The End of the World as We Know It – 6
To understand what is going on in this post, you must begin by reading the first 5 posts sequentially, in this series: (see part 1; 2; 3; 4; 5.)
Last time, we observed the unleashing of 6 of the ‘7 trumpets’ (cataclysmic events which cause torture, death, and partial destruction of the earth), and observed the ‘second interlude’ in the book of Revelation – where we meet Christ’s ‘two witnesses.’
John’s vision now shifts heavenward and chronologically towards future events at the end of the tribulations:
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven:
“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshipped him. And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.
The nations were filled with wrath, but now your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”
Then in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm. Rv. 11:15 – 19. NLT
Thus, the 7th trumpet heralds the coming victory of God and His Son (including Christ’s second advent), over Satan and his followers. This includes the judgments against the unrepentant unbelievers and the bestowing of heavenly gifts to those who embrace Jesus.
The fact that the Temple was opened, is symbolic for open doors to God for the Jewish believers. The Ark symbolizes forgiveness / redemption that will be theirs.
Next, John’s vision shifts to what is referred to by some biblical scholars as the ‘7 signs’ – beginning earthward in place, and backwards in time, offering in its content, an overview of the latter half of the tribulation period.
- And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child (the Messiah) and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.
Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery dragon (Satan) with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems). And his tail swept [across the sky] and dragged away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
And she gave birth to a Son, a male Child, who is destined to rule (shepherd) all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared from God, so that she would be nourished there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years). Rv. 12:1 – 6. AMP
Some interpreters see the ‘woman’ as the Virgin Mary, others, as the country of Israel, with her crown of 12 stars representing the 12 tribes of Israel.
The 7 heads of Satan symbolize 7 world empires (see Rv. 17:10), the 10 horns signify a defiant human coalition in cahoots with the devil and his Antichrist. The royal crowns point to Satan’s political power. The stars flung to the earth signifies fallen angels who sided with the devil to rebel against God.
The woman fleeing into the wilderness depicts Israel being protected during the last half of the tribulations. Note that Satan did try to kill the Child Jesus, through King Herod, during the ‘massacre of the innocents’ (see Mt. 2:12 – 23.).
Lastly, we see that Jehovah gives His Son total reign over the entire world, who will rule it with a firm hand.
- And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, but they were not strong enough and did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Rv. 12:7 – 9. AMP
Michael was a high-ranking angel, and a warrior and advocate for Israel (see Dn. 10:13).
We see that the Satan is tossed from heaven, after he loses his war – he and his fallen angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth — the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.” Rv. 12:7 – 12. NLT
Heaven throws a party because the continual accuser of all saints, the devil, no longer has access to their home. The saints did suffer from Satan’s attacks, but in their zeal to prevail for Jesus, they would be victorious at His second coming.
However, now the devil has some nasty anger issues. He has failed to kill Christ or the remnant of Israel. He will now persecute Gentile believers with the assistance of his ‘beasts’. John’s vision shifts to the mid-tribulation period:
- And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male Child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time (three and one-half years), away from the presence of the serpent (Satan). And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went off to wage war on the rest of her children (seed), those who keep and obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [holding firmly to it and bearing witness to Him].
And the dragon (Satan) stood on the sandy shore of the sea. Rv. 12:13 – 13:1 AMP
The ‘great eagle wings’ is allegorical for God’s deliverance. The flood for the satanically driven enemies of Israel, and the earth to indicate Jehovah’s deliverance again, and finally, the ‘rest of her children’ represent the Jews who embrace Jesus during the tribulations.
- And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names. The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed.
The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?”
The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authorityfor forty-two months. It began to speak[e] blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the bookof life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.
If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen. If anyone is to be taken captive, into captivity he goes. If anyone is to be killed with a sword, with a sword he will be killed.
This calls for endurance and faithfulness from the saints. Rv. 13:1 – 10. CSB
The devil calls forth the beast from the sea, and he empowers it with his own power and authority. You can see by its description that it is a mirror image of Satan. As for the ‘blasphemous names, read about the ‘little horn’ of the prophet Daniel’s vision about the Antichrist. (Dn. 7:7-8 & 20-25.)
The ‘fatal wound that was healed’ is a false death and resurrection that unbelievers will see as sign of the beast’s (Antichrist) divinity and worship both he and Satan. The Antichrist conquers the saints and rules over all people. Other than the saints, the whole world will hold up the Antichrist as their savior. Furthermore, those who worship the Antichrist will not find their names in book of life of the Lamb, i.e., they have no heavenly hope – ever.
- Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life.He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.
He required everyone—small and great, rich, and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666. Rv. 13:11 – 18. NLT
This ‘beast of the earth’ (False Prophet) was similar to the Antichrist but subordinate to it. Coming from the earth suggests that it is worldly, thus sinful. Satan empowered the False Prophet to be able to work miracles in the presence of the Antichrist.
He even forced the people to make a statue of the Antichrist, and then made it talk, and it commanded all the people to worship it or die. Then, the False Prophet shackled the people economically by forcing them to tattoo / brand themselves with the mark of the Antichrist, either with his name or his number (666), which was required for any kind of commerce. (Some old manuscripts say 616 or 686). Many saints are martyred at this point. (See also 2 Thess. 2:9 – 12.)
(No one really knows what 666 means, except that it is the ‘number of humanity.’ Some have suggested that because it is not comprised of sevens, which suggests ‘completeness’ in the Bible, that the mark signifies ‘incompleteness’.)
- Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.
This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. They have kept themselves as pure as virgins following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. They have told no lies; they are without blame. Rv. 14:1 – 5. NLT
The ‘Lamb standing on Mount Zion’ is a depiction of His decisive victory in His second advent, when He joins the 144,000 Jewish believers who were given safe haven during the tribulations (see Rv. 7:3, 4), at the time when He begins His ‘millennial reign’ (see Rv. 20:4).
John heard the sound of Jehovah and of an angelic throng who sang before His throne, along with the 144,000. The fact that they are ‘pure virgins’ is interpreted by some as to be symbolic for having a ‘spiritual pureness’ in that they have walked with God.
- And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”
Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.”
Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.” Rv. 14:6 – 11. NLT
John’s vision is still in mid-tribulations in time but shifts earthward in focus. This is the last sign associated with the ‘trumpets’, focusing on both present-time and eternal judgment of unrepentant unbelievers, that begins with an angel’s announcement proclaiming the way to get right with God.
This is all happening before God delivers His final judgments (the ‘bowels’) upon the earth and its inhabitants. If you adhere to the ‘rapture’ concept, you’ll see that God is still reaching out to the recalcitrant to urge them to come to gain His salvation. How? Well, the church has risen to heaven, the believing remnant of Israel has done the same, yet Jehovah still pleads with the doubters…
A second angel is proclaiming that Babylon (the satanic world governmental system in place during the tribulation) is destroyed.
A third angel declares the dire consequences of worshiping the Antichrist, his statue, or having received his mark. That is, you are dipped in God’s eternal wrath, with no hope of rescue.
With that, we have finished with the signs. Get ready for the coming of Christ, and of the ‘great sifting’…
Goodnight and God bless.
The End of the World as We Know It 5
Every time we approach our study of the book of Revelation, I am going to emphasize that to understand the book, it must be approached in the chronological order of events, i.e., in proper sequence. So far, we’ve seen Christ set the goals that we must pursue to reflect the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – and how to increase our efficacy in evangelism.
Then we were able to see the Jehovah’s throne room, the inhabitants within – including the Holy Spirit, elders, angels, Jesus in His glory, and we watched His opening of the ‘7 seals’, which is an overview of coming events within the ‘tribulation period’: (see Part 1; 2; 3; and 4).
What happens next, is the sounding of the ‘7 trumpets’, which herald the coming of the wrath of God, in the form of partial disasters, (as Jehovah is still trying to draw as many people as possible to come to repentance for salvation), each more cataclysmic than the one before.
It begins, where we left off last time, (see Rv. 8:2, 3.), where incense was mixed with the prayers of the saints and offered before God:
Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake. Rv. 8:5 NLT
This first trumpet was filled with God’s judgment, to avenge martyred saints during the tribulations. The result was destruction of 1/3 of the earth’s trees, grasses, and vegetation by a deluge of heavenly hail, fire, and blood – exacerbating the famine brought by the apocalyptic horseman on the black horse.
(Note that these events somewhat parallel the plagues God put upon the Egyptians, that precipitated the freeing of the Hebrews from their taskmasters (see Ex. 9:17-26.)
The second trumpet sounds:
Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed. Rv. 8:8, 9. NLT
More famine, and mercantile deaths – disastrous for the food-chain supply. (This trumpet has been thought to symbolize extreme volcanic activity.
And the third:
The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven. It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters because they had been made bitter. Rv. 8:10, 11. CSB (see also Ex. 7:20 – 25).
(The Greek apsinthos is translated as ‘absinthe’. It produces a bitter oil that is poisonous to the nervous system. Also called ‘wormwood’ because the oil was used to kill intestinal worms.)
This disaster is thought to be caused by a meteor strike.
Then the fourth trumpet sounds:
Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night. Rv. 8:12 NLT (see also Ex. 10:21 – 29.)
The fifth trumpet sounds of things demonic. The apostle John shares his vision:
Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.” (The 5th trumpet unleashes the ‘first terror’.)
Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to the earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke.
Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given the power to sting like scorpions. They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months…In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!
The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like crowns on their heads and their faces looked like human faces…and teeth like a lion. They wore armor, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle…Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon – the Destroyer. Rv. 8:13 – 9:9 & 11. NLT
(These demons are proscribed from harming any plant life. So even though this fifth judgment is commencing, the first one must not be totally fulfilled yet.)
[The ‘eagle’ is thought to an angel, as is the ‘star’ that falls to earth, this angel being wicked – allowed to release ‘locusts’ (demons) against humans who did not accept Christ. Ruled by Apollyon/ Abaddon, God is using the demons to torment the rebellious.
The sixth trumpet brings death (the ‘second terror’):
Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God. And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.”
Then the four angels…were turned loose to kill one-third of the people on earth. I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops…The riders wore armor…The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths…their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people. Rv. 9:13 – 17 & 19. NLT
But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols…And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Rv. 9:20, 21. NLT
This army is from the ‘east’, (some scholars believe from Asia), making it separate from the ‘army of the north’ that attempted to invade Israel, but was decimated by God. This larger army is on the march to Israel for the battle of Armageddon, killing one-third of humankind on its way.
***The sixth trumpet is humankind’s last warning. There will be no salvation available to anyone once the seventh trumpet is sounded. Still, as you can see from the last Scripture above, there will remain hardened hearts who persist in their rebellion.***
The Second Interlude:
In this section, God is adding more detail to what has taken place thus far. Just as with the ‘seventh seal’, there is an interlude in heaven just before the seventh trumpet sounds. John’s vision shifts earthward:
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. And in his hand was a small scroll that had been opened.
He stood with his right foot on the sea and the left foot on the land. And he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders (God) answered. When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down.” Rv. 10:1 – 4. NLT
(Some believe the angel to be Christ.) John had readied himself to write down what the angel was going to say, but the angel forbade him. Instead, John was to keep it to himself – some mystery he was privy to, that we do not know…
Then the angel I saw…raised his right hand toward heaven. He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it.
He said, “There will be no more delay. When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled.” …Then the voice from heaven spoke to me again. “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel…” Rv. 10:5 – 8. NLT
Thus, the culmination of everything that God has been revealing throughout history, will begin to manifest at the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” Rv. 10:9 NLT
The scroll represents the Gospel – sweet to those who embrace it, and bitter to those who refuse it.
Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.” Rv. 10:11 NLT
Some biblical scholars believe that the apostle John never left the island of Patmos, and that he is receiving instructions to finish recording his vision of Revelation. Others believe he died of old age in Ephesus – in which case, he would be receiving a directive to preach and teach anew.
The angel then gives the apostle a new task:
Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers. But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. Rv. 11:1, 2. NLT
Forty-two months (3.5 years according to the 30-day months that comprise the Jewish calendar), represents the second half of the tribulation period. The measuring rod is generally interpreted to symbolize God’s protection.
The Temple of God is seen by some to represent the body of Christ; and the ‘trampling of the holy city’ represents the persecutions set against that body during the tribulations.
Others interpret this Scripture to refer to a literal ‘new temple’ that will be built in Jerusalem during the first half of the tribulations – after God delivers Israel from the ‘army of the north’, and after Israel accepts Christ as the Messiah.
Continuing with John’s vision of the ‘second interlude’, (still focused earthward), we listen in on a new revelation from Jesus:
“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies…They have the power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy.
And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. Rv. 11:3 – 6. NLT
The wearing of burlap by the two witnesses signifies a ‘last call’ to the unbelievers to repent. Others see the ‘witnesses’ as symbolizing the ‘witnessing church’ – either in present time, or in the last half of the tribulations.
Other interpreters see them to be literal prophets of great power, [also citing that the Bible states that two witnesses are required to corroborate truth (see Dt. 19:15)], and have likened them to Elijah and Enoch, or Moses and John – but they can’t be identified with any certainty.
Jesus continues:
When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt”, the city where their Lord was crucified. Rv. 11:7, 8. NLT
We see then that the two witnesses have been preaching is Jerusalem, a city that at that time resembled other cities infamous for their moral degradation. And they are killed by ‘Satan’s beast’. Look too, at the shameful denizens of that city:
Those from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those [non-believers] who live on the earth will gloat over them and rejoice; and they will send gifts [in celebration] to one another, because these two prophets tormented and troubled those who live on the earth. Rv. 11:9, 10. AMP
So, people from all over the world throw a party because these meddlesome prophets had been putting a damper on their immoral and pagan frenzy. However, God is going to have the last word!
But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all those who were staring at them. Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.
At the same time, there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly. Rv. 11:11 – 14. NLT
The resurrection of the two witnesses marks the end of the tribulations. The time for repentance and salvation for unbelievers has gone down the commode.
Those interpreters who see the two witnesses as a symbol of the church, see this resurrection as a symbol of a post-tribulation ‘rapture’ of the martyred church.
This juncture marks the end of the second interlude. Next time, the seventh trumpet sounds!
Goodnight and God bless.