The End of the World as We Know It – 4
To fully understand the book of Revelation, you must start at the beginning, to be able to tie all the events together (see part 1, 2, and 3). In part 3, we saw the apostle John taken up, (in the spirit), to the throne room of Jehovah God Himself.
Once there, John had a Holy Spirit-induced vision that is both heavenward in place, and future-ward in time – where he sees God on the throne, accompanied by the Holy Spirit, 24 ‘elders’ seated around God’s throne, worshiping Him, and 4 angels worshiping Him as well.
We also saw that God possessed a scroll with seven seals, containing His plan for the redemption of humankind, but that it appeared that no one in heaven was worthy to open the seals, so that the plan may commence.
Finally, we examined varying biblical scholastic cases for the concept of a ‘rapture’ of the church.
In the first 3 parts of our examination of the book of Revelation, we have witnessed the ‘setting of the stage’ for the evolution of events that will comprise the timeline leading up to the end of the world as we know it. Now, we are ready for action…
Last time, we left off with the apostle John weeping, because no one was worthy to set free the scroll with the 7 seals. Today, we will investigate who is, and the meanings behind those seals. Let’s continue:
…one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. Rv. 5:5, 6. NLT
The ‘Lamb’ is none other that Jesus Christ. ‘He has won the victory,’ i.e., He overcame the forces of Satan, He emerged as the only sinless person in history, and defied death by His resurrection. In so doing, He became the guarantee for the salvation of humankind. The Son of God is the only one who is worthy to open the scroll.
The ‘Lion of Judah’ indicates that Jesus is the mightiest Warrior of one of the mightiest of the 12 tribes of Israel, also indicating His Jewish ancestry (see Gn. 49:9, 10). The ‘heir to David’s throne’ points to His fulfillment of becoming the Messiah (see 2 Sam. 7:12 – 16.).
The ‘slaughtered Lamb’ represents Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. However, now, the seven horns symbolize His Herculean power, while the ‘seven eyes’ characterizes Christ’s amalgamation with the Holy Spirit – resulting in His complete omniscience regarding all things, including the very depths of all human souls.
Jesus acts:
He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song…
“You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seal and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.” Rv. 5:7 – 10. NLT
The angels and ‘every living thing’ worshiped Him as well – foretelling of Jesus’ return, when all people (even those who rejected Him) will pay Christ homage. The song itself reaffirms Jesus’ worthiness.
Now, one of the angels calls John to witness Christ’s opening of the seals, which constitute part of an ‘overview’ of a seven-year period, referred to as the ‘tribulations’ (adversities, tragedies, suffering):
As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” Rv. 6:1 NLT
Jesus opens the first four seals, which reveals the symbolic ‘four horsemen of the apocalypse.’
The first rider is astride a white horse – interpreted by some as the Antichrist, (counterfeit christ, man of lawlessness), who is loosed upon the earth in the beginning of the tribulations.
Apostle Paul also received a Holy Spirit-inspired vision regarding this day:
…that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed – the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 2 Thess. 2, 3. NLT
‘That day’ is the day of God’s wrath.
[Some interpreters see this first rider as Christ Himself, but that is problematic. One: the rider is pictured with a bow; two: he is riding out to conquer; and three: he is nothing like the real Christ, who is later depicted in chapter 9.
Jesus has never been depicted in Scripture with a bow, but with a sword. Also, He does not need to go out to conquer. He has already conquered death and holds the keys to Hades (see Rv. 1:18)].
The second horseman is riding a red horse:
Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere. Rv. 6:4 NLT
(Some interpret him to be a personification of a coalition of a great army ‘from the north’ – from countries said to comprise the old Soviet Union and those populated by Islamic radicals).
The third rides a black horse, bringing with it famine, starvation, and disastrous inflation.
Finally, the fourth represents ‘death’:
…a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals. Rv. 6:8 NLT
Jesus opens the 5th seal, which is unlike the others, which consist of judgment. Instead it is a cry out for vengeance against those who have killed the saints:
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I (John) saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.
They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”
Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters – their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred – had joined them. Rv. 6:9 – 11. NLT
Our merciful God gives the world a little more time, to save any of those who may yet make the decision to become His children.
The sixth seal is opened, and it reveals huge cosmological events:
…there was a great earthquake. The sun became dark as black cloth, the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places.
Then everyone – the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person – all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?” Rv. 6:12 – 17. NLT (See also Joel 2:30, 31; and Is. 2:19 – 21.)
Before Jesus opens the 7th seal, there is an ‘interlude’ in heaven, within the timeline of the unfolding of God’s judgments upon the unrepentant rebellious. This is the first of three interludes within the book of Revelation – where we get to witness the disposition of the saints during the various phases of John’s visions:
After this I saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or any tree. Rv. 7:1 NLT
No wind? That would indeed require major climactic and cosmological changes.
And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.” Rv. 7:2, 3. NLT
Next in John’s vision of the interlude, he describes 144,000 Jewish followers of Christ, (12,000 from each of the 12 cited tribes of Israel) – sealed for salvation.
John continues:
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes…shouting with a great roar,
“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” Rv. 7:9, 10. NLT
Then one of the twenty-four elders turns to John in his vision and asks:
“Who are these clothed in white? Where did they come from?” Rv. 7:13 NLT
John replies:
“Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple.
And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Rv. 7:14 – 17. NLT
This multitude of people are interpreted by some to be all the Gentiles around the globe who have witnessed the rapture of the church, God’s defeat of Israel’s enemies, and the salvation of the Jews by Christ. Thus, they are convinced that Jesus is truly the Messiah. (See Zech. 8:23). This interpretation would require either an additional and / or mid-tribulation only ‘rapture.’
John’s vision shifts its focus back to the God’s throne room as Jesus opens the last of the seven seals:
When He (the Lamb) broke open, the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour [in awe of God’s impending judgment]. Rv. 8:1 AMP
I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold alter before the throne. Rv. 8:2, 3. NLT
We see that the seventh seal is not associated with God’s judgment. What it does is serve as a preamble to God’s ‘judgments of the trumpets,’ which heralds the coming of cataclysmic events during the tribulations. Next time…
Goodnight and God bless.
Building Better Americans 111
The End of the World as We Know it – 3
In our examination of the book of Revelation so far, we have looked at a general introduction (see End of the World as We Know It), showing us the author, receiver, and the interpretive and literary styles of the content; and we learned how to grow stronger churches by being stronger Christians – simultaneously preparing ourselves for Christ’s second advent (see End of the World as We Know It 2).
Immediately after John had received the content for the letters to the seven churches, Christ called him up to God’s throne room in heaven:
Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”
And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone was sitting on it. The one sitting on it was a brilliant as gemstones…And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Rv. 4:1 – 3. NLT
We see then that Revelation is now shifting its perspective both heavenward and towards future events. John is being called up to witness his next divine vision. Jehovah is on His throne, but His visage / glory was so remarkable and transcendent over anything else in the universe that His (invisible) form could not be accurately fathomed by John’s (or our) finite, fleshly vision.
At this point, we need to explore another biblical concept. This immediately cited Scripture is seen to be, in many biblical scholar’s views, a major example of a ‘rapture’ of the church that delivers the living saints from the wrath of God, which will be poured out upon all unbelievers in the interval of time referred to as the ‘tribulations.’
The word ‘rapture’ is not found anywhere in the Bible. The first description of this concept has been attributed to an evangelist, Nelson Darby, who preached it in the early 1800s.
‘Rapture,’ as it is defined in biblical schools of thought, means to be ‘caught up’ or ‘taken away’ – referring to the moment of Christ’s second advent, when it is believed that He will deliver God’s children from harm’s way that will be manifested during the tribulations.
How and when this rapture occurs (or not), depends on which biblical camp of scholars is doing the interpreting.
There are also other Scriptures that are used as proofs of this rapture. One of these is spoken by Jesus Himself:
“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” Lk. 21:34 – 26. NLT
Another cited Scripture describing this event is from the Holy Spirit-inspired apostle Paul:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. NLT
These two scriptures tell of our Savior, (Son of Man), who is urging us to stay in right-standing with Jehovah, remaining on spiritual alert for Jesus’ return, so that we, God’s children, can escape the fate reserved for those who deny Him.
So, Christ comes and gathers all of God’s children, both dead and alive, and swoops them up to heaven. Why does He do that?
For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour his anger on us. 1 Thess. 5:9 NLT
Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed, in a moment, it the twinkling of an eye, at the [sound of] the last trumpet call.
For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believe in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. 1 Cor. 15:51, 52. AMP
And Jesus gave us a similar promise that He had relayed to the church of Philadelphia, which we saw last time in (part 2) of this series:
Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. Rv. 3:10 NLT
I understand these Scriptures above to mean that we, (the children of God), will not suffer the tribulations.
Let’s recap the sequence of events in Revelation so far: After John gathered all of Jesus’ context for the letters to the church, (regarding how to remain a steadfast follower of Christ), he is taken up to heaven.
Note: Some biblical scholars interpret the ‘risen John’ as a symbol of the raptured church. They see the church caught up to heaven before the tribulations occur, as a hidden event, separate from Christ’s publicly global second advent.
Others center their interpretation around an Old Testament prophecy in the book of Daniel:
…another king will arise…He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and a half of time. Dn. 7:24, 25. NLT
Their interpretation of this description of the Antichrist leads them to believe that the saints will have to suffer through the first half of the 7-year tribulation period, before they are ‘raptured.’
Finally, there are those who consider the final ‘timeline’ that Jesus sequenced in Mt. 24:27 – 31:
For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes…Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world – from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Mt. 24:27 & 29 – 31. NLT
Those who root their apocalyptic reasonings in these Scriptures believe that the ‘rapture’ will unfold after the tribulations.
The important thing to understand is that these are the best interpretations that humankind has to offer. What we can know with certainty, is that God will indeed rescue His children through Christ at some specific point in time, and separate them from the stiff-necked unbelievers, whose outcome is thankfully not ours…
Now that we’ve dug through the ‘rapture concepts, let us return to the throne room of our Creator. John is seeing the face of He who fashioned the universe. As you remember, he can only see God’s glory.
John sees 24 thrones surrounding Jehovah’s throne as well:
Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. Rv. 4:4 NLT
These ‘elders’ are interpreted by some as a unification of the church consisting of the 12 apostles of Christ and leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel. They feel supported by the apostle Peter’s instructions to the church elders of his time:
As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock God has entrusted to you…lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. 1 Pt. 5:1 – 4. NLT
Others see the elders as angels. I cannot find a Scriptural basis for that.
John continues his throne room vision:
From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. Rv. 4:5, 6. NLT
The number 7 often denotes ‘complete perfection’ in the Bible. Thus, we see the Holy Spirit in His complete glory. Some interpreters see this as the completed fullness of the Holy Spirit within the saints. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would be with the saints forever (see Jn. 14:16).
These same interpreters see this coming together of John with the unified Holy Spirit as an indicator that the saints are ‘raptured’ at this time, before the tribulations, because they cannot be separated from the Holy Spirit after being unified with Him.
Regarding the ‘sea of glass,’ some interpret it to represent ‘tranquility;’ others claim that when the word ‘sea’ is not used in the Bible to describe a body of water, it refers to a vast throng of people. So, they see this sea of glass as a symbol for the redeemed saints. (Seems a bit of a stretch to me.)
What else does John see in the throne room?
In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
These ‘living beings’ are the ‘cherubic’ form of angels (see Eze. Ch. 1 & Is. Ch. 6.), all-seeing, praising God for His timeless rule.
This spurs the elders on to worship as well:
Whenever the living beings give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever.
They cast their crowns before the throne and say, “Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.” Rv. 4:9 – 11. CSB
Finally, we look at the beginning of the purpose for John to see the machinations of the almighty Jehovah God – as told straight from the apostle himself:
Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?”
But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it. Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found to open the scroll and read it. Rv. 5:1 – 4. NLT
The scroll contains God’s final plan for redemption – the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is written on both sides and sealed, denoting its completeness. There will be no further additions.
When no one steps up to open the scroll, John begins to despair. But Jehovah did not bring him to the throne room to languish in hopelessness. There is someone who can open the scroll.
Everything is set in motion. Hold onto your seats. Next time…
Goodnight and God bless.