Old Book on Revelation

Now is the time to pray. Where ever you are, I have prayed that you will come into the intimate presence of your Lord right now... Please ask Him to open your ears to hear. Ask Him to open your eyes to see.

(Pause for Prayer)

Now, if you have done as I asked, please continue in a state of prayer and prayerfully read on.

Jesus said "Be Ready"

This subchapter will help you to be ready. Subchapter 5 titled, "Fellowship with God in Pain" will also prepare you. If you have not read that chapter, I prayerfully admonish you to do so... and take heed. If you prepare and don't go through the Great Tribulation, at least you will be better prepared for the suffering that you will be faced with in this life. But if you don't prepare... you will suffer the consequences of not preparing. Jesus was speaking to believers in Matthew 24:44 when He said "be ready". And some events of the end times have been purposefully been concealed by God. John was not allowed to write for us the message of the seven thunders which are contained in the text of the sixth trumpet (Revelation 10:1-7). Scripture is clear that all believers will be surprised at the timing of His coming, by God's design.

How will you be ready?

Permit me to tell a story...

1968

When I was young my childhood family had many great difficulties. It was oppressive. I had a daily mantra that I repeated each day throughout the day. My mantra was "I will overcome every obstacle by the sheer force of my will". I was taught that man can do anything he sets his mind to. I was taught to roll with the punches... to never give up.

When I was young, I swam a lot. And we had some contests to see how far we could swim underwater. So at some point in my youth, I decided to try to hold my breath for three minutes. I was standing in the bathroom watching the second hand of my watch as I held my breath. As it pasted 2.5 minutes, I was determined… I would not give up… I would succeed… I would never never give up… The last thing I remember is the second hand approaching two minutes 45 seconds. The next thing I knew, my head was pounding and vibrating. I had passed out and hit my head on hard tile. If I had passed out under water, I probably would have drowned.

No, you will not be ready by mustering up all the determination that you have. You will not be ready by the sheer force of your will. You will become ready… by the power of obedience granted by the Almighty as you pray the Endorsed Prayers (chapter 4). And by His power granted to you in His grace, you will roll with the punches... you will never give up... you will be ready... you will be advancing the Kingdom until He returns. "Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.'"

I will repeat the passage:

"Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come" (Matthew 24:44)

This passage about the end of the age is tightly connected with and provides the framework for correctly hearing the book of Revelation and Matthew 24. I will that explain later. But if you are expecting the book of Revelation to remove surprises from your future, you will will be disappointed. Matthew 24:44 tells us that Christ will come when you don't expect Him. The book of Revelation does not alter, bend, modify or contradict Matthew 24:44. But after certain prophecies of the book of Revelation have occurred, possibly as they occur to you... you may know what has happened and where you are in each of God's revealed steps as He rips the rule of the earth out of Satan's hands and establishes Christ's rule forever.

Satan, his demons and human followers will not willingly relinquish control. So, God's authority will be established in a judgement of bloodshed, fire and destruction... followed by God's creation of the new earth... the eternal state. In the final step of the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl, the prayers of the persecuted saints will be completely and decisively answered. The fate of our persecutors will not be pretty, but their rule and tyranny must end... it will... and Christ will bring it to pass... as He is revealed to the world as judge, conqueror and king. The book of Revelation is the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Preliminary Outline of the Book of Revelation

1) Salutation (1:1-8)

2) Messages to the Seven Churches (1:9–3:22)

3) John in the Throne Room (Chapter 4)

4) Scroll with Seven Seals(Chapter 5)

5) Six Seals: Apocalyptic Overview (Chapters 6,7)

6) Seventh Seal: Apocalyptic Detail (8:1-20:15)

Seven Paired Judgements

a) Seven Trumpet* Judgments 8:2–14:27

b) Seven Bowl Judgments 15:1–20:15

7) New Jerusalem 21:1–22:5

8) I am coming: blessing and warning 22:6–21

* Incomplete Hodgepodge

The sixth trumpet includes the seven thunders. The seven thunders were not written for us. They have been concealed (10:4). What does this mean?

So we have been given seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls. But we are missing the seven trumpets. We have 21 of 28 parts. Or, you might say we have three out of four parts. How much can we understand with three out of four parts?

Have you have ever read the book of Romans? It has 16 chapters. If you have, you probably found it difficult to understand. The flow of thought can be complex, and most every paragraph relates to the paragraph before and after. It's hard to understand chapter two if you don't understand chapter 1.

Well, lets assume that you have twelve of the chapters of Romans... but, you don't know which chapters you have. You don't know if you have one through twelve, five through sixteen, or 6,8,16,3,12,5,13,7,4,11,14,2. You don't even know what order to read them in. With that knowledge, now prepare a detailed outline of Romans. Impossible. Then, tell me what all the major themes are. You can't do it.

All you can do is make an incomplete estimate of some of its points. That is all we can do with the book of Revelation. We are missing large parts of its content. We are seldom told clearly that one thing comes before another. So, we could assume that what is presented first will occur first. But the material we have proves that assumption is false. And, since we are missing so many parts, we don't even know if we have the first part. All we can do is create an incomplete hodgepodge.

Regime Change 24/7

The book of Revelation is about regime change. In this subchapter I will present a simple interpretation of the apocalypse. I call it "Regime Change 24/7", named after Matthew 24 and the Jericho 7. The Jericho 7 represents the seven day march in the battle of Jericho when God executed the first regime change in the land promised to Israel, transferring control from the Canaanites to Israel. Matthew 24 is the central chapter of six chapters describing the final regime change of all time, transferring all of the kingdoms of all the world to the saints. Yes, the book of Revelation is about the last, final regime change on planet earth. The Jericho 7 and Matthew 24 provide a helpful framework of regime change for understanding the book of Revelation. It's all about regime change. The Jericho 7 shows how God did it the first time. Matthew 21-26 generally shows how and why it will be done the second time. The book of Revelation provides the details. And the details of Revelation match the framework of how God did it the first time, in the Jericho 7. Its a rough ride. I prayerfully admonish you to prayerfully consider the words that follow... In other words... if you want to hear from God as you read, then pray as you read.

Where Are We Now?

We may be living in the continuance of the first five seals... conquering, war, famine, death, martyrdom... until:

Those who are to be martyred "complete their course" (Revelation 6:11)
144,000 bond servants of God are sealed (Revelation 7:1-4).

If we are living in the first five seals now, I don't contend that the fourth seal, death, is complete. In the fourth seal, one-fourth of the earth is killed by sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts. I can not prove that this has or has not happened. We only know what we can verify for ourselves... and for nearly all of us, we can verify very little. I expect the word "sword" can apply to any weapon of warfare.

The sixth seal contains:

144,000 bond servants of God are sealed and then four angels bring harm to the earth, sea and trees (Revelation 7:1-4).

Earthquake, black sun, blood moon, falling stars (Revelation 6:12-13). All those remaining on earth (unbelievers) understand that irreversible judgement has come to them (Revelation 6:16-17).
Praise from saints of the great tribulation (Revelation 7:9-17, especially verse 14).
Tribulation (7:14), Rapture* and Judgement (6:15-17)

*Rapture is revealed in the sixth seal since 6:15-17 reveals that all who remain on the earth at that time suffer the "great day of their wrath" (wrath of God and Christ).

Rapture

The rapture occurs in the seventh and final trumpet as will be clearly shown farther down the page. This will be explained, from the scriptures below under the heading, "Is Revelation 14:14-16 the Rapture?"

In the rapture, Christ "will descend from heaven... with God's trumpet..." and believers will be "caught up.. in the clouds... to meet the Lord... in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). This occurs "at the last trumpet" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Seven specific details regarding the rapture are provided in these two scriptures. But, only one verse in all of Revelation corresponds to ALL of those details: Revelation 14:14-16. Yes, I said "all". Actually, no other passage in the book of Revelation corresponds to ANY of the details of 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 or 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 with a connection to the rapture. In Revelation 14:14-16, and only in Revelation 14:14-16, do we see all of those details of the rapture together:

Christ ("one sitting like a son of man")
"on a cloud"
"harvest of the earth" (catching us up to meet Him)
in the seventh (last) trumpet

All seven details of the rapture are visible in those four bullet points.

The prosperity gospel fills pews and bank accounts, but it doesn't prepare you for suffering which has been promised to God's children (2 Timothy 3:12, Philippians 1:29). Child of God, open your eyes!...Our brothers and sisters are murdered all around the world every day because they profess Christ. This has been going on for two-thousand years. Take no comfort in the teaching of some who say that no believer living today will pass through the great tribulations of the book of Revelation. Please prayerfully consider the words of Christ:

Jesus said...

"44 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come. 45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes. 47 Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has" (Matthew 24:44-47).

It is easy to give those in your sphere "food in due season". Jesus said that it is easy, as is presented, from the scriptures in the subchapter 2.3 titled, "The Easy Yoke of Christ".

Next time you hear someone say that "we won't be here" when the beast of Revelation begins to persecute the children of God... ask these two questions:

What verse in the book of Revelation reveals the timing of the rapture better than Revelation 14:14-16?
What verse in the book of Revelation correlates with all seven details of the two foundational scriptures describing the rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52?

Preliminary Outline of Revelation

1) Salutation (1:1-8)

2) Messages to the Seven Churches (1:9–3:22)

3) John in the Throne Room (Chapter 4)

4) Scroll with Seven Seals(Chapter 5)

5) Six Seals: Apocalyptic Overview (Chapters 6,7)

6) Seventh Seal: Apocalyptic Detail (8:1-20:15)

Seven Paired Judgements

a) Seven Trumpet Judgments 8:2–14:27

b) Seven Bowl Judgments 15:1–20:15

7) New Jerusalem 21:1–22:5

8) I am coming: blessing and warning 22:6–21

Please hear me prayerfully. In the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, there are seven seals of regime change for planet earth. The seventh seal contains seven pairs of judgements. So there are seven in the seventh of seven. It was the same in the regime change for Israel at the battle of Jericho. Seven priest with seven trumpets walked around the city of Jericho once per day for six days, blowing their trumpets. On the seventh day they walked around the city seven times. After a long blast of their trumpets at the end of the seventh march around the city, the walls of the city fell and Jericho was taken from the Canaanites and given to God's chosen ones. Regime change occurred in the form of seven in the seventh of seven... just like the final regime change revealed in the book of Revelation. Seven in the seventh of seven.

So, now you see regime change in the book of Revelation. You also see the Jericho seven. Now I will present briefly present the connection of Matthew 24 so you can see why I call this interpretation of the book of Revelation "Regime Change 24/7".

Matthew 24 and the Six Seals: Apocalyptic Overview

Matthew 24 tells us that there will be wars, famine, death, persecution before the passing away of the earth. The wars, famine and death of Matthew 24 correlate with the first four seals of Revelation: Conquering, War, Famine and Death respectively.

The persecution of saints in Matthew 24 correlates with the fifth seal: The fifth seal is the prayers of saints martyred for their testimony of Jesus, asking for justice. They are told in the fifth seal to wait until a certain number of believers were martyred... a point at which God says "enough is enough"... and brings destruction of the earth on their persecutors.

The end of the earth in Matthew 24 correlates with the sixth seal of Revelation: At the end of the description of the sixth seal, every slave and free man knows that the wrath of Christ has come to them (Revelation 6:15,16)... No believers remain at the point of 6:15-16 since believers will not suffer this wrath of Christ. Everyone remaining on the earth at this time, will suffer the ultimate, eternal judgement. The sixth seal reveals the end the world, the end of Satan's dominion.

So, the first six seals in Revelation 6 and 7 present an overview of the final regime change. The seventh seal contains the details of this final apocalyptic regime change in the form of seven pairs of judgements... pairs of trumpets and bowls. That is seven in the seventh of seven. Seven pairs of judgements in the seventh of seven seals. Mathew 24 provides an overview of all seven seals. Matthew 24 provides the general prophesy of the seven in the seventh of seven.

Be Ready

"Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come" (Matthew 24:44).

Don't expect the book of Revelation to enable you to predict the timing of the end of the world. As I wrote above, after the prophecies of the book of Revelation have occurred, possibly as they occur to you... you will know what has happened and where you are in each of God's revealed steps as He rips the rule of the earth out of Satan's hands and establishes Christ's rule forever. Our instructions are to be ready... by making disciples as revealed in Matthew 24:45-47... we are to be faithful... over... the Lord's household... giving them their food... in due season. In other words, we are to make disciples. It's easy. Read subchapter 2.3 titled, "The Easy Yoke of Christ" to begin.

Here is the admonition from Matthew 24:

"44 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come. 45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes. 47 Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has" (Matthew 24:44-47).

Here is how this subchapter is organized.

Jericho 7
Correlation of Revelation with Jericho 7
Content and Chronology
Three Woes
Organizational Rhythm
Woman with the 12 Stars
The Beast: 666
The Antichrist
The Abomination of Desolation
Will Christians Go Through the Tribulation?
Is Revelation 14:14-16 the Rapture?
What is "this generation" in Matthew 24:34?
Who is You in Matthew 24?
GENERAL INTEGRATIVE COMMENTARY

To be added at a later date

Matthew 24 Correlation
What is Daniel's 70th week? See Ryrie, p 1333 7 Days of regime change from Israel to nations who will bear fruit for kingdom
How to understand Daniel 12?
What is 7 Yr Trib? Rev 11:2-3 trampling holy city (Jerusalem above) plus 13:5-7 (Overcoming saints)
Exegesis of the book of Revelation

Jericho 7

In the conquest of Jericho, when God gave the promised land to the children of Israel, seven priests blowing seven trumpets marched around Jericho for seven days. In the seventh day they marched around the city seven times, blew their trumpets and... with the shout of all the people of God, the walls of Jericho come tumbling down. God tore Jericho and eventually the land of Canaan from the enemies of God and gave it all to His people.

To summarize, they marched around the city once per day for six days. Then on the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times. So, we see six, followed by a seventh. And the seventh contained seven.

Correlation of Revelation with Jericho 7

In the conquest of Jericho I see a structure and framework for hearing the book of Revelation. We saw in the preceding section that the conquest of Jericho was executed with six, followed by a seventh, with the seventh containing seven. The book of Revelation includes the same pattern.

The book of Revelation reveals Jesus Christ in signs and symbols. It reveals Him in seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls. I see them organized as six, followed by a seventh, with the seventh containing seven, just like the Jericho 7. Let me explain.

In the book of Revelation, we see seven seals, the first five seals present five partially consecutive, partially concurrent events. In the sixth seal, the judgement comes on the enemies of Christ. So, the first six seals present an overview of the final regime change for planet earth. The details of that regime change are revealed in the seventh seal. The seventh seal contains seven pairs of judgements. So, we see six, followed by a seventh. And the seventh contains seven.

Here are first six seals:

The conqueror appears
War
Famine
Death
Martyrs ask God to avenge their deaths
The day of wrath occurs and Satan's people know it.

You can see that the seals do reveal an order that is consecutive, since a conqueror brings war, war brings famine, famine brings death, death brings prayer (5) and prayer brings God's answer to prayer (6). But, the cycle in 1-5 has been recurring for two thousand years... so, in the context of thousands of years, conquering, war, famine, death and martyrdom occur concurrently. Matthew 24 correlates very precisely with these seals, as I explained above.

The Seventh Seal

The seventh seal is thirty minutes of silence. Thirty minutes of silence is a long time. Try being silent for thirty minutes and you will see. This is silence is a BIG event. After the thirty minutes of silence a vision of seven pairs of trumpets and bowls appears. The seventh pair, the seventh trumpet and seventh bowl, is the coupe de grace... That's when the seventh trumpet sounds to transfer of the kingdom of the world to Christ and the seventh bowl proclaims "it is done!" Remember that I am presenting, six, followed by a seventh. And the seventh contains seven. Well, the seventh seal is the seventh which contains seven. The seventh seal contains the seven pairs of trumpet and bowl judgements on Satan, his demons and his human children.

Pairs of Judgements

The trumpets and bowls are pairs of judgements. The trumpets are judgements of wrath on behalf of the saints, in response to the prayers of persecuted saints, said wrath being against Satan's kingdom for attacks on the saints. The bowls are judgements of God on behalf of God... the completion of the wrath of God. The seven pairs of judgements are included in the seventh seal.

Content and Chronology

In the book of Revelation, the seven seals are presented first, then all seven trumpets are presented followed by a presentation of the seven bowls. In a cursory reading one might think that the seven bowls all occur after the seven trumpets because that is the order in which they are communicated in the book of Revelation. But a thorough reading reveals that can not be the case for two reasons: content and chronology.

Content

The primary object of wrath in the first trumpet and first bowl are the same. The primary object of wrath in the second trumpet and second bowl are the same. The pattern continues for all seven trumpets and bowls. So, the first trumpet and first bowl must be viewed as a pair, occurring together. All seven trumpets and bowls must be viewed as pairs.

Here is the content of each pair according to the object of wrath.

Object of Wrath by Pair:

1st Trumpet and Bowl: Earth

2nd Trumpet and Bowl: Sea

3rd Trumpet and Bowl: Rivers and Springs

4th Trumpet and Bowl: Sun

5th Trumpet and Bowl: Throne of Beast

6th Trumpet and Bowl: Euphrates River

7th Trumpet and Bowl: Air*

*Air refers to that which Satan has power over as Ephesians 2:2 states:

"you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience."

When God's wrath is poured out on the Air (Revelation 16:17), the attack is on Satan's domain, the kingdom of the world. God takes the kingdom of the world away from him and gives it to Christ (Revelation 11:15).

Here again is the content of each pair according to the object of wrath

1st Trumpet and Bowl: Earth

2nd Trumpet and Bowl: Sea

3rd Trumpet and Bowl: Rivers and Springs

4th Trumpet and Bowl: Sun

5th Trumpet and Bowl: Throne of Beast

6th Trumpet and Bowl: Euphrates River

7th Trumpet and Bowl: Air

The presentation of the bowl judgements make it very clear that the above represents the primary object of God's wrath. See the following relevant scriptures from Revelation 16:1-17:

"1 I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!"

2 The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth...

3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea...

4 The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water...

8 The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun...

10 The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast...

12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates...

17 The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" (Revelation 16:1-17)

Here for a third time is the content of each pair according to the object of wrath

1st Trumpet and Bowl: Earth

2nd Trumpet and Bowl: Sea

3rd Trumpet and Bowl: Rivers and Springs

4th Trumpet and Bowl: Sun

5th Trumpet and Bowl: Throne of Beast

6th Trumpet and Bowl: Euphrates River

7th Trumpet and Bowl: Air

Now I will show the object of wrath in the seven trumpets are exactly as shown above.

" 8:2 I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them...

8:7 The first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. One third of the earth was burned up...

8:8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great burning mountain was thrown into the sea. One third of the sea became blood...

8:10 The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch, and it fell on one third of the rivers, and on the springs of the waters...

8:12 The fourth angel sounded, and one third of the sun was struck...

9:9 The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him... 11 They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is "Abaddon", but in Greek, he has the name "Apollyon"...

Prayerful comment:
In the fifth bowl, wrath is poured on the throne of the beast. The fifth trumpet is correlated with this event as Satan (star) is thrown to the earth and the key to the abyss is given to him. Satan is called the angel of the abyss.

9:13 The sixth angel sounded. I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!".....

11:15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord...18 ... your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." 19 God's temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord's covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed" (Revelation 8:2-11:19)

Prayerful Comment:

In the seventh trumpet, the kingdom of the world is taken from Satan and it becomes the kingdom of Christ. The judgement occurs, saints are rewarded and the temple is opened (New Jerusalem). These are the end of the age. This correlates with the seventh bowl judgements. In the seventh bowl judgement, wrath is poured on the Air, which is Satan's domain. Then a loud voice proclaims "It is done!" (Revelation 16:1-17).

All seven trumpet judgements correlate with all seven bowl judgements, sequentially. The trumpets and bowls must be seen as pairs. The first trumpet and the first bowl occur together. The second trumpet and the second bowl occur together and so on... for all seven.

The trumpets are judgements in response to the prayers of the saints (Revelation 8:1-6). The bowls complete the wrath of God (Revelation 15:1). That is why the trumpets and bowls are presented separately.

This is solid proof that the seven woes do not come after the seventh trumpet. The trumpets and bowls occur together, as pairs. More on that in the section titled "Chronology" below. But before that is explained, I must explain, in a little more detail, why the seven trumpets and bowls are presented separately.

Wrath Divided into Trumpets and Bowls

As I said before, the trumpets are judgements in response to the prayers of the saints. The bowls complete the wrath of God. The introduction to the seven trumpets is in Revelation 8:1-6.

"When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. 5 The angel took the censer, and he filled it with the fire of the altar, then threw it on the earth. Thunders, sounds, lightnings, and an earthquake followed. 6 The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound" ( Revelation 8:1-6).

So, the introduction to the seven trumpets reveals this. In verse three, prayers are added to incense on the golden altar before the throne. In verse four, the prayers go up in smoke before God. Then in verse five the angel fills the censer with fire from the altar, and throws it to the earth. This is the wrath of God in response to the prayers of the saints. The martyred saints prayed for judgement for their blood in the fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-11).

The introduction to the seven bowl judgements is in Revelation 15:1-8.

"I saw another great and marvelous sign in the sky: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them God's wrath is finished" (Revelation 15:1)

Revelation 15:8-16:1 make it clear that the seven plagues are the seven bowls. In the seven bowls, the wrath of God is finished.

The trumpets and bowls are paired judgments. But they are described separately because trumpet judgments are judgments in response to prayers of the Saints for sins against the Saints. But the bowl judgments finish the wrath of God. Since, judgement for sins against the saints did not finish the wrath of God, the bowl judgements must be for sins that were not against the saints... in other words, for sins directly against God.

Chronology

It is impossible for the seven bowls to come after the seven trumpets because the events of the seventh trumpet take place after the event of the sixth bowl. In other words, the sixth bowl clearly occurs before the seventh trumpet, so the interpretation that the seven bowls follow the seven trumpets is incorrect.

Let me explain in greater detail, from the scriptures.

In the seventh trumpet, Christ receives the kingdom of the world (11:15), begins to reign (11:17), judges the dead (11:18), rewards the saints (11:18) and destroys those who destroy the earth (11:18). In the sixth bowl, Jesus said "I am coming." The sixth bowl can not precede the seventh trumpet because Jesus comes in the seventh trumpet. It makes no sense for Jesus to come and then after He has come to say "I am coming!".

Review

The trumpets and bowls are pairs of judgements, occurring together. The first trumpet and first bowl occur, then the second trumpet and second bowl occur, and so on, in the same way, for all seven. But there is one additional scripture you must see. This scripture makes it absolutely clear that the seven bowls do not come after the seventh trumpet. It is additional evidence that the trumpets and bowls are to be heard as pairs.

"but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his servants, the prophets" (Revelation 10:7).

So, the mystery is finished in the seventh trumpet. Even though the seven bowl judgements are presented after the seven trumpet judgements, the seven bowl judgements do not come chronologically after the seven trumpet judgements. The first trumpet and bowl judgements occur together. The second trumpet and bowl judgements occur together and so on.

Now for another issue of timing. Do the events of the seventh bowl occur after the events of the seventh trumpet? No. They occur together. Revelation 10:7 above said that the mystery is finished "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel". So, the events of the seventh bowl occur with the events of the seventh trumpet, not after the events of the seventh trumpet. The events of the seventh bowl occur "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel"... because there is no mystery left after "the days of the voice of the seventh angel".

Three Woes

The three woes are announced at the end of the fourth trumpet in 8:13. We are told that the three woes will come from the next three trumpet blasts.

"I saw, and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a loud voice, 'Woe! Woe! Woe for those who dwell on the earth, because of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, who are yet to sound!"' (Revelation 8:13).

So each woe is associated with the fifth, sixth and seventh trumpet blasts, respectively. The first woe is the fifth trumpet, (9:12). The second woe is the sixth trumpet (11:14).

The Third Woe

The third woe is the seventh trumpet (11:14)… And also the seventh bowl (18:10,16,19). Revelation 18:10,16,19 are bowl judgments on Babylon. Babylon is also subject to the trumpet judgement in the seventh trumpet (14:8).

According to 8:13, the third woe is brought on by the seventh trumpet. So the blowing of the seventh trumpet brings about the woes of the seventh trumpet and also woes in the seventh bowl. So, the blast of the seventh trumpet brings the seventh trumpet judgment and the seventh bowl judgment. This is additional evidence that the trumpet judgments and bowl judgments are pairs.

The trumpets and bowls are paired judgments. But they are described separately because trumpet judgments are judgments in response to prayers of the Saints for sins against the Saints. But the bowl judgments finish the wrath of God. Since, judgement for sins against the saints did not finish the wrath of God, the bowl judgements must be for sins that were not against the saints... in other words, for sins directly against God.

Summary: Pairs of Judgements in the Seventh Seal

Now, I will amend my outline of the book of Revelation to more clearly reflect the pairs of judgements within the seventh seal. I will provide the scripture reference for each trumpet judgement and corresponding bowl judgment, followed by the primary object of wrath for each pair. TR stands for trumpet. B stands for bowl.

Outline of Revelation

1) Salutation (1:1-8)

2) Messages to the Seven Churches (1:9–3:22)

3) John in the Throne Room (Chapter 4)

4) Scroll with Seven Seals(Chapter 5)

5) Six Seals: Apocalyptic Overview (Chapters 6,7)

6) Seventh Seal: Apocalyptic Detail (8:1-20:15)

Seven Paired Judgements: Trumpets and Bowls

Introductions: TR (8:1-6), B(15:1-8)

1st: TR 8:7, B 16:1-2, Earth

2nd: TR 8:8-9, B 16:3, Sea

3rd: TR 8:10-11, B 16:4-7, Rivers, Springs

4th: TR 8;12-13, Bowl 16:8-9, Sun

5th: TR 9:1-12, B 16:10-11, Beast's Throne

6th: TR 9:13-11:14, B 16:12-16, Euphrates

7th: TR 11:15-14:20, B 16:17-20:15, Air*

7) New Jerusalem 21:1–22:5

8) I am coming: blessing and warning 22:6–21

Organizational Rhythm

The book quickly and clearly establishes how the book is organized. It is organized in sevens. After seven messages to seven churches, there are seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls, presented in that order... seals, trumpets and then bowls. I will first present the structure within the seals, trumpets and bowls. Then I will present the larger structure connecting the seals, trumpets and bowls.

Structure within Seals, Trumpets and Bowls

The first four trumpets are very short. The first five seals and bowls, are also very short, establishing a clear rhythm and organizational structure to understand how the material is organized.

Here is how the material is organized. I will use the seals as an example for all three, since our Lord presents the seals first. The description of the first seal is presented in Revelation 6:1. Next, the description of the second seal is presented. Then the third, fourth and fifth. By the time you have read the first five seals, you realize that the text of the first continues until the second. The text of the second continues until the third. The third continues until the forth. The fourth continues until the fifth. The fifth continues until the sixth. All five are contained in just eleven verses, 6:1-11. If you will read them, you will see that this is very simple and straight forward.

Why is this relevant?

The sixth seal, the sixth trumpet, the seventh trumpet and seventh bowl are very long. This creates a problem for some. I will explain the problem by example. There is some content occurring between the beginning of the sixth seal and the beginning of the seventh seal which some commentators think is incompatible as a part of the sixth seal. The location of that text, if it is a part of the sixth seal, may be incompatible with the commentator's theology. Or the commentator may not be able to make sense of that material as a result of being unaware of the paired "Content and Chronology" section above.

But, for what ever reason, and in spite of the rhythm established in text of the first four or five of each series, that the text of each continues until the next begins, come commentators have treated certain portions in the text of the sixth seal, as an "interlude" or parenthesis... as content which they don't consider to be part of the sixth seal, even though it is clearly presented between the beginning of the sixth seal and the beginning of the seventh seal. They do the same with the sixth trumpet. This allows as many various interpretations as the imagination is capable of.

Structure Connecting the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls

Immediately after the seventh seal is opened in Revelation 8:1, the seven trumpets are introduced in 8:2. So, there is no interlude between the seventh seal and the first trumpet. The content progresses directly from the seals to the trumpets, without interruption. With the consistent organization we have seen so far, one would reasonably expect that consistent organization and rhythm to continue. It does. The seventh trumpet begins in 11:15 and continues through the end of chapter 14. The bowls are then introduced in the very next verse. So, the seventh trumpet covers some 3.5 chapters. That may seem long but.. it too is very organized.

Verse 11:15 through the end of chapter 11 provide an overview of the seventh trumpet when Christ receives the kingdom of the world (11:15), begins to reign (11:17), judges the dead (11:18), rewards the saints (11:18) and destroys those who destroy the earth (11:18). Then chapters 12 - 14 provide the details of those events. So, it is very clear that the seventh trumpet begins at 11:15 and ends at the end of chapter 14.

Some may wonder if the account of the woman with twelve stars (12:1-17) occurs within the days of the seventh trumpet. Part of it is seeing the birth of Christ, which did not occur in the days of the seventh trumpet but was voiced by the seventh angel to identify who is being persecuted in the days of the seventh trumpet (the children of the woman. The third woe is referred to in 12:12. Since the third woe occurs in the days of the seventh trumpet, we have evidence that part of the account with the woman occurs in the days of the seventh trumpet. (Persecution of her children, the saints, in 12:17 and possibly 12:12).

Seventh Bowl of Wrath

The seventh bowl judgment covers over five chapters in the book of Revelation. Understanding where the description of the seventh bowl begins and ends is critical to understanding the chronology of the events described in the book of Revelation.

As I said before, the seventh bowl judgement covers over five chapters. We see seven angels with seven plagues (15:1). The seven plagues are in seven bowls which contain the wrath of God (15:7). In these seven bowls the wrath of God is finished (15:1, 8). No one can enter the temple until all seven plagues of all seven angels are finished (15:8).

Some see the seventh bowl of wrath as ending in 16:21 (end of chapter 16). But there are two conditions established in 15:1–8, by which we know that the seventh bowl is not finished until Revelation 20:15. The two conditions are

context of wrath and
access into the temple

Context of wrath
Since the wrath of God is finished in the seventh bowl, we can recognize the end of the seventh bowl when the wrath of God is finished.

Access into the Temple
Since no one can enter the temple until the end of the seventh bowl, we can recognize the end of the seventh bowl when access into the temple is established.

These are the two conditions, from the Scriptures, by which the end of the seventh bowl may be recognized. I believe that the text clearly proves that the end of the seventh bowl is in 20:15. Now we will see, from the scriptures, where these two conditions are met.

Context of Wrath Continued
The seventh bowl begins in 16:17, and mentions judgment on the great city (16:19). As I said before, some say that the seventh bowl is complete at 16:21 (the end of chapter 16). But the first verse in chapter 17 begins to provide details about the judgement of the great city. But it calls the great city by one of its many other names, the "great prostitute". Then, throughout chapters 17 and 18, many details about the judgment of the great city are provided, using a number of different names. How can chapters 17 and 18 not be included in the seventh bowl when those three chapters provide the details of the wrath summarized in 16:17–21? So, without a doubt, the seventh bowl continues at least through chapter 18.

By the way, the following titles all describe the same entity:

the great prostitute (17:1)
woman in purple and scarlet (17:3,4)
Babylon the Great (17:5)
the great city (17:18)
mystic Sodom (11:8)
mystic Egypt (11:8)

Jerusalem* (11:8).

* Jerusalem is another name for the great city since Jerusalem is "where their Lord was crucified".

If you will read Revelation 17:1-18 and then 11:8, you will see that all five titles describe the same entity in the book of Revelation.

Context of Wrath Continued Again
But 15:8 said that the bowls finish the wrath of God. The wrath of God is not finished until Christ
1) appears in 19:11 to wage war,
2) throws the beast and false profit into the lake of fire (19:20),
3) kills his enemies at Armageddon (19:17-19 and possibly 20:9),
4) imprisons Satan for 1000 years (20:1–3)
5) throws Satan into the lake of fire 20:10 and the second resurrection occurs in 20:13 when the unredeemed are cast into the lake of fire (20:15).

So the wrath of God is finished at the end of chapter 20, verse 15.

Access to the Temple
The new Jerusalem is described from 21:1–22:5. In the new Jerusalem, God himself is the temple (21:22) and is face to face with his children (22:4). So, the wrath of God, the seventh bowl, is finished at the end of chapter 20 in 20:15. In chapter 21 access is available into the temple of God, since at that time God will be the temple and His children will live in visual contact with Him (22:4).

Summary

The two conditions, context and access into the temple, as established in 15:1-8, clearly show that the seventh bowl is not finished until Revelation 20:15.

What is the woman with the 12 stars?

Revelation 12:1-6 tells of a woman with 12 stars in her crown, who gave birth to a son who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. The child was caught up to God and to His throne. Satan (verse 9) persecuted the woman and her other offspring, who keep God's commandments and hold Jesus' testimony (12:13).

To hold Jesus' testimony is to bear witness to Christ.

Who is this woman... who has offspring that bear witness to Christ?

Is it Israel? Israel did have twelve tribes. That would correlate with the twelve stars in her crown. But Israel doesn't bear witness to Christ.

So, I checked the entire New Testament to see if there was any scripture which expressly stated who our mother is... that is... who does scripture say is the mother of Christians?

The word mother occurs 81 times in the New Testament. In 80 of those occurrences, the word mother refers our typical usage of the word, a human, biological, mother of a child. No scripture presented Israel as our mother. But one scripture did tell us who our mother is.

Galatians 4:21-31 tells us plainly. Our mother is the New Covenant Jerusalem Above (4:24, 26). See below 4:26.

"But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all" (Galatians 4:26).

Galatians 4:21-31 relates two covenants and two different Jerusalems, the present Jerusalem and the Jerusalem above. One covenant corresponds to the present Jerusalem. The other covenant in the Galatians passage corresponds to the Jerusalem above which is described in Revelation 21 as the New Jerusalem, from where Jesus came, and which will come down to the earth for our dwelling in the eternal state. We know that the present Jerusalem had rejected Christ and was holding to the Old Covenant. So, we know that the Old Covenant corresponds to the present Jerusalem.

We also know that those who were born according to the Spirit (Galatians 4:29) are in the New Covenant. So, it is simple to see that the New Covenant corresponds to the Jerusalem above in the Galatians passage.

Please prayerfully consider what I have said as we explore the text regarding the woman with 12 stars. We will see if the New Covenant Jerusalem Above, fits all the details of the Woman with 12 stars.

Please prayerfully consider the following scripture:

"1 A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth. 3 Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. 4 His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of irons. Her child was caught up to God, and to his throne" (Revelation12:1-5).

The sun, moon and 12 stars are thought to establish a connection with Jacob, Rachael, and their 12 sons as mentioned in the dream of Joseph in Genesis 37:9–11. So, the 12 stars are thought to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. But, the twelve stars could also represent the twelve apostles. Both the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles are included In the description of the New Jerusalem (21:12,14). That is key. So, the New Covenant Jerusalem Above represents both gentile believers. It also represents spiritual Israel, which trusted Christ at the first advent.

In Revelation 12:5 we see that the woman is a mother, who gives birth to Christ. We know that her child is the Christ because her child is a male, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron and was caught up to God and to His throne.

Did the New Covenant Jerusalem Above give birth to Christ?

To answer the question, I need to rephrase the question and provide a long string of theology. So, read prayerfully. If you don't read prayerfully, you won't hear.

I will rephrase the question:

Did the incarnate Christ come out of the New Covenant Jerusalem Above?

Yes. Jesus is the New Covenant Jerusalem Above, in the flesh. The New Covenant Jerusalem Above became flesh. The woman giving birth to the son in Revelation 12 is a sign of this monumental event.

Jesus said:

"This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24).

The New Covenant in the flesh has blood. It's the blood of Jesus.

Yes. Jesus is the New Covenant Jerusalem Above, in the flesh. The New Covenant Jerusalem Above became flesh.

Yes! The incarnate Christ came out of the New Covenant Jerusalem Above!

Let me explain in greater detail:

In the New Covenant, God writes His law on our hearts and we know Him (Hebrews 8:10,11).

By coming in he flesh, Jesus brought the New Covenant Jerusalem Above into us and transformed us.

We couldn't obey the law. So, Jesus paid for our sins with His blood on the cross (Matthew 26:28). We still couldn't obey the law and walk with God. We needed God to live in us, to do the law in us. The indwelling Christ solved the problem. Christ fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17). He is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15). Christ is in us (2 Corinthians 13:5) and mediates from within. In this way, God put the Law on our hearts (Hebrews 10:16). That is the purpose of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:10). We live no longer: Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Christ is being formed in us (Galatians 4:19). So, "the fulfillment of the Law" is lived in us by Christ.

So, the New Covenant Jerusalem Above became flesh, fulfilled the law in us and wrote God's law on our hearts... the writing of God's law on our hearts by God dwelling within us being the distinctive essence of the New Covenant.

Let's continue:

We see in verse 17 that the dragon makes war with the rest of her offspring, meaning her offspring other than the Christ. Her other offspring refers to all believers, whether Jewish or Gentile. We further see in verse 17 that the rest of her offspring keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. So the woman is not the nation of Israel since the nation of Israel rejected Christ and did not hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Exegesis of Chapter 12

Chapter 12 contains three snapshots which convey different aspects of a heavenly conflict at the birth of Christ, during which Satan and 1/3 of the angels are cast down to the earth. The snapshots are versus 1-6, 7–12 and 13–17. All three snapshots speak of 1) Satan being cast to the earth 2) Satan's persecution of the woman or her offspring 3) Christ. The 3.5 year period is mentioned in the first and third snapshots. If you will prayerfully read through each word and phrase of chapter 12 you will see that all three snapshots are speaking about the first advent of Christ. The first snapshot takes place at the moment of painful labor as the child, Christ is born, 12:2. In this snapshot Satan and his demons are on the earth and Christ ascends to His throne. This snapshot is critical as it sets the scene as the birth and ascension of Christ, the first advent. The second snapshot tells us details about how Satan and his angels came to be on the earth... That Michael and his angels threw Satan and his angels from Heaven to the earth in an angelic war. Verse 10 tells us that the authority of Christ came at that time (Christ ascension to his throne). The third snapshot tells us that the dragon realized he had been thrown to the earth so he persecuted the woman.

It may seem strange to you for Satan to persecute a covenant. But we have clear precedent for this from Daniel, a book with much end time prophesy in vague mystic terms, where:

the Messiah "is cut off" and "will make a firm covenant with many for one week", possibly meaning that in seven years the covenant was revealed, brought to fruition and matured in the seven years of the seventieth week... possibly the seven year period beginning with the ministry of John the Baptist and ending with the stoning of Stephen, while in the middle of the seventieth week, the animal sacrificial system ceases (possibly because the real sacrifice had come, the crucifixion of Christ), Daniel 9:26-27,
the prince of the covenant (possibly Christ) is "broken" (Daniel 11:22),
rage is presented, "indignation against the holy covenant" and "action" is taken again the holy covenant (Daniel 11:28,30).
"he will corrupt those who do wickedly against the covenant" (Daniel 11:32),
the persecutor of the holy covenant will "have regard for those who forsake the holy covenant" (Daniel 11:30), possibly a reference to present Jerusalem, explained in participants and equivalents as the Great Harlot in the book of Revelation who engaged in persecution of the saints.

Furthermore, Satan persecuted Jesus, the incarnation of the New Covenant, who is in us... "

"This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24).

So, the new covenant had blood... the blood of Christ.. the new covenant is personified, incarnated in Jesus, of whom the saints are His body.

Satan also persecuted the children of the new covenant, the saints, those who received the Christ, also known as the citizens of the new Jerusalem.

Here is a small portion of the passage from Galatians. Remember, the Woman is the New covenant Jerusalem above. (Jerusalem above is in contrast to the present physical city of Jerusalem.)

"24 These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. 25 For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all" (Galatians 4:24-26).

Why would Satan persecute the nation of Israel which rejected the Christ? They were on his team. So the woman he persecuted is not the nation of Israel. The woman he persecuted is the Jerusalem above. "The Jerusalem above… Is our mother "Galatians 4:26. Verse 12:17 in the third snapshot goes on to say that Satan persecuted the children of the Jerusalem above (the rest of her offspring who testify of Jesus). This would not refer to Israel.

The Beast: 666

Here it is:

"... no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. " (Revelation 13:17-18)

Please prayerfully consider each of these holy words of God about the number of the beast. The number 666:

is the number of a man
Is the number of his name
Is derived by mathematical calculation
The wise can calculate the number

Some say that the number of his name could be a registration number. A registration number like 200-400-66 does add up to 666. But, registration numbers are not public. The wise could not identify the beast. Besides, a registration number is not the number of one's name. My name is Jim Phillips. My social security number is not the number of my name. It is a form of identification used by my government to identify me instead of my name. But my social security number is not the number of my name. I could change my name one thousand times and it would have no effect on my social security number, because my social security number has nothing to do with my name.

Now, lets return to the text:

"... no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. " (Revelation 13:17-18)

The readers of the book of Revelation would have clearly understood these passages. The people of that era did not have a separate set of symbols which represented numerical value. They simply did not have numeric symbols like 1,2,3 and etc. But, each letter in the Hebrew and Greek alphabet had a number equivalent. The first letter of the Greek alphabet is alpha which had a numerical value of one. The second letter was beta which had a numerical value of two, and so on. Everyone in that day who knew arithmetic could calculate the number of his or her own name. So, if a public person were too demonstrate the attributes of the beast, it was a simple matter to translate that leader's name into Greek or Hebrew and then calculate the number of his name to see if it added up to 666.

Nero Caesar was translated as Hebrew in two ways: rsq nwrn or rsq nwr, representing Neron Caesar and Nero Caesar respectively. The numerical value of Neron Caesar in Hebrew is 666. The numerical value of Nero Caesar in Hebrew is 616. This is critical knowledge because some of the ancient Greek manuscripts for the book of Revelation say 616 instead of 666. For both spellings of Nero's name to match both the typical and variant Greek texts is astounding evidence that Nero is the key to identifying the beast.

Nero did commit murder countless Christians in the first century. He even coated them in tar and set them ablaze as lights at his parties. But before you jump to the conclusion that the persecutions of the beast are completely in your past, please prayerfully consider some additional scriptures: These scriptures provide additional information about the beast:

1) The beast will die and rise again.

2) The beast is associated with four great ancient empires.

1) Revelation 17:8 tells us that The beast "was, and is not, and is about to come". Revelation 13:3 tells us that the beast was "wounded fatally". In other words, the beast dies and comes back to life. So, the Nero of the first century could come back to life in our future as the beast of Revelation.

2) Revelation 13:2-3 says that the beast had 10 horns, was like a leopard, bear and a lion… A very direct connection with the four beasts of Daniel 7:8, representing representing Babylon, Media Persia, Greece and Rome.

In conclusion, we see that the beast can be associated with a resurrected Nero but also will reflect Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome in some way.

Will Christians Go Through the Tribulation?

You may have heard some say that the church is not mentioned in the book of Revelation after chapter 3 and therefore Christians do not go through the tribulation which is presented after chapter 3. You may also have heard that Christians do not incur the wrath of God and therefore Christians will not be present during the great tribulation.

I suggest that you prayerfully read the book of Revelation. Unless God reveals its contents directly to your mind, you will not know what is in the book unless you read it. And if you read the book, it will be readily apparent that Christians will be present during the tribulation, will not suffer the wrath of God, but will suffer the wrath of Satan and his followers. In the very last verse of Revelation 12, those who testify of Jesus are being persecuted:

"The dragon grew angry with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep God's commandments and hold Jesus' testimony. " (Revelation 12:17).

Then the very next verse, 13:1, introduces us to the beast, 666. Revelation 13:7 tells us what the beast does:

"and it was given to him (the beast) to make war with the saints and to overcome them" (Revelation 13:7).

There is more:

"All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, he will go into captivity. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints" (Revelation 13:8-10).

Verse eight tells us that those whose names were not written in the book of life will worship the beast. Verse 10 speaks of the perseverance of the Saints. That's because the Saints are present when the beast is persecuting the Saints. How can the beast persecute the Saints if the Saints are not present? Revelation 13:15 tells us that those who refuse to worship the beast will be killed. The Second beast from Revelation 13:11 will: "cause as many as wouldn't worship the Image of the beast to be killed" (Revelation 13:15). So, the Saints, who were specifically mentioned in 13:10 are being killed for refusal to worship the image of the beast in 13:15. But there is much more:

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on" (Revelation 14:13).

So it is abundantly and obviously clear, that the saints are present on the earth in Revelation 14:13. Then, the next few verses, Revelation 14:14-20, show that the saints are raptured in Revelation 14:14-16... and those remaining on the earth because they were not included in the rapture are reaped in 14:17-20 and thrown into the "great wine press of the wrath of God" (14:19). Let's look at those passages.

"14 I looked, and saw a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!" 16 He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped" (Revelation 14:14-16).

In these three verses, the Saints are taken up to Christ. And it's a good thing… Because those who remained on the earth after the harvest of 14–16, are the subject of the reaping in verses 17-20, and are throne into the wine press of the wrath of God.

"17 Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. 18 Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Send your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth's grapes are fully ripe!" 19 The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 The wine press was trodden outside of the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even to the bridles of the horses, as far as one thousand six hundred stadia*" (Revelation 14:17–20).

* 296 kilometers or 184 miles

For additional clear and convincing proof, from the scriptures, that Revelation 14:14–16 is the rapture, see the next section!

Is Revelation 14:14-16 the Rapture?

Is Revelation 14:14-16 the rapture? If you will prayerfully consider the scriptures in this section, then you will prayerfully understand that the answer is yes. Briefly set aside what some theologians have taught and prayerfully consider what the scriptures actually say... so that you may be ready (Matthew 24:44).

"13 I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them." 14 I looked, and saw a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!" 16 He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped" (Revelation 14:13-16).

Verses 14 through 16 come immediately after verse 13 and immediately before verses 17-20. Verse 13 clearly establishes that Christians are present. Verse 13 says "Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord from now on". So, Christians are present in the harvest of verses 14-16. Immediately after the rapture of 14–16 comes the reaping of those who were not raptured into the wine press of God's wrath (verse 19) with blood to horses and bridles for 200 miles, (Armageddon). For further details about Armageddon and the consummation of God's wrath , see the seventh bowl, Revelation 17:1-20:15, as the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl occur as pairs. So, Christians must be raptured in versus 14-16 or else they would be reaped into the wrath of God, including Armageddon. We know that only those who take the mark of the beast will drink of this wrath of God (Revelation 14:9-10) and will be tormented forever (Revelation 14:11). This is enough proof to establish that Revelation 14:14-16 is the rapture. But I will continue presenting more proof from God's holy Word, the Scriptures:

Please consider again Revelation 14:14–16.

"14 I looked, and saw a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!" 16 He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped" (Revelation 14:14-16).

Please prayerfully observe the facts presented in 14-16. The "one like a son of man" is Christ. We know that this is Christ because he clearly refers to himself in this way, as the son of man. For example: Matthew 8:20, 9:6, 10:23, 11:19, 12:8, 12:40, 13:37, etc., etc., etc. Furthermore, he is described in this way in Revelation 1:13. So the one sitting on the cloud is Christ. Note that Christ does not set foot on the earth, but remains on the cloud. This is not the second coming of judgement since he does not set foot on the earth, but remains on the cloud and reaps from the cloud. That he is on the cloud is very significant. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 reveals that, in the rapture, both the living and dead saints will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord Christ in the air.

"16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God's trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Do you see it? Believers, both living and dead, rise up in the air, into the clouds in Revelation 14:14-16. From there, raptured saints watch as the angel reaps the earth into the wrath of God in Revelation 14:17-20, Armageddon. Now, please prayerfully examine Revelation 14:14-16 again to see how it fulfills 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

"14 I looked, and saw a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!" 16 He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped" (Revelation 14:14-16).

Christ is on the cloud. He reaps. He doesn't set foot on earth. The harvest comes to Him. But there is more. Please note that an angel tells Christ in verse 15 to reap because the time has come. Apparently the angel is giving the Father's instruction to Christ to "harvest" the earth, as only the Father knows the time (Matthew 24:36). Please note that this harvesting of the Saints, Revelation 14:14–16, is occurring within the seventh and final trumpet.

I will briefly review the subsection above titled, "Structure Connecting the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls" in the major section titled "Organizational Rhythm". The seventh trumpet begins in Revelation 11:15, with a summary of the seventh trumpet in verses 15-19, with details of the seventh trumpet being presented from 11:20-14:20. The point is, that the harvesting of the Saints, Revelation 14:14-16, occurs in the seventh and final trumpet. This is significant since 1 Corinthians 15:52 tells us that the rapture will occur in the final trumpet:

"51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep (die), but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

This passage is a companion passage to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. In both passages you see the dead, the living, the last trumpet and the rising of the dead in the rapture.

If you wonder if there may be a trumpet occurring after Revelation's seventh trumpet, consider the following: There is no eighth trumpet in the book of Revelation. But there is more... Revelation 10:7 says:

"but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his servants, the prophets" (Revelation 10:7).

The fulfillment of the revelation of the prophets about the rapture from both 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which you read above, must occur "in the days" on of the voice of the seventh angel, because "the mystery of God is finished" in those days. For the rapture to occur after the events of the seventh trumpet would mean that some mystery (the rapture) was finished after the mystery was already finished... since, the mystery was finished in the seventh trumpet. The rapture can not have occurred in the days of the first six trumpets, because those are not the "last trumpet" of 1 Corinthians 15:51.

As a final proof that Revelation 14:14–16 is the rapture, there is no other passage in the book of Revelation which fulfills the scriptures of other books in the Bible regarding the rapture: Only Revelation 14:14-16 presents Christ, the son of man, on a cloud, harvesting the earth, remaining on the cloud at the blast of the last trumpet... creating the setting prophesied about the rapture so that the harvest may come to him, the ascending of the Saints into the air. If Christ were to harvest souls that were on the ground, He would be pictured as being on the ground. But since the prophesies say that the saints "will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" Revelation 14:14-16, appropriately pictures Christ "on the cloud". The second angel (Revelation 14:17-20) is not pictured on the cloud. This second angel throws souls into the winepress of the wrath of God.

What is "this generation" in Matthew 24:34?

Near the end of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said,

"Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished" (Matthew 24:34).

Critics have said that those who heard the prophesies contained in Matthew 24 did pass away before all those things were accomplished... they allege that the prophesies of Christ were wrong... that Jesus was a false prophet. What does Matthew 24:34 mean by the phrase "this generation"? The proper interpretation of the chapter depends on a correct, contextual and scriptural application of that phrase to Mathew 24. Were the prophesies of Matthew 24:4-34 completely fulfilled with the destruction of the temple in 70 AD? Or, are those prophesies currently unfulfilled, to be fulfilled by events in our future? The answer to those questions will be determined by the meaning of the phrase "this generation" in Matthew 24:34.

For nearly half a century I struggled with this scripture. I did not find the answer through numerous commentaries or sincere preachers. All of the explanations I heard were inconsistent in some way with the text. I waited in faith, knowing because of the light I saw at my conversion that Jesus was the Son of God. The answer came to me after weeks of prayer in the word. I prayerfully admonish you to ask God to open your eyes to see. I prayerfully admonish you to read His words using the intimate reading methods described in subchapter 1.1 titled, "Learning to Read: Five Paths".

"Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished" (Matthew 24:34).

On the very day that Jesus spoke those words, He told his listeners exactly what He meant by "this generation". Jesus entered the temple in Matthew 21:23,

"when he had come into the temple..." (Matthew 21:23)

Jesus conversed with those in the temple from Matthew 21:23 through the end of Matthew 23. He left the temple in Matthew 24:1,

"Jesus went out from the temple"

Then in Matthew 24:3, as He "sat on the Mount of Olives", probably facing the temple, His disciples asked Jesus some questions about the future. Jesus answers those questions and advises them about those future times in Matthew 24:4 through the end of chapter 25. Verse 1 of chapter 26 reveals that he "finished all these words". All of the conversations from Matthew 21:23 to Matthew 25:46 occurred on ONE DAY.

And in THAT DAY, Jesus told them exactly what He meant by the phrase "this generation".

Please prayerfully continue to hear...

The phrase, "this generation" was used only five times in the book of Matthew. It was used four times in the book of Matthew prior to Matthew 24:34. "This generation" referred to those who would not hear Christ in Matthew 11:16. In Matthew 12:41 and also Matthew 12:42, "this generation" referred to "an evil and adulterous generation" (12:39). In Matthew 23:36 "this generation" referred to those who were guilty of the murder of Abel and all other righteous men in the old testament.

So, "this generation" in the book of Matthew referred to:

Those who don't hear Christ (11:16)
Evil Generation (12:41)
Evil Generation (12:42)
Murderers (12:36)

A prayerful examination of Matthew 23:36 Will add surprising clarity. If you wish to understand, please prayerfully consider Matthew 23:29-36 below. Your mind is totally incapable of understanding. Only by revelation from the Holy Spirit within will you understand. Please pray as you read God's words:

"29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous, 30 and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn't have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' 31 Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna (Hell)? 34 Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation" (Matthew 23:29–36).

Please prayerfully consider the last verse:

"Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation" (Matthew 23:36).

While speaking to the Pharisees in roughly 30 AD, Christ said that "this generation" was guilty of the murder of Abel who was murdered in roughly 4000 BC.

Jesus said,

"Able... whom you killed"

Christ said that guilt for the murder of Able in the first book of the Old Testament and all righteous men murdered after him, through the last book of the Old Testament (Zachariah), would fall on "this generation". That is guilt for murders which occurred over thousands of years. Now, Abel was the son of Adam and Eve who was murdered by his brother Cain, in 4000 BC.

Cain murdered Able.

Does this mean that every person who had the misfortune to be alive at the time of Christ in 30 AD, will be held guilty for the murder of Abel? Of course not. Jesus didn't say that "all people now living" would bear that guilt. "All people now living" would include his disciples. Jesus said "this generation" would be guilty.

How could Christ say in verse 35 that those Pharisees to whom he was speaking at the time were guilty of the murder of Abel who was murdered thousands of years earlier by his brother Cain? The key to this question is in Christ's meaning of the phrase "this generation ".

What generation?

The answer is... the generation of Satan.

In the flesh, a generation is composed of those who were born of the flesh to a certain person of the flesh. All of the children of my earthly (fleshly) father are one generation, even though they may have been born over a period of 40 years. But a generation in the spiritual realm is composed of those who were born of a spirit, even though they may have been born over a period of many thousands of years. And births of spirit are all of one kind or another... as sons of God or sons of Satan. Prayerfully consider God's holy words:

Genesis 3:15 tells us that Satan, the serpent in the Garden of Eden has offspring. God said to Satan:

"I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring" (Genesis 3:15).

In John 8:44 Jesus told the Pharisees that they were sons of the devil:

"You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning..." (John 8:44).

In the book of Matthew, Jesus told the Pharisees that they were sons of hell (23:15)… That they worked to keep men out of the kingdom of heaven, (23:13)… That they worked hard to lead men to hell, (23:15)… That they were sons of those who murdered the prophets (23:31). In John 8:44, Jesus called the Pharisees sons of the Devil.

Sons of Satan, whether born today, one-thousand years ago or five-thousand years ago are of the same spiritual generation, because they have the same spiritual father. In the same way... I am in the same fleshly generation as my brother, even if he was born 40 years before me. The book of Matthew makes this very clear in the first chapter: "To Abraham was born Isaac… To Isaac Jacob… To Jacob Judah, etc. etc. for a total of fourteen generations (1:17). Issac was one generation of the flesh. Jacob was another generation of the flesh and etc. The ancestry of man is traced both according to the flesh and according to the spirit... as Jesus was a descendant of David "according to the flesh" but was "the Son of God" (Romans 1:3,4).

In summary, there were four mentions of the phrase "this generation" in the book of Matthew before the critical and pivotal use of that same phrase in Matthew 24:34. And all five uses of the phrase occurred on the same day, either inside or outside of the temple. Yes, all of the text from Matthew 21:23-25:46 occurred on the same day. So, on one particular day Jesus said "this generation" will not pass away until all these things take place" in Matthew 24:34. Earlier in that very same day, he also made all those statements I quoted from Matthew 23 about the Pharisees being sons of hell, working hard to send others to hell, keeping people out of heaven and being guilty of the murder of Able 4000 years before. So, the chapters in Matthew previous to Matthew 24:34 have told us how to understand Matthew 24:34.

Are you ready? Please prayerfully consider my words regarding the scriptures.

The generation which Jesus calls "this generation", by which Jesus means the generation of Satan, will not pass away until all the things prophesied in Matthew 24:1-31 come to pass. Matthew 24:29–31 is the rapture. Verse 33 tells us that when the rapture occurs the kingdom of God is near, right at the door (See Luke 21:31). Luke 21:31 proves that the Luke 21 version of Matthew 24 was not completely fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, since the Kingdom of God did not "come near" at the destruction of Jerusalem. Revelation 14 tells us that after the rapture in Revelation 14:14-16 the next event is the wrath of God on the sons of Satan, Armageddon… the removal from the earth of all of the sons of Satan. So Matthew 24:34 is telling us that after the rapture, then will come Armageddon, the kingdom of God and the sons of Satan, "this generation", will pass away.

The fact that Jesus, speaking to a particular individual Pharisee, who is a member of "this generation", being of the generation of Satan, could intend by His use of the word "you" to mean, not only that individual, but the entire generation to which that individual belonged, has tremendous implications for understanding Matthew 24 and the parallel text in the other synoptic gospels, Luke 21 and Mark 13. I will explain this in the section below titled "Who is You in Matthew 24?"

Who is "You" in Matthew 24?

I first began to struggle with understanding Matthew 24 and the parallel passage in Luke 21 in the 1970's. I have been praying and waiting for God to reveal an interpretation which would not contradict any verse in those chapters when one read through each of the two chapters, from beginning to end. It wasn't until 2022 that He chose to make it clear to me... half a century. I knew that it was not scripture which had a flaw because of the light I saw at my conversion, which I communicated in the subchapter titled, "My Conversion". It was my interpretation that was flawed, not the scripture.

I will repeat my last sentence from the earlier section titled "Who is This Generation in Matthew 24:34?". The fact that Jesus, speaking to a particular individual Pharisee, who is a member of "this generation", being of the generation of Satan, could intend by His use of the word "you" to mean, not only that individual, but the entire generation to which that individual belonged, has tremendous implications for understanding Matthew 24 and the parallel text in the other synoptic gospels, Luke 21 and Mark 13.

In Luke 21 and Matthew 24, as Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples in roughly 30 AD, He repeatedly addresses them as "you". In Luke 21, Jesus addresses them as "you" twenty-four times. In Matthew 24, Jesus addresses them as "you" eighteen times. Jesus said that they would see and hear certain things. About ten years ago, I became convinced that Matthew 24 and Luke 21 were completely fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. I was convinced because so many of those things which he said "you" will see or hear occurred at that time. But Luke 21:31 and Matthew 24:44 did not fit because the things said to "you" did not occur at 70 AD.

But, I will say it again... The fact that Jesus, speaking to a particular individual Pharisee in Matthew 24:34, who is a member of "this generation", being of the generation of Satan, could intend by His use of the word "you" to mean, not only that individual, but the entire generation to which that individual belonged, then...

Jesus's use of the word "you", speaking to particular individuals who were children of God, could intend by His use of the word "you" to mean the generation of God... , not just those particular individuals who happened to be standing in front of Jesus at that time... Jesus could have intended His use of the word "you" to mean ALL OF GOD'S TRUE CHILDREN... THE GENERATION OF GOD. If by His use of the word "you", Jesus meant "THE GENERATION OF GOD', the apparent contradiction presented by Luke 21:31 and Matthew 24:44 is resolved and the entirety of both texts are reconciled. See below:

"Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that God's Kingdom is near" (Luke 21:31).

The Kingdom of God did not come "near" at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The prophesies of Luke 21:5-24a clearly occurred in the time leading to and including the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Some assert that the prophesies of Luke 21:24b-36 also occurred in that time frame. Before my attention was drawn to Luke 21:31, I thought this assertion to be a little awkward, but possible. But then I saw that this assertion is actually proved false by the fact that the Kingdom of God did not come "near" in 70 AD. Then I was left with no interpretation that was consistent with all of Luke 21:5-36. If you in Luke 21:31 meant those individuals who Jesus was spoken to, who are now quite dead, then any portion of Luke 21:2-36 that had not been fulfilled, could not be fulfilled, because those individuals were not present to "see these things". But then I realized that the word "you" meant the generation of God. The difficulty of the passage was removed. The generation of God will see the fulfillment of Luke 21:24b-28, the second coming. So, this will happen at the rapture which is referred to in Matthew 24:30-31 and Luke 21:27-28. By the way, the rapture of Revelation 14:14-16 is followed quickly by Armageddon (Revelation 14:14-20).

Now see Matthew 24:44:

"Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come" (Matthew 24:44).

If Jesus intended the word "you" in verse forty-four to mean those particular flesh and blood individuals who were standing before Him in roughly 30 AD, this did not come true for those individuals. They died roughly 2000 years ago, before the Son of Man came. But, if Jesus intended His use of the word "you" to refer to THE GENERATION OF GOD, meaning, true children of God, then the difficulty is removed. Praise be to God!

How to understand Daniel 12?

Daniel 12 Is about the end times. There is a question regarding the translation of Daniel 12:11. If discontinuance of animal sacrifice is the intended meaning of the original text, I suggest the following. Daniel 12:11 has two conditions, not one. The first has been met. The second has not. The sacrifice has been abolished, but abomination of desolation has not been set up. So we are waiting for the abomination of desolation to be set up. This does not mean that the temple must be rebuilt and sacrifices be reinstated so that they may be abolished again. Sacrifice has already been abolished. The first condition has been met.

If discontinuance of animal sacrifice is NOT the intended meaning of the original text...

to be continued.

How to Overcome:

"They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death" (Revelation 12:11). In other words, they overcame by making disciples...

GENERAL INTEGRATIVE COMMENTARY

In this section, I will provide general, rather than verse by verse explanations, to show how the many moving parts of the book of Revelation interact together as a whole. It is my prayer that, with a general framework at your fingertips, you may be able to pray through each verse in worshipful intimacy with your Lord, without getting lost in the details.

I will not provide scripture quotes in this commentary. So, I suggest that you read the scriptures specified as you read the commentary.

This General Interactive Commentary will follow the following outline.

Outline of Revelation

1) Salutation (1:1-8)

2) Messages to the Seven Churches (1:9–3:22)

3) John in the Throne Room (Chapter 4)

4) Scroll with Seven Seals(Chapter 5)

5) Six Seals: Apocalyptic Overview (Chapters 6,7)

6) Seventh Seal: Apocalyptic Detail (8:1-20:15)

Seven Paired Judgements: Trumpets and Bowls

Introductions: TR (8:1-6), B(15:1-8)

1st: TR 8:7, B 16:1-2, Earth

2nd: TR 8:8-9, B 16:3, Sea

3rd: TR 8:10-11, B 16:4-7, Rivers, Springs

4th: TR 8;12-13, Bowl 16:8-9, Sun

5th: TR 9:1-12, B 16:10-11, Beast's Throne

6th: TR 9:13-11:14, B 16:12-16, Euphrates

7th: TR 11:15-14:20, B 16:17-20:15, Air*

7) New Jerusalem 21:1–22:5

8) I am coming: blessing and warning 22:6–21

Chronology

I see the trumpets and bowls as pairs. Each trumpet is the voice of an angel. Each bowl is the action of an angel. As the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra came through a pair of angels, the angels of the trumpet and bowl judgements work as pairs (Genesis 19:1). So, the first trumpet and first bowl occur together as the first pair. The second trumpet and second bowl occur together as the second pair and so on. But the first pair does not necessarily occur before the second pair. The second pair does not necessarily occur before the third pair. The first, second, third, fourth, and fifth strings on a guitar are arranged in order but are not played in order. It is the same with the pairs.

General Interactive Commentary: Book of Revelation

1) Salutation (1:1-8)

The revelation of Jesus Christ from God to God's slaves to show what must shortly take place. Your translation may render the Greek word duolos (1:1) as servant or bond-servant instead of slave. Doulos is one bought with a price. In our case, bought with the blood of Christ. Doulos is not a wage earner who may change masters at will. So, the modern word servant does not communicate the intended authority structure of the word doulos. Thankfully, we are a different type of slave than those who have human owners. A saint is a slave-son-king, administering the authority of the King of Kings, for the glory of the King of Kings, in an intimate union of ecstasy with the King of Kings. You may read more about doulos from the scriptures in the presentation of the acrostic Kings, in subchapter 4.8. The book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible addressed to us as slaves. So don't miss the intended communication of authority structure. The book of Revelation is about establishing God's authority, through His chosen ones. God's authority structure, His chosen chain of command in the spiritual realm, is revealed as the revelation passes from God to Jesus, from Jesus to Jesus's angel, from Jesus's angel to John, from John to the respective angels of each of the seven churches. As the book reveals regime change in the earth, from Satan's children to God's children, God's heavenly authority structure will rule on earth so that by Revelation 22:3-5, in the eternal state, we see God's slaves reigning forever and ever, as slave-son-kings. Authority in this earth will pass.

By the way, the "seven Spirits who are before his throne" (1:4) which are "sent out into all the earth" (5:6), share authorship with God and Jesus of the letters to the seven churches (1:4), are the "seven lamps" (4:5), are the "seven eyes" of the Lamb (5:6) and are probably the seven angels who blow the seven trumpets (8:2). Based on the detail of spiritual authority revealed in the book of Revelation, I suspect that the seven Spirits are angels directly under the authority of Christ, through whom He works His will, making disciples. They are both lamp and eyes to Christ. Some may say that Christ doesn't need others to work His will. But, is not the Bible full of both men and angels who have executed His will, at His command? Possibly, the seven angels who receive the seven letters to their respective churches (2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14) are just one of thousands of churches, for which each of the seven angels before God's throne are in authority over.

2) Messages to the Seven Churches (1:9–3:22)

A voice which sounded like a trumpet told John to write what he sees and send it to the seven churches. God reveals as He chooses through those whom He chooses. This message comes through God's authority structure, the trumpet like voice. In John's day, trumpets were sounded to issue military commands to marching armies.

By this trumpet like voice, seven distinct messages are directed to each of the seven churches. There were many more than seven churches in John's day. But the messages to each church were to be heard by all churches. As proof of this the following admonition is included in each of the seven messages: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches". An established rhythm of sevens is established by this seven-fold admonition and other devices in this section and throughout the book, revealing that the book is organized with a reliable, and one might even say a rigid structure. God reveals as He chooses through those whom He chooses.

The beginning of all seven messages to all seven churches say that the message is from Jesus Christ. But instead of writing "Jesus says this", each message is written using a mystic description of Jesus. These mystic descriptions communicate authority. For example:

"He who holds the seven stars (seven churches) in His right hand...says these things"
The "first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says these things:"
"He who has the sharp two-edged sword says these things:"
"The Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire... says these things:"
"He who has the seven Spirits of God... says these things:"
"He who has the key of David... says these things:"
"The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness... says these things:

The second description communicates authority as authority over death. The last description communicates Christs authority as the administrator of God's testimony. Again, a rigid organizational structure for the book is being established which will continue through the book.

The body of all seven messages to all seven churches is in this two-fold form:

I know your deeds or I know your situation
Admonitions

Again, a rigid organizational structure for the book is being established which will continue through the book.

Every message to every church says "I will do this" or "I may do this".

Again, a rigid organizational structure for the book is being established which will continue through the book.

All seven messages end with a different promise to "he who overcomes".

Portions of each of the seven promises for "he who overcomes" are as follows:

"eat from the tree of life which is in the Paradise of my God"
"won't be harmed by the second death (Lake of Fire, 20:14)"
"a new name" which no one knows but you and God (intimacy)
"authority over the nations"
"I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life"
"will write on him" the name of God, God's city (New Jerusalem) and Jesus's new name (intimacy).
"sit down with Me on My throne"

The rewards of overcoming are... eternal life reigning in intimacy with God.

Again, a rigid organizational structure for the book is being established which will continue through the book.

Who is it who overcomes?

"Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?' (1 John 5:5).

One who has faith in Christ overcomes. This is not modified, contradicted or added to by the following verse.

As for those who overcome, what do they do?

"They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death" (Revelation 12:11).

As believers in Jesus, they are bought by His blood, hence they belong to Him, testify to Him and die for Him, if it comes to that. We receive eternal life by faith and faith alone. We don't receive eternal life by the work of testimony or martyrdom (Ephesians 2:8-9) but we show our faith by our work (James 2:18).

To learn how to become a Christian, click here.

To learn about the "once saved always saved" doctrine click here.

If you need a stronger faith click here and read micro-subchapter 4.3a.

If you don't think that you need a stronger faith, think again.

All seven messages end with "he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies".

Again, a rigid organizational structure for the book is being established which will continue through the book. The seven messages display a consistent seven-fold organizational structure:

addressed to the angel of each church
mystic description of Jesus as the speaker
I know your deeds or situation
admonitions
I may or will do this
He who overcomes
He who has an ear, let him hear

So, we have a seven part structure in seven messages to seven churches. The seven-fold structure communicates who Jesus is, what He knows, what His orders are and what He will do. If you have an ear, then hear. I prayerfully suggest that you read God's words using the intimate reading methods described in subchapter 1.1.

By the way, I have prepared a verse by verse explanation of the message to Laodicea, the lukewarm church. Click here to read it and escape the perils of the lukewarm path.

3) John in the Throne Room (Chapter 4)

The voice which sounded like a trumpet called John into the throne room of God to see "the things which must happen after this". Meaning, I believe, things which will happen after the words in the messages to the seven churches have been fulfilled.

At the command of the voice, John is immediately "in the Spirit". Being "in the Spirit" is received through this authority in the heavenly realm, possibly an angel.

That is why we are told to pray for everything, for greater faith, love, wisdom, knowledge of God's will, etc. (chapter 4). All such graces are granted by authorities in the heavenly realm. In God's heavenly authority, there is an angel for each child of God (Matthew 18:10, Acts 12:15), each nation (Daniel 12:10-21), each tribe of Israel (21:12), each church (2:1, 8, 12, 18, etc.), for fire (14:18, 8:8) and water (16:5).

So, when the angel called John into the throne room, John was immediately "in the Spirit". He saw God on His throne with thunder and lightning coming from God's throne. He saw 24 elders on 24 thrones around the throne of God. He also saw four living creatures, each having six wings and covered with eyes. The four creatures and 24 elders are constantly praising God. He also saw the seven Spirits of God which I believe are the seven eyes (angels) of Christ. The 24 elders may be the spiritual heads of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. The names of the 12 tribes and 12 apostles are inscribed in the New Jerusalem.

With so many thrones, thunder, lightning, mystic creatures, angels and praise... I see authority, again. Revelation is about regime change.

4) Scroll with Seven Seals(Chapter 5)

Still in the heavenly throne room, John sees that God had a scroll in His hand with seven seals. These seals had the purpose of concealing the contents of the scroll as the word seal is used in Revelation 10:4. Only Christ was worthy to break those seals. The seals contained the judgements of God to come on the world.

Again we see authority in the heavenly realm as only Christ can break the seals. Only Christ can unleash the wrath of God. Let me explain: When Christ "had by himself purified us of our sins" on the cross, he "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3). Since His ascension, Christ has been at the right hand of God until God makes Christ's enemies the footstool of Christ's feet (Hebrews 1:13).

As I see the book of Revelation and Matthew 24, Christ may have opened the first five seals which include a conqueror, war, famine, death and martyrdom. These things are happening now and have been for centuries. They may not be far from any of us. Revelation conveys quick occurrences "what must soon take place" (1:1), "I am coming soon" (22:7, 12), "the time is near" (22:10). Christ is and has been coming for centuries, in the conquering, famine, death and martyrdom. As you read through the messages to the seven churches, you will see many times when He "came" to those churches in the first century. His "coming" does not always mean the great second coming.

The things prophesied in the book of Revelation have been happening to the body of Christ continuously since the first coming of Christ... so, the time has been near the body of Christ for thousands of years... and the book of Revelation indirectly speaks to all those who are of the body of Christ since His first coming... but the book of Revelation speaks directly to the VERY LAST EVENTS, WHICH WILL BRING THE VERY LAST JUDGEMENTS OF GOD.

As I wrote, I believe that Christ may have opened the first five seals. When Christ finishes opening all seven seals, God will have made His enemies the footstool of Christ's feet. Regime change. Then the Lord's prayer will have been completely answered "Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). The prayers of the saints mentioned in the seven trumpets (8:3-5) will be the prayers God will be answering when He brings all of the earth under heaven's rule.

When Christ took the scroll out of God's hand (5:7), John saw bowls containing the prayers of the saints in the hands of the 24 elders and four creatures. But those prayers have not been acted on, presumably waiting until the seventh seal is broken when God acts on their prayers with fire (8:3-5).

John sees the 24 elders, four creatures, myriads of angels and every created thing offer praise to Christ. The 24 elders and four creatures acknowledge that the saints have been made into a kingdom and priests (completed) and that they will reign on the earth (future). Regime change on the earth.

5) Six Seals: Apocalyptic Overview (Chapters 6,7)

Jesus breaks all seven seals.

1st Seal: Conquering King (6:1-2)

2nd Seal: War (6:3-4)

3rd Seal: Famine (7:5-6)

4th Seal: Death (6:7-8) 1/4 of the Earth Dies.

5th Seal: Martyrdom (6:9-11)

Martyrs pray for justice from God. God tells them to "rest yet for while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course" (6:11). God appears to have a number in mind. When that number of his children have been martyred, He will bring judgement (6:11). That judgement appears to be generally presented in the sixth seal.

We could be living in the continuance of the first five seals at the present time. Whether the conquering, war, famine and martyrdom which have continued from the first century until the present day is fulfillment of the first three seals, I do not know. But, if we are living in the first five seals now, I don't contend that the fourth seal, death, is complete. In the fourth seal, one-fourth of the earth is killed by sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts. I can not prove that this has or has not happened. We only know what we can verify for ourselves... and for nearly all of us, we can verify very little.

6th Seal: Tribulation, Rapture and Judgement (6:12-7:17)

Rapture and Judgement come, in response to the prayers of the Martyrs revealed in the fifth seal.

In the sixth seal there are two visions. The first vision is in 6:12-17. The second is 7:1-17. I suggest that you read 6:12-7:17 before reading my comments. The first vision is of the lost. The second vision is of the saints. As you read, please note that the first vision shows fear and anguish (6:16) of the lost when they are in the presence of Christ (6:15) in the great day of God's wrath (6:17). The second vison reveals praise and thankfulness (7:12) of the saints who have come out of the great tribulation (7:14), living in the presence of God in His throne room (7:15), to suffer no more (7:16-17). So, in the sixth seal, we see the great tribulation of the saints, their live in the visual presence of God, with no suffering and the judgement of the enemies of God.

In the first vision there is earthquake, blood moon, falling stars, split ski, moving mountains and islands (6:12-14). The great day of the wrath comes to ALL MEN. We know that the great day of wrath (judgement) has come to ALL men, because "every slave and free person" (6:15) attempts to flee from the presence of the Father and Son (6:16) and says in great fear "the great day of his wrath has come" (6:17). The phrase "every slave and free person" (6:15) encompasses every person on the earth.

This first vision in the sixth seal shows the fearful reaction of the lost to the appearance of Christ. So, we know that Christ has appeared to all the world. Since all people on the earth at that time have that reaction, we know that there are no believers on the earth at that time. If there are no believers on the earth at that time, we know that the rapture occurred.

The second vision reveals that the certain destructive judgements on the earth do not take place (7:3) until the sealing of 144,000 from twelve tribes of Israel (7:4-8). Sealing is not their removal from the earth. Sealing represents the indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon conversion of Jews to Christ (Ephesians 1:13). The earth and trees are damaged in the first trumpet and bowl. The sea is damaged in the second trumpet and bowl. So, the first trumpet and bowl do not begin until the conversion of 144,000 Jews.

I don't know when God begins the counting towards that number. Maybe the counting begins when the beast comes out of the sea in 13:1. The sealing of the 144,000 is complete in 14:1. The seventh trumpet and bowl seem to be like a video beginning at the birth of Christ and ending with the Great White Throne judgement. So, the seventh trumpet and bowls show snapshots as the occur through the first six trumpet and bowl pairs.

6) Seventh Seal: Apocalyptic Detail (8:1-20:15)

Seven Paired Judgements: Trumpets and Bowls

Introductions: TR (8:1-6), B(15:1-8)

1st: TR 8:7, B 16:1-2, Earth

2nd: TR 8:8-9, B 16:3, Sea

3rd: TR 8:10-11, B 16:4-7, Rivers, Springs

4th: TR 8;12-13, Bowl 16:8-9, Sun

5th: TR 9:1-12, B 16:10-11, Beast's Throne

6th: TR 9:13-11:14, B 16:12-16, Euphrates

7th: TR 11:15-14:20, B 16:17-20:15, Air*

7) New Jerusalem 21:1–22:5

8) I am coming: blessing and warning 22:6–21

Regarding the book of Revelation... please prayerfully consider writings of the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown:

OBJECT.--It begins with admonitory addresses to the seven churches from the divine Son of man, whom John saw in vision, after a brief introduction which sets forth the main subject of the book, namely, to "show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass" (the first through third chapters). From the fourth chapter to the end is mainly prophecy, with practical exhortations and consolations, however, interspersed, similar to those addressed to the seven churches (the representatives of the universal Church of every age), and so connecting the body of the book with its beginning, which therefore forms its appropriate introduction. Three schools of interpreters exist: (1) The Preterists, who hold that almost the whole has been fulfilled. (2) The Historical Interpreters, who hold that it comprises the history of the Church from John's time to the end of the world, the seals being chronologically succeeded, by the trumpets and the trumpets by the vials. (3) The Futurists, who consider almost the whole as yet future, and to be fulfilled immediately before Christ's second coming. The first theory was not held by any of the earliest Fathers, and is only held now by Rationalists, who limit John's vision to things within his own horizon, pagan Rome's persecutions of Christians, and its consequently anticipated destruction. The Futurist school is open to this great objection: it would leave the Church of Christ unprovided with prophetical guidance or support under her fiery trials for 1700 or 1800 years. Now God has said, "Surely He will do nothing, but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants the prophets" (Am 3:7). The Jews had a succession of prophets who guided them with the light of prophecy: what their prophets were to them, that the apocalyptic Scriptures have been, and are, to us.

To see Jamieson's entire commentary on the Book of Revelation, click here

1) Salutation (1:1-8)

2) Messages to the Seven Churches (1:9-3:22)

3) John in the Throne Room (Chapter 4)

4) Scroll with Seven Seals (Chapter 5)

5) Prophesies from the Scroll (6:1-20:15)

SEALS TB PAIRS^* THUNDERS

1 Conqueror Earth ?

2 War Sea ?

3 Famine Rivers ?

4 Death Sun ?

5 Prayers Euphrates ?

6 Justice Throne of 666 ?

7 TB Pairs^{^} Satan ?

* TB PAIRS are paired Trumpet/Bowl judgments.

^ TB Pairs are revealed in the seventh seal.

The first six seals reveal what is happening with people. The seven TB pairs reveal seven objects of wrath, executed by seven pairs of angels. The seven thunders have been hidden from us by God. They appear in the sixth trumpet.

7) New Jerusalem 21:1–22:5

8) I am coming: blessing and warning 22:6–21

DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING FROM THIS PAGE!

Jesus said "Be Ready"

Seven Paired Judgements

a) Seven Trumpet* Judgments 8:2–14:27

b) Seven Bowl Judgments 15:1–20:15

Seven Paired Judgements

a) Seven Trumpet Judgments 8:2–14:27

b) Seven Bowl Judgments 15:1–20:15

Jericho 7

Correlation of Revelation with Jericho 7

Content and Chronology

Three Woes

Introductions: TR (8:1-6), B(15:1-8)

1st: TR 8:7, B 16:1-2, Earth

2nd: TR 8:8-9, B 16:3, Sea

3rd: TR 8:10-11, B 16:4-7, Rivers, Springs

4th: TR 8;12-13, Bowl 16:8-9, Sun

5th: TR 9:1-12, B 16:10-11, Beast's Throne

6th: TR 9:13-11:14, B 16:12-16, Euphrates

7th: TR 11:15-14:20, B 16:17-20:15, Air*

Organizational Rhythm

Seventh Bowl of Wrath

What is the woman with the 12 stars?

The Beast: 666

Will Christians Go Through the Tribulation?

Is Revelation 14:14-16 the Rapture?

What is "this generation" in Matthew 24:34?

Who is "You" in Matthew 24?

Introductions: TR (8:1-6), B(15:1-8)

1st: TR 8:7, B 16:1-2, Earth

2nd: TR 8:8-9, B 16:3, Sea

3rd: TR 8:10-11, B 16:4-7, Rivers, Springs

4th: TR 8;12-13, Bowl 16:8-9, Sun

5th: TR 9:1-12, B 16:10-11, Beast's Throne

6th: TR 9:13-11:14, B 16:12-16, Euphrates

7th: TR 11:15-14:20, B 16:17-20:15, Air*

1) Salutation (1:1-8)

2) Messages to the Seven Churches (1:9–3:22)

3) John in the Throne Room (Chapter 4)

4) Scroll with Seven Seals(Chapter 5)

5) Six Seals: Apocalyptic Overview (Chapters 6,7)

6th Seal: Tribulation, Rapture and Judgement (6:12-7:17)

Introductions: TR (8:1-6), B(15:1-8)

1st: TR 8:7, B 16:1-2, Earth

2nd: TR 8:8-9, B 16:3, Sea

3rd: TR 8:10-11, B 16:4-7, Rivers, Springs

4th: TR 8;12-13, Bowl 16:8-9, Sun

5th: TR 9:1-12, B 16:10-11, Beast's Throne

6th: TR 9:13-11:14, B 16:12-16, Euphrates

7th: TR 11:15-14:20, B 16:17-20:15, Air*

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