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Post by Parker on Jan 16, 2023 5:56:22 GMT -8
The Two Witnesses
When will this Tribulation end? During the interlude between the 6th and seventh trumpet, God gives us extra, encouraging information about His plan for the end.
In the next 42 months, the “Time of the Gentiles” will run out. in Luke 21:24, Jesus talked about how Jerusalem will be overcome by Gentiles in this last half of the Tribulation. Their hostility towards Israel will peak when the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel. A vicious anti-Semitism will follow, concentrated on Israel.
John is told to measure the temple and measure (count) the worshippers, as God prepares to retake the scene. The Jews will have recently rebuilt this temple in Jerusalem, putting us back on Old Testament ground.
During these 42 months, we meet two witnesses who prophesy for God in sackcloth. We don’t know who they are (except that they are human). It might be Elijah, since he was predicted to return (Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:11). John the Baptist may be the other. Both knew what it was to oppose the forces of darkness and to stand alone for God against impossible odds. John the Baptist witnesses for the New Testament; Elijah witnesses for the Old Testament.
These two witnesses are lights before the powers of darkness and will likely appear in the first half of the Tribulation up until the Beast appears. The Holy Spirit fills them with miraculous power to call fire down from heaven (sounds like Elijah in 1 Kings 18:38 and 2 Kings 1:10). John the Baptist also announced the One who would baptize with fire (see Matthew 3:11). They also can control rainfall, turn water into blood, and strike the earth with any plague.
In spite of the opposition, the two men are immune to all attacks until their mission is completed. (By the way, all of God’s people are until God accomplishes His purpose through them.)
They will prophesy for God for 1260 days, and then their testimony will be complete. Then, and only then, will God allow their lives to be touched. Halfway through the Tribulation, the Antichrist, also known as “the Beast,” will get the whole world under his control and kill these two witnesses. (The Greek word for witness is martyr.) They will be killed on camera in Jerusalem, the same sad designation, “where also our Lord was crucified” (v. 8). Their bodies (carcasses) will be left on the street like roadkill.
As their bodies rot in the street, the world will be watching. They’re startled to hear the witnesses are dead. Some will be skeptical. All the television networks will have their cameras trained on their bodies. For the days they lay there, the world will celebrate. People will give gifts to each other like it’s the Devil’s Christmas.
Then three and a half days later, while the world watches, God will breathe life back into the witnesses and they’ll stand upon their feet (literally, “resurrect”). Everyone will hear a voice from heaven say, “Come up here” (v. 12). And the witnesses will be caught up into heaven in a cloud of glory.
In that exact hour, a huge earthquake shakes Jerusalem, killing 7,000 people of prominence. In the aftermath, some turn to God, overwhelmed by His power; others are filled with terror; and still, others are furious because God is judging sin, going against the lie they believed that God never punishes evil.
This ends the second woe. The third woe begins when Satan, one of the personalities, is cast down to earth. You can just imagine the havoc that will cause.
Next: A broad outline of coming events ushers us to the door of eternity.
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Post by Parker on Jan 17, 2023 5:40:01 GMT -8
Interlude: A View of Heaven When Hell’s on Earth
John’s revelation continues to unfold future events on earth as God reveals them to him in his vision. The scene John saw next was in heaven.
In the middle of all the woes and judgments of the Tribulation, God inserts now an encouragement for the Christians left on the earth. Most of those who have turned to Jesus Christ for salvation have been martyred, and those who are sealed must continue on earth through these intense days. God now gives them a glimpse of glory so they’ll know His promised rescue is coming.
“Then the seventh angel sounded [the trumpet] …” (v. 15). This event is so important to understanding the rest of the book, that it deserves a pause. In God’s program, this chapter brings us chronologically to the breathtaking entrance of eternity where the mystery of God finally is revealed. The Holy Spirit now summarizes events that lead us as far as Revelation 21 where eternity begins. This broad outline ushers us to the door of eternity.
At the opening of the seventh seal, there is silence in heaven. Then, immediately after the seventh trumpet sounds, “loud voices in heaven” begin to sing. The host of heaven sees the end of evil at hand. Satan’s kingdom will crumble and be delivered to the Lord Jesus Christ to rule. Revelation 19 will unpack the details of this upset when the Lord Jesus puts down rebellion.
This revelation of God’s Kingdom come causes the 24 elders sitting before God on their thrones to fall on their faces in worship. They praise God that finally, He will take His rightful place. Their adoration prompts the church in heaven to worship and celebrate the coming of Christ to the earth.
But even as worship fills the halls of heaven, rebellion still sweeps the earth. The nations are filled with rage at God’s judgment, revealing how man’s stubborn rebellion will continue to the very end. They’ve believed the lie that God doesn’t judge sin and think we only get better every day—while, actually, we just get worse.
As part of this summary, we learn that the dead then will be judged for their sin at the Great White Throne judgment (see Revelation 20:11-15). God will judge sin righteously and reward the faithful graciously. The Old Testament saints and Tribulation saints will stand before Him and be rewarded for their faith as the kingdom begins. The church has already stood before the Lord at the Bema Seat and received the crowns they wear on their heads (we’ve seen them on the 24 elders).
And then in summary, we read how God will “destroy those who destroy the earth” (v. 18), specifically: Babylon, the Beast, the false prophet, and Satan.
The next scene we see ushers us to the glad gate of eternity. The doors of God’s temple in heaven fly open, and the Ark of His Covenant is clearly seen surrounded by flashes of lightning and thunder, an earthquake, and a fierce hailstorm.
Revelation 11 opens with the measuring of the temple on earth and closes with the opening of the temple in heaven. It summarizes for us what will be revealed in detail in Revelation 16—19.
Next: Meet the seven cast members in the final conflict of the age-old drama between good and evil.
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Post by Parker on Jan 18, 2023 4:38:13 GMT -8
Who’s Who in Revelation
In this cosmic war, John next presents a cast of characters as symbols in this age-old drama between good and evil, light and darkness, the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. Seven characters represent the natural and supernatural worlds. To understand the drama of Revelation, get to know these symbolic signs.
#1 The Woman—Israel (vv. 1-2)
The entire book of Revelation revolves around her. Who is this woman? Genesis 37:9 decodes her for us, with identifying marks of the sun, moon, and stars. She symbolizes the nation Israel.
The woman is being tormented. Satan knew Jesus Christ would come from Israel and has hated her from the start. (See Genesis 3:15.)
To get away from Satan, the woman runs to the wilderness, where God sustains and protects her.
#2 The Red Dragon—Satan (vv. 3-4)
The red dragon is clearly identified as Satan in Revelation 12:9 as “that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.” He’s “red” because he’s been a murderer from the beginning; a “dragon” describes his vicious character. Originally, he was created as Lucifer, son of the morning (see Ezekiel 28:12-19), but he is now the epitome of evil and the most dangerous being in God’s creation.
The dragon’s seven heads suggest the perfection of wisdom which characterized Satan when he was the “covering cherub” (see Ezekiel 28:14). He’s smart and clever and wise. His ten horns suggest the final division of the Roman Empire, dominated by Satan and his final effort to rule the world. The crowns represent kingly authority.
Can’t you just picture this hideous dragon, sweeping his tail across the sky and dragging away a third of the stars of heaven? This pictures the rebellion in heaven when one-third of the angelic host followed Satan to their own destruction (see Daniel 8:10; Jude 1:6).
The dragon hates Jesus Christ, because Genesis 3:15 predicts the Child would be Satan’s undoing. He waits for the woman to give birth so he can devour the child.
#3 The Child of the Woman—Jesus Christ (vv. 5-6)
The wonderful “male child” is the Lord Jesus Christ, who will “rule all nations with a rod of iron.” When Jesus Christ returns, He will put down all rebellion.
“And her Child was caught up to God and His throne” speaks of Jesus’ ascension. The Gospels emphasize the death of Christ. The Epistles emphasize the resurrection of Christ. And Revelation emphasizes His ascension.
#4 Michael the Archangel Wars with the Dragon (vv. 7-12)
It’s hard to imagine, but John tells us “war broke out in heaven.” The creature warring against God is no other than “the old serpent” from the Garden of Eden. Then up steps Michael, an archangel, whose specific ministry is to protect Israel (Daniel 10:13). Once again, a fierce struggle breaks out, but Michael and his angels prevail, and Satan and his angels are thrown out of heaven. A mighty cheer breaks out from among the redeemed.
The Dragon Persecutes the Woman (vv. 13-16)
When the dragon lands on earth, he immediately goes after the woman. This last wave of anti-Semitism will be the worst to roll over the world.
Here in the Great Tribulation, Israel can’t deliver themselves, nor will anyone help them. But God provides for them and sustains them with manna from heaven, possibly the same way He did when they wandered in Exodus.
#5 The Remnant (v. 17)
When the dragon sees how God protects the woman, he shifts his strategy to attack “the rest of her offspring”—perhaps the 144,000 who have been sealed.
#6 & 7 The Final Two (ch. 13)
Two final characters are both empowered and controlled by Satan. The wild beast out of the sea, the Antichrist, represents political power. The wild beast out of the earth, the False Prophet, is a religious leader who leads the world in worship of the Antichrist.
Now we’re at the midpoint of the Tribulation when the Antichrist sets himself up as God (see 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Next: Meet the final two of the seven players.
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Post by Parker on Jan 19, 2023 4:58:44 GMT -8
Two Wild Beasts—the Antichrist and False Prophet
We’re engaged in a cosmic war, with characters symbolically described representing Israel, Satan, Michael the archangel, and of course, Jesus Christ, the victor. Now John describes the final two of the seven players. These are Satan’s agents: The wild beast out of the sea—a political power; and the wild beast out of the earth—a religious leader.
John pictures Satan standing on the shore and calling the wild beast out of the world, like the restless sea. This is the Antichrist, Satan’s masterpiece. His seven heads and ten horns and crowns link him directly to the dragon, and Satan gives him his power, throne, and authority. Of course, making yourself equal with God is blasphemy, but it fits Satan’s primary ambition to be worshipped as God.
Old Testament Daniel’s prophecy pictures this wild beast out of the sea. At the time John wrote Revelation, the first three beasts—Babylon, the lion; Media-Persia, the bear; and Graeco-Macedonia, the panther—had all been fulfilled. John now focuses on the fourth beast, the Roman Empire, because it had appeared—it was a current event. The little horn of Daniel 7 and the wild beast of Revelation 13 are identical.
The wild beast, the Man of Sin and Antichrist, is the final world dictator. The last verse of Revelation 13 identifies the number of the beast as 666. Even today the stage is being set in world politics, revealing what can be fulfilled—and Satan is going to supply the man. The Antichrist is the closest to an incarnation of Satan Scripture describes.
In his meteoric rise to power, the Antichrist appears to have risen from the dead (impersonating Jesus Christ). But only the Lord Jesus Christ can raise the dead. (See what Jesus says about this in John 5:21-29.)
The Antichrist’s fake resurrection will be the big lie of the Tribulation (see 2 Thessalonians 2:11). Those who reject Jesus’ resurrection will buy the fake one. The Antichrist will fool the world. Believers say, “Christ is risen!” And the boast of the unsaved will be: “So is Antichrist!” The Antichrist will promise peace and the people will put him into office. He’ll talk big and people will love his charisma. This is Satan’s supreme moment, and it will last three and a half years.
The Antichrist will rule the world like no one has ever done. God tells His own, “Don’t resist him,” instead, bear with the trials patiently.
The second wild beast is a religious leader, who most certainly will come from Israel. He has two horns like a lamb, imitating the Lord Jesus. But this pseudo-lamb doesn’t “take away the sin of the world,” he adds and multiplies it in the world. He will talk a lot about loving everyone, but underneath he’s a dangerous beast. He presents the world with something new to worship, the Man of Sin, the last world dictator.
In Satan’s power, both the Antichrist and the False Prophet can heal and work miracles. Their signs awe everyone and a strong delusion sweeps the world, with the exception of God’s elect who cannot be deceived. The Antichrist will put his own image in the temple at Jerusalem, just as Jesus described as the abomination of desolation (see Matthew 24:15). This image will appear to breathe and speak. Everyone is forced to bow and worship the image or else be killed. In order to buy or sell, they also must receive a mark on their right hand or forehead that signifies allegiance to the Beast.
Today we have shadows of how this prophecy can certainly happen. Better than speculation, we should spend our time telling others of Jesus Christ that we might reduce the population of those who have to go through the Tribulation.
Next: Previews of coming attractions—but for a special audience.
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Post by Parker on Jan 20, 2023 6:00:07 GMT -8
Interlude: A View of the Future
As we walk through the days of the Tribulation, John continues to narrate the vision as the story continues to unfold. This chapter contains previews of coming attractions—but with a special audience in mind.
Revelation 14 records a message to those in a daily war against Satan and his henchmen. Will it turn out OK for us?
Yes, John reports. You will be harassed and sacrificed like sheep. But your sacrifice will not be meaningless.
How will God’s people make it through this period if they refuse to receive the mark of the beast? What will happen to the two beasts?
The two wild beasts are only half the story. Now John reveals the other side of the picture—the victorious stance of the Lamb and His followers in a future so real he writes about it as if it has already happened. (Chronologically it will happen in Revelation 16:17—22:5.)
Here’s the scene: The Shepherd stands on Mount Zion with 144,000 sheep and now identifies Himself as the Lamb. And no, He didn’t lose one! The Lamb—not the two beasts—has the last word. Babylon—the great political, commercial, and religious capital of the world—will fall. The followers of the Beast will be judged. Even though many of Jesus’ own will die for Him, they will win in every way that matters.
Then a voice comes from heaven, “like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder” (v. 2). And the voice seemed like music, singing a new song which only the redeemed could sing.These144,000 have kept themselves pure when immorality spread like a virus. They refused to believe the lies of the Beast.
John then saw an angel in a line with six other angels, flying mid-heaven shouting, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come” (v. 7). This is God’s final call to the entire world.
Another angel announces the fall of Babylon, the fountainhead of every false religion. A third angel declares that anyone who received the mark of the beast would fall under God’s wrath.
Many of God’s Tribulation saints will lay down their lives for Christ, but during this horrific season, it will be better to die than to live. They will have rest from their sorrows, their works will follow them, and the Lord will reward them for their faithfulness, patience, and good work.
John then gets another spectacular view—on a white cloud, the Son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand descends from heaven (see Matthew 24:30). This is our Lord Jesus, the hero of Revelation.
An angel cries out, “It’s harvest time!” And the Lord gives a mighty sweep of His sickle over the earth in a single stroke. The Old Testament spoke of this as “the Day of the Lord.” The angel gathered from the earth those who will be judged in God’s great wine press. In Isaiah’s day, men would get into the winepress barefooted to tread out the grapes. The red juice would stain their clothes. In this picture, the Lord Jesus has blood on His beautiful garments as though He had trodden the winepress. When Christ came the first time, He shed His blood for all mankind, but some rejected it. Now He is trodding down the wicked, and it is their blood that is shed. This will be Armageddon—the mount of slaughter that will cover all of Israel in a final war beginning in the middle of the seven years of tribulation and is finished when Jesus Christ returns to the earth.
With this future view in mind, John unpacks the final judgments next, leading up to Christ’s victorious return putting an end to the Great Tribulation.
Next: The final set of judgments pour out on the earth.
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Post by Parker on Jan 21, 2023 6:07:51 GMT -8
The Worst is Yet to Come
If you thought the worst was over, take a deep breath. The worst is yet to come. The seven seals are now opened, the seventh trumpet has blasted, and now comes the seven bowls of wrath to pour out on the wicked earth.
In a brief interlude before the angels pour out the bowls of God’s wrath, now finished, John ushers us to heaven where we see another sign, a dress rehearsal of the last act of man’s day on earth. These extra details John began giving us in Revelation 12 retrace events with added detail.
God’s wrath is now at its zenith. He has been slow to anger, but here ends His longsuffering. God brings earth’s sordid tragedy of sin to its conclusion.
And watching it all from a heavenly perspective are those who gave their lives in the Tribulation yet did not lose their song. They’re standing on “a sea of glass mingled with fire,” a picture of the Beast’s persecution, singing “the song of Moses” that celebrates God’s deliverance, salvation, and faithfulness and the song of the Lamb.
From this worship service, the temple of the tabernacle opens in heaven so seven angels with seven golden bowls can come forward. They’re dressed for priestly service. In Israel, a priest would carry a gold bowl of blood into the Holy Place every year as a symbol of redemption for sin. But with that gift rejected, now sin must be judged. God acts in justice, and the wrath of the Lamb will startle the world.
“Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth” (16:1), directed the voice from the temple. Yes, that’s the Lord Jesus Christ in full charge. The order is given, and the seven angels now execute His command.
Pouring out the first bowl: “A foul and loathsome sore” on everyone with the mark of the beast. These putrefying sores are worse than leprosy or cancer. God reveals physically what man is morally: utterly corrupt. This plague reminds us of the sixth plague in Egypt (see Exodus 9:8-12; Moses predicted this judgment in Deuteronomy 28:15, 27, 35).
Pouring out the second bowl: The sea becomes blood and everything in it dies. The sea becomes a grave of death instead of a womb of life. Like in the first plague of Egypt, carcasses float to the surface and line the shore.
Pouring out the third bowl: Rivers and streams become blood. Now the total water supply of the earth is cut off and destroys life across the planet.
Pouring out the fourth bowl: The sun scorches those who blaspheme God, yet they still don’t repent. Jesus predicted this sign (Luke 21:25) and so did Moses (Deuteronomy 32:24), Isaiah (Isaiah 24:6, 42:25), and Malachi (Malachi 4:1).
The first three bowl judgments had personal implications; the final three all have political consequences.
Pouring out the fifth bowl: The Beast’s kingdom is darkened. This strange darkness might be called black light. As the sun’s wattage increases, the heat will be greater, but the light will be less. Egypt experienced this during the ninth plague (see Exodus 10:21-22). Old Testament prophets all foretold this day.
Pouring out the sixth bowl: The river Euphrates dries up, connected to the sixth Egyptian plague. Once the cradle of man’s civilization, now it will be its grave.
In an interlude between the sixth and seventh bowls of wrath, John reports that Satan, Antichrist, and the False Prophet force the world to march against Israel.
But God made some promises to Abraham and Israel He’s going to keep. He’s the only One who can stop this campaign from crushing them.
The War of Armageddon, which has been going on for half the Tribulation, extends the entire length of Israel. But God “gathered them together” on the plain of Esdraelon in central Israel. Satan may think he’s commanding the armies, but he’s really fulfilling the Word of God.
Pouring out the seventh bowl: A mighty earthquake shakes the world, and a hailstorm pummels the earth. A great voice from the throne, says, “It is done!” Jesus offers us a finished redemption; but if you won’t accept it, there will be a judgment. Those who have refused God’s salvation won’t escape His judgment.
Next: God turns His attention to Satan’s capital city, Babylon.
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Post by Parker on Jan 22, 2023 5:05:27 GMT -8
The Harlot, the Beasts, and Babylon
Ever since Satan was kicked out of heaven, he’s always had a headquarters on earth. In these last days, that home base is Babylon. You may recognize Babylon as the ancient capital city of earth’s earliest empires. The Bible uses this name to describe a spiritual world system that wars against God.
The Antichrist has a partner in his world domination scheme called “the harlot,” the false church that remains after the true church has been raptured. These people never trusted Christ as Savior and never were in the body of Christ, but they wielded religion like a weapon. This harlot controlled the masses and the “kings of the earth” saw how an unholy alliance with her would help them conquer the world.
The harlot rides “a scarlet beast” and dresses in purple and scarlet. She is Rome, the religious capital of the world, having inherited all the religions of the world when the true church left the earth. She drinks from a gold cup of abominations and the filth of sexual immorality. She is the religious intoxication of the anti-church, a fake and false gospel. This cup makes the world drunk.
For a time, the Antichrist shares the spotlight with the harlot, but he hates it. So he breaks his covenant with her and destroys her with such violence that it’s described as a cannibal picking her bones, then he burns them with fire. By eliminating the false church, the way is clear for the Antichrist to be worshipped, as promoted by the False Prophet. The religious center shifts to Jerusalem where the False Prophet puts up his image of the Antichrist to be worshiped.
In that day, Babylon dominates and rules the world in religion and commerce, and it all centers on the Antichrist. And this is how justice is meted out on him …
Revelation18 begins with another angel descending from heaven with a message. This angel, faceless and nameless, has “great authority” and power. He shouts with a mighty voice, “Babylon the great is fallen,” and judgment breaks like a flood.
Babylon’s prosperity blinded her to God’s judgment. Trading is active on the stock market right up to the moment of judgment. Luxury, arrogance, pride, sin, and self-deception characterize the spirit of this godless city. World peace is in sight, and optimism is the spirit of the day. And then God says, “Enough.”
God destroys this city with a fast and final judgment. In one hour, great wealth is laid desolate. By the time the sun went down, Babylon is nothing but smoldering ruins. The world is stunned.
The viewpoint is different in heaven—a party breaks out. The saints prayed for this; the Old Testament prophets predicted it. Now all is fulfilled and everyone’s joyful because God’s holiness and justice are vindicated and God’s name is exonerated.
Even heaven acts out the drama, the end to the violence, the suddenness, and the complete annihilation of Babylon. Like a stone that makes a big splash and then disappears beneath the waves, Babylon has come to an end.
This was Satan’s city, and he was a murderer from the beginning. Babylon’s final crime was the slaying of God’s people. But now the sad story of man’s sin has come to an end.
This frightful period, which the Lord Jesus Christ called the Great Tribulation, is done.
Next: Jesus Christ comes to the earth to bring an end to this dark, disastrous day.
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Post by Parker on Jan 23, 2023 4:43:24 GMT -8
The Great Tribulation—In Summary
Though it felt like a long time coming, the events of the Great Tribulation ended with catastrophic and cataclysmic events happening in rapid succession like the firing of a machine gun.
The Tribulation, called the “seventieth week” in Daniel’s prophecy, spanned seven years. In the Old and New Testaments, Daniel and John divided it into two separate and equal periods of three and a half years each.
After the church is snatched from the earth in the Rapture, the Antichrist comes to power as world dictator on a platform of peace, prosperity, and fame. In the first half of the Tribulation, he brings radical changes in world systems that seem to benefit mankind. He brings a false peace and controls all governments and religion. When that time comes, there will be one world, one religion, and one everything. The world will believe they are entering the Millennium. This is the big lie.
Israel will once again become God’s witness on earth—144,000 strong, sealed by the Spirit of God, they’ll witnesses for God on the earth. God will also seal a great company of Gentiles.
Somewhere near the middle of the seven-year season, the king of the north will move against Israel. This opens the floodgates of war. The Antichrist now begins to move, and his deception will begin to be revealed. Restless mankind, under Satan’s control, begins to march and the Man of Sin, the Antichrist, breaks his covenant with the nation Israel.
The Middle East will become the center of world activity during this period. Ancient Babylon on the Euphrates River will become the political and economic center of the world, and Jerusalem (also called Babylon) will be the religious capital. The Antichrist will rule in Rome, and the False Prophet will rule in Jerusalem. They will—together with the kings of the earth—destroy the false church.
But then, judgment from God will fall swiftly and suddenly on a God-rejecting and blaspheming world. In one fell swoop, 25% of the world’s population will be destroyed, and later, another 33% will be blotted out. Nature will be stricken—the grass and trees of the earth, the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens. One disaster after another will fall on the earth, but the heart of man will still be unrepentant. In fact, he will defy and blaspheme the God of heaven.
Then armies will march toward Israel. For three and a half years, the War of Armageddon will rage. Millions will march into the land of Israel and engage in a conflict. When they are destroyed by God, there will be blood up to the bridles of the horses—about three feet deep.
Into this horrible arena of chaos—the chaos of man’s making and of Satan’s scheming—comes the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We don’t know the day this all begins. We don’t know when the church will be snatched away to meet Him in the clouds. It may be soon. It could be today. On the other hand, He may not return for several hundred years. No one can say with certainty when the Lord will return for His church since in this detail the Word of God is silent.
The best that can be said today is that everything happening now is significant. We live in a great period in world history. Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. We have been given no signs by which to gauge the time of His return, but we do see the setting of the stage. When everything is in position, the church could be raptured at any moment, and the Tribulation could begin.
The urgency of the hour demands that we live ready.
Next: What makes heaven, heaven?
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Post by Parker on Jan 24, 2023 4:23:10 GMT -8
The Marriage of the Lamb and Armageddon
We’ve walked through the dark days of the Tribulation, but now the somber gives way to song. In Revelation 19, we turn the page from the ominous days of judgment to the bright days of blessing. We walk with John in his vision to the greatest events for this earth—the second coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom on earth. This is the bridge between the Great Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom.
Four hallelujahs open this chapter, and the opening of hell closes it. John records he heard a great voice, like a mass choir in heaven saying, “Hallelujah! The salvation and glory and power are God’s—His judgments true, His judgments just.”
In the worship scenes of Revelation 5 and 7, we saw the elders, the church, and the uncounted numbers of angels and created intelligences all worshiping God. Now Tribulation saints join the song. This is the first time they have been able to utter the great Old Testament word of victory—Hallelujah! (This is the only time the word is used in the New Testament.) The 24 elders also lay down their crowns and sing the “Hallelujah chorus.”
This wedding in heaven will include us—the body of believers from Pentecost to the Rapture, now presented to Christ as a bride for a marriage. As a bride, we will reveal the Groom’s glory. We’ll be on display—sinners saved from hell, now in heaven with absolutely no right to be there except that we belong to Him and claim His righteousness as our own. No other creatures will enjoy such sweetness.
After the marriage of the Lamb in heaven, the next great event is Jesus Christ’s magnificent return to the earth, with His bride with Him. The marriage supper will take place on earth and ushers in the Millennium. Both Israelites and Gentiles who enter the Millennium are the invited guests.
When you read the Word of God you become conscious of Jesus Christ’s plan and program for this earth that He follows very carefully. His return to the earth is the climax of all that has happened in Revelation and is the first of seven final things John saw and recorded: Jesus’ return, Satan’s capture, Satan’s binding, the Millennium, Satan’s final end, the last judgment, and the new heavens and earth, including the New Jerusalem.
In Revelation 19, the gates of heaven open and Jesus Christ the Lord comes out, seated high on a white horse of warfare. Behind Him follow the armies of heaven, all on white horses and dressed in dazzling white linen. Jesus’ eyes are a blaze of fire. He is the judge of a sinful world and on His head is the crown of the sole ruler of the earth. On His robe, dipped in blood, and on His thigh is written, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Everyone trembles at the sight of Him. If today you’ve wondered why God doesn’t deal with the evil in the world, look to this day yet future.
The armies of Heaven, legions of angels who do His bidding, follow Him, all mounted on white horses and dressed in dazzling white linen.
Jesus also has a name that no one knows but Himself. What is the name? We will discover it in eternity and it will take that long to really know Him. This is eternal life, to know the one, true God. And the more we know Him, the more exciting He will be. He is what makes heaven—heaven.
Now on earth, an angel stands in the sun and announces the final battle of Armageddon. There on the plain in central Israel stand the Antichrist and the False Prophet and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to war against Jesus. They defy God right up to the very last.
The puny armies look up in shock and awe at Jesus Christ coming from the sky and with Him are His angel armies on white horses and dressed in fine white linen to witness His victory.
The outcome is inevitable. There’s not even a battle. Jesus first casts the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of fire. The rest of the armies are killed by the sword out from Jesus’ mouth and birds feasted on their flesh.
The sword which came out of Jesus’ mouth is the Word of God. Sharper and quicker and more powerful than a two-edged sword, His Word spoke the universe into existence and His words completely vanquish His foes. This is also the Word of God which will save you, if you will only believe Him.
Next: God’s answer to the Lord’s prayer.
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Post by Parker on Jan 25, 2023 5:03:43 GMT -8
A Thousand Years
The Millennial Kingdom is God’s answer to the Lord’s prayer, “Your kingdom come … on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). For a thousand years, the kingdom of Jesus Christ will flourish on the earth and, at the end, mankind will take its final test.
More is written about the Millennium in the Old Testament than any other prophecy. It’s the theme of Old Testament prophecy; not one of the prophets missed it.
And it begins with what we’ve wanted all along. On His return, Jesus Christ first imprisons Satan. An angel with the key to the abyss and a great chain captures “the dragon,” binds him, and throws him into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. Having removed Satan’s powerful influence, Jesus next removes the curse of sin from the physical earth.
Next, Jesus raises the Old Testament saints to life again. “Resurrection” means “to stand up,” and only God can do it. Those who gave their lives for Christ in the Tribulation are next. The group called “the priests of God” also join the group. God originally planned Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (see Exodus 19:6), and now they are.
Multitudes of both Israel and Gentiles who survived the Tribulation will enter the Millennium in their natural bodies. These are the ones, together with those who are born during the Millennium, who are tested during the one thousand years.
What about the church? Just as Jesus Christ mingled with His apostles and followers in a glorified body after His resurrection, so the church in glorified bodies will mingle with the multitudes in their natural bodies here on the earth. In these glorified bodies, we will move about space, from the New Jerusalem to heaven.
The Millennium is mankind’s final test. It’s the answer to people who think we wouldn’t sin if we lived in ideal circumstances. But by the end of the Millennium, mankind is again rebelling against God.
When the thousand years are complete , Satan is released from the abyss. A great company goes over to Satan. Imagine the tragedy of this revolt: People living in a perfect world will admit they hate Jesus Christ and rebel against Him as King and Savior. The human heart alone remains unchanged. Given the freedom, many still turn their backs on God.
The nations of the earth, again under Satan’s spell, plot a rebellion. This last resistance against God is as foolish and futile as man’s first rebellion in the Garden of Eden. God deals with their sin definitively, ending man’s disobedience to God. Nothing remains now but the final judgment.
God will throw Satan in the lake of fire with the Antichrist and False Prophet, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. This is a solemn statement. It’s a relief to God’s child to know that the enemy—both his and God’s—will, at last, be brought to permanent justice. But the reality of what it means to be lost, to be separated from God for eternity, exceeds description.
The Great White Throne Judgment
John then sees a great white throne. The lost people of all ages are given a fair evaluation of their works with respect to their salvation. There will be a Judge but no jury, a prosecution but no defense, a sentence but no appeal. No one will defend himself or accuse God of unrighteousness. It will be a sober, awesome scene.
People say today they want to be judged according to their works. This is their opportunity. The judgment is just, but since they failed to believe in Jesus Christ, no one is saved.
If you have turned to Jesus, you won’t be judged here. Your sin has been dealt with at the Cross of Christ. Your life has already been evaluated at the Bema, when Jesus rewards you for your works (see 2 Corinthians 5:10).
All who stand at this White Throne judgment are lost and cast into the lake of fire with Satan, the wild Beast, the False Prophet, and their minions. If people do not accept the life of God, they must accept the only alternative: Eternal association with Satan.
God didn’t create man to be put in this place. Hell was created for the devil and his angels. The “second death” means eternal and absolute separation from God. The Lord called it “outer darkness.” This is literally worse than actual fire or darkness; it is an eternity without God.
Next: Your future home address.
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Post by Parker on Jan 26, 2023 4:52:00 GMT -8
Eternity Unveiled
We leave the earth now to explore our new home in heaven. Heaven is a very definite, actual place. You will have an address there.
With the long view of eternity in front of us, we move to a new existence. Revelation 21 is about new things: a new heaven, a new earth, a New Jerusalem, a new era, and the eternal life as the Lamb’s bride where we will be new creations in Christ Jesus. A new universe suggests new methods and approaches to life. New laws will regulate the new universe. Our entire lifestyle will change. There will be a total absence of sin, temptation, and testing in this new creation—that alone will make a radical difference. It is impossible for our minds to comprehend the great transformations that will take place in a new creation.
The universe will look different. There will be no sun to give light, for God Himself will supply it directly to the universe. The presence of Christ and God, together with the throne of God made visible, ushers in a new day for man—the new creation.
The Lord Jesus Himself teaches this present creation will pass away in order to make room for a new heaven and a new earth (see Matthew 24:35).
The New Jerusalem
Very little is said in Scripture about heaven—so let’s look closely at what is said in Revelation 21: “I … saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
The New Jerusalem is likely where we, the bride of Christ, will live. Not to be identified with the earthly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem is a planet within itself.
The New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, won’t be another satellite for the earth, but rather the opposite—the earth and all the new creation with all of the galactic systems will revolve around the New Jerusalem, because it’s the dwelling place of God and of Jesus Christ. Likely the law of gravity will be radically revised.
New Era
John’s eyewitness reporting tells us next of a great voice from the throne announcing that God will live with us. He’ll pitch His tent next to ours. He’ll essentially move into the neighborhood, making His home with men and women. We’re his people; He’s our God. We’ll no longer experience things like sorrow, pain, and death. God promises to wipe every tear from our eyes.
In our new bodies, we will thirst after God and the things of God, and they will be satisfied, just like Jesus said they would in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:6). He promises that those who overcome the world by faith will inherit these things (see Romans 8:16-17). John wrote about this same victory in his first letter (1 John 5:4). To the one who overcomes, Jesus also said He will be his God and he will be His son (see also John 1:12). This relationship is more than just being God’s people; this is a unique and more glorious relationship (see 1 John 3:2).
This new and amazing creation of new heavens and a new earth did not affect the lake of fire and the destination of those who rejected Christ. They are eternally separated from God, and nothing is as fearful and frightful as that. Sin will never break over the barriers into the new heavens and the new earth. Sin and its potential are forever shut out of the new creation.
What will our new home look like? We will be amazed!
Next: A look at the architectural blueprint of the New Jerusalem.
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Post by Parker on Jan 27, 2023 11:14:56 GMT -8
The New Jerusalem
The New Jerusalem is the eternal hometown of the church. We travel towards this new home as we pitch our tent closer each day on our journey home. Now that earth’s sorrows are hushed and eternity has begun, the curtain can rise on the scene of this heavenly city and encourage every weary pilgrim on their journey here.
The appearance of the New Jerusalem is the epitome of beauty, refined loveliness, and uncontrolled joy. During the Millennium, righteousness reigned in Jerusalem, but in the New Jerusalem, it will dwell.
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues invited John closer. “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (v. 9). And the angel carried John away in the Spirit to a high and huge mountain where they watched the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, filled with His radiant light. What a scene!
Earthly cities are built from the ground up, but this city comes down out of heaven but doesn’t touch the earth. Now all activity revolves around this city. God will be there; it will be His headquarters. No wonder it will hold such a preeminent position for eternity.
This city is the source of light in the new heavens and earth. The whole city is like a precious gem, transparent and gleaming like a diamond in a gold mounting.
The New Jerusalem has 12 gates to the city. On each gate is the name of a tribe of Israel. People from the 12 tribes of Israel will come up to the celestial city to worship. They will then return back to the earth after they worship, but the bride will dwell in the New Jerusalem.
The walls of the New Jerusalem have 12 foundations, and on them are inscribed the names of the 12 apostles. To these 12 apostles were committed all the writings of the church. They preached the first sermons, they organized the first churches, and they were among the first martyrs. In a real sense they were the church’s foundation with Christ, as “the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The 12 foundation stones are constructed of 12 different gemstones, the most precious known to man. God’s light on the inside, shining through these colors, will flood the universe like a prism with every color of the rainbow.
We’re told the city is a cube, about 1,500 miles on each side. Architectural difficulties resolve when we consider the city as a cube within a crystal-clear sphere. What we are given are the inside measurements. Thus, the New Jerusalem will be somewhat larger than the moon, and it will be a sphere like the other heavenly bodies. We would likely live inside this sphere, not on the outside like we live here on earth.
New Jerusalem will also be surrounded by a wall made of jasper—built for beauty, not protection. Each of the 12 gates is made of a pearl, and they never will be shut. The street (singular) will be made of pure gold, as transparent glass. God will show off His grace toward the church as the fairest jewel of all (see Ephesians 2:7.)
Jesus Christ dwells in the New Jerusalem with His bride, but Israel and the nations will commute back and forth from the earth to worship. Redeemed Gentile nations, who like Israel don’t belong to the church because they were saved in the Old Testament or after the church is raptured from the earth, also come and go in worship. Hebrews 12:22-23 tells us of an infinite company of angels who serve the Lord in the city. All nationalities meet here, and the created intelligences of God walk the street of the New Jerusalem.
God has accomplished His goal: Fellowship with mankind. He now has a creature who is a free moral agent who chooses to worship and serve Him eternally. All those who live there and all tourists who visit are not only redeemed from sin but they have also lost their taste for sin. And the greatest joy of the redeemed heart will be abiding in our Lord Jesus’ presence for eternity (see John 14:3). This is heaven—to be with Him. Revelation is all about Jesus Christ—He is the centerpiece of God’s universe.
Nothing will compare to the privilege of being with the Lord Jesus there throughout eternity.
Next: So what will we do in heaven?
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Post by Parker on Jan 28, 2023 5:28:37 GMT -8
Beautiful, Final Things
The last chapter of Revelation and the final scenes of the heavenly wonder also brings us to the end of God’s Word. Man’s path has been rugged. Many questions remain unanswered; many problems remain unsolved. But we enter into eternity in fellowship again with God, and there all will be answered.
The angel escorting John through this vision of heaven first dazzled him with breathtaking, exquisite beauty and now shows him a pure river of the water of life flowing from God’s throne. On either side of the river is “the tree of life,” bearing 12 kinds of fruits each month—a continuous supply in abundance. Like in the Garden of Eden, we will eat and drink in eternity. However, unlike the Garden, there’s no possibility of sin entering there.
Contrary to the cartoons, heaven isn’t a place where we’ll hang out on clouds. It’s a place of fruitful work. Perhaps the Lord will give to each saint a world or a solar system to operate like He gave Adam dominion over the old creation.
The Lord reveals that just as the condemned lost person in hell will increasingly become more sinful, so we will grow in righteousness and holiness. Heaven is not static. The child of God will have all eternity to grow in wisdom and knowledge.
At the beginning of this book, the Lord blessed those who read, hear and keep these words. Now, in conclusion, He repeats the blessing on those who keep these words. We aren’t to spiritualize them or reduce them to empty stories. This book isn’t meant to satisfy our curiosity, but to live and apply.
As the Revelation ends, the Lord Jesus asserts His place as God: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (v. 13). He gives the angel His very personal message. “I, Jesus”—taking the name of His saviorhood, the name He received when He took on humanity. He’s all we’re going to talk about for eternity.
He also refers to Himself as “the Root and the Offspring of David,” which connects Him with the Old Testament. But He is “the Bright and Morning Star” to the church (v. 16). Have you noticed the bright and morning star always appears at the darkest time of the night? It signals the sun will be up shortly. The Old Testament ended with the promise that “the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2). But to us, He is the Bright and Morning Star who will come at a very dark moment.
Our Lord promises He is coming again and will personally reward each believer individually. And to those who do not yet believe, Jesus invites the thirsty to come to Him and freely take the water of life. Those who do not yet believe obviously need to come in order to take their first drink of this living water, Christ our eternal life. But believers too need to keep coming to Him. “Him who thirsts” (v. 17) is anyone who senses their spiritual need, broad enough to include absolutely everyone. This water of life costs us nothing, but it cost Jesus Christ everything. He invites us to come to Him again today.
Don’t wait.
When these things begin to come to pass, Jesus will already then be at the door.
“Come, Lord Jesus” is the heart-cry of every true believer (v. 20). The Old Testament ends with a curse; the New Testament ends with a benediction of grace on the believers. Grace is offered to all, but if anyone refuses the offer Jesus Christ extends, they must bear the judgment pronounced in this book.
Grace is offered to you—it’s the only way you can be saved. Believe Him and receive it.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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Post by Parker on Jan 29, 2023 7:56:28 GMT -8
Beautiful, Final Things
The last chapter of Revelation and the final scenes of the heavenly wonder also brings us to the end of God’s Word. Man’s path has been rugged. Many questions remain unanswered; many problems remain unsolved. But we enter into eternity in fellowship again with God, and there all will be answered.
The angel escorting John through this vision of heaven first dazzled him with breathtaking, exquisite beauty and now shows him a pure river of the water of life flowing from God’s throne. On either side of the river is “the tree of life,” bearing 12 kinds of fruits each month—a continuous supply in abundance. Like in the Garden of Eden, we will eat and drink in eternity. However, unlike the Garden, there’s no possibility of sin entering there.
Contrary to the cartoons, heaven isn’t a place where we’ll hang out on clouds. It’s a place of fruitful work. Perhaps the Lord will give to each saint a world or a solar system to operate like He gave Adam dominion over the old creation.
The Lord reveals that just as the condemned lost person in hell will increasingly become more sinful, so we will grow in righteousness and holiness. Heaven is not static. The child of God will have all eternity to grow in wisdom and knowledge.
At the beginning of this book, the Lord blessed those who read, hear and keep these words. Now, in conclusion, He repeats the blessing on those who keep these words. We aren’t to spiritualize them or reduce them to empty stories. This book isn’t meant to satisfy our curiosity, but to live and apply.
As the Revelation ends, the Lord Jesus asserts His place as God: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (v. 13). He gives the angel His very personal message. “I, Jesus”—taking the name of His saviorhood, the name He received when He took on humanity. He’s all we’re going to talk about for eternity.
He also refers to Himself as “the Root and the Offspring of David,” which connects Him with the Old Testament. But He is “the Bright and Morning Star” to the church (v. 16). Have you noticed the bright and morning star always appears at the darkest time of the night? It signals the sun will be up shortly. The Old Testament ended with the promise that “the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2). But to us, He is the Bright and Morning Star who will come at a very dark moment.
Our Lord promises He is coming again and will personally reward each believer individually. And to those who do not yet believe, Jesus invites the thirsty to come to Him and freely take the water of life. Those who do not yet believe obviously need to come in order to take their first drink of this living water, Christ our eternal life. But believers too need to keep coming to Him. “Him who thirsts” (v. 17) is anyone who senses their spiritual need, broad enough to include absolutely everyone. This water of life costs us nothing, but it cost Jesus Christ everything. He invites us to come to Him again today.
Don’t wait.
When these things begin to come to pass, Jesus will already then be at the door.
“Come, Lord Jesus” is the heart-cry of every true believer (v. 20). The Old Testament ends with a curse; the New Testament ends with a benediction of grace on the believers. Grace is offered to all, but if anyone refuses the offer Jesus Christ extends, they must bear the judgment pronounced in this book.
Grace is offered to you—it’s the only way you can be saved. Believe Him and receive it.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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Post by Parker on Mar 23, 2023 9:01:04 GMT -8
Questions about the End TimesAnswers to Common Questions about the End Times explores what the Bible teaches about the end times by answering questions such as: What is the rapture? What is Armageddon? What is the relationship between Christ’s first and second comings?
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