6:1-2
6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
The white horse stands for victory in battle. This is also depicted as such in Revelation 19:11 where Jesus Christ appears triumphant upon a white horse. A crown is given to the rider indicating that he represents an emperor. The bow, rather than a sword in his hand, has a special meaning that we will explain later. Then we are told that he went forth conquering and to conquer. We also have another fact regarding the time of the fulfillment of this prophecy. The apostle is told in Revelation 1:1 that these events must shortly come to pass. If this expression is taken at its most obvious natural meaning, it indicates a year or two from the time of the delivery of the prophecy. The most natural setting for the prophecy is the Roman Empire. While it is true that the later events of the prophecy refer to many other nations in remote parts of the world, at this point we may safely infer that it all began with local events that concerned the Christian community of the Roman Empire.
Our research leads us to believe that the Apostle John was exiled to the Island of Patmos around AD 95 and completed the Apocalypse by AD 96. When we take a look at the events of the Roman Empire around that time, we see the emperor Nerva ascending to the throne. The following are direct quotes from the Encyclopedia Britannica under the article titled "Five Good Emperors".
"The Ancient Roman imperial succession of Nerva (reigned AD 96-98), Trajan (98-117), Hadrian (117-138), Antoninus Pius (138-161), and Marcus Aurelius (161-180) presided over the most majestic days of the Roman Empire. It was not a bloodline; Nerva was raised to the principate by the assassins of Domitian, and the others were successively adopted heirs, each only distinctly related to his predecessor if at all."
"The period witnessed considerable expansion of the empire, from northern Britain to Dacia and to Arabia and Mesopotamia. The empire was consolidated, its defenses were perfected, and a tolerably uniform provincial system covered the whole area of the empire."
It appears that most of the conquests were under Trajan, who captured Dacia in two campaigns in 101 and 105, annexed upper Mesopotamia in 115 and also invaded the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. When he reached the Persian Gulf, he is said to have wept because he was too old to repeat Alexander the Great's achievements in India. Under Trajan the empire is said to have attained its greatest extent.
The bow in the hands of the rider may be referring to the ancestry of Nerva, the first of the five good emperors. Nerva's family came from the Greek Island of Crete where the national weapon was the bow. The sharpshooters employed in almost every Roman campaign came from the Cretans.
This prophecy refers to the conquests and triumphs
of the Roman Empire. We will see in the coming passages that when this
prophecy was fulfilled, the empire began to decline. Although there were
many attempts made by patriotic and wise man to reverse this decline, nothing
worked and eventually the empire was altogether lost in AD 476. We learn
from this that whatever is written in this book cannot be reversed. God's
purposes regarding the prophecy of this book are unalterable. If we have
the correct interpretation of this book, as unbelievable as this may sound,
we possess a true knowledge of the future. This book is, in a way, another
answer to the disciples' question to Jesus regarding the timing of the
restoration of the nation of Israel in Acts 1:6-8. This time around God
tells us his future plans regarding this question and many others. However,
we are still not given the exact duration and the dates of most of these
events. The book becomes more useful and valuable with each passing year.
As more and more of the events take place and open up the meanings of the
symbols, it becomes easier to understand those symbols regarding the future.
6:3-4
6:3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
The red horse stands for war and bloodshed. The sword given to the rider of the red horse reminds us of the sword presented to the Praetorian Prefect. This sword gave him the power of life and death in the administration of his duties. The passage makes it clear by the words "men should slay one another" that the purpose of the sword, in the hands of the rider of the red horse, was to create bloody civil disorder in the Roman Empire. The center of the discord is the Praetorian Guard, who discover that they can kill and replace emperors at will. From there it spreads to the Roman army and to the rest of the Empire.
As we have seen in the previous passage that the preceding period was one of domestic tranquility and prosperity. The accession of Commodus to the throne in 180 marks the beginning of a calamitous period in the Empire. Commodus becomes a bloody tyrant soon thereafter. Eventually, his closest companions manage to slip an assassin into his chamber while he is asleep. This man, a wrestler by profession, quietly strangles him. Pertinax becomes emperor only to be assassinated in 86 days. The Praetorian Guard announce the sale of the throne to the highest bidder. The purchaser of the throne, Didius Julianus, is himself beheaded after 66 days by Septimius Severus. Thereafter, Severus begins an especially bloody civil war to consolidate his power and to murder his challengers to the throne. We will not go further to write about the bloodshed and treachery; except to say that this calamitous period lasts until AD 284 when Diocletian accedes to the throne.
It appears that the events foretold by the
black and the ashen horses overlap with the events of the red horse. Therefore
much of what I wrote, for the interpretation of chapter 6 verses 5 through
8, are also applicable to the time of the red horse. Unless otherwise clarified,
we must not see the beginning of one event as the termination of the previous
event. Often God withholds enough details of these events so that they
cannot be predicted ahead of time with accuracy.
6:5-6
6:5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
The imagery employed in this passage, a pair of scales on a black horse, reminds us of the emblem of the Roman Procurator in the office of the tax collector. This emblem was a pair of scales next to a picture of an ear of corn. The black color of the horse, among the ancients, stood for disaster and calamity. This was the color of the sackcloth worn during the periods of mourning due to a famine or other disaster. These two symbols lead us to believe that this prophecy is regarding some sort of calamity associated with the collection of taxes in the Roman Empire. The voice coming from the center of the living creatures completes the picture. A mention is made of the extremely high price of one quart of wheat and three quarts of barley. The price quoted here is equal to a day's wages for a laborer in the Roman Empire. The Prophecy refers to a rise in Roman taxation to extremely burdensome levels. If we consider the other command not to harm the oil and the wine in this context, its meaning also becomes clear. This command is given to those people who attempt to evade high taxes by either hiding large quantities of these staples or by outright destruction of the olive trees and vineyards on their property.
The era of high taxation in the Empire appears
to have begun with the reign of the emperor Septimus Severus. Severus became
emperor in 193 and he is well known for increasing the size and the complexity
of the government and paying for it by imposing greater taxes. The pay
raises he gave to the military would prove burdensome for the future emperors,
who continually had to raise taxes to keep up with the military pay. Antoninus
Caracalla, who became emperor in 211, is remembered for his edict to grant
Roman citizenship on all the free citizens of the empire. This was done,
in order, to exact heavy taxes from the greatest possible number of people.
He also raised the inheritance tax from 5 to 10 percent. The succeeding
emperors appear to have continued the policies of high taxation with heavy-handed
enforcement. This enforcement became so severe and terrifying to the citizens
that in the later centuries we see the small landowners giving up their
property and freedom to become slaves of large landowners in order to avoid
the burdensome taxes. The Emperor Valens, in 386, had to pass a law to
make it illegal to renounce one's liberty in order to avoid paying taxes.
The existence of a Roman law, which made it illegal to destroy olive groves
and vineyards on one's property in order to escape tax assessment, shows
us the extent to which people were driven to escape the tax burden. The
existence of such a law also fulfills the latter portion of this prophecy
regarding not harming the oil and the wine. Lactantius, a historian of
the fourth century, writes about the crushing burden of taxation upon the
citizens of the Empire. In fact, the historians agree that high taxation,
coupled with a very high inflation rate brought about by the debasement
of the currency by the emperors, was a major contributor to the decline
and fall of the empire.
6:7-8
6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth
This passage refers to a very dismal period in the history of the Roman Empire. A fair reading of the passage shows us that it is a time when a very large portion of the population die from sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. Looking through the pages of history, we find that the symbols of this prophecy find their fulfillment in the third century. In fact the historians, by common consent, refer to the events of this time period as "The Crisis of the Third Century".
The Crises of the Third Century:
The period from 235 to 284 is referred to as "The Crises of the Third Century". The Goths and the Persians attack the empire from the north and the east. Many important cities are laid waste and their inhabitants are slaughtered. A severe and long lasting plague also takes its toll on the Roman population. Counting several sons and brothers, more than 40 emperors exercise brief rule over the empire before being assassinated. Lack of political and economic stability brings financial ruin upon the empire. The currency becomes worthless as the Emperors begin to reduce the amount of precious metal in the standard coin. Widespread famine is also a byproduct of the economic destabilization of the era. The Emperors Decius and Valentinian are well known for their organized persecution of the Christians. Valentinian is captured by the Persian king Sapor to be tortured and killed in a most horrendous manner.
One other fact worthy of mention is the reference
in the scriptures to the attacks of the wild beasts. This may be understood
as a byproduct of the depopulation of the cities. A Christian writer, Arnobius,
a century later, mentions this plague as being a grievous calamity to fall
upon the citizens of the empire.
6:9-11
6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
The martyred souls run to the altar for solace. The altar, here, represents the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. When we face suffering for following Jesus, we must also run to the altar. This is done by retreating to prayer to remind ourselves of his great sacrifice and suffering on the cross. The cry of the martyrs is indicative of their complete trust in God that he will, at some future date, bring about justice upon the world. However, they go further and plead with him to accomplish this justice speedily. Indeed the tone of their prayer suggests that if God were to avenge them immediately upon their persecutors, they would be happy. This, at first, appears somewhat inconsistent with the meek submission to God's will that is taught in the gospel of Christ. However, both ideas are very clearly taught in the gospel. Jesus prayed that God would forgive his very tormentors as they were putting the nails on his limbs. In this case his prayer for them was based on the premise that they were ignorant of the true nature of their actions. Their eyes were blinded by evil spiritual powers. However, he showed no such compassion when dealing with the demons. We read nowhere that he prayed for their deliverance. Rather, he prayed for and was instrumental in overthrowing the domain of these very same spiritual powers. Therefore we can interpret the prayers of these martyrs to mean that the evil spiritual forces, who tempted the people of the world to torment and kill them, be speedily destroyed. History bears witness that many of these Christians were fervently praying for their tormentors as they were being tormented. This amazing fact, indeed, accounts for the rapid spread of Christianity as many of the heathen executors repented in the face of such love and compassion. We cannot imagine the martyrs first praying for the salvation and then the destruction of their executors. As to the impatience of the martyrs for the delayed justice of God, we may state that this kind of impatience and fervent prayer for the destruction of the power of evil appears acceptable to God. In fact, they are given white robes indicating God's approval of their righteous cause and they are informed that the ongoing fiery trial is under God's strict control. It would last only as long as their number, which was fixed by God from eternity, would be completed.
The textual location and the particulars of this prophecy allow us to place it around 303 in the Roman Empire. At that time a decision was made by the Roman Government to put an end to the Christian religion for all time. Diocletian, who had restored and strengthened the empire from its previous decay, made the mistake of taking bad advice from his chosen successor Galerius. Galerius, himself, appears to have been influenced by his devoutly pagan mother. Beginning in 303, Diocletian issued a series of edicts against the Christians. These edicts directed the governors of the provinces to apprehend first the ministers of the Gospel and then all Christians. They were to use every method of torture known to men to force the Christians to renounce their religion and to go back to the worship of the Gods. Also, the churches were to be demolished and the religious books were to be burned. The persecution lasted 10 years. More than one million Christians were martyred.
During the persecution, Galerius succeeded
Diocletian to the throne and oversaw the persecution of the Christians.
By 311 he became ill with a very painful disease. He attributed this illness
to the vengeance of the God of the Christians. History does not tell us
that he repented and converted to the Christian faith, but it does tell
us that this illness made him fear God so much that he issued an edict
declaring an end to the persecution. He died shortly thereafter. There
was, however, still sporadic persecution of the Christians until the Edict
of Milan in 313. This Edict was the outcome of a political agreement between
the emperors Constantine I and Licinius. It effectively ended all persecution
of the Christians by the Government of the Roman Empire.
6:12-17
6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Verse 12, the breaking of the sixth seal, introduces
us to the beginning of those events that brought down the Latin Roman Empire.
This empire is seen as the fourth beast in Daniel's dream (Daniel 7:7).
It is also mentioned in Revelation 13:1-3 as the beast from the sea with
10 horns and 7 heads. There it receives a deadly wound at the fall of Rome.
Nevertheless it revives under the Papacy as the last of its heads (Revelation
17:10-11). This last head is to survive until the outpouring of the seventh
vial. We see that God deals two major blows to the fourth beast. The first
blow is inflicted at the fall of Rome and the second and final blow is
inflicted at the battle of Armageddon. In fact, when one pays close attention,
it can be seen that similar plagues are employed in both blows.
| (1) | Great earthquake |
| "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;" Revelation 6:12. | |
| And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." Revelation 16:18. | |
| (2) | Displacement of every mountain and island: |
| "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." Revelation 6:14 | |
| "And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." Revelation 16:20. | |
| (3) | Men from all walks of life fall under the judgments: |
| "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;" Revelation 6:15 | |
| "That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." Revelation 19:18 | |
| (4) | The judgment falls on the atmosphere. |
| "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." Revelation 7:1. | |
| "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake." Revelation 8:5. | |
| The agents of the fall of Rome are likened to "four winds of the earth" which are held in check until the appropriate time. When the time is up, there is thunder and lightning as in the beginning of a storm. | |
| "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done." Revelation 16:17. | |
| "And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." Revelation 6:18. | |
| Here the judgment vial is poured into the air and then the seventh plague begins with thunders and lightnings; again reminding us of a horrific storm. |
The Place of Ancient Rome in God's Counsels.
Ancient Rome features prominently in God's eternal plans. Our Lord was born at the peak of this Empire. The message of the Gospel was preached for the first time within its borders. The soldiers of this empire were used to crucify our Lord at the instigation of the Hebrew people. Later on, these very same soldiers were used to bring the most fearsome judgment upon the Hebrew people for not knowing their time. The works of Ancient Rome were mostly evil. Looking back, we can see that Daniel's dream of the fourth beast suited it perfectly. Yet, amidst such evil, God accomplished the greatest work of redemption through His Son. We learn from this that God's works are finely tuned. When He appears to allow unchecked proliferation of evil, He is at the same time also preparing the means to bring an end to it. Although we perceive that the world appears to be turning away from the Gospel in these latter days, (1997) we do not lose hope as we know that this is happening according to prophecy (Revelation 16:14-15) and that God is preparing the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet for the battle of Armageddon where He will defeat them decisively and usher in the blessed millennium.
Timetable of the Detailed Events of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
In order to give the reader an overall picture
of the complex events of the fall of the Roman Empire, we have assembled
the following timetable. In the following passages we will try to make
good use of this timetable.
| 200 BC | Germanic peoples begin to migrate south from Scandinavia to Eastern Europe, Black sea area, and also into the area of modern Germany where they displace the Celts. Their first contact with The Romans occurs at the end of the second century BC, when the Cimbri and Teutoni invade southern Gaul and northern Italy and are annihilated by Gaius Marius in 102 and 101. |
| 9 BC | Romans push their frontier eastward from the Rhine to Elbe; thereby incorporating the Germanic Tribes living in these areas. |
| 9 AD | Arminius, a chief of the Cherusci German tribe, and a commander in the Roman army, rebels against the Romans. He manages to unite the various tribes and inflicts a major defeat on the Romans in Teutoburg Forest. Romans lose three legions (approx. 17,000 soldiers) under general Varus who kills himself. |
| 248 – 269 | Barbarian attacks, mostly by Germanic tribes, upon the Roman empire sharply increase in severity and number until the emperor Claudius II soundly defeats them in 269. He is honored with the title "Gothicus" for his victories over the Goths. |
| 284 – 305 | The Roman Emperor Diocletian reforms the Roman administration by introducing a two-tiered system of augusti and caesars over the separate eastern and western districts of the Empire. |
| 306 – 337 | The Roman Emperor Constantine converts to the Christian religion in 312. The persecution of the Christians is ended. The Christian church is given extensive legal rights and large financial donations. |
| 341 | Ulfilas is consecrated as a bishop of the Gothic Christians by the Arian bishop of Constantinople. Thereafter he worked in the conversion of the Goths to Arianism. He invented the first Gothic alphabet and translated portions of Bible into the Gothic language. |
| 365 | The greatest part of the Roman World is shaken by a large scale and powerful earthquake. The earthquake causes the coastal waters of the Mediterranean first to recede and then flood inland as far as two miles away. 50,000 lives are lost only in the city of Alexandria. |
| 370 | The Huns, being pushed by the Chinese Empire in central Asia, migrate west and begin to invade the Germanic tribes in Europe. They invade the Ostrogoths. |
| 376 | Visigoths, fleeing the invading Huns, ask and receive permission from the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens to cross over the Danube and settle in Roman territory. |
| 378 | The Visigoths defeat the Roman army, killing the emperor Valens, at Adrianople. Theodosius I, who succeeded Valens, made peace with the Visigoths and incorporated their army into the Roman forces. |
| 395 – 397 | Alaric was a the leader of Visigothic mercenaries in the Roman army. He rebelled in 395 with his troops and invaded Greece. The Eastern emperor, Arcadius, made him the military ruler of Greece in 397. |
| 401 – 403 | Alaric attempted to invade Italy and was twice forced to withdraw by the Roman general Flavius Stilicho. Emperor Flavius Honorius, threatened by these invasions, moved the imperial residence to Ravenna in 402. Ravenna remained the capital of the Western Roman Empire until its dissolution in 476. |
| 405 – 406 | Ostrogoths led by a pagan called Radagaisus attacked Florence. Stilicho defeated them and had Radagaisus executed in 406. In celebration of this victory a triumphal arch was erected in Rome. |
| 408 – 410 | Stilicho, suspected of treason, was executed on Emperor Honorius’ orders. Upon hearing this Alaric returned to invade Italy once again on 408. He besieged Rome twice on 408 and 409 and finally captured it on 410. His sieges caused severe famine and inflicted much suffering on the people of Rome. The Senate and the prefect are known to have proposed pagan sacrifices to ward off the enemy during these sieges. Alaric’s troops were permitted to plunder Rome for three days. They are known to have treated the inhabitants of Rome humanely and burned only a few buildings. This was the first invasion of Rome by a foreign power since 800 years. Also in 410 the last of the Roman troops had to be withdrawn from the imperial province of Britannia, (The British Isles of today) which were never to be recovered again. |
| 420 | The Huns settle along the Danube, particularly in the great Hungarian Plain. The Eastern Emperor pays them a subsidy. |
| 428 | Gaiseric, the king of the Vandals, who had settled in the area of modern Spain, accepted the invitation of the Roman governor of Africa, the count Bonifacius, who wished to use the military strength of the Vandals against the imperial Roman government. Gaiseric’s troops, thought to have numbered about 80,000, crossed over to Africa and then turned on Bonifacius, defeating his army and invading most of North Africa. With the fall of Africa the Western Empire lost its strategic grain reserves and most of its economic power. |
| 434 | Attila took control of the Huns and began to attack and devastate large parts of the Eastern Roman Empire. He obtained vast sums of tribute from the Eastern Emperor. There is a story that other Barbarian chiefs could not look at the king of the Huns directly in the eyes without flinching. |
| 439 | Gaiseric solidified his reign by capturing Carthage and launching a series of seafaring expeditions from there. The vandal fleet fully dominated the western Mediterranean and dealt severe blows to the maritime ports of the Roman Empire. Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily were lost to the Vandals. Vandals belonged to the Arian heresy and wherever they invaded, they suppressed the Roman Catholic Church. |
| 450 | Attila attacked Gaul with a pretext provided by Honoria, sister of the emperor Valentinian III. The Roman general Aetius was able to form a coalition with Visigoths. After fierce fighting, Attila’s horde was stopped. |
| 451 | Attila invaded Italy and sacked several cities such as Aquileia, Patavium, Verona, Brixia, Bergomum, and Mediolanum. However, the raging famine and pestilence caused the Huns to withdraw without crossing the Apennines. Attila died during the night following his marriage in 453. |
| 454 | The Ostrogoths and the other Germanic tribes revolted against the Huns. The sons of Attila, who had quarreled among themselves for leadership, could not deal with the rebellion. The Empire of the Huns disintegrated rapidly. Also in this year the Western Emperor Valentinian III murdered the great Roman General Aetius personally with the imperial sword. When asked his opinion of this murder, one of his advisers is supposed to have told him: "You have cut off your right hand with your left." |
| 455 | Gaiseric and his troops captured and plundered Rome for 14 days. This time there was much destruction and mayhem. Many buildings were destroyed and most of the valuables were carried off. These included the holy artifacts which had been carried away by the Romans from Solomon’s temple in 70 AD. The term Vandal, which describes one who maliciously destroys property, is coined off from this famous pillage of Rome. |
| 476 | Odoacer, a commander in the Roman army and the chief of the Sciri German tribe, led a revolt against Rome. He was able to depose and exile the young emperor Romulus Augustus without a major battle. He declared himself king and sent the imperial regalia, the diadem, the orb and the scepter to the Eastern Emperor Zeno in Constantinople. This event marks the end of the Western Roman Empire. |
| 488 | Theodoric, the king of the Ostrogoths, in alliance with the emperor Zeno, invaded Italy and slew Odoacer. He was given the power, though not the title, of the Western Roman Emperor. |
| 534 | Justinian I, the Eastern Emperor, sent his general Belisarius for conquest of the territories lost to the Western Empire. Belisarius defeated the Vandals so completely that they were never able to recover again. |
| 535 | The following year Belisarius was sent to Italy to quell the disturbances arising from the death of Theodoric. After a successful campaign, the Gothic power was broken in 555 and the rule of Italy was given to the Exarchs (Byzantine governors) of Ravenna. The Exarchate of Ravenna lasted until about 726 when it was broken up by revolts and invasions. |
| 568 | The Lombards invaded Italy. During the seventh and much of the eighth century the Lombards strengthened their hold on Italy and fought off the Franks, the Byzantines, and other coalitions raised against them by the popes. |
| 754 | The Frankish king, Pepin the Short, forced the Lombards, who had now become Roman Christians, to give a considerable amount of territory to the Pope Stephen II. Byzantine claim to sovereignty in the area was ignored. This land donation of Pepin provided the basis for the Papal claim to temporal power. |
| 773 | The Lombard king Desiderius was defeated by Charlemagne who became the king of the Lombards as well as of the Franks. The Lombards gave their name to Lombardy in modern Italy. |
The meaning of the symbols used in verses 12 through 17.
Great Earthquake.
This is one of the symbols to indicate the great changes taking place in the political and social realms of the lands in and around the Roman Empire. Earthquake in the scripture often refers to great changes within the nations that are caused by God's judgment. It is also remarkable that one of the greatest recorded earthquakes took place in the year 365 within the Roman Empire. One can see from the timetable that this event also marks the beginning of the calamities symbolized by the four trumpets that brought down the Roman Empire. These are explained in chapter 8.
Great signs in the sky.
The Sun, the Moon, and the stars in this passage stand for the Roman Emperor and the rulers of the empire. Beginning with the dream of Joseph (Genesis 37:9) where he sees the future subjection of his brothers as the Sun, the Moon, and the stars bowing before him; the scripture uses this type of symbolism to refer to the rulers of the nations. Such events as the Sun becoming dark, the Moon taking on the color of blood and the falling stars indicate the impending wars and calamities about to befall the Empire. The sky being split apart like a scroll stands for the removal of the ancient pagan religions supposedly sent from the sky. The islands refer to the kingdoms and the principalities of Europe in close proximity to the Roman Empire. The Mountains refer to the rulers of these kingdoms. The word "Eminence" is derived from the word "mountain" and it is still used to address the Cardinals in the Catholic Church.
Great consternation among the heathen.
The adherents of old paganism are filled with
terror. They see the approach of the vast armies of the barbarians at the
borders of the empire. While they remain pagan, they sense rightly that
God has delivered them into the hands of the barbarians. They are in such
a state of despair that they wish themselves to be instantly annihilated
rather than having to face God's judgment.
7:1
7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree
The winds in this passage stand for wars and
conflicts. This is a common usage and may be employed in everyday language.
An expression such as "The dark storm clouds over Europe" reminds us of
the World War II. The paramilitary force of Nazi Germany was called "The
Storm Troopers". One can find many more examples. These winds, that the
angels were holding, are the calamities about to befall the Roman Empire
from the land and the sea. Here we have another interesting example of
the warfare of the angels. Fallen angels appear to have worked within God’s
providence to stir up the Barbarian nations. They would like these nations
to attack the Roman Empire immediately to annihilate it. However, God will
not allow them as yet. The angels of mercy are told to immobilize the Barbarians
until God’s purposes are fully accomplished.
7:2-17
7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 7:5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 7:6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7:7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 7:8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 7:12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes
The true believers are to be sealed before
the full destruction of the Roman Empire may begin. This seal is not a
visible mark. It is a spiritual seal of protection and apparent only to
the angels. This again shows us that even while the Barbarian armies attack
Rome in full fury, the angelic forces that control them will not allow
them to destroy the true church of God. The following facts come to our
attention from a careful study of this chapter.
| (1) | After the Conversion of the Emperor Constantine, the official policy of the Roman government changed from the persecution of the Christians to the widespread promotion of the Christian religion. This brought about a large influx of people rushing to join the church for worldly gain. Such people, since they never intended to suffer for Christ in the first place, took up very lax and worldly views of religion. As we see in the example of the church at Laodicea (Revelation 3:16), such discipleship is not acceptable to God. Furthermore, these people also developed heretical doctrines such as Arianism and Pelagianism. These heresies threatened to spread even among the true people of God. The danger, especially at that time, must have been very great for the church. Since there were no printed Bibles and very few could read and write, most relied on others for the precious truths of the Gospel. The Arian heresy claimed that Jesus Christ was not divine and the Pelagian heresy urged people to seek salvation through good works. These heresies continue even today under different names. The conditions of that time necessitated that the true people of God be separated from those who only attended the church with no fruits of righteousness (James 2:26). From our study of the Bible, we believe that this process of the sealing of the believers is not confined to the fourth century. Rather it is an ongoing process. There are times when God sees it necessary to seal his people to protect them from harm. We see his ongoing watch over his people in the following passage. "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (II Chronicles 16:9). |
| (2) | The people, thus sealed, are taken out in equal numbers from the 12 tribes of Israel. This shows that they were picked out from the Christian population. The 12 tribes cannot refer to the ancient 12 tribes of Israel. By the fourth century, the 12 tribes of Israel had been scattered throughout the world and the tribal distinctions were no longer applicable. Since they were picked out in equal numbers from each tribe, God shows no favoritism to any one particular group. These groups of Christians are comparable to the various Christian denominations that exist today. I must, however, state that not all of today’s denominations that go by the name Christian worship the true God. They are, in fact, so far gone in the way of sin that they no longer carry on even a pretense of following the Bible or believing the true God. |
| (3) | The tribe of Dan is omitted. This tribe was given to idolatry early on and continued at it until the time of the captivity. "And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh" (Judges 18:30-31). We cannot be certain that this was the actual reason for the omission of the Danites; nor can we rule it out. However, since the passage is symbolic, it is highly probable that the exclusion of the Danites stands for a serious warning to those Christians who mix pure religion with the worship of the saints. |
| (4) | The great multitude, from all the Nations, represents the state of the redeemed in the heavenly city. We learn from this that though many are lost, the gospel will, yet, triumph even in this fallen world and eventually conquer it as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 16:18. |
| (5) | The Great Tribulation, most probably, refers to the time of the extreme persecution of the church under the heathen emperors prior to Constantine. God has so decreed that this fierce persecution of the church be remembered throughout the ages and those saints, who withstood Rome's trials, be greatly honored. Even in our day and even among the heathen people one can scarcely find someone who does not know that there was a time when Christians were thrown to the lions for their faith. |
8:1
8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
The half-hour silence represents the calm before
the storm, which is about to destroy the Roman Empire. The silence may
also refer to the short breathing space enjoyed by the Christians and in
fact by the Entire Roman Empire beginning with the conversion of Constantine
to the Christian religion and ending in his death.
8:2-6
8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
The golden censer is filled with the prayers of the saints. It is offered before God with much incense. We are not told the reason for these prayers; but it is reasonable to infer that they were offered to God for deliverance from the impending calamities. God hears these prayers and delivers the church from destruction by sealing his saints as in chapter 7. However, the censer is filled with fire and thrown to The Earth amidst loud noises, thunder and lightning, and an earthquake. This shows us that God is determined in his purpose of the destruction of the Empire.
Another important lesson from this passage
is that the prayers are directed only to God and not to other saints. The
altar, where the angel stands and the incense, which is given to him, represent
the different aspects of the sacrifice of Christ. God heeds the prayers
of his saints when they are offered to him through the cross of Calvary.
8:7
8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
This refers to the Invasions of Alaric, (370-410) king of the Visigoths. Alaric was a commander in the Roman Army over Visigothic mercenaries. He rebelled against the Empire in 395 with the troops under his command. He invaded Greece and was made the military ruler of Greece in 397 by the eastern emperor Arcadius. By 401 he launched an expedition to invade Italy. He was twice forced to withdraw by the Roman General Stilicho. Threatened by these attacks, the Emperor Honorius moved the imperial residence to the more secure northern city of Ravenna in 402. By 408 Stilicho was accused of treason and executed on the Emperor's orders. Alaric heard about this and immediately launched another expedition to invade Italy in 408. He laid siege to Rome twice in 408 and 409 and captured it in 410. His troops were permitted to plunder Rome for three days. Alaric, himself, died soon after his victory. While Alaric's sieges caused severe famine and much suffering for the people of Rome, his conduct after the invasion was more humane. He is known to have said that his war was not with Jesus Christ and his apostles but with the Roman government. His troops treated the Romans humanely. They did not destroy the Christian churches and other valuable works of art. This was the first invasion of Rome by a foreign power since 800 years.
The symbols of hail and fire mixed with blood,
the burning of the earth with the trees and the grass bring to mind a general
picture of warfare and destruction applicable to Alaric's invasions.
8:8-9
8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; 8:9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
This refers to the invasions of Gaiseric, king of the Vandals in Spain. In 428 Gaiseric was invited to North Africa to help Count Bonifacius in his struggles with imperial Rome. He built a large fleet and transported all his people, purported to be around 80,000, to Africa. This migration is considered to be the greatest sea-borne movement of the barbarians. Once in Africa, the Vandals caused great devastation in their path as they moved eastward. They turned on Count Bonifacius and defeated his forces in 430. They also defeated the joint forces of the Eastern and the Western empires that had been sent to Africa. By 439 Gaiseric had captured Carthage and was the sole ruler of the old Roman province in Africa. North Africa was the breadbasket of Rome, and its loss meant another devastating blow to the very survival of the Western Empire.
By 445 Gaiseric had built a formidable naval
fleet and had begun launching many successful expeditions upon the coastal
cities of the Empire. He dominated most of the Mediterranean through terror
in the seas and thus fulfilled the prophecies of the burning mountain falling
into the sea, a third of the sea becoming blood, the destruction of a third
of the ships, and the death of a third of the living creatures in the sea.
He is remembered mostly by his savage plunder of Rome in 455. He invaded
an undefended Rome and his troops pillaged the city for 14 days. Many buildings
were burned and almost all the treasures of Rome, including the holy artifacts
from the last Jewish Temple, were carried to his ships. Many Roman citizens
were carried away as slaves. The term Vandalism is coined from this famous
pillage of Rome.
8:10-11
8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
This refers to the invasions of the Huns mainly under the most illustrious of their leaders Attila. The Huns appeared from beyond the Volga River soon after the middle of the fourth century. They quickly defeated the Alani, who had settled in the plains between the Volga and the Don rivers. They, then, overran the Empire of the Ostrogoths between the Don and Dniester rivers. The Visigoths, in what is now Romania, were the next to be conquered in 376. Their advance brought them to the frontiers of the Roman Empire at the Danube River. They settled along the Danube, particularly in the Great Hungarian Plain for about fifty years. The Eastern Roman Emperor had to pay them a subsidy to keep them at bay. By 432, the leadership of the various Hunnic tribes had been centralized under their king Rua. After Rua's death, his two nephews Bleda and Attila became joint rulers in 433. They, immediately, forced another treaty with the Eastern Emperor to double their subsidies to 700 pounds of gold each year. When the emperor failed to pay the stipulated amount, Attila launched an assault from the Danubian frontier and advanced almost to Constantinople. He forced the emperor to triple the annual subsidies to 2100 pounds of gold and also extracted 6000 pounds of gold in arrears. By 445 Attila had murdered his brother Bleda and had become the sole ruler over the Huns. He made his second great attack on the Eastern Empire in 447. He devastated the Balkan provinces and drove south into Greece as far as Thermoplylae.
Attila, so far, had remained on friendly terms with the Western Empire. However, by 451 he decided to invade the kingdom of the Visigoths in Gaul. At first he told the Roman general Aetius that he had no ambitions in the Western Empire. This all changed when he received a letter from Honoria, the Emperor's sister, asking him to save her from an arranged marriage. Whereupon Attila claimed Honoria as his wife and demanded half the Western Empire as her dowry. Aetius joined forces with the Visigothic king Theodoric I to engage Attila's forces at the Battle of Chalons. (Catalaunian Plains) The ensuing battle is considered to be one of the fiercest and costliest battles of the Western world. Historical sources tell us that approximately 300,000 bodies were left on the battlefield. The Visigothic king Theodoric I was among the casualties. In the end the Hunnic army had to withdraw. Attila, however, still commanded a powerful force and had not learned his lesson. The very next year (452) he crossed the Alps and attacked the Western Roman Empire. He devastated Aquileia, Patavium (Padua), Verona, Brixia, Bergomum, and Mediolanum (Milan). By the time he reached Rome, however, the tide had turned against him. He was short on supplies due to a devastating famine in Italy and a plague was sweeping through his forces. Also the Eastern Emperor Marcian had sent an army across the Danube to strike into the heartland of the Huns' territory. Therefore, he was, easily, persuaded by Pope Leo I to withdraw his forces from the destruction of Rome. The tradition tells us that he was terrorized by a heavenly image of the apostle Peter threatening to kill him with a sword in his hand. Whatever he saw in the sky or did not see, Attila was not to live long after this event. In 453 he choked to death in his own nosebleed in a drunken state on a wedding night to one of his many wives. Those, who buried him with his treasures, were subsequently put to death so as to prevent his grave from being discovered. His many sons, immediately, begin to quarrel among themselves. By 455 the Hunnic Empire had, altogether, disappeared.
The symbol of a blazing star falling on the
rivers is used to represent the invasions of the Huns under Attila. The
Huns appeared first on the Volga River, and then settled for a long time
along the Danube River. After crossing it they began to attack the Western
Roman Empire from the north where many of the major rivers of Europe have
their origins. Many of their battles were fought at riverbeds. The historical
record shows us that due to the extremely large numbers of casualties at
these battles, many of these rivers became red with blood. The way of the
Huns, their rapid advances, the sudden and dazzling appearance of Attila,
the accompaniment of great devastation in his path, and finally his unexpected
death at an early age and more remarkably the rapid disappearance of the
Huns upon his death remind us of a large and devastating meteor.
8:12
8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
This refers to the final overthrow of the empire by Odoacer. Odoacer (434-493) was a German warrior, the son of Edeco from the Sciri tribe. He entered the service of the Roman Army at about the age of thirty and rose quickly through the ranks.
In 475 the Roman General Orestes overthrew the Western Emperor Julius Nepos and made his 14 year-old son Romulus Augustus emperor. His son's name was changed from Augustus to Augustulus meaning "little Augustus". Orestes ruled Italy for about 12 months in his son's name. When Orestes did not fulfill his promise to give land to the German tribal leaders, they revolted under the leadership of Odoacer. Odoacer's troops quickly captured and executed Orestes. His son Romulus Augustulus was deposed and exiled. After declaring himself king, Odoacer sent the Imperial Regalia, the Diadem, the Orb, and the Scepter to the Eastern Emperor Zeno in Constantinople. After some opposition at first, Zeno granted him the rank of the Patrician of Italy. Odoacer had the support of the Senate and was able to distribute land to his followers without much opposition from the Romans. He introduced no major changes to the administration of Italy. Even though he belonged to the Arian heresy, he stayed out of the affairs of the Catholic Church.
In 488 the Eastern Emperor Zeno apppointed Theodoric, the king of the Ostrogoths, king over Italy. Theodoric invaded Italy in 489. Odoacer was no match for Theodoric's forces. He escaped to Ravenna and had to surrender in 493. Theodoric murdered him at a friendly banquet.
The end of the Roman Empire is shown as the
darkening of a third of the Sun, the Moon, and the stars. Since the Sun,
the Moon, and the stars stand for earthly rulers, it is appropriate that
a third of the world is plunged into darkness at the fall of the Western
Roman Empire. This darkening also refers to the rise of the Papacy. According
to II Thessalonians 2:6 there was a well-known power that restrained the
rise of the Antichrist. Early Christian tradition tells us that this power
was the Roman Empire. For obvious reasons Paul could not write the name
of this power in a public letter. The title "Universal Bishop" was given
to the bishop of Rome, Boniface III in the year 606 AD. As far as we know
this title was offered to his predecessor Gregory I, who was appalled by
this offer and wrote that the acceptance of this title would make one the
forerunner of Antichrist. Therefore, we have ample proof that Antichrist
began to grow soon after the end of the Roman Empire in the form of the
Papacy. The historical era, starting from 476 to the beginning of the Renaissance,
is sometimes called the dark ages in history books. (American Heritage
Dictionary 1992 edition)
8:13
8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
The eagle's warning is regarding the remaining
three blasts of the trumpets. These warnings are mostly directed at the
enemies of God to repent. They are also directed at the saints to watch
earnestly and not to become despondent.
9:1-11
9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
The fourth trumpet referred to the end of the
Western Roman Empire at 476. Therefore the events of the fifth trumpet
must refer to a major event which occurs about that time. The primary symbol
used in the fifth trumpet is that of the insect locust. The locust plague
is one that occurs primarily in the orient. "Because of their mobility
and devastating effects on crops, swarming locusts are greatly feared and
difficult to control. The most famous species the desert locust, Schistocerca
gregaria, which roams over central and North Africa, the Middle East, and
India was mentioned in the Old Testament and even earlier." (Grolier Encyclopedia
- Release 6, Locust). This in itself gives us a hint that the object of
this symbol was something that came out of the orient. In Revelation 9:11
we read that "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the
bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the
Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." This passage gives us another hint
that this plague would be of a spiritual nature. The prominent characteristic
of this plague would be a fallen angel who would be permitted to bring
these calamities upon the world. We know from other scriptures that the
Devil and the fallen angels are full of fierce enmity against men. If they
were not restrained by God, they would annihilate mankind instantly. Apparently
God, for the purposes of this plague, relaxes those restraints somewhat
and lets Abaddon loose upon the world. Here we get our third hint regarding
this plague. The Greek word Apollyon and the Hebrew word Abaddon translate
to the English word destruction. Another primary characteristic of this
plague would be one of spiritual and then material destruction of the men
in the areas where it occurs. We now have enough hints to pinpoint this
plague:
| (1) | It occurs about or after 476 AD near the time of the end of the Western Roman Empire. |
| (2) | It starts in the Orient. It could be a religious or national entity in the orient that undergoes some type of transformation to make it into a plague to the world at large. |
| (3) | Its origins are spiritual. This increases the odds that this entity will be held together and energized by a religion hostile to the Gospel. |
| (4) | It is marked by spiritual and material destruction of men. This means that the entity will be a powerful military force seeking to convert or destroy the nations of the world. |
A false prophet, born in the Middle East in
the late sixth century, who organizes the Bedouin tribes as a powerful
military force to attack other nations with the aim of either destroying
them or converting them to a false religion that is extremely hostile to
the Gospel, fulfills the requirements of the symbols of the fifth trumpet.
By now it should be clear to anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of history
that we are referring to the religion of Islam. Indeed to my mind this
passage is one of the most incredible proofs of the divine origin of the
Bible. No Skeptic in their right mind could accuse the followers of the
Prophet Mohammed of having read these passages in order to fulfill them.
There can be no physical force in the world, which could guide the course
Islam so as to make it conform to this prophecy. The idea, in itself, would
sound preposterous. Islam, in its heyday under the Saracen Empire, was
the dominant world power. The following symbols of this prophecy are explained
below, as I understand them:
| (1) | A Star falls from heaven. A star refers to a ruler. In our case this refers to the prophet Mohammed. This man claimed that an angel from heaven appeared to him and brought him the final revelation of God. He was able to convince an unbelievably large portion of the mankind of the divine origin of his message. Therefore this passage refers to the origins of his power, meaning that to his followers it looked as if he had been sent from heaven. "He had been given the keys to the bottomless pit." means that he was endowed with such skills as to bring out the bottomless pit in the hearts and minds of the individuals he controlled. Since the race is fallen, there lies an unspeakable well of evil and hatred in the deeper parts of the flesh. This evil is like a dormant volcano always ready to explode. From time to time God permits such eruptions of evil so as to show us our fallen nature and the necessity of the cross to redeem us from this bottomless pit. The most striking example of such an eruption in our age is the rise and fall of the Nazi Germany under the leadership of Adolph Hitler. One only needs to watch Hitler’s speeches in old film clips to see that he was endowed with such oratory skills as to bring out this evil within his audience. | |
| (2) | Smoke comes out of the pit. The thick smoke, which darkens the air and covers the Sun, represents the spirit of Islam. This is appropriate as in Ephesians 2:1 we are informed that Satan is called the prince of the powers of the air. The Sun represents the human government, which is weakened by the spread of Islam. This is true even in our day. Wherever the spirit of Islam reigns, it defies secular government and seeks to bring about the rule of the Sharia. This was fulfilled when Mohammed united the Arabs, who gave up their tribal form of government to rally under the banner of Islam to form the Saracen Empire. Islam was such a strong characteristic of this empire that in many history books it is sometimes referred to as the Islamic Empire. | |
| (3) | Locusts come out of the Smoke. These refer to the Saracen armies. Their physical description gives us an unmistakable picture of an Arab warrior of that time. Here are the remarkable correspondences: | |
| (1) | The symbolic creature is a locust, but it also looks like a horse prepared for battle. This refers to the Arab warriors on horseback. Further on, it is stated that the sound of their wings was like the sound of the chariots rushing to battle. | |
| (2) | They have crowns of gold on their heads. These refer to the turbans the Arabs wore. John states that these were not actual crowns but what looked like crowns. | |
| (3) | They have hair like a women and faces like a man. This refers to Arab warriors’ custom of wearing their hair long and always having mustaches and beards. | |
| (4) | They have breastplates of iron. Again this reemphasizes that these were warriors prepared for battle. | |
| (5) | Their teeth are like the Lions’ teeth and their tails are like the scorpions’ tails, which sting. This strengthens the argument that these were warriors who were endowed with ferocious energy and destructive powers through a strong faith in Islam. The expression "their power is in their tails" (Revelation 9:10) reminds one of the following verse: "The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail" (Isaiah 9:15). Here we see that a false prophet is likened to the tail. | |
| (4) | They are commanded not to hurt the trees and the grass, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Here we see that these imaginary locust-like creatures differ from ordinary locusts in a remarkable manner. They do not hurt their environment indiscriminately such as the locusts do. They are told to restrict their destruction to those people who did not have the seal of God. The sealing process of the true Christians is mentioned earlier in Revelation 7:3. The Moslem armies, unlike the Huns and the Mongol hordes, by and large, did not cut down the fruit trees and destroy the orchards nor did they kill the cattle. However, their fiercest anger was turned on those who were known idolaters. The express command of the Koran was to destroy the infidels in the areas they conquered. Those who converted to the Moslem faith or agreed to the payment of a regular tribute were often spared from destruction. They also remarkably left those, whom they considered sincere and deeply devoted Christians, alone. The Koran states that though the Christian religion teaches false doctrines, the Christians themselves are considered the people of the book and those of them, who do not worship idols, will be saved on the last day. One might say that the Moslems killed many true Christians and caused great destruction in the areas where they conquered. We would not deny the truth of this statement. However, we must remember the following facts before discrediting the entire interpretation. This prophecy is symbolic. It is not a literal account of the events. It is similar to our Lord’s parables. The outline of the beginning and the course of Islam and the Saracen Empire are told using remarkable symbols. If the Saracens killed some true Christians or they cut down orchards in some conquered lands, this does not prove that this interpretation is wrong. It is enough to state that, in the main, they followed the course of this prophecy. | |
| (5) | They do not kill but torment men for five months. I believe this passage to be the most amazing part of the prophecy. Here we are given the exact length of time the Saracens would prevail against their enemies and continue enlarging the empire. Using the principle of a day for a year in the interpretation of the prophecy, we conclude that this duration would be 150 years (5 times 30 days for each month). | |
Below is a timetable of the fullfillment of
the Prophecy.
| 570 | Birth of Mohammed. |
| 595 | Mohammed marries Khadijah. Two sons died young. Four daughters were born also. Fatima is prominent. She married Mohammed's cousin Ali. |
| 610 | Mohammed began preaching Islam |
| 619 | Khadijah died. |
| 622 | Mohammed and his followers migrate from Mecca to Medina. This is the beginning of the Moslem calendar and it is called the "Hegira". |
| 623 | Victory over Mecca at Badr. Face turned from Jerusalem to Mecca during Moslem prayers. |
| 627 | Attacks against two Jewish clans. One is totally destroyed the other is put under tribute. |
| 630 | Mohammed takes Mecca. |
| 631 | Mohammed dies at 62 years of age. |
| 641 | The second Caliph Umar conquers all of the Middle East. |
| 661 | Muawiya starts the Umayyad dynasty with Damascus as the capital. |
| 673 | Siege of Constantinople. |
| 685 | The Dome of the Rock, Islam’s second holiest shrine, is built at the location of the ancient Jewish temple. |
| 711 | Tariq Ibn Ziyad conquers Spain. |
| 717 | Second siege of Constantinople. |
| 732 | Defeat of the Saracens by Charles Martel during the invasion of France. |
| 750 | Abbasids defeated the Umayyads and established the Abbasid Dynasty. |
| 755 | Revolt against the Moslems in Spain. |
| 762 | Caliph Mansur founded Bagdad, which became the center of the Saracen Empire. This event marks the end of the expansion of the Islamic Empire. |
| 786 | Harun al-Rashid becomes caliph in Bagdad. This event marks the beginning of the decline of the Saracen Islamic Empire. |
| 870 | Al-Farabi, Moslem scholar, is born. |
| 873 | Al-Kindi, Moslem scholar, is born. |
| 980 | Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the great Islamic philosopher/scientist is born. |
The events and the dates on this timetable
are commonly agreed among most historians and can be verified through many
history books in any library. As we look at this timetable, we see that
the aggressive expansion of Islam starts about the time of the Hegira (622)
and continues until sometime between the founding of Bagdad (762) and the
Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid (786). 150 years from the Hegira takes us
to 772. This marks the end of the Locust Plague or the end of the expansion
of the Saracen Empire. The Arab Moslems did not kill, meaning utterly destroy,
the nations, whom they conquered. However, they inflicted so much punishment
upon the inhabitants of the areas they conquered and caused so much hopelessness
that the captive people wished to die to escape their dire predicament
under Moslem rule. For a Christian, conversion to Islam would be comparable
to death. The passage "And in those days men shall seek death, and shall
in no wise find it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth from
them" (Revelation 9:6) may also refer to the efforts of some Christians
to convert to Islam to escape punishment. The Moslems did not always accept
such conversions. Most of them believed that Islam had been made available
only to the Arabs, and that the Christian nations should not convert but
pay tribute and remain in a weak and despicable state at the feet of the
Moslems.
9:12-19
9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 9:15 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. 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
From the outset the sixth plague appears to
be a revival or continuation of the fifth plague. The following points
are offered in support of this position:
| (1) | The events of the fifth plague were controlled by an angel of destruction. The events of the sixth plague also appear to be controlled by, not just one, but four angels. This resemblance in itself clues us that this plague must also be of a spiritual nature. |
| (2) | There are an innumerable number of locusts that also look and sound like horses in the fifth plague. The sixth plague features an unbelievably large number of horsemen. |
| (3) | The tails of the locusts in the fifth plague are similar to scorpions' tails that sting. The tails of the horses in the sixth plague resemble dangerous snakes. We discovered in the sixth plague that the tail in the scriptures stood for a false prophet. Therefore it is highly likely that a false prophet is involved in the events of the sixth plague. It is also stated that the power of the horses was in their mouths. This strengthens the case for some type of false religion, which is spread by the word of the mouth. |
| (4) | The Locusts of the fifth plague are described as having lions’ teeth. The horses of the sixth plague are described as having the heads of the lions, emphasizing their ferociousness as warriors. |
Since there are so many similarities between
these plagues, it stands to reason that the sixth plague is most likely
a revival of the Moslem armies. Looking through history, we find just such
a revival of Islam through the conversion of the Turcomans beginning in
the tenth century. We compiled the following timetable through our studies
of history books and various encyclopedias. Not all historians agree exactly
on the dates of some of these events, but we believe that in the main they
would agree that these events did take place and that the given dates are
good estimates.
| 900s | Sometime during the century, Turcoman tribes began to migrate west from Central Asia. One of these tribes is led by a chief named Seljuk. The Seljuks settle in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes) River. Later they convert to Sunnite Islam and began to attack the easternmost borders of the Byzantine Empire and the Armenian principalities in the area. |
| 1055 | Seljuk Sultan Toghrul Beg occupies Bagdad. The declining Abbasid Caliphate accepts the Seljuks as the military protectors of the current and the future caliphates. |
| 1071 | Seljuk army under Alp-Arslan (TheCourageous Lion) defeats a large Byzantine army decisively near Manzikert. This is the modern Day City of Malazgirt and it lies a little to the east of the Euphrates river near lake Van. This battle opens the way for the Turks to accomplish an overwhelming invasion and Islamisation of Anatolia. |
| 1081 | Seljuks establish the Sultanate of Rum with its capital at Konya (Iconium). |
| 1176 | Seljuk sultan Qilich Arslan (TheSword of the Lion) defeats a large Byzantine army at Myriocephalon, (southeast of modern Ankara). |
| 1204 | The fourth crusade is launched. The Latin crusaders invade and sack Constantinople. The Byzantines are driven out of the city. |
| 1243 | Pagan Mongol hordes defeat the Seljuk Turks at the Kosedag battle, ending the Sultanate of Rum. Thereafter they become a dependency of the Ilkhanid dynasty of the Mongols who rule from Iran. |
| 1258 | The Mongols destroy Bagdad. |
| 1261 | Byzantines regain Constantinople but they are further weakened by their conflicts with the Bulgars, Serbs and other enemies to the west. |
| 1280 | Marco Polo encounters Turcomans in Anatolia. He notes that they revere the prophet Mohammed. |
| 1299 | A Turcoman ruler, Osman, who comes from a small town near present day Eskisehir, begins to gain great prominence among all the other tribes through successful raids into Byzantine territories. This is the first ruler of the Ottoman Dynasty that continues until 1922 for 623 years. |
| 1326 | Osman’s son and his successor Orhan takes Bursa, Nicea (Iznik), and Nicomedia (Izmit); strikes his own coinage, thereby declaring his sovereign Ottoman state, free from Mongol control. |
| 1361 | Ottomans begin to move rapidly to the west and the east conquering Edirne in the West and further proceeding into Bulgar and Serb territory. |
| 1389 | Ottomans defeat the Serbs at the battle of Kosovo. |
| 1396 | Ottoman Sultan Beyazid I defeats the last real crusade of the Western Knights organized by the Pope and the King of Hungary at Nicopolis on the Danube. |
| 1402 | Tamerlane, heir to the Mongol realm, moves to Anatolia and defeats the Ottomans at the battle of Ankara. |
| 1422 | Ottomans recover very quickly, forming a strong army of Janissaries and even adopting new weapons from the west such as the cannon and the musketry. They attempt an unsuccessful invasion of Constantinople. |
| 1453 | The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet II, conquers Constantinople thereby dissolving the last remnant of the Eastern Roman Empire. The great church of Hagia Sofia is turned into a mosque. |
| 1455 | Gutenberg invents the printing press in Germany. The first book printed is the Bible. |
| 1517 | Protestant Reformation begins. Eventually, the Bible is translated, printed, and distributed in the European languages. There is widespread repentance and turning away from the sins of the Papacy in Europe. |
| 1529 | The Ottoman Turks come to Vienna under Suleiman the Magnificent with a vast army to conquer the city. They are turned back decisively at the gates of Vienna. This date marks the end of the rapid westward expansion of the empire. Thereafter the Ottoman Empire slowly declines for 394 years until it is abolished and replaced by the Republic of Turkey in 1923. |
Now we will review the highlights of the sixth plague. While doing so, we will refer to the dates and the events of the foregoing timetable.
The Location of the plague:
The sixth angel blows the trumpet at the appointed time and is told immediately to release the four angels imprisoned at the Euphrates River. In the previous plague the symbol of the locust clued us that this plague had started somewhere in the Orient. Now we are told more directly that the starting location of this plague is near the Euphrates River. From the timetable we see that in 1055 the Seljuks defeated the Byzantines in the battle of Manzikert and that this was the very beginning of their invasion of Anatolia. The modern day town of Malazgirt, where this battle took place, is located nearby to the east of the Euphrates River.
The identities of the Presiding Angels over the plague:
There are four angels. These are again, as in the fifth plague, of the class of the rebel angels. This is obvious from the text as they had been imprisoned earlier and now move immediately to kill a large portion of the mankind. There are four of them instead of one called Abaddon as in the previous plague. This probably means that the people, whom they control, are not united as the Saracens were. They are made up of several nationalities or tribes. We see from the timetable that the people that came from Central Asia and invaded Anatolia were anything but united. They were made up of the Turkic and Mongol races. Through a laborious study of history, it may be possible to separate the invading peoples into four main groups; but this is not necessary. The number four here, as everything else in the prophecy, is symbolic and obviously indicates that there would be several groups of invaders.
The timing and the duration of the plague:
These angels have been prepared for the purposes of this plague. They will drive the nations they control to engage in destructive warfare against those Christians who have offended God by persistently engaging in the sins mentioned on verse 20. We may also infer from that verse that the most egregious of these sins was the worship of idols. They are to continue their attacks for one year, one month, one day, and one hour. By the usual method of calculating prophetic time of taking a day for a year, this time period adds up to a little more than 396 years. However, at the end of the sixth plague, it is stated that the people punished by the fifth and the sixth plagues did not repent, but continued in their sins. Therefore we cannot state for certain that after the passage of 396 years, the nations who brought about the sixth plague would, as happened with the Saracens, cease being a threat to the Christians of that time. It appears that the book of Revelation is written principally to reveal the future events of the Roman Empire and also of those nations who are designated as Roman. Since this plague appears to have fallen upon the Eastern Roman Empire, only those events, leading up to the end of this empire, are described. Thereafter the focus of the Prophecy changes. We are told that these 396 years were appointed to those apostate Christians, who lived to the west of the Euphrates river, as their time of judgment. If we consider the battle of Manzikert at 1055 the beginning of this time period and add 396 years to this date we arrive at 1451. The bulk of the calamities, including the termination of the Eastern Roman Empire at 1453, occur either within or in close proximity to this time period. We know from history that the Ottomans, after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, grew stronger and went on to new conquests of European Christian Nations until they were twice turned back at the gates of Vienna in 1529 and 1683. Their very long and slow decline most probably started after the failure of their first siege of Vienna in 1529 under Suleiman the Magnificent. "During his later years Suleiman withdrew from active participation in government, and his three sons contested bitterly for the succession. The weakest of these, Selim II (r. 1566-74), succeeded, and the long decline of the Ottoman Empire began." (Grolier Encyclopedia - Release 6, article Suleiman I.) The beginning of this decline, soon after 1529, coincides with the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Luther was alive at the time of the first siege of Vienna. We have seen that the forces behind the sixth trumpet were stirred up to punish those people who worshipped idols. Therefore it stands to reason that when there was a large scale turning away from the sins of the Papacy, God checked the might of the Ottoman Empire. Also remarkable is that the Ottoman decline, from 1529 to the termination of the empire in 1923, lasted 394 years. A number nearly equal to the time of the ascendancy of the Turks, from the battle of Manzikert to the conquest of Constantinople.
The symbolic descriptions of the armies of the plague:
The following is an explanation of the symbols
used to describe the Turkish armies. While reading this passage of the
book of Revelation, one must keep in mind that John did not actually see
the Seljuks or the Ottomans riding horses on the plains of Anatolia. Rather
he saw certain images which, when one looks back from our time, strongly
resemble the actual invaders.
| (1) | Two hundred thousand thousand horseman: |
| This expression, in the original Greek, is stated as two myriads of myriads. It may be understood as two hundred million or two battalions of ten thousand troops of an army that was made up of many battalions of ten thousand troops. If we take the number as two hundred million, it must be that John was able to see all of the Turkic armies, which would attack the Eastern Roman Empire during the 396 years the plague was to continue. In actuality no one, except God, can know and even estimate what such a number would be. To my mind two hundred million sounds like a reasonable number for the combined Turkic armies of the entire period. However, if we take the number as two battalions of ten thousand troops, this means that John saw only a portion of a vast cavalry force. Then again we must keep in mind that the entire passage is highly symbolic. There are no horses, which spew fire from their mouths. Therefore it is probable that this number is a symbol somehow reminding us of something regarding the actual numbers of the Turkic armies. While I don’t claim to understand the full significance of the number, I will state that regardless of whichever interpretation one follows, there are two things, which are clearly communicated by the expression. The first is that the Turkic armies, stirred up by the four angels and let loose upon the Eastern Roman Empire, would be composed of tens of thousands of troops. The second is that they would carry out their attacks on horseback. Both of these conclusions are amply borne out in history. | |
| (2) | Breastplates, which have the colors of fire, hyacinth, and brimstone: |
| These are the colors red, blue, and yellow; the well-known colors of the Ottoman armies. The names of these colors are expressed in poetic language and there is allusion here that the actual colors themselves are symbolic of God’s judgment being executed upon the apostate Christians of the Eastern Roman Empire. | |
| (3) | Heads of the horses look like the heads of the lions: |
| This symbol obviously refers to an aspect of the Turkic armies resembling Lions, the noble and the fearless king of the animal world. It is most remarkable that the two of the greatest Seljuk commanders, as seen in the foregoing timetable, are called "The Courageous Lion" and "The Sword of the Lion". | |
| (4) | Fire, smoke, and brimstone issue out of the mouths of the horses: |
| This refers to the Ottomans beginning to use gunpowder and musketry in the early 15th century. They adopted these new weapons from the West and used them skillfully with great success, especially in the conquest of Constantinople. | |
| (5) | Power of the horses lie in their Serpentlike tails and their mouths: |
| The main purpose of this symbol is to relate to us that The Turks derived their spiritual strength from a belief in a false prophet. Normally the tail of an animal is harmless and so is a false prophet among people who follow the commandments of Jesus Christ. But it appears that for the purposes of this plague, God allows a normally harmless entity such as a horsetail to be changed into a dangerous serpent. Meaning that the teachings of the False Prophet of Islam gain sway over the entire race of the Turkic peoples, well known for their military valor. The power of the mouth is also indicative of the false teachings of Islam spread by the word of the mouth, especially before the invention of the printing press. For a proof that the tail in the scriptures represents the false prophet, please see Isaiah 9:15. |
9:20-21
9:20 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: 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Here, we are given the reasons for the plagues.
The people, to whom these plagues were sent, offended God by repeatedly
engaging in the following sins:
| (1) | They worshipped demons. |
| The usage of the word "demon" in this passage does not necessarily mean an evil spiritual being as in the English language. The Greek word refers to a spirit. This could be the spirit of a person who is long dead or a spiritual being such as a demon or an angel. It is well known that in both the Western and the Eastern Roman empires the worship of Jesus Christ was mixed with the worship and adoration of ancient saints. This practice was not backed up by the word of God, but crept in through the ancient Roman and Greek pagan customs. It is most probable that the reference here is to this custom of the apostate Christians of that time. | |
| (2) | They worshipped idols made of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood. |
| We know that after the conversion of the Roman Empire to the Christian religion, the people gradually gave up the worship of their ancient gods; and the temples and the statues of these gods fell into disfavor. However, the worship of the patron saints in the form of icons and statues became very popular. The icons and the statues of these patron saints, which to this day still exist, were made up of precisely the same materials as in this expression. Therefore this expression also refers to the worship of the Christian saints. | |
| (3) | They did no repent of their murders, sorceries, immorality, and thefts. |
| These sins were also very common among the apostate Christians of that time, as they seem to be today. This is not surprising as one sees from a study of the Old Testament that once people open the floodgates of evil by engaging in idol worship, all these other sins quickly follow. |
We can see in conclusion that the most egregious
of the sins, which offended God, was the worship of the patron saints.
Even though many other things are symbolic, this fact is stated first and
it is laid out in clear, plain language. It appears nearly impossible that
an apostate Christian of reasonable intellect, who studies this passage,
will miss it. Yet even more remarkably verse 21 states that they will miss
it and continue in this sin indefinitely. We have, here, another amazing
proof of the divine inspiration of the Bible. Even today, the Roman Catholic
and the Greek Orthodox churches, which together add up to well over a billion
people, strongly sanction the worship and the adoration of the patron saints
through their icons and the statues.
10:1
10:1 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:
A mighty angel appears. His face shines as
the Sun. He is clothed with a cloud. His feet are like pillars of fire.
There is a rainbow upon his head. The clue to the meaning of these symbols
is to be found in the symbol of the rainbow. This had appeared to Noah
after the flood as a symbol of God’s covenant with the earth that He would
never again send another flood to destroy the earth. The appearance of
this angel after the judgment of the sixth trumpet, which had destroyed
the Eastern Roman Empire, shows that God was now ready to send a great
blessing to the earth.
10:2-4
10:2 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, 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 10:4 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.
This little book refers to the Bible, which was made available to the public through the invention of the printing press. Most historians agree that the final end of the Eastern Roman Empire occurred at the fall of the Byzantine State. The date for this event is the year 1453 when the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. Since the sixth trumpet also referred to this event and the angel with the little book appeared immediately following this event, we must look for the invention of the printing press shortly after this date. Looking through the major events that occurred shortly after 1453, we find that the German goldsmith Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press and printed the Gutenberg Bible as the first book around the year 1455. This remarkable sequence of events shows us that even such seemingly unrelated events as the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire and the invention of the printing press are closely related in the kingdom of God and that they take place precisely at their appointed times. It was God, who destroyed the Eastern Roman Empire and also brought about the invention of the printing press. In fact, since the first book that was printed was a Bible, it appears as if the printing press had been given to men mostly for educating them in the great doctrines of salvation. Gutenberg himself worked under very difficult conditions. It appears that he borrowed heavily in order to finance the first printing press and the very first printing of the Bible. The borrower foreclosed on him and he died in poverty in 1468 at the age of seventy. In his time it must have seemed to his peers that he was not blessed of God with great wealth and success. We must learn from this that often God accomplishes his greatest works through the efforts of his most humble servants. While such people may not live to see the fruits of their works, God sees to it that their names are remembered by the coming generations. And finally their rewards await them in heaven.
The angel, who is commissioned for the delivery
of the great truths of the Bible, places his right foot upon the sea and
his left foot upon the earth and cries with a loud noise such as when a
lion roars. This symbol corresponds to the proclamation of the great truths
of the reformation. These truths were made available to the world beginning
with the posting of Luther’s 95 theses on Oct 31, 1517, the Augsburg Confession
on 1530, and the widespread translation, printing, and distribution of
the Bible into the European languages. They were of great importance to
the whole world hence the angel straddled the land and the sea. The seven
thunders speak after the mighty roar of the angel. The apostle attempts
to write what he heard from the seven thunders; but he is told not to.
If the mighty roar of the angel refers to the proclamation of the great
truths of the reformation, the seven thunders, in all probability, refer
to the response of the Papacy to these proclamations. In the writings of
that time the expressions "Papal Thunder", "Thunders from Rome" have been
used to refer to the condemnatory decrees of the Papacy. Also the number
"seven" in the expression gives a clue to where these voices originated
meaning the city of Rome built upon the seven hills. It is well known that
the Papacy responded to the proclamations of the reformers in great wrath
with
anathemas and excommunications. The apostle, not knowing, the full import
of these symbols, might have misunderstood the utterances of the seven
thunders as coming from God. This explains his attempt to write them and
God’s command to him to cease. These Papal decrees, in themselves, were
uttered as if they were coming from God. The deception of the Papacy was
so strong that most people at the time actually believed these decrees
to be from God.
10:5-7
10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 10:6 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: 10:7 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.
This solemn affirmation of the angel regarding
the end of the world is very similar to the following passage in Daniel:
"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the
river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and
sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and
an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the
holy people, all these things shall be finished." (Daniel: 12:7). It is
most probable that these two passages refer to the time of the resurrection
and the end of the world. The reference is veiled because the timing of
this event is not to be disclosed to anyone not even to the angels. Here
the angel is stating that when the seventh trumpet is blown and the chain
of events assigned to this trumpet begin to unfold there will be no more
delay for the saints. If we take the word delay to mean anxious expectation
on the part of the saints for the fulfillment of God’s promises, the meaning
becomes very clear. At the blowing of the seventh trumpet, God will move
with great speed to execute judgment against his enemies. The seven bowls
of judgment will be poured upon the world and at the seventh bowl God will
destroy the enemies of the church at the battle of Armageddon. The Beast
and the False Prophet will be thrown alive into the lake of fire; the devil
will be bound and thrown into the bottomless pit. This will bring about
the blessed millennium. There will be no more anxious wait for the saints
during the millennium as there will be no active enemies of the church.
The next major event will be the judgment of Gog and Magog and the bodily
resurrection. If this is the correct interpretation and we are living in
the short interval between the sixth and seventh bowls of judgment, then
we must be prepared for the battle of Armageddon, which will take place
most probably very early in the 21st century.
10:8-11
10:8 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. 10:9 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. 10:10 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. 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
The apostle, now, is told to go to the angel
and pick up the open book in his hand and to eat it. The book here represents
the Bible. This is to be distributed throughout the nations. The actions
of the apostle are symbolic of the events that will take place during and
after the Protestant Reformation. God sends his angel who prepares the
world for the widespread distribution of the Bible. This work is done in
several countries and at multiple fronts. At first, certain men of God
are called and strengthened to challenge the established doctrines of the
Papacy. John Wycliff (1380-84) and John Huss (1372-1415) who thus begin
to devour the truths of the Bible and challenge the traditions of the Papacy.
The Papacy manages to silence these men at first. However, shortly afterwards
the printing press is invented at 1455 and Luther (1483-1546) is raised
up. The Papacy is restrained from silencing Luther. Thus the Bible begins
to be translated into the native languages of the nations and becomes widely
available through the printing press. The symbol of eating the little book
stands for the reformers beginning a serious study of the great truths
of the Bible. This is quickly followed by the command to prophesy again
to many nations. That is the reformers had to spread out the message of
the Gospel again to all the nations of the world. This is to be done again
as it had been done in the early years of Christianity. The pure message
of the Gospel had been stifled by men’s traditions and exaggerated fables
about the saints. The fact that the book makes his belly bitter stands
for the bitterness and sadness that one experiences when the message of
the Gospel is not accepted by the majority of the people, who mock, ridicule,
and ignore it and are left to face the awful consequences of their actions.
The correctness of this interpretation is borne out in the following passages:
"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the
joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God
of hosts" (Jeremiah 15:16), "Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat
that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel."
(Ezekiel 3:1), "Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for
sweetness." (Ezekiel 3:3), "So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away,
and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the
LORD was strong upon me." (Ezekiel 3.14) "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and
drink his blood, ye have no life in you." (John 6:53). The last passage
refers to the Christian Communion. However, the meaning of eating the lord’s
body there refers to the same thing as eating the word of God. The reference
is to the diligent study of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ that
one may obey them.
11:1-2
11:1 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. 11:2 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.
The Apostle is given a measuring rod to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship in it. However, he is to leave out the outer court of the temple, which was also called the Holy City. This was given to the gentiles who would tread it under foot for forty-two months.
The events of this passage pertain to the time
of the Reformation, which followed shortly after the invention of the printing
press. This is clear from the previous chapter where an angel presents
the apostle with a little book, which stands for the printing and distribution
of the Bible at the time of the reformation. The act of measuring refers
to the taking of an estimate of the number of people in the true church
of God. The outer court, which was to be left out, corresponds to Papal
Rome that stood right next to the temple of God but was not of it. Forty-two
months correspond to 1260 years that Papal Rome will continue in the City
of Rome in opposition to the true church of God.
11:3-4
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. 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
During the time of the trampling down of the
outer court by the gentiles, that is while Papal Rome is ascendant, there
would be two witnesses who would continue to preach the word of God for
1260 days. The symbol of the two witnesses corresponds to the scarcity
of the people of God during the times of Papal Rome. Their preaching lasts
just as long as the existence of Papal Rome. This means that the true church
will withstand the onslaught of the Papacy. No matter how strong the Papacy
appears to be, there will always be the two witnesses as a thorn on her
side. The two witnesses are also referred to as the two olive trees and
the two candlesticks that stand before God. The olive trees supply oil
to the candles so that they continue burning. This shows us that the supply
of grace and blessings for the true church will never cease throughout
the ages.
11:5-13
11:5 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. 11:6 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. 11:7 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. 11:8 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. 11:9 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. 11:10 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. 11:11 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. 11:12 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. 11:13 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
These verses describe the attempts of Papal
Rome to silence the true people of God. While reading these verses one
must exercise great care not to forget the symbolic nature of the book.
Let us examine their warfare with the enemies of the Gospel.
| (1) | They are clothed in sackcloth: |
| This shows us that the events of this dispensation would be such that there would not be too many occasions for celebration among the people of God. Though there would be many victories won by the faithful and much cause for rejoicing for their future deliverance, overall the Gospel would not be well received by the majority of mankind. Although we are nearing the end of this dispensation, we must not forget that we are still in it. This precludes us from thinking and acting as if we’re living in the era of the blessed millennium when the Devil and his angels will have been removed from the Earth. The following verse describes the current dispensation: "Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, whom withstand steadfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world." (1. Peter 5:8-9). | |
| (2) | Fire proceeds out of their mouths and devours their enemies: |
| The fire here represents the word of God as in Jeremiah 5:14 where the words of the prophet are likened to fire which consumes his enemies. Since this is not a literal fire neither in this passage nor in Jeremiah, the symbol of devouring their enemies by fire stands for the many defeats and setbacks their enemies encounter in their attempts to silence them. In the case of Jeremiah whose ministry was, in the most part, very similar to the ministry of the two witnesses, the king Jehoiakim attempted to silence him by threatening his life. However, God protected Jeremiah and indeed the word of God from his mouth devoured his enemies just as if it were literal fire. Within a few years of his ministry all his enemies were either killed or exiled by the Babylonian armies. In the current passage the enemies of the two witnesses face multiple setbacks but they manage to come back with less power each time. Their final destruction does not occur until the battle of Armageddon. | |
| (3) | They have the power to shut up the sky so that rain may not fall: |
| The symbolic rain here stands for divine influences which rain from heaven and cause the correct spiritual doctrines to be propagated among mankind. This process, in turn, is accompanied by many material blessings to the saved and unsaved alike. This passage teaches that the charge of the teaching of the correct spiritual doctrines were committed to these two witnesses in sackcloth. If they were to withhold their ministry for a while, God would withhold this spiritual rain of blessing from the world. | |
| (4) | Power to turn waters into blood and smite the earth with plagues: |
| This expression refers to wars and calamities that turned the rivers of Europe into blood in the dark days of the Papacy. Any careful student of history can trace most of these calamities to the desire of the Papacy to dominate the politics of Europe and to exterminate all opposition to her rule. The people, who are represented by the two witnesses, who refused to submit to the doctrines of Rome, were the seed for most political and spiritual opposition to the Papacy. This time period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance in the 14th century is sometimes called the dark ages. (American Heritage Dictionary 1992 edition) | |
| (5) | The Beast makes war against them and kills them: |
| This is the first time the book of Revelation refers to an entity called "the Beast". That this entity refers to the Papacy is made abundantly clear in Revelation chapters 13 and 17. For a proof of this please refer to the interpretation of these chapters. The war against them refers to the many campaigns of bloody persecutions carried out by the Papacy to exterminate them. Their murder by the beast refers to the events of a specific time period when the Papacy manages to suppress all opposition. We believe this to have occurred on May 5 1514. At the ninth session of the Lateran Council the following statement was made: "There is an end of resistance to the Papal rule and religion; opposers there exist no more". | |
| (6) | Their dead bodies lie on the streets of the great city for three and a half days: |
| This time period refers to three and half years and starts counting from the previously mentioned proclamation of the Lateran Council. The time of their resurrection and reception into heaven therefore is on October 31 1517. Remarkably this is the day of Luther’s posting up of his theses at Wittenberg, the beginning of the Reformation. During the three and a half years the two witnesses appear to be silent. The Papacy and her subjects, the nations ruled by it, are jubilant that all rebellion to the Pope is ended and that there will finally be peace in Europe. The city where they lie unburied is called Sodom and Egypt, where also Jesus was crucified. The symbol of the city in this passage primarily refers to Rome and secondarily to all the principal cities of Europe and by extension to all the major cities of the World where people mock, torment, and even kill those of the true Christian faith. God, appropriately, will send upon these cities similar plagues that were brought upon Sodom and Egypt. These plagues are described in detail in chapters 16 through 19. | |
| (7) | And after this time the spirit of life enters them and they stand upon their feet: |
| Here we see another very powerful symbol being used to represent the resurrection of the true doctrines of the Gospel. Up to the reformation the Papacy had been able to keep these doctrines hidden and away from the public. They had been able to suppress all the enemies of Rome by lies, deceit, torture, and murder. However, now the tables are turned against them. Luther, being a former monk, and learned in the ways of the Papacy, publicly denounces them. Papacy’s attempts on his life are to no avail as God raises up many German princes, who publicly support him and give him protection. By the time of Luther’s death, a large part of Northern Europe had left the Roman Catholic faith. The Augsburg Confession of 1530, presented at the Diet of Augsburg, remains unchanged as the classic statement of the faith of the Protestant reformation. | |
| (8) | A violent earthquake shakes the city such that a tenth part is destroyed and seven thousand are killed: |
| This refers to the wars and disturbances that take place during the reformation. The city here refers to Papal Rome, which loses a considerable part of its territories to the newly established Evangelical religion. The tenth part is the symbol used for the lost territories. No one can prove that the number of people who left the Catholic Church at that time amounted to a tenth of the Papacy nor is this necessary. It is a symbol, which appropriately puts an image before the mind that shows a large kingdom is weakened by major events, which are likened to an earthquake. The seven thousand men who are slain in the earthquake represent those who are killed during the wars of the Reformation. | |
| (9) | Those who remained were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven: |
| That is everyone whether saved or unsaved saw these events. They were amazed at how an insignificant monk was able to challenge and break away such a large territory from the Goliath of the Papacy. This was totally inexplicable other than by the mighty power of God. They acknowledged these events as being of God and gave him Glory. This does not mean that those people still in the realm of the Papacy turned to the true religion. Such people, though they acknowledged that these events were from God, explained them as God’s chastisement upon the Papacy for the corrupt state of the church at the time. In fact this view is the commonly accepted interpretation of the events of the Reformation in the Catholic Church today. |
11:14-18
11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. 11:15 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. 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 11:17 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. 11:18 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.
The third woe refers to the plagues that are to come at the blowing of the seventh trumpet that is the judgment of the seven vials. This is the last of the judgments and ends with the battle of Armageddon and the beginning of the blessed millennium. There remains one more judgment past the millennium when the followers of Satan are totally annihilated and Satan himself is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 10:10).
For a limited time the kingdoms of this world
had been given by and large to Satan and his angels to rule over them.
However, we must not lose sight of the fact that even then this was done
with the strict stipulation that they could not go outside the will of
the father in their rule. Now the voices in heaven declare that this arrangement
is to end soon and that the father will no more rule through the devil
and his angels but through his son. Once the son takes the scepter, he
will rule for all eternity. The twenty-four elders represent the true church
and naturally they worship and praise God for exercising his great might
and delivering the church from the rule of Satan. The nations, meaning
those ruled by Satan, are angry. This is because many of them took pleasure
in evil and willingly cooperated with the devil in his rule. When the Devil
is bound, they will be overthrown. God has already begun to distribute
his rewards for the righteous and the punishments for the wicked. No one
can stop him from his work. We also see that the wicked, who ruled under
Satan did not accomplish anything other than a gradual destruction of the
Earth.
11:19
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.
Here we see great activity in the temple of
God such as an earthquake and hail accompanied by thunder and lightning.
These phenomena accompany the presence of God when he is about to execute
some great judgment against his enemies. They show that he is angry with
the inhabitants of the earth and that he will no longer wait for them to
repent. The seven angels who carry the seven plagues are due to arrive
shortly (Revelation 15:6).
12:1-17
12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 12:3 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. 12:4 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. 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 12:6 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. 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 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. 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation chapter 12 describes the casting
out of Satan from heaven to earth where he wages war against the church.
Let us attempt to understand the symbols of this chapter in an orderly
fashion.
| (1) | A pregnant woman clothed with the Sun, the Moon under her feet, a crown of twelve stars on her head appears in heaven. She cries out being in labor and in pain, ready to give birth. The woman represents the true church of God composed of the believers. She has the Moon, the Mosaic Law, under her feet. She is clothed with the radiance of the Sun that is the righteousness of the lamb. Her crown of twelve stars stands for the twelve tribes of Israel. This is another symbol of the true church in the mosaic dispensation. Her state of being in the labor of childbirth shows the timing of this symbol. Since her offspring are the true Christians as stated in verse 17, the symbol refers to the state of the church in the early centuries of the Christian era before the conversion of Constantine. Christians of this era were subjected to unparalleled physical persecution while multiplying. This is appropriately represented as the labor pains. |
| (2) | A great red dragon with seven heads with diadems, ten horns, and a great tail also appears in heaven. He stands in front of the woman ready to devour her child as soon as she gives birth. The dragon here represents the Roman Empire in the first three centuries of the Christian era. However, since the empire was very fierce in its attacks upon the Christians of this era and it was completely controlled by the devil; this symbol can also be taken to mean the Devil himself. The seven heads with diadems stand for the different stages of the Roman government beginning with the kings and ending with the Popes. The ten horns stand for the nations that came from the Roman Empire. |
| (3) | The woman gives birth to a male son who is caught up to God and to His throne. The male child is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. This stands for the multiplication of Christians even during this difficult time of the fiercest persecutions instigated by the Dragon. The Christian principles eventually will rule the nations of the world. |
| (4) | War breaks out in heaven between Michael and his angels and the Dragon and his angels. The devil and his angels lose. They are barred from heaven and cast off to the earth. This is also symbolized as the tail of the Dragon sweeping a third of the stars of heaven and casting them to the earth. These events refer to the complete reversal of the temporal agency of the Roman government from the persecution of the Christians to the strong support of the Christian religion during the rule of the emperor Constantine. This is clear from Daniel 10:12-13, Daniel 10:20-11:1 where we are told that Michael the Archangel and other angels of God continually battle with the angels of the Devil over influence in human affairs. Michael and his angels gain the upper hand in this battle and wrest control of the Roman government from the Dragon. In the book of Daniel 12:1 we read that Michael the archangel protects the interests of the people of God. Therefore this interpretation is completely in accordance with other parts of the scripture. We are also told that the devil and his angels, whom he swept with his tail and cast off to the earth, are permanently barred from heaven. This refers to the placing of further restrictions on the activities of the Devil and his angels with respect to their role in the government of the world. We are not given the details of these restrictions; but we should be careful not to confuse this event with the events of Revelation 20:1-3 where the devil is bound with a chain and imprisoned in the bottomless pit for a thousand years. That event refers to the beginning of the Millennium and the Devil, instead of being thrown to the earth, is removed from the earth and restricted so as to have almost no influence in the government of the world. |
| (5) | The dragon attacks and persecutes the woman who is given the two wings of the great eagle. She flies to the wilderness, to a place prepared by God. She is nourished there, safe from the dragon for 1260 days or time, times, and a half time. Even though the agency of the Roman Empire is converted to the Christian faith, this gives only temporary respite to the Christians. Very quickly the devil rushes to raise up other enemies to the Christians in the form of invading barbarians, and a false Christian church from Rome. The Christians, this time, become practically invisible. They, nevertheless, survive and even manage to multiply under God’s nourishment the times of the apostasy of Papal Rome, which lasts for 1260 years. |
| (6) | The serpent pours water like a river out of his mouth to sweep away the woman in a flood. The earth helps the woman by opening up its mouth to swallow the river. This flood stands for the flood of enemies raised up against the church by Papal Rome. Nevertheless, these enemies could never destroy the church in its entirety. God always intervened on behalf of his people. This is represented as a chasm suddenly opening up in the earth and draining off the waters of the flood. |
| (7) | The dragon becomes enraged with the woman and goes off to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. This passage clarifies that the woman indeed represents the church and her children are the true Christians. It also settles once and for all that the true Christians obey the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. In the time of Apostle John the Bible had not yet been completed. Now that it is, the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus are fully documented in it. Therefore this statement can be taken to mean that the true Christians are the ones who study and obey the Bible. This fact is reiterated in II Timothy 3:16, Revelation 22:7, and 22:9 in clear language and implied in numerous places throughout the Bible. |
13:1-18
13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Two beasts are described in this chapter. Let us attempt to understand the nature and the accomplishments of these beasts in an orderly fashion. Much of this material is also repeated and in some cases further elaborated in the interpretation of chapter 17.
The First Beast.
| (1) | The first beast comes up out of the sea. It has seven heads with blasphemous names and ten horns with crowns. Its overall appearance is suggestive of a leopard. Its feet resemble a bear’s feet. Its mouth is like the mouth of a lion. This beast, without a doubt, refers to the Pagan Roman Empire, which rose from the turbulent sea of the nations (BC 753 - AD 476). In this passage the seven heads with blasphemous names refer to the successive stages of the Roman Government beginning with Kings and ending with Popes. The blasphemous names on these heads show that this empire will continue its opposition to God until the time of its final destruction at the battle of Armageddon. The ten horns refer to the nations of Europe that came from the Roman Empire. The leopard appearance denotes its speed in its conquests. The bear’s feet stand for its trampling down its enemies with great destruction. And the mouth of the lion stands for its great power in devouring its enemies. One should keep in mind that this is only a symbol and that God did not intend to give us all the details and the events of the Roman Empire by this symbol. It is somewhat analogous to the shadow of a complex object. Enough details are given so that one can identify this as the Roman Empire; but cannot make out the names of its rulers, the extent of its territories, the times of its great battles etc. The details are hidden by design as God, if it suited His purposes, could have revealed all the future events of the Roman Empire down to their last detail. This has been done in other passages of the Bible regarding the future events of the nation of Israel and other nations. |
| (2) | The Dragon gives this beast his power, his throne, and great authority. This refers to the source of the great power of the Roman Empire. While it is God, who ultimately controls the governments of the world, occasionally, whenever it is suitable to His purposes, He may allow another created being to rule in His place. One must not think that the devil had been given unlimited rule over the Roman Empire. These very passages are proof that even his actions were fixed and predetermined long ago. Even though he was in charge of the Roman Empire and he knew the identity of Jesus as a baby, he was not able to kill him and thereby nullify the prophecies regarding the Messiah. Here we see that regardless of how much power and authority the devil exercises, he cannot do a single thing outside the will God. |
| (3) | Through a series of events, one of the seven heads of the beast is fatally wounded. But somehow this deadly wound is healed and this event only increases the popularity of the beast with the people of the world. It looks as if no one can overcome the beast. Since each head represents a distinct form of government in the history of the Roman Empire, the death of one head would mean the death of the empire. We are not told explicitly which head in succession had been mortally wounded. However, there is a clue to the identity of this head in Revelation 17:10. There it is implied that these heads represented distinct stages in the rule of the Roman Empire and that the apostle lived during the time of the sixth head. The seventh would come and disappear within a short time and then the eighth would be established. Since the time of the seventh is very short, the beast is seen as if it had seven heads. The transition from the sixth head to the short-lived seventh head stands for the end of the Ancient Roman Empire. After the city of Rome was taken by Odoacer of the Heruli, it came under the rule of the Exarchate of Ravenna. This lasted until it was taken by the Franks eventually to be made a part of the Papal States. It came under the rule of the Popes around AD 753. The seventh head, which lasted a short time and therefore is not seen on the beast, refers to the time of the Exarchate of Ravenna. The sixth head, the imperial, was the one that was slain; that is, the city of Rome was taken by the Germanic tribes. The beast was mortally wounded. However, when the Papacy was established as the temporal ruler over the Papal States, it became the visible seventh head. As is well known, the Popes eventually acquired the same powers as the emperors and ruled over the kings of Europe. This refers to the revitalization of the beast under the seventh head. |
Verses 4 through 18 refer to events that take place under the seventh head; that is, during the rule of the Papacy. The seventh head, as it was diverse from all the other heads, is also shown as the second beast.
The Second Beast.
| (1) | The second beast rises out of the earth. This beast represents the religious aspect of the Papacy arising from a more settled environment. This environment represents the influence of the Christian religion in the turbulent sea of the nations. The major doctrines of the Christian religion are already established and the Papal system gradually begins to take shape upon the World scene. It is formed with great skill and craftiness such that in its outward form it has the appearance of the true religion of Jesus Christ. The correctness of this interpretation is borne out by the statement in verse 11 where it is stated that this beast had the likeness of a lamb with two horns. The symbol of the lamb is very strongly suggestive of the Christian religion. |
| (2) | However, great care is taken to emphasize that this beast, despite its godly appearance, was in fact of the same class as the first beast. For immediately in verse 11 it is stated that he spoke as a Dragon. This shows that his lamb appearance was for the purposes of deception. |
| (3) | The second beast brings the first beast back to life from its fatal wound. He accomplishes this by building an image of the first beast and then breathing life into it. This corresponds to Papal Rome’s gradual acquisition of the powers and authorities of Ancient Rome in the same territories. Even though the first beast had been killed; now it is revived in the temporal rule of the Papacy. |
| (4) | The second beast makes the world worship the image of the first beast. Those who oppose this are killed. There is allusion here to the worship of emperors, various deities, and idols practiced in Ancient Rome. The second beast brings back and reinforces these practices in a different form. This refers to the widespread propagation and the religious sanctioning of the adoration and the implied worship of created beings by Papal Rome. According to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles; adoration and worship are due only to God and that no created being, including the mother of the earthly form Jesus Christ, are worthy of it. |
| (5) | The beast, through its seventh head, begins to blaspheme God and the dwellers of heaven. His authority lasts for 1260 years (forty-two months in prophetic time). This refers to the many unscriptural claims of the Papacy regarding His exalted standing with God and his alleged infallibility regarding spiritual matters and also to the practice of the canonization of certain departed saints of God for prayer and adoration. In Revelation 18:20 we read that these very people, the saints and apostles who were canonized by Papal Rome, rejoice in her destruction. Since prayer and adoration is due only to God, the prayers and the adoration directed to these people is blasphemous and a cause of constant grief for them. |
| (6) | Authority is given to the beast over all the nations of the world. He wages war with the saints and overcomes them. Again we have to be careful not to stretch the symbolical language too far. This refers to the extended rule of Papal Rome over the nations of Europe and her relentless persecution of those Christians who saw through her lies and deceptions. |
| (7) | The people in Papal lands, whose names have not been recorded in the book of life, will be deceived by her and participate in her blasphemous rituals and idol worship. |
| (8) | The perseverance and the faith of the saints of God will be sorely tested by the agency of the beast. However, the limits of all of these trials are firmly fixed by God. The trials will not go beyond their predetermined lengths. Those, thus used by the beast to bring on these trials, will be severely punished. |
| (9) | The second beast manages to deceive the world into idol worship by a twofold approach. First he appears to them as a lamb, as the true representative of Jesus Christ on earth. And as proof of this claim he performs signs and wonders, similar to the miracles, which occurred in the days of the apostles. This corresponds to the many false miracles of common knowledge as performed by the saints and priests of Papal Rome. Secondly he uses the civil and administrative powers of the government to attack and kill those, who see through these deceptions and refuse to participate in idol worship. |
| (10) | The people thus deceived are from all walks of life. There are many that are poor and many that are rich. The dominion of the second beast is not limited to one class of people. Thus it was, and still is that Papacy has adherents among all classes of people. |
| (11) | The followers of the beast receive a mark identifying them as such. This mark is placed so as to be visible and for the purposes of identification. They cannot engage in commerce without this mark. This passage refers to the identifying marks of this religion. No one can deny that in all parts of the world it is easy to identify those who owe allegiance to the pope as if they were carrying a visible mark. In the lands where the majority of the people owed allegiance to the Pope, it was considered a crime to belong to another religion. The people, who did not carry the mark, meaning that they were outside the catholic faith, were often restricted or barred from regular commerce. However, we must be careful not to apply the interpretations of these events to the entire time of the life of the second beast. Nor, are the events described exclusively applied to Papal Rome. It is a known fact that in most Moslem lands the infidels are treated with contempt and are subject to similar restrictions. In fact, in our age, we do not see the papacy having any say even over the commerce of the catholic lands. The apostle saw in his visions that a time would come when these things would take place. Nowhere is it stated that they would continue the entire duration of the reign of the second beast. |
| (12) | The number of the beast is 666. This passage was interpreted among the early Christians to refer to the word "Lateinos" in the Greek language. Since each letter stood for a number in the Greek language, one can add the numbers of the letters of a Greek word to come up with a number. In this case the word "Lateinos", which means "The Latin man" in English, adds up to 666. After the breakup of the Roman Empire the eastern half was called Greek and the Western half was called Latin. Therefore, the word Lateinos is a proper designation for the Latin Church; that is, the Papal Rome. We see from the writings of Irenaeus and other ancient saints that they reached this solution via deduction from Daniel 7:7-8 and especially from 7:24-25 where the little horn that grows from the fourth beast (Roman Empire) is depicted as Antichrist. It is abundantly clear from those passages and the facts of history that the little horn refers to the Papacy. |
14:1-5
14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
The apostle’s eyes are now turned to heaven.
He sees Mount Sion in the vision. This is the location of the true Church
as according to Hebrews 12:22. He sees the same the saints of God there
that were sealed on their foreheads by an angel in chapter 7:2-8. They
are singing a new song before the throne of God. They number in 144,000
and the true meaning of their song of redemption cannot be appreciated
by anyone outside their number. They follow the Lamb everywhere. Two important
truths are taught by the symbols here. First, the exact number of the redeemed,
down to the last detail, are known to God. The number 144,000 stands for
this exact count. In Revelation 7:9 the apostle tells us that the actual
number of the saved is so large that no one could count them. Second, though
this world is in open rebellion against God it is also a school for the
saints who learn to appreciate the songs of Zion here. None will enter
into heaven without first allowing the sentiments of heaven to enter into
their hearts while on earth. There is also emphasis on two important characteristics
of these people. They are chaste and they have no guile in their mouths.
They are chaste because they have learned not to compromise themselves
with spiritual adultery of idol worship and its earthly equivalent of an
immoral lifestyle. They have no guile in their mouths because they exercise
strict discipline over their tongue in accordance with James 3:1-12.
14:6-13
14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
An angel swiftly flies over the earth and spreads the message of the everlasting Gospel. The message of the gospel is preached to all classes of people of all different nations. This is a symbol of the events of the end of this dispensation. Currently the Bible is translated into more languages than any other book. With very few exceptions practically everyone in the world is exposed to the Gospel. The angel’s message is one of warning to all people to escape the coming destruction of Papal Rome referred to as Babylon. God is ready to destroy this formidable enemy and his people should be careful not to participate in her sins. Since the enemy is settled over a large portion of the earth, her destruction will result in worldwide hardship for everyone. The angel reminds everyone that it is God who made all things and that He is not a bystander who is bound by his merciful nature and therefore unable to execute fierce judgment against His enemies. This is clear from the words "Fear God" in the beginning of his message. There is also allusion in this passage that the downfall of Papal Rome will be, in the long term, by the widespread preaching of the Gospel.
Another angel follows in quick succession stating the object of God’s judgment. Lest anyone mistake the symbol for something else, it is pointed out very distinctly that this is Babylon, the great city meaning Papal Rome who caused the nations to turn to idol worship from the worship of the true God.
Yet a third angel follows in quick succession
with the details of who will be included in the coming judgment and what
will happen to those who are thus judged.
| (1) | Those who worship the beast and his image will be included in the judgment. These are the people who willfully participate in the blasphemous and unscriptural rituals of the Catholic Church that involve prayer to and adoration of Virgin Mary and the saints. |
| (2) | Those who receive the mark of the beast will be included in the judgement. These are the people, who, either willfully or by careless ignorance of her abominations, join themselves to Papal Rome, sometimes for convenience sake in heavily Catholic areas of the world. |
Their judgment will be:
| (1) | They will drink of the wine of the wrath of God. As they drank of the wine of fornication of idol worship through the inducements of Papal Rome, they will now be subjected to the fiery torments of hell. |
| (2) | This torment will continue forever. They will have no rest from it day or night. Lest they think that maybe, at some future time, Jesus and his angels will come over to their place of torment and seeing their anguish be moved to deliver them, they are told that their torment will take place in the very presence of the Lamb and the holy angels. There is also allusion here that none of the saints, whom they worshipped and who are now among the holy angels, will help them |
Those who keep their faith through these fiery
trials brought upon them by the beast, who persevere through patience,
will be called the true saints of God. Another voice from heaven states
the blessedness of dying in such a state. From the moment of death the
saints begin their rest, and their works go with them to heaven. The strong
encouragement of the blessedness of dying in the Lord in this context means
that many saints will be martyred during the trials brought upon by Papal
Rome.
14:14-20
14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Although most of the book of revelation is
written according to the chronology of the events, there are times when
the Holy Spirit will insert a prophecy that appears to defy this chronological
sequence. In most cases such insertions are a look at the past events from
a different perspective. However, in the current passage we see a reference
to a future event, which will be told in more detail beginning in chapter
16 verse 17 in the context of the seventh vial. The imagery employed in
this passage is very similar to the parable of our Lord in Matthew 13:24.
The time is the end of this dispensation. This may also be considered the
time of the battle of Armageddon, which will take place just prior to the
millennium. At this time the evil forces of the world become united against
the true church of God. From the heavenly location of the Son of man and
his angels this is seen as the earth becoming ripe. The Son and his angels
are commanded by God to move against the evil alliance of the Beast, the
False Prophet, and the Dragon and all of their unrepentant followers (Revelation
16:13-14,19:19). The forces of evil are destroyed as one cuts grapes of
wine with a sharp sickle. They are thrown into the winepress of the wrath
of God. Then we are presented with a most awesome and horrible picture
where the winepress is trodden outside the city. It, now, becomes clear
that the grapes represent those people in the evil alliance against God.
For what comes out of the winepress is not grape juice, but their blood
which covers an area of two hundred miles and rises to the height of a
horse's bridles. This picture is perfectly in accordance with Revelation
19:17-18 and 21 where the same events are told using different symbols.
In both cases the message of the Holy Spirit is the same. There will be
an unprecedented slaughter of the enemies of God in the battle of Armageddon.
It is quite possible that the number of the dead will exceed those who
died in the flood.
15:1
15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
The judgments, introduced at the blowing of
the seventh trumpet by the seven angels carrying the vials of wrath, are
near the end of the book of Revelation. This series of judgments start
with the French revolution and end with the battle of Armageddon and the
beginning of the Millennium. These passages are especially important to
our generation overlapping the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries.
As I write the first draft of these passages in February of 1997, I believe
that we are now living in the interval between the sixth and the seventh
vials of judgment. If so, the outpouring of the seventh vial cannot be
far. Through these judgments God will overthrow the kingdom of the Antichrist
and prepare the earth for the blessed millennium.
15:2-4
15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
The Apostle sees a sea of glass mingled with
fire. This scenery is not unlike that in Revelation 4:6. The expression:
"a sea of glass", meaning the platform upon which the saints stand, probably
indicates that the kingdom of God is vast and boundless as the sea. The
fire, mingled in parts of the glass, shows that God’s wrath is about to
be unleashed upon the earth. A number of people carry the harps of God
and sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. This was taught to
the children of Israel after their deliverance from Egypt. Since God calls
the kingdom of the Beast Sodom and Egypt in Revelation 11:8, it is appropriate
that their singing refers back to that event. They sing of the Holiness
and the Justice of God. The nations in league with the Beast, who are now
ignorant of God, will soon learn to fear Him in the coming judgments. After
the completion of the judgment of the seventh vial, at the end of the battle
of Armageddon, a spectacular revival will take place among the nations
of the world.
15:5-8
15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
The Temple of God comes into view. This is
shown to us in a shape similar to the Jewish Temple of the old covenant.
The section of this temple that is referred to as the Holy of Holies is
opened up. This was also called "The testimony of the presence of God among
his people". It was regarded as the peculiar dwelling place of God. Seven
angels come out of the temple. One of the four beasts (Also mentioned in
Ezekiel 1:4, Revelation 4:6), from around the throne of God, gives a golden
vial to each angel. These vials are full of the wrath of God. Smoke fills
the temple such that no one may enter it any more. God’s purpose in sending
out these judgments is irreversible. No one may go to the temple and intercede
with God for turning away the judgments of the vials. This shows us that
though we may pray for the betterment of the world according to the principles
of the Gospel, we must accept that this will not be so until the completion
of the judgments of the seven vials. Prayers for universal peace among
mankind should be made with a view to the blessed Millennium. Before the
battle of Armageddon, there will not be universal peace. In fact, it is
probable that the battle of Armageddon will be fought by men attempting
to bring about universal peace.
16:1
16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth
A great voice from the smoke filled Temple
commands the angels to go their ways and pour out the vials of wrath upon
the earth. The instructions do not specify in what order the vials are
to be poured out. The angels apparently knew their turns.
16:2
16:2 And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and that worshipped his image.
At the outpouring of the first vial, loathsome
and malignant sores appear on the people who bear the mark of the beast
and worship his image. We see in Revelation 11:8 that the city, where the
beast kills the two witnesses, is called Egypt. The city there represents
the Papal lands. Since God has called these lands Egypt, appropriately
He sends plagues upon them that are similar to the plagues that were visited
upon ancient Egypt. This one is similar to the sixth Egyptian plague where
Moses and Aaron sprinkle ashes upon the land and boils break forth on all
the Egyptians. However, we must not look for a literal fulfillment of this
symbolic passage. Widespread malignant sores here stand for extreme moral
and spiritual corruption. That this happened in Papal lands and after the
reformation narrows it down further. The event, which fits the details
of this plague very well, is the French Revolution that began in AD 1789.
The horrors of the French Revolution, with its attended moral and spiritual
decline upon France and the rest of Europe, may be described as malignant
sores upon the people who had the mark of the beast. Without a doubt this
was a major blow to the Papacy. The French kings were ordained and blessed
by the Pope. Therefore, a revolt against the French king was equivalent
to a revolt against the power and influence of the Papacy. If the only
object of the revolution was the removal of the Papacy from being the spiritual
head of the Christian church, the French Revolution could not be construed
as the breaking out of malignant sores upon the people. Unfortunately,
the people, who revolted against the Papacy, saw it as the only representative
of the Christian church. Therefore their rage quickly turned against the
principles of the Christian religion. Their reasoning went: since the Papacy
had become so corrupt following the teachings of the Bible, these teachings
could not be right. There was an outbreak of atheism, a blasphemous spirit
of mockery against spiritual values, a callous disregard of morals, wanton
violence, and injustice. The foundations of many Antichristian ideologies,
such as communism, were laid at that time.
16:3
16:3 And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.
At the outpouring of the second vial, the waters
of the sea became like the blood of a dead man; and all the living things
in the sea died. This plague is somewhat similar to the first Egyptian
plague where the waters of the river Nile were turned into blood and the
fish died. Again, the symbolism of the passage leads us to look for an
event where so much blood was shed into the sea that the sea could be thought
of as having turned into blood. This event must also take place soon after
the French Revolution and most likely involve the people of the Papal lands.
We find such an event in the great naval warfare between England and the
allied navies of France, Spain, and Holland. The Naval battles began soon
after the French revolution (around AD 1793) and lasted approximately twenty
years. Needless to say, a very large number of people died in these battles
such that "the sea became as the blood of a dead man".
16:4-7
16:4 And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou, who art and who wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge: 16:6 for they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy. 16:7 And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
At the outpouring of the third vial, the rivers and the fountains became blood. This is again somewhat similar to the first plague of Egypt. It is also related to and a logical continuation of the judgment of the second vial. We must look for a series of events, which took place after the French revolution, involved great loss of life in warfare in papal lands that are near the origins of most of the rivers of Europe. Also the angel of the waters gives a clue by stating that the people in these lands had shed much blood of the saints and the prophets. The battles, fought during the invasion of Italy and Switzerland by Napoleon, fulfill all the requirements of the symbolism of the third vial. These lands are situated near the source of the rivers of Europe. Under the papacy many bloody persecutions of Christians took place in these lands. We can cite the Papal campaigns of extermination carried out in these lands against the Waldenses and the Albigenses.
We see praise offered to God by the Angel of
the waters, and by other heavenly beings at the altar of God for these
judgments. As awful and destructive as these plagues seem to be, they are
brought about to show us the exacting nature of God. While it may be possible
that the individuals, who participated in these crimes, may have repented
and were forgiven, the Papacy as an institution is not forgiven and the
largely Catholic people of these lands are judged for the earlier sins
of the Papacy. With our limited understanding, It is unwise for us to attach
ourselves too strongly to earthly denominations. Our loyalty should be
to the Bible and to the invisible heavenly church of Jesus Christ. No attempt
should be made to whitewash past sins of the founders of any denomination.
If we do join a denomination, all attempts should be made to investigate
the history of the denomination. We will find out that more often than
not godly men of good repute had serious weaknesses and that the churches
they founded continued their errors. Of course some errors are more serious
than others and depending on the type of error in a church, we must decide
whether to continue our membership or sever our ties.
16:8-9
16:8 And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. 16:9 And men were scorched men with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.
At the outpouring of the fourth vial, the heat
of the Sun is greatly increased so as to scorch men with fire. This plague
cannot be considered similar to any of the Egyptian plagues. Normally the
Sun, the Moon, and the stars represent the governments of the world. The
scorching of the Sun refers to the governments giving up their duties of
keeping law and order and instead engaging in attacks upon their own people.
The timing of this plague corresponds with the French Revolutionary wars
and the Napoleonic wars. These wars were waged throughout Europe and the
whole European scenery was ablaze with gunfire. Needless to say, at the
time, the spirit of blasphemy was rampant and though the number of the
dead in these battles was immense, there was no sign of repentance among
the European nations.
16:10-11
16:10 And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 16:11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works.
At the outpouring of the fifth vial upon the
throne of the Beast, darkness falls over his kingdom. This is similar to
the ninth Egyptian plague of thick darkness covering the land Egypt for
three days. This plague is visited upon the throne of the Beast. This means
that it is directed at the power and authority of the office of the Pope.
It happened during the reign of Pope Pius VI (1717-1799). Pius VI remained
opposed to the French revolution and condemned the Civil Constitution of
the Clergy, which subordinated the French clergy to the state. In 1798
a French army occupied Rome and took Pius VI prisoner who was taken to
France where he died. The subsequent Pope Pius VII also was imprisoned
by the French for five years until the Congress of Vienna (AD 1814-15).
Without a doubt the same spirit of unrepentant blasphemy and mockery prevailed
at the time of this plague as in the previous ones.
16:12-14
16:12 And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might by made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising. 16:13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: 16:14 for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
At the outpouring of the sixth vial upon the great river Euphrates, its waters dry up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. This is again not unlike the splitting of the Red Sea through which the Israelites crossed to safety from the pursuing Egyptians. The river Euphrates in this passage stands for the Ottoman Empire. Around the tenth and the eleventh centuries Turkic tribes, who roamed in the Altai Mountains, begin crossing the Euphrates River and invading Asia Minor or Anatolia. One of these tribes, the Ottomans built a new empire in northeastern Anatolia starting in the fourteenth century. As the Moslem Turks invaded and settled in Anatolia and the lands further west, the native Christian population of these lands became practically extinct. The judgment of the sixth trumpet refers to this invasion where the Turks are stirred up by the release of the four angels who are bound at the Euphrates River. Since the judgment of the sixth vial is poured on the Euphrates River, which dries up, it must mean the decline and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. We have the historical record that the Ottoman Empire officially ended on AD 1923. The Republic of Turkey, which has almost nothing in common with the Ottoman Empire, has been established in greatly reduced territories in its place.
Since the Ottoman Empire had devoted itself to the spread of Islam, in its day it was a formidable enemy of the true Christian religion in the lands under its influence. We read that as soon as the Euphrates River dried up, a clear path was prepared for the kings of the east to walk towards the west. In order to understand this passage we must first attempt to establish who is meant by the term "The kings of the East". In all probability this term corresponds to our expression "Far East" which is used primarily to refer to China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. Other than these countries, in a secondary sense, it could refer to the following countries: Burma, Kampuchea, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The symbol of a clear path being built for the kings of these nations so that they could walk west if they wanted to, stands for their being offered the gift of the Gospel and the freedom to exercise the true religion without hindrance. If we look at the world from the viewpoint of these nations of the Far East, the message of the Gospel originated from Jerusalem, a land to their west, and from there it spread throughout the Roman Empire further west and then to North and South America on the western hemisphere. In most of the lands to their west the gospel was widely preached and there was comparative religious freedom. The obvious meaning of this passage is that soon after the end of the Ottoman Empire, a significant portion of these lands would hear the message of the Gospel and experience religious freedom similar to the western countries. Without a doubt there has been much political turmoil in these countries in the first half of the twentieth century and on some of them the turmoil still continues. Currently, South Korea and Philippines have become Christianized as much as any European country and most of the others, with a few exceptions, have sizable Christian minorities. And almost all of them have heard the message of the Gospel preached to them whether by radio, television or through the efforts of the missionaries.
Three distinct events are foretold within the
judgment of the sixth vial. The last event is the worldwide moral and spiritual
corruption effected by the unclean spirits issuing forth from the mouths
of three distinct entities: The Beast, The Dragon, and The False Prophet.
The Beast in this passage is the Papal Rome. This formidable enemy of the
true religion has somehow recovered from the judgments of the first through
the fifth vials and it has resumed its battle against Jesus Christ in full
force. The Dragon refers primarily to Communist China and secondarily to
other lands where the government encourages atheism and discourages the
practice of the true religion. The False Prophet refers to the Prophet
Mohammed and the followers of his book, the Koran. Currently the population
of Communist China is about 1.2 billion whereas the Catholics and the Moslems
each number about a billion. If the world population is about 5.7 billion,
a conservative estimate of these entities adds up to a little more than
half the world population. It is stated in the passage that these entities
are able to influence the people of the world to gather them together for
the battle of Armageddon. In order to exercise such influence upon the
whole world, the membership of these entities must be immense and be distributed
throughout the globe. This fact reinforces our interpretation of their
identities. In fact, when I asked the question: "What are the three most
significant powers in the world?" to people of varying degrees of education,
I received answers strongly suggestive of these three entities mentioned
in this chapter. Most everyone readily admit that Islam and Communist China
qualify as great hostile forces to be reckoned with. Western World is also
accepted as a great force on the level of Islam and Communist China, but
it is not considered as being against the true religion. Therefore, the
majority religion of the Western World, the Catholic religion, is not widely
recognized to be the Beast. We believe this also is in accordance with
the prophecy. Since the influence of the Beast is the strongest in the
Western World, it is natural that the majority of this realm do not recognize
it as such. If this fact was widely known and believed, the prophecy could
not be fulfilled. I believe the true identities of these powers will be
widely publicized during the Millennium when they no longer exist. The
unclean spirits, issuing from the mouths of these entities, refer primarily
to television and movies and secondarily to newspapers and radio. These
inventions began to play a very important role in the history of mankind
shortly after the end of the Ottoman Empire around 1923. This is very soon
after the drying up of the Euphrates River. In fact, the first regular
television broadcasts started in London and New York simultaneously in
1936. The negative moral and spiritual effects of television and movies
upon mankind cannot be overemphasized. One may raise an objection to this
interpretation claiming that these inventions have speeded up the distribution
of the Gospel around the world. My answer to this objection would be that
the prophecy does not claim that these things are bad in themselves. Rather
it is stated that the influence of the enemies of the true religion upon
these inventions causes them to be used in a manner hostile to the true
religion. Currently, as far as I know the broadcast media, by and large,
promotes moral and spiritual values directly opposite those of the true
religion. If this is not widely known by the public, it is because the
public is so used to getting all their information from these sources that
they cannot see beyond them. I suspect that more of the public are aware
of the corruption of the media than we give them credit for. However, the
pull and the temptation of television and the movies are such that many
people, who know them to be corrupting influences, still continue watching
them not unlike a Physician who continues to smoke. It is also stated that
miracles were used to deceive the people of the world. This refers to the
many apparitions of the Virgin and other such things occurring in Catholic
and Moslem lands. Without a doubt, the news of these miracles is spread
very quickly through the broadcast media to exert a strong influence upon
everyone.
16:15
16:15 (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walked naked, and they see his shame.)
These words, spoken by Jesus Christ, are addressed directly to his saints. The warning speaks of His coming to execute judgment at the outpouring of the seventh vial. He will come as a thief that is at a time when people, including most of his saints, scarcely expect His arrival. The saints are advised to keep their clothes on. Those, who did not keep their clothes on, will be ashamed. Even though these words were spoken more than 1900 years ago, it is clear that the speaker knew the conditions that would prevail at our age and spoke a warning very appropriate for the present day Christians.
From the time of the French revolution in 1789 to the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, the plagues of the first six vials took 134 years to complete. There are also two distinct events to take place soon after the outpouring of the sixth vial. We saw that these events are also taking place around the world currently. However, as of now, as I write the first draft of these notes in 1997, though it has been 74 years since the drying up of the Euphrates River, we have not witnessed the outpouring of the Seventh Vial. This is a comparatively longer stretch in this series of judgments. This is the reason for the warning from Jesus that He will not come at the time expected by the believers who mark the dates and the times of the Bible. I have estimated the time of the judgment of the seventh vial to be around the year 2013. However, I am by no means certain of the accuracy of this date and also even if my estimate was correct, this date is far from being acknowledged as such by a significant portion of the present day Christians. We are not forbidden to study these dates and times but we are certainly warned that we should not be disappointed if Jesus does not appear at the time expected. We should also keep in mind that this is not the Second Coming of the Final Judgment, but rather it is somewhat like His coming to Israel for judgment around 70AD. As severely as he dealt with his unrepentant enemies in the hands of the Romans, He will be, by all accounts, just as severe with the unrepentant followers of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet.
The elect are advised to keep their clothes
on. "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. " (Revelation
19:18). The garments here represent the degree of the righteousness of
the saints. This thought is further borne out by the following verse: "Thou
hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments;
and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. " (Revelation
3:4). We wear clothes for decency and for protection from the elements.
It appears that in our age There will be many Christians who will forget
about the need for decency and protection from the defilements of the world
and venture about without their spiritual garments. There is a strong allusion
here to the tendency of the present day Christians to compromise with the
world, especially in the areas of sexual morality. Such people, if they
don’t repent and turn away from their worldly compromises, will be found
naked and be ashamed of themselves. This shame is not to be compared with
worldly shame, which is at most a temporary state. The following verses
clarify what will happen to these people: "Every man's work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by
fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any
man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of
God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple
of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which ye
are." (1. Corinthians 13-16).
16:16-21
16:16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-magedon. 16:17 And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done: 16:18 and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. 16:19 And the great city was divided into into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 16:21 And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.
The stage is finally set for the outpouring
of the seventh vial upon the air. The state of the world at that time can
be best described by the following verses: "Nevertheless when the Son of
man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8); "This know
also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away. (II Timothy 3:1-5); "Knowing this first, that there shall come in
the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where
is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (II Peter 3:3-4).
These words are applicable to the current state of the world and yet it
appears that things will get worse as we get closer to the judgment of
the seventh vial. This awful state of the world will have been reached
through the influence of the news and the entertainment media controlled
by the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. Since the major event
of the judgment of the seventh vial is the battle of Armageddon, I included
the detailed interpretation of these verses within the context of this
battle. Please refer to the interpretation of Revelation 19:19-21.
17:1-2
17:1 And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication.
The severe judgment of the seventh vial poured upon the air causes destruction throughout the world. However, the center of the devastation is the great harlot, the false church of Babylon, the Papal Rome. Since this religion has the greatest influence upon the world nations and hides herself under a cloak of false humility, it must be exposed to the people of God for what it is. To this end God has reserved two full chapters. There are other references to Papal Rome throughout the scriptures, but Revelation chapters 17 and 18 practically call her by name. God has left no room for error on the part of the elect who read these pages.
Immorality in these passages refers to idol
worship. Jesus Christ is pictured as the bridegroom of the true church.
Naturally, if his followers show religious devotion to other entities,
they are committing spiritual immorality. Papal Rome teaches her followers
to pray to, to exalt, and otherwise seek the favor of Virgin Mary and many
other canonized saints. These false doctrines, though contrary to the spirit
of the Bible, are presented with persuasive logic and promises of great
rewards. The people of the world and especially the rulers of the nations
are drawn to these teachings and commit spiritual immorality together with
Papal Rome. The waters here refer to the catholic nations, which uphold
and continue the traditions and the false doctrines of Papal Rome.
17:3-6
17:3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication, 17:5 and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.
The same harlot, who sat on many waters, is
presented here in different surroundings. She is sitting on a beast that
is identical to the one mentioned in Revelation 13:1-8. We saw there that
this beast represented the ancient Roman Empire. Here we see an adulterous
woman sitting on top of this beast. She represents the corrupt religious
system of the papacy that is to arise from the remnants of the empire.
Therefore, this scene corresponds closely to the time shortly after the
fall of the Western Roman Empire. Desert like surroundings are appropriate
as Rome at that time was at its lowest point of depression. The woman holds
a golden cup in her hand, which is filled with abominations and filthiness
of her fornication. The allusion here is to the blasphemous rituals and
teachings of the Papacy that are presented to the world within the golden
cup of human ingenuity. The lavish attire of the woman is designed to allure
the senses. The purple and the scarlet colors are known to be very prominent
in Rome. There is an inscription upon her forehead stating her true nature.
She is Babylon the Great that is the mother of all spiritual harlotry and
abomination. However, according to the inscription her true nature is shrouded
in mystery. It is concealed from the world. Despite all her allurements,
she appears to be drunk with the blood of the martyrs. It appears that
although the inscription upon her forehead is concealed from the public,
her violent campaigns against the saints of God are well known. Any serious
study of the Catholic Church and her institutions such as the inquisition
will confirm that this is true. When the apostle perceives that the woman
appears visibly drunk with the blood of the saints, he expresses great
astonishment. This is because he cannot bring himself to believe that an
institution, which has committed such horrendous crimes in public view,
is still able to draw many people to her corrupt ways. Such are the ways
of the fallen man that even one of their own cannot understand how so many
of the race fall prey to such obvious deceit and trickery.
17:7-18
17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come. 17:9 Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth: 17:10 and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition. 17:12 And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. 17:13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. 17:14 These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful. 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. 17:17 For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. 17:18 And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Let us study the major points of the explanation
of the vision by the angel.
| (1) | The beast has seven heads and ten horns. This beast is the same one mentioned in Revelation 13:1-8. It refers to the ancient Roman Empire. |
| (2) | The beast was born long time ago. Then it disappears for a time only to reappear as if coming from the bottomless pit. Since the bottomless pit is the abode of the fallen angels, the beast must be of their kind. This process is a crude imitation of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Worldly people are awed by the reappearance of the beast. The birth of the beast long ago refers to the founding of Rome around BC 753. The disappearance of the beast refers to the Barbarian invasions and the end of the Roman Empire. The reappearance of the beast refers to the establishment of the Papacy as a temporal power around AD 753. Papacy eventually acquires rule over the same territories as the Roman Empire. This remarkable event astonishes and evokes the admiration of the people of the world that are outside the kingdom of God. |
| (3) | The beast is seen by the apostle as having seven heads. There are two meanings ascribed to these heads. The first meaning is the Seven Hills of Rome. The city is not called by its name, but the reference to it is obvious. It is a very ancient and prominent city even in our day. Also it is well known that the city is built on seven hills. Another ancient and prominent city that is built on seven hills that I know of, is Constantinople or modern Istanbul. It is, indeed, remarkable that the Eastern Roman Empire was ruled from this city long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and also the biggest challenge to the religious supremacy of Papal Rome arose from this city in the form of the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, this passage does not refer to Constantinople, but to the city of Rome. There are several reasons for this. The most important being that the structure of the Eastern Orthodox Church does not allow the head of the church to have temporal rule over other nations. Whereas the Papal Rome exercised precisely this kind of rule from the city of Rome for many years during the dark ages. This fulfills the central requirement of multiple prophecies which state that the seventh head of the beast would acquire temporal rule over many nations and would use his powers to make alterations to the laws of God and to wage war against the saints (Daniel 7:24-25, Revelation 13:7). The second meaning is the seven kings of the Roman Empire. The word "king" in this context does not refer to individuals; rather it refers to different forms of government, which ruled the empire. I will not attempt to elaborate on these different forms of administration that ruled the Empire at different times except to state that in most common history books they start with the rule of the kings and end with the rule of the emperors. There is some disagreement as to when one form of government ended and the next one started. Since the angel tells John that he is now living in the time of the sixth head, we can safely state that the sixth head refers to the emperors. The sixth head is to be followed by a seventh head that will last a short time. It stands for the Exarchate of Ravenna, which ruled the city of Rome for a short time after its conquest by Odoacer of the Heruli at AD 476. Then comes the final eighth head, which stands for the Papacy, whose rule at first started modestly as a spiritual power around the time of Gregory the Great (AD 590 - 604) and gradually transformed into a temporal power around AD 753 by a grant of territory from the French king Pepin the Short. Thereafter Papacy acquired absolute spiritual and temporal powers over the kings of Europe gaining back the power and prestige of the ancient Roman Empire. Even though the Papacy is actually the eighth head of the beast, the beast is still considered as having seven heads. The angel states that the eighth head is of the seven and that the beast will be destroyed permanently during the time of this head. Since the beast and all its characteristics are only symbols, there doesn’t have to be an exact correspondence between the reality and the symbolism. God has seen it sufficient to show us the future in the form of a seven-headed monster. However, it appears that he has not chosen to reveal the exact details of the beginning of the last head. If this had been done, knowing that the life of the beast is 1260 years, one would be able to easily calculate the time of the destruction of the beast and most likely the time of the battle of Armageddon. Many others, including myself, have attempted to calculate it. To the best of my knowledge no one can be absolutely certain of the correctness of their calculations as God has kept this matter hidden for his purposes. |
| (4) | The ten horns on the beast stand for the nations of Europe that came out of the Roman Empire at the time of its breakup. The number of nations, which came out of the Roman Empire, does not have to be exactly ten. Since this is a vision and all the objects in the vision are symbols of things in the real world, the number ten may be a symbol for a certain number of nations, which would come from the Roman Empire. However, I believe the use of this number indicates that the number of these nations would cluster around the number ten. This is obviously so even to this day. |
| (5) | These nations receive authority with the beast for one hour and then they give their power and authority to the beast, who wages war against the Lamb. As is well known, Papacy began about the same time as these nations came into being and then acquired rule over them and used their military power in its campaigns against the saints. It is estimated that Papacy in this manner killed approximately fifty million people throughout the ages. Needless to say, it will be defeated by the Lamb in the end. |
| (6) | The nations thus used by the Papacy eventually revolt against it and completely destroy her. They do this as God places this thought into their minds. Often God executes judgment against His enemies in this manner. He breaks them up and causes them to attack and destroy each other. This event is most likely to take place within the context of the battle of Armageddon; that is, during the outpouring of the seventh vial of judgment. If this is so, these nations themselves will not escape judgment at that time. The destruction of Papal Rome is effected by fire. There are many references to fire throughout the scriptures in connection with the destruction of the beast. While fire itself is a symbol of the agency, which God will use to annihilate Papal Rome, the use of this symbol so often may be indicative that actual fire will be used to destroy the Vatican and the city of Rome. It is unclear whether this would be in the form of a volcano or through fires started by aerial bombardment or through a nuclear explosion or through some other agency. I found the following scriptures that refer to a fiery destruction: the body of the beast is destroyed and given to the burning fire (Daniel 7:11), the nations represented by the ten horns burn her up with fire (Revelation 17:16), in one day she will be burned up with fire (Revelation 18:8), the kings lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning (Revelation 18:9), merchants cry out as they saw the smoke of her burning (Revelation 18:18), heavenly multitude cries out that her smoke rises up forever (Revelation 19:3), The beast and the False Prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The fact that the city of Rome is also situated in a volcanic area tends to support a cataclysmic end by a sudden great conflagration. |
It is very difficult to speculate on what events
could cause the European and the Western powers to gang up against the
Papacy to destroy her so violently. Nevertheless, since this fact is clearly
foretold in the scripture and it is one of the cornerstones of our interpretation,
we will make an attempt to bring it in line with the current events.
| (1) | The circumstances leading to this event are not easily discernible even by those who are spiritually wise. This is clear from the following verses: " And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." (Revelation 17:12-13); "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (Revelation 17:16-17). The obvious meaning of these verses is that the Western nations, left to themselves, would not be inclined to strike out at the Papacy. However, God will arrange the circumstances and somehow cause them to do this. This is somewhat similar to God hardening Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go. In that instance no one could have predicted the actual sequence of events where despite the greatest miracles ever seen in the world, the Pharaoh held out to the bitter end. |
| (2) | In the current political climate one can foresee a sequence of events where the western nations could join forces against Islamic nations. In recent past they joined forces and attacked Iraq. Currently there is hostility between the Moslem world and the so-called Christian West. If Moslem nations improve their military technology, it is likely that there will be serious confrontation between these two powers. If such an event did take place, the Western alliance could inflict unparalleled destruction upon the Moslem areas of the world. Therefore it looks as if the fulfillment of this prophecy upon the False Prophet is only a matter of time. |
| (3) | The beast and the False Prophet are addressed together in the end time Prophecies. The Prophecies treat them as if they formed an alliance against the true Church. While it is true that they both wage war against the true Church in their own way, they do not appear to be forming a temporal alliance. Given the present character of Islam, it is in fact very difficult to see such an alliance. However, there are signs that the Papacy is willing to compromise somewhat on doctrinal differences to bring them to a state where they at least treat Catholics as equals rather than enemies. In the interpretation of the Prophecy, it is not necessary to see them forming a temporal alliance. As they are both opposed to the truth, they are on the same side and can be considered in some type of alliance already. However, I would go further than that and state that in the coming days these two entities will, in all probability, form a temporal alliance. This way, at the appointed time, the Western powers will be moved against them to destroy them both at the same time. To a large degree, the Papacy is made up of the peoples of the Western nations. We have no indication that this will change just prior to the destruction of the Papacy. Therefore it is, entirely, reasonable that there will be internal conflict within the Western nations and the Papacy will be attacked by a well-organized and sophisticated splinter group from within these nations. |
In my interpretation, I have stated two events, which are not readily seen from the scripture. These are the temporal alliance between the Papacy and Islam, and the destruction of Islam by the Western powers. I want to warn the readers of these pages that these are only my thoughts on this subject. While the scripture does predict the destruction of Islam and also the destruction of the Papacy specifically by the Western powers, it does not directly predict the two events that I have predicted. If things develop differently, one should hold steadfastly to the Bible and not lose faith. The trials of the coming days will be among the worst that the mankind has ever witnessed.
18:1-3
18:1 After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 18:2 And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird. 18:3 For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness.
Another angel of higher rank appears in bright lights and illuminates the earth. He cries out that Papal Rome is destroyed and it has become a desolate area of ruins where wild animals and demons dwell. He addresses the Papacy as Babylon indicating that her sins are of a similar nature. As apostate Babylon was at the peak of the civilization in its time and it was destroyed without a trace, the Papacy is at the peak of today’s so-called Christian civilization and likewise it will be destroyed without a trace.
The statement: "all the nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath of her fornication" (Revelation 18:3) is very
remarkable. Since God has made arrangements for the gospel to be broadcast
throughout the world, we see true Christians in every nation of the world.
However, we also see Catholics and to some degree Moslems side by side
with the true Christians. This shows us that these two false religions
also have made use of God’s special arrangements to spread their false
gospels. This false gospel concentrates on the outward forms and the needs
of the flesh. Hence we have many large cities filled with the followers
of these religions where all manner of base carnality is glorified. Since
the consciences of the people are silenced through the fulfillment of the
outward obligations of these religions, they pursue carnality with reckless
abandon. Needless to say this provides the perfect setting for the merchants
of the world to prosper in the thriving commerce of these cities.
18:4-6
18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: 18:5 for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 18:6 Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double.
The people of God are commanded, very strongly,
to disassociate themselves from the Papacy. While it may be possible for
Christians to mingle with those of different denominations where there
may be minor doctrinal differences, they are not to associate with the
Catholics in their worship. This is a command of the most solemn nature
given to the people of God. God has already judged this religion for what
it is. While its followers individually may be saved, the Papacy itself
is beyond redemption. God’s people are not to be deceived by appearances.
If they associate with the Papacy in their worship, they will surely share
in her judgment. The expression "partaking of her sins" is used elsewhere
in I Timothy 5:22. Where Timothy is advised against ordaining people to
the ministry without a thorough investigation of their character. In the
same context in verses 24 and 25 Timothy is taught the following great
truths pertinent to this passage of Revelation:
| (1) | Some men’s sins are out in the open and they go before them to the judgment. Meaning that there is no need of special discernment to perceive their true nature. One can easily perceive that they are against God and against His Son. |
| (2) | Other men’s sins are not so readily seen. One needs to exercise keen spiritual insight to understand that they also are enemies of God. Though the unrepentant sins of such people are concealed from the world, they will certainly catch up to them on the Day of Judgment. |
The nature of Islam falls within the first category. There is no concealment in this religion. Anyone, who is even remotely familiar with this religion, knows that its teachings openly deny the divine nature of Jesus Christ. The Papacy falls within the second category. Revelation 17:5 states that her true name, appearing on her forehead, is shrouded in mystery. Therefore, she, true to her mysterious name, presents herself as the true church of God and endeavors to conceal her opposition to God. No true child of God can hope to escape judgment if they do not heed this warning to avoid religious association with the Papacy.
And finally, in verse six we see an unparalleled
exhortation to the Western powers to take vengeance on the Papacy. They
are to pay her double according to her past wrongs. This verse is not addressed
to the people of God in the sense that they are to attack and destroy the
Papacy. It may be understood to mean that they are to reject her doctrines
utterly and label her as apostate. However, the obvious meaning of the
verse is a command from God to one of His agencies to destroy the Papacy
in a violent manner. God uses many agencies to accomplish His purposes.
These agencies sometimes do God’s will unknowingly, even while they may
be in active opposition to God.
18:7-8
18:7 How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. 18:8 Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judged her.
As far as earthly institutions are concerned,
the Papacy stands out among them. She has attributes no other religion
can lay claim to. She has a claim to being the only true church of God.
She has a vast number of followers, more than any other religion in the
world. She is respected at the United Nations as the Holy See. World leaders
consult her in important matters. She runs successful charitable institutions
throughout the world. Her finances are amply met by donations from her
followers everywhere. Though she hides herself under a cloak of false humility,
inwardly she is very arrogant. So much so that she considers her tradition
and teachings on equal level with the word of God. She implies indirectly
that she is greatly blessed of God for her works, so much so that God has
raised her to an exalted standing in the government of the world and that
she will never fall. However, God has already judged her works and she
is marked as a vessel of wrath fitted for destruction as in the following
verse: "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known,
endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction:"
(Romans 9:22). Just as the potter, who quickly remolds an offending pot
to another shape, God will rapidly destroy the Papacy by his great might
and rebuild another institution that will obey Him according to His good
pleasure. This destruction will come in the form of many plagues visited
upon her suddenly. While She is mourning pestilence and famine, she will
be burned up in a sudden great conflagration. This description reinforces
our interpretation that Papacy will be destroyed in fierce warfare around
the time of Armageddon.
18:9-19
18:9 And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning, 18:10 standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. 18:11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more; 18:12 merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; 18:13 and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and chariots and slaves; and souls of men. 18:14 And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all. 18:15 The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; 18:16 saying, Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearl! 18:17 for in an hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any wither, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood afar off, 18:18 and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city? 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
These passages describe the consequences of God’s judgment of the Papacy upon the rest of the world. Several classes of people of various occupations are mentioned.
The Kings of the Earth.
These must refer to political and religious leaders who actively supported the Papal system and promoted its spread throughout the world as good for the masses. Many world leaders, who are not necessarily Catholic, are deluded into believing that widespread acceptance of this religion will reduce crime and bring peace and prosperity upon their nations. Such people will mourn the destruction of the Papacy and yet they will be careful not to give the appearance of being too closely associated with her for fear of sharing her fate.
The Merchants of the Earth.
These are people who have become very wealthy through commerce and also believe that the widespread acceptance of the Papal system is for the common good. There are many wealthy people throughout the world who use their wealth to further the Papal system.
Those Who Make Their Living by the Sea.
These refer to people who work in maritime transport. This is very large area of commerce and it has become even bigger in our day through the transport of crude oil among the world nations. Special mention is made of these people in order to show the world that the supporters of the Papal system can be found everywhere in land and sea.
The scripture shows us that the Papal system
is so entrenched in the world that it is impossible for her to be removed
by earthly efforts. Indeed, far from dismantling her, men from all classes
and walks of life are hard at work to further her causes. Their attachment
to and love for the Papal system is so great that they mourn her destruction
with inexpressible sorrow. We are also given a detailed picture of earthly
commerce made possible through the Papal system. This is not to be understood
as a statement that the Papal system controls this commerce. Though they
did control it to some degree in times past, they do not control it today.
Rather such commerce is done in an environment where the wealthiest and
the most influential nations are strongly influenced by the Papal system.
The Papal system is the glue that held these nations together and created
an environment for unmitigated worldliness and prosperous trade. Indeed,
the Papal system was very influential in reducing and finally breaking
the power of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Vatican
has made their preference for the capitalist system public. Abundant prosperity
and trade are not necessarily against the will of God. In fact, it appears
that God has used the Papal system to put an end to communism and bring
about a measure of prosperity. All worldly systems, regardless of their
opposition to God, are under God’s control and fulfill His revealed or
concealed will. We learn from these scriptures that prior to the destruction
of the Papal system, the world will be awash in commerce. Though men will
be wicked and cold towards the word of God and there will be oppression
of the poor, there will also be abundant commercial traffic. What could
better describe our present society? It is openly acknowledged that the
current capitalist system causes the rich to get richer and poor to become
poorer while working harder than ever before.
18:20
18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.
Now the scene changes and we are given a glimpse
of the events occurring in heaven. Those, who have died in the Lord, are
told to rejoice in the destruction of the Papal system. This passage teaches
us that at the time of the destruction of the Papal system, there will
be a number of departed servants of God in heaven who will be in a conscious
state of rejoicing over her destruction. It is possible that this will
be an occasion where many departed saints will be awakened from their sleep
and be given a glimpse of the affairs of the earth. We must learn from
these departed saints and rejoice over the destruction of this false system.
No saint of God will rejoice over the destruction of the sinners who are
under bondage to this system, but they are commanded to celebrate her violent
end. We know that there are some, even among the evangelicals, who are
well respected, that go out of their way to further the causes of the Papal
system. In the light of these passages, such conduct is inexcusable. While
it may be permissible to speak favorably regarding some of her activities:
such as her work of charity, her adamant opposition to the Communist System,
her support of good morals etc., one must be extra careful at the same
time to point out that her system of salvation, based on works, only condemns
one to hell, and that she is no better than many other worldly religious
systems such as Islam. Therefore, those evangelicals, who speak favorably
of her in a religious context, making statements such as "the Pope is the
great evangelizer", "One does not have to leave the Catholic Church to
be saved", "Those who have faith in Christ and follow the teachings of
the Catholic church diligently are sure to be saved" etc., are in grave
error. If such people praise the Papal system now, how will they rejoice
in her coming destruction? This is an area where a childlike approach comes
up short. In dealing with those of the Catholic faith and of Islam, one
must pray, study the word, and exercise a serpent like intellect. The following
verse is the justification for this approach: "Behold, I send you forth
as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless
as doves." (Matthew 10:16).
18:21
18:21 And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.
A mighty angel takes up a great millstone and
throws it into the sea while saying that the great city of Babylon will
be destroyed in this manner with violence. This is a powerful image. It
is also used in regard to the destruction of ancient Babylon. "And it shall
be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, thou shalt bind a
stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say,
Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring
upon her: and they shall be weary." (Jeremiah 51:63). According to the
book of Jeremiah, the impending judgments of God upon Babylon were written
on a scroll and read aloud publicly in the city. It is difficult to estimate
the exact time of when this prophesy was announced to the Babylonians,
but we know that it was done before the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem
(586 BC). These judgments began to be fulfilled around the time of the
conquest of Babylon (539 BC) by the Persian king Cyrus the Great. The Prophecy
was given at least 47 years before the actual destruction of the City.
Ancient Babylon was a city-state and at its peak it was the center of civilization
with its magnificent architecture and the hanging gardens numbered among
the Seven Wonders of the World. The city with its grandeur must have appeared
eternal to the people of that time. Yet God solemnly warned its people
that He had set in motion forces of destruction that would overtake the
city and its people. The Papal system is addressed using similar language.
18:22-23
22:22 And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee; 22:23 and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.
The symbolism here shows us a picture of a great and prosperous city, a center of fine arts and culture. The Holy Spirit paints a vivid picture of such a place, using the language and the expressions of an age long past. Yet it is done so skillfully that it sounds very familiar as applicable to many major cities today. The Vatican and the city of Rome are the principal objects of this prophecy. We see here that the false teachings that originate from this part of the world are equivalent to sorcery in the eyes of God. This is a most serious accusation. Sorcery and Witchcraft are not sins of omission. They are deliberate sins against God and are punished with most awful judgments. One, who commits such sins, is aware of the Word of God and the spiritual world. Yet in a most defiant manner he goes out of his way to disobey God to practice this sin. The sorcery practiced by Papal Rome is not of the obvious kind where one performs certain rites to call forth demons in order to influence and control people. True to her name of Mystery Babylon, she uses various hidden tricks to perform pretended miracles to captivate people’s minds. The outcome is no different than if real witchcraft had been used.
The following permanent judgments are predicted
to fall upon Vatican and the city of Rome:
| (1) | There will be no more festivals such as weddings and other celebrations accompanied by joyful music. |
| (2) | There will remain no works of art such as great statues, paintings, or grand monuments, which make Rome a popular tourist destination. |
| (3) | The city will no longer be a draw for those in the fine arts from around the world. |
| (4) | There will be no more bright lights, which are a sign of the active nightlife of the city. |
| (5) | The prosperity of the city indicated by the expression "the sound of the millstone" will disappear. |
The city will be left utterly desolate such
as it was shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire or as if it had never
been populated. The chief sin of the people of this city was idol worship.
No matter how disguised it was, God treated it as if it was done in broad
daylight. In the Millennium this city will be a fearful monument to the
consequences of idol worship.
18:24
18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.
This verse closes the description of the judgments
that are to fall upon the city. No one would doubt that as the capital
of Pagan Rome, this city was the center of persecution upon the early Christians.
Thereafter the persecution against the Christians continued through the
dark ages again from this city through the agency of the Papal Rome. Christians
everywhere are reminded of these facts so that they will not be grieved
at the utter destruction of the city.
19:1-3
19:1 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: 19:2 for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 19:3 And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever.
The time has come for the destruction of the
enemies of God. Among such enemies that Satan has raised up, one is very
prominent. This is the false church that was built up from the very ruins
of the Roman Empire and continued its opposition to the true church of
God for more than a thousand years. It has murdered countless multitudes,
tortured and mocked many saints, spread false doctrines that caused many
to stray. God is to be praised with great joy in heaven and on earth for
his righteous judgment upon the false church that is here called the Great
Harlot in spiritual symbolism.
19:4-9
19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. 19:5 And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great. 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. 19:7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 19:8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God.
Praise and worship are offered unto God by
the inhabitants of heaven, four and twenty elders, the four beasts near
his throne, and all the hosts of heaven such that it sounds like the voice
of many waters and thunders. Since the great harlot has been judged, it
is now time for the Bride of Christ to be manifested in all her glory.
The Bride of Christ is the true church of God composed of the elect, which
has remained hidden throughout the ages. She is to be clothed with clean,
white, and fine linen that represents her imputed righteousness acquired
through the sacrifice of the Lamb. The occasion is likened to a wedding
with all the attended festivities. The marriage supper is the wedding feast
mentioned in the parable in Matthew 22:2. In this parable we find that
most of the Hebrew people, who were originally invited to the wedding,
rejected the invitation and even attacked and murdered some of the messengers.
This brought upon them great destruction and caused the invitation to be
extended to the whole world. When the wedding was held there were some
in the crowd, who did not have the wedding garments that refer to the imputed
righteousness of the Lamb. Such people also were taken out and thrown into
the outer darkness. It follows then that there is a general principle in
God’s dealings with respect to his calling men to salvation. Since the
Gospel was first offered in the Greek language and in the realm of the
Roman Empire, they were invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb ahead
of the other gentile nations. Then we see that most of the empire rejected
the Gospel and as a result they were destroyed. We can see this pattern
in the histories of many nations. Some nations at first show a favorable
reaction to the Gospel, but almost invariably they either corrupt it or
deny it outright. We will see in the next few chapters that this situation
will change with the arrival of the Millennium.
19:10
10 And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Apostle John bows in adoration and worship before the angel who is showing him all the marvels and glories of the wedding celebration of the lamb. The angel immediately corrects him that he is to worship God alone. This is the first of the two incredible instances where the apostle attempts to worship an angel.
Please see the remarks on Revelation 22:8-9
for my thoughts on this very important subject.
19:11-16
19:11 And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteous he doth judge and make war. 19:12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. 19:13 And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 19:14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. 19:15 And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. 19:16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KINGS OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Jesus Christ is manifested not as the meek
Lamb of God but as the king of kings. This suits the occasion as he has
now come to render judgment upon the wicked. He shows the whole world,
including the wicked, that he is faithful and true to his church. Let us
examine the attributes of Jesus Christ depicted in these verses.
| (1) | He appears on a white horse followed by the armies of his saints clothed in fine linen all white and on white horses. This shows that he is ready for the impending battle against the enemies of the church. The whiteness of the horse and linen shows that his cause is just and that the battle will be followed by swift victory. According to the ancient usage, white horses were ridden by conquerors on the days of victory celebrations. The saints accompany him, not to engage in, but to observe the battle and to participate in the victory celebrations. |
| (2) | His eyes were as a flame of fire. This shows that his glance penetrated far and deep and that there was nothing hidden from his sight. We use the expressions "a fiery look," "a lightning glance" in a similar manner. |
| (3) | There were many crowns on his head and there was a name written which no one knew but he himself. Many crowns refer to his rule over many kingdoms. This is confirmed by the inscriptions "King of kings and Lord of Lords" on his vesture and on his thigh. (Revelation 19:16). The significance of his name, which is translated to human language as the Word of God, refers to his relationship with the Father and cannot be understood by created beings. |
| (4) | He is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. This refers to his blood shed on the cross of Calvary for the redemption of his saints. |
| (5) | A sharp sword proceeds from his mouth. This expression is highly figurative and shows that he does not need temporal contrivances to exercise his power. His power is exercised through his words. This is somewhat similar to the creation of the universe in Genesis where God spoke and it was done. It appears that this is one occasion where the words of Jesus Christ will unleash forces heretofore unknown to men. |
| (6) | He shall smite the nations with his sword, and he will rule over them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness and the wrath of the Almighty God. This is a picture of unparalleled destruction. This destruction is predicted in Psalm 2 using almost the same words. The nations here, are those who have joined in alliance under the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Dragon to make war against the kingdom of God and his saints. |
19:17-18
19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; 19:18 that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.
Another fearful scene is pictured here. Countless
multitudes from all walks of life perish on a vast battlefield and all
the fowls of heaven are invited to feast on their carcasses. This horrible
depiction of a most awful event is necessary for mankind whose greater
portion is deceived by the lies of the devil. Also we see here that the
followers of the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Dragon will include
people from all classes of society. The poor will not escape judgment because
of his poverty and the wealth of the rich man will become a snare to him.
I think these passages carry a warning especially to the materially poor
of this world as such people in the ages past turned to God to ease their
suffering and were comforted and rewarded by him as in the story of Lazarus:
"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away
by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died, and was
buried " (Luke 16:22). However, ever since the appearance of the Beast
we see that many of the poor turn to the Beast and the great spiritual
harlot that is the Papal Rome, and to the False Prophet which is the religion
of Islam. God, knowing this, has warned such people in the strongest terms
that they will drink of the cup of his indignation (Revelation 14:9-11).
19:19-21
19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: 19:21 and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
The apostle sees a vast assembly of armies on a battlefield. Special mention is made of the Beast as he stands out most prominently. This great force is foolishly gathered to attack and destroy the saints of God. Ensuing battle is the battle of Armageddon and is also foretold in detail in Revelation 16:16-21. Since this battle is a great milestone in the prophecies of the Bible, let us examine this and other scriptural references to see if we can gain more insight into the events and the outcome of this battle.
Daniel
There is a reference to this battle in the
Old Testament in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 7 is a record of the
prophet's’ dream of future events that cover a long stretch of time from
his days all the way to the beginning of the millennium. For our purposes
we will provide a brief summary of this dream until the preparatory events
of the battle of Armageddon.
| (1) | Daniel sees four beasts coming up out of the sea. The first beast resembles a lion with eagle’s wings that represents the Babylonian Empire. |
| (2) | The second beast resembles a bear that represents the media-Persian empire. |
| (3) | The third beast resembles a leopard with four heads and four wings and it represents the Macedonian Empire. |
| (4) | The fourth beast appears to be stronger than all the others. It has great iron teeth, brass nails, and 10 horns. This beast represents the Ancient Roman Empire. |
| (5) | One of these 10 horns subdues 3 other horns
and becomes stronger than all the others. This horn represents the Papal
Rome. It is stated that this horn has eyes that show farsightedness and
sagacity. It has a mouth speaking blasphemies against God. It wages successful
warfare against the saints of God and thinks to change the times and laws
of God. This refers to the attacks of Papal Rome upon Bible believing Christians
throughout the ages and its papal bulls and other declarations regarding
the religious observances of the Christians everywhere. God, as the supreme
ruler, predetermines the starting date and the duration of all the nations
of the world. This should be obvious from acts 1:7 and many other bible
verses. These times and dates are not normally made public in advance.
However, in the case of Papal Rome, we see a most remarkable exception.
It is stated that the duration of Papal Rome's’ dominion would be "a time,
times, and a dividing of time". If we take "time" as one year, "times"
as two years, and "dividing of time" as half a year it adds up to 42 months
that is also 1260 days. This period designates 1260 years. The following
verses should make this clear:
"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. " (Revelation 12:6). "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Revelation 12:14). |
| (6) | The last and the final kingdom is given by God to someone who resembles the Son of man who comes with the clouds of heaven. This kingdom is to last forever and its king is Jesus Christ. |
The time of the fiery destruction of the body of the entity represented as the dominant horn from the fourth beast appears to be the time of the battle of Armageddon which I believe to be about the year 2013.
However, let me state that I am, by no means, absolutely certain of the accuracy of this date. It is the best that I can come up with after prayer and study. It may not be the will of God to make the exact date of this battle public. If this is the case then one should pray about this matter and not arrange their entire life around the date of this battle. I took the beginning of Papal Rome as a temporal power to be about the year AD 753. This date is open to dispute among eminent historians. I am far more certain that the dominant horn is the Papal Rome. This was included in the creeds of many bible believing Christians throughout the ages and I believe that it is God’s will that this information be made public. Also, even if the year AD 753 is the correct starting point and 2013 is the end of the dominion of Papal Rome, there is still no certainty that its destruction will be accomplished on the exact year of 2013. It could continue for a short time in a greatly weakened state prior to its destruction.
II Thessalonians
II Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 5 through 12 speak of the lawless one: "whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Without a doubt, the lawless one in this passage is the Papal Rome and the time of her final destruction is the time of the battle of Armageddon.
Revelation
This book deals with the battle of Armageddon
at length. The approximate timing of this battle and the destruction of
Papal Rome are dealt with in remarkable detail and harmonize with the prophecies
of Daniel.
| (1) | In preparation for the battle of Armageddon the Dragon (Idol Worship and atheism), the Beast (Papal Rome), and the False prophet (Islam) unleash corrupting influences (unclean spirits like frogs) upon the world (Revelation 16:13). These, in all likelihood, refer to their influences on the news media that is all the print and especially the broadcast media including the movies and the television. | |
| (2) | Apparently, through the influences of this unholy trinity, the nations of the earth, one by one, turn against the principles of Evangelistic Christian religion, and ultimately against the true church of God. They are pictured as gathered on the valley of Armageddon ready to do battle against Jesus Christ and his saints. We need not think that all the great military forces of the world would march to Israel to assemble in a place called Armageddon. Rather the following events are to be expected: | |
| (1) | The media will be, at first in stealth, later, openly hostile to Biblical Christianity. We see this very thing now in the media. | |
| (2) | Due to the strong influence of the media in social and religious issues, increasingly, the governments of the world will take anti-Christian positions. We already see this in the form of government protection of immoral acts and lifestyles in the west and the government promotion of religions hostile to biblical Christianity in the east. | |
| (3) | Whatever anti-Christian trends are in place, in the media and at the government level currently, will become worse in the coming years. Since the true Christians will not yield their ground, they will be increasingly isolated and shunned. Everyone will be forced to take sides. I think when the tension of this conflict becomes unbearable for Christians, the time will be right for the battle of Armageddon. | |
| (3) | The Seventh angel pours out his vial upon the air (Revelation 16:17). Since the previous 6 vials were poured upon: | |
| (1) | The part of the earth which was inhabited by the most prominent worshipers of the beast (Revelation 16:2). (The French revolution of 1789 and the attended chaos and the disturbances.) | |
| (2) | The sea (Revelation 16:3). (The great naval warfare between England and France and the French allies starting in 1793 and lasting upwards of twenty years.) | |
| (3) | The rivers and the fountains of waters (Revelation 16:4). (The French revolutionary Wars in northern Italy and the area where the rivers have their beginnings.) | |
| (4) | The Sun (Revelation 16:8). (The spread of French Revolutionary wars throughout Europe.) | |
| (5) | The seat of the beast (Revelation 16:10). (This was started by the French Invasion of The Vatican and the imprisonment and the subsequent death of Pope PIUS VI on 1799.) | |
| (6) | Euphrates river (Revelation 16:12). (This was completed on 1923 by the abolishment of the Ottoman Empire. Battles spread from Europe to the Middle East, Asia Minor, and Northern Africa.) | |
| and attended with calamities upon the people in the form destructive warfare, we can reasonably expect to see more of the same with the outpouring of the seventh vial. As a matter of fact the major event of the seventh vial is called the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16, 19:19). This is likely to be a spiritual and as well as temporal warfare. Since it is poured upon the air and the attended destruction starts from the city of Rome ("the great city was split into three parts", Revelation 16:19); it is likely to be centered in this city and expand outward to the rest of the world. | ||
| (4) | Heaven opens and Jesus Christ and his army appear on white horses ready for battle (Revelation 19:11-16). Without a doubt this will not be a temporal event. The picture is one of spiritual symbolism. However, Jesus Christ will be there invisibly and destroy his enemies just as if he was conducting temporal warfare. In all likelihood the Beast and his armies will turn against one another and destroy each other. This is typical of the heathen fighting against God’s people. | |
| (5) | An angel standing in the Sun calls out to all the fowl to come and feast on the flesh of the battle casualties who, apparently, will lie unburied at the end of the battle (Revelation 19:17-18). This symbol tells us that this battle will be widespread and countless multitudes from all walks of life will perish in it. | |
| (6) | Widespread flashes of lightning and peals of thunder are seen and heard (Revelation 16:18). This is symbolic of the fierceness of this battle. Possible effects of nuclear weapons may be alluded to. | |
| (7) | The greatest earthquake in the history of mankind takes place (Revelation 16:18). Again symbolism is used to denote widespread devastation. | |
| (8) | The great city splits into 3 parts (Revelation 16:19). This is the city of Rome and the seat of the Holy See. It is totally destroyed possibly by nuclear weapons. | |
| (9) | The cities of the nations fall (Revelation 16:19). The major cities such as New York, London, Paris etc., are destroyed; possibly by nuclear weapons. | |
| (10) | Babylon the great is remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath (Revelation 16:19). Papal Rome is referred to. | |
| (11) | A strong angel casts a great millstone into the sea, saying, "Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all." (Revelation 18:21). After the war there will be no more remembrance of Papal Rome and her idolatries. | |
| (12) | The 10 horns hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, burn her utterly with fire in one day, even within one hour (Revelation 17:16-17; 18:8; 18:17). The nations of Europe will attack and destroy the Vatican and the Holy see and then will turn against each other causing widespread destruction particularly in Europe and then the rest of the world. | |
| (13) | Every Island flies away, and the mountains are not found (Revelation 16:20). All the kingdoms of the world will run from the devastating warfare. None will be brave enough to face it. | |
| (14) | Hailstones each weighing about 100 pounds fall from heaven upon men and men blaspheme God because of the extreme severity of the plague of hail (Revelation 16:21). This, most likely, refers to bombardment from the skies. However, I would not rule out an actual asteroid impact upon the Earth. If a large heavenly body were to collide with the Earth, this event would also cause similar destruction. | |
| (15) | The Beast and the False Prophet are removed from the battlefield and thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The idolatries and the blasphemous traditions of Papal Rome and the false teachings of Islam denying the divinity of Jesus Christ will be forgotten. This also may refer to the destruction of the invisible spiritual entities energizing Papal Rome and Islam. | |
| (16) | The rest of the people are killed by the sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus Christ and the birds eat their flesh until they are full (Revelation 19:21). After the war the greater portion of the survivors will see the widespread destruction and the immense loss of life and fully appreciate that the wages of sin is death. This will be a time of great revival and repentance. | |
20:1-3
20:1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 20:3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
A mighty angel, no doubt more powerful than the devil, uses force to restrain him. He is placed in a place referred to as the bottomless pit. This confinement is to continue for one thousand years.
These passages are obviously written for our understanding and describe heavenly events in earthly terms. The best we can do, in terms of understanding these events, is to study what effects they will have in the material world. After all, no one would claim that an angel with an actual chain in his hand got hold of the devil and forcibly tied him up and imprisoned him in a deep hole in the ground. The idea conveyed here is one of tighter restrictions placed on a powerful entity somewhat analogous to solitary confinement in a prison.
I will start by examining the scriptures that I think refer to the origins and the works of Satan.
Ezekiel 28:12-19 pronounces judgment against an evil ruler: King of Tyre. The language is symbolical and the judgment is addressed not just to the king of Tyre, but it appears to be extended to Satan who is behind the excessive wickedness of the king of Tyre. We learn from these verses that perhaps Satan had been created as an angelic being on the order of the Cherubim. Isaiah 14:12-15 also appears to refer to Satan as the being behind the excessive wickedness of the kingdom of Babylon. These verses appear to indicate that Satan intends to rule over the entire creation, even above the throne of God; and because of this rebellion God has brought him down from his former rank. In Matthew 4:9 we read that Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his worship. This verse also confirms that Satan intended to take the place of God as the object of divine worship. I John 3:8 states that Satan sinned from the beginning. John 8:44 states that Satan was a murderer and the father of lies from the beginning.
In Genesis 3:1-6 we read that Satan came in the form a serpent and lied to the woman in the Garden of Eden and thereby authored the fall. We do not know for what cause, if there was one, this temptation had been permitted. However, we can reason from the circumstances and the outcome that even prior to this temptation there was less than perfect love towards God in the hearts of our first ancestors. We see this same temptation applied to Jesus Christ under far more difficult conditions. He is hungry in the desert after fasting for forty days. The devil comes with much more subtlety, quoting scripture. In both cases the devil attempts to subvert the word of God. However in the latter case He is repelled.
God has chosen to reveal us a complete picture
of the workings of the devil in the book of Job. Here we see that Satan
presents himself before God and claims that Job’s true nature was enmity
against God. His faithfulness was good only as long as he received blessings
(Job 1:10-11). Afterwards we see Satan go out from the presence of God
with permission to tempt Job. The following are the calamities inflicted
upon Job:
| (1) | An enemy tribe, Sabeans attack Job’s sheep and oxen. They kill his servants (Job 1:15). This shows that Satan can incite a nation, a tribe, or a band of thieves to commit wanton acts of murder and theft. |
| (2) | Fire from heaven burns up Job’s sheep and his servants. (Job 1:16) Here we see Satan actually bringing fire from heaven. He has the power to cause even supernatural events. This ability is not unlike the horned beast in revelation 13:13. |
| (3) | Chaldean bands attack Job’s camels and kill his servants (Job 1:17). This is another example of Satan’s power to influence a company of marauders to commit a specific crime. |
| (4) | A tornado strikes the house where Job’s children are gathered, killing all of them (Job 1:18-19). Satan, obviously, can cause destructive weather effects. We see Jesus rebuking the winds of a storm in Luke 8:24. |
| (5) | Job is stricken with a horrible, loathsome disease (Job 2:7). There are many other scriptures where all types of diseases are said to have been caused by the devil. Jesus refers to the disease of the woman, who was bent double, as having been caused by Satan (Luke 13:16). |
So far we can see that the devil can exercise his destructive powers only if he is not prevented by God. He has no power to go beyond God’s restrictions. However, if he is not restricted, there seems to be no limit to his powers in the material realm. In the case of Job, Satan was allowed to attack him for the testing of his faith. Furthermore there appeared to be no immediate cause for the testing of Job’s faith other than the contrary argument from Satan. This is not always so. At times the devil is permitted to attack because God becomes angry due to the sins of the people who are the target of the devil’s attack. In II Samuel 24:1 we read: "And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go number Israel and Judah." In I Chronicles 21:1 the same event is told from another point of view: "And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." Here, no doubt, God is angered by Israel’s sin and permits the devil to provoke David to number the nation. This, in turn, brings greater judgment from God and seventy thousand people perish. Here we see another side of Satan. He attempts to induce us to sin. We read in Luke 22:3 that Satan entered into Judas who proceeded to betray Jesus immediately. We read in James 1:13-15 that Satan is permitted to tempt us when we do not discipline our minds and give free rein to sinful desires. My understanding is that if we think about worldly things excessively, wish for power and wealth continually, engage our minds with sensual thoughts; Satan somehow amplifies these thoughts and desires and brings us to a desperate state of mind. We could reach a point where it becomes painful for us not to fulfill the object of our desire. I will admit freely, that I do not understand the mechanism by which Satan influences our minds. While I believe that the natural world is governed by cause and effect and that our mental processes are a part of it; there seems to be a point beyond which our thoughts may go outside the physical laws of cause and effect. Many people, looking back, regret the things that they have done in a moment of passion and some even forget and deny the crimes committed in a frenzied state. While we have total control over our actions it appears that we have less than total control over our thoughts and very little control over our desires. Many of our sinful desires are apparently planted in our minds by the devil through some weakness in our thought life. When these desires increase in intensity, they are likened to consuming flames hence the origin of the expressions "burning with lust" or "flaming with passion". Obviously such a state of mind is not good and we must exercise great caution in our thought life not to allow an opening for the enemy. I would think that if one’s mind is filled with love for God this would be very good protection against the enemy.
Having examined the origin and the works of
the devil we can conclude that the following will be true during the time
when he is confined:
| (1) | There will be a marked improvement in the world climate. Since the devil will not be able to create destructive weather effects, the angels will be able to influence the weather for good. |
| (2) | People will be much healthier. More people will live to a good old age in good health. Angels of God will work to keep men in good health. We would also expect great strides in the science of medicine to cure many afflictions. |
| (3) | Christian religion and principles will be in ascendancy throughout the world nations. There will be practically no opposition to the preaching of the gospel. The word of God, the Bible, will be taught in schools. I don’t think that the entire world will be converted to the true religion, but there will be no major religions to compete with the true gospel of Christ. It is most likely that even then there will be different sects of Christians, but the differences will not be as pronounced as they are now. There will be no deception in religion and even those, who do not by choice live according to Christian principles, will know them to be true (Isaiah 2:2). |
| (4) | People might still be able to engage in sinful thoughts and desires; but this will not necessarily lead to sinful acts. There will be more triumphs of "common sense" over rash action. This is not to say that people will be encouraged to engage in sinful thoughts; but they will learn how to control and overcome their sinful inclinations. |
| (5) | On a global scale, peace will reign throughout the world. There will be either very little or no crime at all (Isaiah 2:4). The destruction of the environment will be reversed through the interference of the angels. We will, most likely, see this process as advancements in the sciences of waste removal and environmental cleanup. |
| (6) | The nature and character of men will remain the same. Men will be susceptible to temptation. However, since the source of the temptation will have been removed, men will be more inclined to follow the influences of the angels to live righteously. |
There will be many more changes than just the
ones I wrote about. I tried to give an overview of the conditions of the
millennial age. Currently there are several schools of thought subscribed
to by eminent Christians that interpret the millennium differently. One
group believes in a physical return of Jesus Christ with some of the departed
saints. Jesus Christ and a number of resurrected saints are supposed to
rule the world from Jerusalem for a thousand years. While this sounds like
a wonderful idea, I see no scriptural support for this theory. Another
group believes the millennial age has already begun and the wonderful things
foretold in the Bible are being realized through the preaching of the gospel
and through progress in the sciences. This is probably not very far from
the truth. It is true that the millennial age will be ushered in through
spiritual enlightenment, which will promote great progress in the sciences.
And to some degree such a process has already begun at the time of the
Protestant reformation; but a careful study of the book of revelation shows
us that the millennium will not start until the outpouring of the seventh
vial which will be attended by great destruction in the world where the
followers of the Beast, (The false religion of the Papacy that sprang from
the Roman Empire) the False Prophet, (The religion of Islam started by
the false prophet Mohammed in the east), and the Dragon (This would be
atheism and all the other religions where the essence of the religion is
the worship of created beings) are completely overthrown (Revelation 16:17-21).
Since we see these religions all around us prospering and even gathering
strength, the millennial age is yet to come. In fact the scripture even
states that these religions would gather strength and rally their followers
for the great battle of Armageddon (the culmination of the seventh vial)
which would be followed by the millennial age (Revelation 16:13-16, 19:19).
20:4-6
20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 20:5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
The saints who sacrificed their lives for Jesus Christ are remembered. They are given rule and authority in heaven. They live and reign with Christ for one thousand years.
This brings to mind the events of the fifth
seal (Revelation 6:9-11). There, the answer to the martyred saints’ cry
was for them to be patient until a fixed number of their brethren would
also be slain for the word of God. Here we see that this promise was kept
and that these eminent saints of God would now come forth to be honored
and to receive great power and authority in Christ. However, these events
take
place in the spiritual realm and not on a physical plain where we can see
them. Consequently these verses do not imply a physical resurrection of
the departed saints. This is clear from the expression: "I saw the souls
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus." (Revelation 20:4).
This is also clear from the meaning of the previous verses where the angel
comes down from heaven with a key and a great chain etc. The entire passage
is describing events taking place in the spiritual realm. We cannot understand
these events except by using symbols from our daily experiences and that
is precisely how God has communicated them to us. Here is a summary of
these events as they correspond to the physical world:
| (1) | After the binding of Satan, the apostles and the eminent saints will be placed in positions of authority in heaven. This is not unlike a person being promoted to a higher office in the world. Since I do not know much about the spiritual world, I will not go into further details regarding the nature of their reign with Christ. |
| (2) | The accomplishments of such saints will be remembered in heaven, and in the world, such that people everywhere will express their love and gratitude to them for their sacrifices. This does not in any way imply that their statues will be erected, their images will be placed prominently in places of worship. |
| (3) | Their pious spirit will be revived in the world, such that it will be as if they had come back from the dead. |
| (4) | I am not sure whether they could be employed in exerting positive influences in human affairs after the manner of the angels. It is quite clear in scriptures that the departed saints are not engaged in such work at this present age. |
| (5) | I am fairly certain that it will still be prohibited to attempt to communicate with these saints. Prayers to them or through them to God have always been contrary to the scripture and this will remain so during the millennium. |
| (6) | Not all saints will be honored in this manner. Special mention is made of the apostles (Matthew 19:28) and those who remained faithful unto death during the fierce trials of Pagan Rome and the Papal Rome. No doubt, other saints who suffered martyrdom under various enemies of the church are also included. |
20:7-9
20:7 And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 20:8 and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 20:9 And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them.
Satan is freed from his confinement after the thousand years are completed. He moves quickly to tempt the nations to bring them to a state very similar to the time before his confinement. However, again as before, he is not able to deceive everyone. The size of the multitude, who respond favorably to his temptations, is described as the sands of the sea. We must assume the number of the saints to be much smaller as they are entirely surrounded by the enemy. Fire comes down from heaven and destroys the multitudes that thus yielded to Satan’s temptation.
These events, no doubt, are still far into the future and past the millennial age, which itself has not even begun yet. The thought has occurred to me to compare myself to someone who lived a thousand years earlier around AD 1000’s. Such a person would have no way of knowing which way the progress of mankind will go a thousand years later. But his concept of right and wrong would be the same as it is today. If he reads the events of the gradual outpouring of the seven vials in the book of revelation, he would understand that these referred to great plagues unleashed upon the mankind. These plagues, mostly, were regional and international wars, which caused famine, pestilence, and great destruction. This appears to be the way Satan operates most of the time. The unbelievers attribute these events to human nature and the laws of cause and effect. Christians attribute them to Satan and the success of his deception among the unbelievers. Our Bible student from a thousand years ago would have no conception of the modern weapons of war, but he would know that things would have to be different in order for so many people to suffer and die so rapidly. In other words, even though he may not see the battle technology of the future in great detail such as the satellites, the ICBM’s, and all the weapons of nuclear warfare, he would not be shocked to see the effects of such things. However, there is one more difference between his age and our age. He was given much more detail in the book of revelation regarding the events one thousand years into the future than we are given today. Therefore we must be extra careful about making assumptions regarding the post-millennial era of mankind.
In the following passage I put myself in the place of the Bible Student from a millenia ago and attempt to make intelligent predictions regarding the events of the Post-Millennial era according to the prophecy. This is a summary of the events beginning with the release of the Devil from his confinement and the outpouring of the devouring fire upon the unbelievers.
At the end of the millennium:
| (1) | An ideal state of things exist in the realms of the physical sciences. The food production is more than enough for the needs of the world. The environment is cleaned up. There is very little sickness and disease. Almost everyone lives to a good old age. |
| (2) | Almost everyone holds the word of God in highest esteem. There are churches everywhere in the world and Bible based worship of God prevails throughout the nations of the world. |
| (3) | Even though there are still distinct nations, they do not wage war with each other. They co-exist with a spirit of agreement and mutual cooperation. |
| (4) | There are, however, several distinct classes of people spiritually. Among these one class holds dearly the memories of the ancient saints of God. While others live it up and enjoy the blessings of the millennial age, this group stands watch and waits earnestly for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. They do not just hold the word of God in high esteem, but live and study it intensely. They have great interest in the book of revelation. While most people, for all practical purposes, attribute the blessings of the millennial age to great advances in the sciences, they attribute it entirely to God. While others admire and praise God only for the great blessings of the millennial age, they love God for the great sacrifice done for them at Calvary. Among all the wonders of the millennial age, they have not lost sight of the Cross of Calvary. |
When Satan is released he will move rapidly on the people who have become dull to the word of God. He will make use of the technology of the age to rapidly spread his message of carnal indulgence and rebellion. He would most likely attempt to revive the old heresies that existed among the Christians under new guises. We do not believe that Papacy and Islam will re-appear; but it is altogether possible that the religion of humanism, worship of science, reason, and human intellect that seems so popular today, would make a comeback at that time. It appears that all the advancements in science and the great moral and social progress of mankind amount to nothing without a true love for God. The great majority of the people easily yield to Satan’s temptation. Then we see mankind again going back to the ways of violence and war. The state of the world rapidly becomes about the same as it was at the time of the battle of Armageddon. This is followed by fire from heaven that puts a swift end to all wickedness forever. Again, one must be very careful about making assumptions that there will be literal warfare and that literal fire will be rained from heaven. While these things cannot be ruled out, the language of the passage is highly symbolical and many other outcomes fulfilling these symbols are possible.
There is reference in these verses to two ancient
words from the Old Testament: Gog and Magog. "And shall go out to deceive
the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog,
to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of
the sea." (Revelation 20:8). These words apparently refer to the prominent
nations who have rallied their forces against the saints. It seems to me
that Ezekiel chapters 37, 38, and 39 refer to events, which take place
during and after the millennium. Gog and Magog are mentioned in chapters
38 and 39. Here is a summary of the events described in these chapters
and how I think they relate to Revelation 20:1-9.
| (1) | Jewish people are dispersed throughout the world by divine providence as their judgment for unfaithfulness to Jehovah. The dispersion started around 73 AD when Jerusalem including the temple was leveled by the invading Roman armies. Jewish people were sold as slaves throughout the world and were barred from returning to their native land. They were without a country for 1875 years until 1948 when the state of Israel was established. At the present time they are returning to Israel in large numbers. "For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land." (Ezekiel 36:24). |
| (2) | Although Israel appears as a formidable nation in terms of military power, they seem to be dead spiritually. "The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. And He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; lo, they were very dry." (Ezekiel 37:1-2). Nothing can describe the present spiritual state of Israel than these words. |
| (3) | Thus says the Lord God to these bones, "behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life." (Ezekiel 37:5). These words imply that the spiritual life of Israel will be brought back to life in the near future. I think we will see this as a mass conversion of Jewish people to the true Christian faith in next twenty to thirty years. |
| (4) | Two other major events will take place about the time of the conversion and the restoration of the Jewish people. The first one will be the outpouring of the seventh vial of judgment (Revelation 16:17) and the events accompanying this judgment. The second major event will be the ushering in of the millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ with his saints. |
| (5) | At the end of the millennium there will be a falling away from the true religion. Again a large portion of the people of the world will turn against God. A wicked spiritual alliance, which will include many nations of the world, will be formed to fight the remaining kingdom of God in the world. This formidable force is referred to as Gog and Magog in the book of revelation (Revelation 20:8) and Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal in the book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 38:2). Since these events are described in symbols and from a spiritual perspective in both the book of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation, we cannot know how they will transpire temporally. However, according to the descriptions given in the book of Ezekiel, it is safe to say that this will be the greatest force ever assembled against the kingdom of God in this world. If God did not check this hostile force, it would most assuredly destroy the assembly of the saints. God will destroy this wicked alliance summarily as if by raining fire from heaven. |
| (6) | The next great event will be the physical resurrection of the dead followed by the great Day of Judgment, of which our savior said; "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only." (Matthew 24:36). |
20:10-15
20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 20:14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. 20:15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
Here we see the consummation of the earthly affairs. The enemies of the gospel are annihilated forever and the stage is set for the great judgment day.
Satan is represented as the chief accuser of mankind before God (Revelation 12:10). However; here we find that he will be in the lake of fire during the proceedings of the last judgment. Jesus Christ will appear on his great white throne as the final judge of mankind. We learn in this passage that a perfect recording of our entire life will be stored in heaven in some medium unknown to us. This is represented as a book of our deeds. Matthew 12:36 warns us that we will be judged by our own words and be forced to give an accounting of every idle word we speak. All the dead are resurrected and appear before God for the final judgment. It is important to note that this is the only resurrection where people are physically resurrected. A momentous event somewhat resembling the creation of man in the Genesis account. Jesus Christ rose from the dead in this manner with an incorruptible body (I Corinthians 15:20-23). Let us examine other scriptures together with these passages to see if we can gain more insight into the approximate timing and the events of the last judgment.
The Timing of the Resurrection
We are given the approximate time of the general resurrection in the book of Daniel in chapter 10 in veiled language. In this chapter Daniel is visited by an angel and is told of the future. The events foretold here, by the angel’s own words, refer to times far into the future. They start from the times of Daniel and go all the way to the death of Antiochus Epiphanes in 163 BC and further. But after the death of this great enemy of the Hebrew people, the language of the angel changes. He becomes more reluctant to reveal the details of the following events. These events, as is well known, refer to the arrival and the works of the Messiah and they are well documented in the prophecy of the seventy weeks. Therefore, we may reasonably expect the angel to skip the events of the Messiah and fast forward to another great event to take place in the distant future. The angel begins by stating that there would be a time of great trouble for the Hebrew people and that Michael would stand up for them. He then talks about a resurrection of the Hebrew people who, we are told, slept in the dust until then. Some of them would wake to everlasting life and others to everlasting shame. Those, who turned many to righteousness, would shine as the stars forever. Then Daniel is told to close and seal the book to the time of the end when many shall run to and fro and the knowledge would increase. Then two more angels appear and one of them asks how long it will be until the resurrection of the Jewish people. The angel standing on the river lifts his hands to the sky and swears by God that it would be for a time, times, and a half time. Also another sign would be that the scattering of the power of the holy people -the Hebrew people- would be ended. Daniel, the wisest man of his generation, asks for more clarification. The angel responds that none of the wicked would change their ways, but the wise would understand and that from the time that the daily sacrifice would be taken away and the abomination that causes desolation would be set up, there would be 1290 days and he that waits and comes to 1335 days would be blessed. Then he tells Daniel that this would be end of the communication.
The events that are foretold in chapter 10
and 11 are easily understood until the death of Antiochus Epiphanes. The
difficulties begin with the words of the angel "And at that time shall
Michael stand up…" (Daniel 12:1). Let us attempt to separate the individual
events foretold by the angel.
| (1) | Hebrew people will pass through very difficult times. In fact they will be subject to such troubles which cannot be compared with those of any other nation in the world. However, those Jews, whose names are written in the book, will be spared from these troubles. Michael, the archangel, will come to the aid of the Hebrew people during these difficult times. |
| (2) | After this time of trouble many Jews who slept in the dust of the ground will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. The ones who have insight will shine and those who lead many to righteousness will be like the stars forever. |
| (3) | At this point the angel speaks as if this is the end of his communication with Daniel. He tells Daniel to close and seal the book until the end of time. Also he tells him that people would be running to and fro and that knowledge would increase. |
| (4) | Two more angels appear on either side of the river and direct a question to the angel. "How long it will be to the end of these wonders?" Then the angel makes a most solemn gesture. While standing, above the river suspended in mid air, he raises both hands to heaven and swears by God’s name that 1260 years would elapse and also the scattering the power of the holy people would be completed and then without delay these wonders would take place. |
| (5) | Daniel asks for more clarification but this time he is told clearly that the full interpretation of these prophecies are not to be given until the time of the end. |
| (6) | Then the angel proceeds to give a little more explanation of the prophecy first by stating that many would be purged, purified, and refined, but that the wicked would continue unchanged and without understanding. 1290 days after the removal of the daily sacrifice and setting up of the abomination of desolation, an unspecified but important event would take place. 1335 days later these troubles would be over. |
A key to the understanding of these passages
is the time of the resurrection mentioned in verse 2 and verse 14. If we
can show that these two passages refer to the same general resurrection,
then we can, with some confidence, interpret the meaning of the other events.
Let us examine the following two different approaches to the interpretation
of these passages:
| (A) | Daniel 12:2 refers to a different event which can be expressed using the terminology of the resurrection. |
| (1) | Daniel 12:2 follows immediately after a time of great trouble for the Hebrew people such as never was. This time of great trouble most probably refers to the time of the Roman invasion of Jerusalem. |
| (2) | The event described as the resurrection of the Hebrew people takes place as soon as the scattering of the power of the holy people is completed. If the completion of the scattering refers to the conversion of the Hebrew people and the resurrection of the Hebrew people refers to the general resurrection, then the end of the world would have to follow immediately after the conversion of the Hebrew people. However, other scriptures clearly state that the greater portion of the world, including the nation of Israel, would convert to the Christian religion during the Millennium. Thus the end of the world would take place hundreds of years after the conversion of the Hebrew people. Therefore, the event described by the resurrection of the Hebrew people does not refer to the general resurrection at the end of the world. It will take place within the millennium period immediately following the conversion of the Hebrew people. |
| (B) | The two resurrections refer to the same event that is the general resurrection at the end of the world. |
| (1) | The time of great trouble does refer to the Roman invasion; but the resurrection described in verse 2 does not immediately follow this event. It follows much later, more than 3500 years from Daniel’s time. (Daniel lived around 530 BC) It is interesting to note that if the word "time" in the expression "time, times, and a half time" is taken to mean 1000 years then the expression refers to 3500 years. Depending on what value we give the word "time" this expression can convey three and a half years, 1260 years, or 3500 years. It appears that the expression is to be understood depending on its context. That may be the reason it is not expressed in days, months, or years. This places the time of the resurrection sometime around the year 3000. |
| (2) | The language of Daniel 12:2-4 speaks of people sleeping in the dust of the ground and then awaking to receive their just rewards. The righteous shine brightly and yet others as the stars of heaven. These expressions unmistakably refer to the end of the world. Jesus used the same expressions when speaking about the events of the end of the world. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. " (Matthew 13:43). |
| (3) | The completion of the scattering of the power of the holy people refer to the destruction of Gog and Magog by fire from heaven as in Revelation 20:8-9. This event is clearly followed by the general resurrection. Up until this event the holy people of God, his church, were always threatened by the wicked and therefore temporally their power was scattered. When Gog and Magog are destroyed and their agitator, the devil, is permanently removed, there remains no threat to the holy people of God. The scattering of their power is over. |
After prayer and study I believe the latter approach is the correct one.
This leaves the verses 11 and 12 still in the dark. Other interpreters place the time of the events of these verses to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes. This approach seems reasonable to me, as I have no better information. However, I have no explanation why the angel would break up the train of thought and jump from the subject of general resurrection to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes. It may yet be possible to place the events of these verses immediately after the end of the millennium to the time when Satan is released from the bottomless pit.
The events of the resurrection
| (1) | The events of the last judgment will begin with the descent of the Lord Jesus Christ to the level of the clouds in the atmosphere. There will be a shout from the archangel, the voice of the last trumpet will be heard, and all the dead, the elect and the non-elect will be physically resurrected. I Thessalonians 4:16-17 mentions the resurrection of only the elect. However, we read in John 5:28-29 and Daniel 12:2-3 that at this time there will be also those who will rise to the resurrection of damnation. The people, thus resurrected, will stand in different areas of space. Those of the elect will be in close proximity to the savior. They will have incorruptible and immortal bodies, which will not be subject to the elements. |
| (2) | Quickly afterwards the elect, who are then alive, will be caught up to the clouds to be also near the Lord Jesus Christ. Their bodies will be instantly changed into incorruptible and immortal bodies. |
| (3) | Everyone, who was ever born into this world starting with Adam and including all the saints such as Mary the mother of the human aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ, will be tried according to their works. Jesus Christ as a man will not need to be tried as he overcame all temptation and triumphed over sin. Rather He will act as the judge in this trial by the authority given to him by the father (John 5:22). |
| (4) | Since everyone’s lives are recorded in detail, there will be none of the problems attending an earthly trial. During the course of the trial every accountable member of the human race, except Jesus as the son of man, will be found guilty of mortal sin and deserving of damnation. However, those, who put their trust in the sacrifice of the Son of God at Calvary, will be forgiven, not because of their works, but through the imputed righteousness from Jesus Christ. I think this salvation will be offered to everyone, who, through no fault of their own, did not hear of the cross of Calvary, but put their trust in God and strove to righteousness. Without a doubt those, who did not receive an opportunity to reach a level of maturity to know the difference between good and evil, will also be partakers of this salvation. This last category would include the aborted babies so common in our age. |
| (5) | In addition to the archives of the deeds of the mankind, there will be a list of names in the possession of the judge. This is referred to as the book of life. The people, thus forgiven, will have their names in the book of life. There can be no more important goal for a person than to strive to have his/her name included in this book. Throughout the Bible it is strongly emphasized that the only way to do this is to have genuine faith in Jesus Christ and to follow Him. |
| (6) | Those, whose names are not found in the book of life, will be cast into the lake of fire, which will continue forever. I don’t think this will be a volcanic lake, which burns with real fire. Rather it most emphatically conveys the woeful state of those who are thus separated from God who is the source of every good thing. |
| (7) | It is not clear from these verses whether the damned will receive greater punishments depending on the gravity and the willfulness of their sins. While one is alive a distinction is made of certain sins being greater than others (Matthew 5:22, John 19:11). However, as far as I know there is no mention anywhere in the scriptures where the lost will receive differing degrees of eternal punishments. If this is so, it is most likely not meant for the elect to have detailed knowledge of the eternal state of the lost. Greater and more willful sins in this world appear to reduce one’s opportunities for salvation and hasten their eternal doom. |
| (8) | I Corinthians 3:12-15 clearly states that the elect will receive differing degrees of eternal rewards based on their works in this world. This is a very important warning to the elect that if they don’t strive for Christian living to the best of their abilities while in this life, they will end up with minimal or no rewards and they will be reminded of this throughout eternity. Their lackadaisical Christian life will be to them a permanent and irretrievable loss. |
| (9) | Death and Hades are here personified and are thrown into the lake of fire. This means that after the last judgment, death will cease to exist. None of the elect will be in danger of death for eternity. |
21:1
21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.
It is not altogether settled in my mind that the new heaven and the new earth in the passage refer literally to what we call the atmosphere and the planet earth. This passage may also be interpreted to mean that a new order of things has arrived or a new age has begun. Regardless of the precise meaning of the passage, we are to understand that this event has something to do with the complete removal of the curse (Genesis 3:17-19) from the natural environment of men. Up to now the power of the curse upon men had been gradually weakened first with the resurrection of Christ, then with the arrival of the millennium and the reign of the saints. Now that the wicked have been altogether eliminated from the earth, there remains no justification for the curse to remain.
Elsewhere in the Bible we learn that the present earth and the heaven would be dissolved by fire (II Peter 3:7-10). We read in Revelation 20:9 that the final batch of the wicked were destroyed by fire from heaven. It may be that this fire from heaven is literal fire and it is only the beginning of a major conflagration that consumes the earth and cleanses it from the effects of the curse. It is important to note that the heaven and the earth are not re-created but they are transformed. If God had chosen to re-create the heaven and the earth out of nothing, this would not have been more difficult for him. One of His declared attributes is that he does not become tired. See ISAIAH 40:28 where this attribute of God is mentioned precisely in the context of the creation of the world. Also the same idea is mentioned in JEREMIAH 32:17 where it is stated explicitly that the creation of the heavens and the earth are not too hard for God. God did rest on the seventh day from all His works; but this was not because He was tired, as we find no such idea in the text. For wise reasons He chose to rest as we, sometimes, use this word in the sense of a change of focus from the task at hand.
The sea is most likely evaporated from the
fire and it is not replenished in the new earth. In the order of creation
there were three major components: the heaven, the earth, and the sea (ACTS
14:15). In the new order of things the sea is removed. This may be because
the waters of the oceans were used at one time to destroy the wicked in
the great flood (Genesis 7:11).
21:2
21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
The holy city, the New Jerusalem is seen coming
down from heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This is in
stark contrast with the description of the harlot of Babylon beginning
in Revelation 17:1. Since God has devoted considerable space to these descriptions
let us see what we can learn from comparing these symbols.
| (1) | The harlot of Babylon sits upon many waters, (Revelation 17:1) meaning multitudes of people from many nations, whereas the bride of Christ sits upon twelve foundations of precious stones representing the apostles (Revelation 21:14). Jesus Christ, himself, is the chief cornerstone of this structure (Ephesians 2:20). From this we learn that while the harlot of Babylon is built upon man’s works, ideas, philosophies, traditions etc., the true church is built upon the works and the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles. |
| (2) | The harlot of Babylon leads the kings of the earth and the multitudes of people into spiritual adultery meaning away from the worship of the true God. This, most probably, includes prayers, adoration, praise, or worship offered to the creation of God in religious services (Romans 1:25, Revelation 19:10, 22:9). The two major religions that sprang from Ancient Rome: The Roman catholic church and The Greek Orthodox church and their many variations practice spiritual adultery during their religious services by their condoning or encouraging the adoration and the worship of the saints and also by prayers to the saints. About the true church we read: "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." (Revelation 19:8). She is undefiled and pure, free from spiritual adultery. |
| (3) | The harlot of Babylon is revealed in all her allurements in the present age. "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication" (Revelation 17:4). She holds a great attraction for the kings and the multitudes of the people of this world (Revelation 18:3) and apparently even for some of the true people of God. Why else would God call upon them: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4). In contrast the bride of Christ is now hidden from public view, but she is to be revealed in due time in much greater splendor as described in Revelation 21:9 through 22:5. |
| (4) | The harlot of Babylon reigns over the kings of the earth for a long but limited time period, most probably 1260 years as mentioned in Daniel 7:25, 12:7 and revelation 11:12, 13:5. In these passages "time, times and half" or "forty two months" add up to 1260 days where each day represents one year as explained in Ezekiel 4:5. After that she is utterly destroyed (Revelation 17:16-18). The bride of Christ reigns together with Jesus Christ for eternity (Revelation 22:5). |
The bride of Christ is the symbol for the blessed
abode of the saints in the future world. Some of the references to this
symbol are found in Galatians 4:26 where it is called the Jerusalem which
is from above, in Hebrews 12:22 where it is called the heavenly Jerusalem,
in Hebrews 11:10 where people of faith such as Abraham look towards it
as the city which is built by God. Of course the earthly Jerusalem, which
is used as a symbol of servitude to the Mosaic Law, will have passed away
together with the Old World.
21:3-4
21:3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: 21:4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.
A voice from heaven states that God will dwell with men, and that there will be no more sorrow.
Today pain and sorrow are a major part of the
existence of man. In fact we have become so used to this state that it
is nearly impossible for us to imagine a world where there is no pain and
sorrow. Yet what seems impossible for us is easy for God to accomplish.
In due time the saints will enjoy such a state of perfect joy. Pain and
sorrow are referred to as the former things.
21:5
21:5 And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true.
God states that all things are made new, that
his words are true and faithful. The old order has continued for more than
6000 years and it is difficult for the saints to believe that things will
not continue as usual. God knows this and reassures them repeatedly that
all things will be renewed under His power.
21:6
21:6 And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Jesus Christ is the beginning of God's creation
and also the end. This means that he rules over the entire creation of
God. Water of life here represents eternal life. Men cannot acquire eternal
life by their works, but Jesus offers it freely. This being so, still not
everyone, but only those, who are truly thirsty, are to receive the water
of life. That is only those, who actively desire the kingdom of God from
the Son of God, receive it.
21:7-8
21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 21:8 But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.
The eternal state of mankind is shown as those
who overcame and those who did not. He that overcometh is not to be found
in the assembly of those stated in verse 21:8. Christian living is a continual
life of spiritual warfare. There are three principal enemies:
| (1) | The inclinations of the natural man as referred to in I Corinthians 2:13. |
| (2) | The cares of this life including the pressure to conform to the ways of this world in order to be accepted by the society and to earn a living as referred to in Matthew 13:12. |
| (3) | The devil and the fallen angels who are always looking to destroy us as referred to in Ephesians 6:12. |
Other than these, there are many other secondary
enemies. Some of these are:
| (1) | Doctrinal errors caused by a misplaced trust in the false teachers or even in the true Christian teachers, who are mistaken as in Acts 11:1-18 where the apostle Peter and the other believers were mistaken about the offer of the Gospel to the gentiles. | |
| (2) | Ignorance of the important truths of the Bible due to a lack of study as in Matthew 22:29 where Jesus reprimanded the religious teachers of the day for ignorance of the scriptures as to the state of man after death. | |
| (3) | Doubts as to the spiritual applicability of the parts of the Bible to the modern age, such as the current teachings by some regarding divorce and a woman’s right to an abortion. | |
| (4) | Lack of sufficient prayer. (See Matthew 26:41 where we are commanded to watch and pray that we may not enter into temptation.) | |
| (5) | Not paying enough attention to the prophecies applicable to the present age or accepting erroneous interpretations of these prophecies propounded by either false teachers or unenlightened true Christians. The most glaring example of this is the mistake made by the majority of the Jewish nation regarding the Messiah. | |
| (6) | An unnatural preoccupation with the so-called Christian celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. With the exception of Sunday as being the Christian Sabbath, there are no commands either from Jesus Christ or from his apostles to commemorate certain days as being holy in a religious context. For a proof that Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles are the only ones who can introduce holy days, please see my interpretation of Revelation 21:14. | |
| (7) | Not paying enough attention to the Christian Sabbath of Sunday as a day set apart for God. Sunday, not Saturday is the Christian Sabbath for the following reasons. | |
| (1) | Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Sunday (Luke 24.1). This is the first day of the week and also the day God created light (Genesis 1:5). | |
| (2) | Acts 20:7 states that the disciples gathered for worship on Sunday. This is an interesting passage as it shows us that the early Christians worshipped much the same way as we do today. They celebrate the Lord's Supper and then Paul begins preaching, and in his great enthusiasm, continues well into the night. | |
| (3) | I Corinthians 16:2 speaks of a collection being taken from the believers on Sunday. | |
| (4) | Historical evidence corroborates the view that the early Christians celebrated Sunday instead of Saturday as the day of worship. Ignatius of Antioch mentions in a letter that the former adherents of ancient customs now celebrate their Sabbath on the Lord's Day. Since his letters also mention the name of the emperor Trajan, he must have lived near the beginning of the second century. Justin Martyr mentions in one of his letters to the Emperor Antoninus Pius that Christians' day of worship is Sunday and not Saturday. Since we know the date of the reign of Antoninus Pius, we may conclude that Justin Martyr's letter must have been written about the middle of the second century. These facts show us that it was not the Catholic Church that instituted the Lord's day, but it was done by Apostolic authority from the earliest days of Christianity. Therefore, the Seventh Day Adventists' claim that it was a Papal decree that altered the day of worship is without merit. Remarkably, the Papacy owns up to this charge and boasts of having made this change by decree, thereby adding strength to this false claim of the Adventists. These two lies do not add up to the truth. The ultimate goal of the Papacy is to mix truth and lies so as to confuse everyone so that nothing will be certain. Indeed, the Papacy did make many changes to the times and the seasons by instituting all manner of unauthorized holy days and Christian celebrations, but this change of Sabbath from Sunday to Saturday was done by Apostolic Authority. The Papacy only reinforced it. | |
| (8) | An undue emphasis on the outward things of this world such as the appearance of one’s clothes, the splendors of the church choir, the glories of the church building, etc. While true Christians will take care to present a reasonably good appearance to each other and to the world, they know that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom not based on the things of this world and that these things, in themselves, are not important enough to cause divisions among the believers (Colossians 2:16-17). | |
| (9) | Not paying tithes for the support of the needy and of the ministers of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:7, 1 Timothy 5:18). | |
Our principal allies in this warfare are:
| (1) | God is on our side. The best proof of this is the Bible, which he has made available to all mankind, against all odds, more than any other book (Revelation 10:9). |
| (2) | Will power and the motivation to obey God out of the fear of God’s chastisement or even of the possibility of being cast into the lake of fire forever. |
| (3) | An innumerable company of angels who are far more numerous and powerful than the fallen angels. |
| (4) | Our conscience, which is proof that God has made us to know right from wrong. |
| (5) | The company and the example of other believers. |
| (6) | The strengthening of one’s faith in the Bible through observing the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Bible regarding the future. |
As far as I know the departed man of God do not, at this present age, help us in the same way as the angels do. They do not carry our prayers to God. They do not, on a spiritual plane, conduct warfare with the fallen angels for our safekeeping. They do not, with power from God, perform miracles such as the appearances of Virgin Mary or the healing of the sick. We are expressly told, as in the lord’s prayer, to pray directly to God the father and that in the name of His son who is the only mediator between God and man. One important lesson in all this is that even if we know the angels to be actively involved in helping us, we are nowhere told to ask them to help us in any way. All our requests must go to God through Christ. Since we are forbidden to pray to God through the angels, we must not pray to God through the departed saints of God such as through the mother of Jesus Christ. In all likelihood, such prayers offered through the departed saints are not only scripturally incorrect, but cause great harm to the spiritual well being of the one offering the prayer.
The victors, at the conclusion of this life, are to be honored as the sons of God. This is the greatest gift that a man can receive. There can be no higher honor for any being in the universe. This is represented as a man inheriting all things. The rewards, the victor will receive, are not enumerated. It is so much that it cannot be counted nor be told. Instead it is stated that he will receive all things.
Man’s ultimate destiny is either to be born
again or die a second death. Just as a man can be born again through Christ
into the kingdom of God; he also can die a second death into the lake of
fire. Both of these destinations are final and eternal. This is a most
solemn warning for all men. Nothing can be more terrifying than ending
up in the lake of fire forever.
21:9-10
21:9 And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
An angel carries John to an elevated location
with an unobstructed view and shows him the true church of God, the holy
Jerusalem descending from heaven and refers to her figuratively as the
bride of Christ.
21:11-23
21:11 having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal: 21:12 having a wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 21:13 on the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 21:15 And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal. 21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 21:18 And the building of the wall thereof was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass. 21:19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 21:20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. 21:23 And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.
It is almost as if the city cannot be described
using man’s language. The language is used to its limits describing the
splendors of the city. We are, however, to think of the city as symbolic
of the eternal dwelling place of the elect and not in earthly terms. The
symbols used by God are suitable for evoking in our minds what, in man’s
language, is indescribable.
| (1) | The city has 12 foundations each shaped as an exact square. These foundations bear the names of the apostles and are made up of different precious stones. The length, the breadth, and the height of the city are 375 miles each. The height of each of its four walls is 216 feet. On each side there are three gates made up of one pearl each with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There is an angel at each gate. The streets of the city are made up of pure gold. |
| (2) | It is lighted with the Shekinah glory, that is the glory of God. The reflections of this light are more splendid than the light reflected from the most precious earthly stones such as the jasper stone. Of course there is no need for another source of light such as the Sun or the Moon. |
| (3) | The presence of God is so strong throughout the city that there is no need of a special dwelling place for God. Consequently there is nothing in the city resembling an earthly temple. |
The foundations of the city recall to mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:17: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church". Elsewhere Ephesians 2:20 refers to the church as "being built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone." This, clearly, means that the church is to be built upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, and his apostles. There can be no other authority, religious institution, or school of thought on which the church can be built. Since the age of the apostles is past, and the traditions of men are not reliable, we must rely on the Bible as our only source for the true teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles. This is commanded very strongly in Revelation 22:9 where the angel tells the apostle: "keep the sayings of this book". Since the apostle himself was writing the book, and the fact that the angel had to remind him to follow the teachings of the book, shows us that the book was divinely inspired and that not even the human author of the book was entirely familiar with its true meaning. Elsewhere in Revelation 10:8-11 we see how the Bible was delivered to mankind from the hand of an angel. This is done through the invention of the printing press where the first book printed was the Bible. Furthermore, the apostle was told to eat the book meaning to study the book and to obey it so diligently as to become one with the book. This is an idea that is repeated throughout the scriptures: "Thy word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." (PSALM 119:11) "And these words, which I command thee, this day shall be upon thy heart." (DEUTERONOMY 6:6) "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes" (DEUTERONOMY 11:18).
As anyone can see there is very strong evidence
in the Bible that it has been prepared and given to men by God himself.
Consequently it should be our sole authority in the matters of religion.
However; this is not accepted by the churches that rely on the apostolic
tradition. These churches, with slight variations, claim either a written
or an unwritten apostolic tradition from the earliest days of Christianity.
The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church are the principal
churches that make this claim. The Roman Catholic Church claims, in a nutshell,
that her system is passed down from Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles. If
this were true then we would expect to find the catechism of this church
to be based on the Bible. However, when we read the catechism, we find
that the church places the same emphasis on the unwritten traditions as
the Bible. Surely, this can't be a very reliable approach. Since the Bible
was prepared by God and given to mankind as a guide in religious matters,
the church would be wiser to place greater emphasis on the Bible. This
is what Jesus had to say about following religious traditions: "Ye hypocrites,
well did Esaias prophesy of you saying, This people draweth nigh unto me
with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is
far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men." (Matthew 15:7-9). I believe we have a very similar
situation existing in the Catholic Church today. Observe the following
facts:
| (1) | The words of Jesus were spoken to the Pharisees and the Sadducees of his day. They were the religious leaders of the time. It appears that, by and large, these people taught the word of God. To their credit this also is acknowledged by Jesus (Matthew 23:3). However, some of their teachings were not acceptable before God. Also their conduct was not right. This made them entirely unacceptable before God, such that Jesus repeatedly warned his disciples that unless their righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees and the Sadducees they would not enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:20). Today the priests of the Catholic Church teach mostly from the Bible but some of their teachings come from the traditions of men and are not acceptable before God. |
| (2) | In Jesus’ day people prayed by many repetitions. This was, most likely, taught by the religious leaders of the time and it was not acceptable before God. "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." (Matthew 6:7). This is how prayer is taught in the Catholic Church. There are many set prayers, which are memorized and repeated many times. |
| (3) | The religious establishment of Israel in Jesus day was the only authority for Jewish people regarding religious matters. Since it was supposed to be based on the word of God and the ancient traditions, there was no question as to its legitimacy. However, we read that this establishment was not acceptable before God, as it had become stale. They had forgotten their chief purpose, which was to teach people to love Jehovah and obey him with gladness. Instead people had been taught to follow numerous rituals some from the word of God and some fabricated. I think this is a lesson for all of us. When people move away from God, they embrace religious rituals, the more the better. God commanded them to follow many rituals; but the emphasis was not on these rituals. It was on the state of their hearts. Above all they were to love God with all their hearts. "And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all? Jesus answered, the first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." (Mark 12:28). If one loves God in this way, one will seek out God’s will and obey him without much difficulty. The first thing that comes to mind about the Catholic Church today is her elaborate liturgy and rituals. |
The city has 12 gates with the names of the apostles and an angel stands guard at each gate. This means that only those, whose names are on the roster at each gate, will enter. Each gate represents one apostle and entrance is allowed only to those who follow the teachings of the apostles. Needless to say the teachings of the apostles are in the New Testament and they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The city is very large even by today’s standards,
its length, width and height being 375 miles each. Its walls are 216 feet
high. The city towers very high above its walls. I think the proportions
of the city indicate the large numbers of its future inhabitants. Even
though Jesus said "narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14), this was relative to those who took
the wide road to destruction. Of course, as we see all around us, their
numbers are still much larger. In Revelation 7:9 we read of the redeemed
as being a great multitude whom no one could number. No doubt, much larger
numbers will be saved during the millennium when the true religion will
be in ascendancy. Its high walls are there to show that the city will be
secure from all her enemies. We cannot think of the city and its walls
literally existing in the present time and space since it is symbolical.
My thoughts are not clear on the meaning of the extreme height of the city,
unless this also is meant to emphasize its tremendous size.
21:24-27
21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. 21:23 And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. 21:24 And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. 21:25 And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day (for there shall be no night there): 21:26 and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it: 21:27 and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The elect of God will dwell in the city. This is referred to as those from the nations of the earth that are saved. It is stated that the kings of the earth will bring their glory an honor into the city. This is probably a reference to the future age of the millennium when the true religion will be in ascendancy in the world and the great majority of the leaders of the earthly nations will worship the true God. Those, who held a high office while on earth, and were redeemed, will offer themselves and their offices before God.
The gates of the city shall never be shut.
Since there is neither Sun nor the Moon, there will be no night in the
city. Even though the gates of the city will always stay open, those, whose
names are not found in the lamb’s book of life, will be eternally excluded.
The language, which states this, is very strong and it is repeated throughout
this book as a very solemn warning to all mankind.
22:1-5
22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, 22:2 in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 22:3 And there shall be no curse any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and his servants shall serve him; 22:4 and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads. 22:5 And there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the Lord God shall give them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
A pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. On the banks of the river and throughout the city, the tree of life abounds. This tree bears the same fruit each month and its fruit is, probably, the same one mentioned in Genesis 3:22 where we learn that after man’s disobedience, God removed it out of his reach and that if man had been able to continue to partake of this tree he would keep on living forever. The leaves of the tree also have healing properties.
I think the idea of a tree of life is highly symbolic and this shows us also that a great deal of the creation story in the book of Genesis is also symbolic. The actual events of the spiritual world are largely hidden and even if they were revealed to us, I doubt that we could understand them. We will understand the spiritual world only after living there for some time. Meantime God uses concepts such as the tree of life, which we can readily understand, to impart to us the necessary knowledge to strengthen us and to give us hope in the trials of this world.
The curse is removed. Men are enabled to see God face to face. And since His name is on their foreheads they are His forever. There is all light in the city always. The saints reign with God.
The idea of co-reigning with Christ is mentioned
in various passages in the Bible and it means that the saints will share
in his reign of the universe. However, I don’t think all the details of
this reign are revealed in the Bible. If one examines the relevant passages
such as in Matthew 19:28, Luke 22:30, I Corinthians 6:2-3, one sees that
one aspect of the reign of the saints will be to exercise judgment over
the world and even over the fallen angels. This reign of judgment, however,
is not permanent, as it will be completed after the Day of Judgment. Perhaps
further light is to be gained from the history of ancient Israel. After
Israelites came out of Egypt, they were ruled by the prophets and other
man of God referred to as the judges who communed with God and related
God’s will to the nation. This could be a shadow of the things to come
as to the permanent reign of the saints. Who will the saints reign over?
They, surely, will not reign over the fallen angels and the lost man in
the lake of fire. The answer could be one of the following:
| (1) | They will reign over new worlds populated with other beings created by God. |
| (2) | The more exalted saints will reign over others who will not reign over anyone. |
| (3) | The more exalted saints will rule over others and they, in turn, will rule over other worlds created by God. |
| (4) | Still something altogether different, which we do not know or cannot understand, is meant by the permanent reign of the saints. |
I haven’t found any scriptural support for
God creating other worlds, which the saints will rule. But this does not
mean that such will not happen. However, a state, where the more exalted
saints have rule over the less exalted saints, appears more probable from
such verses as in I Corinthians 3:12-15. These verses and others clearly
state that some saints will be rewarded with higher honors than others,
but, again this does not mean that the ones, who are ranked higher, will
have absolute rule over the others. The words of Christ are plain enough
in Matthew 2:23-26 where He says that Christian rule is the opposite of
what the world thinks. The greatest among the saints is the one greatest
in humility and ministers to all.
22:6-7
22:6 And he said unto me, These words are faithful and true: and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angels to show unto his servants the things which must shortly come to pass. 22:7 And behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book.
The angel assures John that, what he saw and
heard, were true. That the things he saw would begin to take place as of
then and that they were not scheduled thousands, or even hundreds of years
into the future. Again, in these verses, there is confirmation that Christians
must rely only on the teachings of the Bible for their salvation. We can
understand the expression “I come quickly” as meaning that the time of
his arrival will be suddenly and without delay at the appointed time set
by the Father. The expression does not mean that he would come within
a year, or ten years, or even thousand years. There are many scriptures
that imply a long duration between his first resurrection and his second
coming. Perhaps one of the clearest is the parable of the bridegroom
(Matthew 25:1-13). In this parable the bridegroom tarries and the
five foolish virgins are caught sleeping. Jesus adds that we should
always be on the watch as we will not know the exact time of his coming.
Some of the events predicted in the book of Revelation have long durations.
The two witnesses in sackcloth prophesy for 1260 years (Revelation 11:2),
the locusts in the fifth trumpet plague last for 150 years (Revelation
9:5), the horsemen in the sixth trumpet plague last for 396 years (Revelation
9:15). Finally in Revelation 16:15 we read that Jesus will come as
a thief and that we cannot slumber while waiting.
22:8-9
22:8 And I John am he that heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel that showed me these things. 22:9 And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren the prophets, and with them that keep the words of this book: worship God.
John falls down to worship the angel. It is not clear why this great apostle intends to commit this same mistake again, as he was explicitly warned about it earlier (Revelation 19:10). Since the apostle is very humble, and does not wish to draw attention to himself, he does not get into the details of what emotional state prompted him to commit this same error twice. However, it is hinted that what he had seen and heard had something to do with it. He was, most probably, overcome with awe in the presence of the angel and since what he had seen and heard were literally out of this world he had, unwittingly, allowed the emotions of respect, admiration, and wonder overtake his reasoning. This erroneous conduct of the apostle is recorded for us in his book not once, but twice for added emphasis. I believe the Holy Spirit, seeing that in the coming ages men of God will fall prone to this same error repeatedly, wants us to pay added attention to this matter. Here is a lesson not taught by abstract ideas, but by practical example.
Here are some of the arguments by which I could
justify the apostle’s conduct:
| (1) | This angel is sent directly from God. Therefore he represents God and the apostle must have meant to worship God by his worship of the angel. Since his motives are pure his conduct is acceptable before God. |
| (2) | The apostle did not render the same kind of worship to the angel as is due to God. He, only, meant to express feelings of great respect to the angel. Since God knows this, his conduct is acceptable before God. |
| (3) | The angel had taught the apostle great truths, shown him wonderful scenes from the future of mankind. The apostle owed much to God for sending him this angel and also to the angel for performing his office so well. He knelt and worshipped the angel and to God to express his gratitude. |
I could go on and on and find more silly justifications for the conduct of the apostle. And no doubt if his conduct hadn’t been rebuked by the angel, we would see many Bible expositors explaining away this serious infraction as nothing. However, the Holy Spirit, knowing that human beings have a natural propensity to error regarding the method of worship, has made it clear throughout the Bible that God alone is to be worshipped. "For thou shalt worship no other god; for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14). We think of jealousy as a negative emotion, which should have no place among the saints. However, this matter is so important and the emphasis is so great that God sees it necessary to warn us in the most solemn manner. He will be jealous, vengeful, and without pity when the worship of his people is directed towards anything other than Himself. "And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house." (Ezekiel 9:5-6). The scripture is filled with fearful warnings, admonitions, and rebukes regarding this matter. The idea of worship here includes all forms of worship. Of course, it includes the worship of Virgin Mary, and the saints, and of Michael the archangel, and of the great leaders of religion. Any excessive praise heaped upon the creature borders on unlawful worship. Such unlawful worship is absolutely forbidden.
Another important lesson from this incident is that all people, including the most highly esteemed saints of God, are prone to error of the most serious kind. We notice that the apostle is immediately warned by the angel not to continue in his error. Most of the time God does not deal with the errors of his saints in this manner. More often than not, the sin is allowed to continue and the saint is permitted time to pray and study the word of God until he responds to the Holy Spirit and sees the error of his ways. Sad to say, there appears to be many people who resist or ignore the Holy Spirit and the word of God and insist on their error until they are taken away from this world. Since the apostle John was writing the word of God, and setting an example by his conduct for future generations, he was promptly corrected. Since God's correction of most of his ministers and teachers is much more gradual and sometimes it goes unheeded, we must be watchful of all the teaching we receive from the ministers of God. While it is true that we can learn a great deal by listening to and observing the conduct of these people, we can also be misled by their errors. These errors in some cases can be quite serious. We must check the validity of all scriptural teaching by examining it to see if it is expressly taught in the Bible, if not, is it in agreement with the scriptural principles of the Bible in an obvious manner? Most saints would agree that smoking is sinful. However, since this is not expressly taught in the Bible, some saints continue to smoke. This is a very good example where the scriptural principles confirm an activity to be sinful in an obvious manner (I Corinthians 3:16,17). However, there are other issues where some teaching appears to be based on scripture and yet it is widely ignored by the common Christian opinion. I think that one should pray and study the word of God regarding all these matters and do whatever his conscience dictates according to the word of God. We are expressly forbidden to rely on the inclinations of our heart in our decision making. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:4).
These verses address the saints of God as those
who heed the words of this book. This is a remarkable truth. The expression
"This book" refers explicitly to the book of revelation. However, since
God made that book a part of the Bible, it also refers to the entire Bible.
We see here that in order for one to become a saint of God, he must diligently
follow all the teachings of the Bible.
22:10
22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.
The book is not to be sealed as the other prophecies
of the Old Testament were. Many prophecies of Isaiah, and Daniel were to
be sealed up (Isaiah 8:16, Daniel 8:26, 12:9). This was obviously for keeping
the records intact through the hundreds of years of time until the time
of their fulfillment. However, the prophecies of the book of Revelation
did not need to be sealed up, as they would begin to be fulfilled immediately.
I think also that there is reference here to the unsealing of the Old Testament
prophecies, which also would begin to be fulfilled.
22:11
22:11 He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let him be made filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him do righteousness still: and he that is holy, let him be made holy still.
The unrighteous and the righteous are fixed
permanently in their current states. This is, without a doubt, another
solemn warning to the unrighteous of this world to obtain righteousness
as quickly as possible. When all the prophecies of the book of revelation
are fulfilled, there will be no more opportunities for repentance. The
contrary is also true that there will be no more temptation for the righteous.
22:12
22:12 Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is.
Rewards will be distributed to the saints according
to their works while in the flesh. (Regarding the nature of the rewards,
please see my remarks on Revelation 22:1-5.) If one starts counting from
the time one is saved, until one meets Jesus on the other side, time flies
very swiftly even by our mortal reckoning. We must hurry to do the works
of righteousness in this limited time. If we are slow or lazy we may not
receive any rewards other than escaping hellfire. Please see the interpretation
of Revelation 22:7 for the meaning of the expression “I am coming quickly”.
22:13
22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
This is another reference to the divinity of
Jesus Christ. He, together, with the Father and the Holy Spirit created
the universe, and executed the plan of salvation to its ultimate completion.
22:14-15
22:14 Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life, and my enter in by the gates into the city. 22:15 Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie.
There is here another listing of the characters
excluded from the Holy city as in Revelation 21:8. We know from other scriptures
that there will be two major groups that will be turned away. One group
will acknowledge him as their savior but will have no evidence that they
obeyed his teachings. Another group will challenge him and the plan of
salvation to the end. I am not clear on the fate of those who have never
heard of him. Based on other scriptures I would think that such people
will be judged according to their works, but the standard against which
they will be judged, will be no higher than the works of the weaker Christians
who are barely saved as in I Corinthians 3:15. The dogs in this passage
refer to a depraved class of people such as in Deuteronomy 23:18, Philippians
3:2.
22:16
22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star.
This is another confirmation that it is Jesus who sent the book of revelation and ultimately the entire Bible to all the churches of the world. The language here is authoritative. The process of delivering the Bible was not left to human ingenuity. God did not give the Bible to someone and left this person to his own devices to spread the word. God took upon himself to write and deliver the Bible to all mankind.
Jesus refers to himself as the root and the offspring of David. This is a reference to Isaiah 11:10. If we think of the family of David as a tree, this tree, at the time of Jesus birth, had fallen into decay. His descendants, such as Mary and Joseph, were poor and unknown. Jesus, by becoming the root and the most important branch of this tree, renewed the tree. The reference to the root of David obviously does not mean that David had descended from Jesus.
The bright morning star is another reference
to Jesus Christ that is repeated elsewhere in the scriptures. It means
that the appearance of Jesus would be a precursor to the full brightness
of sunshine for the saints.
22:17
22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.
This verse describes how far and widely the message of salvation is to be disseminated. Unlike the Mosaic Law, which was confined to Israel, the gospel of salvation is to be spread out to the entire world. "And let him that heareth say, come." These words imply that God will use even the unbelievers in spreading the message of the Gospel. No doubt, even today there are many references to the message of the gospel in heathen literature, movies, television, news reports etc. As far as I know no one has been able to prevent the translation and the dispersion of the Bible into all the nations of the world.
Serious attempts have been made, and are continuing
to be made to hold back the message of the gospel throughout the world.
This was attempted without success under communism. This included banning
the Bible from circulation in communist lands. Prior to Protestantism,
Catholic Church prevented the free distribution of the Bible. However,
neither of these institutions was successful in this. Today the Catholic
Church, herself, is a major agency in distributing the Bible and communism
is virtually destroyed. I believe that in the current age the danger is
not so much from the suppression the Bible, but from the neglect of studying
it. Since the divine principle states that: "to whom much is given much
shall be required", (Luke 12:48) today’s saints, having the Bible so freely
available, must spend more time in serious study of it. Those, who speak
one of the European languages, have at their disposal, an incredible amount
of study aids, bible commentaries, and other religious books. No doubt
many of these books are full of errors, but I think a great number of them
are very useful for study. I believe that we are on the edge of the beginning
of the millennium, which will be a time when the fullness of the knowledge
of God will fill the whole earth.
22:18-19
22:18 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: 22:19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.
These words are written as a most solemn warning to the entire mankind. Since it is God who oversaw the writing and the delivery of the Bible, he will hold it as a most serious offense when one attempts to add or take away from his words. Future events, no matter how far into the future, are known to God in minute detail. We can safely assume that he knew the events of the 19th and 20th centuries. All goes according to his wise plan and the elect are safe throughout the ages "hidden in the hollow of his blessed hand" so the inspired hymn goes. If we know this to be true, then it follows that when he wrote and delivered the bible, he included enough information in it to prepare us even for the modern age. Through the prophecies, we see his hand even in the most strange and chaotic events; such as the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of the Catholic Church, the rise of Islam, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the French revolution, the effects of the news media upon mankind, and finally the future battle of Armageddon. I am convinced that nothing is too hard for God. It is easier for him to sort through and work out 6000 years of human history than it is for us to take one breath. Therefore, we can be certain that the bible, which He delivered to us, contains all that is necessary for us to cope with adversity in every age.
Let us examine the various ways the enemy tries
to alter the meaning of the word of God.
| (1) | The meaning can be altered by erroneous translation. It is a well-known fact that there are translation errors in the King James Version of the Bible. However, none of the essential doctrines regarding the plan of salvation were touched by these errors. One can safely consider the King James Version correct for the purposes of salvation, teaching, and public worship. When further study of the deeper doctrines of the Bible is necessary, excellent new translations of the Bible are available. There are also excellent commentaries of the Bible that present detailed explanations of the difficult passages of the Bible. |
| (2) | The meaning can be altered by well meaning people during translation in order to clarify complicated passages. I believe the Living Bible is a perfect example of this. However, the danger is greatly reduced if one understands that this Bible is not meant for serious study, but rather it is an attempt to express the Bible in laymen’s language. |
| (3) | The meaning can be altered because of the errors in the original texts. This occurs mostly in the Old Testament. There are some passages that appear to be incomplete. Since the books in the Old Testament are as old as 4000 years, one should not be surprised by this. The Hebrews were very careful in preserving the Torah and did not change the text, but still copying errors crept in. One can claim that since the originals were not divinely preserved, the Bible is not really a reliable document from God. This is foolishness, as it does not take into account the imperfections of the human condition. God wants his elect to use their minds, to study, to make value judgments and when necessary to accept that one cannot always have perfect information about everything. The elect of God will receive spiritual rewards according to their works in the flesh. No doubt, God will reward serious research and study of the Bible. |
| (4) | The meaning can be altered by erroneous interpretation of the correct text. This is, probably, by far the most common occurrence among the saints. That’s why there are so many denominations. Again this teaches us that we must study the Bible ourselves and that we cannot rely entirely on other people’s interpretations, no matter how righteous and wise they may seem to us. |
| (5) | The meaning can be altered by people who pretend to be godly man, but deliberately set out to create forgeries. Needless to say God will judge such people and their followers. However, God has not permitted such people to destroy the originals of his words. The most, these people can hope to accomplish, is to write their own version of the Bible and attempt to deceive others. |
There is one other method of deception, which is outside of these categories and probably the hardest to detect. This is the teaching of the word of God together with so-called Apostolic Tradition. We know that during the earliest days of Christianity the apostles taught the word of God by preaching and by example. There were many miracles performed that confirmed the authority of the apostles to establish the precepts of the Christian religion. I believe this process has been completed approximately by AD 150. By that time the foundations of the Christian religion were laid. From that time on God began to invite people to salvation not so much by mighty miracles, but by the preaching and teaching of the word of God. Since the Christian religion is based on faith and this comes about by the hearing of the word of God, the saints continued to come in ever-larger numbers unaffected by the withdrawal of the miracles. However, many people, through ignorance, refused to believe that this earlier era of Christianity had passed. An elaborate scheme, which even used scripture, was developed to satisfy these people. According to this scheme the age of the apostles continued through the spiritual successors of the apostle Peter. These successors were based in Rome and took the title of Pope.
They were addressed by the blasphemous title "Holy Father". Since they were supposed to be the descendants of the apostle Peter, they could interpret the Bible and even institute new Christian traditions as the true apostles did. They taught the Bible together with their own teachings, some of which were not in the Bible (such as the assumption of Virgin Mary) and others were contrary to the Bible (such as the veneration of the saints through their images). Needless to say this is another very serious category of the alteration of the word of God.
The expression "God shall take away his part
from the tree of life and from the Holy City" is obviously addressed to
those who would be familiar with the word of God and have a pretension
of Godliness. This shows us that God knew thousands of years ago that there
would be such people who would attempt to alter His word.
22:20-21
22:20 He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus. 22:21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the saints. Amen.
The book closes affirming that all that was written in it were from Jesus Christ. We must look forward to His coming as the apostle John did. I believe the apostle was an old man when He wrote this book. He was banished to the desolate Island of Patmos. Yet we can see the hand of the divine providence in his exile. God arranged the circumstances so that he would receive a most glorious vision, which stretched into eternity in these very humble surroundings.
Let us remember that this is the only book
of the Bible in which it is emphatically stated that those who study it,
teach it to others, and keep its sayings, will receive great blessings
from God (Revelation 1:3). This has been true in my life and I hope that
it will be true in yours.