Submitted by Dr. GP

Chapter ten is the parenthetical portion between the sixth and seventh trumpets. In these verses we read of the only thing that is definitely sealed in this book of Revelation. When John heard the voice of the seven thunders he started to write, but he heard a voice from heaven say­ing to him, “Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not.” In the last part of this chapter we read of a little book which was in his mouth as sweet as honey but which became bitter when taken into his belly.

Chapter eleven tells about two witnesses. There has been much speculation as to who these two witnesses are, but if you will carefully study the attributes that are given to these two men you will discover that they are Moses an Elijah. When the seventh trumpet sounded there were      great voices in heaven saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and forever.” This clearly teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ will rule and reign upon the earth. It also teaches us that men cannot bring about an earthly millennium by their own efforts, but that a reign of peace and righteousness will be established when Jesus Christ Himself rules as. King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In chapters twelve and thirteen we have seven personages. The first personage is a woman that is clothed with the sun. Some teach that this woman is the Church, but we believe that she is Israel because she brings forth the man who is Christ. Israel, not the Church, brought forth Christ. The second personage is a great red dragon. There is no problem in identifying him for verse nine tells us that he is the old serpent, called the Devil and Satan. The third personage is the man child who is, of course The Lord Jesus Christ. It is interesting to notice that He will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He did not do this when He came the first time, but this will be fulfilled when He comes the second time. The fourth personage is Michael the archangel. The fifth personage is the Jewish remnant (12:17).

The Antichrist

The sixth personage is the antichrist. In chapter thirteen two beasts are mentioned. The first is out of the sea; the second is out of the earth: The first beast is a political ruler; the second is a religious leader. The first beast is the antichrist. We have already been introduced to him as the rider on the white horse (Rev. 6:2). The Lord Jesus said of him, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). Jesus also called him “the abomination of des­olation” (Matthew 24:15).

The prophet Daniel has more to say about him than any other writer of the Scriptures. Daniel sees him as “a littlehorn” which arises among the ten horns (kings-dictators) who will be ruling in the area of the old Roman Empire in the last days. Daniel said that he had the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things (Daniel 7:8). Daniel calls him a king of fierce countenance who understands dark sentences. “His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and prac­tice, 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” (Daniel 8:24-25) “The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war des­olations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the over­spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate” (Daniel 9:26, 27). This is what Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:15 “The king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself self, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods . . . neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women . . . shall he honor the God of forces . . . yet shall he come to his end, and none shall help him” (Daniel 11:36-45). Carefully compare these references in Darnel with Revelation 13:1-10.

The Apostle Paul calls him “the man of sin, and the son of perdition, and the Wicked One” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12). The Apostle John tells us of his final doom, “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him that false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he decieved them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone”. (Rev. 19:19-20).

The seventh personage is the beast out of the earth (Rev. 1 3:11-18). He has the horns of a lamb but speaks as a dragon. He makes all men to worship the antichrist. He causes all men to receive a mark in their right hand or on their forehead. All who receive this mark will be cast into hell to burn forever and forever (Rev. 14:9-11).

Armageddon

One of the highest goals of civilized man is to abolish war, but men cannot be at peace with one another when they are at enmity with God. Jesus, said that there would be wars and rumors of wars until His second coming (Matthew 24:6). The bat­tle of Armageddon is predicted and described,) in many Old Testament Scriptures (Isaiah 34:1-8, 63:1-6, Joel 2:1-11; 3:9-13, Zephaniah 1:14-18, 3:8, Zechariah 12:9-11, 14:1-3). This great battle will be fought in the plain of Megiddo. A glance at a world map will show that the land of Pale­stine is at the meeting place of three great con­tinents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. God will gather the armies of all the nations of the world to this great valley. When Napolean beheld the plain of Megiddo he said it was the greatest battlefield on the face of the earth. The Lord  Jesus Christ will trample the nations in His fury. His garments will be stained with their blood. So great will the slaughter be that the blood will flow out of The valley for a distance of 170 miles to the depths “of the bridles on the horses (Rev. 14:14-20). When the kings of the earth and the mighty military men of all nations see the Son of God coming from heaven riding on a white horse they will think that they can easily blast Him from the sky with their atomic war heads, but “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak to them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore dis­pleasure” (Psalms 2:4,5). Then the Lord says, ‘Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utter­most parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shall break them with a rod of iron; thou shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psalms 2:6-9).

Isaiah gives us this dialogue: “Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and the garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden in the winepress alone; and of the peo­ple there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of Vengeance is in mine heart and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth” (Isaiah 63:2-6).

The Vials of God’s Wrath

In chapter sixteen we witness the pouring out seven vials of God’s wrath. When the firstangel pours out his vial noisome and grievous sores cover the bodies of men who have received the mark of the beast. When the second angel pours out his vial upon the sea it becomes as the blood of a dead man and every living soul who is in the sea dies. When the third angel pours his vial upon the rivers and fountains of water they become blood. When the fourth angel pours out his vial upon the sun men are scorched with the great heat and blaspheme the name of God which had power over these plaques, but they do not repent to give Him glory. When the fifth, angel pours out his vial upon the seat of the beast his kingdom is filled with darkness and men gnaw their tongues for pain and curse and blaspheme the God of heaven, and yet do not repent of their evil deeds. When the sixth angel pours out his vial upon the great River Euphrates the waters are dried up so that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared.

Once again we have a parenthetical portion (verses 13-16) between the sixth and seventh vials as we did in the case of the sixth and seventh seal and the sixth and seventh trumpet. When the seventh angel pours out his vial in the air there are voices, thunderings and lightenings, and a great earthquake, such as was not upon the earth since the beginning of time. Great hailstones weighing 120 pounds pulverize the earth. Instead of those plagues causing men to repent and turn to God they cause men to blas­pheme Him. I call to your attention that it is very easy to understand this chapter if we accept it in a literal sense, but if we seek to give it an allegorical meaning no one under God’s heaven knows what it means.

Chapters seventeen and eighteen tells us about Babylon. She is called the great whore which sitteth upon many waters. She is called the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. The Bible says that she is drunkened with the blood of saints and the blood of martyrs of Jesus. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ has His Church who is clothed in garments pure and white, so also Satan has his church which is this filthy woman who is clothed in purple and scarlet and gold and precious stones and pearls. The true Church is the Bride of Christ. Satan’s church is the apostate ecumenical movement. History re­peals that Rome is drunkened with the blood of (saints and with martyrs of Jesus Christ. The Babylon of chapter eighteen is both a city and a system.

The Second Coming of Christ

In chapter nineteen we come to the climax of the book: the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus

Christ. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold  a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called

Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of

fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he

himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of

God. And the armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine

linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the

nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness

and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KINGS

OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with

a loud voice saying, to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven. Come and gather yourselves

together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of

captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and

the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast and the kings

of the earth, and their armies gathered to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against

his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before

him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that

worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone”

(Rev. 19:11-20).

Chapter twenty has been called the most controversial chapter in the Bible. If we try and interpret it in a figurative sense no one knows what it means, but if we accept it in a literal sense it is so simple that a child can understand it. This chapter tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to rule and reign upon the earth for a thousand years. Modernist, ecumenical leaders, and even many more born again de­nominational leaders do not interpret this chap­ter in a literal sense because to do so cuts across the grain of their man-made program to bring in the kingdom. The pre-millennialist teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to rule and reign on the earth and that by His coming He will bring peace and righteousness on the earth for a thousand years.  

The deny that there will be a millennium. They tell us that this twentieth chapter of Revelation is the only place in the Bible where the millennium is mentioned, and that this is a highly figurative book that we are not to interpret in a literal sense. They delight in quoting, “One day is with the Lord as a thou­sand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). Yes, since our God is the eternal God one day is with Him as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, but when He tells us as mortal men that a period of time will last a thousand years. He means that it will last a thousand years!

It is true that this is the only place in the Bible where the length of the millennium is given, but there are dozens of Old Testament Scriptures which describe this time (2 Samuel 7:14-17, Psalms 24:1-10, Psalms 72:1-20, Isaiah 2:1-5, 11:1-10, 35:1-10, and Daniel 2:44) Chapter twenty describes for us the great White Throne Judgment which is The judgment of the wicked dead. The righteous dead “have been raised a thousand years prior to this time. They have been judged, not on the basis of their sins, but on the basis of their works because all of their sins were atoned for when Jesus died on Calvary‘s Cross.

Chapters twenty-one and twenty-two describe for us the new heaven, the new earth and the

new Jerusalem. What glory awaits the child of God! John sees this beautiful city coming down

from God out of heaven, the bride adorned for her husband. The city glistens as a diamond. The great wall about the city has twelve gates and over the gates are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. The wall of the city has twelve foundations and in them are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. This city is a great cube that is 1300 miles long, 1300 miles wide, and 1300 miles high. In the city there is no tem­ple for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. The city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine for the glory of God is the light thereof. In this city there is no night and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain: for the former things are passed away. Out of the throne of God flows a river of pure water which is clear as crystal. On each side of the river there is the tree of life which bears twelve manner of fruits and yields her fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

What contrast we find in the book of the Revelation! We behold glories and ‘delights that are entirely beyond the conception of man. But we also learn of terrible and tragic events that stagger the imagination. God, who is love, has been patient and long-suffering with the sons of men even though they have spurned His love and persecuted His servants. God is not only love. He is also holy, and because He is holy He must punish sin. He is a God of wrath and of judg­ment. This book gives the details of how His wrath will be poured out on proud, haughty, Christ rejecting, sinners. The great day of His wrath has come and who will be able to stand?

My friend, when these terrible events take place where will you be? God will not pour out bus wrath on His own children (I Thessalonians 5:9). All who are in Christ will be caught up to meet Christ in the air before these terrible thing? take place (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). To be in Christ we must born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:1-18.) We are born again when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ into our heart (John 1:12). Salvation is the free gift of God because the Lord Jesus Christ paid for our redemption when He died on Calvary‘s Cross nearly two thousand years ago. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God” (I Peter 3:18.)

One of the great invitations of the Bible is found in the closing verses of the book of the Revelation. “And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). Jesus stands at the door of your heart and wants to come in. If you will open the door, He will come in to be your Savior and Lord. His precious blood will cleanse all of your sins, and you will have everlasting life. Will you not bow your head and pray a simple prayer something like this: “Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sin­ner and that I need a Savior. I believe that you died on the Cross for my sins, and that you were raised again the third day according to the Scriptures. I now invite you to come into my heart as my Savior and Lord. I thank you for saving me.