Ken Blue Ministries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continue our studies in Revelation. We are discussing which nations comprise the beast. Commentators vary somewhat as to who these ancient kings are.

Dake says they are:

1.    Egypt

2.    Assyria

3.    Babylon

4.    Medo-Persia

5.    Greece

6.    The old Roman Empire

7.    The 10 kingdoms that are yet to be formed inside the Roman Empire.

The heads on the dragon are seven world empires that precede the coming of the Antichrist. Chapter 17 gives us more insight to these seven Gentiles powers. John says, “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” (Revelation 17:10). The next verse (Revelation 17:11) says that there will be an eighth king.

We believe the five Gentile powers which had fallen are:

1.    Egypt

2.    Assyria

3.    Babylon

4.    Medo-Persia

5.    Greece

Now we know the red dragon represents Satan as a bloodthirsty murderer. The seven heads symbolize seven Gentile powers used by him to persecute Israel. The ten horns symbolize ten future leaders who will make up the seventh head.

These ten horns are ten kings and comprise the seventh head, which will form an alliance in the future with Israel and between each other. They will comprise the fourth kingdom seen in Daniel’s vision.  Daniel 7:7 says, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”

Daniel goes on to say in Daniel 7:19-20,  ^“Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;  And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.”

These ten rule for a short time with the Antichrist, in the Day of the Lord.  Revelation 17:12 says, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.” There can be no doubt that the seven heads on the dragon are seven Gentile kingdoms which comprise the whole beast. This beast has and will continue to persecute Israel to the end.

        “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…” (v. 4).  “The tail” of the dragon is associated with his last acts in heaven. This, no doubt, happens at the same time he is cast out in verse 7. As he is evicted, he draws a third part of his angels with him. He has been unable to stop two witnesses and in his desperation casts a third of his host to the earth to fight against them. Remember, the events in these chapters begin at the three and one-half year point in the Tribulation.

Although the attempt to destroy Israel from Genesis 3:15 continues, Satan intensifies his efforts during these last three and one-half years.  Notice what Jesus says about those awful days. “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).

Israel will receive her long awaited King of kings and experience the New Birth spoken of by Jesus in John 3. The labor pains are evident. Thus, Satan stands ready to destroy the new nation before it can come to birth.

Here it states that the “man child” (v. 5) was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. The promise to the Jewish assembly of Thyatira will be revisited here. Revelation 2:26-27, “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” There will be those who will rule the nations with Christ. They, too, will rule with a rod of iron.

Dake believes the Man Child consists of the sealed 144,000. This may be so. It is evident that a remnant of national Israel will come to birth and will be God’s Son. “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” (Exodus 4:22).  Israel must be born again and become a New Nation! (See John 3:5-8; Isaiah 66:6.) This was offered by Jesus to Israel at His first advent. That is what the earthly ministry of John, Jesus and the Twelve was all about. It had nothing to do with the founding of the church of this dispensation.

In Acts 2, Jesus was caught up to heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. However, we also find the 144,000 caught up to heaven in chapter 14 of Revelation. In Revelation 7, they are sealed for protection. In chapter 14 they are seen on MountZion in heaven! One need not ask how they got there. They were caught up to God, and to His throne. This happened somewhere just prior to the Second Advent. In relation to the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, 2,000 years have elapsed between verses 5 and 6.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The analogy here is that the remnant has realized that Jesus Christ is their rejected Messiah, and that He is about to return to earth. They are now in extreme straits, and they are praying, “Thy kingdom come…deliver us from evil…”

 

Isaiah says, “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory” (Isaiah 66:7-11).

(End of the previous study

 

Satan and His Wrath Against Israel

Described (12:3-17)

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:3-17).

 

The other “wonder” or “sign” seen in heaven is that of a great red dragon (vs.3-4). Just as God will use Israel and their kingdom to fulfill all His will in the earth, so the Devil uses the kingdoms of this world and that of the beast, in particular, to carry out his plans. The seven heads comprise seven Gentile kingdoms to carry out his will against God and His Christ by persecuting Israel. This ought to explain all the suffering Israel has endured and is yet to endure.

 

The Devil has many names or titles in Scripture. Each one is symbolic and depicts some aspect of his wiles and nature. He is called, “that old serpent,” to illustrate his subtlety and deceit.  He is called “Satan,” because he is an adversary to God’s people. He is called a “red dragon” to show his ferocity and bloodshed. He is called an “angel of light” to illustrate his deception. He is presented as a “roaring lion” to picture his power and might. He is the “prince of the power of the air” to show his domain and the nature of his kingdom. Satan is none of the above in his form, yet he is all of them in his nature. These “signs” are not to be taken as though they themselves literally exist; rather they symbolize that which is literal.

 

 

All these names are given to him to reveal his various attributes. Just as the woman was symbolic of Israel, who was blessed and protected by God and will bring forth a Son who will defeat Satan, so the serpent is symbolic of the power and hatred behind the Gentile powers that seek the destruction of Israel.

 

The dress and attire of the woman are symbolic of different aspects of her character, purpose, and government. The description of the dragon is also symbolic.

 

The “wonder” or “miracle” of the Gentile powers can be seen. Satan is the power energizing them to persecute the woman down through the centuries. Satan himself does not have seven heads, he is the Anointed Cherub! His heads, or ambassadors, are the seven kings, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” (Revelation 13:1). “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:3). “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:7). “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth” (Revelation 17:9).

 

You will notice in each of the above passages the beast is comprised of seven heads or kings. These seven kings rule consecutively and constitute the one great beast consisting of seven kings.

 

Commentators vary somewhat as to who these ancient kings are. Tim Lahaye says the seven heads consist of five kings prior to the vision given to John. The sixth, which existed in John’s day, was Domitian. The Antichrist will be the seventh. He lists four by name: Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece and Rome. James Knox thinks the seven heads are seven-series of Roman governments of the past. Dr. Peter S. Ruckman says they are:

 

1. Nimrod, the king of Babylon.
2. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
3. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
4. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon
5. Darius, the king of Persia.
6. Unnamed “X,” the mystery man–the sixth head is a mystery and unnamed.
7. The seventh head, of course, is the kingdom which conquers Alexander the Great and takes over the world. Preparatory to the first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ: Rome!

 

George Williams says they are:

 

1.   Egypt

2.   Syria

3.   Assyria

4.   Babylon

5.   Persia

6.   Greece

7.   Rome

 

We shall see in the next study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revelation 12

The disciples, who represented the nation of Israel, and the kingdom were told by Jesus that they were the light of the world. Isaiah said concerning Israel, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Isaiah 60:1-3). Thus the woman, clothed with the sun, is an intended symbol of Israel in her future power and glory.

 

The moon, under her feet, is the lesser light, and is also connected with Israel’s dominion, which she will have over the whole earth, through the “man child,” in the Millennium, and throughout eternity. The moon is simply a reflection of the greater light, and shows that God will rule through Israel night and day

 

The “crown of twelve stars” shows that her government will be a rule of righteous decrees which will be exercised through the twelve tribes. This is stated in Matthew 18:18. “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 

The woman is called a “wonder” or a “sign.” No nation on earth has ever been hated, and persecuted like the little nation of Israel. No matter where this woman goes, the serpent pursues her. History shows repeated attempts to destroy her. Yet, she is indestructible!  The hatred for Israel defies all logic. Like her man-child, she is hated without a cause. Her suffering and everlasting nature is indeed a wonder and a sign.

 

The two great “wonders” or “signs” seen in heaven answer the age-old questions of: Why do the nations hate Israel and seek her destruction? And, where do all her troubles come from?  The vision answers both questions. God said in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” In these two personages we see the great conflict of the ages!

 

The woman is Israel in the Great Tribulation. John sees her there experiencing severe labor pains, “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”  Jeremiah’s description of this scene: “Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?” (Jeremiah 30:6).