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LET’S STUDY REVELATION # 29

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Revelation

The Vision is on Earth.

It Consists of the Six Trumpets.

The trumpet sounds to announce war on the kingdom of the beast in response to the prayers of the suffering saints.  Zeph. 1:14-16 says, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.”

As we have stated, the sixth seal covers events right up to the Second Advent of Christ. Whereas, the seventh seal loops back to the mid-way point and gives another account of the judgments which are detailed by the seven trumpets and the seven vials. The remainder of Revelation is contained in this seventh seal. An overview of the wrath to follow was given in 6:12-17; now God gives the details of those judgments.

“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 burnt up. 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.  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 called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”  (Revelation 8:7-11).

When the “…first angel sounded… 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 burnt up” (v.7). Some writers believe these judgments are localized in and around Israel, and include the empire of the ten kings which will be taken over by the Beast. If this is so, this judgment is on the vegetation within the boundaries of his kingdom.

Most likely, the events from the second seal through the seven trumpets and the seven vials are all in the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation. It is impossible to pinpoint the exact day or month each begins. However, they do escalate from the mid-point of the Tribulation until the kingdom of the beast is destroyed, and he is assigned to the bottomless pit.

In verse 8 the second angel sounds, and John sees something he describes, “as it were a great mountain,” cast into the sea. This will result in a third part of the sea becoming blood. What this fiery mass is, we are not told. Perhaps it will be a giant meteor entering the atmosphere and breaking up over the Sea of Galilee, the Mediterranean, or both. It could be a satellite armed with nuclear or germ warfare falling from space. Whatever it is, it brings death and devastation to one third of the sea.

The effects will be the death of one third of the sea life in that region. Water was literally turned to blood in Egypt, and God can easily do it again, or it could be a figure of speech that all who drink it will die. The vessels of the sea are most likely like those used by the disciples. Luke 5:2 says, “And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.” This is a judgment of the marine life and sea vessels of that area.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary says of “wormwood” (v.11): “…It is a type of bitterness, affliction, remorse, punitive suffering. In Amos 6:12, this Hebrew word is rendered, “hemlock” (R.V., “wormwood”). In the symbolical language of the Apocalypse (Revelation 8:10, 11) a star is represented as falling on the waters of the earth, causing the third part of the water to turn into wormwood. The name by which the Greeks designated it…means ‘undrinkable…’”

This object that falls from heaven may also be a meteorite, a satellite, or a rocket carrying some deadly toxin. Whatever it is, one third of the water from the rivers and fountains are contaminated and unfit to drink. Those who drink of them will also die.

 “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. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”  (Revelation 8:12-13).

Verse 12 says, “…the fourth angel sounded,” This fourth trumpet sounds just prior to the Second Advent of Christ. That event is mentioned under the sixth seal in chapter 6:12. (See also Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:24; Acts 2:20.)  The question is, will this darkness be worldwide or just over the kingdom of the Beast? Darkness covered Egypt while the land of Goshen had light.

The darkness could be localized as it was in Egypt, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt” (Exodus 10:21).  Revelation 16:10 says, “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain…” The darkness will, no doubt, be confined to that region over which the beast reigns.

Verse 13 says, “…I …heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying …Woe, woe, woe…” The seven trumpets are interrupted between the fourth and the fifth by an angel flying through the air. The remaining three trumpets are called, “woes” because of their great intensity.

THE PROMISES ARE NOT YOURS

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By Ken Blue

We often hear well-meaning Christians quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a prayer promise for America. Also, it is implied that God is judging this nation because Christians are not right with God. The assumption is, if all God’s people would repent and pray, the land would be healed. But, since it is not, it must be the fault of the Church.

2 Chronicles must be understood in its contextual and dispensational setting. In addition, these judgments must be understood in relation to the promised curses to come upon the nation of Israel, outlined in Leviticus 26:14-39, if they refused to walk within the covenant made with them. Solomon clearly understood these.

Compare 2 Chronicles 7:13 “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;” with Leviticus 26:19-20 “And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.” These promises of judgment were to God’s covenant people, Israel. Read the context again. “My people,” and “My land,” speak of the Jews and the land of Israel.

Christians do not have a land or a country. Our citizenship is in heaven. We have the privilege of voting for our leaders, and we are commanded to pray for them. But, the application of 2 Chronicles 7 to Christians places an assumption about a promise that is not theirs, and suggests that the problem in any land is their fault, and they can change it. As we have said, this is a warning and a promise to Israel only.

 

 

TEN HORNS AND TEN TOES

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By Ken Blue

 

As we watch the nations surrounding Israel crumble, many in the world wonder what is going on. Were it not for the Scriptures, we would be left in the dark. However, God has foretold these events and the resulting reformation.

 

First, let me give you the Scriptures relating to this subject. Daniel 2:41-43 “And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. “  Also, Daniel 7:7-8 “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. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Also, Revelation 12:3 “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.” Also, Revelation 13:1 “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, (This is a sea of people) having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Also, Revelation 17:3 “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 17:12 “ 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. Revelation 17:16 “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”

 

Now, it will help to ignore the other distraction in the text, and pay attention to the toes and the horns. One can see that they are one and the same, and Revelation 17:12 tell us that they are ten kings or leaders yet to emerge. Therefore, it is necessary for the existing kingdoms near Israel to unravel so the ten new kingdoms can be established. This is what you are witnessing in that part of the world today.

 

Dake says three great future tri-continental wars are yet to come. “The first tri-continental war will be for the purpose of forming the 10 kingdoms inside the old Roman Empire territory, (copyright 1963) fulfilling Daniel 7:23-24.  The 24 states now inside this territory will be reduced to 10 kingdoms.  This will require a war in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and the defeat of Russia who now controls part of the territory.  These 10 kingdoms will be the Revised Roman Empire symbolized by the 10 toes on the image of Daniel 2, and the 10 horns of the beasts of Daniel 7, Rev. 12, Rev. 13, and Rev. 17.

Dake Topical Index.   (Note:  When the Soviet Union broke up, it made is possible for this prophecy to be fulfilled.)

 

Out of the “sea,” or the masses, will emerge ten nations that will forge an alliance. Syria will be one of these, and will be its leader. Soon after, he will overthrow three of the ten. You are witnessing prophecy in the making. Let not your heart be troubled. God is in control!

SAY “GOOD-BY” TO THE JEWS

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By Ken Blue

When God’s time came for Israel to leave Egypt, He raised up a Pharaoh who was unsympathetic toward them. It was necessary to create circumstances that would make Israel want to leave Egypt; it had been their home for four hundred years. Many of you know the story, and that Israel left with the wealth of Egypt.

The time has come when God is once again calling the Jews from among the Gentile nations to their home land. The following Scriptures will support that truth. It would be impossible to post every passage that speaks to this re-gathering. We will give enough to convince any Christian.
Isaiah 2:1-5 “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.  2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
Isaiah 4:1-6 “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. 2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”
Isaiah 11:11-13 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.”
Isaiah 14:1 “ For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.”
Ezekiel 37:12 “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”
Ezekiel 37:21 “ And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:”
As world opinion toward the Jews get worse, they will exit little by little, and they will take their wealth with them. Not only will this leave Gentile nation with a vacuum, it will give the nations north of Israel their excuse to invade. Ezekiel 38:7-13 “Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”
These are just a few of the many verses that show that Jews will return to their homeland. God will bring them back to judge them, and the nations that will come up against them. So, get ready to say “goodbye to the Jews.”

LET’S STUDY REVELATION # 28

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The scene in Heaven –The Opening of the Seventh Seal

 “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.  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.”  (Revelation 8:1-6).

The scene reverts back to heaven. These events constitute the second looping parallelism, which consists of the seven trumpets.  The seven trumpets are introduced under the seventh seal, for they are contained in it. When it is opened, there is a silence in heaven, whichJohn described as about half an hour. It must have seemed like an eternity toJohn. This silence may be contemporary with the winds held at bay by the four angels.

This silence is the lull just before the storm; however, it is more than that.  This seventh seal takes us back to the mid-point of the tribulation and fills in the details passed over in the general description of the first six seals.

The silence cannot be ignored. It is a reminder to God’s saints, the Jewish remnant, that they were not unnoticed when they cried out to Him day and night. The following is an expression of their cries: “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.  But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:2-3).  “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” (Psalm 42:3).  “And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words” (Matthew 26:44). 

The parable of the widow and the unjust judge illustrates that God will respond, in His time, to the prayers of His saints. “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (See Luke 18:7-8). The time to avenge them has come. This silence before the storm was to illustrate and assure them that their prayers were heard even while the heavens were silent. The long awaited response to their prayers is now justified.

 

After the seventh seal is opened, a priestly angel comes forth from the Holy Placewith a censer filled with live coals from the altar. These coals are not from the brazen altar, but are from the altar of incense. The live coals are sprinkled with “much incense” and are offered up to God with the prayers of the suffering saints. Verse 4 states, “…the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”  God is preparing to avenge His persecuted saints by answering their calls for judgment on the wicked of the earth. Psalms 83:9 is an example of their prayers, “Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison…”

 

The above prayer is an imprecatory Psalm, which calls upon God to curse one’s enemies. Psalm 69 and 109 are considered the most significant, while 5, 6, 11, 12, 35, 37, 40, 52, 54, 56, 58,69, 79, 83, 137, 139, and 143 are also imprecatory Psalms.

Verse 5 describes the action taken by another angel in heaven. The introduction to this judgment is described as, “…voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.” This announces that trouble is on its way from heaven, and the earth has never experienced such wrath since the day the world began. “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” (Matthew 24:21-22).

It is similar to the days when Israel came out of Egypt, “According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things” (Micah 7:15).  These events will be physical and literal. “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;  But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land” (Jeremiah 23:7-8). (See Exodus 34:10; Deut. 28:10.)

The scene before us is a response to what was revealed at the opening of the fifth seal, “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:” (Revelation 6:9). The judgments, in part, are a reprisal for the suffering of the godly saints during the Day of the Lord.