that was proclaimed in heaven, when heaven ITSELF was released from the presence of the accuser, through the victory of Christ. But before the second coming of the Lord, the wrath of God will be poured out on the earth.
So the Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet is the completion of the final ushering into the kingdom, the FIRST will be LAST. It started with Israel and ended with Israel. The Body of Christ is now Completed. However those who come to faith during this period will face consequences for their faith in God and Christ, which is the 42 months to come. John in the final chapters describes, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgement was given to them, and the souls of those having been BEHEADED because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those WHO DID NOT worship the beast, nor his image, and did not take the mark upon the forehead, and upon their hand.” Revelation 20:4 Worth to consider, beheading is a preferred method of religious persecution by Islam. The first and GREAT TRIBULATION described by Daniel was from Rome resulting in captivity, desolation and loss of life but the tribulation that is described by John is of both “Iron and Clay,” which includes forceful conversions where any resistance will result in loss of life. These are the final servants and brethren to be killed for their faith, which the Fifth Seal described, as those who come to the kingdom of God through fire. “A sea of glass mingled with fire, and those conquering over the beast, and over its image.” [Revelation 15:2-3] So as told in Chapter 10, the Mystery is now finished.
“And the TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS sitting on their thrones before God fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying: “We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One being and who was, that You have taken Your great power and have BEGUN to REIGN. And the NATIONS were enraged, and Your WRATH came, and the time for the DEAD to be JUDGED, and to give the REWARD to Your servants, the PROPHETS, and to the SAINTS, and to those fearing Your name, the small and the great, and to DESTROY those who are DESTROYING the EARTH.” [vs. 16-18]
The twenty-four elders are proclaiming what will take place in the consummation of the age; the coming kingdom of God on earth, the judgement of those who oppose and the reward of the redeemed. Note, only the representatives of the earth are the ones mentioned in this scene. In Chapter 12, where John gives a summary of events, the victory of heaven is described from the angels perspective, only.
So when Christ NOW comes on the EARTH to Rule as He did in Heaven the devil will again be thrown further down, as Isaiah said, “How you have FALLEN from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! you have been CAST DOWN to the EARTH, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15 [Revelation 20:1-3]
And Isaiah describes this day in these terms, “Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? — “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is Your apparel red, and Your GARMENTS like one who TREADS in the WINEPRESS? “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their BLOOD is SPRINKLED UPON My GARMENTS, and I have stained all My robes. For the DAY of VENGEANCE is in My heart, and the YEAR of MY REDEEMED has come.” Isaiah 63:1-4 Before the year of the redeemed that is the millennium reign of Christ on Earth starts, the Lord will remove all sources of offence from the earth. This is the judgement of the Dead, that is those who are dead in their sins. This is NOT the judgement of the Second death, which is a 1000 years later.
David, capturing the haughty hearts of mankind, as to stand against the rule of God and writes, “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.” Psalm 2:1-3 He is describing to us the final day when the armies of the beast [man of lawlessness] and the beast [false prophet] are gathered in their rage to make war against the Lamb. Their Judgement has now come, and John associating the coming of the Lord, to the prophecies of Isaiah described above says, “Having been CLOTHED with a GARMENT having been DIPPED in BLOOD. And His name is called The Word of God.” Revelation 19:13
The reward of the prophets and saints is to RULE over the earth with the Lord, as kings and priests. David writes, “He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” Psalms 2:7-9 And in the same manner the Lord says to us, “And the one overcoming and keeping My works until the end, I will give to him authority over the nations, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken in pieces—just as I also have received from My Father.” Revelation 2:26-27
The destruction of those who destroy the earth: Isaiah says of the devil, “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a WILDERNESS, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?” Isaiah 14:16-17 Barrenness, Deserts, Lifelessness, is the work of the devil, he is the destroyer of the earth. However, when Christ returns, the deserts will bloom and the oceans burst with life. [Ezekiel 47:8-9]
“And the TEMPLE of God in HEAVEN was opened, and the ARK of His COVENANT was seen in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.” [vs. 19]
This event reveals the Seven Bowls of the wrath of God. If we were to read the book of Revelation sequentially the chapter that follows here is the end of Chapter 15, “And after these things I looked, and the temple of the TABERNACLE of the TESTIMONY in heaven was opened. And the seven angels having the seven plagues came forth out of the temple, having been clothed in pure, bright linen, and having been girded with golden sashes around the chests.” Revelation 15:5-6 After which follows the 42 months when the wrath of God is poured out on those on earth which Chapter 16 describes.
The Question: What is the significance of the Holy of Holies in heaven being opened as to show the Ark of the His Covenant?
When Moses was instructed to build the tabernacle, Paul writes, “As Moses was divinely instructed, being about to complete the tabernacle. For He says, “See that you shall make all things ACCORDING to the PATTERN having been shown you in the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5 Paul shows the reason for the strict instruction was because what Moses was asked to build was to be a copy of a heavenly structure. And when Christ presented His blood offering He did so into the Holy of Holies of the True one NOT the Copy. “For Christ has entered NOT into holy places made by hands, COPIES of the TRUE ones, but INTO HEAVEN itself, now to appear for us in the presence of God.” Hebrews 9:24 The point is the Covenant of God was established both in heaven as well as on the earth. Temple for Temple, Ark for Ark. The Lord told His disciples saying, “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18
When the Lord offered Himself as a sacrifice on earth, it is recorded that, “And Jesus, having cried again in a loud voice, yielded up His spirit. And behold, the VEIL of the TEMPLE was torn into two from top to bottom. And the earth was shaken, and the rocks were split.” Matthew 27:50-51 The tearing of the veil was to expose the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, which only the high priest was to enter once a year with the blood of a sacrificial animal. [Hebrews 9:6-7] So by this one act the Lord rendered Temple worship on earth to be OBSOLETE. [Hebrews 7:18-19, 8:13] The wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles was now removed so that all through the body of Christ can now come to the Father through the One Spirit. [Ephesians 2:19-22] Temple worship in sacrifices and offering was NOW considered to be an act of Disobedience because it disregarded the offering of the Lord.
This is the finishing of the Mystery of God which the angel proclaimed in Rev. 10:7 that is Christ in ALL of us the hope of glory. [Colossians 1:26-27, Ephesians 3:4-6] That is THIS fact alone is what unites both Jew and Gentile, tearing down the separation to make one body out of the two.
Revelation 11 is ALL about the final gathering of the Jews, the Last to be included into the body of Christ. At the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, the Ark of His Covenant through which God separated Israel to Himself is fully revealed. It is not just a fleshly descendants of Abraham but those He covenanted to Himself through the Ark of His covenant. However, now that the LAST are included into the body of Christ, there is no longer a NEED for a COVENANT that separates Jew and Gentile, so the Ark of His Covenant in heaven is also seen AS IT WAS on earth, and Rendered Obsolete! From this point forward there is no more mention of Temples, from the time Christ rules on earth which Zechariah 14 describes to the final end of the NEW heaven and earth. [Revelation 21:22] And we all are considered the seed of Abraham, through faith in Christ.
“For you are ALL sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29
Bread Bait. 
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