THE WOMAN, THE CHILD AND THE DRAGON

After the sounding of the seventh trumpet, we once again enter a section that provides foundational understanding of events to come.

Revelation 12:1–2 “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

This is a vision that will make perfect sense to the Jewish people whose hearts soften and are receptive to the teaching of God’s tribulation witnesses and begin to read the New Testament scriptures.  The key to this vision is found in the Old Testament record of a dream of Joseph.

Genesis 37:5–11 “And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren….and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”

Jacob is the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.  The woman represents the nation of Israel, the Jews, who suffered much in preparation for the birth of the Messiah, Jesus.  The prophet Isaiah uses the same analogy of the nation of Israel giving birth to a man child.

Isaiah 66:6–8 “A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

Next John sees a great red dragon with seven heads with crowns and ten horns.  With his tail the dragon drags apart a third of the “stars of heaven” and casts them to earth. 

Revelation 12:3–4 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”

I believe this is telling us that a third of the angels that were in heaven chose to rebel against God and follow Satan, and that thought is supported in the following verses.  This is the only place in scripture that we are told the number of angels that chose to rebel with Satan.

The dragon does everything he can to prevent the birth of the child, Jesus the Messiah, and prevent Him from accomplishing God’s plan of redemption. 

Revelation 12:5-6 “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

Jesus, the Messiah, the promised Deliverer Who would one day rule the nations from the throne of David was born.  Maybe Satan actually thought he had finally won when Jesus was crucified.  When Jesus was resurrected from the grave in victory, however, and caught up to the throne of God, His victory was certain and only awaits God’s perfect timing to take His earthly throne.

Hebrews 10:10–13 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all….But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”

We know that Satan has had access to heaven to accuse those who have placed their faith in God and chosen to follow Him (cf v10). 

Revelation 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

After the sounding of the seventh trumpet, however, Michael and his angels are given the go ahead to throw Satan and his angels out of heaven to the earth—nevermore to be allowed in the presence of God.

Revelation 12:7–9 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

John makes it clear that the identity of the dragon is Satan (that old serpent, the Devil) and that the “stars of heaven” referenced in verse 4 are the fallen angels that chose to follow him.  Note that the most distinguishing characteristic of this being is that of being a deceiver.  The angels that followed him now know that; Adam and Eve know it; and every student of scripture learns that truth.

(to be continued…)

RESURRECTED WITNESSES AND A VISION OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

Having surmised in the previous post that God’s two special witnesses will be Moses and Elijah, we will pick up our stroll through Revelation at verse 5 of chapter 11.

Revelation 11:5–6 “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”

Though the people of the world will want to get rid of the two witnesses, they cannot because they are endowed with supernatural power from God.  Anyone that tries to hurt them will be killed by fire that comes from their mouth.  I don’t know if this means literal fire or is just a way of picturing the fact that their words have the power to kill.  The witnesses are also given the authority and power to keep it from raining or turn waters into blood or cause plague to strike the earth at any time they so choose.

Revelation 11:7–10 “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

When their appointed time of 1260 days of ministry have been completed, the “beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit” will make war against them and be allowed to kill them.  So far, the only things we have seen ascend from the bottomless pit are the locusts.  I hadn’t noticed this before, but this seems to connect the beast with the king of the locusts and would again connect to Satan or one of his chief followers.  Maybe he was the angel allowed to descend to the pit to release his demons and to ascend with them upon their release.

The dead bodies of the two witnesses will be left on display in the streets of Jerusalem; they won’t even be given a burial.  We know it is Jerusalem since it is identified as the place where Jesus was crucified.  This verse seems to indicate that Jerusalem will be a big, influential and strong city at that time.  Sadly, it is compared spiritually to Sodom and Egypt—both known for worshipping idols and rejecting the one true God.  This seems to indicate that although the Jewish people will experience great awakening and will turn to their Messiah during the tribulation, it will not necessarily be as a whole in the land of Israel proper. 

People all over the world will be able to see the dead bodies of the witnesses in the streets of Jerusalem for 3.5 days.   That revelation must have really puzzled John, but is not at all surprising to those of us reading this prophecy today considering current technology.  Evidently, the effects of their supernatural power has been felt worldwide since the people on earth in general will be rejoicing that they have been put out of commission.  It seems their death will be declared a worldwide holiday; people will even send gifts to one another as they celebrate the death of these two individuals.  Why?  Because they had tormented those dwelling on planet earth for 3.5 years.

Revelation 11:11–12 “And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”

Suddenly, after 3.5 days, God resurrects the two witnesses to life causing those who witness it to be afraid.   A great voice from heaven calls out for them to “Come up,” and they ascend to heaven in a cloud in view of their enemies.

Revelation 11:13–14 “And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.  The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”

The same hour that the witnesses are resurrected, Jerusalem experiences a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city falls.  Seven thousand men die in the earthquake, and those left alive are really frightened.  Another group identified as “the remnant” were also afraid, but they respond by giving glory to God.  The scripture often speaks of this remnant, a reference to the continual small group of Jewish people who remain faithful and obedient to God throughout the years.  It is God’s purpose to refine the people of Israel through the tribulation period to produce a spiritually healthy remnant of Jewish people through whom He will fulfill His covenant promises to Abraham. 

We have now come to the third woe pronounced by the angel—the seventh trumpet.

Revelation 11:15–18 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”

When the 7^th trumpet is blown, the inhabitants of heaven begin rejoicing because the eternal Kingdom of “our Lord and His Christ” will soon be established on earth.  Never again will Satan be allowed to accuse and reign over mankind.  This is, of course, with the perspective of knowing that there are a few battles left in the war; but the victory is sure.

Notice what the 24 elders are saying as they fall before the Lord in worship.  They are giving thanks to the “Lord God Almighty,” who is, always has been, and always will be.  They are thankful that He is taking back total control of the universe and planet earth.  The wording indicates that He has been the ultimate ruling power all along, though Satan has been allowed a temporary reign as the god of this world because of man’s choice to sin.

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

The elders appear to be talking about the saints and prophets and those that fear God’s name in reference to beings distinct from themselves, affirming my thoughts on chapter 4.  They speak of judgment to come—both of believers and “those who destroy the earth.”  The judgment of His servants is regarding rewards for service; for unbelievers it refers to eternal condemnation.

This whole section seems to be talking about things not yet completed but “soon” will be.  Those rewarded will be the prophets (forth tellers and foretellers), the saints (those who are holy, set apart, sanctified), and those who fear (are in awe of) God’s name (authority, character).  Those destroyed will be those who are destroyers; they obviously have no respect for God or His creation.

Revelation 11:19 “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”

This verse tells us that John watches as the doors of the temple of God in heaven open, and he sees “the ark of his testament.”  I personally believe this is the ark that has been missing all these many years.  I know that the tabernacle and temple and their contents were patterned on things in the heavens.  However, I believe the original ark is the one that is associated with the promise of God’s covenant to the Jews and is significant to the fulfillment of promise and prophecy.  While on earth, the ark and its mercy seat were representative of God’s throne.  God’s throne in heaven is unique.  I believe the ark is now in heaven as a testimony to His covenant.

I also thought about the fact that God’s throne on earth now is the heart of believers.  The ark is no longer needed to function as originally intended.  It’s only validity now is as a testimony to God as a covenant-keeper.

Similar to the seventh seal judgment, the seventh trumpet judgment causes people on earth to experience lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.  

This appears to mark the mid-point of the seven year tribulation period since the witnesses are on earth for 3.5 years and Jesus chooses this point to explain to John all that leads up to Satan’s expulsion from heaven to rule on earth through the beast (whom I believe he indwells) for the last 3.5 years.

(to be continued…)

“MY” TWO WITNESSES - MOSES & ELIJAH

Continuing our stroll through Revelation, we come to the point where we are introduced to two witnesses that are empowered by the LORD to serve with supernatural power and protection during the first half of the seven-year tribulation period.

Revelation 11:1–2 “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

John is given a measuring stick and told to measure the temple of God, the altar and those that worship there.  The fact that John is told to measure certain things seems to indicate that these items, or what they represent, are treasured by the LORD.  The temple was first established to represent God’s presence among His people, His desire to fellowship with them.  The altar represents the great sacrifice that He was willing to make to redeem those He loves from sin.  The worshippers represent those that have chosen to accept His sacrifice on their behalf and who desire intimate fellowship with Him.  Though the physical temple will be desecrated and the sacrifice of Jesus scorned by the Antichrist and those that follow Him, those that worship Him will emerge victorious when He returns to establish His earthly kingdom and build a new and glorious temple.

John was specifically instructed not to measure the outer court because it had been given to the Gentiles for 42 months—3.5 years, the last half of the tribulation period. It’s like John is being told that although the Gentiles will be in control for that period of time, Jesus will preserve that which is holy and separate to Him—including the worshippers.  This seems to infer that Israel is in control during the first 3.5 years, since the antichrist takes control the second 3.5 years.  This understanding is supported by the prophet Daniel.

Daniel 9:27 “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease….”

            Reminder:  one week = seven years

Once the temple is rebuilt, it will be a place of worship to God once again during the first 3.5 years.  This will be a time of opportunity for the Jews to turn back to God in faith.  After the first 3.5 years Antichrist will step in to desecrate the holy place.  Paul talks about this in his letter to the Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

Revelation 11:3 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”

Note that the angel identifies the two witnesses as representing Him; I believe this identifies the mighty angel as Jesus.  The whole purpose of these witnesses is to witness to the truth of God’s word and the salvation that is available to all through Jesus.  They will not be politically correct.  They will identify sin and man’s need for deliverance from that sin.  Their message will cause people to hate them and desire to get rid of them.

Revelation 11:4-6 “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”

The two witnesses are identified as “the two olive trees and the two candlesticks” that stand before God.  I believe these are the same to olive trees spoken of by the prophet Zechariah.

Zechariah 4:2-3 & 11-14 “And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof….Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?  And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?  And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.  Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

In Zechariah the immediate application would seem to be to Joshua and Zerubbabel, but I am sure that the primary application is to these two future witnesses to “the whole earth.”   Just as Joshua and Zerubbabel were standing as God’s spirit-filled representatives to Judah at the time of Zechariah’s ministry, these two witnesses will be standing as God’s spirit-filled representatives to the whole earth during the first part of that tribulation period.  I believe the Spirit will be ministering on earth during the tribulation or 70^th week, just as He did during the first 69 weeks of that time prophesied by Daniel. 

That we are talking about two special individuals is clear from the context of the passage. The word for witness includes the implication of being a martyr—which will be true of them as we find out in the following verses.  They will prophesy (foretell and tell forth) the truth of God for 1,260 days or 3.5 years (v3).  They will wear the traditional “sackcloth” identified with the Old Testament prophets. 

Since they are not specifically identified by Jesus, we can only speculate as to their identity.  I used to believe that it would be Enoch and Elijah since they are the two men that scripture reveals never saw physical death.  Scripture tells us in Hebrews 9:27 that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”  This is, of course, excluding the generation that will “not sleep” as identified by Paul.

1Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed….”

However, I believe the writer to the Hebrews provides further insight.

Hebrews 11:5 “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

Remember, Enoch was not a Jew.  God’s primary focus during the 70^th week is upon the people of Israel.  It makes better sense that the witnesses in Jerusalem be Jewish.  I believe that Enoch is a type of the raptured body of believers who are rescued from the outpouring of God’s wrath that will occur basically concurrent with the tribulation period. 

We are told in Malachi that Elijah will be sent before the Lord Jesus returns, and I believe that identifies him as one of the witnesses.

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.”

I tend to agree with many others that believe that the other witness will be Moses because the powers demonstrated by these two men are very similar to those that Moses and Elijah demonstrated during their time as prophets.  The fact that they appeared with Jesus when the three disciples were allowed to witness the glorified Jesus also seems to set them apart as special servants of God.

(to be continued…)

A MIGHTY ANGEL WITH A MESSAGE BOTH SWEET AND BITTER

With this post we encounter another one of those parenthetical inserts that give us foundational information for better understanding of God’s actions as events continue to unfold (similar to what was done in chapters 4-5).  We are paused between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments, between the second and third warning woes announced by the angel.

Revelation 10:1–4 “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.”

                                                                                       

John sees another (different) mighty angel/messenger come down from heaven that is clothed with a cloud; a rainbow is on his head, his face is as the sun, and his feet look like pillars of fire.  As you continue reading in this chapter and follow the pronouns, by the time you come to chapter 11:3, it seems to identify this angel as Jesus (“my two witnesses…”).  There are other places in the scripture where the pre-incarnate Jesus is referred to as the angel of the Lord:

When talking to Hagar – Genesis 16:10 “And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.”

When talking to Abraham re his willingness to sacrifice Isaac – Genesis 22:15-16 “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.”

When appearing to Moses – Exodus 3:2 “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”

In the angel’s hand is a little book that is open.  He sets His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the earth.  I would assume this to be a symbolic gesture indicating that what He is about to read from the book will affect the whole earth (land and sea).  He cries out with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth (cf Rev. 5:5), and when He cries out, 7 thunders speak.  John is forbidden—by a voice from heaven, not the angel—to write what he heard the 7 thunders say, so it is futile to speculate.  I tend to think that the crying out of the mighty angel and the expression of the 7 thunders were one and the same. 

   

There is an interesting cross-reference in Psalms re the voice of the Lord and thunder. 

Psalm 29:3-9 “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.  The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.  The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.  The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.  The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.  The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.”

“when he had cried” v3 – The Greek for when includes while as a possible choice, and I think it seems to be the better choice.

The picture seems to be of a voice that speaks with power, authority, force, and supernatural strength and knowledge—a voice that reverberates with divine power and truth.

Obvious question—Why would the Holy Spirit inspire John to write that he heard something and then not allow him to reveal what he heard?

Revelation 10:5–7 “And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”

There are also other places in the scripture where God swore by Himself since there is nothing of more value or power to swear by.

Genesis 22:16 “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.”

Isaiah 45:23 “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

Jeremiah 22:5 “But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.”

Hebrews 6:13 “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself.”

What does He swear?  “…that there should be time no longer.”  God is outside the dimension of time.  The dimension of time belongs to man.  The meaning of this verse seems to tie directly to the next verse.  It is an indication that the mystery of God (His complete plan of redemption and the establishment of His kingdom on planet earth) should be finished, should come to pass, should unfold on the world scene just as He had foretold through His prophets.  This has been a mystery since the full truth could not be understood until the appropriate time in the ages of mankind had come.

Evidently, when the angel with the 7th trumpet begins to blow, this will usher in the “great tribulation.”  It is interesting that the word days (plural) is used to describe the voice of the 7th angel.  This supports the concept of the 7 vials as an ongoing result of the sounding of the 7th trumpet.

Revelation 10:8–11 “And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

John doesn’t hesitate when he is told to go and take the book from the hand of the angel.  I keep reminding myself that John was the beloved disciple and had a special relationship to Jesus.  I also know that he would never have presumed to try and take the book had it not been for the authority from heaven directing him to do so.  John is instructed to eat the book when it is given to him.  He is warned that even though it may taste sweet, it will make him sick to his stomach as he begins to digest its contents.  The contents, I believe, spoke of God’s glorious victory and reign (sweet to the taste), but also of the terrible things that would have to happen on earth before He took His throne in Jerusalem (made the belly bitter).

This is not a new concept.  Ezekiel had a similar experience.

Ezekiel 3:1-4 “Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.”

Obviously, asking John to eat the scroll is an expression telling him to absorb the contents.  Just as with Ezekiel, John is then told to go and share the message—Ezekiel with the people of Israel and John with many peoples, nations, tongues and kings.  John is still prophesying through the written word today.  This is as was intended from the beginning of the revelation.  He was commanded to write (Rev. 1:19) and then he was told what not to write (Rev. 10:4).  The whole purpose of the Revelation was to enlighten the churches and tribulation saints on a need to know basis as determined by the Father until Jesus returns as King.

(to be continued…)

THE SIXTH TRUMPET -- SATAN'S ARMY OF 200,000,000

In this post we have come to the sixth trumpet judgment—the second judgment pronounced as a special woe by the angel that gave warning preceding the final three trumpet judgments.

Revelation 9:12–19 “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

A voice of command comes from the golden altar before God ordering the release of the four angels bound in/at/upon the great river Euphrates.

Who are the 4 angels?  Why were they bound? 

I had a thought that maybe the four angels were the main “principalities or powers” connected to the countries bordering the Euphrates—but my map only shows Iraq, Syria and Turkey.  It’s hard to tell from the maps I’ve seen, but it looks like one end of it is at the Iranian border where it connects with the Tigris and flows into the Persian Gulf, so maybe that could be number 4.  We know from Daniel that there are evil spiritual forces associated with nations.

Daniel 10:12–13 “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”

These angels had been “prepared” (the Greek references internal fitness) for their actions at this specific point in time—“an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year.”  They are eager to begin killing a third part of men on planet earth. 

So many people fall for the deceptions of the enemy.  False teachers and deceitful miracle workers are instruments of Satan and his forces of fallen angels and demons.   These evil spiritual powers also manifest as spirit guides and apparitions of Mary with deceitful messages that encourage people to trust them.   The truth is that though they may appear as angels of light, they only want to “steal, kill and destroy.”  They have a single-minded goal—to keep people from saving faith.

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

2 Corinthians 11:13–15 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”

2 Corinthians 4:3–4 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

When the four bound angels are let loose, they are able to gather an army that is 200,000,000 strong—I would assume from the territory in which they have been bound.  It would seem that Satan and his armies have a great stronghold over the people in that area, and I believe that to be the current day reality. 

As John tries to describe this army, it is obvious he is trying to describe something very unfamiliar.  This is definitely a section that could give speculation to his trying to describe modern day weaponry.  The connecting factor in the words used to describe the breastplates seems to be color and appearance.  John sees an army approaching with a vivid appearance (flaming, deep blue, lemon yellow).  The head of a lion would indicate danger and something to fear (not usually associated with the head of a horse).  Their mouths are not just biting; they are projecting fire (that looks like lightning), smoke and brimstone (flashing).  This could be representative of gunfire or explosions.  As John continues his description, he makes it clear that this “horse” can attack from his rear as well as head on.  These “horses” have tails with heads of their own that can inflict death as well.  There is obviously much room for speculation here, but I believe those that are searching the scripture during that time will have no problem connecting these verses with the reality.

Revelation 9:20-21 “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”

It would appear to me that since these armies are coming by land and seem to originate around the Euphrates, the third of men slain by them would be in that broad general region.  The rest of men (left on the earth), the remaining 2/3, that were not killed still did not repent of their evil deeds.  This would even make more sense to me in that we tend to think—those things may happen in that part of the world, but that could never happen “here.” 

They continue to worship devils and false gods, idols of their own making.  These idols represent material wealth and they are available to every strata of society—from the wealthy to the poor (gold to wood).  These idols are lifeless and powerless and those that worship them are just like them, as so aptly described by the psalmist.

Psalms 135:15–18 “The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.”

These unrepentant men continue to kill each other without guilt or conscience.  They continue to use drugs, magic, sorcery and witchcraft.  I believe that Satan and his demons will be empowering more and more people in this area as time goes by.  They continue in all kinds of sexual immorality thinking only of pleasing themselves.  They continue to take what they want, by theft if necessary.  The motto of these people seems to be, “Whatever makes me happy is OK,” or “It’s all about me.”

This of course brings to mind the verse concerning the days of Noah.

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

(to be continued…)