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The Pentecost-Revelation Scenario
The third interpretation, halfway between the
Classic Pre-Millennial and Dispensational interpretations. Most believers
realize that the Christian Church was born on the Day of Pentecost, what the
Jews term Shevuot, or the Feast of Weeks as it is called in Leviticus 23. This early spring harvest,
as some believers understand, represents the harvest of believers, Old
Testament and New Testament---when?---at
the time of the 1st resurrection to immortality, at the sounding of
the 7th Trumpet of God. Did
you catch that? So Pentecost ties
directly into the book of Revelation and 1st Corinthians
15:49-56. So let us take a new look at
the entire Pentecost harvest, starting on the very first day when this harvest
could begin in the region of Israel. Most think because the Day of Pentecost was the day the Church was born
that it represents the whole Church age, and it kind of does. But in God’s harvest season, Pentecost marks
the end of the spring barley harvest in Israel, just as the Feast of
Tabernacles marks the end of the summer harvest. The end of a harvest is when whatever has
been planted and grown during the growing season is reaped and harvested. The Day of Pentecost, prophetically,
represents the day God reaps the harvest of those he’s called and sanctified
through spiritual growth during the Church Age (Pentecost 31AD to 2nd Coming). The Church Age, in reality, is
represented by the seven week period from the offering of the Wave Sheaf
offering during Passover week to the Day of Pentecost.
The Wave Sheaf: Leviticus 23:9-12, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. Its grain offering shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of fine wine, one fourth of a hin. You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” If Paul says we’re the firstfruits of God’s spiritual creation, his spiritual children, then Jesus is the first of the firstfruits, which is symbolized by the Wave Sheaf offering, which was offered late on the first weekly Sabbath afternoon after Passover, just about the time Jesus would be rising from the grave (31AD). So, it makes sense that the Holy Day which comes after Passover (the Wave Sheaf offering was not a high Holy Day), would be one concerning firstfruits, plural. In ancient Israel the barley harvest started on the day the Wave Sheaf was offered and ended on the Holy Day they called “the Feast of Weeks,” and what Christianity calls Pentecost, which is Greek for “count fifty.”
Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks: Looking at Leviticus 23, we see the very next Holy Day after Passover and the Wave Sheaf offering is a Holy Day representing the harvest of the firstfruits, plural, occurring at the time of the last day of the early or spring harvest. Leviticus 23:17-21, “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.” The two loaves baked with leaven that each person was to bring to the Temple have been thought to represent either the believers from righteous Abel to those through Malachi representing one loaf and the other loaf representing the Church Age believers (from Pentecost 31AD to the 2nd coming of Christ). Others believe the two loaves baked with leaven represent the two distinct branches of the body of Christ, Jewish and Gentile, which Paul showed existed in the early Church in his letter to the Galatians. In light of this, it is very interesting that God has just restored the Jewish branch of the body of Christ in 40 short years from 1970 to the present, 2010 [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/messianicmovement.htm] Considering that we’re now looking into Pentecost from it’s prophetic perspective in Revelation, the two sacrificed lambs may represent the two witnesses of Revelation 11. We’ll see when Jesus gets back as to how all the symbolism shakes out. The seven week period pictured from the harvest of the Premiere Sheaf (Wave Sheaf)---Jesus Christ---to the Feast of Pentecost, pictures the seven successive era’s of the Church, leading up to the final harvest day, Pentecost, when all the saints who have lived and died are resurrected at the 7th Trumpet blast. What most Christians don’t realize, is: this is God’s first harvest of believers to salvation, in his master-plan for salvation. The seven week period in the counting of when the Pentecost harvest season ended, on the Day of Pentecost, would then represent the seven successive era’s of the Christian Church, the Body of Christ [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation2-1-11.html to start this series on that subject, as seen through Revelation chapters 2 & 3.]
We are the firstfruits of God’s Plan of Salvation
James 1:17-18, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will he begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” Now lets see what Paul said in Hebrews about firstfruits. Hebrews 12:18-24, “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched [i.e. the physical Mount Sinai], and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, and if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come upon the mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Very interesting when you study the word “firstfruits” and “firstborn”. Here it mentions the “church of the firstborn” all being in the direct company of God the Father and Jesus Christ---and where?---in the heavenly new Jerusalem! Let’s see where this theme takes us. Some of the Scriptures we will use, like this one, are used by those who believe in and teach the “Rapture” pre-millennial doctrine. As you will see, they fit nicely into this new scenario. This should really peak our curiosity. Let’s continue.
The start of the great tribulation
Revelation 11:1-4, “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” Now, first of all, 42 months and 1260 days are identical, both equaling three and a half years. So the period of time when the Gentiles have Jerusalem “trodden under foot” and the time that the two witnesses are going to prophecy are both for a period of time lasting three and a half years. Most believe this three and a half year period of time coincide for both the occupation of Jerusalem and the two witnesses. That is probably not true. The two witnesses probably come on the scene in Jerusalem about five months before the beast person and false prophet start ‘treading Jerusalem underfoot.’ Why? Because the two witnesses are killed and the 7th trumpet is blown about five months before the beast and false prophet meet their demise right after the battle of Armageddon, which amazingly enough, as we’ll see, does not take place immediately after the two witnesses have been killed and then amazingly resurrected back to life three and a half days later. Let’s continue.
When does the beast person and
false prophet start ‘treading Jerusalem underfoot’? Jesus gives us the key.
Matthew 24:15-22, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day [Comment: Some Sabbath observing Christian groups try to interpret that last statement to mean that real Christians are only those who are Sabbath-observing. But understanding how orthodox Jews treat anyone traveling over a certain distance or driving in a car (kindling fire) on the Sabbath, this is more of a warning to those who might have to flee through Old Jerusalem, or even the Israeli nation, if it has turned ultra-Orthodox, which is likely, since they will have built a temple by this time.] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” A more accurate rendering of the Greek for “shortened” in the King James is the word “limited”. As the Bible indicates, the timing is sure, 3.5 years, starting from the time the beast person (with his armies) and false prophet start ‘treading Jerusalem underfoot.’ What Jesus is saying here, is he is going to limit the devastation, or else no one would survive. We’ve seen miraculous events, where people were saved during WWI and WWII and every war we have fought in. God is still on his throne, no matter how bad things get, remember that. But here in Matthew 24 we see Jesus clearly indicating just when the tribulation would start, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Revelation 11:1-4 indicates that the two witnesses will come on the scene and the city of Jerusalem will then (shortly afterward, my guess 5 months later) be ‘trodden under foot of the Gentiles’---all within the same set of verses.
Daniel 8, then and now
Now let us turn to Daniel 8 to put Revelation 11:1-4 and Matthew 24 into a tighter context, as far as God’s timing of events, as recorded in Daniel. Daniel 8:1-27, “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar [548BC] a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam [Persia]; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.” The river Ulai was an artificial canal near the Elamite capital of Shushan or Susa, verse 2. “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.” This ram with two horns represented the coming Median and Persian parts of the kingdom of Medio-Persia, which at the time of this vision had not yet come on the scene. As you remember, Belshazzar was the son of Nebuchadnezzar, and it was he who held that drinking party the night Babylon was conquered, using the Temple goblets as drinking vessels. So for Daniel right now, this vision is still for the future, even as far as the soon-coming Medio-Persian conquest. In the Expositor’s Bible Commentary it has a footnote on verse 3 which states “Ancient records declare that the king of Persia, when at the head of his army, bore in the place of a crown the head of a ram. The same figure is frequently found on Persian seals.” Continuing in verse 4, “I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran into him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake the two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. [verse 9] And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yeah, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. Then I heard one of the saints speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days [margin: Hebrew: evening morning, i.e evenings and mornings, representing the evening and morning sacrifices. 2300 evenings and mornings would come out to be 1150 days]; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed [margin: justified]” (verses 1-14) Now the archangel Gabriel will explain the meaning to Daniel. Gabriel gives us some very important information, showing the duality of this prophecy, that it was to apply to the period of time just after Daniel, and it was also to apply to the end times, found in Revelation 11. This is extremely important, for this prophecy gives us some important timing clues as to events in the book of Revelation and about the start of the great tribulation, and how long the whole deal would last before the sounding of the 7th Trumpet and the first resurrection to immortality takes place. Let’s read on through verses 15-27, “And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face [Comment: This seems to the normal response of a human being coming face to face with an angel who reveals himself as he really appears. Both Daniel and the apostle John had the same reaction, they both fell to the ground on their faces.]: But he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.” So apparently Daniel had fainted dead away, falling flat on his face at the appearance of Gabriel. “And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.” Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Great. “And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.” Alexander the Great. So far this is all past history. “Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors [first fulfillment: the Hellenizers who were in Jerusalem and Judea trying to do away with Temple worship of Yahweh] are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it” (verses 15-27). The male goat coming from the west to cast down this Persian ram, traveling so swiftly it wasn’t touching the ground was none other than Alexander the Great with his Greek army, Greece with it’s first king, the large horn (verses 5 and 21). He launched his attack on Persia in 334BC and had the Persian army subdued by 332BC. After the untimely death of Alexander the Great, while he was trying to drain swamps near Babylon (he died of malaria), the “four notable horns” replace “the broken horn”, Alexander. Alexander’s four top generals divided up his empire into four pieces. Together, these four pieces did not have the military power of the original Greek empire under Alexander. So far, all this is part of the prophecy is history, and does not have a future counterpart to play in end-time prophecy.
The little horn coming out of one
of these Greek empires has two fulfillments, historic and future
The Nelson Study Bible has this to say: “The little horn here is not the same as the little horn of ch 7. The former horn comes out of the fourth beast, Rome, whereas this one comes out of Greece. The little horn here refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, the eighth king of the Syrian dynasty [descended from Alexander’s general Seleucus] who reigned from 175BC to 164BC. Thus, this prophecy skips to 301BC, the time of the division of Alexander’s empire, [and then] to 175BC, when Antiochus became king.” This, as history books show, has been historically fulfilled in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes. The Jews celebrate Chanukah every December in remembrance of the defeat of this evil ruler, who took over Jerusalem and Judea, at first by flattery, then militarily. God gave Daniel a prophecy about the continuation of these four kingdoms which is recorded in Daniel 11, showing this evil ruler in it. [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/Daniel/daniel1.htm for a full coverage of Daniel 11.] But there is much more to this prophecy. As Gabriel brought out to Daniel, there is a duality to it. He told Daniel “the vision refers to the time of the end”, verses 17, 19, 23 and 26. In Daniel 2, the great image is all one statue, composed of all these empires, down through history, so from Babylon to Rome, it’s all one beast to God. That there is a counterpart to Antiochus Epiphanes is exactly what both Gabriel and Jesus bring out, Gabriel to Daniel, and Jesus to the 12 disciples in Matthew 24. In the first (now historic fulfillment) Antiochus Epiphanes stood in the temple and caused the evening and morning sacrifices to stop, and placed in the temple a statue of Jupiter Olympus, and he sacrificed swine on the altar there. That was the abomination that makes desolate. But Jesus said there would be another abomination that makes desolate in Matthew 24:15-22, as we just read. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary has this to say: “[the] plausible explanation…that the little horn arising from the third kingdom serves as a prototype of the little horn of the fourth kingdom. The crisis destined to confront God’s people [the Jews] in the time of the earlier little horn, Antiochus Epiphanes, will bear a strong similarity to the crisis that will befall them in the eschatological or final phase of the fourth kingdom in the last days…In each case a determined effort will be made by a ruthless dictator to suppress completely the biblical faith and the worship of the one true God” (taken from note on verses 9-10). The temple sacrifices were halted by Antiochus Epiphanes and the Temple was desecrated for 1150 days, or 2300 evenings and mornings, and Revelation 11:1-4 when combined with Revelation 13 show us that Jerusalem will be trampled down under a Gentile power in the end times for three and a half years, or 1260 days, and that the “image of the beast”, a statue, will be set up in the temple (Revelation 13:15). So the “little horn” of Daniel 8 has two fulfillments, one under Antiochus Epiphanes, the other under some future world dictator, who comes in like manner, almost identical, as the Bible indicates.
Daniel 11:30-45
The duality of this “little horn” is also seen in Daniel 11:29-45, where it starts out with the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, and transitions directly into the future, end-time “abomination of desolation” spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24:15-22. Let’s read it. Daniel 11:29-45, “At the time appointed”---and this historically shakes out to be Antiochus Ephiphanes on his way back from an attempt to conquer Ptolemy’s Egyptian empire to his south---“he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him:” And the Roman navy did come against Antiochus at this point, and told him to lay-off attacking the Egyptians, whom they had just made a treaty with. “therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” And as we have seen in history, Judas Maccabee, his father, and his brothers withstood, and later militarily drove out Antiochus and his Syrian army, right out of Judea. It was a three year battle, but Judas succeeded, obviously helped by God. The full account can be see at http://www.unityinchrist.com/Daniel/daniel1.htm and reading through those html pages. “And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed” (verse 35). And I would venture that right here, in verse 35, it is indicating that the prophecy has now shifted over to the end time. Also remember that Antiochus Epiphanes is a forerunner, prototype of the future “abomination of desolation” that Jesus talked of in Matthew 24. So from verse 35 onward, I would hazard to say that this is now talking about the future “abomination of desolation.” “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the god of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the time of the end [starting in verse 40 now] shall the king of the south push at him:…” Now I would say ‘the king of the south is already starting to push at the region this king of the north will come out of. Log onto the utube titled “What Islam Is Not” and watch that. It will fascinate you. “and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown:…” Now that, folks, would appear to be the start of World War III, the great tribulation! It can’t get more clear than that. “but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.” That would equate to modern Turkey, which has been allied to Germany in two world wars, and the modern nation of Jordan, where the children of Ammon and Moab have always historically resided in. “But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. Verses 44-45, “But tidings out of the east”---this is believed to be about two years into the tribulation, at the start of the first woe in Revelation 9:1-12---“and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain;”---“and he shall plant his tabernacle” is probably looking in hindsight, as he probably planted his tabernacle in Jerusalem when he stopped the daily sacrifices right after his Blitzkrieg attack against ‘the king of the south’, initiating WWIII---“yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” Now we have clearly seen both in Daniel and Matthew, where first Gabriel, and then Jesus revealed when the great tribulation would start, and where, in Jerusalem, the future hair-trigger-spot for world events.
How these events unfold
First Four Seals, the Four Horsemen
Revelation 6:1-8, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold, a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell [Greek: Hades] followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” Now for the first Seal. This is where interpretations from various sectors within the Body of Christ differ. But those, as I do, that believe this whole Four Seal period encompasses a seven year period. With this interpretation, which is part of this Pentecost-Revelation 3rd interpretation, a seven-year peace-treaty is brokered by the beast personage and false prophet between the Israelis and the Arab nations, where Jerusalem is divided between them, and the Temple Mount is divided between them (perhaps with a high wall being constructed down the middle of it, allowing the Jews to build their temple on one side, and protecting the Dome of the Rock mosque on the other). At the beginning of the first year of this seven year period, this beast person comes in with flatteries, same as his historic predecessor Antiochus Epiphanes, and he brokers this 7-year peace treaty. The false prophet begins to deceive the world with his false form of ‘Christianity.’ This would mark the opening of the 1st Seal of Revelation 6, at the very beginning of this 7-year period. Some time between the opening of the 1st Seal and the 2nd Seal Satan and his demons invade heaven and attempt to overthrow God a second time. Just before end of three and a half years of this 7-year period, Satan, who had been in heaven with his demons at war with God the Father and Jesus Christ and their angels, are thrown back to earth (Revelation 12:7-10). Shortly after Satan and his demons have been thrown back to earth, the 2nd Seal is opened, the 7-year peace treaty is broken by the Beast Empire itself in a Blitzkrieg attack starting in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and spreading worldwide, probably against the English speaking nations and their allies. This as we’ve seen, all begins when the beast personage, representing the beast empire, sits in the Temple proclaiming himself to be God. (Well, first the third Temple has to be built in Jerusalem, which hasn’t happened yet. Keep a sharp eye out for that event. It will probably be built sometime during the first three and a half years of this brokered 7-year peace treaty between the Israelis and Arab nations.) 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us [people in the time of Paul when he wrote this were sending false letters around with Paul’s name forged on them], as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” This cross references directly to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24:15-16, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains…” Matthew 24 is a short synopsis of Revelation chapters 6 through 20 given by Jesus to his disciples just before his crucifixion. Verses 6-8 correspond to the first four seals, or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Verses 9-13 correspond to the fifth seal, or great martyrdom of saints in Revelation 6:9-11. But since verses 6-8 also refer to wars and famines which have come and gone throughout our history, they also refer to all of those. But the last three seals, three of the Four Horsemen, I think we have established, begin when the beast person steps into the Temple of God claiming to be God. That sets off World War III, opening the 2nd Seal, the Red Horse. Matthew 24, when coupled to Daniel 8 and 11:30-45 would indicate the last three of the Four Horsemen are released and come on the world here in time order in verses 21-22, even though they’re made mention of in verses 6-8 of Matthew 24. The 5th Seal is the Great Martyrdom. Next after the Great Martyrdom comes the heavenly signs, the 6th Seal, mentioned in Matthew 24:27-29 [see also Isaiah 30:21-31 and 13:13]. Matthew 24 is a quick and dirty, as they say, synopsis of Revelation chapters 6 through 20 where Jesus is squeezing in all the events into a short dissertation he’s giving to his disciples, and some of the time-order appears to be jumbled up, where events that are separated by time have been condensed together. As we see, these last three of the Four Seals bring about the death of one fourth of the world’s population (1.5 billion people by today’s current population figures).
The Fifth Seal, the Great Martyrdom of Saints
Revelation 6:9-11, “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held [going back to righteous Able]: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” This would equate to the martyrdom of the Laodicean Christians (cf. Revelation 3:14-22). The events of these last four seals add up to two years or twenty four (30 day) months. (So, from the beginning of the whole 7-year span, three and a half years went by from the opening of the 1st Seal to the opening of the 2nd Seal, now two more years go by, taking us to year five and a half [5.5].) At this point, except for those Christians who may be in a place of safety, the Church has ended, no one is left alive. (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/romans/print/Petra-ThePlaceofSafetyprt.htm.) The sixth seal quickly follows this martyrdom.
The Sixth Seal, the Heavenly Signs---heavenly
Jerusalem approaches earth!
Revelation 6:12-17, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” This is a direct cross-reference to Matthew 24:27-30, when the heavenly signs appear. Notice, two years into the three and a half year tribulation, 24 months into it, these heavenly signs appear, and all the people on earth (don’t forget the earth is rotating) can actually see Jesus Christ on his throne with God the Father on his throne next to him. So something really strange has appeared to mankind, and it must be slowly approaching earth, and it would appear that it is the very throne of God. In Hebrews 12:18-24 it called this “the heavenly Jerusalem…to the church of the firstborn…and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” Let’s read Matthew 24:27-30, “For as lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Now, first point, lightning doesn’t shine out of the east even unto the west. It shines in all directions. But the sun does shine out of the east, and shines even unto the west. The sun is stationary, and the earth rotates so the sun appears in the east and as the earth rotates, the sun appears to move across the sky from east to west, setting in the west. [Comment: A more accurate word than the King James translators used for “lightning” is “lightening”, the Greek can go either way, according to context. “Strongs #796, glare:---lightning, bright shining.” So it could be either, a “lightening” or “lightning” in the Greek.] So if “the coming of the Son of man” appears first in the east, and is visible as “a bright shining” going across the sky from east to west, and Jesus and the Father are seen sitting on their thrones, visibly glowing brighter than the sun, and this is called in Hebrews 12:18-24 “the heavenly Jerusalem”, then it would appear that the “heavenly signs” the sixth seal, is the approaching of God’s heavenly Jerusalem, made visible to mankind on earth. God may dim the sun and moon, or they may just be dimmed by the extreme brilliance of this approaching heavenly Jerusalem (much like the stars go dim and become invisible when the sun rises in the morning), we don’t know. The reaction of mankind is seen in verses 16-17 of Revelation 6. Now let’s continue Matthew 24:27-30, “For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles [vultures] be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Remember, Matthew 24 is a condensed synopsis of the whole of Revelation from chapter 6 going all the way through Revelation 19. The very next verse in Matthew 24, verse 31 gives the the blowing of the 7th trumpet and the resurrection to immortality, which in Revelation occurs about a year and a half later in time sequence after the heavenly signs of the sixth seal appear. That is because Matthew 24 is a condensed synopsis of Revelation chapters 6 through 19. Don’t be confused by this. The 6th Seal, the heavenly signs occur after two years of the tribulation have gone by. Hosea chapter 5 prophetically shows Israel’s rebellion and God’s punishment to them in the end times. It doesn’t just refer to their Old Testament rebellion and punishment as some would believe. Hosea 6 shows this also applies to the future, for what period of time lasts three years? In context with chapter 5, verse 1 of Hosea 6 shows they are in a period of repentance. (read Hosea 5 on your own.) Turn to Hosea chapter 6. Remember, during the tribulation Israel is in captivity, all Israel, all 12 tribes, wherever and whomever they happen to be nationally. Israel is in a period of repentance, of course, being in captivity. Remember also, in prophecy, often when it speaks of a day, it is referring to a year, the prophetic day-for-a-year principle in prophecy. Let’s read Hosea 6:1-2, “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” This shows Israel’s punishment lasts for two years, whoever Israel, all 12 tribes, are nationally. So if two years have gone by in a 42 month tribulation, 18 months are left, or a year and a half, before the tribulation ends. These last 18 months have often been referred to as “The Day of the Lord” because God from here on out starts to take control of events. The world from this point on, for a short while, see what appears to them to be a new star. The sun and moon have gone dark. What they are really seeing is God’s throne, the 3rd heaven, the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem appearing to all, who see it around the world, as earth turns on its axis. They say, as Revelation 6:16 says, “Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” Don’t forget, with all the world’s powerful telescopes, when they zero in on this approaching “star” they will recognize it for what it is, and see God the Father and Jesus on their respective thrones, glowing brighter than the sun itself. Angels in their full brilliance glow also. At this point in time, when these heavenly signs first appear, all believers in Jesus who have not been brought to a place of safety (cf. Revelation 3:10; 12:13-16) have died during the time period of the 5th Seal, the great martyrdom (Laodicia) [Comment: They had the Holy Spirit, but weren’t accounted worthy to “escape all these things.”] Then the heavenly signs appear (6th Seal), which we saw in Revelation 6:12-17. Immediately following this is Revelation 7:1-17. By some interpretations two years of the tribulation have gone by (eighteen months to go). God has now intervened in world affairs through the heavenly signs. The world has seen God on his heavenly throne, in the heavenly Jerusalem, slowly approaching earth, and they’re terrified. This serves an immediate purpose, for as we shall see later, the heavenly signs do not stop the beast empire, nor does it put an end to war on earth. One purpose for the introduction of the heavenly signs follows in Revelation 7, the sealing of the 144,000.
The 144,000 and the Innumerable Multitude
Revelation 7:1-17, “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Asher were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Naphthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. [“shall dwell among them” indicates future tense] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Backing up to the start of the tribulation and the stopping of the evening and morning sacrifices and the man of sin sitting in the temple with the abomination that makes desolate, we see God places the two witnesses in the area of the temple. Revelation 11:1-3, “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” With no living Christians to counter Satan’s false prophet and beast person after the great martyrdom, God has assigned these two people with special powers to be his witnesses and preach the Gospel---for the entire three and a half year period of the tribulation (they actually arrive on the scene about five months before the tribulation starts and begin their witness and preaching). Revelation 7 shows us the result of two years worth of their witness (maybe coupled to our puny efforts at preaching the Gospel before WWIII [cf. Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16, see http://www.unityinchrist.com/misc/WhatIsTheGospel%20.htm]. Now for all you who would say the Jews and only the Jews are Israel, Revelation 7:5-8 should be an eye opener. 12,000 from each tribe of Israel are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit, along with an innumerable multitude of Gentiles (God knows where and who they are, even if we don’t, and it’s evident most of us don’t have a clue). Whether they are ushered into the place of safety or are martyred in captivity we do not know. We do know they end up on the sea of glass after the 1st resurrection to immortality which occurs at the sounding of the 7th Trumpet. That is why verses 14-17 must be looking forward to that event, as is Revelation 14:1-5, and not having occurred right after the heavenly signs, because no physical human being could dwell on or survive on the sea of glass in the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. 1st Corinthians 15:50). They end up there with all the other immortal resurrected saints, as we shall see. The Dispensational Pre-Millennialists believe the soul is awake after death and resides in heaven on the sea of glass, along with all those they believe are Raptured to avoid the tribulation. But that is not part of this third interpretation that is somewhat halfway between the Rapture and Classic Pre-Millennial interpretations presented thus far in this commentary on Revelation, and the Rapture interpretation goes solidly against what is revealed about the spirit-in-man, or soul, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is a part of the Word of God. So these two sets of verses which follow belong in time-order after the sounding of the 7th Trumpet and the resurrection to immortality (cf. 1st Corinthians 15:49-54). Revelation 7:14-17, “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence come they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Now, in Revelation 14:1-5 it shows this same group (I believe it’s the same group) on the sea of glass, which yet again, must occur after the 7th Trumpet blast and 1st resurrection to immortality (according to this third interpretation halfway between Rapturist and Classic Pre-Millennial). Revelation 14:1-15 does occur after Revelation 11:15-19 literally, which is the blowing of the 7th Trumpet. Revelation 14:1-5, “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:22-24 identifies this “mount Sion” quite clearly as the heavenly Jerusalem with the saints on the sea of glass, obviously. This is a special harvest of God and they are “sealed” with the Holy Spirit, with nobody to counsel them, or baptize them. They have gone through at least part of the great tribulation, twenty-four months of it (Revelation 7:14). These verses show the “sealing” of the Holy Spirit. 2nd Corinthians 1:21-22, “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” And then, Ephesians 1:12-14, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” We’ve just seen the 144,000 and innumerable multitude sealed with God’s Holy Spirit, just after the 6th Seal, the heavenly signs. What’s next in time order?
The 7th Seal, the 7 Trumpet Plagues of
God
Prayers of the saints
The 7th Seal is made up of the 7 Trumpet Plagues, Revelation 8:1-2, “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.” Revelation 8:3-6 show the prayers of the saints during “the Day of the Lord” and their result. My guess, is if there are any saints alive in a ‘place of safety’, they’re praying like crazy, always on their knees. Perhaps they are praying for the empowerment of the two witnesses. Revelation 8:3-6, “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”
First Four of the Trumpet Plagues Are From God
As we’ll see, the first four Trumpet plagues that accompany the blowing of the first four trumpets in Revelation 8 are plagues delivered by God against the Beast empire and the world under his sway. Revelation 8:13, the last three trumpet plagues are called “woes”, and the first two “woes” as we’ll see amount to a military invasion and counter-invasion between the Beast empire and the military alliance to the north and east of the Beast power (possibly the Russian Federation and C.I.S. countries).
First Trumpet: Revelation 8:7, “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burn up.”
Second
Trumpet: Revelation 8:8-9, “And
the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was
cast into the sea: and the third part of
the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the
sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”
Third
Trumpet: Revelation 8:10-11, “And
the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it
were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the
fountains of waters; and the name of the star is Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became
wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”
Fourth
Trumpet: Revelation 8:12, “And
the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the
third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part
of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the
night likewise.”
So this amounts to an ecological disaster, all brought on by God. (God made life on this planet, and God can take it way, and God can then recreate it. So all you Greenies that are so worried about pollution, stop your worrying. God’s going to make it all better in the end, whether you recycle those cans or not. This doesn’t mean global warming isn’t true or not true, but God’s in charge, so stop worrying your little heads about it.)
1. Vegetation struck, one third of all trees are destroyed, and all the grass is burned up, verse 7. 2. One third of the seas struck, one third of all life in the sea is killed off, and one third of all ships destroyed, verse 8-9, 3. One third of all potable water is made poisonous, verses 10-11, 4. all light, sunlight, moonlight, starlight, doesn’t shine for a third part of the day and night, verse 12. If you don’t think that’s an ecological disaster, then tell me what is. But apparently that’s not enough to stop mankind inspired by Satan in his quest for world conquest. So the next two Trumpet plagues are where God lets man under Satan’s inspiration have his way.
The Next Three Trumpet
Plagues Are Called Woes
The first two woes are brought on “man to man”, God is allowing Satan to bring about massive destruction upon the world’s armies by their armies. Now remember how in Revelation 6:12-17, the 6th Seal, and Matthew 24:27-30, the sign of the coming of the Son of man appears in the skies, heavens. These heavenly signs, as they’re called amount to being the appearance of the new Jerusalem, heavenly Jerusalem from above (cf. Hebrews 12:18-24). God the Father and Jesus Christ can be seen sitting on their thrones, glowing brighter than the sun. But after the sealing of the 144,000 and innumerable multitude, as we’ll see, the combined armed forces of the Beast empire and an eastern alliance of nations (Russia and C.I.S.?) get involved in a massive attack and counter-attack. So it would stand to reason God has made this approaching new Jerusalem become invisible to human eyesight, right after the 144,000 were sealed. Why? Because when it becomes visible again, the Beast successfully unites the world to fight “the invaders from outer-space”, the returning Jesus Christ. Let’s see how this unfolds. Also in these verses describing the first two woes, the period of time each takes to be accomplished is given, which when combined adds up to 18 months. 24 months have just already gone by in the first 6 Seals. 24 + 18 = 42 months, the length given for the great tribulation in Revelation 11:1-4.
Beast Attacks East
First Woe, Beast Attacks Eastern Alliance of Nations: Revelation 9:1-12, “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” Here we see the Bible identify one of its own symbols. An angel is referred to as a star falling to earth. So stars falling to earth could really be glowing angelic beings. Just a thought. “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he stingeth a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.” Daniel 11:44 cross-references to this, showing against whom this attack is made, in what direction. Don’t forget, the Beast person, leader of the Beast empire, and his false prophet are residing in Jerusalem. Daniel 11:44, “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly make away many.” This amounts to a massive military attack of the Euro-Beast power against an alliance of nations to the east and north of it, Jerusalem being the point of reference for “east” and “north.” Also Russia is east of Europe, and north of Jerusalem, which is now the headquarters of the Beast power. As if the poor Russians haven’t been through enough! The first woe is described as we saw in Revelation 9:1-12, and in verse 5 it shows this attack and its effects last five months. This, by the description of it, appears to be some kind of biological or chemical attack that targets only animals and humans, but not plant-life. Plant life must be getting pretty scarce, especially after the first three Trumpet plagues, and the effects of two years worth of world war.
Now
where’s the heavenly signs, the new Jerusalem, the heavenly mount Sion at this
point in time?
Let’s notice something, which I mentioned before. The Euro-Beast power is busy attacking its eastern neighbors. Apparently the 6th Seal, the heavenly signs, the brilliantly glowing visible image of the new Jerusalem, God’s throne, with its sea of glass, has disappeared from view. God can make beings and things created out of spirit both appear and disappear at will (look up and read 2nd Kings 6:14-17). Or else the beast would be trying to unite with the eastern powers so that they could fight off the “alien invaders from outer-space.” Now at the end of this first woe five months have gone by since the 6th Seal, the heavenly signs, and the sealing of the 144,000. 13 months remain of the 42 month tribulation, after which we are brought to the 7th Trumpet plague. Perhaps Russia and the C.I.S. countries have suffered greatly from this massive Euro-Beast attack. But looking back at Russian history, I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of those European soldiers. Remember Stalingrad, that’s all I’ll say. China may or may not be part of this eastern alliance, although I personally don’t believe so. I think China is hanging back for Ezekiel 38, after Jesus has come back to earth. Now we see this eastern alliance of nations counter-attack the Beast forces.
East Attacks Beast
Second Woe, or 6th Trumpet Plague: Revelation 9:13-21, “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay a third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:” That’s a 200 million man army! “and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” Their counter-attack lasts for one year and one month approximately. One third of humanity dies in this counter-attack. So add five months to one year and one month, and you get 18 months, a year and a half (5 + 13 = 18 months). Added to the previous 24 months of the first 6 Seals and you get three and a half years or 42 months, or 1260 days (1260 divided by 30 = 42 months). Now lets go to Revelation 11:1-3 again.
The
Two Witnesses Have Been Preaching For This Entire Time
Revelation 11:1-6, “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.” The two witnesses have been preaching the Gospel for this entire time, withstanding the falsehoods and lies of the beast person and false prophet, and this is being televised too.
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