The last 3 chapters of God’s Word.

The Invitation is Given

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

---

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

---

Chapter 20- The Thousand-Year Period where Jesus will reign on Earth.

The Judgment of Satan

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

---

The Judgment of the Dead

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

---

Chapter 21

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

12,000 stadia = 1,380 miles (Length and Width)

144 cubits= 216 feet (the wall)

²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

---

On January 1, 2021 we read about the Tree of Life.

Genesis 3:²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

verse 21: The Lord sacrificed an animal, an innocent life was shed to cover their sin. The First Day of Atonement.  The plan of Salvation was set in motion.  Man was separated from the Lord for believing Satan’s lies.  The Lord loved us so much that he guarded the Tree of Life (immortality) SO THAT one day we will have a death and be resurrected to be in His Presence Forever.  The Tree of Life reappears for us.

Revelation

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.

22:¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

---

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

❤️

• Click here to read
• Click here to listen
• We ended yesterday with the 7th trumpet. Now keep in mind we have this section (an interlude) of details. The result of the 7th trumpet being blown will begin in Chapter 15. So let’s start with 12, 13, and 14. (These 3 are visions of “explanations” or “what is happening behind the scenes.”

---

Back in Chapter 1:19, John was told:¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

The way I picture it is John is seeing a series of visions. Some are “what is now”-like the state of the 7 churches”. Some are what will occur, and some are what happened even before creation. This is the point in the book that can seem confusing, BUT it is NOT. John is shown visions here, picture him sitting there with 3 projectors on the screen, and they all overlap to give us the “Full Story.” So incredible!

---

Chapter 12: A great sign appeared in heaven: (movie time!) Here are some cliff notes that you can refer back to.

• The Woman=ISRAEL
• The Baby=JESUS
• The Dragon=SATAN
  • 7 Heads= (World Powers he has controlled)-Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, (and the last one to come)
  • 10 Horns=horns of power- the future nations (10 in all) that he will rule in the last days
    • Think back to the Daniel Study (The Body and the 10 toes) 😁
• The Beast of the Sea(Notice his resemblance to his Master (10 horns/7Heads)=antichrist
  • 10 Horns= 7 horns of power
  • 7 heads are the world powers past-Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, (and the last one?)
    • Think back to the Daniel Study
    • The Dragon and the Beast are in reverse order because Satan has them in chronological order; the Antichrist sees them in the review mirror.
• The Beast of the Land=The false prophet/religion
• 7 Bowls= The second half of the 7 years- The GREAT Tribulation
• Babylon= Enemies of God
• The Prostitute= False Religion

Chapter 12

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon Satan, and the dragon Satan and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon Satan was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.

(writing in your Bible like this might help you when you read this through again)

During this time, God will protect Israel.

12:But woe to the earth and the sea,
    because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
    because he knows that his time is short.”

In his fury, it is time for satan to play his final cards:  He opens the door for the Antichrist (The Beast out of the Sea) and the False Religion/Prophet (the Beast of the Land)

---

Chapter 13: The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast antichrist coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ² The beast antichrist I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon Satan gave the beast Antichrist his power and his throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast antichrist seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.

A few of my notes:

• leopard/bear/lion- The Antichrist will have the power of all the world powers combined.
• the head had a fatal wound, but healed- does this mean the last world power will be from Babylon area?? IDK?

Sorry, I am getting off track. So the Antichrist will be Satan’s figurehead on earth for 42 months.

---

So we have the counterfeit “father”- Satan. Counterfeit “son”-the Antichrist. Now we meet the Counterfeit “holy spirit”-the false prophet.

verse 11- Let’s look at his characteristics (it will lead to a worldwide religion)

• two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. (looks harmless, but embodies Satan) 
• It exercised all the authority of the first Beast on its behalf; it made its inhabitants worship the first Beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. (they will not know they are worshiping satan because of its disguise)
• performed great signs
• was given the power to perform on behalf of the first Beast (given power from the governing nations as the world religion)
• it deceived the inhabitants of the earth.
• It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the Beast  
• The second Beast was given the power to give breath to the image of the first Beast so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.
• It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,  so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the Beast or the number of its name. 666

---

Chapter 14-   How much does Jesus love us??? Enough to show that He has protected Israel (the 144,000) and made a call for Repentance. But, it is NOT too late!   It never is. Well, it will be in a minute, I guess. We are about to see Jesus go from the Sower to the Reaper.

Literally, we could take Revelation scripture by scripture. Actually, we could take it word by word (each word symbolizes a character of God and is referenced all over the Bible), But that would make this post crazy long! HOWEVER, think back to ALL the times in the O.T. we talked about the Threshing Floors. Where the wheat is harvested, and the chaff is burned away. One that comes to mind is when David bought the land for the Temple to be built by Solomon. The land was a Threshing floor. There are so many more. But for those who jumped in at the New Testament, think of all the ones in the N.T. too:  Jesus speaking in Matthew 13:

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

In Revelation, the earth is harvested. I know this is hard to read but look back on all the warnings that have been given. Many will come to the Lord during the Tribulation; however, many will not. When the earth is harvested after the 7 bowls are poured out,  blood will fill the land for 200 miles (1,600 stadia), measuring about 3 feet high.

✅. Take note of verses 14 and then 17. They are separate visions. The first one is a symbol of the wheat harvest.   The second one is a vision of what happens AFTER the 7 bowls. John, were you feeling overwhelmed with all these visions! I need sequence next time!

---

Chapter 15-The Heavens rejoice! Now listen for it….did you hear that 7th Trumpet (chapter 11)? And now it is time to begin the GREAT Tribulation. The second 3.5 years! This will be “U.G.L.Y.- they ain’t got no alibi”!!

 

---

Chapter 16

The first 5 plagues are God’s FINAL CALL for repentance!   “Last Call!!”  No Takers? You have been warned!

Bowl 6- 3 unclean spirits (the unholy trinity) go and gather the kings of the nations the Antichrist ruled and bring them to the Armeggedon for a Battle (boy, are they stupid!)

Bowl 7:

¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the Temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

(Babylon the Great are the enemies of God-those that reject Him)

---

Chapter 17: Field Trip!!- Let’s go show John what will be destroyed!

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ² With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

From the moment Satan spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden, he taught a False Religion. The Prostitute (Harlot) represents all the religions that have steered us away from the Gospel. During the horrible time, people WILL turn to religion (as they do today). Unfortunately, it will mimic but not be Christ-centered. It will be self-centered and idolatrous.

• sits by MANY waters. It is in powerful cities everywhere
• she is associated with world powers
• she intoxicated and seduces them
• she sits on the back of the Satan
• she is wealthy

John is astonished!

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. ⁷ Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the Beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. (the religious system will be tied to the political system with the Antichrist) ⁸ The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come (he will fake death and resurrection to look like a Messiah) up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the Beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

---

“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five have fallen (you know who they are: Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece), one is (Rome!!), the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ¹¹ The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

Ok, ok, I will stop inserting every scripture… it’s just so good!

Wait!   One More!

¹⁶ The Beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the Beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled.

The Antichrist and the government powers will eventually reject the religious system so that they only worship the Antichrist!

---

Chapter 18

Some spicy angels cheering the demise of the false religion! BUT MANY people were profiting from it. It took a mere hour to take her down…and they now are freaking out because they were hit in the wallet!!

Sorry so long!   I tried!!!

Tomorrow is our Last Day 😢

Ready? Here is our agenda: (it’s a busy one)

• 6 Seals,
• the 144,000,
• the great multitude,
• the 7th seal (ushering in the trumpets),
• 6 trumpets,
• the angel and the little scroll,
• the 2 witnesses,
• the 7th trumpet (ushering in the bowls,
  • (A GREAT handout just below)
  • I also updated the Handout/printouts last night for you

---

• Click here to read
• Click here to listen

I will make this post a little longer since we cover a lot, but I am going to lighten it with a little humor like I did in the Old Testament. I miss those days 😂. I will try to keep this simple, BUT I am home, so PLEASE ask me any questions.   By the way, if you are feeling lost like a ball in weeds on some of this, don’t. Of the 404 verses in Revelation, more than  278 of them make some allusion to the Old Testament. That is 68.8% of the verses! Cool huh.

---

 

Click here to print

---

Jesus begins to open the seals. With each seal opened, the scroll is able to be unrolled a little more, revealing bit by bit the judgments God has in store during the tribulation period. The first four of the seven seals release what are known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because the judgments appear symbolically as a horse and rider bringing devastation in their wake. Keep in mind: The Seals and the Trumpets happen rapidly (in a 3.5 year time period).

 

The First Seal – introduces the antichrist (or someone on his team) onto the scene as a rider of a white horse. This rider wears a crown and has a bow (no arrows-no war)  and will deceive many with a time of PEACE.

The Second Seal- Despite the promises of peace from the antichrist, WAR will break out after this seal breaks. A red rider on a horse slays a significant number of people.

The Third Seal- A rider on a black horse will spread FAMINE throughout the earth. With whatever population is left on the earth after the warfare, they will have to survive by bare means of food.

The Fourth Seal- DEATH, riding upon a pale horse, wipes out one-fourth of the earth.

(War brings famine. Famine brings death)

The Fifth Seal- Those martyred will ask God how long until He judges the earth. They are told to be patient…I have more work to do.

The Sixth Seal-Catastrophic natural events occur earthquake, the sun turning black, the moon turning blood-red, and mountains and islands disappearing into rubble. The times are so horrible people are praying for death.

---

Pause there. Before opening the 7th seal, there is a second vision going on that he must write down. I think of it like I am watching TV,  and suddenly we have “Breaking News Alert”-

“This is John, reporting from WGOD; we have a large number of people from the 12 tribes of Israel that have been protected and sealed so they can proclaim that Jesus was the messiah after all. Even though the genealogical records were lost when the temple was destroyed in 70AD-those in the “control tower” knew which tribe they belonged to or had a copy backed up in the cloud, no pun intended. It appears that Judah was listed first, not the firstborn son of Rueben. Also, from the video recording, the tribe of Levi was included in the numbers, so that means one tribe had to be bumped off the list.   My teleprompter is telling me it is the tribe of Dan. Let me see if I can find an eyewitness to explain this. Oh, look, here is one now:  Excuse me, by the way, I like your wings. Can you tell me what you witnessed here? (Obviously, the angel has a deep southern accent in my head)

“Well, there I was- holding the corner of the sky when the 144,000 were saved. Evidently, Judah was listed first since the Covenant runs through his line.”  “Mr. Angel, why would it not go through Rueben the firstborn? “Well, you see, the darn fool slept with his daddy’s concubine and lost that right” “Sir, can you tell me where Dan is?”  “I was fixin’ to ask you the same thing, but I reckon he cannot be trusted with this mission since he has always loved worshipping idols, the darn fool.”

---

A great multitude:

Keep the bigger picture in mind. This is about the Revelation of Jesus Christ. What happens when He reveals himself- a great multitude of people during these 3.5 years get saved! The Heavens worship Him for this! Then the 7th seal is opened. EVEN heaven is in awe that they fall silent for half an hour!! (I have trouble believing my oldest daughter will be able to for 30 minutes!)

---

The Seventh Seal- The 7th seal sounds the trumpet! Recall the trumpet from the Old Testament. What did it mean? (Think back to stories like Jericho). Whenever they were about to battle, and the Lord was with them, they sounded a Trumpet. It was the Lord’s battle to fight for them.

---

The Trumpets:

The First Trumpet- Hail, fire, and blood will rain down on the earth and wipe out one-third of all plant life.

The Second Trumpet-A burning mountain falls into the sea, turns one-third of the ocean to blood, and one-third of all sea life dies.

The Third Trumpet – A star called wormwood poisons one-third of all the freshwater supply. The water supply will be poisoned and undrinkable.

The Fourth Trumpet-One-third of the moon, stars, and sun darkens.

The Fifth Trumpet- (I am going to hone in on this one because it’s fascinating)

• The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. Who is the star? From Isaiah, we know Lucifer is the star. Many of the angels who sided with him were locked up when he fell from heaven (way before this). Others were cast down to roam the earth with him. Note: Jesus was ALWAYS in control (think back to Job when the devil had to come to give his account where he was hanging out). Well, Jesus (still in control) allows Satan to unlock his friends for a short time.
• ² When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. ³ And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. ⁶ During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
• 🤬 about to get real!
• ¹¹ They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer). (who has John 10:10 in their head??)

¹² The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.

The Sixth Trumpet-Four fallen angels are released and wipe out people from sulfur (the same material used to wipe out Sodom) and fire pouring out of their mouths. They manage to wipe out one-third of mankind.

YET many still did not repent.  😢

---

COMMERCIAL BREAK-  Again, we end the 6th seal. Another vision is starting to play on a different screen, and John picks up his quill to write and…

Chapter 10- NOT ALL IS REVEALED! John is specifically told…Don’t write down what you just heard! Oh, the humanity! What do you think it was??

During the commercial break, it is snack time:

 

 

(Remember: rainbow=covenant)

“Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. ¹¹ Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

God’s final judgment really is bittersweet. The enemy will be defeated, but many unbelievers will perish.

---

The Two Witnesses

The 2 witnesses come to preach the Gospel. for 3.5 years (42 months). So they began preaching when the 1st seal opened. The 7 years of Tribulation are divided into ‘Tribulation/Great Tribulation. ALL this is JUST the first half!

(I am not going to expound on this but if you want more to research, go back to the 70 weeks of Daniel). This is happening AS the seals and trumpets are being opened. Does that make sense? John just has so much to write down!

⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 

I KNOW we read this Bible fast, and it was like drinking out of a fire hydrant. BUT when you start over one day and do this again, when you read books like Zechariah, you will see the BIG picture when you read things like the “crazy visions.” This was one of the visions:  Zechariah asks about the meaning of the olive trees and the branches supplying the oil, and the angel who speaks to him says, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:14). In other words, God’s power to sustain His work is flowing through two individuals set apart for the task.

The two witnesses preach UNTIL they were finished with their testimony (42 months)…then they will be killed, and their bodies showed (I assume on electronic/social media devices) to the whole world.

Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

❤️

What? Who are the two witnesses, you asked? I don’t know?? There are three primary theories on the identity of the two witnesses in Revelation:

1. Moses and Elijah: The witnesses will have the power to turn water into blood (11:6), which duplicates a miracle of Moses (Exodus 7). And the witnesses will have the ability to destroy their enemies with fire (11:5), which corresponds to an event in Elijah’s life (2 Kings 1). Also, the fact that Moses and Elijah both appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration (Matthew 17). Last but not least, Jewish tradition expects Moses and Elijah to return, based on the prophecy of Elijah’s coming in Malachi 4:5 and God’s promise to raise up a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18)
2. Enoch and Elijah: are seen as possibilities for the two witnesses because of the unique circumstances surrounding their exit from the world. Enoch and Elijah, as far as we know, are the only two individuals whom God has taken directly to heaven without experiencing death (Genesis 5:23; 2 Kings 2:11). Hebrews 9:27, which says that all men are appointed to die once. The fact that neither Enoch nor Elijah has yet experienced death seems to qualify them for the job of the two witnesses, who will be killed when their job is done. In addition, both Enoch and Elijah were prophets who pronounced God’s judgment (1 Kings 17:1; Jude 1:14–15). Interesting, I know!!
3. Two unknown believers whom God calls to be His witnesses in the end times. God is perfectly capable of taking two “ordinary” believers and enabling them to perform the same signs and wonders that Moses and Elijah did. There is nothing in Revelation 11 that requires us to assume a “famous” identity for the two witnesses.

OK…I can’t help it. When I was trying to find pictures of the two witnesses, this was my favorite!!

---

Since you won’t ask questions:  I WILL 😁

We end the read with a question from me I am hoping one of you can answer for me:

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the Ark of his Covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a severe hailstorm.

The last time we read about the Ark of the Covenant was when King Josiah brought it back to the temple in 2 Kings 23. The temple was demolished in 586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar, right? So, where did the  Ark go? So even if Nebuchadnezzar had it, when they rebuilt the Temple (Ezra and Nehemiah), was the Ark brought back to the temple?? If not,  what did the High Priest do on the Day of Atonement? When the Veil tore at the Crucifixion, I just pictured it there the whole time? Where was it?? (I know it’s with Jesus now…but was the temple without an Ark that entire time?? No wonder Indiana Jones can’t find it.

 

• Click here to read
• Click here to listen
• Click here to prepare with worship music

We only have 4 days to unpack this book, so we will keep it simple. Here is a quick view.

Click here to print

Chapter 1:

From the Greeting we can conclude that the book was written:

• Through: John (servant John, who testifies to everything he saw)
• From: The Trinity (from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ)
• To: the 7 Churches. (To the seven churches in the province of Asia)

“7” will be noted 54 times in this book. 7 represents “completion.” The 7 spirits before the throne are the completeness of the Holy Spirit. (the ministry of the Holy Spirit in us (7) are: rest, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear. ‘Isaiah 11:2’ 😁

¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

What does John see? He tells us (it is not a secret)

¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

---

The purpose of writing these letters was stated in chapter 1:  ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near. (This entire Book is to be read to every Church and YOU)

Chapter 2 and 3: The Seven Churches. Each church fits the history we studied when reading Paul’s letters. HOWEVER, we are still in the ‘Church Age,’ SO this is a literal interpretation of Churches (better stated: people in the Church) TODAY.

Ephesus: Orthodox Church, “cold,” legalistic, ritual…(Ephesus has a lot of history: Aquila and Pricilla, Timothy, Apollos, the Temple to Artemis, the Roman governor likes there) There was an “external presence” of this church…but not in Love with Jesus anymore, just the rituals)

Smyrna: The persecuted church. Emporer Domitian required sacrifices to be made to him as pagan worship. Christians were refusing and being persecuted for it. (we have these all over the world still). Notice, nothing negative is said to them.❤️

Pergamum: The “worldly” church. Just like Balaam had seduced the Israelites, the church was being seduced by worldly views (like Gnostismism: pleasure, lust, fleshly desires).

Thyatira: The church that tolerates sin. Women (like Jezebel) were leading believers into sin, and the church tolerated it.

Sardis: Spiritually dead. They have a long history, but in the end, they were going through the motions but were spiritually dead on the inside.

Philadelphia: (brotherly love). They had little strength (not rich), they kept God’s word, they did not deny His name in persecution, and they persevered. ❤️

Laodicea: The Lukewarm Church.🤮. This letter is the harshest of them all. Laodicea’s water came from an aqueduct traveling several miles before it reached the city: it arrived lukewarm, dirty, and made them sick. He uses this analogy to show his repulsiveness of their situation. It was a wealthy city and a medical center for the area. These people have no interest in Jesus, His Word, or His Church….but they attend church.

Click here to print

---

Chapter 4

After this, I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.

Could you imagine being lifted up to get a glimpse of heaven! (notice even John could not find the words, he says “like” a lot)

 

The Lord is surrounded by 24 Elders (12 Sons of Israel and the 12 Apostles). There are 4 creatures (Remember them from Daniel and Ezekiel? As they are “casting crowns”🎶 They worship the Trinity (3 Holies)

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’

who was, and is, and is to come.”

---

Chapter 5

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Think back to the Tabernacle/Temple: the incense repressed our prayers.

Psalm 141:I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me;
    hear me when I call to you.
² May my prayer be set before you like incense;
    may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice

---

JESUS:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”

---

What is the scroll??

Do you remember the term Kinsman Redeemer? (from Ruth). In Biblical terms, it is a male relative who, according to the Law, had the privilege or responsibility to act for a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need of vindication. A kinsman-redeemer can deliver, rescue, or redeem property/people. The scroll is a deed to the Earth. He is redeeming it. He is the only one worthy to open the seals to the deed. Who is He redeeming it from??

---

I literally have notes on each scripture. So if you want me to expound on any of them, I WILL!

NOW, go back to the top and listen to the music ❤️

 

I am getting some thoughts together for our last 4 days…Revelation. I cannot wait to unpack this so that you can see this is NOT a hard book.  I will provide visuals and printables (if you choose) to help. So here is my first “prep” post.

Click here to print

The rapture’s timing in relation to the tribulation is one of the most controversial issues in the church today. The three primary views are:

1. pre-tribulation-(the rapture occurs before the tribulation),
2. mid-tribulation (the rapture occurs at or near the mid-point of the tribulation),
3. post-tribulation (the rapture occurs at the end of the tribulation).

Click here to print

The rapture and the second coming of Christ are often confused. Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a scripture verse refers to the rapture or the second coming. However, it is very important to differentiate between the two in studying end-times Bible prophecy.

• The rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (all believers in Christ) from the earth. The rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. Believers who have died will have their bodies resurrected and, along with believers who are still living, will meet the Lord in the air. This will all occur in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.
• The second coming is when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist, destroy evil, and establish His millennial kingdom. The second coming is described in Revelation 19:11-16.

1 Thessalonians 4:  ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

It states that all living believers, along with those who have died, will meet the Lord Jesus in the air and be with Him forever. The rapture is God’s removal of His people from the earth.

A few verses later, in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Paul says,⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Corinthians 15:⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

Revelation 3 is a confirmation of the rapturing of believers:¹⁰ Since you have kept My command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

---

The important differences between the rapture and second coming are as follows:

• At the rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air.
  • At the second coming, believers return with the Lord to the earth
• The rapture occurs before the tribulation
  • The second coming occurs after the tribulation
• The rapture is the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance.
  • The second coming includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment.
• The rapture will be secret and instant
  • The second coming will be visible to all
• The rapture is imminent; it could take place at any moment
  • The second coming of Christ will not occur until after certain other end-times events take place

---

Make sure you are ready for the rapture. Believe in Him, and you will not perish. The Lord knows who is His, and He will leave none of them behind.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.