BOOK OF REVELATIONS

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF

REVELATIONS

Concerning The Book called “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Why I choose to call this last book listed in the Bible “The Book of Revelations” (plural) instead of “The Book of Revelation” (singular). This book commonly called Revelation and/or the Revelation of Jesus Christ contains more than one revelation; this book contains many revelations about many different things.

When the Apostle John first wrote this, it was not a book. He wrote this as a letter to the seven churches which were in Asia as he was instructed to do by Jesus Christ who had appeared to him and spoke to him. The letter actually started as is written in chapter one, verse four. Sometime later on someone decided to include John’s letter as a book to be included with other sacred writings and decided to give it the name “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” It did not have this title when John wrote it.

This name “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” was taken from the first five words of this writing. Some say that this book is the personal revelation of who Jesus Christ was, but I found this book to be that, and much more.

The first sentence of this writing clearly says that these revelations were given to Jesus Christ by God to show to the servants of Jesus Christ. Then Jesus sent an angel to John and revealed these revelations to him. The very first paragraph tells us that was what transpired.

Throughout this book I have attempted to stress to the reader that we cannot assume that what any man writes has been inspired by God, even the title of a book of the Bible. John wrote in his book titled First John 4:1: “We must test the spirits (and the words) whether they are of God: because many false prophets are in the world.

Bible teachers have for many hundreds of years put their own interpretation upon the book of Revelations. There are as many interpretations of Revelations in circulation as there are versions of the Bi­ble. When a person begins his study of the book of Revelations, he finds it difficult to determine whether to take a literal view of what it says or to take a figurative approach. Some of the statements in the Bible are understandably straightforward and a consensus among Bible students is that those statements can be taken literally. But in a lot of cases, a decision must be made if one should assume the literal interpretation or not. The book of Revelations is considerably more difficult to understand than most of the other books, because it contains a great amount of symbolic language and differs from the others due to its futuristic theme rather than a historical one.

One thing that is important in being able to understand the book of Revelations is the ability to recognize certain keywords or clues that help to put the events in a proper perspective, chronologically. But these clues are not important enough by themselves to insure accuracy; it takes something that is more important. One of the most important things to recognize is that the Word of God is very consistent and does not vary from Genesis to Revelations. Being able to better understand Revelations depends upon comparing what it says with the rest of the scripture in the Bible.

Another problem that plagues man is the lack of his ability to understand everything he encounters. It is an ego problem. Man needs to realize that when it comes to understanding God’s Word, he will understand only what God wants him to understand, only the portion of it that man needs to know at that time. God has historically proven to man that He has a set time for everything, not only a time when He wants some specific thing to happen, but a time of His own when man is to understand different parts of His plan for mankind. Just as God has prevented the Jews from understanding that Jesus was the Messiah until He is ready, He continues to keep certain mysteries hidden from man until His time is right.

One important key to understanding the book of Revelations is to be able to understand the mysteries hidden in the seven-sealed book. And the most important key to understanding the seven-sealed book is to recognize that it can be opened by only one person. Revelations 5:5 says: “Only the Lamb of God has prevailed to open the book and loose the seven seals of it.”

The Apostle John said in the first chapter of his gospel that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The Word of God was with God in the beginning and still is. The Word of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, is God’s manifested Word. The spoken Word of God is with us now in the form of the written Word of God and is still the same Word.

If only the Lamb of God can open the book and loose the seven seals, and the Lamb is Jesus Christ, and Christ represents the Word, then the Word, the written Word, can open the book and loose the seven seals for our understanding. We must depend first and foremost on finding the interpretation of the scriptures, in the scriptures.

The purpose of this writing is two-fold, firstly not to attempt to give my own interpretation to the book of Revelations, but to give way to an understanding of these scriptures on their own merits, allowing God’s Word to have the preeminence in it’s own interpretation, without regard to the past teaching of any man. I intend to give the maximum weight of interpretation to the written Word of God, a lesser importance to historical publications, and the least value to my own suppositions. The first step necessary to discovering the truth about what the Bible says is to completely forget what you have learned from someone else, and give your full attention to understanding what the scriptures are actually saying, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your understanding.

The second purpose of this book is to attempt to organize the details of the book of Revelations in, as much as possible, a chronological order. Assembling Revelations in the order of the occurrence of its events should enable the reader to better understand God’s plan and provide the reader with a means of realizing just where we are today, in relation to that plan.

In past years, Bible teachers have classified themselves in at least four major groups as they have put their own interpretation to the order of occurrences in the book of Revelations. Those four are: (1) The Postmillennial view, (2) The Premillennial view, (3) The Premillennial / Post­tribulational view, and (4) The Amillen­nial view.

The meaning of these four groups has to do with the order of occurrence of the events in Revelations with respect to the sec­ond coming of Christ.

Instead of presenting my own opinion in regard to these diverse millennial views, I prefer to allow the rea­der to develop their own, without biasing their thoughts with what I believe to be the truth.

As will be shown by this exposition of the book of Revelations, using only the scriptures for the interpretation, we will discover that the seven seals cover events that occur from the beginning of the creation to the end of time, as we know it.

Everyone demands the right to their own opinion, and that is their God-given right if they chose to do so. But there is only one Truth, and that is the Truth of God’s Word. I will gladly relinquish my individual rights to accept the Truth of the Word of God, but will you?

Throughout this book, where scripture is quoted, you will encounter some words with the caret signs around them ... i.e. <words>. This indicates that those words were added by the edi­tors of the Bible and appear in italics in the printed Bible. These by no means are all of the words that were added when the original scriptures were translated into English. Many more words were added without being indicated in italics. As it becomes important to point out these words and show how they affect the meaning of what you are reading, a comment will be made.

This exposition will be divided up and presented in six study groups:

1. Revelations chapter 12, An Overview

2. The Seven church Ages

3. The Opening of the Seven-Sealed Book

4. Pre-Millennium Events

5. During the Millennium

6. Post-Millennium Events

To the reader: This study of God’s Word was made after much prayer and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It should be read the same way. My objective will be to make very clear what the Lord has revealed to me to be the truth of the meaning of these scriptures. Where my opinion or interpretation is presented, I intend to let the reader know.

                                                          THE OVERVIEW

As is described in Revelations the 12^th chapter

We begin this study of the book of Revelations with this chapter called “THE OVERVIEW.” In my opinion, chapter twelve gives us a look, just as though it was a snapshot, at some of the events that have occurred from the creation of this world, up to this present time in history.

This chapter does not give us a lot of details about the events that it depicts, but it does give us some valuable information about the sequence of some events that are important in understanding how the plan of God unfolds as time passes on to the consummation.

This chapter, as well as the whole book of Revelations,  makes use of a number of symbols to represent certain things and leaves itself open to interpretation as to what the symbols actually represent. The only way to interpret the meaning of these symbols is to attempt to see what a certain one represents throughout the Bible and use that for the best interpretation available. As was stated previously, we should let the Word of God, which is the original inspired scriptures, interpret themselves.

The first verse of chapter twelve starts off by describing a vision that John saw in Hea­ven.

Rev 12:1 “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”

I believe that the twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel that God has put over all the rest of His creation (Gen 37:10). In the beginning when God made man, He gave him dominion over all things that He had created (Gen 1:26, Psa 8:6). Throughout the Bible, the symbol of a woman is used to portray a city or a church, but I believe the woman in this particular vision represents the earth. The earth as it is portrayed here as a woman represents the mother of all things. As man was taken out of the earth, so are all other things that live and grow. The sun represents the light of God watching over and nourishing all of His creation.

I believe that verse two represents the whole of God’s creation travailing in pain and in misery looking for permanent deliverance from their sinful condition, since up to the time of Christ they had only the blood of animals for temporary atonement.

In verse three, we see a great red dragon that throughout the scriptures represents the devil. As can be identified by comparing (Rev 13:1, 17:3-9), satan appears in the form of the Roman Empire that was governing the land of Israel at the time of the birth of Christ. The seven heads represent the seven hills that the city of Rome sits on; the ten horns are the ten Cae­sars that ruled the Roman Empire during its strongest years. The seven crowns are somewhat of a mystery as to what they represent since the scriptures do not address them. But crowns indicate a ruler or someone in power, and since these crowns in verse three are upon the seven heads, which are the seven hills that Rome sits on, I believe they represent seven diverse nations which had the rule over Israel throughout history, with the Roman emperors being the seventh at the time of Christ.

Verse four speaks of the dragon controlling a third of the stars of Heaven, which represent one third of the angels following satan. The dragon standing before the woman, waiting to devour the child, portrays King Herod, Rome’s representative in the country, attempting to slay the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem.

Without a doubt, verse 5 is speaking of Jesus and gives a very quick snapshot of Him from His birth to His ascension into Heaven.

Rev 12:5 “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and <to> his throne.”

Verse six should be combined with verse fourteen and will be addressed together, but verses seven through thirteen will be discussed first.

After Christ obtained the victory over satan by overcoming all that satan could send against Him, including death, He ascend­ed into Heaven as is noted in verse five. Then, as ver­ses seven through nine tell us, there was war in Heaven, and satan and his angels were cast out into the earth.

When satan was cast out of Heaven, he began to persecute the Woman, which in this case represents the church of God still on the earth. And according to verse six and fourteen, the church fled from the persecution and took refuge throughout the earth.

I believe that verses six and fourteen both speak of the same period of time, but in different ways. Verse six says for a thousand two hundred and sixty days, which could represent years, and verse fourteen says for a time and a time and half of a time.

The King James Bible says for a time and times and half a time, but I could see no reason in the translation to make the second time plural as times. The same Greek word that was trans­lated into time was translated into times.

If the period of 1260 days/years has some significance, it must be measured from the period that satan was persecuting the church after being cast out of Heaven. The scriptures give no indication of the length of this persecution before the church flees from its influence, but it may have occurred sometime around 758 AD.

If, as this writer has determined, the end of the 1260 years occurs about the year 2000 AD, this would have put the end of satan’s persecution of the church about the year of 758 AD. This writer could not determine the significance of this particular year, but it could be that history has something recorded about it. Even so, I’m not sure that the exact reckoning of this period of time is of any consequence.

After the church flees into the wilderness to escape satan’s persecution, verses 15 thr­ough 17 tell us that satan cast water out of his mouth to overcome them. The significance of water is that which usually represents people in the Bible. So I believe that this speaks of false prophets being sent out to deceive and over­come the church throughout the world, which is continuing until this day.

As can be noted, the writer has made a lot of conjecture in determining the meaning of this chapter, which may or may not be the correct interpretation of these symbols and events. The writ­er does believe the most important points in this chapter that puts certain events in perspective is as follows:

1. Satan and his angels were not cast out of Heaven until after Christ had ascended to Heaven.

2. If the end of the 1260 days/years spoken of in verse 6 is about the year 2000 AD, then something must be recorded in history that is significant to the church, which occurred about 758 AD. This would have occurred during the period of time known as the “Dark Ages.”

3. Verse 12 notes that satan has but a short time from being cast out of Heaven until he is taken out of the way at the start of the Millennium, as is noted in Rev 20:2-3. I believe that this short time is the period of 1260 days/years spoken of in verse 6; then will come the rapture of the church and the binding of satan.

SEVEN CHURCH AGES

A REVELATION FROM GOD

When the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelations, he was in exile on an Island call­ed Patmos, which was just off the coast of Asia Minor in the Aegean Sea. The Romans had sent him there because of his preaching about Christ. This island lies just off the coast of modern Turkey and it was there, where the seven churches existed, which are spoken of in Revelations chapter’s two and three.

The book of Revelations was written as a letter by John to these seven churches, as is noted in the fourth verse of chapter one, where he addresses it to them:

Rev 1:4  “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace <be> unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne”;

Chapter two and three contain some very specific messages that John was told to send to these churches by Christ Himself when He revealed Himself to John. These messages were addressed to the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laod­icea.

As I will say over and over again, I believe that we should let the Scriptures speak for themselves, for we have been told that the Scriptures are of no private interpretation. With re­spect to the Scriptures in chapters two and three of Revelations, as far as I can discern, they stand alone without additional veri­fication or explanation by any other Scriptures. They appear to be nothing more than specific messages to seven churches in Asia Minor, very straightforward and requiring no interpretation.

But brother William M. Branham, who we spoke of previously  delivered a series of sermons on these two chapters in Revelations in December of 1960 and after five years of extensive study and research published a book on them, which he called An Exposition of the Seven church Ages. This finished book was released just a few weeks before his death in December of 1965.

Brother Branham taught that Revelations chapter two and three had a twofold meaning or purpose. Not only was it a message designated for the seven churches in Asia Minor that John add­ressed it to, but it was also a message for what Brother Branham said was seven church ages that started in the first century AD and would extend up to the day when Christ returned to the earth. As scriptural justification for this twofold meaning of these two chapters, he used the scripture of Hosea chapter 11 verse1:

Hosea 11:1 “When Israel <was> a child, then I loved him, and called my [son out of Egypt].”

God called His son Israel out of Egypt in the time of Moses and called His Son Jesus out of Egypt in the time of Herod, who sought to kill Him.

Exo 3:10  “Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people the children of Israel [out of Egypt].”

Mat 2:15  “And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, [Out of Egypt] have I called my son.”

Had any other minister except Brother Branham put this dual meaning on these Scriptures without having additional Scrip­tures to validate these seven church ages, I would be reluctant to endorse his claim. But since God in very extraordinary ways vali­dated and vindicated the ministry of Brother Branham with super­natural signs following his ministry, I do not doubt that God did inspire this revelation and prophecy by him.

Through the extensive research conducted by Brother Branham, he determined that the seven church ages were specific periods of time throughout church history with the last and final church age, the Laodicean age, starting about 1906.

Brother Branham also identi­fied those men who lived during those seven ages as the messen­gers (angels) of those church ages spoken of in Revelations chap­ter two and three.

Many of Brother Branham’s followers contended that Brother Branham was the Messenger to the last church age, but Brother Branham did not agree. Many times throughout his ministry he said that there would be someone coming after him with a message that would prepare the church for the Rapture. Even though he did not specifically say that this person would be the Messenger for this final age, it is obvious to me that this is what the Lord had revealed to him.

In January of 1961, Brother Branham specifically said that he was not the Messenger to the last church age. He said that he had given instructions to his people to remove his name from the star that represented the seventh age Messenger. He said the angel told him that it would not be him that would forerun the second coming of Christ; it would be the message that God had sent him with. Bro­ther Branham said, “There will come a message and there will come a messenger. It’ll be somebody after me.”

It is not my intent in any way to show any disrespect to Brother Branham or his ministry. I have all the respect in the world for this brother because of his faithfulness to the Lord and the way he sacrificed his life for the Lord’s work. God truly blessed this brother’s life and ministry and I’m certain that because of his faithfulness to the Lord’s work, many saints will receive the promise of the Father.

But with all of the love and respect that I can extend to those that followed this brother’s ministry, one thing must be said. Many have said that Brother Branham was a prophet of God and without a doubt that is because of his prophecies having come to pass on so many occasions. If we believed him to be a prophet, then shouldn’t we believe him when he tells us that he is not the seventh age Messenger and that someone will come after him with a mission of taking the people back to the Word of God and prepar­ing them for the Lord’s return?

If Brother Branham’s teaching on the seven church Ages is correct, and I have no reason to believe that it isn’t, we should be looking for that Messenger to the final church Age. For someone who will not compromise with the truth in the original scriptures, and believe it just the way the Lord gave it to His Apostles.

From the time of the first century as the Scriptures were passed down to us, man has chan­ged the meaning of them. They have been misinterpreted both intentionally and unintentionally, added to because of the so-called wisdom of man, and taught out of con­text. Every translation of the original Scriptures contains er­rors because those men who undertook the job of translation were not completely faithful to what the original Scriptures said. They allowed their own theology and understanding to influence what they put down in the translation, instead of just allowing the Scriptures to interpret themselves.

Just as the Lord said in the end of the message to the last church Age; Rev 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock....’.” The Lord is outside of our churches and desires to come in. The way to let Him in is to accept His Word without man’s interpreta­tion being put to it.

I cannot elaborate any more on the second and third chapters of Revelations, other than what it actually says, for I found no other scriptures to substantiate that it means anything other than what it says. But I do accept Brother Branham’s revelation concerning the seven church Ages and accept as complete truth, all that he said about them.

THE MYSTERY OF THE SEVEN SEALED BOOK

This chapter sets the stage for the opening of the seven-sealed book. God was seen sitting on His throne with the book in His hand and an angel was saying that no man could be found wor­thy to open the book and to break the seven seals.

Revelations 5:1   “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.”

A sealed book was first spoken of in Daniel 12:4 when Mi­chael the archangel revealed the contents of God’s plan to the prophet Daniel, but told Daniel to seal the words of the book until the end-time.

    

Daniel 10:14   “Now I have come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days: for yet the vision <is> for <many> days.”

Daniel 12:4   “But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, <even> to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

Daniel 12:9   “And he said, go your way, Dan­iel: for the words <are> closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”

So now once again a book appears and John is being given the vision of the time of the end. In chapter 4, John sees God on His throne in heaven, joined by His seven Spirits, the twenty-four elders and four beasts, which are the four Cherubims that have served God since the beginning of their creation. This book con­tains mysteries that have been kept from mankind since the begin­ning of time except for what the prophet Daniel was shown and according to the fifth chapter, can only be opened by the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelations 5:5-7  “And one of the elders said to me, weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” {6}  “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, {7} “And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.”

Revelations 5:8-10  “And when he had taken the book, the four bea­sts and four <and> twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. {9} And they sung a new song, say­ing, You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; {10} And have made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

Note also at the time the Lamb took the book, there were twenty-four elders already in Heaven who had been redeemed out of every nation on earth. These Elders could only have been in Heaven if the Rapture and the first resurrection of born again believers had taken place. This makes it evident that the truth of the mysteries hidden in symbols under the seven seals will not be revealed by the Lamb until after He takes His Bride into Heaven. This does not say that all of the interpretations of the opening of this seven sealed book are wrong, only that we will never know for sure what the truth of it is until the Lamb reveals it, after the Rapture, at the beginning of the Millennium. As for the identity of the twenty-four Elders, that is anyone’s guess.

OPENING OF THE SEALS

But now it needs to be noted here, that just as it was stated in Rev 5:5, only Christ can open the seals. As John said in his gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Then this tells us that only the Word can reveal the meaning of the seals. Only the Word of God, the scriptures, can reveal the revelation and meaning of that which is hid behind the seals. So it may be possible to understand what is sealed in this book by searching the supporting scriptures for the answer.

The following is my interpretation of what the seven-sealed book contains, brought about by comparing the symbols contained in it with other scriptures of the Bible.

I believe that the opening of this first seal begins the unveiling of the plan of God for His work on earth in a chronological order, starting from the beginning of creation and extending throughout mans period on earth and into eternity.

In the 2nd verse of the 1st chapter, it says that John bore record of all that he saw. The record that he bore is his testimony as is recorded in Revelations. But he was told later on to seal up those things that he heard and write them not. When the seals were opened to John, what he actually saw and heard was not exactly what he recorded in this book, for he was commanded to seal (or cover) them up. So John did what he was told, he covered them up in the form of symbols. He used symbolic language so only those who were familiar with the sacred scriptures would know what he was de­scribing. In order for us to understand what these symbols mean, I believe that we must turn to those scriptures for the meaning. This is the same thing that Daniel did when he was told to seal up in a book what he saw. Daniel sealed or covered it up by using symbols in the same manner.

These two sealed books, the one Daniel had and the one John had are not two books that are lost out there some place. They are the book of Daniel and the book of Revelations that we now have in our Bible.

The revelation of the meaning of what is contained under these seven seals is different from the revelation that Brother William Branham received about the seven church Ages. There is scriptural evidence as to what the symbols mean in the chapter on the seven seals, but none existed for the messages to the seven churches in Asia. Where the scriptures can reveal the meaning, or interpret themselves, we must allow that to have preeminence over any other interpretation.

There are four beasts that announce the opening of the first four seals in the sixth chapter and are described here in the fourth chapter. I believe there is some significance to the ap­pearance of these beasts, so I think it is important to under­stand what these four beasts represent in order to place the opening of the first four seals in the proper perspective.

Ezekiel also had a vision where he saw four beasts as is described in the following scriptures:

Ezekiel 1:5-11 “Also out of the midst there­of <came> the likeness of four living crea­tures. And this <was> their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. {6} And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. {7} And their feet <were> straight feet; and the sole of their feet <was> like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. {8} And <they had> the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. {9} Their wings <were> joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straightforward. {10} As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. {11} Thus <were> their faces: and their wings <were> str­etched up­ward; two <wings> of every one <were> joined one to an­other, and two covered their bodies.”

Again in chapter 10, Ezekiel saw these beasts and this time called them Cherubims. This time when he described their four faces, he said that one of the faces was the face of a cher­ub instead of an ox.

Zechariah also had a vision where he saw four chariots with four different colored horses in them. The colors of the horses were red, black, white, and grisled and bay. He was told that these were the four spirits of the heavens that stand before the Lord.

Zechariah 6:1   “And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two moun­tains; and the mountains <were> mountains of brass.”

The four beasts that Ezekiel saw, and the four beasts that Zechariah saw, and the four beasts standing before the altar in Revelations 1:7 are all one and the same. These beasts are Cherubims, special creations that God uses for special tasks, holding a higher office than the angels. In Ezekiel 28:14, God spoke of satan at one time being one of His cherubs.

I believe there is a special significance to the four faces that these beasts have in the four­th chapter of Revelations. This significance will be brought out with the revelation of the first four seals.

The four faces described are like:

1. A Lion:

2. A Calf, or Ox, or Cherub:

3. A Man:

4. An Eagle:

THE FIRST SEAL

Revelations 6:1-2 “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. {2} And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”

The first beast, the cherub of God that looked like a Lion, announced the opening of the first seal and said, “Come and see. John saw a man sitting on a white horse. He had a bow. And a crown was given to him. And he went forth to conquer. Throughout the scriptures Christ is portrayed upon a white horse and no one else is, so this must be Christ shown here. The bow He had repre­sents a covenant, a new covenant, just as God put the bow in the sky as a covenant between Him and man, to show that He wouldn’t destroy the earth with water again. The scripture is translated that He went forth to conquer, but a better translation would be that He went forth to overcome, to prevail and get the victory. This is just exactly what Christ did and when He got the victory, He was crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So the opening of this seal portrays Christ in the beginning of creation coming forth with a covenant with which man can obtain eternal life.

Hebrews 12:24   “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant,”

John said: “In the beginning was the Word”. Christ was that Word, as He appeared in the garden. If Adam would have taken of that tree of life which was in the garden, he would have obtained eternal life.

Genesis 2:9   “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

1 Timothy 6:14   “That you keep <this> com­mandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”: {15} “Which in his times he shall show, <who is> the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords”;

Revelations 17:14   “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him <are> called, and chosen, and faithful.”

Revelations 19:11   “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him <was> called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war.”

    

The significance of the appearance of the first beast was that he looked like a Lion, representing Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. So, what this seal reveals, is Christ coming to the earth with a new covenant, riding on a white horse, over­coming the temptations of the devil, conquering death and the grave and receiving His crown.

THE SECOND SEAL

Revelations 6:3-4   “And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, come and see. {4} And there went out another horse <that was> red: and <power> was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”

The Beast that announced the opening of this second seal looked like a calf, which represents an object of sacrifice. This second seal reveals the sacrificial deaths of those who were martyred for their beliefs. Also, remember when the prophet Eze­kiel saw these beasts, he said one of them had the face of a Cherub, instead of a calf – keeping in mind that satan was once a Cherub of God.

Ezekiel 10:14   “And every one had four fac­es: the first face <was> the face of a cher­ub, and the second face <was> the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.”

Ezekiel 28:14   “You <are> the anointed cherub that covers; (God was speaking to satan)

This man riding on a red horse is satan himself with a sword of his own, not one like Christ has. Where Christ, being the Prince of peace, came to show people how to live in peace, satan came to take peace from the earth. This red horse compares with the scarlet colored beast in Rev 17:3, symbolizing the spilling of blood. Zechariah also speaks of a man on a red horse walking to and fro through the earth, just as the book of Job describes satan walking to and fro through the earth. The red dragon of Rev 12:3 speaks of a satanic beast.

The red beasts of the Scriptures describe evil or satanic powers and the term used of some­one walking to and fro through the earth speaks of satan. So, without a doubt, the opening of this second seal tells of satan following the arrival of Christ on the earth causing the deaths of the saints of God and attempting to take peace from the earth.

Job 1:7   “And the LORD said unto satan, Where come you? Then satan answered the LORD, and said, FROM going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Zechariah 1:8   “I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that <were> in the bottom; and behind him <were there> red hors­es, speckled, and white.” {10} “And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, these <are they> who the LORD has sent to walk to and fro through the earth.”

1 Peter 5:8   “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the dev­il, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking who he may devour”:

THE THIRD SEAL

Revelations 6:5-6 “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. {6} And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a pen­ny; and <see> you hurt not the oil and the wine.”

Looking at the whole statement and keeping it in context, this black horse rider is bringing dark, gloomy times to God’s people. The balances or scales indicate that there is rationing out the food that the people are getting. The statement: “A mea­sure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny”, clearly speaks of a time of famine. A measure of wheat for a penny translates into: about a quart of wheat for a day’s wages – a small amount of food for a whole day’s pay.

The statement about not hurting the oil and the wine, makes references to God’s anointed, telling the rider to keep his hands off of them. Throughout Bible history, God warned other nations about this when He allowed them to overcome Israel.

1 Chronicles 16:20   “And <when> they went from nation to nation and from <one> kingdom to another people”; {21} “He allowed no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,” {22} “<Saying>, touch not my anointed, and do my prop­hets no harm.”

Psalms 105:13   “When they went from one nation to another, from <one> kingdom to another people”; {14} “He allowed no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes”; {15} “<Say­ing>, Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”

The oil refers to God’s anointed, which in most part were the kings, since the kings were anointed with oil. The wine speaks to being like a stimulate, and makes reference to a stimulation of revelation. In those days all revelations came to the prophets, so the wine is referring to the prophets.

References to the meaning of a black horse in the Scriptures couldn’t be found, but one scripture in Lamentations indicate that black skin is the result of famine, and this seal appears to be speaking of a time when God’s people go through a famine.

Lamentations 5:10   “Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.”

One thing that needs to be noted here is that this time of famine was not like most of the many famines that God allowed to come upon His people. There was a prominent man involved, as is obvious by the black horse rider being announced by the third beast who had a face as a man.

To aid in recognizing exactly which time of famine this was referring to, for there had been many times of famine, the mys­tery of the fourth seal had to be solved first. Since the fourth seal describes the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the time of the famine described by the third seal had to have occurred prior to that event. The time of this famine must have taken place during the period of time that Joseph, the son of Jacob, was in Egypt. The prominent man riding the black horse that was involved had to have been the Pharaoh of Egypt.

THE FOURTH SEAL

Revelations 6:7-8 “And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. {8} And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

The fourth beast that announced the opening of this seal was like a flying eagle. The following scriptures, by the mouth of five prophets point to this seal revealing the capture of Jerusa­lem by the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. After the Israelites left Egypt and before they entered into the land promised to them by God, Moses warned the people about what would happen if they failed to obey God’s commandments. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jeru­salem and many died of hunger before he captured the city.

Deuteronomy 28:49   “The LORD shall bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, <as swift> as the eagle flies; a nation whose tongue you shall not under­stand”;

Jeremiah the prophet prophesied about Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, conquering Israel and the surrounding nations.

Jeremiah 48:40 “For thus said the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.”

Jeremiah 49:22   “Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.”

Ezekiel Hosea and Habakkuk the prophets also referred to Nebuchadnezzar as a great eagle.

Ezekiel 17:3   “And say, Thus said the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, long winged, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar”:

Hosea 8:1   “<Set> the trumpet to your mouth. <He shall come> as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my Law.”

Habakkuk 1:8   “Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle <that> hastens to eat.”

THE FIFTH SEAL

Revelations 6:9-11   “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: {10} And they cried with a loud voice, say­ing, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? {11} And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they <were>, should be fulfilled.”

It needs to be noted here that the altar referred to, is an altar of sacrifice. The place where Christ was crucified, being the Lamb of God and sacrificing Himself for all people, can also be viewed as an altar. The souls that are seen under this altar are the saints that were killed throughout the years.

The time of the opening of this seal is just after Christ was crucified. At this time He preached the gospel to them who were in the graves and when they asked Him if He was going to avenge them at that time, He told them that the time for judgment and to avenge them was farther in the future. At that time white robes were given to them as a part of their reward. Only after Christ had overcome, could He have given reward to other over-comers. Remember the thief on the cross, as Jesus told him that on that day, he would be with Him in Paradise. The rewards could only come after the sacrifice was made.

1 Peter 4:6   “For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”

SATAN CAST OUT OF HEAVEN

After Jesus Christ was resurrected and taken up into Heaven, satan was cast out of Hea­ven to spend the remainder of his time on the earth. This is indicated in the chronology of events de­picted in the 12th chapter of Revelations. With satan being able to concentrate all his attention and efforts on earth, began a period of extreme persecution, destruction and deception towards the people on the earth. This explains the rage of the Roman army against the Jews, the persecution of the saints and martyrdoms during the dark ages and the deception using false doctrines during the last several centuries, which has been instrumental in the division of the churches.

Revelations 12:5   “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and <to> his throne.” {7} And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, {8} And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. {9} And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which de­­ceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

THE SIXTH SEAL

Revelations 6:12-17   “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; {13} And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree cast­s her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. {14} And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. {15} And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the moun­tains; {16} And said to the moun­tains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: {17} For the great day of his wrath has come; and who shall be able to stand?

There are some signs here that will definitely place these events at a certain point in time. They are “The Sun becoming Black”, “The Moon becoming as blood”, “The stars of Hea­ven fall­ing”, and “The Heaven departing as a Scroll”. These events occur just prior to when Christ returns to the earth for the final judgment.

    

The prophet Isaiah said:

Isaiah 13:6   “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD <is> at hand; it shall come as a de­struction from the Almighty.” {10} “For the stars of heaven and the constellations there­of shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.”

The prophet Joel also:

Joel 1:15 “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD <is> at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.”

{2:10} “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall with­draw their shining”:

Then Jesus put it in the order it will occur:

Matthew 24:29-31 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shak­en: {30} And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. {31} And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

It is important to note the order that Christ has these events in.

(1) The Sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the Stars shall fall.

(2) They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds.

 (3) They shall gather His Elect from the four winds.

So the opening of the sixth seal describes the events sur­rounding the return of Christ at the end of the Millennium. Prior to this time the Saints of Christ have been in Heaven for one thousand years but the Jews (His Elect) are still on earth.

THE SEVENTH SEAL

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

The opening of this seventh seal had nothing to reveal, the plan of redemption was complete, and this was the beginning of the end for the earth and it’s inhabitants. At this time the punishments and tribulations occur, which are listed in the 8th, 9th 15th, and 16th chapters of Revelations.

BEFORE THE MILLENNIUM

There are untold numbers of interpretations of the book of Revelations throughout the church world. Each one gives us a chronology of the events that are recorded in Revelations, in many different sequences. Some tell of the Return of Christ be­fore the Millennium, and some say it happens after. One says that a great tribulation period precedes the Millennium and another says the tribulation occurs during the Millennium. There are so many different interpretations of the chronology of these events that the people do not really know which one is correct. The rea­son for this is that these interpretations are not always based upon the scriptures, allowing the scriptures to interpret them­selves.

The book of Revelations is not necessarily written in chro­nological order. So to be certain of the sequence of events that are recorded there, we must carefully note what the scriptures actually say and watch how the scriptures in Revelations tie in with the rest of the Bible.

The events that are described in the book of Revelations can be divided up between two periods of time, those things that occur before the Millennium and those that occur after the Mil­lennium. Virtually nothing in Revelations describes what takes place during the Millennium.

We will begin by examining what the scriptures say about the events that occur before the Millennium. Then look at those events that appear to occur after the Millennium ends. With those two pictures in mind, some assumptions about what life on the earth could be like during the Millennium might be seen.

PRE MILLENNIUM EVENTS

The best place to start in order to get a good perspective of what happens before and after the Millennium is at its start.

So to do this we will begin at the 20th chapter of Revelations and examine what it actually describes.

Chapter twenty tells of satan being cast into a bottomless pit and bound for a thousand years; describes those who are taken in the first resurrection; tells of satan’s exploits when he is released from the pit after the thousand years are over and brie­fly describes the second resurrection and final judgment period.

So we see by reading chapter twenty that it describes some things that occur before the Millennium and ends up with a snap­shot of some things that occur after the Millennium is over, for the thousand years spoken of in this chapter is the Millennium.

It is important at this time to study the description of those who are taken in the first resurrection. This will give us some indication of some of the events that occur before the Mil­lennium starts.

Chapter 20 and verse 4 describes them as follows:

Rev 20:4 “...... and <I saw> the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received <his> mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

John saw those people who were taken in the first resurrec­tion and described them as follows:

1. Some of them had been killed for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God.

2. Others had not worshiped the beast, or his image; neither had received the mark                             of the beast.

Special emphasis needs to be given to those who had not worshiped the beast, those who had not worshipped the image to the beast and those who had not received the mark of the beast. Note that all of these things occur before the first resurrection and are described in Revelations the 13th chapter. Now let us examine this 13th chapter for a scriptural understanding of what it says.

This chapter deals heavily on events that are recorded in history and has very little reference to the scriptures for iden­tification or verification.

This vision deals with certain king­doms and rulers of those king­doms, and how their influence af­fected the people of God. The time period of this vision begins with the rule of the Roman Empire over the Jews.

We must keep in mind that John was in exile on the Isle of Patmos when this was written. This was a letter written to the seven churches in Asia that John was overseeing. In order for this letter to safely get to the churches, through the Roman lines, John had to use certain symbolic descriptions so the Romans wouldn’t know he was writing about them. This letter was written after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70AD and John was writing this section to let the churches know what had happened.

Revelations 13:1   “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

This beast is the same one that is described in the 17th chapter, and represents the Roman Empire. The seven heads repre­sent seven hills that the city of Rome is built upon. The ten horns represent the ten Rulers of Rome that had ruled up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. The designation of the blasphemous names on the ten heads is the same as is recorded in 17:3 and identifies these beasts as being one and the same.

Revelations 13:2   “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as <the feet> of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

This description of the beast matches the description of the four beasts of Daniel 7:3-7. This beast looked just like the four described in Daniel, and the fourth beast of Daniel had ten horns just like this beast in Revelations 13 has ten horns, (ten kings).

Daniel 7:3   “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.” {4}  “The first <was> like a lion, {5}  “And a second, like to a bear, {6} another, like a leopard, {7} a fourth beast, and it had great iron teeth and it had ten horns.”

History has proven what these beasts represent. These were four kingdoms that ruled in that part of the world. The first was the Babylonian empire ruled first by Nebuchadnezzar (The Lion). The second was the Mede and Persian Empires, ruled first by Cyrus (The Bear). The third was the Grecian empire, ruled by Alexander the great (Leopard). And the fourth with great iron teeth was the Roman Empire, which was under the rule of its tenth king when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD.

This beast depicted by John in the 13th chapter was the Roman Empire and ruled the Jews just like all the kingdoms before it. Julius Caesar started this Roman rule and even though he was assassinated, the next 11 rulers of the empire continued to use his name, Caesar. But up to the year of 70AD, when they destroyed Jerusalem and took the Jews captive, only ten Caesars, (ten horns) had ruled Rome.

Revelations 13:3   “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”

The head that was “wounded to death” was very likely the first Caesar, Julius Caesar. After his death his successors continued to use the title of Caesar, thus his name continued on as th­ough he continued to live.

Verse 4 describes the Roman Empire to a tee. The people worshipped satan in many ways with their orgies, sacrifices to the gods and other immoralities. At that time Rome ruled that part of the world and no other country was capable of defeating them in war.

Rev 13:4   “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who <is> like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

Verses 5 through 10 without doubt deal with Titus, a Roman General and the son of the tenth ruler of Rome, who came against Jerusalem in 70 AD and destroyed the city. Because the Jews were all at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, over 1,300,000 people were killed and 97,000 were taken captive. Those taken captive were sent away to different countries in slavery.

Revelations 13:7-8 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindred’s, and tongues, and nations. {8} And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Titus had Jerusalem under siege for about three and one-half years (42 months) and many of the people died from disease, thirst and hunger. After capturing Jerusalem, he made a speech to the remaining Jews saying; “We have given you this land to pos­sess and live on, we have set kings over you of your own people, we have preserved the Laws of your forefathers and allowed you to gather and pay tribute to your God”. Not only did Titus take credit for what God had done for His people (blasphemy), but he also carried away all the sacred vessels of the temple and used them in a pagan display.

Revelations 13:5-7 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blas­phemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty <and> two months. {6} And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. {7} And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindred’s, and tongues, and nations.”

      John wrote this after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. He was actually looking back over the years and putting into a symbolic description, what he had seen leading up to that present time. Then John was given a vision of future events, which he continued to describe in symbolic language since it continued to speak of Rome.

Revelations 13:11-12 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dra­gon. {12} And he exercised all the power of the first beast before him, and caused the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”

This portrays a period of time after the rule of the Caesars in Rome when the church and the government of Rome were on a parallel course. As time progressed the church began to exercise influence over the government of Rome, even to determine who was selected as the Emperor. Eventually the church and state were joined together in one endeavor with the church exercising con­trol and using the state to keep the people in line with the doctrine of the church.

As additional verification of the interpretation of chapter 13, let us look at chapter 17 where John has another vision of a beast, which looks like the same beast described in chapter 13. Along with this vision comes a description indicating exactly what is being described.

Revelations 17:3   “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

Chapter 9 describes part of this vision saying that the seven heads represent seven mountains. It is well known that the city of Rome sits atop seven mountains or hills. Consequently the woman must represent Rome or the church in Rome, since a church is normally portrayed as a woman. Since we have determined this beast is the same one that was seen in the 13th chapter, we know that it represents the Roman Empire. The Woman being described is the church that grew out of Rome.

Revelations 17:9   “And here <is> the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.”

The following verse 5 and 6 describe the woman/church and calls its name Babylon and says that it has been responsible for the deaths, both spiritual and physical, of many people. Recorded history testifies to the fact that the Roman Catholic Church was responsible for the dea­ths and martyrdom of thousands, if not millions, of the saints of God since the first century.

Revelations 17:5-6 “And upon her forehead <was> a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, and THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. {6} And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”

Revelations 17:8   “The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

Just one comment about the 8th verse, as it is somewhat deceiving about what it is actually saying. The part about the beast that “was and is not” is not actually stated exactly as the original scriptures. In the original writing, the words that I have boldfaced, was and is not, are not there. These words were added by the translators and with them in the text; it says that the beast does not exist at that time.

The scripture actually says, “The beast that you saw shall ascend out of the bottomless pit”. We will cover this a little later when we see the devil being shut in the bottomless pit for the duration of the Millennium, and released for a short time after the thousand years are over. (Chapter 20)

Without these added words this verse would read as follows:

The beast that you saw shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and shall go into perdi­tion.

Revelations 17:10 “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, <and> the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. {11} And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdi­tion.”

These kings spoken of in the 10th verse are not necessarily kings; they could have been translated kingdoms or powers. There are no real clues in the scriptures or in the recorded history as to what this could be representing.

But I believe that they could be the beasts that have been spoken of throughout the scriptures.  At the time of John’s vi­sion, five were in the past, one existed at that time, and the seventh was in the future. Verse 10 also mentions the eighth being a beast in the future, and going into perdition.

Verses 8 and 11 both speak of this beast as the one that ascends out of the bottomless pit and goes into perdition. This is speak­ing of satan himself that was put into the bottomless pit at the time of the first resurrection spoken of in Revelations 20:3.

These kings or kingdoms or beasts are:

(1) The Serpent in the Garden of Eden

(2) The Egyptian Empire under Joseph’s Pharaoh

(3) The Babylonian Empire

(4) The Mede/Persian Empire

(5) The Grecian Empire

(6) The Roman Empire

(7) The Roman Catholic Church

(8) The Great Dragon, satan, the devil

Throughout the Bible, all of the above-mentioned entities were referred to as beasts, or powers that existed in the lives of God’s people. The first beast that was mentioned in the Scrip­tures was the Serpent in the Garden of Eden and was the object that satan used to cause the fall of man. At the time of John’s vision, the first five had fallen, the one that existed then was the Roman Empire, the seventh that was to continue for a short space was the Roman church, and the eighth is satan himself, prob­ably incarnate in some man.

A SPIRITUAL WARFARE

The following verses speak of ten kingdoms or nations or powers of some kind in the future that satan will control. These nations will give their power to the beast/satan and will join forces in a spiritual warfare with the body of Christ on the earth. Even though there has been a spiritual battle since the beginning of time between the forces of evil and God’s people, this one will be very prominent and will occur just before the first resurrection and the Millennium begins. This warfare dif­fers from the battle of Armageddon that occurs at the very end of time, for this chapter speaks of a spiritual warfare, and the battle of Armageddon is a physical warfare. The waters in verse 15 are multitudes of people in all nations throughout the world:

Rev 17:12-15 “And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. {13} These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. {14} These shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him <are> called, and chosen, and faithful. {15} “And he said unto me, the waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

The following verses in this chapter tell of these ten pow­ers that have failed to overcome God’s people and gain dominion over them and they take their defeat out on the whore, which I believe represents the Roman Catholic Church. The description of what these ten powers do to the whore appears to indicate that she is either completely destroyed or stripped of any power or influence that she had. In any case, I see this as the complete overthrow of this church. Once again verse 18 describes this city/church just as verse 15 does as having influence and domin­ion over a great part of the world, just as the Roman Catholic Church does.

Rev 17:16-18   “And the ten horns that you saw upon the bea­st, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. {17} For God has put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. {18} And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

I believe that all of these things occur before the first resurrection and the rapture of the saints that are still alive on the earth. I believe also that this is one of the very few occasions where the chapters are in chronological order, with the events in chapter 18 and chapter 19 ver­ses 1 to 10 following the destruction of the whore. Chapter 19 portrays the rejoicing be­cause of the whores defeat and continues on to speak of the mar­riage of the Lamb and His bride, which occurs at the beginning of the thousand years (the Millennium).

Since the catching away of the bride by Christ marks the start of the Millennium, this tells us that the fall of the Roman Catholic Church will occur prior to the Millennium.

Just as a matter of tying things together, let us remember that satan is to be released when the Millennium is over (Rev 20:7).

After satan assembles the nations of the world to besiege and make war with Jerusalem (Rev 20:8-9) he is cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet are already. I believe this indicates to us that the beast and false prophet were cast into the lake of fire before the Millennium started as a result of the destruction of the Roman Catholic Church.

As we see, chapter 19 begins with the rejoicing over the destruction of the great whore (the church), and ends with verse 20 telling of the beast and false prophet being cast into a lake of fire. I believe the beast in this instance is the Roman Catholic Church and the false prophet is the Pope, maybe not any specific Pope, but that papal office.

Brother William Branham taught that the image to the beast (Rev 13:15-16) is the Roman Catholic Church, confirmed by the number 666 (Rev 13:18). Brother Branham said he witnessed the words in Latin at the Vatican saying: Instead of the Son of God (VICARIVS FILII DEI). Adding up the Roman numbers comes to 666, the number of the beast in Revelations 13:18, once again confirming the symbolic identification of the Roman Catholic Church. For hun­dreds of years man has tried to identify the relationship of this number to a man without success, but I am convinced that Brother Branham had it right.

So if these assumptions are correct, and I believe they are, we are living in the time of the existence of the image of the beast and people are receiving the mark of the beast even now. Chapter 13 describes the domination of the Roman Empire over God’s people and continues up to this day with the acceptance of satan’s misinterpretation of God’s Word as is taught by the false prophets of this day. This is verification of what chapter 12, verse 17 said would happen. Chapter 17 perfectly describes all of the eight occurrences of the beast in the lives of God’s people from the time he first appeared in the Garden of Eden, until the time that the Lord God casts him into the Lake of Fire in the last day. Chapter 18 and 19 describe the fall of Babylon prior to the Millennium and according to chapter 17 identifies it as being the Roman Catholic Church. Verse 20 of chapter 19 tells of the beast and the false prophet being cast into the “lake of fire” immediately after Babylon falls, giving a good indication of what these symbols represent. 

One other item of verification that puts the fall of the church just before the Millennium is indicated in chapter 19. This chapter starts off talking about the fall of Babylon, the great whore and continues to say in verse 7 that “the marriage of the Lamb is come”, saying that this is the time that Christ takes His Bride.

Chapters 18, 19 and the first 6 verses of chapter 20 are obvious­ly given in chronological order, telling of the fall of Babylon just before the first resurrection noted in verses five and six.

Chapter 20 shows us the first resurrection, describes the people who are a part of it and verifies that the event of the taking of the mark of the beast occurs prior to it coming.

Even though the Lord said that no one would know of the day or the hour of His return, He said by looking at the signs of the times we would know when the time was getting close. According to Matthew chapter 24 and Revelations chapter 18 and 19 all that is left to occur is the fall from power of the Roman Catholic Church, the seventh beast of Rev 17:10.

According to Brother Branham’s teaching of the seven church Ages, we are in the seventh right now and there is no more. Accord­ing to the revelations of the seven seals, the fifth seal has been opened. All of the events from the crucifixion of Jesus to a period of time after the Millennium takes place between the fifth and sixth seal, for the sixth seal describes the return of the Lord for the final cleansing and judgment of the world.

The times of the Gentiles is about over, we have had 2000 Bible years which the Lord has set aside for our redemption and the preparing of His Bride. The Millennium is about to set in as He takes His Bride into Heaven for the Marriage Supper which will last for one thousand years, then He will return to redeem Israel, His elected people and to bring forth His final judgment on those who chose to reject His Word.

THE MILLENNIUM

DURING THE THOUSAND YEARS

Very little is said in the scriptures about what we call the Millennium. The only place it is mentioned is in the twentieth chapter of Revelations, where it is spoken of as a period of one thousand years that follows the first resurrection.

As we devote this chapter to a study of what takes place during the Millennium, we must note that the scriptures actually tell us only three things about this thousand-year period, but by using what the scriptures tell us, we should be able to determine some other things about it.

The three things that the scriptures tell us are:

1. Satan will be bound for one thousand years and unable to continue deceiving the people               on the earth.

2. During this one thousand years, the saints who are taken in the Rapture and the first                resurrection shall live and reign with Christ.

3. Those saints who are with Christ during the Millennium are not in danger of the second                 death.

The first thing that we should look at is where those redeemed saints will live during the Millennium. Some Bible teachers say that they will live and reign with Christ on the earth, but I believe the scriptures refute this teaching because it is not reasonable to assume that.

The scripture some Bible teachers use to justify the re­deemed saints living on the earth during the Millennium is Revelations 5:10. Let’s look at this scripture and see what it actual­ly says:

Rev 5:10   “And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

During the translation of this verse from Greek into Eng­lish, the translators used the English word “on” for the Greek word “epi”. But the Greek word “epi” could just as well have been translated into the English words of “over”, “above”, “upon”, “throughout”, as well as “on”.

So a better understanding of this scripture is that either they will reigned “above” the earth or they are speaking about reigning “on” the new earth that will be created by God after this existing one passes away.

Isa 65:17   “For, behold, I create new heav­ens and a [new earth]: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”

2 Pet 3:13   “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a [new earth], wherein dwells righteousness.”

Now I know that some men teach that this earth will not be destroyed, but will only be cleansed and the saints of God shall continue to live here for eternity, but I believe that the scrip­tures tell us something different. John in Revelations tells us that the first earth passed away and the Apostle Peter says that this earth will be burnt up and dissolved and there will be a new earth.

Rev 21:1   “And I saw a new heaven and a [new earth]: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

2 Pet 3:10   “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the ni­ght; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fer­vent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

2 Pet 3:11-12 “<Seeing> then <that> all these things shall be dissolved, what manner <of persons> should you be in <all> holy conversation and godliness, {12} Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”

2 Pet 3:13   “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.”

Another factor we should examine is that after the thousand years is over, satan will be released from his prison and set out to continue his deception on the people of the earth.

Rev 20:7-8   “And when the thousand years are expired, satan shall be loosed out of his prison, {8} and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth”

I just do not believe it is reasonable to assume that God is going to turn satan loose again on those saints that have been redeemed and if they live on the earth during the Millennium, that is what would happen.

Another scripture that should be examined, which without a doubt tells us that the redeemed will not be on this earth, is Matthew 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-36.

Mat 24:40-41 “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be ta­ken, and the other left. {41} Two <women shall be> grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

Luke 17:34-36   “I tell you, in that night there shall be two in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. {35} Two <women> shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. {36} Two <men> shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

Even-though these scriptures are speaking of the rapturing of the saints who are still alive when He returns, Paul, the Apostle, made it quite clear that this event takes place at the same time as the first resurrection.

In these Scriptures of Matthew and Luke, Jesus said that in these instances one person would be taken and one would be left. It should be very clear that those who are taken are taken into Heaven and those who are left are left here on the earth. If Christ was going to leave the redeemed here on the earth, would He first meet them in the air as Paul tells us?

1 Th 4:15-17 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive <and> remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. {16} For the Lord himself shall descend from heav­en with a shout, with the voice of the arch­angel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: {17} Then we which are alive <and> remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we forever be with the Lord.”

I believe that the study of these scriptures reveal to us that during the Millennium the redeemed will be in Heaven with the Lord and those who are not taken in the rapture and the first resurrection will remain here on the earth.

The next thing we want to look at is the significance of the imprisonment of satan, what that actually means and how it will affect life on the earth during the Millennium. Here is what the scriptures say about satan and what happens to him.

Rev 20:1-3   “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. {2} And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and satan, and bound him a thousand years, {3} And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

John tells us that in his vision he saw satan bound for a thousand years so he would be prevented from deceiving the people of the earth. What does this mean to the people who will be left here? How has satan deceived the people of the earth? Once this deception is stopped, how will it affect the people?

Satan started his deception in the Garden of Eden when he convinced Eve that she would not die because of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan did this by taking the words that God spoke and changed what they meant. God had told Adam that if he ate of that tree he would surely die. Then when satan went to Eve, he just added one word to what God had spoken and said to her “You shall not surely die”.

This was the beginning of satan’s deception, which has con­tinued for thousands of years. Satan practices his deception even today by changing God’s Word, by adding to it, taking away from it, or putting his own interpretation to it.

The results of satan’s deception in the world are the exis­tence of all the different re­­ligions, denominations, churches and doctrines.

Because satan has used man to interpret God’s Word, the people of the world have no idea what the truth of God’s Word is. This deception of satan has caused many men to start preach­ing think­ing they have been sent by God, when they really have­n’t. It has caused many to believe that they have been pre­desti­nated to eternal life when they really haven’t because of man’s distor­tion or misunderstanding of God’s Word. It has caused many millions of people to believe they have been saved but they aren’t.

But during the Millennium this deception will not exist because the power of satan will be bound. The people will come to the knowledge of the truth of God’s Word and the world will be turned upside down. The different religions and churches will lose their hold on their subjects because they will learn the truth of God’s Word and reject those who have falsely taught them for so long. As was noted in the chapter on the premillennial events, the great Church of Rome, called Babylon in the book of Revelations, will be found out for what it is and lose control of the millions of people it has deceived for so many hundreds of years. But so will all of the other churches who have taught the Word falsely for so many years.

So I truly believe that the Scriptures are telling us that the binding of satan to prevent his deception of the people of the earth is actually the truth of God’s Word being made manifest to such an extent that the people will believe it and reject all the false doctrines they have been taught. The people still liv­ing on the earth will finally come to where the Apostle Paul said they should be, in the unity of the faith.     

Yes, Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians: there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, and I believe the knowledge of this will become a reality in the Millennium when satan is not around to deceive the people.

How will this come about? Only God knows. But I believe that God will use some person or persons, who are totally committed to the truth of His Word, as it was given in the beginning before man corrupted the meaning of it, and vindicate their ministry in such a supernat­ural manner that the people of the world will not be able to deny that what is being taught is the absolute truth of the Word of God.

                                     POST MILLENNIUM EVENTS

AFTER THE THOUSAND YEARS

The Bible speaks of events that occur after the Millennium, starting with the release of satan from the prison he was kept in for one thousand years. Revelations 20, verses 7 through 10 tell of the start of this postmillennial period.

Rev 20:7-10 “And when the thousand years have expired, satan shall be loosed out of his prison, {8} And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of who <is> as the sand of the sea. {9} And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. {10} And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false pro­phet <are>, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

To understand the chronology of the post millennial period we must use a little reasoning as to which events occur first and why certain events must precede or occur after other events. Now even though the events in verses seven through ten are written together, it stands to reason, considering some other things that happened, that some other events must also have occurred during the time period covered by chapter 20, verses 7 through 10. For an example, let’s look at chap­ter 11, verses 3 through 7.

Verses 3 through 6 of chapter 11 tell of the two witnesses that prophesy in Jerusalem for a period of three and one half years. Then at the end of the three and one half years, the beast that came out of the bottomless pit makes war against the two witness­es and kills them. Now even though this occurrence is not spoken of in chapter 20, verses 7 through 10, it is obvious that this must happen before the devil is cast into the lake of fire as is stat­ed in verse 10 of chapter 20.

Throughout the book of Revelations, one must reason out that before certain things occur, other things must happen first. You cannot take the chapter numbers as representing the sequence of the occurrences of a number of events. Take for instance another example of comparing the events described in the seventh chapter, with the events described in the twentieth chapter.

Chapter 20, verse 5 speaks of the first resurrection, when the bride of Christ is taken to Heaven to spend a thousand years with Him. Any Bible student knows that this occurs before the Lord turns back to redeem the Jews, but this sealing and redemp­tion of the Jews occurs in the 7th chapter. So in this case some of the 20th chap­ter covers things that happen before the previous 7th chapter.

To understand the truth of God’s Word, we must put aside what we have been taught and depend upon only the Scriptures to speak the truth to us. Unfortunately, a prior understanding of God’s Word, as we may have been taught, can bias us against ac­cepting any other explanation.

So as we begin to lay out the sequence of events that occur after the Millennium, according to our reasoning out what must occur first, second, third, etc, etc, my hope is that with an open mind you will consider why we have listed these events in the order that they appear.

The very first thing that the Scriptures tell us that hap­pens after the thousand years is over, is that satan is loosed out of his prison and proceeds to cause the nations of the world to make war with Jerusalem.

Rev 20:7-8 “And when the thousand years have expired, satan shall be loosed out of his prison, {8} And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Ma­­gog, to gather them together to battle: the number of who <is> as the sand of the sea.”

Now the Scriptures tell us that with some sort of deception, satan was able to convince these nations to attack Jerusalem. The Scriptures speak of only one thing that could cause the nations of the world to band together to attack Jerusalem, and that is because in Jerusalem there were two prophets that had the power to smite the earth with plagues as often as they wanted, and without a doubt they were doing just that.

Rev 11:6   “These have power to shut heaven that it rains 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.”

Look what the scripture says in chapter 11, verse 10. The people throughout the earth were so happy when they were killed that they rejoiced and sent one another gifts.

Rev 11:10   “And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make mer­ry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

So the point being made here is that satan convinced the nations of the world, that they could stop these plagues from occurring if they would attack Jerusalem and kill these two prophets. Does this sound reasonable? Is there something else in the scriptures that give a better understanding of how satan could convince the nations of the world to do this?

So then we see that just as soon as the Millennium is over, two things occur. One is that satan is released from the bottom­less pit and two, is that the two witnesses begin their prophesying in Jerusalem attempting to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and they made a great mistake when they crucified Him. But you see they were not at fault for what they did, be­cause God blinded their eyes so the Gentile nations would have an opportunity for salvation. Look at what the scriptures say about the 144,000 of the tribes of Israel:

Rev 14:5   “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are [without fault] before the throne of God.”

One thing that I believe we should consider at this point is that when the Millennium is over, there is allotted only another three and one half years for the Gentiles in Jerusalem. Since the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 AD, people of the Gentile nations have lived in Jerusalem and this will contin­ue for the one thousand years of the Millennium. But when the thousand years is over, God has allotted them only 42 months longer.

Rev 11:1-2   “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. {2} But the court which is outside 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.” ( three and one-half years)

Note how this coincides with the length of time the two prophets minister to the people in Jerusalem. When the two wit­nesses have prophesied for 42 months after the end of the thou­sand years, the Gentiles time in Jerusalem will run out.

Rev 11:3   “And I will give <power> unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred <and> threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Three and one-half years)

So now we see that just as soon as the Millennium is over, satan is released from the pit and begins his deception and the two witnesses begin their 42-month ministry in Jerusalem. At the end of the 42 months, the nations of the world attack Jerusalem and kill the two witnesses.

Rev 16:13-14 “And I saw three unclean spir­its like frogs <come> out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. {14} For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, <which> go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

Rev 16:16 “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

While the bodies of the two witnesses lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and one half days, the people of the world rejoice and make merry because the torment of the plagues has stopped. But this turns out to be a turning point in history. Israel has heard the Gospel of Christ because of the preaching of the two prophets, and has believed it since it came from prophets of their own. The time of the Gentiles has run out and the Bride of Christ has been in Heaven for one thousand years. Noth­ing is left but for God’s judgment upon the earth and this starts at this time with the events occurring as was revealed by the opening of the sixth seal.

Now how can we be sure that the events that are described by the opening of the sixth seal occur at this particular time? Let’s look at what is described by the opening of the sixth seal.

Rev 6:12-14 “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sack­cloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; {13} And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untime­ly figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. {14} And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”

Jesus said in Matthew 24:29-30, that immediately after the tribulation of those days the Sun would be darkened, the moon would not give her light and the stars would fall from Heaven. What day of tribulation was He speaking of? Without doubt, it was the days when for three and one half years the two prophets of Revelations chapter 11 were inflicting torment upon the people of the earth.

Mat 24:29   “Immediately after the tribula­tion of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken”:

The prophet Isaiah describes these same events occurring just before God begins His judgment upon the world.

Isa 13:9-11   “Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. {10} For the stars of heaven and the constella­tions thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. {11} And I will punish the world for <their> evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. “

The prophet Joel also speaks of these same things occurring just before the “terrible day of the Lord comes”. This terrible day is when the Lord pronounces judgment upon the earth.

Joel 2:31 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”

John goes on to say in Revelations 6:15-17 that all the people of the earth were frightened and wanted to escape from the wrath of God that was obviously coming.

Rev 6:15-17   “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the moun­tains; {16} And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: {17} For the great day of his wrath has come; and who shall be able to stand? “

Some teach that these events occur before the Millennium when the Lord returns to catch His Bride away. But the day the Lord returns for His Bride will be a happy day not a day of the Lord’s wrath as is described in the previous verses. And as Isa­iah says, this will be the day when the Lord returns to destroy the sinners and punish the world for its evil.

Isa 13:9   “Behold, the day of the LORD com­es, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall de­stroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Isa 13:11   “And I will punish the world for <their> evil, and the wicked for their iniq­uity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughti­ness of the terrible.”  Isa 13:13   “There­fore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”

Then in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus says that He will send His angels to gather together His elect from all over the world. The elect are the 144,000 Jews that will be saved in the last day because of the preaching of the gospel by the two prophets in Jerusalem.

Mat 24:31   “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Look back at the end of the opening of the sixth seal in Revelations chapter 6. It is no accident that the next chapter, chapter 7, tells of the sealing of the 144,000 Jews just as the sixth seal is opened. These Jews must be sealed with the Holy Spirit before these final judgments come upon the earth. At the start of the judgments it says that only the seal of God on man will protect him from the punishments coming on the people of the earth.

Rev 9:4   “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

The prophet Joel said that in this day, deliverance would be in Jerusalem. This must be because of the preaching of the two prophets in Jerusalem at that time.

Joel 2:32   “And it shall come to pass, <that> whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, and in the remnant who the LORD shall call.”

This event as described by the opening of the sixth seal marks the beginning of the end. The bride of Christ is with Him in Heaven, the time has run out for the Gentile nations to obtain salvation and the Israelites have heard the gospel preached by the only men they would ever believe, two of their prophets. Nothing at this time remains, but for the Lord to pronounce His judgment upon this world and cleanse it of its evil.

Notice one thing more in the conclusion of this discussion. Revelations chapter 7 starts out with the angels of God getting ready to inflict punishment on the earth, but they are held back until the Tribes of Israel are sealed with the seal of God. This tells us that it is at the very end of the world when God turns back to the people of Israel and not immediately after the first resurrection and the rapture, when the Millennium starts.

Rev 7:1-3 “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” {2} “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to who it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, {3} Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”

Now at this point in time, the two prophets have been prea­ching in Jerusalem for 42 mon­ths when satan causes the nations of the world to attack Jerusalem and kill these prophets. After their bodies lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and one half days, God brings them back to life and calls them up to Heaven.

Rev 11:11-12   “And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon those who saw them. {12} And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up here. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”

After God takes the two prophets up into Heaven is when He destroys the armies that have warred against Jerusalem and casts the devil into the lake of fire.

Rev 11:13   “And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

Rev 20:9-10   “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and de­voured them. {10} And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brim­stone, where the beast and the false prophet <are>, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

At this point the battle of Armageddon is over, the armies have been destroyed and satan has been given his final fate. The people of Israel have heard the gospel from the two witnesses, but they have not received the Holy Spirit, which God will give to them before the earth is punished.

Rev 7:1-4   “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. {2} And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to who it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, {3} Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their fore­heads. {4} And I heard the number of them which were sealed: <and there were> sealed an hundred <and> forty <and> four thousand of all the tri­bes of the children of Israel.”

After the Tribes of Israel are sealed with the Holy Spirit, the Lord comes down to present Himself to them.

Rev 14:1   “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion and with him an hundred forty <and> four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.”

Rev 14:4-5   “These are they that were not defiled with women for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, <being> the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. {5} And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

At this time the events described in the opening of the seventh seal occur, which are all of the final judgments God inflicts on the earth and the people who have not received God’s Son.

Rev 8:1-2   “And when he had opened the sev­enth seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. {2} And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.”

After the seventh seal is opened, the seven angels begin the sounding of their trumpets, which begins the punishment of those who are on the earth. (Rev 8:7 through 9:21) & (Rev 15:1 through 16:12) & (Rev 16:17 through 21)

After these judgments on the earth and its people are fin­ished, then God begins His final judgment on all those who are brought up in the second and final resurrection. Jesus spe­aks of this event in Matthew chapter 25.

Mat 25:31-33 “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: {32} And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides <his> sheep from the goats: {33} And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”

Rev 20:11-15   “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. {12} And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is <the book> of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, ac­cording to their works. {13} And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. {14} And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. {15} And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The final judgment is over, satan and his followers have been dealt with and the saints of God have been chosen and pre­pared to spend eternity in a new life with new bodies that God has prepared for them. At this point the scriptures describe where God’s people will dwell in their new life.

Rev 21:1-4   “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. {2} And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusa­lem, coming down from God out of heav­en, prepared as a bride adorned for her hus­band. {3} And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God <is> with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, <and be> their God. {4} And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nei­ther sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Yes God’s people will live on the earth, but in difference to what many teach, it will be a new earth. Just as John says here in the first verse of chapter 21, the first Heaven and earth were passed away. The prophet Isaiah speaks of this new earth and tells something of what life will be like there:

Isa 65:17-25   “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. {18} But be glad and rejoice forever <in that> which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusa­lem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. {19} And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of cry­ing. {20} There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner <being> an hundred years old shall be accursed. {21} And they shall build houses, and inhabit <them>; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. {22} They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree <are> the days of my people, and my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. {23} They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they <are> the seed of the bles­sed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. {24} And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. {25} The wolf and the lamb shall feed togeth­er, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust <shall be> the ser­pent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy moun­tain, said the LORD.”

So there is the revelation of God’s Word as He has given it to me. Not just exactly as John saw it, for now it is in chronologi­cal order. And not exactly as John wrote it, for there is no longer any need for using any symbolic descriptions. Why should any person believe this revelation that I have given over the interpretation of many other Bible scholars? This is not for me to be concerned about, for I have only written what God gave me to write and He will reveal the truth to whosoever He will reveal it to. My job was to point the people back to the Word of God and let the original Scriptures give their own interpretation.

I have endeavored to eliminate from this writing any prior understanding or prior teaching that I had received and let the Scriptures speak for their selves. If I have failed to justify my position with supporting Scriptures, as was my commission, then I have fallen short of what He gave me to do. In any case, may God get all the glory for the revelation of His Word, as He so right­ly deserves.

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