The Seventh Seal of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

Twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel are sealed and comprise the 144,000 mentioned here in Revelation 7.  Some people believe this is a literal number of people from the literal country of Israel who will be converted to Christianity and saved at the end of time.  Others believe this is simply a number signifying completeness and perfection of the saints at the end of time and is not to be taken literally.  Yet still others believe this number may or may not be literal, but it does signify those who go through the end of time and suffer greatly.  These saints all have different strengths and weaknesses correlating to the strengths and weakness of the twelve men and/or tribes mentioned.  No matter what this number represents, our concern is that we be counted among the great multitude that stands before the throne and the Lamb when all this is over.

This brings us to the mark of the beast.  You have possibly heard of it and heard people speculate that it will be tattoos of bar codes on people’s arms, or a special ID card or implant under the skin, or any other type of visible identification.  However, for every true and good thing from God, Satan has a counterfeit: God has a church, Satan has a church; God has a Sabbath, Satan has a Sabbath; God marks his believers, Satan marks his believers.  We will discuss this more in the next chapter. 

At this time probation is still open and anyone who wants to can join God’s true followers and receive his seal.

Seventh Seal:  Judgment    

 Experience

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.  And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.  Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer… Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.  Rev. 8:1-5

  When the other six seals were opened, there was always a commotion in the form of voices or natural phenomena.  (see Rev. 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9-10, 12)  So why is there silence in heaven when the seventh seal is introduced?  Well, when are you moved to be utterly silent?  When something momentous or fascinating is happening or about to happen and you do not want to miss one second of it.  All of heaven has been involved in what has been going on down here on earth ever since Satan and sin entered the picture, and now it is all about to climax and to come to an end.  No one in heaven wants to miss a second of the drama about to unfold.

The angel with the censer throws it to the earth, signaling the commencement of the seven trumpet judgments. 

 Trumpets have been used for thousands of years to announce one thing or another.  They were used to announce a warning that an enemy was coming, or they relayed battlefield orders in the midst of a fight, and even today the military uses them to announce the beginning and end of the day.  So the seven angels and their seven trumpets are announcing the beginning of God’s judgments and the beginning of the end of this conflict between good and evil on this earth.

First Trumpet:  1/3 of Earth Burned

The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.  Rev. 8:6, 7

Second Trumpet:  1/3 of Sea Becomes Blood

The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.  Rev. 8:8, 9

Third Trumpet:  1/3 of Fresh Water Made Bitter

The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.  The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.  Rev. 8:10, 11

Fourth Trumpet:  1/3 of Sky Darkened

The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.  Rev. 8:12

The first question we must ask ourselves is: are these trumpet judgments literally going to happen or are they are figurative and stand for something else?  If we look closely at each trumpet we see that the descriptions are too specific to be figurative language.  Trees, grass, creatures in the sea, men, sun, moon and stars are all literal things affected by what is to come.  But the reference to Wormwood is figurative, right?  Yes and no.  Webster’s New World College Dictionary (4^th ed.) defines wormwood as a plant that yields bitter oil, but it also defines wormwood as, “…a bitter, unpleasant, or mortifying experience.”  Living during a time when a third of the earth is burned, a third of the ocean dies, a third of our fresh water is ruined, and a third of the sky goes dark is going to be a horribly bitter, unpleasant and mortifying experience.

 If we look at the world today, we can see that the first three trumpet judgments seem to be slowly coming true even now.  We are polluting our oceans and our drinking water, and the earth is suffering from global warming, but it will not culminate into a third of each until we are in the Laodicea Church era.  We can speculate that the great mountain of fire under the second trumpet is a volcano or some other natural phenomena that will hasten the ruination of the oceans; killing a third of the creatures in the oceans and causing tsunamis or other devastating after effects that will smash ships.

As for a third of the sky darkening, we can only speculate.  Does a meteor or a volcano spew dust or ash into the atmosphere, blotting out some of the sky?  Or is it caused directly by God?  We will just have to wait and see.

 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”  Rev. 8:13

 

                                                                                            

The Seal of God. Laodicea in the Book of Revelation.

 Continued from last post:

Up to this point in our study of prophecy we have looked backwards in time; we have seen what the Bible told would happen and then we have learned that history proved the prophecies correct.  From this point forward, we do not have the luxury of historical hindsight.  We are now entering the unknown; we are now going to study what will happen in the future.  No one can say with absolute certainty what will happen or when it will happen, all we can do is take what we have learned about prophecy, apply it the best we can to what we study from now on, and keep watch on the events occurring in the world around us to see the fulfillment of what we have learned.

  In Chapter 4 of this book we saw that we are now living in the Philadelphia Church era.  The Laodicea Church era and the seventh seal are yet to come. (My sister told me she believes we are now in the Laodicea Church Era. She wrote her book in 2007.)

Laodicea:  Salvation        

Spirituality:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore, be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock’ if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  Rev. 3:15-21

Here we see that as the Laodicea Church era begins, Christians have become complacent and self-satisfied with their spiritual condition.  The people have lost their zeal for God and just go through the motions, thinking that they have and are doing everything they need in order to be saved.  Jesus says that he rejects their self-righteousness, but he offers to clothe them with his righteousness, to fill them with the Holy Spirit, and to give them understanding.  Those who accept his offer to live in their hearts will reign with him in heaven.

This is a warning for us, especially as the Philadelphia era ends and the Laodicea era begins.  We cannot offer anything to God in order to secure salvation.  Our good works, our church attendance, everything, is unacceptable.  For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment… (Is. 64:6)  Only Jesus’ good works, only his sacrifice, only his righteousness can cover us and make us acceptable to God.

Laodicea

  How we really are……….How we think we are

Seal of God

After this (the end of the Philadelphia Church era and the sixth seal) I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.  And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads.  Rev. 7:1-3

 Before the seventh seal is opened, something happens to the servants of God; they are sealed on their foreheads with the seal of God.  Throughout history, an important document or letter was sealed shut with wax and the author or sender of the document would press a stamp or a signet ring into the wax to identify the origin and the authenticity of the document. 

In Revelation 7 we see an angel has been sent to place God’s seal on his followers, in effect marking them as authentic and belonging to him.  …and His name will be on their foreheads.  (Rev. 22:4)  This seal will not be visible to the human eye, it is a spiritual seal: a setting apart, or separating, of those who follow God from those who follow the beast.  But why does the Bible specifically say the seal will be placed on the forehead?  Because that is where the mind is.  With our minds we make the decision to follow God and his truth, no matter the consequences.  He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.  (John 3:33)

But why is this so important?  The mark shows which people are to be protected from the first five trumpets of God’s judgment.  We see an example of this in Ezekiel Chapter 9.  God sent a messenger to Jerusalem to mark those loyal to him on the forehead, and then God sent five beings to kill everyone in the city who did not have the mark.  This story will repeat itself at the end of time.  We will be marked with the seal of God and the angels sent to execute the first five trumpets will pass us by.

 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel… After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… Rev. 7:4, 9

 

 

Righteousness by Faith Not Works.

 Continued from previous post:

The pagans also worshipped on Sunday, but their worship included feasting and partying.  The church reasoned that there was little chance of converting the pagans if all stayed the way it was, so it slowly began to change in order to get more people to convert.  The big thing they changed was Sabbath observance.  By changing the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday, they knew the pagans would be more inclined to convert and, since the church already considered Sunday a holy day in honor of the resurrection, it was a simple thing to slowly shift emphasis from Saturday to Sunday. 

…testimony of Jesus.

 Before Jesus came to this world, the Old Testament prophets prophesized about him and the work that he would do.  In the meantime, the sacrificial system was in place where someone who sinned would sacrifice an animal and his or her relationship with God would be restored.  Revelation 19:10 says, For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  It is the plan of redemption prophesized by the Old Testament prophets that Jesus fulfilled when he came to this earth, died, and went to heaven as our advocate.  Once Jesus came, we no longer had to make a sacrifice or do any work in order to be accepted by God; Jesus did and is doing all the work for us.  This is called Righteousness by Faith; our relationship with God is put right through belief and trust in Jesus.  And we do not have to go to the temple or to a priest to seek restoration of a right relationship with God, we go straight to Jesus and he does it for us as our High Priest in the temple in heaven.  He is our High Priest who argues our case, who gives “testimony” on our behalf, who offers his life and his death in our place, granting us forgiveness and eventually eternal life.  The writer of the book of Hebrews says, …we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle…  But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.  …how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living god?  (Heb. 8:1, 2; 9:11, 12, 14)

Why did the Catholic Church hate the testimony of Jesus?  Because it usurped their power and control of the people and it took money out of their pockets.  As we have seen, the Bible teaches that Jesus is our High Priest and he shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins.  The Catholic Church, in the spirit of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, saw an opportunity to control individuals, obtain absolute power, and make a lot of money.  So it began to teach that you had to confess your sins to a priest in order to gain forgiveness.  

Then you had to prove that you had truly repented of your sin by paying some sort of retribution.  This would be in the form of penances, such as saying so many Hail Mary’s, performing some physical hardship, or doing charity work.  Those who could afford it could bypass the acts of penance and pay for what was called an Indulgence.  (See Appendix 1)  The Church made money and they had complete control over the actions of their subjects.   Thus the Church had substituted themselves and their own rules in place of Jesus and his sacrifice.  The horn had …magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host (Jesus); and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him…  (Dan. 8:11)

Thyatira gave “testimony” to the truth by refusing to go to a Catholic priest and say confessions, by refusing to do any kind of penance, and by refusing to buy any indulgences. Martin Luther discovered the truth about Jesus being our priest and our substitute while he was still a Catholic Monk. He saw that confession to a priest, the performance of penances, and the selling of indulgences were wrong, and this led him to rebel against the false church he had loved and the false beliefs he had held all his life, starting the Protestant Reformation that took place during the Sardis church era. 

…this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts. (Dan. 7:8)  The Catholic Church was not blind, it knew what it was doing and even bragged that it had the power to do what it did. (See Appendix 4)  In Daniel 8:12 it says the horn, …will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper.  The Catholic Church did as it wished, flinging truth to the ground if it got in the way, and it prospered mightily.  Anyone else who wanted to prosper fell into line because the horn only gives, …great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many… (Dan. 11:39)  But those who opposed him paid the price.  Daniel said, …He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. (Dan. 8:24)  Just like the three kingdoms that opposed the Bishop of Rome when he was given power by Justinian, the church waged war against those who ...keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

 As we have seen, the horn held absolute power for 1260 years, from 538 CE to 1798 CE.  During this time the two lamp stands, the two churches Thyatira and Sardis, held on to the truth.  They kept God’s commandments and gave testimony of the truth of Jesus.  But why do Daniel and Revelation spend so much time on this?  Because not only was it a big deal in the past; it is going to happen again in the future.  The more we understand the experiences of Thyatira and Sardis, the better prepared we will be when history repeats itself and Laodicea, the seventh and final church era, faces the same things. 

The effect of the changes made by the Catholic Church can still be seen today.  Sunday is when most Christians keep the Sabbath; priests still hear confessions; penances are still assigned to the repentant.  Now that you know the truth, what will you do with it?  Jesus said, From everyone who has been given much, much will be required…(Luke 12:48)  You have been trusted with the truth, God is now watching to see if you measure up to his trust.

The Blasphemous Horn in the Book of Revelation.

 

Do you remember the mouthy, blasphemous horn we saw in chapter two of this book? 

It is mentioned in Daniel 7:8 and Daniel 8:9-14, 23-26 as arising after Greece.  But we had questions about this because we knew Rome followed Greece.  Well, here our questions are answered.  This mouthy, blasphemous horn does arise after Greece, but we can see here that it comes out of Rome and after the Western Roman Empire had been carved up into ten kingdoms.  And this horn does uproot and subdue three of the ten kings.  When the Emperor Justinian declared the Bishop of Rome as head of the Christian churches and gave him civil powers to go with his new religious powers, three of the ten kingdoms opposed this.  The Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths fought against this new arrangement but by 538 CE the last of them had been crushed.

The Bishop of Rome, the Pope of the Catholic Church, the blasphemous horn, was now unopposed and was able to wield its unlimited powers as it saw fit for 1260 years.

 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names…And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.  There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.  And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.  It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them….  Rev. 13:1, 2, 5-7

This beast came out of the sea, meaning it arose out of people (see Appendix 2) and the dragon, Satan, backed this beast with all his power.  Here again we see the 42 months, the1260 years, of authority, so this beast must be the same entity as the horn.  Revelation 17:9 says, The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.  The woman referred to is Jezebel, the false church, …Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots… Rev. 17:5.  The seven mountains give us her location:  the seven hills of Rome, the city where the Pope lives and from which the Catholic Church rules.  We know that a beast represents nations, kingdoms, or political powers (see Appendix 2), so the Catholic Church’s depiction here as a beast shows the political authority it wielded as well as its religious authority. 

 One thing you must remember: the Catholic Church referred to in prophecy describes the leaders of the church, those who operate with the spirit of Balaam and the Nicolaitans.  There have been millions, and there are still millions, of innocent and sincere members of the Catholic Church who do not know the truth and are led astray by the leaders of the church. 

We have not explored why the false church persecutes those who refuse to follow her lead.  Revelation 12:17 tells us that the persecuted depicted in Revelation are those who …keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.  What does this mean and why does it threaten the false church? 

 The commandments of God…

Even if we do not know exactly what the commandments are, most of us have at least heard of the Ten Commandments.  You can find them listed in Exodus 20:3-17. 

But even the Catholic Church knows that the Ten Commandments are still in effect, right?  Yes they do, as do almost all Christians of all denominations, but there is one commandment that the Catholic Church changed and that the followers of truth refused to honor.  One of the things Daniel said about the horn was that, He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in laws. (Dan. 7:25)  In the Commandments of God, which one of his laws has to do with times?  It is this one: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  (Exodus 20:8)  

Did one of your parents ever tell you “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it!”, reminding you where you came from and who is the boss? 

That is the basic purpose behind the Sabbath commandment, although God uses much kinder words.  God set up the Sabbath after creation as a reminder to us that he made the world (Gen. 2:1) and, when we honor the Sabbath, we are recognizing God’s power and authority over us.  Often, when God is talking about himself or when others refer him to, the fact that God is the creator is included in his title.  (See Rev. 4:11; 10:6; 14:7.)  He is not called the God who said not to covet, or the God who does not like adultery (even though he did say not to covet or commit adultery).  No.  He is referred to as our creator, and in recognition of that he asks us to honor him by devoting one day per week to him.

The Jews kept what we know as Saturday, the seventh day at the end of the week, as the Sabbath day.  Jesus, when he was on earth, would go to the synagogue on Sabbath (Luke 13:10) and he called himself the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).  If he is our example and if he called himself Lord of the Sabbath, why would he give us an example and call himself Lord of something that was going to be changed? 

 Luke, who was writing about Paul at Corinth in the book of Acts, said that Paul went to the synagogue every Sabbath to reason with the Jews (Acts 18:4)  If the Sabbath had changed, why did Luke call the day the Jews gathered at the synagogue Sabbath?  Why not say, “Paul went every Saturday”?  The author of Hebrews says, …there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (Heb. 4:9)  The Sabbath remains, it is not a new or a different one, it is the one that has always been.

The Emperor Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to be converted from paganism to Christianity but most of his subjects remained pagan.  At this time the church was still keeping Saturday as Sabbath but it was also observing Sunday as a holy day in remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection.  

 These days were ones of fasting and prayer. 

   The church knew that the more people it could get under its influence, the more power it would have and the more money it could make. The Catholic Church makes no apologies for its actions.  You see, the church admits openly that it changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.  (See Appendix 4)  Truly the horn made … alterations in times and in laws. (Dan.7:25) 

The true churches of God, Thyatira and Sardis, refused to obey the Catholic Church and continued to …keep the commandments of God…  They were hunted, persecuted, and suffered the Inquisitions of the Catholic Church, but they held fast.

 

War in Heaven. The Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman…and she was with child…Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems…And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.  And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.  Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.  And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.  The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.  And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.  Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”  Rev. 12:1-10

Here we see the birth of Jesus: the birth of Christianity.  Satan tried, and failed, to kill Jesus through king Herod when Jesus was born (see Matt. 2:13-20).  Prior to Jesus’ death, Satan was the ruler of this world within limits set by God (see Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Matt. 4:8, 9), but Jesus’ sacrificial death redeemed the world from Satan’s control and Jesus became the absolute ruler of this world (see Rev. 5:9-13; Rev. 12:5).  Satan did not want to give up control so a war broke out and he and his angels were thrown out of heaven by force. 

Satan is no longer allowed to come before God in heaven and accuse us of anything.  We now belong to Jesus and he represents us before God as our redeemer, our savior, and substitutes his perfection for our faults.

 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.  But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.  And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.  But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.  So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.  

Satan is furious about losing to Jesus and decides to go after those who follow Jesus.  The true followers of Jesus were forced to flee, many hiding in the mountains and forests where they were able to avoid the flood of people searching for them (see Appendix 2).  Those who remained in the populated areas were less able to avoid persecution.  The persecution lasted …a time and times and half a time…, which is the 1260 days, mentioned in verse 6.  It is calculated this way: a time is one year, times is two years, and half a time is six months, giving a total of 1260 days (360 + 720 + 180 = 1260).  This time period is also mention in Daniel 7

 …out of this kingdom (Rome) ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.  He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One…and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.  Dan. 7:24, 25

Good News/Bad News. Book of Revelation.

 

We are living in the era of the sixth church, Philidelphia, and the sixth seal will be opened soon; the signs we studied in chapter one of this book prove it.  Will you be holding fast to the truth of Jesus or will you be tested and perhaps fail to turn to God?  On which side will you be standing when the seventh church era begins and the seventh seal is opened?  Can you be sure you will choose to be on Jesus’ side before your probation ends?

I know you are probably ready to read about the seventh church and the seventh seal; ready to find out what is going to happen at the end of the world.  We could do that, but we would understand only part of what we are reading about if we did that right now.  You see, what has happened in the past has brought us to where we are now; and what has happened in the past is going to happen again.  Therefore, it is important to spend some more time learning what happened to a couple of churches in the past so we will know what to expect when it is our turn to go through times of trouble.

Did you ever have to give someone bad news?  If you loved that person and cared about his or her feelings, you probably tried to soften the blow by giving some good news first, or at least tried to find something positive to ease the pain of what was to follow.  Our God is a merciful God, and when Jesus was giving John visions of what was to come, he made sure to give John good news before giving the bad news, which would give hope to those believers who would read Revelation and go through the troubles described.  Jesus followed the pattern established with Daniel and the visions about world empires – successive visions with each vision adding more detail than the last.  So what we have in the remaining chapters of Revelation are words and visions of hope followed by more and more detail regarding the times of the churches – including the seventh and last church.  But we are going to follow the story chronologically, so as we discuss each topic you will find we are jumping from vision to vision, collecting the pieces and putting them together into one continuous storyline.  At first we will skip parts of the good news, or the words of hope, because they refer to the end of the story.  We will address them in their proper time.

In Ezekiel 3:1 we find that Ezekiel, a prophet for God, was told to, …eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.  In Revelation Chapter 10, before John is given more information as to what will happen to two of the churches we looked at in the last chapter of this book, an angel holds a book and John, also a prophet of God, is told to take the book and eat it.  He is also told that, …it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey. (Verse 9)  This confirms what we discussed in the previous paragraph where our merciful God mixes good news with the bad news that John must relate. 

Now we are ready to read what John was shown.

 Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.  Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.  Rev. 11:1, 2

Since 70 CE, when Titus and his army destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, no other temple has been built to replace it, and the New Jerusalem does not have a temple (Rev. 21:22), so we can eliminate both of these as the holy city that will be trod on for forty-two months (1260 years, see Appendix 2). 

 In the previous chapter of this book we saw that a woman stands for a city, which stands for a group of people that have something in common.  In 1 Cor. 3:16 Paul says that Christians are the temple of God.  So what we learn here is that true believers will be safe spiritually even though they may be harmed physically (trod under foot). Jesus said, Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Matt. 10:28

 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.  These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands that stand before the Lord of the earth.  Rev. 11:3, 4

We saw in Revelation Chapter 1 that the seven churches are represented by the seven lamp stands surrounding Jesus– one lamp stand for each successive church.  So why are only two lamp stands mentioned in Rev. 11?  What happened to the other five?  There are only two lamp stands in this vision because the events that are being described apply to only two of the churches – Thyatira and Sardis.  These two churches existed during the 42 months, the 1260 years, mentioned above in Rev. 11.  This time span lasted from the time the Bishop of Rome achieved undisputed authority in 538 CE until the Pope was put in prison in 1798 CE. 

 The two olive trees are the Holy Spirit and Jesus (see Appendix 2) and they are with the churches throughout their experiences.  Even though they have the power to …devour their enemies…to shut up the sky…and to strike the earth with every plague… (Rev. 11:5, 6) they do not do so during this time.  Why not?  Because whenever true believers were brought to trial and forced to defend themselves, they became powerful witnesses for God’s truth.  Some who saw their bravery and heard the truth in their words became believers themselves.

 

The Rise of Atheism. The Books of Daniel and Revelation.

 Hello everyone, once again I found another mistake I made in copying my sister's book. I accidentally skipped over the subject of Atheism. My sister told me this subject was important, so I'm adding it here. It was supposed to be after the discussion on how rapidly knowledge has increased in these last days.

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.  Matt. 24: 14

 What this verse is saying is that once the entire world has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to perk up and pay attention because the end of the world is right around the corner.  So, how close are we to getting the word out to everyone on this planet?  About 17 years ago The Almanac of the Christian World said there were Christians and churches in every country of the world: 4 billion of the 6.5 billion people in the world had heard the gospel, and 50 million Bibles and 80 million New Testaments were being distributed every year. (8)

In 1995 it was estimated that at least parts of the Bible had been translated into 2,092 different languages, and that the Bible, or parts of it, are available to roughly 98% of the world’s population. (9)  I would say we are getting close to seeing that verse fulfilled.

What about this verse…

 …in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, …saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 2 Peter 3: 3, 4

Mockers mocking?  What exactly does that mean?  The Webster’s New World College Dictionary (4^th ed) defines the word mock as, “…to hold up to scorn or contempt; ridicule…” so we know that a mocker mocking is someone who is contemptuous of, and ridicules, something. (10)  This verse makes it clear that the subject the mockers are attacking is the advent of Christ, and their argument is that the world has gone on for centuries without change and that it will continue to do so.  Our job is to find out who is mocking the second coming of Christ at the end of the world, and what argument they are using.

Proponents of different religions have argued, belittled, and even persecuted each other throughout history.  There seems to be nothing new about one “religious person” mocking another, so I think we can dismiss this as applying to the end times.  Then we must look around and see if there is a new group attacking the return of Christ.

Atheists do not believe in the existence of God or a supreme being of any kind.  Atheists and their denial of God are not to be confused with Agnostics, or those who have doubts about the existence of God and are searching/waiting for proof of God’s existence.  No, true atheists are adamant, unrelenting, steadfast deniers of God.  Now, there have always been people who have doubted or denied the existence of God, but only in the last few hundred years has there been anything resembling a ‘movement’, an organized resistance, against God and religion. 

Modern atheism is a product of two developments:  the Age of Enlightenment in the 18^th century where philosophy, science and reason were promoted over religion and tradition; and the adoption by many countries of the idea of separating religion and politics. (11)

 In fact, one of the many reasons for the French Revolution was the “…intellectual ferment of the Age of Enlightenment…”, and one of the results of the revolution was a drafting of a constitution that put “Severe restrictions on the power of the Roman Catholic Church…” (12)

But what do atheists say about the second coming of Christ?

On a website called Daylight Atheism, someone wrote an article stating that, while reading an Associated Press poll of Americans, s/he “…noticed the following bizarre statistic: 25% anticipate the second coming of Christ.”  The author goes on to say, “It is depressing how many people still believe this will happen during their own lifetimes, considering how many previous generations have also lived and died expecting it and turned out to be absolutely and completely wrong.” (13) 

Here is another quote from a different source.  “Christians believe that Christ will return to Earth, gather up the faithful, condemn the unfaithful, destroy life as we know it and create a paradise on Earth - the second coming, the end times…For two thousand years they (Christians) have believed the second coming would happen at any moment…Through the years literally hundreds of apocalyptic predictions have been documented. And yet people still believe this nonsense!” (14)

These are only two examples of the ridicule heaped upon the Christian belief of the end of the world and the second coming of Christ.  "Mockers mocking."

 In this chapter we have seen some of the verses in the Bible that have pointed to signs marking the end times, and we have been able to show that events occurring around us today fulfill the signs given to us centuries ago.  We could go on and look at other topics such as the rise in violence, our polluted environment, and the political and religious machinations of recent history, but all of that will be covered in coming chapters.  Our goal in this first chapter was to show where we are now in the course of human and Biblical events.  In the next chapter we will begin to find out how we got to where we are now, and once again prove the accuracy of Bible prophecy when looked at from an historical perspective.  In other words: we know where we are, but how did we get here?  Right now we have part of the story, now it is time to add to it. 

The Church of Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

Philidelphia: Evangelism.     Sixth Seal: Stirring Up.      1798 CE - ?

Spirituality:

I know your deeds.  Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.  Rev. 2:8, 10-12

            The Protestant movement withstood the assault from the false church and it began to grow exponentially.  On top of that, in 1798 CE General Berthier of the French army removed Pope Pius VI from his papal throne, religiously weakening and politically crippling the Catholic Church.  The Protestants had persevered, had kept God’s truth, and now that the Catholic church was in a weakened state, a door had opened and it was time for them to reach the whole world with their message.  (See 1 Cor. 16:9; Col. 4:3)

But what is this hour of God’s testing?  It is a two-week (see Appendix 2) period of time that ends the Philadelphia church era when the people of the world will be shaken up and tested.  (see Jam. 5:9)  You see, when you test something, you are trying to determine if it passes a certain criteria; you are making a judgment as to something’s worthiness.  For instance, in school we wrote exams so the teacher could judge whether or not we knew the subject matter well enough to pass and move on in our studies.  In this passage Jesus is telling his followers during this era that the testing is not for them, it is meant for the world.  They are told to simply hang on to the truth.  Jesus promised his messengers that they would be with him in the temple of the New Jerusalem when it was set up and that they would be called by his name.

Experience:

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth…The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.  Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?  Rev. 6:12-17

As the Philadelphia church era ends, the sixth seal will be opened and, within the two-week period time of testing, these signs are going to be given.  As they occur, great fear will grip people and test their beliefs – or lack thereof.  Jesus, in Luke 21:25, 26, said the same thing as here in Revelation when he said, There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars…men fainting from fear…. Jesus also said in verse 31 that, …when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.

These signs will frighten even the bravest, but we see in Revelation 7:1, the verse that immediately follows the sixth seal and precedes the seventh seal, that John says, After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.   Angels are sent to delay the final calamities that will begin to occur under the seventh seal and fall upon the earth during the era of the seventh church.  This is so that the gospel can be preached to the entire world and those shaken up by the hour of testing will have a chance to turn to God and be saved.  This is the start of a probation period for people living in the end times, similar to the 70-week probation period given to the Jews that ended in 34 CE when Stephan was stoned.  (See chapter three)  We do not know how long our probation period is going to be, but Jesus’ warning in Luke 21:31 that says these signs mean that the kingdom of God is near, so we can assume it will be a short time span.

Thyatira and Sardis in the Book of Revelation. The Seven Seals.

 I made two mistakes in my title last post. I've fixed it now. I have illnesses and am pretty old, so forgive me when I make mistakes. 

Thyatira: Faithfulness     Fourth Seal: Religious Persecution    538 CE - 1516 CE

Spirituality:

I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.  But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality…But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them – I place no other burden on you.  Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.  He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations…  Rev. 2:19, 20, 24-26

Jezebel was a wicked queen who led the people of her nation to abandon God and worship idols and she killed those who refused to submit. (1 Kin. 16:31; 21:25;                2 Kin. 9:7, 22)  In prophetic language, a woman represents a city, which represents a group of people that have something in common (i.e. citizens of a city [“city”zens] have their place of residence in common). (See Appendix 2)  Here, Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, so Jezebel is a city, a group of people (“city”zens), who have a religion in common since they believe they speak for God. 

In the year 533 CE the Roman Emperor Justinian declared that the Bishop of Rome was to be the head of all Christian churches.  By the year 538 CE all opposition to this appointment, both religious and civil, was crushed.  The Bishop of Rome (city) was firmly established in his authority over religious and civil matters.  Those church members with the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (“city”zens) had finally attained all the power and riches they had so desired (commonality).  They had set up a powerful church and were designing doctrines that would strengthen their control and would lead the masses astray.  But there were still believers who remained faithful to the teachings and the spirit of Jesus although they did not fight hard enough in the beginning against this false church with its false doctrines.  However, what was done was done and Jesus told them to hang on and as a reward they would rule with him.

 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal…I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him.  Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.  Rev. 6:7, 8

Hades is the Greek word for hell, and the experience of many of those who refused to follow Jezebel, the teachings of this false church, went through hell on earth, dying for their faithful adherence to the pure teachings of Jesus.  The Inquisitions and persecutions, the torturous and agonizing deaths of the faithful were unrivaled by anything in history.  Truly the ashen horse of Death followed by Hades fell upon those faithful people.

Sardis: Truth    Fifth Seal: Reformation    1517 CE - 1797 CE

Spirituality:

…I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.  Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.  So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent…But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.  He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.  Rev. 2:1-5

Jezebel had almost completely wiped out those who remained faithful to the pure teachings of Jesus, but the truth was not yet dead even though it looked like it.  A spark remained and it was about to be kindled into a full-blown fire.  Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, was a man in search of truth.  As he dug into the Bible he found that much of what he had believed in his previous religious life was untrue.  In 1517 CE he bravely wrote out the truths he had discovered and then posted them (his 95 theses, see Appendix 3) so everyone who could read would see the truth.  Some others, both in religious and political offices, saw the truth in what Martin Luther had discovered and together they started what became known as the Protestant Reformation (“protest”ing the false teachings of the Jezebel church).  Jesus promised those who fought against the false church that they would be clothed in white and have their names written in the book of life.

Experience:

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”  And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.  Rev. 6:9-11

The Jezebel church was not going to give up its power easily and the persecutions continued, but this time it was aimed at the visible and vocal Protestant movement.  Some European political powers stood up to the church for the first time, refusing to turn over their citizens to be killed, and Jezebel found herself losing power.

Pergamum and Smyrna in the Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

Moving on to the next two churches and two seals.

Smyrna:  Martyrdom      Second Seal:  Roman Persecution       c. 100 CE – 312 CE

Spirituality     

 I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)…Do not fear what you are about to suffer.  Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.  Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life…He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.  Rev. 2:9-11

  The church during this time may have been poor when it came to money and power to protect itself, but it was rich spiritually.  There was fear in the church due to the persecutions but Jesus says they will have eternal life.

Experience

          …He broke the second seal…And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another;  and a great sword was given to him.  Rev. 6:3, 4

 The red color of this horse denotes the spilling of the blood of the saints.  Beginning with Nero, the Roman Emperors often persecuted Christians for one reason or another.  But late in the first century CE, the emperor Domitian demanded everyone within his empire to worship him as divine, but Jews and Christians refused.  This began a full-scale persecution and makes it easy to identify the rider of the red horse as the office of Emperor.  

Pergamum:  Spiritual Corruption     Third Seal: Church/State      313 CE – 537 CE

Spirituality

          I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast my Name,  and did not deny My faith…But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam…So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth…To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.  Rev. 2:13-17

 In 313 CE, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan which stopped the persecution of Christians and made all religions legal within the Roman Empire.

For the most part the church remained faithful to the teachings of Jesus.  However, some who had the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans had infiltrated the church.  Balaam was supposed to be a prophet for God way back when the Hebrews were leaving Egypt and entering the Promised Land, but he was really in business for himself and eventually led the Hebrews astray (Num. 31:16; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11).  The Nicolaitans were “Christians” who compromised their beliefs so they could justify taking advantage of sinful practices.  Jesus promised that those who did not get trapped by the teachings of these false believers would attain heavenly rewards.

Experience:

When He broke the third seal…I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.  And I heard a voice…saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.  Rev. 6:5, 6

During this time the church was growing rapidly as Christianity was replacing paganism.  But those who had infiltrated the church and who had the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans were intent on having the best of both worlds.  They believed in God and wanted eternal life, but they also wanted all the power and pleasures the world had to offer…even if it meant compromising their faith.  So here we see, in the history of God’s church, the beginning of the unifying of church and state, of religious and political (secular) powers.  The black color of the horse represents the spiritual darkness in which the church found itself, and the scales denote shared weight given to both the church (religion) and the state (politics).  Even though much of the Christian purity was being bartered away, the oil and the wine (see Appendix 2) was not damaged because there were still many faithful followers of Jesus who refused to go along with the corruption entering the church.