Ken Blue Ministries

 

 

THE SECOND ADVENT OF JESUS CHRIST # 64

 

 “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, KING 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 together 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. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”  (Revelation 19:11-21).

 

The return of Jesus, Israel’s Messiah, to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth (in the Holy Land) is the theme of the Old Testament and of the Jewish epistles in the New Testament. Genesis 3:15 points to this glorious day.

The battle of Armageddon will be won by Christ and His armies at His return. The birds of the air are invited to that scene to feed on the carcasses of the dead.  This feast is call a “supper.”

This, no doubt, is the greatest event of all time. At this event, Jesus will put down all rebellion; He will fulfill all the promises of God and the prophecies concerning Himself. He will establish a rule of righteousness on earth and rule with a rod of iron. (See Psalm 2.)

Satan will be assigned to the pit for 1000 years. The Beast and the False Prophet will be destroyed in the lake of fire. The Kingdom of Heaven will be established in the Promised Land and Israel will be the head of the nations. (“And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them”  Deuteronomy 28:13.)

The saints, who return with Him, could be the angels of heaven as well as all believers of all dispensations. Christ’s glorious Kingdom will be established on earth, and that which Adam lost, Jesus will regain and restore. (See Isaiah 11:1-6.)

 

CHAPTER 20

 

This chapter is chronological and continues the judgment of the Antichrist, the false prophet, and their followers. (See verse 20-21 of the previous chapter.) At this point, the Lord Jesus has returned to earth and is assigning both the righteous and the wicked their reward.

 

Satan Is Bound For A Thousand Years

 

 “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”  (Revelation 20:1-3).

 

We are not told who the strong angel is, nor is it important. The point is, Satan is subdued and assigned to his new home for the next 1,000 years.

 

 

This marriage is spoken of often in Scripture. It is the resumption of a former relationship between Israel and their God.

Isaiah 54:5-8 says, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.”

 

      “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee” (Isaiah 62:4-5).

 

      “And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies” (Hosea 2:16-19).

 

      “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:” (Jeremiah 3:14).

 

Surly no Israelite thought these passages were about a Gentile church. They are clearly about the nation of Israel. The wedding is the nation of Israel being reunited to God the father and serving Him on earth (the Promised Land) for 1000 years. The redeemed of all ages are invited to witness the uniting of God with His people Israel in the land. The “virgins and her companions” are no doubt the 144,000 who were faithful over-comers.

 

 

Chapter 19

 This chapter is the beginning of the third and final section of the book of Revelation. Everything has been preparatory until now. All has been pointing to the Second Advent of Jesus, which takes place in this chapter. The remainder of this section deals with those eternal events that follow His coming. This is the revelation!

The first ten verses are parenthetical and explain the rejoicing in heaven over the destruction of Babylon. It is the ninth and last parenthetical section in the book.

The Heavenly Hosts Praise God

  “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.”  (Revelation 19:1-5).  

John hears, what seems like, all heaven singing praise to God for His righteous judgment on Babylon. The destruction of the city causes great fissures in the earth.  Smoke, like a furnace, will ascend as a constant reminder of God’s faithful judgment on the city, and her system that corrupted the whole earth.

There are four Greek “Alleluias” in the text. In Hebrew it is pronounced Hallelujah. The meaning is “praise ye Jehovah.” (See Psalms 106, 111, 112 and 113.)

The Marriage of the Lamb

 “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”  (Revelation 19:6-10).  

 The book of Revelation is written to the seven Jewish assemblies (churches). They will be in the Tribulation, in the Day of the Lord. The church, which is Christ’s body, will be raptured before that day begins. Therefore, the church of this dispensation is not in view in the Book of Revelation. The reference to the wife and the marriage, as we shall see, speaks of Israel and her land. It has nothing to do with a Gentile church.

“And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”  (Revelation 18:9-19).

Verses 9-19 show the reaction of the businessmen of this world who did business with Babylon. It is noteworthy that the city is a great seaport city where shipmasters and their ships come.

It is important to note that all the rivers and waters were turned to blood, according to chapter 16:3-7. We stated earlier that those events were centered in the Mediterranean Sea, or perhaps the Sea of Galilee. It is unlikely that these mariners would be concerned with the burning of the city of Babylon if the Persian Gulf had turned to blood and there was no water for them to drink. Their lament was over the destruction of the city, which was the source of their trade and finances.  Babylon will, no doubt, become the financial center of the world in the near future. James says, “Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.” 

James 5:3.

^“Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?  And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.” (Zechariah 5:5-11).

• One thing is certain: Babylon will be the center of activities in the East during the last days — in commerce, religion, and politics. It will be rebuilt and become the capital of the Antichrist. He will come from Syria which will take in Babylon in those days, for the Syrian division of the old Grecian empire included all the countries of Syria and Iraq. The coming of Antichrist from Syria and Babylon will be in perfect harmony with all scriptures. We see from Isa. 13-14; Jer. 50-51; Rev. 14:8; 16:17-21; 17:1-18; 18:1-24 that Babylon will play a great part in latter-day events, not only as the political capital of the kingdom of the Antichrist but as the headquarters for a religious system called Mystery Babylon. It will be a great commercial center of earth as pictured in Rev. 18. Antichrist will reign from Babylon during his rise to power over the ten kingdoms of Dan. 7:23-24; Rev. 17:12-17, as taught in Isa. 14. Then he will leave Babylon to make his capital in Jerusalem the last 3 1/2 years of Daniel’s 70th week, and will reign there during the 42 months of his power over all nations (Dan. 9:27; 11:40-45; Rev. 13:5; 17:12-17). This passage (Zech. 5:5-11) pictures the restoration of Babylon as the seat of wickedness in the last days. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible:

 “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”  (Revelation 18:20-24).

       Verses 20-24 describe the rejoicing of heaven over the destruction of Babylon. They are told to rejoice, for God had avenged all she had done to the holy apostles and prophets of God down through the centuries.

The final destruction of the city of Babylon is swift and dramatic. A mighty angel demonstrates this to John by taking a large stone, similar to a millstone, and casting it into the sea. It quickly sank to the bottom. The swiftness with which it sank, demonstrated how quickly Babylon will be destroyed. One final blow from God finishes her. (Jeremiah 51:1-26.)

The heavens rejoiced with singing and with harps. It is also possible that Babylon’s final destruction will be aided by the hordes that pass over the Euphrates when it is dried up. (See Revelation 16:12-16).

Babylon and her system have persecuted Israel from the beginning, long before Rome existed.  God reassures His people that He has not forgotten them and that they will never be troubled by Babylon again. The only reminder of Babylon will be a smoking furnace, which will burn forever where she was located, “And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever” (Revelation 19:3).

 

JEWS CALLED FROM BABYLON, RETURN TO ISRAEL BEFORE ITS DESTRUCTION. # 60

This event is recorded in Micah 4:10, “Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.” The near context makes it evident that the fulfillment of this prophecy is just prior to the Second Advent.

Note:

The remnant is in travail.

1. She goes forth from Jerusalem.
2. She goes to Babylon.
3. She will be redeemed from Babylon.
4. She will be saved from her enemies.

Jeremiah says, “In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers. Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks. For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain” (Jeremiah 50:4-9).

 “For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed” (Jeremiah 51:5-8). “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD” (Jeremiah 51:45).

 “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.  And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”  (Revelation 18:9-19).

Verses 9-19 show the reaction of the businessmen of this world who did business with Babylon. It is noteworthy that the city is a great seaport city where shipmasters and their ships come. This could never be said of Rome.

It is also important to note that all the rivers and waters were turned to blood, according to chapter 16:3-7. We stated earlier that those events were centered in the Mediterranean Sea and the water sources in that area. It is unlikely that these mariners would be concerned with the burning of the city of Babylon if the Persian Gulf had turned to blood and there was no water for them to drink. Their great lament was over the destruction of the city, which was the source of their trade and finances.  Babylon will, no doubt, become the financial center of the world in the near future.

The latter chapters of Jeremiah must be read in conjunction with John’s vision of Babylon. It is literal Babylon, and these two clarify its meaning. It is not Rome, nor the Catholic church. It is BABYLON.