Revelation 8-14

With the opening of the seventh seal, the prophecy now zooms in for a close-up, detailed account of the last few years of history and its main events and characters who dominate the Endtime scene just prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ!

Chapters 8 and 9 The Six Trumpets

"And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." (8:1)

"And I (John) saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets ... And the seven angels ... Prepared themselves to sound." (8:2,6)

Under this seventh seal we have seven angels with seven trumpets. I like to call them seven trumpets of tribulation because the things that happen when these trumpets are blown surely sound like the description of the awful, great tribulation period which Jesus said would just precede his second coming.

"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be," and "Immediately after the tribulation of those days ... they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (mt.24:21,29-31)

"And 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." (8:7)

One possibility is if a multi-megaton bomb were exploded just over any major city, it would literally suck up hundreds of thousands of tons of debris, including thousands of bodies, into its raging inferno, casting them back on the earth as debris and fallout, many of the heavier pieces of concrete falling as gigantic hail stones, and just as it says here: "hail and fire mingled with blood (all those bodies) were cast upon the earth."

"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; 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." (8:8,9)

This great mountain could be the literal sinking of some great land mass into the ocean. Worldwide atomic war could trigger massive earthquakes such as this world has never seen!

Where there are earthquakes these days there's always fire from bursting gas mains, etc., and one on such a scale as this may even result in volcanic activity.

How could a great land mass falling into the ocean turn a third part of it into blood, causing many creatures in the sea to die and destroying a third of the ships? Well, the ships being destroyed is easy: huge tidal waves over two and three hundred feet high would do the trick for sure.

As for the sea becoming blood, a phenomenon known as "red tide" where the sea turns red has happened in many parts of the world. It occurs when a certain type of protozoan become over abundant in the ocean; they turn the water a reddish colour and release enough poison to kill many forms of ocean life. The ideal conditions for a "red tide" are after a heavy rainfall which releases minerals and nutrients from the land into coastal waters, or which could also occur on a world scale after a land mass of this size fell into the sea!

"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; 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 (or poison)." (8:10,11)

Could this be a comet, the waters being poisoned by gasses from its tail?

"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." (8:12)

In a world where tons of debris have been sucked up into the atmosphere by atomic blasts, and in a world where all the "green grass is burnt up" (or parched brown by the intense heat), resulting in gigantic, worldwide dust storms, this fourth trumpet sounds like the type of visibility you could expect to have.

Science has only realized that this type of global destruction was possible since the beginning of the atomic age in 1945, but John saw it nearly 2,000 years ago--and many other prophets envisioned it before him! Two of the most outstanding predictions are in the Old Testament. Both predict the atomic war as one of the signs which occurs before or at the "Day of the Lord."

"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke... Before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." (Joel 2:30,31)

"And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; (in other words, the antichrist forces who will be fighting against God's true city of peace, you and I who accept the prince of peace, Jesus, will not get the following plague:) their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth." (Zech.14:12)

This is exactly what happened to the poor, innocent civilians at Nagasaki and Hiroshima: thousands vaporized on the spot as they stood upon their feet. Hundreds more were permanently blinded, even at considerable distance from the blast, as the prisms of their eyes focusing on the fireball acted like tiny magnifying glasses, so intensifying the heat that their eyeballs literally cooked in their sockets, or as the prophet said, "consumed away in their holes”!

These first four trumpets mainly show the effect of God's judgments on nature, though, of course, many men die as a result. In order, the trumpets affected:

1) the earth,

2) the sea,

3) the rivers, and

4) the heavens.

The next three trumpets affect man himself, as the angel warns in the next verse, "woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the other three angels, which are yet to sound!" (8:13)

"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." (9:1) 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. (9:2)

“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. 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. 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. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 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. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 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. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 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.” (Rev. 9:3-11)

They have shapes like horses prepared for battle, and faces like men, hair like women, crowns of gold, teeth like lions, and breast plates like iron. Their wings sound like the noise of chariots and many horses running to battle and their tails sting like scorpion tails. They have a king over them which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name is Abaddon or Apollyon (meaning destroyer)--Satan?

Whether you interpret this literally or symbolically, one thing's for sure: that during that terrible time of tribulation there will be terrible monsters in the world (human and otherwise) ... Monsters who are going to devour and slaughter and kill and sting and slay and persecute whom? The wicked!

Believe it or not, these terrible trumpets of tribulation and horrible monsters are all on our side! If you're one of God’s people going through the tribulation, don't worry about them because they won't bother you, only the wicked. All of these terrible events are not going to be happening to you, but only to the wicked, as it says in the ninth chapter, fourth verse.

These locusts are commanded that "they should not hurt the grass of the earth (this may show a time lapse between the first and fifth trump if grass is grown back), neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads." (9:4)

The wicked will be the ones who are giving you trouble, but God will be giving them so much trouble through these plagues, keeping them so busy that they won't be able to give you too much trouble.

Likewise during the tribulation period, God protects his children from his plagues upon the wicked! Remember, in preparation for this period in the seventh chapter, God told the angels to "Hurt not the earth ... till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." (7:3) God seals his servants against his judgments which are directed only against the wicked!

"One woe is past; and behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” (Rev. 9:12-15)

Under this seal the "four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates" are loosed. These four angels "were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men." (9:14,15) This may be how long it will take to kill them, or it may show that they have a definite time set by God in which they will appear.

"And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number ... And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them." (9:16,17)

A thousand thousands equal a million, so two hundred thousand thousand is two hundred million! The four angels of the Euphrates must represent the spiritual forces behind this army, the greatest army the world has ever seen. Consider the fact that all the forces of the nations involved in World War II didn't exceed 75,000,000!

The number sounds pretty literal, but some of this must certainly be symbolic, as it says these horsemen have "breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone" and that "the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone" which killed the third part of men." (9:17,18)

Warfare using explosives didn't come into use until the 14th century and John surely knew nothing about it. But the picture here seems to certainly symbolise this type of warfare, especially modern mechanized warfare when the riders' "mounts," such as tanks, planes, etc., shoot out of their "mouths fire and smoke and brimstone." (9:18) another thought is that this tremendous army could represent the spiritual legions of Satan, setting out to slay a third of mankind with full demon possession, thus condemning them to spiritual death. It says "the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour." (1Pet.5:8) Either way, war or demons, it's going to be hell! (With the recent great up surge in UFO sightings these disasters could very well involve demons “aliens” either from another dimension, or possibly from civilizations under the earth. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Ex. 20:4

Remember, these plagues are going to be directed against the wicked--those who hate Jesus and persecute His children. And we know they're wicked because of the last two verses of chapter nine. "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. ... Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." (9:20,21)

Because so many people confuse these trumpets of tribulation with the vials of God's wrath in Rev.16, we would like to now compare these two periods. First of all, I would say the main difference is that in the wrath of God you find that all the seas turn to blood, all the rivers and fountains of waters are turned to blood, all the sun is darkened, all life in the sea died, and so on. Everything seems to be total destruction when the seven vials of God's wrath are poured out, as compared to the trumpets which happen in thirds.

But here under the tribulation trumpets there is only a partial death, and a partial cursing, and a partial woe: a third part of the trees burnt, a third part of the seas become blood, etc. The wrath of God is much more severe in falling upon the wicked who are left behind when the Christians are taken away at the coming of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation.

It can't be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that these trumpet judgments signal the beginning of the final 3-1/2 years before the coming of Christ. Jesus himself said the last 3-1/2 years would begin when the antichrist broke the seven year religious covenant by placing his own image in the soon-to-be-built Jewish temple in Jerusalem and substituting it for the worship of God. Daniel the prophet said this would occur in the very midst of the seven-year covenant, or after 3-1/2 years, leaving 3-1/2 to go.

Maybe the unparalleled worldwide persecution of his children that begins during the last 3-1/2 years is the reason God lets these trumpets sound at that time and lets these horrible judgments fall.

One other possibility is that some of these trumpets may occur before the signing of the seven year religious covenant. They may be what is responsible for bringing about the great confusion or the fall of the present world order that leads up to the rise of the antichrist and the signing of the seven-year covenant or peace pact.

One thing for certain, they occur before the second coming of Christ which happens at the seventh or last trump! And they have not happened yet.. And they will be blown soon because we are definitely living near the time of Christ’s coming. All the signs point to it.

Chapter 10 Announcement of Seventh Trump

“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,” (Rev. 1:1-2)

This chapter is just like an interlude or intermission. The curtain closes temporarily on the vision of the future and an angel steps out on the scene to make a big announcement. He is quite impressive, coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, a rainbow upon his head, with a face like the sun and feet like pillars of fire. He has a little open book in his hand and he sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth.

“And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.” (Rev. 10:3-4) For now, they are a mystery.

The main announcement, though, that this mighty Angel makes, or rather, the one that helps us in our understanding of the future, is in the sixth and seventh verses of this chapter. And that is, "that there should be time no longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished." (10:6,7)

This seventh trump is not blown in this chapter and nothing about the future happens here. This is merely an announcement, that when this last trumpet is sounded, time will be no longer and the mystery of God shall be finished.

This "mystery" which is to be finished at the seventh trump refers to the church. Paul called it

1) "the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God!" and it was

2) "that the gentiles should be fellow-heirs (with the Jews), and of the same body."

3) "for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. ... This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Ep.3:9; 3:6; 5:30,32)

The mystery being finished, then, is the completion of the church at the second coming of Christ when he gathers together his church by the miracle of the resurrection and rapture. In Matthew chapter 24, the Lord said that his coming to "gather together" his church would be accompanied by a trumpet. "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect." (Mt.24:31)

And Paul, in another of his predictions, is very specific as to which trump it will be when the gathering together takes place and the mystery of God, the church, is completed: "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (die and remain in the grave), but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump (or seventh trump): for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (receive immortal bodies)." (1cor.15:51,52)

At one sudden, supernatural, miraculous mighty stroke of God, his called out ones will be instantly and supernaturally completed! God will wave his magic wand of power and presto!--the Bride will be caught up into heaven in the rapture!

After the prediction of the seventh trump, John is told to "take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel. ... And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, give me the little book," but the angel replied, "take it, and eat it up." (10:8,9)

When John consumes the "little book" the angel tells him, "thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." (10:11) so this "little book" obviously must be a book of prophecy, possibly referring even to John's prophecy here which is an "open" book as it says "seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand." (Rev.22:10)

Chapter 11 Two Witnesses

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

"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." (11:3) Again we have the time period of the great tribulation: verse two gave it as forty-two months and here it is 1260 days, both equal to 3-1/2 years.

These two great witnesses that prophesy during these 3-1/2 years of great tribulation are called "the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." (11:4)

This is an obvious reference to an old testament prophecy in Zechariah chapter 4 which describes a candlestick with seven pipes and seven lamps, and two olive branches which, through two of the golden pipes, empty the golden oil out of themselves, and it says that "these two olive branches which, through the two golden pipes (or candlesticks) empty the golden oil (or spirit) out of themselves ... Are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."(zech.4:12-14)

An "anointed one" throughout scripture refers to the prophets whom God anointed with His spirit to lead his people, and later in the 11th chapter it even refers to these two witnesses as "two prophets" but what is a candlestick? In Revelation 1:20, it says that "the seven candle sticks which thou sawest are the seven churches!"

So a possible scriptural interpretation of who these two witnesses are shows us that they are two prophets and two churches, or bodies of believers. Even though it's all just one church, the Lord has set up different levels of service, as he did in both the New Testament, "first apostle, secondarily prophets," etc. (1cor.12;28), and the old testament, kings and priests.

Now there are all kinds of parallels you can get off this, but the main thing it shows is just that these two witnesses are the leaders of the nation of spiritual Israel, or the church.

These witnesses will be so powerful that "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." (11:5)

Moses and Elijah both called fire down upon their enemies (Lev.10:1,2 and 2Kg.1:10,11). However some say the fire here is symbolic, that it symbolises their fiery words, as the Lord said of Jeremiah, "I will make my words in thy mouth fire." (Jer.5:14) However, the next verse describing the power these witnesses have to hurt the earth makes this fire coming out of their mouth sound pretty literal.

"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." (11:6) Remember the second trump? It turned the waters to blood. Could it be that these prophets have some influence over the trumpet judgments-as Moses did with the great plagues of Egypt?

They will have tremendous God-given power over the elements and tremendous protection from their enemies, but finally they are killed, "when they shall have finished their testimony." then "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit (the Devil in the antichrist) shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them." (11:7)

This beast that kills them is the antichrist and his forces, his bestial government. In Revelation it doesn't call the beast the antichrist; that terminology is mentioned only in one of the epistles of John (see 1Jn.2:18,22). Daniel refers to him as the "little horn," "fierce king," "vile person" (Dan.7:8; 8:23; 11:21); Ezekiel calls him "Gog" (ezk.38:2); Paul calls him the "son of perdition" and "the wicked" (2Thes.2:3,8). And John simply refers to him throughout revelation as "the beast."

Whatever title is used, they all describe one person who is to appear at the end of the age to rule the earth and persecute the saints just before the coming of Christ. For the sake of unity, this figure, however named, is popularly referred to as the antichrist, and since it is the name by which most people know him, we use it throughout our study of revelation.

"And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified" and the whole earth, "kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." (11:8-10)

What is the great city where our Lord was crucified? These two prophets shall lie in the streets of Jerusalem. Remember, Jerusalem will be the world capital of the antichrist government. (See Daniel 11:45.)

Jesus wasn't actually crucified inside of Jerusalem, he was crucified "without the camp." (Heb.13:13) even though this "great city" comprises Jerusalem, it includes a much larger area than just it alone.

In Rev.17 we find that Babylon is the name of "that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." and "in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." (Rev.17:18 and 18:24)

What, then, is this "great city" that is responsible for the deaths of all God's saints, prophets, and all the slain of the earth, and that rules over kings? It is the worldwide city system of commercialism, composed of churches, banks, and all other "religions" based on the love of money and serving the god of materialism. (this is more fully revealed in chapters 17 and 18.)

After their bodies have lain in the streets "three days and an half, the spirit of life from God entered into them, ... And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud." (11:11,12)

This happens at the very end of the tribulation, obviously, because they prophesy, it says specifically in the third verse, 3-1/2 years. And they were dead only 3-1/2 days and then they were raised. So it seems that their resurrection and rapture occur at the same time as everybody else's: at the end of the Great Tribulation when Jesus returns!

There are many references to the rapture in these chapters dealing with the Endtime period. There was a reference to it in the sixth chapter, tenth chapter, here in the eleventh chapter, and finally it is described again in the fourteenth chapter. However, it's only one great resurrection and rapture; there are just many facets of it.

Revelation follows a definite, orderly sequence of events, but it frequently takes one aspect and gives us the entire history of the subject from its beginning to its end then jumps back into the main flow and continues with its story.

This is what it has done here with the two witnesses, showing us the great witnessing they're going to do during the Tribulation, then how they are killed but resurrected only 3-1/2 days later as God wins the final victory in the end. Then the story gets back into the mainstream in the fifteenth verse, where we have a reference to the great rapture and resurrection of the entire church.

“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." (11:15)

“And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Rev 11:16-18)

The last time we recall hearing a trumpet sounded was back in the thirteenth verse of the ninth chapter. Then there was a reference to the seventh trump in the tenth chapter, seventh verse, as to what would happen when it sounded, and here we have it!

The two main events that happen at the seventh trump are,

1) "thy wrath is come" and

2) "thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants."

According to Paul (remember we discussed this in the tenth chapter, seventh verse), at the last trump Jesus comes and the saints will be resurrected, raptured, and we which are alive will be changed and raptured with them. (See 1Cor.15:51,52.)

The dead who are judged here at the seventh trump are the living dead (those who have received Jesus). It is the time of the judgment of the saints of all ages at the judgment seat of Christ after his second coming. "for we (Christians) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body ... Good or bad." (2cor.5:10)

But the wicked who are left behind on earth at the resurrection really get it. God's wrath finally comes upon the anti-christ nations-those who have polluted the earth. He finally destroys "them which destroy the earth!" (11:18)

Chapter 12

Church in Tribulation

The two main characters of this chapter are "a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," and "a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns." (12:1,3) Both of these "wonders" are appearing "in heaven," so this is more or less a spiritual look into things that will happen during the end.

"And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born, 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." (12:4,5)

The woman here represents the church, who throughout revelation is called "the bride, the Lamb's wife." (rev.19:7; 21:9) The church consists not only of the new testament but also the old testament believers. Moses and the children of Israel are called "the church in the wilderness." (Ac.7:38)

This prophetic portrait of a woman giving birth to a man child:

1) is based on the literal birth of Christ;

2) has had many intermediate spiritual fulfillments both before and after Christ;

3) will have one ultimate spiritual fulfillment.

This is all explained below.

1) Literal fulfillment: Mary, who was part of the church (or woman), was used by God to bring forth Jesus, the man child. Immediately after his birth the dragon or Devil through King Herod tried to devour him by ordering the slaughter of all children under two years old. (Mt.2:16) Jesus has been caught up to God's throne to rule all nations. (Mk.16:19)

2)Intermediate spiritual fulfillment: This also represents the church of all ages giving spiritual birth to new revolutionary movements of dropouts from the System. They overcome the world by 'dropping out' that they might enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (mt.18:3; 2tm.2:12; 1jn.5:5) as Jesus said, "to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne ... (and) to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ... Even as I received of my Father." (Rev.3:21; 2:26,27)

3)Ultimate spiritual fulfillment since this chapter is dealing with the Endtime, this woman must finally represent the ultimate church herself, the one who will live in this Endtime period.

The next verse proves that this woman or church is living in the Endtime. "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." (12:6) Just as specifically as it could possibly be, three-and-a-half years of tribulation again.

Now if the woman is the hero or heroine of this chapter, who is the villain? It's the dragon, who in verse three tried to devour her child as soon as it was born.

From verses 1 to 6 we have a capsule history of the church up to the time she flees into the wilderness for 1260 days. Verses 7 through 14 now give us a little more detailed explanation of why she flees into the wilderness.

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

"The dragon with his seven heads and ten horns bears a great resemblance to the beast (or government) with seven heads and ten horns of the thirteenth chapter but he is not the beast. It says in the second verse of the thirteenth chapter that "the dragon gave him (the beast) his power, and his seat, and great authority," so they are two distinct but very similar personalities.

The anti-christ government of this world is practically one and the same with the devil himself.

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

The scriptures teach that Satan and his followers fell from their first estate or position at the beginning of creation. (For how the devil fell, see Ezekiel chapter 28 and Isaiah chapter 14.) However Satan still continued to have access to heaven and the Lord's throne. In the book of Job, written a couple of thousand years after creation, it says "the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." he then began to accuse Job to the Lord. (See Job 1:6-11.)

So the Devil has been in heaven a long time, even after he rebelled against God. But now, at the very end, he's cast out of heaven to the earth. He comes down and possesses and empowers the antichrist, who will then become literally the Devil in the flesh, accusing the saints face to face and making war against them.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimonies; and they loved not their lives unto the death. ..." (12:11) even as he is overcoming the saints physically by killing them, they will be overcoming him spiritually by keeping their faith even unto death.

"Therefore rejoice, ye heaven, 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 (only 3-1/2 years). (12:12)

"And when the dragon saw that he was cast out unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 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." (12:13,14)

There it is again, a time, times and a half, 3-1/2 times; three-and-a-half years of tribulation spoken of in the sixth verse as 1260 days, and now in the fourteenth again. God going to care for and "nourish," or feed, his church during that terrible time of tribulation.

This "wilderness" may be some specific location, or it could represent the total separation of the church from the systems of the world during the last few years, or possibly something else.

"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."

It could be he casts after her a flood of lies, lying propaganda to try to swallow her up.

If this is the case the ones who really swallow these lies are those whom "God shall send ... strong delusion, ... That they all might be damned because...they received not the love of the truth." (2Th.2:10-12)

"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." (12:16) The earth is a type of the worldly people and the very fact that they are swallowing all these lies ought to help us realise they're not the truth! "They are of the world (or earth, the system): therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them." (1Jn.4:5)

"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." (12:17)

Chapter 13

Antichrist and False Prophet

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, heaving seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns." (13:1)

These seven heads literally represent seven of the great world empires, from Egypt on down to the final anti-christ kingdom. The ten horns are ten kings of the end who cooperate with the antichrist for a short time and "receive power as kings one hour with the beast." (See Rev. Chapter 17)

The fact that crowns are upon the ten horns show that this prophecy is dealing with the time when these kings are in power--or with the final anti-christ government itself.

Though it is the final anti-christ government that the rest of chapter 13 deals with, God is showing us by this beast with seven heads that the anti-christ government has always been in existence from the beginning. It's all the same beast, although it has manifested its ugly head in the seven major governments of the world: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, anti-christ. Whatever government it is, it's all part of the same beast, all part of the devil's governments.

“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.” (verse 2)

This beast looks "like unto a leopard" with "feet like a bear" and a "mouth as the mouth of a lion," all beasts that Daniel saw in his vision representing different great kingdoms of man. (see Dan.7:17.)

"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 ... Which had the wound by a sword, and did live." (13:3,14)

"And all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast." (13:3,4a) in worshipping this beast they may or may not know it, but they're worshipping the devil. And they said, "who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (13:4)

"There was given him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies." (13:5a) this description of the antichrist was also used by Daniel in his various descriptions of the antichrist. (Dan.7:8,11,20,25; 11:36)

"And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." (13:5) Daniel said for "a time and times and the dividing of time." (dan.7:25) Jesus couldn't be any more specific about the length and duration of the tribulation period. And the main reason is so that we will know it's only going to last so long and then it will be over.

Speaking of the tribulation, Jesus said, "except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elects' sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days." (Mk.13:20)--3-1/2 years and no longer!

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them." (13:6,7) There are so many of these scriptures that sound just like Daniel’s prophecies about this same period. (See dan.7:21; 8:24; 12:7.) God devoted almost two entire books, plus multitudes of other prophecies throughout the Bible, just to these few years of the Endtime. He doesn't want us to be deceived along with the rest of the world. He wants us to be prepared

"And power was given him over all kindreds (races), and tongues (languages), and nations. 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." (13:7,8)

The antichrist is going to be the greatest dictator the world has ever known, but he'll get his reward, for "he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."(13:10)

"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." (13:11) In revelation chapter 19 verse 20, this second beast is called the "false prophet." just as Jesus had John the Baptist, so the antichrist will have his forerunner to "prepare the way of the Devil."

“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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. 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. (13:12-15) (Since the “false prophet” uses these “miracles” to help bring about the making of the image of the beast, it would seem that these “miracles” must take place before the Great Tribulation begins, perhaps during the first three and one half years of the seven year covenant.)

This image or idol of the beast was called by Daniel the "abomination of desolation," which would be set up in a temple which is yet to be built by the Jews in Jerusalem on Mount Mariah where the Dome of the Rock now stands. It could very possibly be a super computer, possibly using the Internet with its center in Jerusalem.

It says that the false prophet "causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads" (13:6) “With the VeriChip and RFIDs receiving more widespread use and publicity, the campaign to sell the world on the chip implant idea is underway. VeriChip is a rice-size injectable microchip. It is a product of the U.S.-based company Applied Digital Solutions, and is already being used to monitor children, convicts, pets, Alzheimer's patients, and others, as well as to provide ID in government agencies and trendy nightclubs and resorts. Other applications are sure to follow.”

The results, they say, would bring a true utopian society: no murder, stealing or rape, because everybody would be monitored and the minute the brain detected any "abnormal" behavior in anybody's brainwave pattern, inhibitory signals would be sent out by the computer, blocking any "abnormal" actions.

"And that no man will be able to buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (13:17) the time will come when money will no longer be used as a medium of exchange. Instead, the money medium of exchange will be replaced with a remarkable credit system in which every person in the world who belongs to the system will have a credit number, this mark of the beast, without which he can neither buy nor sell, and by which he is accredited in his governmental account with the value of whatever goods or services he produces and to which he can charge the goods and services that he needs!

This image of the beast will definitely have something to do with the money system, even if it is a new money system, "for the love of money is the root of all evil." (1Tim.6:10) Money (or credit systems like this one will be) is made by the government and it really represents the power of the beast (king or government).

"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"--666. What that means, we don't know exactly. Some theories are:

1) six is the number of man, as man was created on the sixth day. Three 6's indicate a trinity, which would indicate man trying to play God or trying to be perfect.

2) the so called Jewish star of David may not be the star of David at all, but being 6-pointed it could be a symbol of the antichrist.

3) in many of the ancient languages, the letters of their alphabets were also used as numbers, so it may be that the letters in the antichrist's name will numerically add up to 666. It may not be any of these or it may be all three.

Chapter 14

The Rapture

This chapter brings us to the end of the tribulation and the great conclusion of all history, the second coming of Christ and the rapture and resurrection of the church. "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." (14:1)

When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he exclaimed, "behold the Lamb of God," (Jn.1:29) so this Lamb is Jesus and these 144,000 are the same ones we saw back in chapter 7 who were being sealed in their foreheads to go through the tribulation.

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: 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. 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. (14:2-4)

These 144,000 "are they which were not defiled with women"--the women of Rev.17, the great city system of idolatry, the 'whore' and her harlots--"for they are virgins (separated only unto the Lord, utterly dedicated to him--his virgins, his bride, pure in spirit.)" this is all spiritual, not physical.

Jesus said, "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come." (Mt.24:14) In this chapter, still talking of the tribulation, John says, "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." (14:6)

This same angel proclaimed "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." (14:7)

What is the earth worshipping these last days instead of God the Creator? They are worshipping man himself and the creation! By following the lie of evolution, Darwin’s fairy tale of self-determination or natural selection, they are actually saying that the creation made itself, man made himself, therefore man is God. Today's religion is a religion of man worship and of the creation itself as embodied in "science falsely so called," (1Tim.6:20)

They say, we control our destiny, so abort your baby. "God is dead"--worship your automobile, your home and television set. The last message to the world is going to be "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, the fountains of waters." (14:7)

"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." (14:8) Babylon, the worldwide city of merchant materialism that has corrupted the earth, is fallen. What kind of fall is it? Babylon's total physical destruction happens, as described in chapter 18, during the wrath of God. Parts of Babylon (like the U.S.) will fall physically before that for sure, but this is mainly talking about Babylon’s fall to total decadence and depravity.--this is its total spiritual fall.

There are now many Christians who at the moment are ignorantly trapped in this false system--but they will soon have to come out. Soon all the false religious systems from banks to churches will be totally cooperating with the anti-christ government. Sooner or later they are going to have to get out of the system.

"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, 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." (14:9,10)

"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." Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (14:11-12)

"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." (14:13) What is death to the Christian? To die, as Paul said, is "to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." (2Cor.5:8) When we die we go to be with Jesus and get our reward. Death is our graduation--it's something to look forward to, not something to fear.

Now we come to the most outstanding event of the whole chapter. "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud, one sat like unto the Son of man (Jesus), having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud (Jesus), Thrust in thy sickle (talking to Jesus now), and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe, And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." (14:14-16)

Just a few related scriptures immediately show us what the harvest is. "The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." (Mt.13:39) "And then they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds. ... And then shall he send his angels (the sickle?), and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven." (Mk.13:26,27)

If you follow the order of events, then immediately after this gathering of the saints would have to follow the judgment and the wrath of God upon the wicked left behind. "And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 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." (14:17,18)

"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth (notice it doesn't call this the harvest, but the vine), and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God." (14:19)

The church may suffer a little tribulation, "for God hath not appointed us to wrath." (1Th.5:9) only the wicked, only those who have totally rejected Jesus and have been persecuting his prophets, are reserved for this fate.

"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. 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." (14:19,20) Over two hundred miles! A river of blood 200 miles long! Whether you think it's symbolic or not, it certainly is talking about a horrible slaughter. (For more information regarding this event refer to the study on Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.)

Taken from the informal talks of David Brandt Berg

Edited by Almondtree Productions