A look at the book of Revelation

[Raine]

Revelation 10

The Seventh Angel
The seventh angel cried with a loud voice that sounds like a lion's roar.  Then, 7 thunders utter their voices and John is instructed not to write what the 7 thunders say. Then, the angel swears by God, who lives for ever and is the creator of the heaven's, the earth and all that are in both the heaven and the earth that there should be no more time.  John further explains that in the days of the 7th angel's sound that "time" as we know it is over and the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his prophets. This means that the word of God will be fulfilled and God's plan for the redepmtion of man will be complete.

The Little Black Book
John is then told to take the little black book from the angel and to eat it. He is told it will be sweet in his mouth and bitter in his stomache. John is given this book to eat so that he can prophesy the words of God before many peoples, nations, languages, and kings. This is not the only time where God had a prophet eat a book/scroll so that they could prophesy God's message. In Ezekiel 3:1-4, Ezekiel is given a scroll to eat that like John is sweet in his mouth and that will go into his belly so that he can take a message from God to the house of Israel.

[Raine]

Revelation 11  (The Second Woe)

The temple and the court
John is given a rod and told to measure the temple of God, the altar and those that are within the temple but not to measure the court outside of the temple because it would be given to the Gentiles (peoples of the world), who will trample the holy city (Jerusalem) under their feet for 3.5 years.  (Revelation 11:1-2)

The 2 witnesses
1260 day period
God is going to send 2 witnesses that will prophecy for 1260 days, not quite 3.5 years, clothed in sackcloth.  They are described as being like 2 olive trees or 2 candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. No one will be able to hurt them during this time period of their prophecy. They will be given power to devour/kill with fire that will come out of their mouths anyone that tries to hurt them. They will also given the power to shut up the heavens so there will be no rain in the days of their prophecies, to turn waters into blood, to strike the world with plagues as often as they want to do so during the period of their prophecy. (Revelation 11:3-6)

Events After the 1260 Day Period
When they have completed their testimony, the beast from the bottomless pit will wage war against them and kill them. Their bodies will lay in the streets of Jerusalem. We know that they will lie in Jerusalem because Revelation 11:8 says that the city in which they lay "spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified" (Revelation 11:8 ).

All the people of the world will see the bodies of the 2 witnesses and will let their bodies lie in the streets without burying them for 3.5 days. In fact, there will be celebrating throughout the world. Revelation 11:10 tells us that people will be "rejoicing over them, making merry and exchanging gifts" at the occasion of the 2 witnesses death.

Resurrection of the Witnesses
After 3.5 days of their bodies lying in the streets God will resurrect them from the dead and they will stand up. The world will see their resurrection and become afraid. Then God will audibly call them up to Heaven and they will ascend.

Within the same hour of their resurrection, there will be a great earthquake that will destroy/fell a 10th of the city of Jerusalem and result in the death of 7,000 people. Those that remain will be frightened and will glorify the God of Heaven. (Revelation 11:13)  This is the end of the Second Woe.

Speculation about the 2 witnesses
There has been a lot of speculation as to who the 2 witnesses might be. Elijah has been mentioned because God gave him the power to shut up the heavens and prevent rain. Also, he was taken to heaven in the chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:9-11), which has made some speculate he was hasn't "died" yet. Enoch has been mentioned for a similar reason being that the bible says that he walked with God and was not because God took him (Genesis 5:22-24).  Moses is also mentioned because God gave him the power to put forth the plagues on the land of Egypt and to turn water into blood in Egypt.(Exodus 5-12). The simply truth is that we do not know who the witnesses will be. God will reveal that in His perfect time. We should instead focus on living from Him and being ready for his return (Luke 21:36).

The Third Woe Begins
The 7th angel will sound his horn. Great voices in Heaven said, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever"(Revelation 11:15).  

The the four and twenty elders that sit before God will fall upon their faces before God and worship Him saying , "We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:17-18). As mentioned in Chapter 9, the mystery of God's redemption of man is coming to an end. The judgment of God is coming on all. The servants of God and His saints will be rewarded and those that destroy the earth will be destroyed.

The ark of His Testament
The final verse of the chapter states that the temple of God in Heaven is opened and the ark of His testament is seen. There is some speculation that this ark refers to the Ark of the Covenant, which hasn't been seen on the earth in many years. We don't know for sure that this is indeed referring to the Ark of the Covenant but we know that God reveals everything in His perfect time.

After the ark is revealed, there will be lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

[Raine]

Revelation 12 - The third woe/7th trumpet

*Note: With all prophecy, we are to pray and seek God's guidance on what He is telling us.

Who is the lady
There are several different view points on who the woman described in Revelation 12 may be. Some believe that this is the church of Christ Jesus and that this chapter is speaking about events that have already happened in the history of the church. For example, when the woman is hid they believe this is the time of persecution prior to the reformation. Others believe that this is describing Mary the Mother of Jesus and still others believe this is referring to Israel.

Let's take a few minutes and examine the details of the passage.

Context
If we read in the context of Revelation, we ended chapter 11 with the beginning of the third woe. Therefore, this passage is supposed to explain/ tell us the 3rd woe. The third woe has not yet occurred.

Satan kicked out of Heaven
Revelation 12:7-12 references the fact that Satan has access to God the Father and accuses Saints before God. This is validated in Job 1:5-12 where Satan arrives before God and accuses Job and asks for the ability to try him. This is also validated again in Luke 22:31-32, when Satan asks to be able to "sift"/try Peter, which occurs right before Peter denies the Lord Jesus 3 times. The significance of these 2 references is that before the Lord Jesus came to earth, Satan had access to go before God and accuse the Saints (Job). Also,while the Lord Jesus was still on earth, Satan had access to go before God and accuse the saints (Peter). Therefore, the great war in which Satan was kicked out of Heaven so that he no longer had access to God had to occur after the accension of Jesus, which is validated by Revelation 12:5 that states that the the woman's child was caught up unto God, which occurs prior to the war in Heaven referenced in Revelation 12:7-9.

Gives Birth to the Messaiah
According to Revelation 12:1-5, she was pregnant and delivered a son that was to rule all nations with the rod of iron and her child was caught up unto God. Most agree that this is a reference to Christ Jesus our Lord. The Lord Jesus was born of this woman's lineage.

The church/ body of Christ did not give birth to Jesus, meaning He didn't come from out of our lineage but instead the church was born again through Christ Jesus. Therefore, this information narrows the scope of who the woman could be significantly: Mary or Israel.

5And 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. Revelation 12:5

Satan makes war against her seed
In Revelation 12:14-17, Satan makes war against the remenant of the woman's seed,which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

This passage doesn't align with Mary. It doesn't make sense that Satan would go after Mary's family nor is there any special passages regarding Mary's family/lineage within the rest of Revelations. There is also no reference to Satan going after Mary to persecute or God hiding her in the wilderness for about 3.5 years. The context in which Mary is presented in the gospels does not elevate her to this level of importance that would be required if she were the woman of Revelation 12.

This passage does align with Israel. The 144,000 that God sealed in Revelation 7 are from Israel and servants of God. They are 12,000 each from the 12 tribes of Israel.  

The woman in Revelation 12 is Israel.


Who is the beast
The beast in Revelation 12:3 is identified in Revelation 12:9 as Satan.

The birth of the Messaiah (Revelation 12:1-5)
The Lord Jesus was born into the world through the lineage of Israel. Satan tried to destroy Jesus when he was born through Herod's killing all of the baby borns under 2 years of age (Matthew 2:1-19)

War in Heaven - (Revelation 12:6-12)
A war will occur in Heaven and Satan will lose and be cast out of Heaven. He will no longer be able to accuse the saints before God.

After being cast into the earth, Satan will try to persecute Israel but God has prepared a place for Israel to be hidden and protected for 1260 days or about 3.5 years (Revelation 12:6,14-16). Satan will make war against the servants of God that remain.


Check out Matthew 24 and Daniel 9, which talk about the abomination of the desolation. Below is a link to a post about Daniel 9.
http://www.wordoffaithforum.com/index.php/topic,329.msg1993.html#msg1993

[Raine]

Revelation 13 – The rise of the 2 Beasts (The Revamped Roman Empire, the Antichrist and the False Prophet)

The First Beast – the Second Roman Empire and the antichrist
Most bible scholars agree that the beast with ten horns mentioned in Revelation 13 is also mentioned in Daniel 7 and in Revelation 17. This beast refers to a new Roman Empire (see Daniel 7.  Here is a post about the book of Daniel http://www.wordoffaithforum.com/index.php/topic,329.0.html).  This empire will rise and the dragon (Satan – See Revelation 12) will give this empire its power and authority.

1And 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.  2And 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.

There is a good deal of speculation as to whether verse 3 means the antichrist will be wounded and “Miraculously” healed. This could also refer to the wound mentioned in Daniel 7 to the beast which removed 3 kings in order to allow the antichrist to come into power. Many bible scholars believe this wound to the head refers to the antichrist, which seems to align with Revelation 13:14. The people of the word will worship the dragon (Satan) and the beast (antichrist).

3And 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.  4And 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?

The mouth speaking great things in verse 5 is also referred to as the little horn in Daniel 7, which is the antichrist. The antichrist will speak great things and blaspheme God.  He will be allowed to continue 42 months or about 3.5 years. This time period is referred to by many as the great tribulation and is referenced in Daniel 8 with the abomination of the desolation being the beginning of the 42 month period during which the saints of God left on the earth will be persecuted and murdered by the antichrist.  Anyone whose name is not written in the book of life of the from the Lamb slain foundation of the world (The Lord Jesus Christ) will worship the antichrist.
5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.  6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.  7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.  8And 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.

The scripture gives us an important warning by telling us that if we have ears then we should listen to the warning: whoever leads into captivity will go into captivity and whoever kills with the sword will be killed with the sword. Here is the patience of the saints.
[/color] 9If any man have an ear, let him hear.  10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. [/color]


The second beast – the false prophet
A second beast that looks like a lamb but speaks as a dragon will arise.  The significance of this statement is that Jesus is the Lamb that was slain but this beast will only have the appearance of goodness for it will speak like the dragon (Satan). Most bible scholars refer to this second beast as the false prophet.  The false prophet will exercise all of the power of the first beast (AntiChrist). He will even perform great “wonders” that will be used to deceive those on the earth so that they will make an image of the antichrist. He will give life to the image of the beast (antichrist) so that it will both speak and cause anyone that refuses to worship the image to be killed.  He will also cause everyone to receive a mark in their right hand or forehead. Anyone who doesn’t have the mark will bnot be able buy or sell.  This mark is referred to as the mark of the beast mark of the beast which will be either the mark of the beast, the name of the beast or the number of the name of the beast.  The number of the beast is 666 and it is the number of a man (ie the antichrist).

11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.  12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.  13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,  14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.  15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.  16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:  17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.  18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.