For a year and a half I taught the Book of Revelation
to the midweek crowds of the Miller Road Baptist Church
in Garland, Texas. This study was begun in 1953. Hundreds
of the people asked that the notes of this study be
published. After some deliberation and prayer, we felt
led to publish them. For years these notes have been
sold under the title of RICHES FROM REVELATION. Now
re-edited, re-named, and re-bound, we prayerfully submit
them again for your study.
During this study the crowd at the Miller Road Baptist
Church midweek service grew from 21 to an average of
625. This is not by any means a scholarly study; it
is simply a compilation of the actual notes that were
used in the aforementioned series. It is for the layman
and not the theologian.
It would be a definite help to you if you would read
the passages discussed from the Bible as you study,
bearing in mind as you read that these sermon notes
were used to teach the laymen the basic truths of the
Revelation.
May the study of the Revelation truly be as the name
implies-an unveiling of the truths found in this wonderful
book.
Jack Hyles, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Hammond, Indiana
Chapter 1 - REASONS SOME OPPOSE THE STUDY OF REVELATION:
SOME SAY THAT REVELATION CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD.
If this be true, then the Holy Spirit is falling down
on His job to reveal the truth of the Scripture.
OTHERS SAY THAT THEY WILL LEAVE OFF REVELATION AND
SIMPLY PREACH THE GOSPEL. God has charged us to preach
the Word. Revelation is part of that Word.
SOME HAVE SAID JOHN WAS AN OLD MAN WHEN HE WROTE REVELATION
AND WAS MENTALLY WEAK. Anyone who will say this denies
the inspiration of a portion of the Bible and is of
his father, the Devil.
SOME SAY THAT SINCE REVELATION WAS WRITTEN IN A TIME
OF DANGER FOR CHRISTIANS JOHN HAD TO WRITE COMPLETELY
IN SYMBOLS SO AS NOT TO BE PERSECUTED. Revelation was
written in the same decade and by the same man as First,
Second, and Third John. Why, then, were they not also
written in symbols?
STILL OTHERS SAY THAT IT IS TOO DEEP FOR THEM. The
only reason for the Bible being too deep for anybody
is found in I Corinthians 2:14. DATE OF THE BOOK....96
A.D.
Author (writer)...THE APOSTLE JOHN, who was alone on
the Island of Patmos.
INTRODUCTION: Revelation 1:1-3.
Verse 1:
"THE REVELATION" The word means: unveiling,
uncovering, presentation, appearing, coming (as in a
great performance when the curtain is pulled and the
star is unveiled). The same word was used when Paul
saw Jesus on the Damascus Road. This Book, above all,
shows the Lord Jesus Christ and reveals Him to us. Hence,
one who does not know Revelation cannot know Jesus as
he should. What a shame that so many are so ignorant
concerning this wonderful Book.
"WHICH GOD GAVE UNTO HIM." This probably
means that God has given His Son the glory of the coming
Revelation because of the suffering that He endured.
He shall avenge His death on the cross when He comes
in His glory.
The word "servants" means literally, "bondservants."
A bondservant was one who had completed his time as
a slave, but out of love for his master had volunteered
to continue to be a servant. This is the kind of servant
God wants.
"Shortly" in this verse means "speedily"
or "surely." In other words there is no doubt
that the things written in this Book will come to pass.
You will note that this message was given to John by
an angel. Read Revelation 22:9. Some think that this
teaches that this particular heavenly messenger was
one of the Old Testament prophets. This may be true.
We find the writer in this verse. It was John, the
apostle. We will find in verse 2 which John it was speaking
of in verse 1.
Verse 2:
This verse says that the John verse 1 mentions is the
one who bore record that Jesus was the WORD, and wrote
that Jesus was the Son of God. Read John 1:1 and John
20:31 and you will see that it was the same John who
wrote both books.
Verse 3:
Notice that God promises a blessing to those who study
Revelation. Let us notice whom He promises to bless:
Those who read. Those who hear. Those who keep. ("Keep"
means "to guard with care." So you can see
that God will bless anyone who will observe or study
Revelation.)
You will notice also we are to study these things
because "the time is at hand." It is always
at hand. In other words, it could happen any minute.
We are to WATCH at all times because it could be today.
The word "blessed" in this verse means happy,
contented, etc. The reason is that those who are looking
for Jesus to come are the happiest people in all the
world. Communism, atomic bombs, wars, etc., cannot keep
the person from being happy who is looking up every
day for the return of the King. God also seems to abundantly
bless the churches who believe and study Revelation.
Note: Let us notice again the meaning of the word,
"Revelation." It is called in the Greek the
"Apocalypse." This word means to manifest
or reveal. Its twin word "Apocrypha" means
to conceal or hide. From these two words we have the
true meaning of the Book: "TO REVEAL THAT WHICH
HAD BEEN HIDDEN."
SALUTATION: Revelation 1:4-8.
Verse 4:
In these verses John is greeting the churches to whom
he is writing. There were many things wrong with the
churches and yet John takes time to greet them in a
courteous way. There is a lesson here, real Christianity
is courteous. To be unfriendly and curt is not Christian.
Notice that John was writing to seven churches. Seven
is God’s number of completion. So He is writing
it to all churches. It isn’t nice not to read your
mail, so for a church to leave off Revelation is a breach
of good manner. (Numbers have significant meaning in
the Bible. For example, one is the number of beginnings;
two is the number of separation; three is the number
of the Trinity; four is the earth’s number; six
is man’s number; seven is God’s number of
completion; eight is the number of new beginning; ten
is the number of testing, etc.)
It was written to churches. These were young churches.
Nowadays, people say that Revelation is too hard for
us to understand, yet the Book was written to young
churches.
Note that he says, "GRACE BE UNTO YOU AND PEACE"
It was the custom of the Jews to greet each other with
the phrase, "Peace be unto you." John went
a step further and added grace to that because there
can be no real peace unless there has been grace for
our sins first. In other words, a person who has never
been saved cannot know true peace.
AND FROM THE SEVEN SPIRITS. Remember that seven is
God’s perfect number of completeness. To find the
real meaning of the seven spirits, read Isaiah 11:2.
Verse 5:
"AND FROM JESUS CHRIST." Think of it. A letter
from One so important as Jesus Christ.
"WHO IS THE FAITHFUL WITNESS." I believe
that this means that Jesus is our legal witness before
God. In a trial there is always the " key witness."
When we stand before God, Jesus will say that He witnessed
our conversion experience, and will be our witness.
Notice the word " prince." It should be "
ruler." He is the King of kings and is going to
reign someday on the earth for one thousand blessed
years.
"UNTO HIM THAT LOVED US" should be "
Unto him that loves us." Not only did He love us
enough to die for us, but He loves us now as much as
ever. His love never grows stale.
"AND WASHED US" can also be rendered "
And freed us." He untied our chains, and has freed
us from the bondage of sin.
Verse 6:
"AND HATH MADE US KINGS" is better translated,
" And hath made us a kingdom of priests."
We are to be a kingdom when Jesus comes. John here is
looking forward to the one thousand years of peace that
Christ will bring with Him when He comes.
"TO HIM BE GLORY." The thought of the coming
King thrilled John, so he says, " Glory to God."
"AMEN." The word means," Let it be done."
John says that he likes what he sees and is anxious
for it to happen. Are you anxious for the King to come?
Verse 7:
"BEHOLD, HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS." Verse 6 can
only take place when verse 7 takes place. Jesus must
come before the Kingdom can come. Some believe that
we can bring in a kingdom of peace and then Jesus will
come. There will be no kingdom until the King comes.
"BEHOLD" means " look." John was
probably carried away and shouted, " Look, He cometh."
"WITH CLOUDS." His throne shall be the clouds.
Have you ever been above the clouds and looked down?
What a beautiful picture that shall be when Jesus comes
with the clouds.
"ALL KINDRED OF THE EARTH SHALL WAIL." Why?
Because when He comes here, we will be with Him, and
the people who will be on the earth for the most part
will be the lost who have been in the Great Tribulation.
They are Christ rejectors and have a right to mourn.
"EVEN SO, AMEN." This means " Yes, let
it happen." John had to say " Amen" every
once in a while. He couldn’t wait. He was looking
for Jesus to come at any moment.
Verse 8:
"I AM THE ALPHA AND OMEGA." These are the
first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. It
is like saying, "I am the A to Z." Jesus is
everything. He meets every need. A little boy said,"The
Lord is my Shepherd and that’s all I want."
"THE ALMIGHTY." Read Isaiah 9:6. Note: In
concluding the salutation, let us go back to verse 7
and the "Even so, amen." It teaches at least
two important things:
An affirmation of the fact that these things shall
take place. An expression of joy by John because of
the thought that Jesus is coming. JOHN’S VISION
OF JESUS: Revelation 1:9-20.
"JOHN." Notice the simple title, "John."
He used no high sounding titles to impress.
"WHO ALSO AM YOUR BROTHER. " John would rather
be called "brother. " To be called "brother
"is the highest title that one Christian can give
another.
"AND COMPANION. " "Companion "really
means "co-laborer. " John put himself on the
plain level. He did not want to be high and above the
layman. God does not intend in this age for the preacher
to dress higher or think of himself higher than the
laymen.
"IN TRIBULATION, AND IN THE KINGDOM. " John
could not get his mind off the Kingdom that Jesus was
going to establish. He was exiled on a lonely, barren
island, but he did not complain. He found joy in thinking
of the coming Kingdom.
"AND PATIENCE OF JESUS CHRIST. " The literal
translation is, "The patient waiting for Jesus
Christ. " The Bible teaches that often the saints
in Heaven say, "How much longer, Lord? " We
should be praying the prayer, "Even so, come, Lord
Jesus. "
"WAS IN THE ISLE THAT IS CALLED PATMOS, FOR THE
WORD OF GOD AND FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST. "
John tells here why he was on the Isle: 1. For the Word
of the Lord (because he dared preach the Word). 2. Because
he testified for Jesus. Many preachers are almost exiled
today who preach the Word as it is.
Verse 10:
"I WAS IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD’S DAY. "
The word "was "is translated "became.
"
"AND HEARD BEHIND ME A GREAT VOICE, AS OF A TRUMPET.
" When God speaks of the last days, He often makes
mention of a trumpet. When Jesus comes, He will come
with the sound of a trumpet. Oh, to be in the Spirit
at the sound of the trumpet.
The next thing on God’s timetable is the trumpet.
The blowing of the trumpet means two things:
Get up in the morning (resurrection) Assemble (rapture)
Verse 11:
This verse deals with the letters being sent to the
seven churches. John sent them their orders. Notice
that they were orders from God. Let us be careful that
we take our orders only from Him.
Verse 12:
"AND I TURNED TO SEE THE VOICE. " This is
Jesus. Note John 1:1 and Genesis 3:8. "I SAW SEVEN
GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS. " Read verse 20 for the key
to this.
Verse 13:
Notice who is in the middle of the churches. It was
the job of the high priest to keep the candlestick of
the Tabernacle in order. So it is the job of our High
Priest to keep His churches in order.
Verse 14-16:
LOOK AT JESUS.
Hair like snow (purest thing in all the world). Eyes
as a flame of fire. Feet like fine brass. Countenance
as the sun. WHAT A PICTURE!! John saw Jesus. Someday
we shall see Him too.
In verse 16 read, ‘AND HE HAD IN HIS RIGHT HAND
SEVEN STARS. " For the key to this read verse 20.
Angel means messenger. It probably referred to the pastors.
What a joy to know that Jesus holds His preachers in
His right hand.
Verse 17:
Tells us what John did when he saw Jesus. Jesus answered
"FEAR NOT. " To those of us who know Jesus
we need not fear His coming, as He is coming to reward
us.
Verse 18:
"FOR EVERMORE "means "Into the ages upon
ages, "not "through, "but "into.
"
Verse 19:
This is the outline verse of the Book.
Things which thou has seen. (Chapter 1) Things which
are. (Chapters 2 and 3) Things which shall be hereafter.
(Chapters 4 through 22)
Chapter 2 - THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS:
Verse 1:
"UNTO THE ANGEL." The word "angel "means
"messenger." Probably this pertained to the
pastor of the church. Why do you suppose that Jesus
was writing to the pastor? It was probably because no
church can rise any higher than its pastor. The same
is true with a Sunday School class or any organization.
The class will rise no higher than its leaders.
"OF THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS." "Ephesus
"means "love. " This is the greatest
need of every church. How would you like for Jesus to
come back and find you and a fellow church member at
variance? "I don’t like her, " "She
did it first, "and "I just can’t stand
him "are not words of the true child of God.
"THESE THINGS SAITH HE THAT HOLDETH THE SEVEN
STARS IN HIS RIGHT HAND." Read verse 20 of chapter
one for the explanation. The stars are the messengers
or pastors. Thank God He holds us in His right hand.
Read John 10:27-30.
"WHO WALKETH IN THE MIDST OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN
CANDLESTICKS." In 1:20 you find that the candlesticks
are the churches. So you see that Jesus walks in the
midst of the churches. Imagine Him walking in may of
our present-day churches.
Verse 2:
"I KNOW THY WORKS, AND THEY LABOUR. " It was
a working church. Thank God for churches that work.
On the other hand there are many churches that are working
who are not yet satisfying the Lord Jesus. This church
could get many men to come to help work on the building;
they could get ladies to cook and sew for the needy;
they could get a large crowd at the Worker’s Conference,
and yet they were not working for Jesus. There is a
difference in church work and Jesus work.
"AND HOW THOU CANST NOT BEAR THEM WHICH ARE EVIL.
" This church hated sin. How we need churches today
who hate sin and fight it. Sam Jones used to say that
when he first started preaching he was afraid that he
would make somebody man, and that later on he was afraid
that he wouldn’t make anybody mad.
"AND THOU HAST TRIED THEM WHICH SAY THEY ARE APOSTLES,
AND ARE NOT, AND HAST FOUND THEM LIARS. " This
church was sound in the faith. Yet God was not pleased
with it. Lots of folks are sound on baptism but are
not baptizing anybody.
Lots of folks are sound on soul winning but are not
winning anybody.
Let’s get our doctrine on fire for God.
Verse 3:
This verse probably means that they had borne reproach
for Jesus’ Name. His name has never been popular
in this world. To be a real church means bearing His
reproach. When a church really gets down to business
for God, there is going to be a certain stigma about
it. Thank God for the privilege of bearing reproach
for Jesus.
Verse 4:
In this verse Jesus says the bad things that He has
to say about the church. Notice that He says everything
good first before he mentions a single bad thing. Wouldn’t
this be a wonderful world if we would do the same thing?
"THOU HAST LEFT THY FIRST LOVE. " Much like
newlyweds whose love lessens with the years, often churches
lose their first love. Let us always keep the sweet,
pure love of our honeymoon with Jesus!
Verse 5:
"REMEMBER THEREFORE FROM WHENCE THOU ART FALLEN,
AND REPENT." Repent means "to turn around."
What Jesus is saying is to get back on your honeymoon.
Suppose a married couple could regain the sweet love
they had when they first married, wouldn’t it be
wonderful?
"AND DO THE FIRST WORKS." What are the first
works of a new Christian? Telling somebody else about
Jesus, of course. Let us get back to it.
"OR ELSE I WILL COME UNTO THEE QUICKLY."
Jesus tells them that He wants to find them winning
souls when He comes again. Oh, to be pleasing Him when
He comes.
"AND WILL REMOVE THY CANDLESTICK. " The candlestick
in 1:20 is the church. Some churches have ceased to
be real churches because they left soul winning and
Jesus removed their power. Let us guard the power that
we have lest we find ourselves without our candlestick.
Verse 6:
Note the word "Nicolaitanes. " It means to
"rule the people. " God does not expect a
church to be ruled by anyone. It is a spiritual democracy.
A true New Testament church has no place for bishops,
popes, etc. We take our orders only from God.
Verse 7:
"HE THAT HATH AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT
SAITH UNTO THE CHURCHES. " It means a spiritual
ear. In other words, "you who are spiritual, hear
these things. "
THE TREE OF LIFE is for the healing of the nation as
mentioned in Revelation 22:2. Thank God for the provisions
He has made for His own.
THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA:
Verse 8:
"AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN SMYRNA WRITE.
" The word "Smyrna "is the same word
for "myrrh, " which was a sweet smelling perfume.
This church was a fragrance to the Lord. They were willing
to suffer for Jesus.
"THESE THINGS SAITH THE FIRST. " That forever
settles the possibility of evolution. Jesus was first
and made man from dust.
"AND THE LAST. " That settles what is going
to happen in the future. When all else is gone, Jesus
will be here. This is a day when everyone seems to be
worrying about the future. I do not know what the future
hold, but I know that Jesus holds the future.
"WHICH WAS DEAD, AND IS ALIVE. " This is
a encouragement to the suffering people at Smyrna. They
were facing death for Jesus. He reminds them that He
rose from the grave and that they will too. Jesus was
saying, "They killed me too, Smyrna, but I got
up again. "
Verse 9:
"I KNOW THY WORKS, AND TRIBULATION, AND POVERTY.
" They did not have a lovely building to draw folks.
They had no carpets, no stained glass windows, no rich
members, no prestige in the community, but they had
the approval of God.
"(BUT THOU ART RICH). " They were rich in
things that money cannot buy. You cannot buy the power
of God or spirit of unity among the church members.
I know many churches who would gladly trade big buildings
for a sweet spirit.
"WHICH SAY THEY ARE JEWS, AND ARE NOT. "
Could this apply to the folks who say that all Anglo-Saxons
are Jews (or the real Israel)?
"BUT ARE THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN. " "Synagogue
"means "gathering together. " The word
"church "means "called out. " We
have too many gatherings today where the people have
never been called out. The Devil has his churches. A
church that does not teach salvation by grace, the blood
of Jesus, etc., is a church of the Devil.
Verse 10:
"BE THOU FAITHFUL. " What a command. The one
thing God wants from His churches is faithfulness.
"FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH, AND I WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN
OF LIFE. " This has nothing to do with salvation.
It simply refers to rewards. God is going to give a
special crown to the faithful. Will you get one?
Verse 11:
"SHALL NOT BE HURT OF THE SECOND DEATH "can
be translated to this: "is not about to go to the
lake of fire. " Read Revelation 20:14.
THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT PERGAMOS:
Verse 12:
The word "Pergamos "means "marriage.
"
"THESE THINGS SAITH HE WHICH HATH THE SHARP SWORD
WITH TWO EDGES. " This sword is the Word of God,
as taught in Ephesians 6:17. This shows us that Jesus
is bringing judgment upon the church at Pergamos. When
a person is cut he cries. The same is true with a church
that is cold and indifferent. When someone preaches
the Gospel to them, they cry like babies.
Verse 13:
"I KNOW...WHERE THOU DWELLEST, EVEN WHERE SATAN’S
SEAT IS. " The word "seat "should be
translated "throne. " This church was living
where Satan’s throne was. Where is Satan’s
throne? Read II Corinthians 4:4 and John 12:31. Satan’s
throne is in the world. Occasionally someone says, "God
is on the throne of this world. " THAT IS NOT SO.
The god of this world is Satan himself.
From this, we find that this was a worldly church.
Isn’t that a picture of the churches in many places
today? Many have gone out of the soul-saving business
into a recreation business. We have brought dances,
card games, movies, pool tables, etc., right into the
church house. God take us back to the business of winning
souls to Jesus and get us out of the world. The drawing
card of church is Jesus. That’s enough.
"AND THOU HOLDEST FAST MY NAME. " They believed
that Jesus was God’s son. There are some among
us who deny that Jesus is the Son of God. There are
preachers who do not believe that Jesus is God’s
Son. Yet this is not our greatest danger. Our greatest
danger lies in the same place as that of Pergamos. Though
we are fundamentally sound, we are getting more worldly
by the day.
"AND HAST NOT DENIED MY FAITH. " They were
straight on the plan of salvation. They did not believe
that works were essential to being saved. They were
straight on that and yet they were worldly. Brother,
what you believe will not do you a big of good if it
does not change your life.
"EVEN IN THOSE DAYS WHEREIN ANTIPAS WAS MY FAITHFUL
MARTYR, WHO WAS SLAIN AMONG YOU, WHERE SATAN DWELLETH.
" The word "martyr "means "witness.
" Thank God for those who are willing to witness
for Jesus.
Verse 14:
BUT I HAVE A FEW THINGS AGAINST THEE, BECAUSE THOU HAST
THERE THEM THAT HOLD THE DOCTRINE OF BALAAM. "
Read Numbers 22 and Numbers 31:36 for the story of Balaam:
Note these facts about Balaam:
He would not go to wicked King Balak in order to gain
money for himself, but to please him he did go to him
when God had forbidden him. He was a popularity seeker.
He caused the Israelites to intermarry and to tolerate
idolatry. Since "Pergamos "means marriage,
then could we not say that this doctrine was tied in
with the fact that the members of this church were married
to the world, where Satan dwelleth?
Verse 16:
What God says in this verse could be translated thusly:
"Get out of the world before I come. I don’t
want to find you in the world when I come again. "
Verse 17:
"TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I GIVE TO EAT OF THE
HIDDEN MANNA. " The spiritual interpretation is
this: God has hidden truths to teach us, but he will
not let us understand them if we are living in the world.
When we come out of the world, God lets us understand
the hidden truths of His Word.
"AND WILL GIVE HIM A WHITE STONE, AND IN THE STONE
A NEW NAME WRITTEN. " Praise God, He will engrave
my name in Heaven. My name is in the Book of Life right
now. Is yours?
"WHICH NO MAN KNOWETH SAVING HE THAT RECEIVETH
IT. " No man knows your condition before God right
now save you. Would you search your heart and find if
you are right with God?
THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT THYATIRA:
Verse 18:
"THESE THINGS SAITH THE SON OF GOD. " If man
had said these things, he would certainly have been
criticized, so God reminds us that these things were
said by Jesus. Bible preaching is hard preaching. When
we preach the truth of Jesus, we must say some hard
things and yet we must always say them in a tender spirit
of love, as a parent who finds it necessary to punish
a child.
"WHO HATH HIS EYES LIKE UNTO A FLAME OF FIRE,
AND HIS FEET ARE LIKE FINE BRASS. " Brass is a
symbol of judgment. God may be reminding Thyatira that
certain judgment will come because of their sins.
Verse 19:
"I KNOW THEY WORKS, AND CHARITY [LOVE], AND SERVICE,
AND FAITH, AND THY PATIENCE. " Notice that all
of the good things that God said about this church are
positive things. They stood for some things but did
not stand against anything. Here was a church that did
many good things, but did not take a strong stand against
evil. Our Gospel is both positive and negative.
You will also notice that this church was rich in social
service. God did not commend them for soul winning.
His commendations were for social service. That is good,
but social service is not the main service of the New
Testament church. To build hospitals, schools, etc.,
is good, but they are second to the reaching of men
for Jesus. If we spent as much time doing soul service
as we do social service, God would be pleased.
"AND THY WORKS; AND THE LAST TO BE MORE THAN THE
FIRST. " Note that it was a growing church. Its
last works were more than the first ones. Growth is
not the only sign of a true church. In fact, it may
not be a sign at all. Big reports and added membership
are good, but not the sign of a real New Testament church.
Verse 20:
"NOTWITHSTANDING I HAVE A FEW THINGS AGAINST THEE,
BECAUSE THOU SUFFEREST THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL. " Notice
the word, "sufferest. " It means "to
allow. " This church allowed sin to creep in. It
did not judge sin and condemn it. It tolerated sin.
A person can live like he wants to in many churches
and never get his sins condemned.
Notice the woman, Jezebel. There was a wife of a wicked
king in the Old Testament named Jezebel. She dominated
her husband. Obviously, Jesus was calling some woman
in this church "a Jezebel. " Note these things
about this Jezebel: She was worldly. She was out of
her place Probably tried to run the church. Led in the
church when she should have taken the place of a woman
which the Bible says is to follow. It is believed that
she may have been the preacher’s wife. Women preacher
and bossy women are an abomination to God.
"TO TEACH AND TO SEDUCE MY SERVANTS TO COMMIT
FORNICATION. " "Seduce "means to "mislead.
" She shouldn’t have been allowed to teach
in this church. This church was just too sweet to make
the Devil mad.
"AND TO EAT THINGS SACRIFICED UNTO IDOLS. "
This was the eating of the lambs, etc., that had been
offered as a sacrifice to idols. It was not wrong in
itself, but was doubtful and not to be eaten (Romans
14). Churches need to be taught to abstain from doubtful
things.
Verse 21-22:
The rapture will not eve affect a church like this unless
she repents. It will be left here during the Great Tribulation
that is to come upon the earth after the true saints
have gone up to meet Jesus in the air. The tribulation
will last for seven years and will be a period of terrible
wars and events. Thank God! I’ll be with Jesus.
Will you?
Verse 23:
In this verse Jesus reminds us that He will judge every
church. We must stand the test before the judgment of
God, so we need to watch our churches that they stay
pure. Let us keep our program one of simply preaching,
praying, and teaching the Word of God.
Verse 24-25:
Jesus tells the real believers in this church to "Hold
Fast "until He comes. In these days of darkness
and apostasy, let us hold to the truth and look up for
Jesus to come.
Verses 26-28:
Look at those promises. God says that we will rule the
nations. This refers to the one thousand years reign
of peace upon the earth when we shall rule the earth
with Jesus. Read Revelation 20:1-6. I makes the load
lighter now when we realize that one day we will be
kings and priests and shall rule and reign with Jesus.
Notice that the morning is coming. It is spiritual
night now. It is hard to stand up for Jesus and live
the kind of life that God wants us to live, but morning
is coming when Jesus is on the throne.
Verse 29:
Let us hear what the Spirit says to the churches and
apply these teaching to our own church.
Chapter 3 - THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT SARDIS:
Verse 1:
"AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN SARDIS WRITE;
THESE THINGS SAITH HE THAT HATH THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF
GOD, AND THE SEVEN STARS. " You will notice in
chapter 1, verse 20, that the seven stars are the angels,
and the angels are the messengers or probably pastors.
Hence you will notice the close association here of
the Spirit and the pastors. We desperately need Spirit-filled
pastors today. When churches call a pastor, they ask
about his education, manners, personality, etc., but
the main thing is to be filled with the spirit.
"THOU HAST A NAME THAT THOU LIVEST, AND ART DEAD.
" What a pity. This church had a good name. They
turned in good reports. They had a fine reputation.
They baptized people. They grew, but they were dead.
Verse2:
"BE WATCHFUL. " One of the fastest ways to
wake up a dead church is to get the members to be watching
for Jesus to come. I do not know of a single dead church
that is looking for Jesus to come. The two just do not
go together. By the way, you cannot be very watchful
if you believe that the world must be converted before
Jesus can come.
"AND STRENGTHEN THE THINGS WHICH REMAIN, THAT
ARE READY TO DIE. " In other words, God is saying,
"Save the remains. " The remains of many a
church could be set on fire, and the church could be
revived. If this doesn’t happen, you might as well
have a funeral for the church and bury the remains.
"FOR I HAVE NOT FOUND THY WORKS PERFECT BEFORE
GOD. " The word "perfect " means "mature.
" In other words, the folks at this church were
not doing mature work for Jesus. mature works are: soul
winning, praying, preaching, and studying the Bible.
Why do we need to have so many new things for the folks
to do today when we haven’t done the ones God gave
us to do yet?
Verse 3:
"REMEMBER THEREFORE HOW THOU HAST RECEIVED AND
HEARD, AND HOLD FAST, AND REPENT. " This church
received the truth and had left it. God tells them to
hold on to what they had.
"IF THEREFORE THOU SHALT NOT WATCH, I WILL COME
ON THEE AS A THIEF, AND THOU SHALT NOT KNOW WHAT HOUR
I WILL COME UPON THEE. " What does a thief do?
He steals. The greatest "steal " will be when
Jesus steals us away and carries us into the skies.
Let us keep looking for Jesus every day lest He find
us not ready for His coming.
Verse 4:
"THOU HAST A FEW NAMES. ": There were just
a few left who loved God, who won souls, who came to
prayer meeting, and who loved the Word of God. I believe
that their greatest sin was staying in Sardis. I do
not believe that God would want one of His children
to freeze to death in a dead church, even if Grandma
did go there.
"EVEN IN SARDIS. " What a statement. Even
in Sardis there were some who loved God.
"AND THEY SHALL WALK WITH ME IN WHITE: FOR THEY
ARE WORTHY. " These are those who are going to
be stolen by Jesus. While the "dead " ones
are going through the tribulation, we will be walking
in white with Jesus.
Verse 5:
"AND I WILL NOT BLOT HIS NAME OUT OF THE BOOK OF
LIFE. " God has a book of the names of every man.
Those who fail to trust Him as Saviour are blotted out
of His book, but those of us who have been born again
are listed in His book.
"BUT I WILL CONFESS HIS NAME BEFORE MY FATHER,
AND BEFORE HIS ANGELS. " Thank God, Jesus is confessing
my name here tonight. He will confess you, too, if you
will confess Him before men.
THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT PHILADELPHIA:
Verse 7:
"AND TO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA
WRITE. " The word "Philadelphia " means
"brotherly love. " This was a church of believers
who loved each other. How refreshing in a day when so
many churches are splitting in two for lack of love.
Let’s keep loving each other. People who love God
can tell when they walk into a church if the people
love each other or not.
"HE THAT OPENTH, AND NO MAN SHUTTETH. " God
reminds them that if the door is to be left open, he
is the One who will do it. If souls constantly walk
the aisles, it is God who keeps the door open. Note
also that when God opens a door, no man can shut it.
Praise God! No human enemy can bother a church when
God keeps the door open.
"AND SHUTTETH, AND NO MAN OPENETH. " When
God so desires, He can withdraw His power from a church
and close the door. A man told me recently that his
church was growing and the folks were visiting, but
no one was walking the aisles. Brother, it is God alone
who can open and shut the door. Many a church has had
its doors shut and could not reopen them. The same is
true with denominations and individual Christians.
Verse 8:
"BEHOLD, I HAVE SET BEFORE THEE AN OPEN DOOR. "
This church had an open door. let us notice three reasons
why God had kept their door open:
They had a little strength. They had kept the Word
of God They had not denied the name of Jesus. The reason
that the doors of a spiritual power have been closed
to many churches is that they have ceased to believe
that the Bible is the Word of God. They do not preach
the Word anymore. They do not believe that Jesus is
the Son of God, that the blood is essential for salvation,
and other fundamental Bible truths. God have mercy on
this generation of so-called churches.
Verse 9:
Judging from verse 8, this church was a small church.
In this verse, Jesus promises that there shall be a
day when the false churches will have to fall down and
worship the true church and admit their error.
Verse 10:
The key word in this verse is "FROM. " It
means "out of. " We are to be kept out of
the hour of temptation that is going to come. What is
the hour of temptation? It is the Great Tribulation
that is going to last seven years, when Satan is turned
loose and the greatest of all wars, famines, etc., shall
take place. This verse teaches that all real churches
will be taken out of this period. We will be with Jesus
during this time. Praise God! Just as Noah was taken
out before the flood, we shall be taken out before the
Great Tribulation.
Note also the word "KEEP. " It means "guard.
" Jesus is guarding us from the coming tribulation.
Verse 11:
"BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY. " Why is He coming
quickly? To take them out of the tribulation.
‘THAT NO MAN TAKE THY CROWN. " "Take
" could be translated "receive. " What
crown? There is a crown to be given for loving the appearing
of Jesus. This church was to get that crown. Will you
get this one? Are you loving the appearing of Jesus?
Verse 12:
"PILLAR. " We may not have much strength here,
but we shall be pillars there. My, what bodies we shall
have, as strong as the pillars of the Temple of God.
"AND HE SHALL GO NO MORE OUT. " Vacations
end, week ends end, honeymoons end, but there will be
no leaving in Heaven. No good-byes.
"AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM THE NAME OF MY GOD.
" Read Revelation 22:4. We will be branded for
Jesus. Imagine. God’s name, Jesus’ name, the
name of the city of Heaven all written on us. Just as
cattlemen brand their cattle, so Jesus will have us
branded for Him.
Verse 13:
Let us hear what the Lord says and make our church like
the church at Philadelphia. Thank God for the true churches
left today even though they be few in number.
THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA:
Verse 14:
"AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH OF THE LAODICEANS
WRITE. " The word "Laodicea " means "please
the people. " Galatians 1:10 says that you cannot
please the people and God at the same time.
"THESE THINGS SAITH THE AMEN. " The word
"amen " means "So let it be " or
"it will be so. " Jesus is reminding the people
that His prophesies will transpire just as He had said
they would.
"THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS. " A witness
tells what he has seen. Jesus sees all that goes on
in our churches, and one day He will witness concerning
what He has seen.
Verse 15:
"COLD " is the same word that is used for
ice water. Isn’t that a pretty good description
of many churches?
The word "HOT " means "burning "
or "fervent. " Wouldn’t it be wonderful
if our churches were really on fire for God.
This sums up most of us - NEITHER COLD NOR HOT. In
other words, as spoken in the next verse, they were
lukewarm. Have you ever drunk coffee or a hot drink
that was nearly cool. Have you ever drunk iced tea when
it was nearly warm? How awful it tastes. How awful for
a child of God who is supposed to be on fire for God
to be lukewarm.
Did you know that lukewarmness sends more folks to
Hell than just about anything else? The world has more
respect for a drunkard in the gutter than for a Christian
who is half and half and lukewarm. How many times have
I heard a lost person hide behind a lukewarm Christian
and say "I am as good as he is. "
Verse 16:
"SPUE " means "vomit. " God says
that a lukewarm Christian makes Him want to vomit. "Well...I’m
not so bad "... "I’m sort of lukewarm
" are the comments of many that I visit. God says
they are vomit.
What does the doctor give someone when he wants him
to vomit? Lukewarm water is the answer.
Verse 17:
Notice in the first part of the verse what the church
said about itself. They had beautiful furnishings, prestige,
and were self-satisfied.
Note what God says about them:
Poor. They were just the opposite of Smyrna. Naked.
Laodicea was one of the most fashionable cities of that
day. Yet God said they were naked. Blind. (Nearsighted.)
They were blind to souls, missions, etc. Imagine (if
you can) this letter being read at the Sunday morning
worship hour at Laodicea. Can’t you just see the
anger on faces of aristocrats?
Verse 18:
Notice that there was hope for this church. Many a cold,
dead church has been set on fire for God. Many a preacher
has been set on fire for God, such as Wesley, William
Booth, Luther, and others.
Note the prescription that God gave them: Eyesalve.
Eyesalve first hurts, then blinds, then heals.
Verse 19:
"AS MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN. "
The parent who doesn’t spank his child doesn’t
love him. A preacher who will not stand against the
sins of his people doesn’t love them. God shows
us His love by chastening us.
"BE ZEALOUS THEREFORE, AND REPENT. " In other
words, get on fire for God.
Verse 20:
"BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR, AND KNOCK. "
This really should be interpreted "Behold, I am
taking My stand at the door. " Jesus stands outside
the door of cold, lukewarm churches. He is always there
asking for admission. What a pity.
"IF ANY MAN HEAR MY VOICE. " Just one person
can turn the tide sometimes. If just one person would
get on fire, many churches would get on fire.
Notice He will "SUP " with us. Supper is
the evening meal. When the church is so worldly as this
it is a sign that the morning when Christ is coming
is near. Supper is at night. What a joy in a world of
night to sup with Jesus.
Verse 21:
He is speaking about the Millennium here when we shall
reign with Jesus upon the earth. We shall have the same
relationship to Him then as He has to the Father now.
We are now through with the study of the churches.
What have we gained? Is it going to make our a better
church for Jesus? Go over the seven churches and pick
out one good thing that we should have from all and
one bad thing that we should avoid. God help our churches
to be one hundred per cent New Testament churches.
Chapter 4 - THE RAPTURE
Of course, as you will recall, "rapture "
means "caught away. " It refers to the event
when Jesus comes in the air and calls away His own from
this world. It is the next event on God’s prophetic
program.
Verse 1:
"AFTER THIS. " This is better interpreted,
"After these things. " What things? It means
after the church age. When Jesus comes to call us out
of this world, the church age ceases, as the church
will be with Jesus. So then we will not be caught out
until the church age is completed. The rapture will
mark the end of the church age.
"I LOOKED, AND BEHOLD. " The word "behold
" means "look. " So John said, "Look,
" when he saw what God had prepared for us. John
was like a child in a circus as he saw all that was
ahead for himself.
"A DOOR WAS OPENED IN HEAVEN. " That door
is Jesus (John 10:9). He is the only door to Heaven.
Our job is to tell people to look to the door that is
open to Heaven, or to the Lord Jesus Christ.
"AND THE FIRST VOICE WHICH I HEARD WAS AS IT WERE
OF A TRUMPET. " This proves that this verse speaks
of the rapture as it fits in perfectly with I Thessalonians
4:16 and I Corinthians 15:52. We who are looking for
Jesus are simply awaiting the sound of the trumpet now.
"WHICH SAID, COME UP HITHER. " Here is the
even that we call the rapture. Here the church is caught
out of the world and we do not find the word church
mentioned again in Revelation until all has been fulfilled.
Some day Jesus will open up Heaven and say, "Come
up hither. " The time of the Great Tribulation
is going to come upon the earth. The Lord seems to be
saying to His own that He does not want them to have
to go through such an hour, so He calls them out of
that period.
Verse 2:
"AND IMMEDIATELY [in the twinkling of an eye] I
WAS IN THE SPIRIT. " It is the Holy Spirit who
will call us out. He alone has the power to rapture
us. Those who do not have Him in their hearts by being
born again will not be caught away at the rapture.
Notice in the remainder of this verse whom we shall
see at once. We will see a great throne and Jesus on
the throne. He is the first one the real Christian wants
to see.
Verse 3:
"AND HE THAT SAT WAS TO LOOK UPON LIKE A JASPER
AND A SARDINE STONE. "
Jasper is a symbol of wisdom. Could it mean that it
is wise to be ready for His coming? How foolish for
a person to be lost as we see the time approaching.
Sardine is a symbol of marital happiness. That is exactly
why He is coming. We are going to be married and live
with our Bridegroom forever.
"AND THERE WAS A RAINBOW ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE,
IN SIGHT LIKE UNTO AN EMERALD. "
The rainbow is a symbol of Calvary. It is a promise
by God not to judge again that which has already been
judged. The rainbow in Heaven will remind us that we
will never have to suffer the sorrow and pains of this
world again. It will be a constant reminder that we
are in heavenly bodies to stay.
Emerald is a symbol of discovering false friends. You
can rest assured that all of the false friends of Jesus
will be discovered at the rapture. When the saints are
gone, those who are left can’t fool anybody any
more about their salvation.
Verse 4:
"AND ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE WERE FOUR AND TWENTY
SEATS. " The word "seats " is better
translated "throne. "
"AND UPON THE SEATS I SAW FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS.
" These elders represent every New Testament Christian.
In Old Testament days there were 24 priests on duty
at a time, but they represented all of the priests.
Hence, these 24 probably represent all of the priests.
The Bible teaches that every New Testament Christian
is his own priest, so these 24 represent all of us who
are saved. Praise God, all of His children are priests.
"CLOTHED IN WHITE RAIMENT. " We will be wearing
white raiment. You remember in the Garden of Eden God
made a coat of skins to clothe naked man. In order to
get a coat of skins, an animal had to die and shed its
blood before the skins could be obtained. So our Lamb
of God shed His blood in order that we might have white
raiment picturing our righteousness before God.
"AND THEY AHD ON THEIR HEADS CROWNS OF GOLD. "
God is going to reward us for our faithfulness, etc.,
with crowns at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Crowns for
faithfulness, clean living, suffering, soul winning,
and loving the appearing of Jesus are all mentioned
in the Bible as crowns that will be given. How many
will you get?
Verse 5:
This verse shows the clouds with lightning and thunder.
Above the clouds all may be peaceful when a storm is
raging under them. When we are above the clouds with
Jesus at the marriage of the Lamb, under the clouds
shall be a time of Great Tribulation on the earth. Thank
God, those of us who belong to Him shall be above the
storm.
Verse 6:
Four new creatures are introduced in this verse. They
are called "beasts, " but the best translators
call them "living creatures. " Really they
are "full of life creatures. " They constantly
are praising God as you see in verses 7 and 8. Their
sole purpose is to sing praises unto God around the
throne.
Verses 9-10:
Notice now what will happen. We hear the creatures praising
God, so we join in the song and sing with the living
creatures and praise our wonderful Saviour.
Note also what else we do. We take off our rewards
that God has given us as crowns and hurl them at Jesus’
feet, and say He alone is worthy to receive them. Perhaps
we shall sing,
All hail the power of Jesus’ name, Let angels
prostate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown
Him Lord of all.
Chapter 5 - THE REDEMPTION OF THE PURCHASED POSSESSION
There are those who say that Revelation is not a book
of prophecy, but rather of the history of the church.
This theory seems even more absurd than ever when you
study carefully the fifth chapter of this wonderful
Book. No history of the church has ever recorded any
such event as you find in this marvelous chapter.
Verse 1:
When one had to forfeit his property because of need,
there were certain conditions when a kinsman could redeem
it from the one who had bought it from his kinsman.
When such a deal was made a sealed book contained the
title deed to the property and was held by the purchaser.
This is the book mentioned by the Lord here. It was
the title deed to that which Jesus had redeemed on Calvary
that His kinsman, Adam, had lost in the Garden of Eden.
Thank God, Jesus has redeemed us as well as the earth.
Notice it was sealed with seven seals. We are the purchased
possession and the Bible says that we are sealed with
seven seals. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Hence,
we are secure until the day when Jesus breaks the seals.
Verses 2-4:
Notice that no man could open the seals and the book
and redeem the earth. Man has tried to do it and thinks
he can do it, but peace will only come on the earth
when Jesus comes and opens the seals to His purchased
possession. Leagues of Nations, Security Councils, United
Nations, and all the rest will fail, but Jesus will
bring peace when He comes.
Verse 5:
John was weeping when he was told that there was One
who could open the book. Jesus had prevailed. "Prevailed
" means "conquered. " Jesus had conquered
on Calvary and could open the book.
Verse 6:
Notice who it was. It was the Lamb. Jesus is the Lamb
of God. The reason He is pictured as a Lamb here is
that it was as a Lamb that He purchased our redemption.
Also note that He is standing even though He had been
slain. This pictures our risen Lamb. All of the Old
Testament lambs died and that was it, but our Lamb died
and got up from death. Praise His name!
Verse 7:
Here is one of the greatest days in all time past and
to come, Jesus steps up to receive what He has purchased.
Verses 8-10:
Notice the pomp of the occasion. At the moment Jesus
received the deed: The harps start playing. We all sing
redemption’s song. We shall reign on the earth
with Jesus.
Chapter 6
Verse 1:
In the preceding chapter, we had the acceptance of the
sealed book by the Lamb. Remember that the book is the
Title Deed to the purchased possession bought by Jesus
on Calvary. In this chapter we have the opening of the
seals. In this verse, the Lamb (Jesus) starts to open
the seals.
Notice the words, "COME AND SEE. " Probably
this should have been simply "Come. "
Verse 2:
THE FIRST SEAL IS OPENED and lo, one comes forth on
a white horse. Comparing other Scriptures with this,
it undoubtedly speaks of the coming of the Man of Sin,
the Antichrist. The Bible teaches that immediately after
the church is caught out a terrible world dictator will
come who will be Satan incarnate (Satan in a human form).
He is the Devil’s key figure in the Great Tribulation.
Read II Thessalonians 2.
You will notice that he comes on a horse. He is imitating
Jesus. Other Scripture passages seem to teach that he
comes as a false messiah. At any rate, he comes as Jesus
will eventually come--on a white horse.
Verses 3-4:
THE SECOND SEAL IS OPENED. What is it? It is war. Remember
now that the church has already been taken out and the
Antichrist is revealed. Now comes bloody war.
Verses 5-6:
THE THIRD SEAL IS OPENED. What is it? It is a famine.
A measure of wheat is approximately one quart. A "penny
" was the normal day’s wage for a laborer.
Imagine a day’s wage only buying a quart of wheat.
The depression of the 1920’s and 30’s was
nothing compared to the one that is coming to the world
after the church is caught out. Thank God, I’ll
be with Jesus at the marriage of the Lamb.
"SEE THOU HURT NOT THE OIL AND THE WINE. "
Oil and wine in the Bible seem to symbolize luxury.
There will be none in that day. The world shall be cast
into a terrible time of hunger.
Verses 7-8:
THE FOURTH SEAL IS OPENED. What is it? It is death.
"ONE FOURTH PART OF THE EARTH " seems to
imply that one fourth of the people of the earth will
be killed. Imagine it. The world’s population is
approximately three billion. One fourth of that would
be 750 million people. Can you imagine that many killed
in such a short period of time?
All of these events will take place after the Christians
are gone.
How foolish for one to be here when he could be with
Jesus by trusting Him as Saviour and Lord.
Verses 9-11:
The next three verses deal with the souls of martyrs.
The question comes immediately as to what martyrs they
are. They could not be the souls of martyrs who were
slain before the rapture because they were raptured
and received their glorified bodies in chapter 4. Hence
these must be the ones who are to be killed for the
Gospel during the tribulation up to this time. In verse
8, one fourth of the world’s population was killed,
and probably many of these were martyrs.
Notice why these are to be killed. "FOR THE WORD
OF GOD, AND FOR THE TESTIMONY WHICH THEY HELD. "
Notice that they are under the altar. Why an altar?
The answer is simple. The brazen altar was the place
of sacrifice. Every person who dies for Jesus gives
the supreme sacrifice.
There are several things that are taught here about
souls that should be brought out in this study: The
dead in Christ are still alive. They can be seen. John
said that he saw them. They are with Jesus.
NOTICE THEIR CRY, "HOW LONG? " They are so
anxious to gain their glorified bodies. "Even so,
come, Lord Jesus " THE SINNER’S PRAYER MEETING...Revelation
6:12-17.
Verse 12:
HERE WE HAVE THE OPENING OF THE SIXTH SEAL:
"THERE WAS A GREAT EARTHQUAKE. " The word
here for "earthquake " means "quaking
in general. " In other words, there shall be quaking
all over the earth. It also means to "shake, toss,
or jolt. " It involves the entire world and planetary
system in a time of commotion.
"AND THE SUN BECAME BLACK. " Imagine sleeping
until noon and it still being dark. Imagine it with
the sun completely darkened. Such a day took place in
the northeastern section of this country in May, 1780.
People were in a state of panic as the day became dark
for seemingly no reason at all.
Verse 13:
You can easily imagine this verse transpiring after
reading verse 12. On November 13, 1833, a night like
this happened and the people were scared to death. On
that night, for nearly three hours, fiery balls filled
the sky and people were horrified.
Verse 14:
You have seen a scroll unroll and roll up. That is what
is meant here.
The reason for the mountains moving is simple. Several
times in California there has been a quake so bad that
rivers have dried up and mountains have been leveled.
That is exactly what will take place except that all
the mountains will be moved. Imagine how morbid everything
will look.
NOW LET US LOOK AT THE PRAYER MEETING ITSELF: Look
at the "PRAY-ERS. "
Kings-who thought they were too powerful for Jesus.
Great men- who thought they were too great for God.
Rich men-who thought they were too wealthy for God.
Soldiers-who thought they were too strong for God. All
Christ rejectors.
Look at the object of their prayers: The rocks. They
rejected the Rock of Ages and now they are praying to
the rocks.
Now notice their PRAYER: "HIDE US. " They
were asking to be hidden from Jesus, when they could
have been hidden in Jesus. And well they might cry for
a hiding place from Jesus, for He will pour out His
wrath upon them.
Chapter 7 - THOSE SAVED DURING THE TRIBULATION
There will be some people saved after the rapture of
the saints. Some teacher’s believe that II Thessalonians
2:10-12 teach that if anyone has heard the plan of salvation
and rejected it, they will not have a chance to be saved
after the rapture of the saints. This chapter deals
with the group that will be saved during the Great Tribulation.
Verse 1:
THE FOUR WINDS in this verse can be explained by Ephesians
2:2 and Daniel 7:2. These winds are the wrath that is
going to be unloosed by Satan who is the prince of the
power of air.
Verses 2-3:
Just before the trumpets of judgment are turned loose,
an angel comes from the sun rising and delays them for
a while in order for the servants of God to be sealed.
Once again, God protects His own.
Verse 4:
WHO ARE THOSE TO BE SEALED? They are 144,000 Jews, GOD
IS NOT THROUGH WITH HIS CHOSEN RACE, THE JEWS. They
are returning every day to their land. Some are to be
there to make a covenant with the Antichrist, we believe
from Daniel 9:27.
HOW WILL THEY GET THE GOSPEL? After the rapture, there
will still be Bibles here, as well as tracts, etc. These
will probably be used by the Lord to reach the House
of Israel.
WHAT IS THEIR WORK? Probably they will be the ones
who spread the Gospel to all the world during the tribulation.
These 144,000 preachers preach that Jesus is the Messiah.
Verses 5-8:
The meanings of the names of the twelve tribes are interesting.
Notice the following:
Judah................................PRAISERS OF GOD
Reuben.....................LOOKING TO THE SON
Gad......................................A COMPANY (of)
Aser.......................................BLESSED ONES
Nepthalim..........................WRESTLING WITH
Manasses............................FORGETFULNESS
Simeon..................HEARING AND OBEYING
Levi..........................................CLEAVING
TO
Issachar..........................................A
REWARD
Zabulon...A HOME AND DWELLING PLACE
Joseph................................................ADDING
Benjamin......SONS AT GOD’S RIGHT HAND
Read down the list of meaning and you’ll find
the purpose of these Jews. They are praisers of God
looking to the Son, a company of blessed ones wrestling
with forgetfulness, hearing and obeying and cleaving
to a reward of a home and a dwelling place, adding sons
at God’s right hand.
THOSE SAVED DURING THE TRIBULATION: Not only will there
be 144,000 Jews saved during the tribulation, but there
will be people of every nation under the sun. Verses
9-17 deal with these converts.
Verses 9-10:
Imagine the beauty of this occasion-people from every
nation under the heavens singing together.
Notice that they had palms in their hands. This came
from the Old Testament Feast of the Trumpets when the
people, after harvest, carried palm leaves in their
hands and worshipped God in booths as a time of rejoicing,
hence, these saints are rejoicing because of their salvation.
Verses 11-12:
At such an impressive scene as this, the angels join
in singing in a time of real rejoicing. This is in accord
with Luke 15:10. The angels always rejoice when a soul
comes to Jesus.
Verses 13-14:
Notice that these verses tell who these are who are
saved. They came out of great tribulation. Actually,
it should be the Great Tribulation.
Chapter 8 - PREPARATION FOR THE TRUMPETS
Thus far, we have seen the opening of the six of the
seven seals. The seals contain punishments man shall
bring upon himself. The trumpets begin the judgments
God will inflict upon man. The seventh seal contains
the seven trumpets. Sketching it out, it would look
like this:
In other words, the seven trumpets are in the seventh
seal.
Verse 1:
For several chapters now we have been hearing choirs
rejoice. As we come to chapter 8, these choirs suddenly
stop. Have you ever heard a large choir come to an abrupt
halt? That is what happens here. The four living creatures,
the hundreds of millions of angels, the saints of all
the ages, suddenly stop their singing. Imagine it!
WHY DOES THE SINGING AND REJOICING STOP? Simply because
the most horrible things that have ever happened are
about to happen as the trumpets are about to sound.
The silence is like a breathless gasp in horror. For
about thirty minutes, all of the choirs of Heaven gasp
in horror as they stop the music for a breathless moment
of silence.
Verse 2:
In the midst of this silence, we see seven angels who
are about to blow seven trumpets. If you will read Numbers
10:1-9 you will see several things for which trumpets
were blown.
For a gathering for a Feast. When Jesus comes to rapture
His church, the trumpet will gather us to the wedding
feast at the marriage of the Lamb. For a gathering for
War. The same trumpet that gathers us to the Great Feast
hurls the remaining people into terrible war. What will
the trumpet sound mean to you? War or a Feast? For the
anointing of a King. Jesus is going to come back to
the earth as King of kings to establish His reign of
peace for one thousand years. We shall be His subjects.
The sounding of the trumpets mean that the King is coming
soon.
Verse 3:
What could the prayers of the saints have to do with
this great event? Simply this: This even has been the
heart throb of all praying saints through the years
as they have prayed, "THY KINGDOM COME. "
Far too many pray that prayer and do not realize what
they are praying. When you pray this prayer, you are
asking God to hasten the day when Jesus will reign as
King over the earth in His Kingdom. These trumpets are
the beginning of the answer to that prayer.
An interesting thing taught here is that God is recording
the prayers of the saints. This should make us resolve
to pray more than ever. You are making a recording,
not on Decca or Columbia, but on God’s machine
as you pray.
Verses 4-5:
You will remember that the altar was the place of the
substitute, a type of the cross. The fire consumed the
substitute, but since those upon the earth at this time
are those who have failed to accept the Substitute,
the angel throws the fire to the earth. Either man accepts
the fire upon the substitution or he must suffer the
fires of Hell himself.
"CAST " means to throw or hurl.
Now hear the noise start again. Just as the sudden
stopping of noises was awesome, even shall the sudden
lightning and thundering earthquake be awesome.
The voices in this verse are probably voices of horror
and crying over the soon coming of the awful trumpets.
Verse 6:
Now we prepare ourselves to see what could be so horrible
as to cause so much concern. In the next verse we shall
see what the trumpets are and why they caused millions
to gasp in horror.
Before us stand seven angels with seven trumpets. Heaven’s
rejoicing has been silenced because of the awfulness
that the blowing of the trumpets was going to bring
immediately. The angels are ready to sound the trumpets.
The first one is sounded.
Please note the word, "PREPARED." It means
"prepared by appointment." In other words,
God has appointed these things to happen and they will
happen. God’s train runs according to schedule.
Verse 7:
The first trumpet brought hail and fire mingled with
blood and burned up the third part of trees and all
green grass. Some teachers symbolize the entire thing.
They say the trees are great men, or teachers or doctors.
They say that the grass means people in general. They
say that the earth is the church. Brother, as far as
I’m concerned the trees mean trees, the grass means
grass, and the earth means earth.
Others say that all of the hail and fire, etc., are
symbolic and that such as that could not really happen.
Well, it has happened before. The plagues that God sent
upon Egypt brought a similar thing. Read Exodus 9:23,
24. God has said that this would happen again in Jeremiah
23:7, 8.
Verse 8-9:
The second trumpet will bring an object that will be
like a great mountain that will be cast into the sea
and turn one third of the sea to blood. Some try to
symbolize and say that the mountain is this thing or
another and the blood stand for something and that the
sea will never actually turn to blood.
This also happened before. You will find it recorded
in Exodus 7:19, 20.
I believe that one reason that the word "blood
" is mentioned here is that God is going to constantly
remind them that they could have escaped this awful
time had they accepted the blood of Jesus.
Note also that one third part of sea life will die
and one third of the ships will be destroyed. When one
ship is destroyed, it gets headlines and disaster help.
Imagine one third of the ships being destroyed.
Verses 10-11:
One third of the waters will be like wormwood. Wormwood
is a bitter, intoxicating, poisonous thing. It paralyzes
and kills. Imagine one third of the water supply turned
this way. it is the bitterest herb known to man.
WHY WILL GOD DO THIS? Could it be that it is because
of the bitter gall they gave Jesus to drink on Calvary?
The world has always been bitter towards Jesus. They
will receive their deserts.
Verse 12:
This brings the blowing of the fourth trumpet that brings
a partial darkness over all the earth.
Verse 13:
The word "ANGEL " here should be "eagle.
" Now in the Scriptures many times when God speaks
of the rapture. He calls the raptured saints eagles.
Though this is probably a real eagle, it is interesting
to note that God does speak of the saints as eagles.
Why?
Eagles are great watchers. They are hard to fool and
are alert. We are to watch all the time for the coming
of our King.
Eagles like to go higher than most birds. The farther
they fly from the earth the better they like it. We
too should live high and separated lives from the world.
We are going to mount wings as eagles and fly up to
meet the Lord when He comes at the rapture.
This eagle that comes is warning the earthdwellers
of the three remaining plagues that are to come.
Chapter 9
We have seen the first four trumpets and the horrors
that accompanied their blowing, and also the eagle flying
through the air announcing the three WOES as the last
three trumpets prepare to blow. Let us look at the trumpet
number five.
Verse 1:
The fifth trumpet is sounded. Immediately John saw a
star. "FALLING " is better translated "fallen.
" So this star was fallen from Heaven. Notice that
the star is called him, so it must be a personality.
Angelic being are often called stars. Adding all of
this together, we find that this star is an angelic
being, fallen from Heaven.
You will note that this creature has the key to the
bottomless pit, or Hell. Have you ever thought of Hell
as a bottomless pit? You fall and fall and fall and
fall and never reach the bottom, for there is no bottom.
Verse 2:
If anyone doubted the literal fires of a burning Hell,
this verse should dispel any of those doubts. It is
a furnace from which comes terrible smoke that darkens
the earth.
Verse 3:
When this person opens the pit, locusts come out. Some
say this could not be. It happened in Exodus and it
will happen again. If these are not literal locusts,
then no man could ever tell us what they might be.
In the Reader’s Digest in 1953 there appeared
an article describing the critical problem caused by
locusts. Many crops have been entirely eaten up by the
locusts in the East.
Verse 4:
The normal food of the locust is green food. However,
God does not let them eat on green food in this time,
but rather they shall feed upon the flesh of men.
What men? Those who have not the seal of God. God always
cares for His own. We shall be with Jesus, and the others
who have been saved in the tribulation will be protected.
The locusts will feed only upon the bodies of the unredeemed.
Verse 5:
These will be deadly locusts. They will not kill men,
but they will only torture them for five months. Think
of it!
They will sting like a scorpion. Men have foamed at
the mouth and gone into convulsions many times over
the sting of one scorpion. What a horrible time when
the entire world does this.
Verse 6:
The torment of the locusts will be so great that men
shall try to commit suicide, but cannot. God will not
let them die. They may take poison, but it will not
kill them. They may shoot themselves, but cannot die.
They may try to die, but cannot. (No wonder the seeing
of this scene silenced Heaven.)
Verses 7-9:
These verses give a description of these locusts:
THE SHAPE -like that of a horse.
CROWNS ON THEIR HEADS -like gold.
FACES -like that of a man.
HAIR -like that of a woman.
TEETH -like those of a lion.
SOUND -like many horses and chariots preparing for battle.
Verse 10:
Notice that this shall last five months. Imagine the
terribleness of this.
Let us thank our God over and over again that we will
not have to endure this awful time. We will till be
enjoying the marriage of the Lamb with Jesus in Heaven.
Verse 11-12:
The sixth angel sounds the sixth trumpet. Let us see
what it contains.
Verse 13-14:
The angels which are bound are no doubt four of Satan’s
angels that have been prepared for this specific time
of tribulation.
Notice also where they have been bound-near the River
Euphrates (the word "in " also means near
or around). It is interesting to note that the place
where they have been bound is in the locality of the
place where the Garden of Eden was located. This is
where Satan first made his attack on the human race,
where sin first came into the earth, and where death
first came to man.
Verse 15:
This verse tells us that these angels are to be used
to slay the third part of men. You will remember that
in chapter four, one fourth of the people have been
killed and that leaves three fourths. Now one third
of that three fourths is killed leaving only half of
the previous population of the world. The population
of the world now is in excess of two billion. If it
were exactly two billion, that means 500 million would
be killed in chapter four and another 500 million would
be killed here in the sixth trumpet. That would leave
only one billion people left.
HOW MUCH TIME SHALL THESE ANGELS USE IN PERFORMING
THEIR JOBS? This verse tells us one year, one month,
one day, and one hour. Think of it!
Verse 16:
What will the four angels use to carry out their march
of death? It will be the Devil’s calvary-two hundred
million horses from Hell. We have seen Hell’s locusts.
Now we see Hell’s horses. The locusts tormented
for five months. Now the horses kill for over thirteen
months.
Verse 17-18:
Notice that the horses have heads of lions. What a horrible
picture.
They have Hell in their mouth. Fire, brimstone (sulfur),
and the smoke that blows out of their mouths is used
to kill. Brother, the smell of burning sulphur is enough
to kill, let alone the intense heat.
Verse 19:
They have tails like serpents. In other words, they
have whiplike tails that could lash a person to death.
The tails also had heads of serpents. Probably many
shall die from the bite of these serpent tails on the
horses. (Think of the horror: People will call the police
department, but they cannot be of help. Newspapers will
be swamped. Highways will be blocked. People will try
to hide in the mountains. There will be one horsemen
for every ten people or two families. Imagine your boy,
girl, mother, or father being tortured by these hideous
monsters. People will die of heart failure. How horrible!)
Let us thank God for the blessed truth that we are under
the blood and safe in Jesus. If you are not His child,
you had better come into the ark of safety while there
is yet time.
Verses 20-21:
A lost person might say, "Well, after all that,
if I am still alive I will call upon the name of the
Lord and be saved. " That is not so. This verse
teaches that you will not repent then. Men do not get
saved on their own terms, but on God’s. God’s
terms are now.
Note that they will still be worshipping wooden gods,
etc., that cannot see, hear or walk. Thank God, our
Saviour is alive. We have a living God!
Notice the things that men shall do in this period:
Idolatry. Sorceries (fortune-telling, narcotics, etc.).
Fornication (adultery, marriage laxity, etc.). Thefts.
From these things, it sounds like we must be near the
time now, doesn’t it?
Chapter 10
Remember that we are still in the sixth trumpet awaiting
the blowing of the seventh trumpet. As we begin this
chapter, and angel comes down from Heaven with a proclamation.
Let us look at the events of this great chapter:
Verse 1:
Some say that this angel is Jesus (and there are some
good arguments). Others say that it is just another
angel. I believe that at least if this is not Jesus
that it is His special angel. You will notice that the
following things will remind you of Jesus:
"CLOTHED WITH A CLOUD. " Jesus is to come
in the clouds.
"AND A RAINBOW. " Remember Revelation 4:3,
the rainbow about the throne.
"AND HIS FACE WAS AS IT WERE THE SUN. " Revelation
1:16.
Verse 3 speaks of him roaring as a lion. Jesus is the
Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
This could easily be Jesus, for He is spoken of in
the Old Testament as and Angel.
Verse 2:
"AND HE HAD IN HIS HAND A LITTLE BOOK. " Read
in Revelation 5:1. No doubt this is the same book mentioned
in chapter 5 as the title deed to the redeemed possession
bought by Jesus on Calvary. He has the deed with Him.
"AND HE SET HIS RIGHT FOOT UPON THE SEA, AND HIS
LEFT FOOT ON THE EARTH. " Notice two facts about
this act:
This was the Roman custom of triumph. We are more than
conquerers through Jesus. We will win through Jesus.
This also signifies possession. He is taking possession
of the purchased property. It is a sign that Jesus will
reign upon the earth and it shall be under His dominion
for one thousand years.
Verse 3:
We have had the seven seals. In the seventh seal were
the seven trumpets. Now we have the seven thunders.
Let us see them.
Verse 4:
1. John says when he saw them, he got ready to write.
2. Suddenly God told John to seal up the seven thunders
and not write them. Perhaps it was too horrible to be
written. You have heard soldiers say that certain battles
were too horrible to describe. Perhaps this is the case
here.
3. Please note that this is the only place in Revelation
where God says it cannot be understood. The rest of
it is revealed to us and we can understand its teaching.
Verses 5-7:
1. The angels declares that time (better translated
"delay ") should be no longer. God gives plenty
of time, but sooner or later, He cannot delay any more
and time runs out.
2. What a solemn occasion! The end is coming. The world
has about run its course. We should not be too much
in love with this old world for it is going to pass
away. It is foolish to try to whitewash this world that
is headed for destruction.
Verses 8-11:
1. We are supposed to feed upon the Word of God and
make this prophecy a part of us. We have no right to
neglect it.
2. It was both sweet and bitter. (Read the call of
Ezekiel.) It is sweet to serve Jesus, yet there is bitterness
with it. This world is not a friend of Jesus.
3. There are two sides in the Gospel-the sweet and
the bitter. To those who receive Jesus, it is sweet;
to those who refuse it, it is bitter. Perhaps that is
why the Bible is called a two-edged sword in Hebrews
4:12.
Let us thank God that our Lord has the title deed to
this earth and that we will someday rule with Him for
one thousand glorious years.
Chapter 11
Verse 3:
1. You will notice that God speaks of the coming of
two witnesses to prophesy. Bear in mind that the period
that we are now studying is the Great Tribulation, which
takes place after the saints have been called up to
meet the Lord in the air. Some think that these witnesses
are the Old and New Testaments, and many other speculations
are given.
It seems to me that these men are men who have left
the earth and have come from heaven to witness. One
of these men undoubtedly is Elijah. You recall that
Elijah did not die, but that he was caught up to meet
the Lord in the air. The Bible says many times that
Elijah is going to come and preach again. He will be
one of the two witnesses.
Well, who is the other one? Who else in the Bible did
not die. Enoch is the answer, so it seems logical that
the witnesses are Elijah and Enoch. A few think they
will be Elijah and Moses. At any rate, these will preach
during the Great Tribulation.
2. This verse speaks of the length of their ministry-1,260
days, which is exactly three and one half years.
Verse 4:
For a clear explanation of this verse simply read Zechariah
4:2, 3.
Verse 5:
Notice how these witnesses will be protected. When people
try to hurt them, they spit fire on them and kill them.
God always has a way to care for His own, doesn’t
He?
Verse 6:
Notice another power that they will have. They can stop
the rain or send plagues on the earth. They can send
the plagues of lice, frogs, hail, etc., that God sent
in Moses’ day, if they so desire. many take this
verse to prove that one of these men will be Moses,
and they have a strong argument.
Verse 7:
After they finish their course, the Antichrist will
come and destroy them, but he will not and cannot until
God is through with them.
Verses 8-9:
For three and one-half days their bodies will lie in
the street of Jerusalem for the people to view.
Verse 10:
When these two witnesses are dead, the people shall
rejoice and even send gifts to each other celebrating
the death of these two men.
Verse 11:
The celebration is broken up , however, by the men coming
back to life again right in the middle of the party.
"He who laughs last laughs loudest. "
Verse 12:
All of a sudden, the men are caught up in Heaven as
their enemies watched them. So closes a wonderful episode
in the events of the tribulation.
Verses 13-14:
These verses show the response of the people of the
earth when these two witnesses are caught away in the
clouds. It says that they give glory to God. This means
very little for two reasons:
They were only giving Him the glory because they were
in trouble. Many people think that they can live a life
away from the Lord and when death comes they can just
turn to the Lord and go to Heaven. There are three reasons
why you had better not take that chance.
Jesus may come at any moment, and you would not be
ready. You may die a sudden death and not have any time
to repent. You had better come while the Spirit draws
you else He may not convict you at death.
They were giving glory only to God. The Devil doesn’t
mind you talking about God or the Creator or Deity,
but he hates for you to talk about Jesus.
Verse 15:
Two things are taught in this verse:
The kingdoms of this world are headed for doom. We
are not going to build a kingdom ourselves on the earth.
All of this talk about "kingdom building "
and "bringing in the kingdom " is unscriptural.
Jesus is going to come and bring His own Kingdom upon
the earth.
Verse 16:
Remember that the four and twenty elders represent all
new Testament priests (all believers). We will reign
with Him.
Verse 17:
This verse teaches that we shall be a part of a kingdom
that will never die. Stalins die. Hitlers die. Roosevelts
die. Our Lord shall never die.
Verse 18:
Four things are spoken of as pertaining to the reign
of our Lord.
It will make the Devil’s crowd man. When God
is working, the Devil’s crowd always gets stirred
up.
The lost dead will be judged. This will take place
after the 1,000-year reign (Revelation 20).
Rewards shall be given. Our place in the Kingdom will
be determined by what we have done for Jesus. Some will
rule ten cities; other, one city.
Those that destroy the earth will be destroyed. All
of the liquor dealers, robbers, gamblers, etc., will
be destroyed. Won’t it be wonderful to live in
a world ruled by Jesus, in perfect peace, with all of
the earth destroyers gone. Praise the Lord for the hope
of the Millennium when we shall reign with Jesus for
one thousand glorious years!
Chapter 12
Verse 1:
"WONDER " means "signs " or "symbol.
" So we see that this chapter deals largely with
symbols. Isn’t it wonderful that when God is going
to speak in symbols He tells us so. Hence we can follow
our rule of taking the Revelation literally unless God
tells us otherwise as He does here in this chapter.
The "WOMAN " mentioned in this verse is Israel.
Israel is often called a woman in the Scriptures. You
will also notice that she has on her head a crown of
twelve stars. Probably these stars represent the twelve
tribes of Israel, so the woman is Israel.
Verse 2:
God promised Israel a Child to become the Messiah. All
through the years of Jewish history the Jews looked
for the coming of that Child. She was in travail looking
for the birth of the promised Child. In Isaiah 9:6 the
prophet says, "Unto us [Israel} a child is born....
"
Verse 3:
As soon as the promise of the Child was given there
appeared a dragon to try to destroy the Child. The dragon
is Satan. Notice he is powerful and has crowns and horns
upon his head. Horns in the Scriptures always symbolize
kingdoms. So Satan has his kingdoms in this world.
Verse 4:
Notice that the dragon is standing to try to destroy
the Child as soon as the Child is born. You will remember
how Herod was used of the Devil to try to destroy Jesus
by killing all of the male infants. God marveously protected
the Child Jesus by sending Joseph into Egypt to stay
until Herod’s death.
Verse 5:
The first words of this verse almost fit exactly the
words spoken in the Gospels concerning the birth of
Jesus. Israel gave us our Saviour. We should eternally
be grateful to the Jews for the One they have given
to us.
The second truth in this verse is the fact that Jesus
will rule the nations with a rod of iron. This prophesies
the one thousand years that Jesus will rule the earth
with the saints.
Another statement, "AND HER CHILD WAS CAUGHT UP
UNTO GOD, AND TO HIS THRONE, " deal with the resurrection
and ascension of Jesus into Heaven.
Verse 6:
Notice that when the Child was taken into Heaven the
woman fled. The Jews have been scattered ever since
Jesus went back into Heaven to be with the Father.
Notice also in this verse the mention of the 1,260
days again which divides the seven years of tribulation.
My, it is wonderful how God knows what He is talking
about, isn’t it?
Verse 7:
This war takes place at the end of the first three and
one half years of the tribulation period. The Devil
is thrown out of Heaven with his angels. The reason
that the Devil has access to Heaven now is found in
verse 10-he is accusing the saints.
The word "FOUGHT " means "declared war.
"
Verse 8:
The word "PREVAILED NOT " mean "conquered
not. " Satan will lose this war, will be conquered,
and will not accuse us any more.
Verse 9:
The word "CAST " means "throw. "
He is literally thrown out of Heaven.
He is thrown into earth.
Verse 10:
He is called in this verse the accuser. As previously
stated, his job now is to accuse us before God. He would
love to get every child of God unsaved, but, thank God,
he cannot touch a one of us.
You will notice that he accuses us both day and night.
Verse 11:
You will notice this verse gives us the only way we
can defeat the Devil in our Christian lives:
We overcome by the blood of the Lamb. The Devil does
not mind when we preach good works, live a good life,
or help the poor; but he hates the blood and those who
preach the blood. Our only hope at judgment will be
to plead the blood of Jesus.
The word of our testimony also defeats the Devil. If
he ever gives you any trouble, just give your testimony-he
hates that.
Love not your own life. When we love God’s work
more than our own lives, the Devil become defeated in
our lives.
Verse 12:
As the Devil is thrown out of Heaven, Heaven swells
into a great joyful song. What a happy day when the
Devil can no longer accuse the saints.
Notice the words, "WOE TO THE INHABITERS OF THE
EARTH. " The reason is simple. As the Devil no
longer appears in Heaven, he will put all of his efforts
and wicked devices into action on the earth. Hence,
the last three and one half years of the tribulation
will be even more horrible than the first.
The Devil will be more vicious than ever because he
is living his last years as the prince of the power
of the air. He is beginning to sweat because he knows
his end is near. A dying animal is the most vicious
animal. The Devil will become more vicious when he is
cast out of Heaven at the beginning of the last half
of the seven years of tribulation.
Verse 13:
Immediately when he comes to earth he begins to persecute
the Jews. The Devil hates the Jews. They gave us the
Bible. They gave us Jesus. We will dwell in their land
in the millennium. Hence, he hates and persecutes Israel.
One of the sure signs of the coming of our Lord is the
growing persecution of God’s race.
Verse 14-16:
These verses show the marvelous protection that God
will give Israel in these days. Just as He protected
Noah and his family through the flood, He will protect
His people once again through the tribulation. God cares
for His own. He fights for His people.
Verse 17:
Seeing that he could not touch God’s people, he
goes out to make war against the other saved people
in the world at that time. You can rest assured that
wherever people love and serve God, the Devil is going
to fight them. The churches that are doing the most
for God receive the most criticism from the Devil’s
crowd. Christians who win the most souls and look for
the Lord’s return will be fought at every turn
by the Devil. Thank God, victory is coming when the
Devil is defeated.
CONCLUSION: There are four times in the Bible when
Satan is cast out:
He was cast out of his exalted position as an angel
in Heaven before the foundation of the world.
He will be cast out of Heaven as our accuser during
the tribulation.
At the beginning of the millennium he will be cast
into the bottomless pit for a thousand years.
Before the great white throne judgment he will be cast
into the lake of fire forever.
Chapter 13
Verse 1:
We are beginning now the last three and one half years
of the tribulation period. This verse shows the coming
in fierceness of the Antichrist, the final world dictator
who will try to rule the world. He is this Beast.
According to the teaching of Daniel, these ten horns
will be ten kingdoms that will be under this Antichrist.
This man is the Devil incarnate. In other words, he
is to the Devil what Jesus is to God. He is the Devil
in a human body. Just as God has His Trinity, even so,
Satan has his trinity. This Beast is the opposite to
Jesus in the Devil’s trinity.
Verse 2:
Notice that he gets power over the Devil’s throne.
This word "SEAT " means "throne. "
Since the world is the Devil’s throne, this Antichrist
will be on the throne of the world.
He is in the process of taking over now as you will
find in I John 2. Those who deny the Deity of Jesus
have the spirit of the Antichrist now. That spirit is
prevalent.
Verse 3:
Probably the teaching here is that Rome will have a
king over her kingdom again. There has been no head
of the Roman Empire for centuries. This head will be
healed, and this man will be the emperor. Many think
that this man will be Judas resurrected, and they have
some pretty good arguments.
Verse 4:
Note that this Beast will be a great religious leader.
In fact, Daniel teaches us that he will pose as the
Messiah to the Jews and shall be accepted as such. Then
in the middle of the seven years of tribulation, he
will exalt himself as God. You find this in I Thessalonians
2:4.
The Scriptures teach also that he will attempt to unite
all religious bodies and form a religious federation.
The World Council of Churches and the National Council
of Churches are playing right into his hands. many of
the leaders of the National Council are men who have
leaned toward Communism for years. Others do not believe
the Bible is the Word of God. Following is a chart of
what has happened and will happen in religious circles:
NOTE: The Catholic church split and many denominations
came from her. They are going now into one Protestant
body and will very likely join the old Mother herself
one of these days. Then the stage will be set for the
Antichrist to take over.
Let us summarize the studies on the Antichrist before
beginning a new study on the False Prophet:
He is the Devil in a human body.
He is the world dictator who will revive the Roman Empire.
He is the second person of the Devil’s trinity.
He will be revealed just after the rapture of the church.
An interesting study on this Man of Sin is found in
Daniel 11. Vs. 21. He will seem to be peaceful and will
offer himself as the Messiah to Israel, making promises
unlimited. Vs. 23. He will enter into a league of federation
with the Jews and break it at the middle of the seven
years of tribulation. Vs. 36-37. He will want to be
worshipped as God and will reject the real God.
NOW LET US LOOK AT THE THIRD PERSON OF SATAN’S
TRINITY, THE FALSE PROPHET:
Verse 11:
Note that this man comes like a lamb. Read John 1:29.
He is simply imitating Jesus, who is the Lamb of God.
Just as the first Beast was the political head of a
federation, this False Prophet is the ecclesiastical
head of a church federation. Since the political kingdom
is the Roman Empire, it seems likely that this man could
be a Pope since he resides in Rome himself. At any rate,
this man is the leader of the great World Council of
Churches that will be in existence then. When the church
was organized, the pastor was the highest office. The
crave for power came and bishops were appointed over
several churches. Then they chose one bishop to oversee
the others and called him the archbishop. Then they
put someone over all of the archbishop. Then they put
someone over all of the churches and called him the
Pope.
Here you see also a union of church and state. This
fits in very nicely with the Roman Catholic Church which
has always tried to make theirs the state church.
Verse 12:
Notice that this Beast points to the first one and makes
the people worship him. This is proof that he is the
opposite of the Holy Spirit, who points people to Jesus.
Verse 13:
Notice that he has supernatural powers. Some people
think that just because a miracle is performed, that
proves that it is of God. That is not so. Satan has
power to perform miracles. A good example of this is
fortune-tellers. Do not believe that a movement is of
God just because it has miracles attached to it.
Verse 14:
Here is another evidence that this has something to
do with the Catholic Church. Here is an image made of
the Beast. God deliver us from anything that resembles
idolatry.
Verse 15:
"AND HE HAD POWER " is better translated,
"And to him was given power. " Satan has no
power but that which is given to him by God. God has
a governor on him.
Notice that death is the penalty for not worshipping
the Beast’s image. It reminds us of the three Hebrew
children in Daniel when they were cast into the fiery
furnace.
This image will be the image of the federation of churches.
When the Federal Council of Churches are in control
you almost have to bow down now. God keep us fighting
the World Council, National Council, etc.
Verses 16-17:
This certainly sounds like Communism, doesn’t it?
Verse 18:
The mark of the Beast is 666. Seven is God’s number.
Six is man’s number. Six is the best the Devil
can do. Each one of these sixes represents one of the
Devil’s trinity.
Chapter 14
Verse 1:
"A LAMB " should be "the Lamb. "
You will remember that the 144,000 were spoken of in
chapter seven. They are twelve thousand from each of
the twelve tribes of Israel who are going to preach
the Gospel of Jesus during the tribulation. Here we
find them mentioned again. This chapter shows them at
the end of the tribulation as they are rewarded for
their works.
Even though the world is to be at its worst period
in history, there will still be 144,000 who are true
to the Lord. Always there is a remnant for Jesus. Even
in these dark hours, there are some who love the Lord
and His work and preach the truth. Let us thank God
for those who stand for the truth and hold them high
in prayer.
Notice that they wear the name of God on their heads.
The translation should be, "HIS NAME AND HIS FATHER’S.
" In other words, they will wear Jesus’ name
and the Father’s name on their foreheads. They
are not ashamed. God help us to wear His name so men
might know that we are His. These will have a new name.
When a woman marries, she adopts the name of her husband.
So it is with us. When we see Jesus we will wear His
name.
Verse 2:
Notice that John said that he heard the voice of harpers;
Heaven’s harps will play for these who have been
faithful.
Verse 3:
These 144,000 will sing a new song together. What a
choir that will be! They will not be able to sing the
old songs because they all pertained to events that
will already have happened at that time. For example,
they cannot sing, "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder,
" because the roll will have already been called
when this happens.
Verses 4-5:
Several things that should be noted about these are:
They are chaste. The word "VIRGIN " means
"chaste " or "pure. " They follow
the Lamb wherever He goes. This is exactly what every
Christian should do. Many say that they take Jesus with
them wherever they go. You cannot do this unless you
follow Him wherever He goes. Our job is to follow Jesus
and not to take Him anywhere. The most wonderful place
in the world is to be in the center of the will of God.
Their mouths were pure. How wonderful to see a person
who sins not with him mouth. They are without fault
before God. This means blameless. God saw them as blameless
in His sight.
Verse 6:
Some say that this is one of several different gospels.
I believe that there is only one Gospel and that the
only one is salvation by grace through faith.
Verse 7:
Notice the words, "LOUD VOICE, " repeated
over and over again, denoting the urgency of the occasion.
Notice the words, "THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS
COME. " God’s judgment has come before, and
yet this is the greatest hour of judgment when God’s
wrath is completely poured out upon the earth. What
we are about to see is God’s wrath without any
mercy.
Verse 8:
This verse no doubt points to chapters 17 and 18 when
political and ecclesiastical Babylon shall be destroyed.
Notice, "FALLEN, " mentioned twice, means
that both Babylons shall fall.
Verse 9-11:
Now comes the punishment upon the unbelievers who have
worshiped the Beast. Notice the different statements
about the punishment.
It is without mixture. This means it is unmixed. It
is pure wrath not mixed with mercy, love or grace. It
is God’s power given completely in anger.
"THE CUP OF HIS INDIGNATION " means the cup
of His anger. God has been holding His anger in check,
but at this final day God will be an angry God with
no mercy upon the unbeliever.
They will be tormented with fire and brimstone (sulphur).
There is no fire as painful, nauseating, and hot as
burning sulphur or brimstone.
Notice in whose presence the punishment will be-in
the presence of the holy angels and the Son of God.
What humiliation!
The punishment of the unbeliever will last forever.
Hell is eternal fire punishing Christ-rejecters forever
and ever. Verse 11.
The unbelievers will have no rest again. This means
no relief from suffering. There will be no anesthetic
to deaden the pain.
Verse 12-13:
You will notice in verse 13 that at this time in the
latter days of the tribulation period even the Christians
will be better off if they die. The reasons are:
They can rest from their labors. (This is in direct
contrast to verse 11 prohibiting rest.) Their works
do follow them, and they shall be rewarded for their
labors for God. "THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON "
The following verses deal with the coming Battle of
Armageddon. This battle gets its name from Revelation
16:16. A study of this is in order because of the widespread
ignorance about the battle. Some thought World War I
might be Armageddon; still others thought World War
II might be it; others were concerned about the Korean
War. Let us note several things concerning this battle:
It is a literal battle. It is not a battle between
nations. It cannot be fought as long as we Christians
are here. It will happen after the rapture. It is between
Jesus and the Antichrist and his forces. It closes the
seven years of tribulation. It ushers in the millennium.
Verse 13:
The word "CLOUD " means "a special, prepared
cloud. " Acts 1:11 says Jesus will come again as
He went away. He went away in the clouds. He will come
again in the clouds.
The Son of Man spoken of in this verse is undoubtedly
Jesus.
You will notice that He has a golden crown upon His
head.
He left this world with a crown of thorns as the suffering
Saviour...He will return with a golden crown as the
conquering King!
Verse 15:
The word "THRUST " means "to throw. "
Notice that this sickle is to be thrust in the earth
in order to reap the harvest. The only harvest one can
reap is the product of that which has been sown. Galatians
6:7 certainly proves this; hence, the earth will reap
what she has sown. For two thousand years she has sown
sin and rebellion against God; therefore, she will reap
the wrath of God.
"RIPE " means "rotten. " That will
be the condition of the world. Once again we find that
this world is not going to get better; rather, at the
time of reaping it will be rotten.
Verse 16:
This is a climactic verse. It is the thrusting in of
God’s sickle of judgment. The word "ON "
means "against. " God’s judgment is going
to be against this earth.
Verses 17-18:
Here we find another sickle and another thrusting. This
one is not the harvest of the earth, but the harvest
of the vine of the earth. Just as Christ is the True
Vine, the Antichrist is the vine of the earth. Just
as we Christians are on the True Vine, even so, unbelievers
will be on the false vine (Antichrist). In verse 18
it says that her grapes are fully rotten.
Verse 19:
The grapes on the vine will be cast into the great winepress.
A winepress is a big trough or vat for the treading
and smashing of grapes in order for the juice to be
made into wine. The wicked shall be put in God’s
winepress and trampled upon.
Verse 20:
When the wicked have been trampled upon in God’s
winepress, this verse says the blood will come out and
form a river two hundred miles long, that will come
up to the horses’ bridles. Men scoff at such a
prophesy. Let us be reminded that when Titus destroyed
Jerusalem, Josephus tells us that the blood ran along
the streets and into the houses, even putting out some
of the fires!
When Cylla destroyed Athens, the blood was in the streets
and yards and ran through the gates like a river. Let
us thank God that through the shedding of the blood
of His Son, we will avoid this terrible shedding of
man’s blood.
INTRODUCTION: In order that we might understand better
the preparation for the Battle of Armageddon, we need
to understand the par Russia is going to play in the
end-time. To understand this, turn to Ezekiel chapters
38 and 39. Some say this has already been fulfilled;
however, since chapter 37 deals with the final millennium,
chapters 38 and 39 must take place between two preceding
events. The only period between these two events is
the seven years tribulation. That these chapters could
be fulfilled soon is proved by the recent recognition
of Israel as a State and their acceptance into the United
Nations. Let us look at these two chapters:
EZEKIEL 38:1-2:
"GOG " means the "chief prince of Rosh.
" The word "Rosh " is the root word for
Russia.
"MAGOG " means the "land of the prince
" (the word "Gog " meaning "prince,
" and the word "Ma " meaning "land
"). Historians say that this land is located around
the Black Sea. All of us know that this is the location
of Russia.
The words "MESHECH " and "TUBAL "
represent tribes which settled in the vicinity of Magog.
They settled in the places now known as the Russian
cities of Moscow and Tobolsk.
EZEKIEL 38:9:
This verse teaches that when Russia does attack Palestine
she will come (1) Like a storm (Russia is now planning
a standing army of sixty million men), and (2) Like
a cloud. Perhaps this refers to Russia’s tremendous
emphasis on paratroopers. On September 16, 1935, the
Russian papers told of a Russian paratrooper experiment
that "obscured the sky like a cloud. " Little
did they know that they were quoting Scripture.
EZEKIEL 38:11:
Contrary to the past, the new villages in Palestine
are all unwalled as the Scripture predicts.
EZEKIEL 38:12-13:
These verses show why Russia will come into Palestine-to
get riches. There is more wealth in the bottom of the
Dead Sea than in all of the United States of America.
There are chemicals worth one and one fourth trillion
dollars in the Dead Sea. Russia wants that wealth.
EZEKIEL 38:15:
You will notice that one of the main arms of Russia’s
army will be a calvary. Many people say this proves
the fallacy of this Scripture. Notice two things:
Russia has been buying up the world’s horses for
years, and now owns almost three-fourths of all the
horses in the world.
For years Russia has been breeding a new super-horse.
EZEKIEL 38: 5, 6:
Notice the allies who will come with Russia:
PERSIA-In 1936 Russia and Persia signed a treaty strengthening
their friendship. Persia is now called Iran, and is
now antagonistic toward the British and the Americans.
Several years ago Iran asked the American troops to
leave the country. The reason that Russia will ally
with Iran is that one-fourth of the world’s oil
is in this little country.
ETHIOPIA-Some say this is ancient Ethiopia and perhaps
this is true. However, it is interesting to notice that
the little country of Ethiopia is extremely friendly
with Russia and has been since the Italian-Ethiopian
War in the late 1930’s.
LYBIA-This is located in the general vicinity of Egypt
that has been a hotbed of international strife for the
last decade.
GOMER-Gomer was the originator of a tribe named after
Japheth’s son, which migrated into what became
Eastern Germany and Poland. Russia has both today. So
you can see the division of Germany was not news to
God.
TOGARMAH-This was a tribe which settled in Armenia.
Armenia is now Turkey. Russia has always wanted Turkey
and will have her some day.
From Turkey to Haifa to Megiddo (the valley of the
Battle of Armageddon) is a straight run.
EZEKIEL 38:18:
As Russia comes on Palestine the fury of God will be
aroused.
EZEKIEL 38:19:
He will send an earthquake.
EZEKIEL 38:23:
He will defeat Russia.
EZEKIEL 39:2:
Five-sixths of Russia will be destroyed.
EZEKIEL 39:12:
It will take seven months for Israel to bury all the
Russians.
CONCLUSION: Jesus wins the victory at Armageddon. The
nations of this earth are overturned. The Battle of
Armageddon is over, and the Millennium is begun. Praise
God, He will be the Victor.
DANIEL 2-THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES
INTRODUCTION: In order to understand the true significance
of the Battle of Armageddon we must understand the second
chapter of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the
world empire of Babylon. He is the chief character of
this chapter.
Verse 29:
Nebuchadnezzar was lying upon his bed thinking about
what would come to pass after his death. He was interested
in the future! Would to God that all Christians were
interested in the future. If one is willing to pay the
price in Bible study, he will find that the course of
events is outlined completely in the Word of God. It
is a sin for a Christian not to know prophecy.
Verses 31-35:
While laying on his bed Nebuchadnezzar saw an image
described in these verses. Daniel revealed to him the
image, and in verse 36 prepares to give the interpretation
of the image. The image had a head of fine gold, breast
and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs
of iron, and feet of iron and clay.
Verses 37-38:
In these verses we find that Babylon, the world empire,
was the head of gold. In following verses we will find
that this image represents the entire Gentile dominion
over the world. All of the Gentile kingdoms that will
ever rule the world are mentioned in this image.
Verse 39:
This verse teaches that another world kingdom will conquer
Babylon. This kingdom is mentioned in Daniel 5:31 as
the Median Kingdom, which united with Persia and ruled
the world. Still another kingdom is mentioned in this
verse that would conquer the Median-Persian Kingdom
and rule the world. This was fulfilled when Alexander
the Great conquered the world for Greece.
Verse 40:
Another kingdom was to conquer Greece. History tells
us that Rome conquered Greece and was the next world
empire. You will recall when Jesus was born-all the
world was taxed by the Roman Empire.
Another interesting fact is that we are down to the
legs of the image, denoting the split in the Roman Empire
that took place four or five hundred years after the
birth of Christ.
Verse 41:
This is the only part of the image that has not yet
been fulfilled. No kingdom has conquered the world since
Rome. This chapter and other chapters of the Bible (Daniel
7) teach that these toes represent ten kingdoms that
will form a revised Roman Empire. This has not happened
yet, but is in the making. It will be simply a United
States of Europe and will be headed, according to Daniel
7, by the Antichrist himself. When this federation is
complete, and the religious federation previously studied
about in Revelation 13 is complete, the stage will be
set for the Battle of Armageddon.
Verses 44-45:
The vision showed a stone smiting the image and becoming
a great mountain, filling the whole earth. Verse 44
shows that this stone is the kingdom that will break
down the kingdoms of this world and will cover the whole
earth. This is the millennium.
This kingdom shall never be destroyed. It is set up
by the God of Heaven. It will consume all other kingdoms.
It shall stand forever. It will not be a man-made kingdom.
It is cut out "without hands. "
The King will be Jesus, the Stone rejected by the builders,
the Rock of Ages. CONCLUSION: Per chance there be some
who would doubt the authenticity of this interpretation,
God has an answer for this verse 45b- "The dream
is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. "
Chapter 15 and 16
INTRODUCTION: These two chapters should be one, so
we are going to treat them as such.
Revelation 15
Verses 1:
The words "FILLED UP " mean "completed.
" In other words, God’s wrath will be completed
with these seven last plagues found in chapter 16. As
horrible as the previous plagues have been, they cannot
compare to these last seven plagues which complete the
wrath of God.
Verses 2-4:
These verses are stated parenthetically, showing the
joys of God’s people at the sight of the completion
of God’s wrath and the nearness of the coming Kingdom.
Verses 5-8:
A door opens to the Temple in Heaven.
Seven angels having seven last plagues come out of
the door. One of the four beasts (living creatures)
gives to each angel a vial from which to pour the seven
last plagues.
Revelation 16, Verse 1:
"VIALS " means "bowls, " implying
that God’s wrath is going to be poured out on the
earth, with no mercy whatsoever. Let us look at these
seven plagues.
Verse 2:
PLAGUE 1- "NOISOME " means "terribly
destructive. " The word "SORE " means
"boils or ulcers. " Imagine running boils
and bloody ulcers upon the men who worship the Beast.
Some say this cannot happen and cannot be literal. Proof
that this can happen is that it did happen to the Egyptians
in the Book of Exodus.
Verse 3:
PLAGUE 2-The second plague is the death of every living
soul in the sea. Imagine the dead carcasses of all of
the fish, etc., in the sea floating on top of the water.
In the second trumpet mentioned in chapter 8 one-third
of the life in the sea died. Now all of it dies. Imagine
the diseases that could come from such a catastrophe.
Verses 4-6:
PLAGUE 3-In this plague all water becomes blood. Verse
6 tells the reason. They have shed the blood of God’s
people and refused the blood of God’s Son, so they
are reaping what they have sown. The word "worthy
" in verse 6 means "deserving. "
Verse 7:
The question arises immediately- "How could a righteous
God do such a thing? " This verse explains that
a righteous God must do such things. Justice and righteousness
demand punishment for sin. That is what God is giving
in these plagues.
Verse 8:
PLAGUE 4-This plague gives power for the sun to scorch
men with great heat. Many will die with heat strokes,
many will burn to death.
Verse 9:
People often say that when these days come, then they
will repent. This verse says they will not repent. Repentance
can only come by conviction of the Holy Spirit, and
He will not convict those who have continually rebelled
against Him when this day comes. They will curse God
and repent not. That is exactly what is happening today.
Verse 10:
PLAGUE 5-This plague is darkness and the kingdom of
the beast. This darkness will be so great that the men
of the earth will chew their tongues for pain. Will
this cause them to repent? They will curse God more
and repent not.
Verse 12:
PLAGUE 6-This is a very interesting verse. You will
notice that the Euphrates River is going to be dried
up in order that the kings of the East might cross it
and have a way to Palestine. "East " means
"sun-rising. " The land of the rising sun
is Japan and the East (China, etc.).
This verse definitely teaches, along with other verses
in the bible, that the kings from the East will also
march on Israel. In our two previous studies we have
found that the Battle of Armageddon will see the armies
from the North (Russia, Turkey, etc.) invading Israel
and the armies from the West (the revived Roman Empire,
or the United States of Europe) invading Israel.
Now then, we find that the countries from the East
will invade Israel, but something hinders them. The
Euphrates River has long been a dividing force and a
natural protection for countries east and west of it,
so God will simply dry up this river to let the kings
of the sun-rising march through. If that sounds foolish
to you, you may study the history of Israel as God dried
up the Red Sea and the River Jordan. The Euphrates River
is 1,800 miles long, 300-1,200 yards wide, and 20 to
60 feet deep. God will dry it up to make ready for the
great Battle of Armageddon.
SUMMARY THUS FAR: In our study of the Revelation we
are now prepared for the Battle of Armageddon. We have
studied how that Russia and her allies will come from
the north, the revived Roman Empire under the Antichrist
will come from the west, and China, Japan etc., will
come from the eat upon the land of Palestine. Now, let
us notice some concluding things about this battle.
Verse 13:
The word "SPIRITS " means "demons. "
These demons come out of the mouth of the Devil’s
trinity.
You will notice the dragon, the beast, and the false
prophet, which compose the Devil’s trinity. The
dragon is the opposite to God the Father, the beast
(Antichrist) to God the Son, and the false prophet to
God the Holy Spirit.
You will notice that the spirits are like frogs, denoting
that these three personalities, like a frog, come from
quagmire and dark, evil places.
Verse 14-15:
1. These demons will enable the Devil’s trinity
to work miracles. Satan, you know, does have the power
to perform miracles.
2. These miracles will be used to deceive the nations
in order to gather them together for the Battle of Armageddon.
Verse 16:
This verse tells the place where they will be gathered.
They will be marching upon Armageddon, which means the
"Mount of Slaughter. " Little does Russia
realize today that as she plans her conquest, she is
simply a tool in God’s hand to meet the appointment
that she has with Christ at Armageddon. Little does
Western Europe and the countries of the East realize
that they are only preparing now for the appointment
with Jesus at Armageddon.
Verse 15:
We are placing verse 15 after verse 16 because we believe
that it has an entirely different thought. It is inserted
to warn us who read that Jesus will come as a thief.
A "THIEF " comes to steal and carry something
away. Jesus is coming to carry us away.
The word "BLESSED " means "happy. "
Happy is he who watches for the Lord’s return.
Those who are not ready will be exposed shamefully
as naked, because they have not been covered by the
blood of Jesus.
Verses 17-18:
PLAGUE 7-The word "INTO " means "upon.
" Hence, this vial is poured out upon the air.
This plague concludes God’s judgment upon the
earth. Notice the words, "It is done, "-the
same words that Christ uttered on the cross.
When this vial is poured out upon the earth it caused
thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes worse than have
ever been in history.
Verse 19:
This verse explains the fall of Babylon which we will
discuss in chapters 17 and 18. This verse summarizes
the events of Revelation 17 and 18.
Verse 20:
The earthquakes will be so bad that islands shall be
moved, valleys shall become mountains, and mountains
shall become valleys. The whole form of the earth will
be changed. This fits in perfectly with Zechariah 14,
which tells of the Mount of Olives being torn in two
pieces at the final day of our Lord.
Verse 21:
To conclude the plagues, great hail falls out of the
Heaven. Every hailstone weighs a talent. (A talent is
over approximately 114 lbs.) Imagine hailstones weighing
over 100 pounds each. In Constantinople in 1831, the
report came that hailstones the size of a man’s
shoe fell killing animals and people, splintering houses,
and causing havoc in general. These hailstones weighed
around two pounds. Imagine the destruction of hailstones
weighing fifty times that much.
Chapter 17
INTRODUCTION: We have read several times thus far
about the coming destruction of Babylon. Chapter 17
is that destruction. We will find that the Babylon mentioned
in chapter 17 represents all forms of false religion.
Verse 1:
A bad woman in the Bible is invariably a symbol of false
religion. This woman is the anti-bride of Christ. Those
who claim salvation in a man-made religion compose this
harlot, the anti-bride. She is called a whore because
she is guilty of spiritual adultery.
The word "WHORE" in this verse means harlot
or prostitute. It is associated with the selling of
one’s purity. Two things could be implied-first,
those who teach salvation by works, and second, those
who charge for spiritual service.
You will notice she is sitting on many waters. Verse
15 explains that these waters are nations and peoples
and tongues. In other words, she is universal. Whoever
she is, she covers the earth.
There is nothing better than a good woman, and nothing
worse than a bad woman. Applied spiritually, there is
nothing better than being a part of the bride of Christ,
but there is nothing worse than being of a false religion.
Verse 2:
She is guilty of fornication with the kings of the earth.
This religion, hence, is a state of religion, not believing
in separation of church and state. Do you know of any
religion today who would love for their school children
to ride on state school buses, and who has an ambassador
to their headquarters, and who, when in power in a country,
has always tried to control the government?
You will notice that this religion is a religion of
loose morals. Need I say more?
Verse 3:
This woman is sitting on a Beast. You will find the
explanation of this Beast in Revelation 13:1. It is
the Antichrist and the revived Roman Empire. You will
remember that there was to come one following the Antichrist
and pointing to him called the false prophet. Could
it be that the false prophet is the leader of this religion
which rides on the Beast?
Verse 4:
This woman is wealthy. This religion can afford purple
and scarlet, gold, precious stones, and pearls. Hence,
she can have the prettiest building, more elaborate
furnishings, etc. She reminds us of the church at Laodicea.
Dear friends, you can search the Bible and find invariably
that God’s people are simple, humble people who
do not have, usually, much of this world’s goods.
There is a cup in her hand. Even though outwardly
she is beautiful, this cup is full of abomination and
filthiness. This religion is an abomination in the sight
of the Lord.
Verse 5:
Let us see her name. First, it was called "BABYLON
THE GREAT." Babylon has, since Genesis 11, been
a symbol of the world’s false religions. "BABYLON"
means "confusion." In Genesis 10 and 11 Nimrod
led in the building of a tower and a city in order to
unify a false religion. It was called the Tower of Babel.
From that day until this God has associated false religion
with the terms Babylon or Babel. Even today the National
Council of Churches, the Federal Council of Churches,
and the World Council of Churches are trying to build
a Tower of Babel. Four things about the Tower of Babel.
It was a man-made religion. It was made of a false
unity. It had an earthly city as its center. It had
an earthly representative from Heaven. In other words,
one man was over it.
The MOTHER OF HARLOTS-The Roman Catholic Church is
the mother of most great denominations. A child is one
who comes from the body of its mother. Most of the great
denominations came out of the body of Roman Catholicism.
A child usually favors its mother; hence, the children
of Catholicism, even thought they are the lady herself...such
as sprinkling, having centralized denominational leaders,
baptizing babies, etc. These all came from Roman Catholicism.
There was a day when the two great bodies were Catholics
and the true believers. many children have come out
from their mother, making other groups, and are now
in the process, it seems, of returning to their mother.
Hence, someday there will simply be, once again, the
federation all in one body (Babylon) and Bible believers.
Verse 6:
You will notice that this religion is also guilty of
murder-cold-blooded murder. She kills the saints. Through
the centuries Roman Catholicism has been killing true
believers when she could get by with it. First, she
takes over a state or government. Then she forces herself
as the state religion and persecutes others.
Verse 8:
The "BEAST" in this verse is the "Antichrist"
mentioned in Revelation 13. You will notice that he
was and is not, and yet shall be. Consequently, the
Antichrist must be one who has lived, but was dead at
John’s time, but would be resurrected later on.
You will notice that some were not written in the book
of life from the foundation of the world. This would
indicate that some have been in the book of life before
the foundation of the world. What a blessing to think
that before the world’s foundation was laid, our
names were written in God’s book.
Verse 9:
Some would say that ecclesiastical Babylon in this chapter
has nothing to do with the religion of Rome. You will
notice, however, that the seven heads represent seven
mountains on which the woman sits. Bear in mind that
a bad woman is a sign of false religion. Hence, this
false religion sits on a city of seven mountains. The
City of Rome has long been known as the City of Seven
Hills. Some say these represent the seven kingdoms which
the seven kings in verse 10 rule.
Verse 10:
There are seven kings. Five are already fallen. One
was living in John’s time. Another was to come
after John’s time.
Verse 11:
The Beast in verse 11 is the same Antichrist mentioned
in verse 8. You will notice that he WAS, meaning that
he had lived. You will notice that he IS NOT, meaning
that he did not live in John’s time. He is the
eighth king. He is OF THE SEVEN, meaning that he is
one of the previous seven kings, leading us to believe
that the Antichrist is one of the historical kings resurrected
again.
Verse 12:
The ten horns on the beast represent ten kingdoms. These
kingdoms are composing the revived Roman Empire and
parallel the teachings of Daniel, chapters 2 and 7.
Verse 14:
These kings will make war with the Lamb-the Lamb being
Jesus. The Lamb will win the war because He is the King
of kings. Thank God, we are on the winning side.
You will notice that some are with Him, that is, with
the Lamb. Those are the believers. When Jesus returns
to the earth, He will conquer the Antichrist and his
armies and set up a Kingdom of Righteousness, and we
will be with Him as He comes.
Verse 16:
An interesting thing happens here. You will remember
that the false religion was riding on the Antichrist
in verse 3. In this verse the Antichrist and his ten
kings turn upon the Mother of Harlots, hate her, and
destroy her. Here is the destruction of false religion.
Verse 17:
Hence, the Antichrist will run his course only until
God’s words be fulfilled. In other words, the kingdoms
of this world today are only fitting into God’s
master plan. Rulers, nations, congresses and peace pacts
do not change the course of human history. They only
fit into God’s plan for the world.
Chapter 18
Chapter 18 deals with the destruction of political
Babylon. Remember that political Babylon is the union
of nations of the earth under the Antichrist to march
on Palestine. Also remember that religious Babylon,
which is a union of the religions of the world, was
destroyed in Chapter 17 by political Babylon.
Verses 1-3:
You will notice that Babylon had become the habitation
of devils, and the hold of foul spirits and unclean
things. Let shoe who say the world is going to get better
and better read these verses. This world system is going
to get more corrupt until the coming of our Lord.
Verses 4-5:
Notice God’s command to His people to come out
of Babylon. This means that we are to come out of the
world and be separate. Also, we are to come out of churches
that are worldly and teach false doctrines.
Verses 9-10:
Politicians shall weep with the fall of political Babylon.
They have invested their lives in politics and government,
and now Babylon is destroyed.
Businessmen shall weep over Babylon. Those who have
wrapped their lives around business will find their
business gone. Stores will close. Business will fail
in this great hour.
Verses 17-19:
Commerce and travel shall fail.
Verse 22:
Pleasure and amusement shall cease. In other words,
Jesus will destroy the political unions of this world
and establish a rule of righteousness. Let those beware
who invest their lives in this world. A life invested
in this world shall be wasted. A life invested in Jesus
will some day rule this world.
Chapter 19 - "THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB"
Verse 1:
The scene is in Heaven after the destruction of political
and ecclesiastical Babylon. Heaven is rejoicing in verse
1 because of the destruction of the great whore symbolizing
all false religion. Imagine the joy of the redeemed
when all religions contrary to the Bible are destroyed.
Verse 2:
The first reason that they rejoiced was that the false
religions had corrupted the earth and could do so no
more.
The second reason is that the blood of the martyred
saints has been avenged.
Verse 3:
Notice the continued rejoicing. Also notice the number
of times Alleluia is mentioned in these few verses.
Verses 4-5:
Notice who does the rejoicing. First, the four and twenty
elders who represent all those who have been redeemed.
In other words, we shall rejoice after the battle has
been won. A small idea of the great rejoicing was found
when World War II was over. You perhaps remember the
great rejoicing on the city streets when the war was
over.
Also rejoicing are the four beasts, or living creatures.
We will join in with the living creatures and say "Amen"
and "Alleluia." Also a voice will come out
of the throne shouting, "Praise God."
Verse 6:
The multitudes join in the shouting. For the fourth
time the word "ALLELUIA" is used. Our Lord
is called "OMNIPOTENT," which means He is
all-powerful. Even the united forces of the kings of
this world could not defeat Him. Notice that He reigneth.
He is going to be King over the whole world.
Verse 7:
Notice the words, "LET US BE GLAD AND REJOICE."
A wedding is a time of rejoicing. certainly there shall
be tears of joy also.
You will notice who is going to marry. The Bridegroom
will be the Lamb, the bride will be His wife, or all
the redeemed. Some seem to think that just one denomination
will be the bride. This is not consistent with the teaching
of the Bible. We are all members of His body and will
be one with Him as His bride. Many have even gone so
far as to say that only Baptists will be the bride.
This is not so. Every saved Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist,
every saved Church of Christ, every saved Catholic,
and those saved from every other denomination or no
denomination will be a part of the bride.
Notice that the bride has made herself ready. She has
prepared herself for the wedding. Two things a bride
does in preparation.
First, she accepts the invitation of the bridegroom.
Second, she makes herself as lovely as she can for the
ceremony.
Verse 8:
"GRANTED" in this verse means "given,"
picturing again that salvation and all that accompanies
it is by the grace of God. You will notice the wedding
gown of the bride. We will be arrayed in fine linen.
The word, "RIGHTEOUSNESS," means "righteous
acts." The fine linen, according to this verse,
is the righteous acts of the saints. In other words
your wedding gown at the marriage of the Lamb will be
made of the good things that you have done for God here.
I fear many people will have a pretty skimpy wedding
gown.
Verse 9:
The word "BLESSED" in this verse means "happy
and contented." The happy people in this world
are those who are going to be at the marriage of the
Lamb.
You will notice that John says that these are the true
sayings of God. Many try to disprove the literalness
of the Book of Revelation. John says here that these
are the true sayings, meaning they are the literal sayings
of God.
Let us summarize briefly the marriage of the Lamb:
The false suitors are eliminated-19:2. The place of
the wedding is Heaven-19:1. Every formal wedding is
characterized by the wedding music-19:1, 4-6. Every
marriage must have a bridegroom. Jesus is the Bridegroom-19:7.
Then we must have the bride-19:7b. The bride in this
wedding is composed of all the saints. After each wedding
there is a reception. This is found in verse 9 in the
marriage supper. After the reception the bride and groom
go on a honeymoon. The honeymoon is found in Revelation
20:6. We shall have a thousand years of honeymoon on
earth with Jesus. After the honeymoon, the bridegroom
takes the bride to their home. Read Revelation 21:2.
Jesus will take us to the place He has prepared. ...And
they lived happily ever after.
Verse 10:
John was so carried away with what the angel showed
him that he fell at the angel’s feet to worship
him. Immediately the angel rebuked John explaining that
Jesus alone was worthy of worship.
Notice the last few words in this verse. We find that
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In
other words, prophecy is what Jesus loves to testify
about. Many so-called Christians make fun of prophetic
preaching and prophetic study. From this verse, however,
we find that if we are to be like Jesus, prophecy must
be close to our hearts.
THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS TO THE EARTH
Many times we call the rapture of the church the second
coming of Jesus. That is not so. The second coming of
Jesus to earth will take place after the seven years
of tribulation on earth and the marriage supper in Heaven.
Verses 11-16 deal with the true second coming of Jesus
to the earth.
Verse 11:
He comes on a white horse. He presented Himself in Jerusalem
on a white colt. The next time He comes to Jerusalem
He will come on a horse.
He is called "FAITHFUL" and "TRUE."
The most wonderful thing about Jesus is that He is faithful...meaning
that you can count on Him to come and to be on time.
The greatest thing that can be said about a Christian
is that he is faithful.
Notice the words, "MAKE WAR." The modernist
says that God is not a God of war. Here it says that
the purpose of His coming is partially to make war.
Verse 12:
He has many crowns on His head. The word "CROWNS"
means "diadems." In history many kings after
conquering many countries wore the crown of each country.
The reason Jesus will have many crowns is that He will
be King of every nation of the earth.
He had another name that we do not know of. Here is
something in Revelation that we cannot understand. God
is always faithful to tell us what He does not want
us to understand. When He does not make such instructions,
we are accountable to learn.
Verse 13:
His clothing is dipped in blood, not in His blood, but
the blood of those that He conquers. He is called the
Word of God. This proves that this is Jesus. John 1:1.
Verse 14:
Notice that someone is following Jesus. To distinguish
who these armies are is simple. As it says, they are
clothed in fine linen. In verse 8 we have already found
that the bride is clothed in fine linen. Hence, we will
come back with Him.
We will be on white horses also. If one would doubt
these horses to be literal, he might remember that Elijah
was carried into Heaven by a horse and chariot.
Verse 15:
The sharp sword coming out of His mouth is the Word.
He will simply speak and smite the nations. He will
rule the nations. He will tread the winepress of the
people of the earth. A winepress is the making of juice
by trampling of the fruit under the feet. Hence, Jesus
is going to trample this earth until the blood will
be to the horses’ bridles, according to Revelation
14:20.
Verse 16:
Written on His clothing will be "KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF LORDS." On the cross His enemies wrote
Him a title of mockery. At His return He will be King
of kings, and Lord of lords!
THE GREAT SUPPER OF GOD
Chapter 19 is a chapter of suppers. There are two suppers
mentioned. You may take your choice of the one you want
to attend. The first is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
discussed earlier. The second is the Great Supper of
God discussed in Revelation 19:17-21.
Verse 17:
The angel announces the supper. Those that eat are the
fowls that fly in the air. In this verse these fowls
are summoned to the great supper.
Verse 18:
In this verse we have the menu for the supper. Kings
who forget God, military leaders and mighty men, and
all those who forget God are on the menu for this supper.
Those who attend the marriage supper of the Lamb will
eat. Those who attend this great supper of God will
be eaten.
Verse 19:
Here is the closing battle of the age, the Battle of
Armageddon. The Antichrist and the kings march against
God.
Verse 20:
Here is the result of the battle. The Antichrist and
the false prophet will be taken and cast into the lake
of fire.
Verse 21:
The armies of the Antichrist and false prophet, after
their leaders have been cast into the lake of fire,
will be killed at the coming of Jesus.
Their bodies shall lie in the Valley of Megiddo.
Then the fowls will come to supper. They will eat the
dead carcasses of those killed in this battle. In other
words, just as you see the buzzard on the highway carrying
off a dead carcass of an animal, even so will the ungodly
be eaten by the fowls in the air. This is the great
supper of God.
Chapter 20
In our last study we came back with Jesus to the earth.
Now, in chapter 20 we are going to help Him establish
a kingdom upon the earth that will last one thousand
years.
Verse 1-3:
In order to have this kingdom, an angel comes and binds
the Devil with a chain. Some make light of this fact,
but that does not change it. The Devil will be bound
by a chain for one thousand years. This will be during
the millennium. The idea that Satan is bound no wise
ridiculous and unscriptural. As someone has said, "If
he is chained now, he is on a rubber chain."
Now let us look at a little of the history of Satan:
He was originally an angel in Heaven. He rebelled against
God and was cast out of Heaven to the earth, bringing
other angels with him. Though he is now the prince of
the power of the air and the god of this age, he still
has access to God to accuse us day and night (Revelation
12:10). In the middle of the tribulation period he will
be cast completed from the presence of God and will
pour all of his wrath upon the earth for three and one-half
years. At the end of the three and one-half year period,
he will be bound for one thousand years.
Verse 4:
There are many thrones and many sitting upon them. Jesus,
of course, will have the main preeminence, but we, too,
shall sit on thrones with Him.
Notice the words, "AND JUDGMENT WAS GIVEN UNTO
THEM." During this one thousand years we shall
judge the world.
This period will be characterized by many wonderful
things. For example, wild animals will b tamed, and
serpents will lose their poison. There will be no wars.
We shall hold places of leadership. Won’t it be
wonderful to live in a city where all the city officials
are children of God!
This period, as stated before, is the millennium. The
premillennialist believes that Jesus will come back
and establish a millennium. The postmillennialist believes
that we will have the millennium and then Jesus will
come back. The amillennialist believes that there is
not going to be a millennium. Those who believe the
simple words of the Bible are premillennialists.
Verse 5:
You will recall that already at the rapture the saved
dead have been resurrected. This verse teaches that
the lost dead will not live again until the thousand
years are finished. Some teach a general resurrection
where both saved and lost will be resurrected. This
is not in line with the teachings of the Word of God.
Verse 6:
This verse teaches that all will not be resurrected
in the FIRST resurrection. If that were not the case,
then drunkards, harlots, murderers, and all lost people
are blessed and holy, since the Lord says that those
taking part in the first resurrection are blessed and
holy.
We shall be priests of God. Every believer is a priest.
We shall reign with Him a thousand years. The word
"REIGN" means "to govern." We shall
govern this world with Jesus for one thousand years.
THE MILLENNIUM "SATAN’S LAST WAR"
Verse 7:
At the end of the millennium Satan will be loosed for
a season to wage his last war against Jesus. You can
always look out for the Devil when things are going
smoothly. When a church or home or a Christian’s
life is going too smoothly, the Devil will try to interfere,
so after one thousand years of perfect peace, Satan
once again wages war.
The question always arises in this study as to where
Satan gets his people for his battle. AT the beginning
of the millennium we will be in our glorified bodies,
having come back with Jesus to start the thousand years
of peace; however, those who have been saved during
the tribulation will enter into the millennium in the
natural bodies. They will have children during the millennium,
and some of those children will never accept Jesus.
After a thousand years of this, many will be unsaved
and will be willing to follow the Devil in a war against
Jesus.
Verse 8:
After one thousand years of being bound in prison, Satan
is still the same Satan. He has not reformed a bit.
The same is true with all the unregenerated people.
Verses 9-10:
Here we find the final destruction of Satan. Two things
of note about these verses are as follows:
The Beast and the false prophet are still in the lake
of fire. You will recall that they were cast in the
lake of fire as the thousand years started. Now, at
the end of one thousand years, they are still there.
This eliminates the false teaching that Hell is not
eternal burning.
This is the end of the Devil and one of the greatest
days in the history of man. No more will Satan deceive
the nations of the world.
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
The great white throne judgment is the last judgment
that will transpire. There will not be a single saved
person judged. It will only be for lost people and will
determine how hot their Hell will be. Let us look at
verses 11-15 carefully.
Verse 11:
Notice the words, "AND HIM THAT SAT ON IT."
Who is it that will be on the throne? John 5:22 teaches
that all judgment has been give to Jesus.
Notice the words, "FROM WHOSE FACE THE EARTH AND
THE HEAVEN FLED AWAY." The Bible says that some
day the earth shall dissolve and melt away. It will
be at the presence of Jesus at the great white throne.
The earth will naturally flee away because it has been
cursed by sin, and sin cannot stand in the presence
of God’s judgment. This question immediately comes:
then why will Heaven flee away? The only logical answer
is the fact that Satan was once an angel in Heaven.
He sinned and was immediately cast out of Heaven. Perhaps
because Satan sinned in Heaven, Heaven would flee away.
Verse 12:
"...AND I SAW THE DEAD...." These dead are
only those who are lost. The saved dead were resurrected
at the beginning of the millennium, but Revelation 20:5
teaches that the lost dead remain in their graves until
after the thousand years; hence, those at the great
white throne are those who died unsaved.
"...SMALL AND GREAT." The lost people must
face Jesus regardless of how wealthy or how poor, how
great or how small.
"...AND THE BOOKS WERE OPENED." What books
will be opened? There will be a book of deeds. There
will be a book of words that lost people have said.
There may be a book of sermons that lost people have
heard. No doubt there will be a songbook containing
the gospel songs that lost people have heard. In other
words, all the events that transpired in the lives of
the unsaved are recorded in God’s books.
"...ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS." This does
not mean that they will go to Heaven if they have done
good works, and to Hell if they have done bad works.
All of these people are going to Hell, but some will
suffer more than others because of their evil lives.
It is only to determine the degree of suffering.
Verse 13:
"...AND DEATH AND HELL DELIVERED UP THE DEAD WHICH
WERE IN THEM." Death is the place where the body
goes. The word "HELL" really means "Hades,"
which is the place where the souls of the unsaved people
burn. At the great white throne judgment the body will
come out of the grave, and the soul will come out of
Hades and be reunited. Then both body and soul will
be cast into the final lake of fire to burn forever.
Verse 14:
This verse teaches that when both body and soul are
cast into the lake of fire; this is the second death.
This is the death that Jesus died for us on the cross.
Hence, one who trusts Jesus will never die the second
death. Someone has said, "If you are born once,
you die twice; if you are born twice, you die once."
Verse 15:
Notice the determining question of the great white throne:
IS YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK OF LIFE? If it is, you will
not appear before the great white throne. If it is not,
no matter how many good deeds you have done, how many
churches you have joined, how many baptistries you have
waded through, or sacraments you have taken, you will
be cast into the lake of fire!
Chapter 21 - THE NEW JERUSALEM
Verses 1-8:
Immediately after the great white throne judgment takes
place and the lost dead have been cast into eternal
fire, John sees a city coming down from Heaven. Several
things are going to be absent from this City:
There shall be no sea. There will be no tears. There
shall be no death. There will be no sorrow. There will
be no pain. There will be no murderers. There will be
no adulterers. There will be no idolaters. There will
be no liars. There will be no sin.
Verses 12-18:
Now let us look at the description of the city. It has
a wall. It has twelve gates, guarded by twelve angels.
The names of the twelve tribes are on the gates. There
are three gates facing in each direction. There are
twelve foundations to the City. These must be literal,
as nothing figurative is mentioned here. A reed is a
measuring stick of about ten feet. With this reed the
City is measured. The City is foursquare. The length,
the height, and the breadth are equal. The size is listed
as 12,000 furlongs. There are approximately eight furlongs
in a mile, making the size 1,500 miles. The wall is
144 cubics high. A cubic is the distance between the
elbow and the fingertip, which is approximately eighteen
inches. This would make the wall 216 feet high.
Verses 19, 20:
Now, let us look at the foundations of the City.
Jasper-wisdom. The people who accept God’s gift
are wise. How foolish it would be to turn down such
a wonderful city.
Sapphire-repentance.
Chalcedony-drives away sadness. There will be no broken
hearts in Glory.
Emerald-discovers false friends. There are no counterfeits
in Heaven.
Sardonyx-married happiness. The bride and the Groom
shall live happily forever.
Chrysolite-frees from evil passions and melancholy.
Beryl-everlasting youth and happiness.
Topaz-fidelity and friendship. Imagine, we’ll
have friendship with all the saved! Won’t it be
glorious to meet Abraham, Noah, Paul, David, Joseph,
the apostles, and best of all, Jesus!
No wonder somebody wrote:
Do not let your heart be troubles, neither let it be
afraid; Lean upon the precious promise that the blessed
Master made, "In my Father’s house are many
mansions, if it were not so I would have told, In my
Father’s house are many mansions, and the streets
are paved with God."
Chapter 22
Verse 1:
Out of the throne in heaven proceeds a river of the
water of life. When Ponce de Leon looked for the fountain
of youth, he was looking in the wrong places. As the
old country preacher has said, "When you get old
in Heaven, just take a drink and you will be young again;
when you see a grey hair, just take a drink of water.
When you see a wrinkle in your face, just get a drink,
and it will be smoothed out again."
Verse 2:
Notice that there will be a street in Heaven.
Notice the tree of life and the fruit. Someone has
asked if there will be any eating in Heaven. Well, the
only thing I know to do with fruit is to eat it. Someone
has suggested that it wouldn’t be Heaven to them
if we couldn’t eat. One thing certain is that if
we do eat, we won’t have to watch our calories
and our waistlines.
Notice the purpose of the leaves. They are for the
healing of the nations. There will be no sickness, for
the leaves on the tree of life are healing agents. There
will be no more polio, cancer, heart trouble, or any
other sickness. Thank God for the tree of life.
Verse 3:
"AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE." You will
recall that in the Garden of Eden a curse was put upon
man. This curse included suffering, death, etc. This
curse will someday be lifted.
"AND HIS SERVANTS SHALL SERVE HIM." This
teaches that there shall be occupations in Heaven. We
shall serve the Lord Jesus. Many have the idea that
Heaven will be a place where we shall sit around all
the time. That is not the case. We will have occupations.
I believe, and yet we shall never tire as we do here
because the curse will have been lifted. I’m looking
forward to preaching in Heaven.
Verse 4:
"AND THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE." This is the
big moment of them all. We shall gaze upon our blessed
Lord and see His face.
Notice again that we shall be branded for Jesus. We
shall wear His mark on our foreheads. That is a sign
of ownership. We shall be His forever.
Verse 5:
The brightness of His presence will be so great that
we will have no need of any other light.
Verse 6:
Notice again that God reminds us that these sayings
are "FAITHFUL AND TRUE." You can depend on
these writings as being true. Woe be to the man who
denies them.
"SHORTLY" means "surely." These
things will surely be done.
Verse 7:
"BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY." Again God is reminding
us that He is going to come quickly some day.
The word "BLESSED" also means "happy
and contented." The happiest people in the world
are those who are looking for the glorious appearing
of the Lord Jesus in the air. If you ant to be a happy
and contented Christian, then look up for the coming
of the Lord Jesus.
The word "KEEPETH" means "to guard as
a treasure." We are to guard as a treasure the
things in the Book of Revelation. What a pity when so
few even take time to read and study this marvelous
Book.
Verses 8-9:
There is a real danger here. John began to worship the
angel which brought the message to him. The angel reminds
him that God is the one whom he should worship. Dear
friend, the One to worship is not the teachers of the
truth, but the one who is the Truth. Don’t ever
be guilty of preacher worship. yes, we preachers want
you to love us, but our main desire is that you love
and worship the Lord Jesus.
Verse 10:
Notice the words, "SEAL NOT." It is the command
of God that we seal not the things written in this Book.
Notice the words, "THE TIME IS AT HAND."
The reason that we are to seal not is that the time
is at hand. We are to let people know about the prophetic
truths because His coming is near.
Verse 11:
This verse teaches that what you are here determines
what you will be when He comes. If you have been filthy
here, you will be filthy in eternity. If you have been
holy here, you will be holy in eternity.
Verse 12:
When He comes, His rewards will be with Him. We are
to work here in order that we may receive rewards from
Him at the judgment seat of Christ.
Verse 13-14:
"DO HIS COMMANDMENTS" should be translated,
"wash their robes." The only way that you
may have a right to the tree of life is to wash you
robes. The only way to have your robes washed is to
be born of the Spirit by faith in Jesus.
Also, we find that the only way a person can enter
the gates of the City is to wash his robes.
Verse 15:
In this verse we find some of the ones who will NOT
be in the City. They are: DOGS...meaning "unclean
ones." SORCERERS... those who deal in witchcraft,
fortune-telling, spiritism, etc. MURDERERS. WHOREMONGERS...
those guilty of sexual sins so prevalent in our day.
IDOLATORS.. those who worship anything or anyone but
the real God, our Lord Jesus Christ. LIARS.
How would you like to spend eternity with this crowd?
Verse 16:
In this verse we find the place where Jesus wants Revelation
taught...IN THE CHURCHES. So many neglect it and say
that we cannot understand it. Many churches never study
this wonderful Book. God says that He wants this Book
taught in the churches.
Note the words, "ROOT AND OFFSPRING OF DAVID."
How could Jesus be both? First, He is the root of David
in that all things were made by Him as God, the Creator.
Then as a man, He is a descendant of David and will
someday claim the throne of David as His own.
Note the words, "THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR."
Have you ever noticed the Morning Star? It is the brightest
one of all just before daybreak pointing to the coming
of the day. Jesus is the Star, pointing to the coming
of day as He comes for His own.
Verse 17:
There are two pleas in this verse:
One meaning is for the lost to come to Jesus. I believe
that the main meaning of this verse is the plea for
Jesus to come. When the personalities mentioned in this
verse say, "Come," I believe that they are
beckoning for Jesus to hurry and come back for His own.
"THE SPIRIT SAYS, COME."...He has been calling
people to Jesus and He is anxious for the marriage of
the Lamb.
"THE BRIDE SAYS, COME."...In Revelation 21:2
we find the Holy City is prepared as a bride. Not only
does the Holy Spirit cry out for Jesus to come but all
Heaven is crying, "Come."
"LET HIM THAT HEARETH SAY COME."...We, too,
are to join in the chorus with the Holy Spirit and say,
"Come." Think of it...all of the believers
are to join in one big chorus saying, "Come, Lord
Jesus." You have probably been to a football game
when the entire crowd cried, "Go...Go...Go...Go...Go..."
So it should be as all of the redeemed cry to Jesus
day by day,...."Come...Come...Come..."
"FREELY" in this verse means "undeservingly."
Even though we are saved we do not deserve salvation.
Thank God for His grace.
Verses 18-19: These verses warn anyone about tampering
with this Book. You had better be careful what you say
about this Book, for God will punish those who add or
take away from it.
Verse 20:
The word "SURELY" means "for a fact."
Jesus is coming quickly "for a fact." We know
that He is coming.
John says, "AMEN." He just couldn’t
wait for Jesus to come.
"EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS." John had seen
the whole prophetic future. He had seen the rapture,
the marriage of the Lamb, the millennium, the New Jerusalem,
and the many other wonderful things that God has prepared
for those who love Jesus. He cried out, "Hurry
up, Lord, and come."
Verse 21:
"THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH YOU
ALL. AMEN."
