The 4 Persons Podcast

THE BOOK OF REVELATION PART 13

13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. 4 Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
 
It is important to look at these beasts in the sense of a widening and narrowing lens. It's almost a reversal of what we see with God, then Angels, then Saints. We see the beast that is the devil, then the beast that is the Roman empire then the beast that is one of the emperors of that empire- Nero.
 
 
 
It is being illustrated how all the evil in the devil manifests itself through mankind through these ruthless men and regimes.
 
 
 
The image begins with the satanic image we saw in chapter 12 of a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. Rather than flying through the heavens, sweeping down stars, this beast is rising up out of the sea which represents the gentile nations.
 
 
 
The beast displayed here is a composite of the 4 beasts shown in Daniel 7:3-7.
 
 
 
3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand upon two feet like a man; and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side; it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and lo, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
 
 
 
The 4 beasts are the 4 empires that oppressed Israel. They are the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and- now- the Romans. Yet the horns and heads and diadems expand this definition outward to even future kingdoms so that Rome becomes a type of all political and tyrannical evil, through time. This will ultimately culminate in the antichrist.
 
 
 
The seven headed beast appears 3 times. It is seen in Revelation 12, here in 13 and again in 17 and there are different meanings given to what the 7 heads represent. One of those representations is of 7 kings. These kings are 7 emperors of the Roman empire. One of these kings receives a mortal wound that is healed.
 
 
 
Historically. the first 7 emperors of Rome are listed as follows (Source: Britannica):
 
 
 
Augustus (27 bce–14 ce)
 
Tiberius (14–37 ce)
Caligula (37–41 ce)
Claudius (41–54 ce)
Nero (54–68 ce)
Galba (68–69 ce)
Otho (January–April 69 ce)
 
 
 
These are the seven kings.
 
 
 
The significance of the mortal wound is that it represents on the kings that died but was symbolically raised from the dead. We will get more into that later. Suffice it to say that this particular beast was feared like no other before him.
 
 
 
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; 6 it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. 9 If any one has an ear, let him hear:
 
10 If any one is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes;if any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.
 
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
 
The Neronian persecution, under which John was exiled, was indeed 42 months long. Notice what John says at the start of this book:
 
 
 
9 I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
 
 
 
This is to me, just one of my pieces of evidence that John wrote this book just after the death of Nero and during the short reign of Galba. The reader is being warned that another is coming who will be so terrible that it will be as if Nero had been reincarnated. The mortal wound healed.
 
 
 
The persecution of John and the other Christians was especially horrible because it was two-fold. There were two beasts in league with each other. One would eventually turn on the other.
 
 
 
11 Then I saw another beast which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
 
13 It works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men; 14 and by the signs which it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image for the beast which was wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15 and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
 
This beast rises from the land which means it is of a religious nature. We can tell that this is a false religious figure because it looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. Remember the references to Revelation 2:9 and 3:9.
 
 
 
Many people are obsessed with the end-times fulfilment of this symbolism rather than what is right at hand. I believe you have to understand the latter to have any hope of understanding the former. This very much provides a template that will reverberate through history.
 
 
 
The actual mortal wound that killed Nero was perceived to be a mortal wound to the Roman empire- the 7 headed beast.
 
 
 
Verse 13 seems to be symbolic that this beast imitates the power of Elijah in some way- literal or not. By virtue of this, it uses the authority vested in it by virtue of the Jewish Priesthood in order to actually betray God by promoting allegiance to His enemy. This could be what is meant by creating an image of the beast and bringing it to life.
 
 
 
Of course, this was virtually the entire history of the Jews under the Roman empire and even before. The Herods were nothing but Roman puppets and the Jewish leaders' willingness to sell out to Rome is well recorded.
 
 
 
John 19:10 Pilate therefore said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.”
 
 
 
12 Upon this Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend; every one who makes himself a king sets himself against Caesar.” 13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gab′batha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
 
 
 
Frankly, the fire coming from the sky is not nearly as important as this point. The Roman empire was actually brought back to life by the assistance of the so-called people of God. They forced allegiance to Rome and even cooperated with the persecution and killing of those who refused,
 
 
 
16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.
 
18 This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
 
 
 
Much print has been put down over centuries attempting to assign this number to various individuals that have lived through time. A lot of manipulation of numbers and twisting of titles have been used to assign this to the Pope. Even more print has been generated to show how this is some type of implanted microchip or something.
 
 
 
I remember as a kid being told it was the UPC product labels.
 
 
 
However, a clear reading of the text here, and in other places, shows that John is instructing his own 1st century audience that this is a person that they can identify and that he is one of the 7 Kings (Roman Emperors), one of which had a mortal wound. In chapter 17, we are actually informed that 5 of the kings had fallen.
 
 
 
666 has multiple meanings.
 
 
 
First, it is the number of the name of one of the Kings. In Hebrew, Greek and Latin, the letters have numeric values. The names of some persons were given as numbers in the event a Christian were caught with these letters. It was a code.
 
 
 
John's audience knew who he was talking about.
 
 
 
Source The Roanoke Times, 1996:
 
 
 
``Calling Nero a beast, an enemy of saints as is outlined in the Scriptures, was certainly not a positive image. So they wanted to use a code,'' explained Marianne Meye Thompson, New Testament professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. ``Christians of that era would have known to whom it referred.''
 
 
 
Thompson, who teaches a class on Revelation at the Pasadena school, says that a particular Hebrew acronym of Nero's name equals 666.
 
 
 
Another passage, Revelation 13:12, refers to the beast as one whose ``deadly wound was healed.'' That is thought to be a reference to Nero's suicide. Nero killed himself in A.D. 68, but legend had it that he fled to the east and would return.
 
 
 
Thus, in the first sense, John is referring to Nero who just recently died and someone who would come that be so horrible as to be Nero raised. More on that later.
 
 
 
The next meaning of 666. The Synagogue of Satan.
 
 
 
The number 666 appears only one other time in Scripture in a verse referring to King Solomon.
 
 
 
1 Kings 10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
 
A coincidence?
 
 
 
I don't think so.
 
 
 
That's about 67,000 lbs of gold annually. At today's prices, that's about $3 Trillion of gold a year. We also know that Solomon had about 1,000 wives and concubines. No man in history exhausted himself more trying to satisfy the desires of the flesh with material things. In the end, he lamented it all as a chase after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 1).
 
 
 
No one person personifies the downfall of Israel more than this one man. He literally changed from King of Israel and a type of Christ to an idolatrous monster and a type of the antichrist.
 
 
 
The allusion to him is absolute and foundational to the conflict presented here.
 
 
 
Amos 5:26
 
And you carried the tent of your king— and Saturn, your star god idols that you crafted for yourselves.
 
 
 
Acts 7:43 And you took up the tent of Moloch,
 
and the star of the god Rephan,
 
the figures which you made to worship;
 
and I will remove you beyond Babylon.’
 
 
 
The star that both of these verses condemn starts with Solomon. It is a symbol of the occult called a Hexagram.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The star was associated with Solomon's idolatry and the occult. Is is the perfect pictoral depiction of the mark of the beast with it's 6 inner sides, 6 Triangles and 6 points.
 
 
 
I am absolutely convinced this is the Mark of the beast.
 
 
 
Depicted on the Israeli flag and called the Star of David, it has no connection with the Biblical King David. Here is a good article I found on the subject.
 
 
 
Remember, Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 says that these people say they are Jews but are actually a Synagogue of Satan. One of the other books written by John call those who deny Christ, Antichrists. The Bible case that the antichrist will eventually rise from this false Judaism is something I see as pretty much unimpeachable. The fact that it gets it's start by assisting the Roman beast is unarguable..
 
 
 
Join us next time for Part 14
 
 
 
 
 

THE BOOK OF REVELATION- PART 12

Until the last installment, each part corresponded directly to a chapter. However, we decided to stop at verse 14. You may not be aware that it was Catholic Bishop Stephen Langton who is responsible for separating the Biblical texts into chapters and verses, doing so in the 1200s.
 
 
 
It is easy to see why he assigned verses 1-19 to those we see in Revelation chapter 11 as all refer to The Temple. We have decided to split our presentation commentary at 11:14 because of a change we would like to emphasize.
 
 
 
Let's review those 14 verses again.
 
 
 
11 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told: “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
 
 
 
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth.
 
 
 
5 And if any one would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; if any one would harm them, thus he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
 
 
 
 9 For three days and a half men from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
 
 
 
 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up hither!” And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
 
 
 
14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
 
 
 
As we pointed out, these verses show the severing of the bond between the Temple in Heaven and the Temple on earth.
 
 
 
After these scenes conclude, the replacement temple on earth is engaged.
 
 
 
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
 
“We give thanks to thee, Lord God Almighty, who art and who wast, that thou hast taken thy great power and begun to reign.18 The nations raged, but thy wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding thy servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear thy name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
 
 
 
The Kingdom of the world is once again God's Kingdom. The connection that was broken in the Old Jerusalem, which is now called a spiritual Sodom or Egypt, is now established in a New Kingdom. Recall in chapter 5, we were told that this Kingdom would be a Kingdom of Priests who would reign on earth. Now, we are being told that it is Christ who will reign. Is this a contradiction? No, it is synergy, once again. Christ reigns through His Priests.
 
 
 
Some see this Reign of Christ as a future event, as in our future. They are wrong. It is established right here. Notice that Jesus before was called He who is and was and is to come now He is only called He who is and who was. There is no more is to come, because He has come.
 
 
 
As the text takes great pains to show you who the Old Jerusalem was, and why it's downfall fulfills prophecy, it is equally clear on who the New Jerusalem is and how it is also the fulfillment of what was foreshadowed.
 
 
 
It first showed it with the Priests and the worship but it is about to show us much more through a series of powerful signs
 
 
 
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
 
 
 
We move back from the vision of the earthly temple to a vision of the Heavenly temple and what is seen inside but the Ark of The Covenant.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
At the time of John's vision, the Ark of the Covenant (as seen above) had been missing for some 500 years. At first blush, his readers would have been astounded at the prospect that the Ark of the Covenant was taken up (assumed) in heaven.
 
 
 
However, as we have seen over and over, this book is about shadow and fulfilment.
 
 
 
This is why we separated the text here so we could show you that in consecutive verses, we see shadow and fulfilment. To get to the next verses, we flip to the first verses of the next chapter.
 
 
 
12 And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. 3 And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; 5 she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
 
I must emphasize that the division between Revelation 11:19 and Revelation 12:1 was not created until about 12 centuries after it was written. The Ark of the Covenant seen in the Temple and the Woman clothed with the Sun follow as if they are a continuous thought.
 
 
 
and they are.
 
 
 
Verse 5 tells us who the woman is by hearkening back to the Christmas story.
 
 
 
5 she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,
 
Luke 2: 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
 
 
 
8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
 
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
 
 
 
The entire Christian faith rests on that reality. A woman gave birth to God. Anyone who reads anything else into Revelation 12:5 is simply being too dishonest to even converse with.
 
 
 
Why here? Why is Mary inserted here?
 
 
 
It is because she is an essential and foundational fixture in the New Temple. The depth of what is revealed here is overwhelming and it will take some time to work through.
 
 
 
The Ark of the Covenant and Mary. What's the connection?
 
Let's examine what the Ark of the Covenant was. It was a special furnishing for the Temple in Jerusalem. I will start with the most obvious comparisons and then work from there.
 
 
 
First, let's examine what the Ark held inside it.
 
 
 
The 10 Commandments- The Word of God.
The Manna- The Bread from Heaven
The staff of Aaron- The Shepherd and High Priest.
 
 
 
The Word of God (John 1), The Bread from Heaven (John 6), The Good Shepherd (John 10) and The High Priest (Hebrews 7) are all titles given to Jesus.
 
 
 
So, the Ark of the Covenant held- symbolically- Jesus inside it. This made the Ark so holy that a man would be struck dead for even touching it. (2 Samuel 6)
 
 
 
What does this have to do with Mary?
 
 
 
She held the actual Jesus inside of her!!
 
 
 
John is telling us that the Ark of the Covenant is fulfilled in Mary! Jesus says this by telling us that He is the New Covenant!
 
 
 
Matthew 26: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
 
 
 
If Mary is the ark of the New Covenant, we must carefully explore what that means.
 
 
 
The Ark was made with the purest gold
The Ark was made of Incorruptible wood
The Ark always went before Israel in battle.
 
 
 
I could write pages and pages on all those things but it is enough to confront what is revealed right here in the text.
 
 
 
First, as we have stated, Mary is seen in the Temple in Heaven!
 
 
 
There's more.
 
 
 
12 And a great portent appeared in heaven
 
A portent is a prophecy of something to come- a teaching sign, a warning.
 
 
 
a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
 
Clothed with the Sun means resplendent with Heavenly light. Glorified, holy. The moon, representing creation, is under her feet. That is, it is subject to her authority.
 
 
 
Under her feet and upon her head are statements that show she has a body...in heaven. This confirms the Catholic doctrine of the Assumption of Mary.
 
 
 
A crown of 12 stars on her head show that she is a Queen over the 12 Tribes and 12 Apostles. This confirms the doctrine of Mary as the Queen of Heaven!
 
 
 
5 she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,
 
This confirms Mary's title as the Mother of God.
 
 
 
Let's explore these 3 themes before going any further.
 
 
 
The Assumption of Mary is not to be confused with the Ascension of Jesus. Jesus rose into heaven under His own power. Mary was taken into heaven body and soul just like Enoch, Elijah and Moses. Though with Moses, you have to glean it from Jude 9.
 
 
 
It is an event prophesized in Psalm 132:8 and we see it here, fulfilled. It is proven by Revelation 11:19-12:1.
 
 
 
Mary as Queen of Heaven is shown clearly by the fact that the Gebaria of the Old Testament points to her. Gebirah is a Hebrew word that appears in the Old Testament and refers to the queen mother of Israel and Judah. The title can be translated as "queen mother" or "great lady".
 
 
 
The Queen Mother was the Mother of The Davidic King and she was an intercessor before the King. She was second in command to the King. Luke 1 tells us that the Davidic Kingdom is fulfilled in Jesus, the King of Kings. That makes Mary the Queen of Heaven and the crown confirms it.
 
It is also confirmed by the word Chaire which means Hail. This is the greek word for the Angel's greeting of her in Luke 1. It is a salutation of royalty not unlike our modern "your majesty"
 
 
 
Finally, our entire Christian faith is based on the belief that Jesus is God (John 1:1) who became flesh (John 1:14). To deny that Mary is the Mother of God is to deny your own salvation. The sacrifice of Calvary was an eternal sacrifice because God was conceived in Mary's womb in Nazareth, born to her in Bethlehem and died in front of her in Jerusalem. Standing by the cross, she is called His mother.
 
 
 
There is more.
 
 
 
3 And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth;
 
In verses 3 and 4, we see the Dragon which is the Devil. His 7 heads represent the 7 deadly sins of Pride, Lust, Wrath, Envy, Greed, Sloth and Gluttony. The 10 heads represent Kings of the earth that are- or will be- under his influence. The third of the stars swept to earth represent the fallen angels. It should be no surprise to any Christian that the dragon sought to devour the child.
 
 
 
The flight into the wilderness is often understood as the flight to Egypt to escape Herod's wrath but I do not think that fits the text for 3 reasons. The first reason is that the text says the flight to the wilderness took place after her child was called up to God's throne. In other words, after Jesus Ascension. The second reason is that there is no mention of Joseph and it was Joseph who was told by the Angel to flee Herod.
 
 
 
The third reason is that we have done an intense study on the Christmas story. You should check it out! Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. I believe a careful examination of the facts eliminates the possibility that Mary was in Egypt for 3- 1/2 years.
 
 
 
There is another explanation and we will get to it in just a bit.
 
 
 
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
 
Isn't the placement of this event strange?
 
 
 
In this book that many see as a handbook of the end times, and in the second half of the book, we see this scene that happened thousands of years in the past. Why is that?
 
 
 
Always remember.
 
 
 
Shadow and fulfilment.
 
 
 
By referring to the Devil as the ancient serpent, we are literally being taken all the way back to Genesis chapter 3 and the very first Messianic prophecy. This prophecy has become known as the Protoevangelium.
 
 
 
15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
 
 
 
I quoted from the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition because it gets this verse right.
 
 
 
Two enmities:
 
 
 
A. Between the Woman and thee (the serpent)
 
B. Between her seed and thy seed (the serpent's)
 
 
 
she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
 
Who will crush his head? The one who he has the enmity with... the woman! The Hebrew and Greek pronouns are dependent on the subject for the gender and the woman is clearly the subject. Jerome, the first Bible translator understood this in translating to the Latin Ipsa and so it remained for almost 1600 years before protestant translations decided to change the Word of God.
 
 
 
Her seed?
 
 
 
Totally missed by many is the fact that this passage would seem an absurdity. Everyone knows that the seed comes from the man. Nowhere else in Scripture (or in all of history, for that matter) is it suggested that someone comes from a woman's seed- literally Sperma is the word.
 
 
 
Stranger yet, the word implies plurality. Not just a child but children.
 
 
 
What is this verse telling us and what is the connection between The dragon, the woman and the child in Genesis 3 and the dragon, the woman and the child in Revelation 12?
 
 
 
To answer that, we ask how the Serpent came to be in the Garden of Eden. He came to be in the garden of Eden after he was thrown out of heaven which we see in Revelation 12. He was thrown out after the war broke out.
 
 
 
When did the war break out and why?
 
 
 
Does Scripture tell us? We believe it does.
 
 
 
Verse 7 tells us the war breaking out in heaven was the next thing to take place after the portent of the Woman clothed with the Sun. A portent is a predictive vision....a warning if you will. This sign was seen in heaven. That mean's that Lucifer saw it and waged war because of it. The thought of a woman...a mortal... being Queen of Heaven was too much for his pride and he declared war.
 
 
 
From the very start, the Woman was his sworn enemy just as the text says.
 
 
 
What does that imply?
 
 
 
Romans 5: 6 While we were yet helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. 8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
 
 
 
By our sin, we are enemies of God but Mary, from the start, is the enemy of Satan, not of God. Simple logic dictates that this means that, in Mary, there is no sin. This proves the Immaculate Conception of Mary. She was full of Grace from the moment of her conception. The Greek word attributed to the Angel in Luke 1:28 is Kecharitomene which literally translated means endured from the beginning with perfected Grace.
 
 
 
What about her other children?
 
 
 
The Bible addresses that too.
 
 
 
Did Mary have other physical children? No, she did not. That's a debate for another day. This we do know, though. In Matthew 12, Jesus says the following:
 
 
 
48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
 
 
 
Thus, Jesus is saying that the true believers are not only His brothers and sisters but they have Mary as a Spiritual mother. We see this again in John 19
 
 
 
26 When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
 
 
 
take careful note of the words. Jesus says to the disciple, Behold your Mother. That command is for every disciple.
 
 
 
We will revisit this in a minute.
 
 
 
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
 
12 Rejoice then, O heaven and you that dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
 
The Witnesses (literally martyrs) gave up their own lives and their blood is united to the blood of the lamb, conquering the accuser.
 
 
 
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
 
 
 
The dragon pursued the woman but she was able to escape by the wings of a great eagle. Who is this eagle?
 
 
 
Remember chapter 4 and the 4 living creatures? Remember how this is considered an allusion to the 4 Gospel writers? Do you remember which one is the Eagle?
 
 
 
That's right. John.
 
 
 
John took Mary to Ephesus where she was safe from the Jewish persecution of Christians recorded in the book of Acts.
 
 
 
15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth.
 
The destruction of the Woman was Satan's job #1 but the Saints of the earth came to her defense and foiled his plans.
 
 
 
17 Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
 
and there is the money line. The dragon's enmity with the Woman, prophesized in Genesis 3, is fulfilled in Revelation 12. The Dragon wages war against her children who are the true believers of God and keepers of the testimony of Jesus. You cannot get any more catholic than that.
 
 
 
We pick up part 13 with chapter 13 in our next episode!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

THE BOOK OF REVELATION- PART 11

As we get into the next few power-packed chapters, I need to go into the subject of multi-layered interpretation. In particular, I want to talk more about how a specific prophetic text can point to a specific event yet be a model of what will follow later. We have discussed, at some length, how Old Testament events foreshadowed New Testament realities. This can certainly happen going forward and there is strong reason to believe it will, in some way, at some level.
 
 
 
A lot of this deals with private revelations and non binding interpretations so I will not be making many predictions but kind of discussing what is out there.
 
 
 
We scratched the surface on this earlier in dealing with the tradition that the antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan (Revelation 7).
 
 
 
I said from the start that the Book of Revelation is not a play by play of end time events. I stand by that. However, the things that happen here absolutely reverberate through time so that the events that will take place then are established here and some of those events may actually mirror these events in some way or even blossom from them. In fact, there is reason to believe they already are.
 
 
 
In fact, it would be very fair to say that the very stage is set here for the ultimate showdown between the real and the false. A real Temple vs a false one, a real Jerusalem vs a false one. The showdown pits a real church personified by a mother against an apostate kingdom led by a great harlot. A church of God vs a synagogue of Satan.
 
 
 
True, these pages describe this battle as it was unfolding in 68 AD but everything suggests that these foes are going to meet again and many, once again, will be on the wrong side.
 
 
 
In John's Gospel, we recall that famous tussle Jesus had with the Pharisees when He said "Destroy this Temple and I will raise it up in 3 days" Clearly, they did not fully understand the manner in which the physical, earthly temple is connected to Heaven. Jesus is that connection. They severed it and they were about to pay the price.
 
 
 
11 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told: “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.
 
A very clear distinction and division is being made between the Heavenly temple (called the temple of God) and the earthly one (called the court outside the temple)
 
 
 
The court outside reference should not be missed.
 
 
 
Matthew 22 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.’ 5 But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
 
 
 
 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
 
 
 
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment;12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’
 
 
 
These verses declare the separation of the heavenly and earthly Jerusalems. The war against Jerusalem did indeed last for 42 months. Notice it is called "the holy city". This confirms that "the outer court" refers to the earthly Jerusalem.
 
 
 
3 And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
 
Before we get into the identity, notice the time frame of 1260 days. Also, the same 42 months? Or does this 3-1/2 years precede the other? If it is the latter, the preaching begins in 63 AD. I believe that is the case and that the clues in the text show it.
 
 
 
As I will show, I believe this book was written in 68 AD during the reign of Galba. Nero had just died literally weeks before. Nero took the thrown in 54 AD which meant he was the monster that the 2 witnesses preached against.
 
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if any one would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; if any one would harm them, thus he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
 
Dealing first with the image of two olive trees and 2 lamps, we make an appeal to Zechariah chapter 4.
 
 
 
4 And the angel who talked with me came again, and waked me, like a man that is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps which are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
 
 
 
 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerub′babel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerub′babel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerub′babel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerub′babel.
 
 
 
“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the oil is poured out?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
 
 
 
Who are the two who stand by the Lord of the whole earth?
 
 
 
Matthew 17
 
17 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Eli′jah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli′jah.” 5 He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
 
 
 
Shutting the sky down so no rain may fall, turning the sea to blood , fire called down to consume their enemies, turning loose every plague. Clearly these are associated with Moses and Elijah (Exodus 7, 1 Kings 17, 2 Kings 1)
 
 
 
They both prophesized and together, they represent the Law and the Prophets which were fulfilled in Jesus (Matthew 5)
 
 
 
So, I think it is clear that the 2 witnesses are Moses and Elijah but are they in a literal sense or figurative. Those who would say literal point to the transfiguration but those who would say figurative point to Jesus and John the Baptist as the new Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17).
 
 
 
Let's explore the last option first.
 
 
 
If Moses and Elijah represent the law and the prophets, which were fulfilled by Jesus, then they prophesized through Jesus for 3- 1/2 years then lie dead in Jerusalem for 3 days only to rise again. Indeed, the Biblical accounts tell us of many dead risen in the streets of Jerusalem after Jesus Resurrection. In this analogy the ability to cause plagues is only given to us to identify the witnesses.
 
 
 
 Some have identified this as pointing forward to Peter and Paul and verse 7 is very tempting in that regard.
 
 
 
7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them,
 
The Beast is Nero who does indeed kill both Peter and Paul. We will prove that Nero is the beast John is speaking of in the upcoming chapters. That John talks about a sort-of reincarnated Nero as the man who destroys Jerusalem in 70 AD is also true. That man is Vespasian. 
 
 
 
Many say that the Neronian type will be the template for the ultimate beast- the Anti-Christ. This may vey well be true but we have to take a foray into private Revelation and interpretation to get there. Nothing explicitly stated in the Biblical text gets us there. If Nero is indeed the template for anti-Christ than there may indeed be 2 end time witnesses in the model of Moses and Elijah who confront him.
 
 
 
All I can tell you is that is speculation and not what the text addresses here.
 
 
 
Since the Beast Nero did kill Peter and Paul, the temptation is to see them as a New Testament personification of these 2 witnesses. Verse 8 arrests that speculation.
 
 
 
8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9
 
Peter and Paul died in Rome, not the condemned city of Jerusalem where Our Lord was crucified. Jerusalem suffers the same condemnation as Sodom- which was burned with fire and Egypt- the place the true believers were driven out of.
 
 
 
9 For three days and a half men from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
 
11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up hither!” And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
 
14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
 
The writings of Josephus again seem to fulfill the account of the earthquake and the 2 witnesses, at least in large part.
 
 
 
 And now the outer temple was all of it overflowed with blood; and that day, as it came on, they saw eight thousand five hundred dead bodies there.
 
 
 
 But the rage of the Idumeans was not satiated by these slaughters; but they now betook themselves to the city, and plundered every house, and slew every one they met; and for the other multitude, they esteemed it needless to go on with killing them, but they sought for the high priests, and the generality went with the greatest zeal against them; and as soon as they caught them they slew them, and then standing upon their dead bodies, in way of jest, upbraided Ananus with his kindness to the people, and Jesus with his speech made to them from the wall. Nay, they proceeded to that degree of impiety, as to cast away their dead bodies without burial, although the Jews used to take so much care of the burial of men, that they took down those that were condemned and crucified, and buried them before the going down of the sun.
 
 
 
I should not mistake if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the destruction of the city, and that from this very day may be dated the overthrow of her wall, and the ruin of her affairs, whereon they saw their high priest, and the procurer of their preservation, slain in the midst of their city.
 
 
 
 
 
 We are going to stop here and continue with the rest of Chapter 11 in part 12 of our special production.
 
 
 
 
 

THE BOOK OF REVELATION- PART 10

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring; when he called out, the seven thunders sounded.
 
 
 
 
 
We are once again, confronted with an image that seems to be a contradiction.
 
Enveloped in a cloud (Daniel 7)
Rainbow over His head (Revelation 4:3)
Face like the Sun (Revelation 1:16)
Voice like a Lion (Revelation 5:5)
Legs as pillars of fire (Ezekial 13 & 14)
 
 
 
All of these attributes are applied rightly to Jesus but John is telling us this is an Angel.
 
 
 
Forgive me, but this side-bar really deserves some exploration.
 
 
 
One of the most fascinating things we have explored are the multiple times that the same images and symbols are used in different applications and applied to God, then to Angels, then to men.
 
Here we go, yet again.
 
 
 
One thing is different, however. This Angel is singled out and set apart. Why is that?
 
 
 
Michael Barber has a really interesting take. (page 134)
 
 
 
This figure is more than just a "mighty angel". This is Christ's own angel through whom His revelation is given (Revelation 1:1). He is so close to Christ that he radiates His glory and is therefore described in terms much like the Lord.
 
So..... is this Gabriel who we assume is the one described as 'The Angel of the Lord' (Matthew 1:20, 24).
 
 
 
There seems to be something more at work here.
 
 
 
The word 'Angel' actually means 'Messenger' and Gabriel is certainly the top messenger cited in Scripture. However, Gabriel always speaks as just that- a messenger.
 
 
 
Luke 1
 
26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
 
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
 
28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
 
29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
 
30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
 
31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
 
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
 
33 And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
 
34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?
 
35 And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
 
36 And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
 
37 Because no word shall be impossible with God.
 
 
 
The Angel of Revelation 10 seems very different. When he speaks, 7 thunders spoke. Who are these 7 thunders? Are they the 7 Angels before God or are they the 7 Spirits of God we have identified as The one, Holy Spirit?
 
 
 
Either way, this Angel speaks with great authority just as he shows great authority by his appearance. However, I think the text clearly shows that this Angel is not one of the 7 Angels but speaks for the 7 Spirits of God.
 
 
 
4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”
 
5 And the angel whom I saw standing on sea and land lifted up his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there should be no more delay, 7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled.
 
The Seven Thunders speak in tandem with this Angel and it's clear that he speaks over and above the 7 angels on trumpets.
 
 
 
Jesus?
 
 
 
The temptation is great to say that the Angel is Jesus except for couple of things....
 
 
 
John knows who Jesus is. He was by Him while He hung on the cross. Why does John call this a mighty Angel if it's Jesus?
Why doesn't the Angel, Himself, identify as Jesus?
 
 
 
Psalm 91 says that God will command His Angels to watch over us, guarding us in all of our ways.
 
Matthew 18:10 tells us that the Angels of the little ones are always before the face of God.
 
 
 
Verses like this caused the church to deduce that every human person has a guardian angel.
 
 
 
Every human person?
 
 
 
Even Jesus?
 
 
 
It would appear so. Are we being shown here how intimately united our guardian angels are with us and how actively involved with our actions? Are we being shown God's power energized through this angel so that we can understand how it flows through our guardian angels?
 
 
 
It is something to ponder for sure.
 
 
 
Why is John told not to write what the Seven thunders instructed?
 
 
 
Like the important clue we are not given, in order to solve a mystery, it seems cruel that we are told that the Seven Thunders issued a message, and we are told that we cannot hear the message.
 
What this means, we can only speculate, So I will.
 
 
 
In order to impress upon John, the urgency of what he was being warned about, I think that perhaps the actual dates were revealed to John but withheld from us.
 
 
 
For example, the 1st temple was destroyed on 21 July 537 BC according to our calendar. By the Jewish calendar, that was the year 3223 and the date was the 9th of AV. In 70 AD, the temple was destroyed on August 2nd, according to our calendar but the date on the Jewish calendar was....
 
again......
 
The 9th of AV
 
 
 
(see more)
 
 
 
In verses 5,6 and 7, the announcement that the verdict has been handed down, that was recorded in the scroll, is about to be fulfilled. John was about 2 years from that date at the time of this writing.
 
 
 
Catch us next time for Part XI
 

THE BOOK OF REVELATION PART 9

9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit;
 
 
 
2 he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.
 
A very important key for interpretating this chapter and book is given to us right away here. A star falls from heaven and he is given a key. The star represents a person. So, each time you read in this book about the stars falling from the sky, do not be tempted to always understand it as a meteor shower.
 
 
 
The star here is Lucifer, himself, as you will see later. The point is that God is handing over to the dark side, the power to unleash hell on earth, so speak.
 
 
 
The pit is the dwelling place of the serpent.
 
 
 
The darkening of the sun and the air a symbolic of the level of evil unleashed on mankind.
 
 
 
3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth; 4 they were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads; 5 they were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion, when it stings a man. 6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will fly from them.
 
These locusts are unlike typical locusts that ravage plants and vegetation. These locusts only torment men. The torture was like a scorpion. It meant that the suffering was very intense but not necessarily a purely physical suffering. The seal on the forehead is the seal of Baptism. the everlasting seal of the initiation into the Christian faith. This will be contrasted later with the mark of the beast, the mark of those who reject Jesus.
 
 
 
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and their power of hurting men for five months lies in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abad′don, and in Greek he is called Apol′lyon.
 
As is the case with those who claim that Ezekial's wheel is a flying saucer, many bizarre interpretations have been made here. Dispensationalist fanatic Hal Lindsay saw them as piloted attack helicopters while psycho-killer Charles Manson said they were none other than the Beatles!
 
 
 
As is the case in so many other places, the physical attributes shown is meant to express characteristics of their nature. To understand what you are seeing, you only need to examine from where they came. These are demons.
 
 
 
The prophecies seem to have been fulfilled in the 5 months leading up to the actual siege on Jerusalem. Again, quoting from Barber (page 130)
 
 
 
The prophecy of this demon infested country seems to be confirmed in the accounts of Josephus. Josephus, who saw his own people plummet to the depths of wickedness in ways he could hardly imagine, described how the people of the city had an ''insatiable inclination to plunder, and for the murdering of men and the abusing of women, it was a sport to them''. They devoured whatever they found, even drinking blood. Like the locusts in Revelation, who had ''hair like women'' (9:8), the zealots became transvestites. Josephus listed numerous wicked practices, which out of decency won't be repeated here.
 
 
 
Anyone wanting to draw parallels to our current times, feel free.
 
 
 
 The Hebrew Abaddon and the Greek Apollyon both mean the destroyer. One may take pause at the fact that these demons do not destroy any plant or tree nor do they actually kill the perpetrators of these evil acts. What they bring about is even worse. They destroy these people eternally because of the depravity to which they lead them. God's Justice must allow them to suffer but His mercy is what actually keeps them alive, with the opportunity to repent. Their refusal to repent manifests their evil, seals their fate and ultimately drives them insane to the point of drinking blood and giving themselves over to perversion.
 
 
 
12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
 
Another pause gives the dramatic effect that we should reflect on what has been and what is to come.
 
 
 
 
 
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphra′tes.”15 So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of the troops of cavalry was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulphur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulphur issued from their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulphur issuing from their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with heads, and by means of them they wound.
 
The four horns of the golden altar before God is a curious phrase. It seems to call out both to the 4 living creatures and to the altar under which we saw the martyrs crying out for vengence. That vengeance is about to be unleashed.
 
 
 
 That some of the invading Roman legions came from beyond the Euphrates is a historical fact. This includes the 10th legion that was involved in the siege on Jerusalem itself. It came from north of the Euphrates. What is stark is that the troops of demons are described right along with the troops of Romans as if they are one and the same. We see this often in this book. For examples, the dragon in chapter 7 and the beast in chapter 17. This is the only way to make sense of the number that equals 200 million. The idea of a human army of 200 million crossing the Euphrates river is pretty tough to support in our age of sophisticated and nuclear weapons.
 
 
 
In the gulf war, what was considered a massive military force in this region wasn't even 1% of that number.
 
 
 
 The point of these verses is that Heaven's justice is ordained by God, driven by the demons and carried out by the Romans. The people of the wicked city choose their own destruction by virtue of their wickedness.
 
 
 
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot either see or hear or walk; 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their immorality or their thefts.
 
 
 
This is the bottom line. God gives people the Grace to repent and the space to repent but some will only double down on their wickedness and God is forced to mete out His Justice against them.
 
 
 
Some people will continue to associate these verses with Catholicism because Catholics have images but the comparison is absurd. God Himself allowed- and even commanded- the use of religious images in the Temple and upon the Ark of the Covenant. Catholics have statues and paintings as art. They are focal points and reminders of Jesus and Mary and the reality of Angels and Saints. There isn't a catholic in the world who believes that statues of gold or silver, wood or plaster are alive, much less Divine. Those who fell into idolatry fell into actual idolatry. They worshipped the statues of Zeus and Apollo and the other false gods and thus, gave service to the demons who actually acted through these idols. A Catholic worships the Holy Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That's it. Any one telling you different is wrong.
 
 
 
Join us next time for part X

THE BOOK OF REVELATION PART 8

8 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
 
 
 
After the dramatic events of chapter 7, and the first 6 seals, chapter 8 essentially begins with a half hour of silence. This silence evokes the idea of reverential awe as a fundamental aspect of worship. Make no mistake, worship is what is taking place. It is the worship of the Old Covenant, fulfilled in the New.
 
 
 
 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
 
We started with seven seals that deal with the unsealing of truths to be revealed. Now, the Seven Angels are given trumpets to herald coming events.
 
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne;
 
Once again, it is presented to us in the sense of worship.
 
 
 
Hebrews 9
 
1: Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.   
 
2: For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence; it is called the Holy Place.   
 
3: Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies,   
 
4: having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
 
 
 
Once a year, on Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) The priest would enter the sanctuary to offer incense before the Holy of Holies. In September of 3 BC, this is what Zechariah was doing when one of those 7 Angels (Gabriel) appeared to him. Jesus was born 15 months later on December 25th. Our protestant brothers have some explaining to do. As was the case in chapter 5, we now see the Angels receiving the prayers of 'the saints' (on earth) and mixing them with the incense. Are not these people constantly telling us that the Angels and Saints are not aware of our prayers?
 
 
 
4 and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.
 
This shows us two absolutely necessary elements of worship that are missing in most non-catholic churches. The first is the use of incense and the second is the intercession of Saints and Angels. Here, in a fascinating revelation, we see that the incense (among the gifts offered by the Magi to the baby Jesus) is fused to the prayers of the saints so that they become combined. We see this in the very next verse.
 
5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth; and there were peals of thunder, loud noises, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
 
The interplay is just stark. Recall in chapter 6 when the souls of the martyrs cried out for justice from beneath the sacrificial altar. We then have the Saints and Angels receiving those prayers and offering them up with incense before the altar. We then see the fire that burns the incense actually used to bring justice, as an answer to those prayers. In every Catholic Mass, incense and prayers are offered up before the altar.
 
 
 
Some may see this as an imitation of this heavenly worship. It's more than that! It is a direct participation in it! Because Jesus is both the Lion and the Lamb, Both the King and the Servant, both the Priest and the sacrifice, Both God and Man, Both the Lord commanding the Priest and the one acting through the Priest, the mystical worship in complete so that the Heavenly worship and the earthly worship are one and the same and inseparable
 
 
 
John Chrysostum, writing in the 5th century, said it so brilliantly:
 
 
 
“When you see the Lord immolated and lying upon the altar, and the priest bent over that sacrifice praying, and all the people empurpled by that precious blood, can you think that you are still among men and on earth? Or are you not lifted up to heaven?” (The Priesthood 3:4:177 [A.D. 387]).
 
 
 
“Reverence, therefore, reverence this table, of which we are all communicants! Christ, slain for us, the sacrificial victim who is placed thereon!” (Homilies on Romans 8:8 [A.D. 391]).
 
“In ancient times, because men were very imperfect, God did not scorn to receive the blood which they were offering . . . to draw them away from those idols; and this very thing again was because of his indescribable, tender affection. But now he has transferred the priestly action to what is most awesome and magnificent. He has changed the sacrifice itself, and instead of the butchering of dumb beasts, he commands the offering up of himself” (ibid., 24:2).
 
“What then? Do we not offer daily? Yes, we offer, but making remembrance of his death; and this remembrance is one and not many. How is it one and not many? Because this sacrifice is offered once, like that in the Holy of Holies. This sacrifice is a type of that, and this remembrance a type of that. We offer always the same, not one sheep now and another tomorrow, but the same thing always. Thus there is one sacrifice. By this reasoning, since the sacrifice is offered everywhere, are there, then, a multiplicity of Christs? By no means! Christ is one everywhere. He is complete here, complete there, one body. And just as he is one body and not many though offered everywhere, so too is there one sacrifice” (Homilies on Hebrews 17:3(6) [A.D. 403]).
 
 
 
To get straight to the point, God shows us what worship looks like. He created it, He formulated it, He instructed it and we are not to deviate from it. From the earthly worship, comes heavenly consequences. If your worship doesn't look like what you have seen in these last 5 chapters, you are going to the wrong church.
 
 
 
The fire lighting the censor that burns the incense is heavenly fire and it is used in the execution of God's Judgement on the nations.
 
 
 
Ezekial 2
 
 
 
2: And he said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim; fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in before my eyes.
 
3: Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in; and a cloud filled the inner court.
 
4: And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherubim to the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of the LORD.
 
5: And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.
 
6: And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, "Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim," he went in and stood beside a wheel.  
 
7: And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
 
 
 
God's action of justice is intimately tied to the incense and the prayers of the saints. It is that justice now being hurled down upon Jerusalem.
 
 
 
I cannot help but wonder who the 8th Angel is but I see no clues in the text.
 
 
 
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made ready to blow them.
 
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth; and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
 
Later in the Book, Jerusalem is compared to Sodom and Egypt because it's fate closely mirrors that which fell on those cities. The 7 Trumpets very closely follow the image of the 7 plagues of Egypt.
 
 
 
Exodus 9
 
 
 
22: And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch forth your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man and beast and every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt."
 
 
 
23: Then Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt;
 
24: there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
 
 
 
Once again, author Michael Barber does a great job of providing the eyewitness testimony of Josephus, the Jewish historian (coming soon, page 124)
 
 
 
"Truly the very view itself of the country was a melancholy thing; for those places which were before adorned with trees and gardens were now become a desolate country in every way and it's trees were all cut down. Nor could any foreigner who had formerly seen Judea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn, sadly at so great a change..... nor if anyone that had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again; but though he were standing at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it notwithstanding"
 
 
 
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea; 9 and a third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
 
This is a hard text to reconcile with a world-wide event as we would see it today.
 
 
 
It is easy, however, to compare it to the plague on the Nile river in Egypt that we see in Exodus chapter 7, verses 20 and 21.
 
 
 
The greek word for Sea is Thalassa (Strong's 2281) and it can be used in as a Sea in general, but it is often applied specifically to the Red Sea or the Mediterranean Sea. It is singular and cannot apply to all of the seas of the world. Certainly, The Red Sea could not apply here because of location, but the Mediterranean absolutely would. That is where the Roman attack would have arrived from or a significant part of it at least. Josephus historical accounts of the ships under assault and people shot with arrows as they tried to swim to shore is applicable. It had to have been a horrific scene, exactly as foretold here.
 
 
 
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the fountains of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of the water, because it was made bitter.
 
Isaiah 14
 
12: "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!
 
 
 
The image of the Mountain falling in the Sea and the Star falling from heaven are both stark images of Jerusalem being knocked off it's high horse, so to speak.
 
 
 
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light was darkened; a third of the day was kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
 
 
 
As the Jews used the sun, moon and stars to keep track of time, this dark and foreboding imagery is telling us that time is up and judgement is coming.
 
 
 
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice, as it flew in midheaven, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets which the three angels are about to blow!”
 
Obviously, the Eagle represents a sentinel heralding a warning. When we revisit the interpretation of the 4 living creatures as the gospel writers, we are tantalized by the prospect that the Eagle is this very writer in this very book.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Join us next time for part IX
 
 
 
 
 

THE BOOK OF REVELATION- PART 7

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel, 5 twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand of the tribe of Gad, 6 twelve thousand of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand of the tribe of Naph′tali, twelve thousand of the tribe of Manas′seh, 7 twelve thousand of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand of the tribe of Is′sachar, 8 twelve thousand of the tribe of Zeb′ulun, twelve thousand of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Benjamin.
 
From the rising of the sun obviously means from the east. This is a hearkening to the eucharistic prophecy in Malachi chapter 1. From the east is a foundational expression of our Christian faith as coming from that area of the world. From this term, from the east, we get the word Easter.
 
 
 
Atheists seize on the idea of the four winds or corners as showing that Bible believers are flat earthers. Nothing could be further from the truth. First, the language is symbolic and second, it is symbolic of viewing the earth as a Temple, not as a plate. They believed the Temple in Jerusalem was a symbolic representation of the world.
 
 
 
The harm of the earth and the sea and the tree represents the utter destruction starring down this area. The sealing represents the seal of Baptism, the indelible mark of the Christian. If you are waiting today to see an angel with a giant stamper flying down sealing thousands of people, you are going to be waiting a while. This is a huge allegorical depiction of a tremendous miracle. There were over 1 million people killed during the siege on Jerusalem....
 
 
 
but no Christians. All the Christians survived because they heeded the warning of Jesus and fled.
 
 
 
Those who see this as a futuristic restoration of the Old Covenant Israel have to explain something.
 
 
 
The 12 sons of Jacob were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. However, the list here is a little bit different. Dan has been removed and replaced with Mannaseh. Mannaseh was Joseph's son. He was a grandson of Jacob, not a son.
 
 
 
It is true that Joseph's two sons- Manasseh and Ephraim were elevated to the status of full tribes after Jacob's firstborn forsook his birthright after his transgression with Bilhah (Genesis 48:5) but that explanation fails to suffice here for 3 reasons.
 
While both Ephraim and Manasseh were elevated, in honor of their father Joseph, only Manasseh is listed here.
Joseph is placed back on the list.
The son who transgressed was Rueben but he, also, was put back on the list.
The son removed is Dan.
 
 
 
Is this a mistake? An oversite?
 
 
 
It does not appear to be.
 
 
 
Clearly the early church did not think it was a mistake and there are two foundational principles that are drawn from this. Let's deal with them one at a time.
 
 
 
The promised restoration of Israel is a centerpiece of Dispensationalist and Zionist though. The idea that God intends to restore the nation of Israel before the end of days.
 
 
 
Some people believe this occurred in 1948. The truth is that it occurred in 33 AD.
 
 
 
This first principle is that the Catholic church is this restored kingdom of Israel and Jesus is the Davidic King. Paul puts it so well in Romans Chapter 9:
 
 
 
6 But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise said, “About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call, 12 she was told, “The elder will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
 
 
 
 
 
Thus, the 144,000 from every tribe symbolizes the completion and perfection and sealing in Baptism of this new Israel, protected from the coming wrath just as the Israelites of the Old Covenant were protected from the plague of the firstborn.
 
 
 
The Second principle is an interesting one for end-timers.
 
 
 
Early church writers such as Jerome and Augustine, gleaned from Scripture that the removal of Dan from the list here, foreshadows that the anti-christ would be descended from this tribe. When we look at Israel's blessing of his 12 sons (Genesis 49), it is easy to see the Messianic prophecy of Judah.
 
 
 
Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
 
    your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
 
    your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
 
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
 
    from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
 
He stooped down, he couched as a lion,
 
    and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up?
 
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
 
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
 
until he comes to whom it belongs;[d]
 
    and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
 
11 Binding his foal to the vine
 
    and his ass’s colt to the choice vine,
 
he washes his garments in wine
 
    and his vesture in the blood of grapes;
 
12 his eyes shall be red with wine,
 
    and his teeth white with milk.
 
 
 
Who could fail to see these words fulfilled in Christ?
 
Take care then, to heed what he says about Dan.
 
 
 
16 Dan shall judge his people
 
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
 
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
 
    a viper by the path,
 
that bites the horse’s heels
 
    so that his rider falls backward.
 
Not only is the Paul and the early church implying that the "Nation of Israel" as we understood it, would serve the younger church, we have already seen this. Recall that Jesus told the 7 churches that the Synagogue of Satan would bow before them. Now we have some insight to why they are called this. Not only are these new Jews not of the true and authentic Jewish faith but the antichrist will actually arise from them in the future.
 
 
 
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.”
 
Isn't it interesting that we have two groups or classes of saints that are shown in heaven. First, we are given a group of 144,000 from the 12 restored tribes. Is this 144,000 a literal number or just a model of perfection- 12 x 12 x 1,000. I don't know.
 
 
 
However, in verse 9, we are shown a different group of saints from every tribe, nation and tongue and this number is such that no one could count it.
 
 
 
What I am going to show you is that the 12 restored sons of Israel represent the 12 Apostles, the 144,000 represent the Priesthood that would follow them by Apostolic succession and the great multitude are the countless millions who would eventually be saved through that church.
 
 
 
This, here, as the immediate events are about to unfold, we are being shown the long-term, future consequences that will eventually culminate in the rise and defeat of antichrist by Jesus' church.
 
 
 
10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!”
 
The definitive declaration is that the Old Covenant model is through, and the reign of the Father and Son has arrived and those who oppose it are antichrists (1 John 2:22)
 
 
 
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
 
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence.16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
 
 
 
There are people who try and get around verses like this by creating a scenario where one set of believers are saved by faith alone but another set are saved by going through, and overcoming the tribulation. The great question is whether we look at this as the great tribulation staring down Jerusalem in 68 AD or the great tribulation of the end times of which we know only sketchy details. The answer is not either /or, it is both /and.
 
 
 
The context of this is important. Concentrate on the what here and not so much the when. God is showing you the bigger picture. There is profound depth here. Concentrate on this profound truth. They have come through tribulation and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb.
 
 
 
That statement should hit you like a ton of bricks.
 
 
 
OUR tribulations apply the blood OF THE LAMB to our robes.
 
 
 
Let me repeat that.
 
 
 
OUR tribulations apply the blood OF THE LAMB to our robes.
 
 
 
They have washed their robes in His blood by their own tribulations.
 
 
 
This cuts to the very core of how we are saved and how the protestant formulations just don't work. Jesus did not come and suffer and die to remove us from the battle and impose salvation on us. Jesus came to join us in the battle and win victory with us. It is just overpowering.
 
 
 
What is absolutely lost on the faith vs works crowd is that Paul and James are both exploring the opposite extremes of facing this question. Opposite extremes that are both manifested by pride. Pride is really an inability to see ourselves truly as we are and how we stand.
 
 
 
On the one hand, we can fall into the trap of believing in our own holiness and commit the sins of boasting and contempt but on the other hand, we can convince ourselves that salvation is given to us like a Christmas present with nothing needed on our part.
 
 
 
The gospels are clear, and so are these passages, that both of those views are very wrong. The true believer becomes crucified with Christ so that He doesn't fight the battle for us nor do we fight the battle for Him but in a mysterious and beautiful synergy and symphony, we fight it together.
 
 
 
Without Him, I can't.
 
Without me, He won't.
 
~ Augustine
 
 
 
The nasty boss who has you so stressed out? The unreasonable neighbor? That nagging illness or injury or even death and grief. They have value. They are the scrubbing that washes your robes in His blood. It is just overpowering.
 
 
 
It is very important that you read clearly what is said.
 
 
 
You cannot hunger no more nor thirst, nor be exposed to the sun or the scorching heat unless you have been hungry, thirsty and exhausted and burdened by the heat.
 
 
 
You cannot have your tears wiped away unless you have tears to be wiped away. Suffering is the cost of discipleship.
 
 
 
Matthew 5
 
 
 
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
 
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
 
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
 
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
 
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
 
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
 
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
 
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 
11 “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.
 
 
 
God's declaration of salvation is here. We are not saved by our works- independent from God. We are not saved by God- without our cooperation. We are saved by Grace, received by faith and cooperated with by love.
 
 
 
Join us next time for Chapter 8.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION- PART 5

Now we get to the fun stuff, right? This is the part of Revelation everyone gets so intrigued about. I mean, the first 4 chapters are all well and good but now the action starts. We have seals breaking, bowls of wrath pouring and trumpets blasting and so many believe that these are all the things we are to be looking for in our future. Once again, if you are focused on playing armchair prophet, you will miss what's really going on.
 
 
 
 And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 2 and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
 
The scroll that is sealed represents the verdict of the Justice of God. The curse that we were under was sealed up. John wept bitterly at our desperate condition, we were guilty, we were hopeless. One of the elders tells him not to weep for the lion of the tribe of Judah, the son of David the King has conquered.
 
 
 
What has He conquered? Sin and death for those who accepted Him. By His victory, He has reconciled God's justice with His mercy, for those who accepted Him.
 
 
 
For those who accepted Him.
 
 
 
The question is what happens to those who didn't.
 
 
 
 
 
Imagine if you will, two books. The two books are formed by the irrefutable fact that God's justice must be satisfied.
 
 
 
Those who choose the red book, choose the blood book. By virtue of repentance, God's blood and God's Grace satisfy God's Justice with His mercy.
 
Those who choose the black book, the book of eternal death, choose to satisfy God's Justice themselves.
 
 
 
These will satisfy God's Justice eternally in hell.
 
 
 
Here is an example of the two-edged sword we talked about. The same blood that cleanses us, curses them, by their own implacable hatred and rash words.
 
 
 
Matthew 27:15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner, called Barab′bas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Barab′bas or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much over him today in a dream.”
 
 
 
20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people to ask for Barab′bas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barab′bas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified.” 23 And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified.”
 
 
 
24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this righteous man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
 
 
 
These people committed the greatest act of evil in the history of the world. They killed God. Some later repented and were shown mercy. Some never did.
 
 
 
At death, the book of mercy close. The book of Justice opens.
 
 
 
What you are about to read in these coming chapters is about what happens to those who accepted Him and what happens to those who did not. It really is that simple. Which Book did you choose?
 
 
 
What you are about to see is the unsealing of the fulfilment of the Old Covenant with the new, the replacement of the old Passover with the new, the destruction of the old Jerusalem and replacing with the new. That is what is about to unfold here in graphic detail.
 
 
 
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; 7 and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
 
The first thing that should strike you is the poetic, almost absurd, paradox you see here that was played out. The audience, so to speak, is expecting to see a roaring lion of Judah, a victorious Davidic King dressed in dazzling splendor.
 
 
 
and what do we behold? A slaughtered lamb.
 
 
 
The irony is just stunning! They searched all of heaven and earth and under the earth and could not find one powerful enough, worthy enough, to break the seals until the slain lamb, the meekest of creatures stepped forward.
 
 
 
The meek lamb that had been slaughtered, yet it had 7 horns which represent perfect power and seven eyes that are, again, the Seven Spirits of God. Omnipotence and Omniscience in the form of a slaughtered lamb.
 
 
 
The opposing forces of this image are just incomprehensible.
 
 
 
Remember, v5 calls Him the Lion and the Davidic King who has conquered. He conquered by being slaughtered. When people accuse Christians of inventing our faith, I laugh. No man could create a faith like this. It's too absurd! Victory by defeat. Conquest achieved by being Annihilated.
 
 
 
He now stands between the Throne and the Elders. He stands, literally, as the mediator between God and Man.
 
 
 
The lamb, who was led to slaughter without uttering a word in His own defense, now approaches the Ancient of Days and takes the scroll from His hand.
 
 
 
Now come 3 verses that should throw you for loop.
 
 
 
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; 9 and they sang a new song, saying,
 
“Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,10 and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.”
 
 
 
 
 
Image from The Catholic Telegraph
 
Do you have incense in your worship service?
 
 
 
Why not? It's a fixture in the Old Testament worship and here it is in the Book of Revelation. What is striking is what the incense is said to be and who it is offered by.
 
 
 
Ask a protestant what a saint is.
 
 
 
This, from Biblestudy.com
 
 
 
In the Bible, a saint is someone who is set apart for God’s special purposes2. The term “saint” is derived from the Greek word hagios, which means “holy” or “consecrated to God”2. In the New Testament, the word is used to describe believers who have been sanctified by their faith in Christ2.
 
 
 
Well. You have a problem. If the Saints are those consecrated to God, then the consecrated in Heaven are here offering the prayers of the consecrated on earth. They can't offer them if they don't receive them. Too many times I have heard the complaint that we are not to pray to dead saints in heaven because they cannot hear our prayers.
 
 
 
Jesus said in Mark 12:
 
 
 
24 Jesus said to them, “Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”
 
 
 
So they aren't dead. Obviously, they can hear our prayers because they have collected them. Obviously, they are intercessors because here they are offering our prayers to Jesus.
 
 
 
So, why do we believe the Saints can intercede for us? It is because that is what the Bible shows us! We are literally following the model God gave us!
 
 
 
Further, God not only ransomed men from every tribe and nation by His blood but made them a Kingdom of Priests to reign on earth! Reign on earth? We have seen this before. That means authority. The Elders are literally confirming the authority of the Catholic Priesthood as God's authority on earth. These verses are impossible to reconcile with faith-alone ideology.
 
 
 
Let's review.
 
It's a kingdom. That denotes structure. They are Priests. That means they offer a sacrifice. They reign on earth. That denotes authority. There is no way that squares with Protestantism and the idea of a Bible alone.
 
 
 
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
 
This concludes our exposition of Chapter 5.
 
 
 
Chapter 6 will follow in the next episode.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION- PART 6

I have said before, and I will say again, that the nearly all the things recorded here refer to events that were not far into the writer's future. About 2 years to be exact. That doesn't mean we can't draw parallels and learn lessons. It is not unreasonable to conclude that the same kinds of dire events are headed for our world if we keep on the path we are on.
 
 
 
This is one of the most famous parts of the Book of Revelation. The 4 Horsemen.
 
 
 
The colors of the 4 horses are White, Red, Black and a Sickly Green, sometimes translated as pale The greek word is Chloros.
 
 
 
6 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
 
Remember Jesus said He was coming with the clouds?
 
 
 
First, let's jump ahead to chapter 19.
 
 
 
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. 13 He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords.
 
 
 
Are these 2 different riders on 2 white horses? I do not think the text supports that. I believe you are seeing Jesus herald the start of the war in chapter 6 and the victory in chapter 19.
 
 
 
Recall that Jesus said "I am coming with the clouds"? Consider this incredible excerpt from Michael Barber's book, citing the words of the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius.
 
 
 
The prophecy of the four horsemen may actually have found a fulfillment in a vision seen by many right before the destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus records signs that occurred in the city, which seemed to signal the coming of the end: "[A] certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals, for before sunsetting, chariots and troops and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds". After narrating this, Josephus goes on to tell about a prophet who warned of a "voice from the 4 winds" which corresponds to what John sees at the beginning of the nest chapter (7:1)
 
 
 
Josephus was a Jewish historian not a Christian zealot so this is pretty incredible stuff.
 
 
 
Bottom line? When Jesus is sent fourth on the 1st horse, the war begins.
 
 
 
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a great sword.
 
Jesus first publicly decrees the destruction of Jerusalem at the start of His ministry in 30 AD and promising that it would come to fruition in 1 generation. The word gene means about 40 years. By the time John has his vision in 68 AD, the sequence of events was already unfolding. The widespread civil unrest, and the resulting persecution under Nero, had led to the deaths of both Peter and Paul and the exile of John to the Island of Patmos. This absolute upheaval was well under way. It's dire consequences were about to accelerate.
 
 
 
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand; 6 and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not harm oil and wine!”
 
What follows is straightforward. As the Romans began to formulate their attack on Jerusalem, the first step is to cut off the supply lines. This causes runaway inflation, rationing and obviously leads to more upheaval and crime. A denarius was a day's wage so it literally took a full day of work to buy enough food to last for just that day.
 
 
 
What is staggering is the last line.
 
 
 
but do not harm oil and wine!”
 
Why does the Living creature stipulate that the oil and wine are not to be harmed?
 
 
 
First the oil. You recall the lampstands (Menorahs) mentioned earlier? These were used in the Jewish worship and these visions obviously instruct that this is to continue. The Menorah was lit with pure, consecrated olive oil. The Miracle of Hannukah is a foreshadowing of Christmas, the miracle of light. On December 25th, 165 BC, the Temple lamps were lit with the one day's supply of oil that was not desecrated. Miraculously, the lamps stayed lit for 8 days. The 8 days of Hannukah foreshadow the first 8 days of the life of Jesus from His birth on December 25th to being circumcised and named on January 1st.
 
 
 
Clearly the sacred oil, now used in the Christian worship (The Mass) will not be allowed to suffer desecration. The same is true of the wine. Earlier we were told of the hidden Manna which is the bread that becomes Christ's body, now we are told that the wine that is changed into His blood is also sacred and protected.
 
 
 
The Hannukah miracle is small compared to what happens here. The Christians are preserved from this onslaught by miraculous intervention.
 
 
 
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him; and they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
 
The famine and resulting pestilence and violence that naturally follow, are the next phase of the horror. This is another verse people seize on as pointing to the end times and that a quarter of the world's population would die from famine and disease and pestilence and wild animals. First, remember that to the Jews and Christians of the 1st century, Jerusalem and it surrounds were the whole world.
 
 
 
The siege on Jerusalem was part of an operation that lasted about 8 months. Since these verses precede the actual invasion on the city, it would seem to suggest that about 1/4 of the total 1 million deaths occurred by the famine, pestilence and violence leading up to the actual invasion.
 
 
 
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne; 10 they cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
 
In the Old Covenant, the blood of the sacrifice was collected under the altar. Here, under the heavenly altar the newly sacrificed- the martyrs- cry out for vengeance against those of the earth. They are cautioned that the number of martyrs is soon to filled up, triggering the wrath of God.
 
 
 
The words of Jesus are hauntingly familiar from Matthew 23:
 
 
 
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
 
31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari′ah the son of Barachi′ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation.
 
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
 
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; 14 the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?”
 
If you take this language in it's literalist sense rather than it's literary sense, you have to explain how every mountain is removed in verse 14 yet they hid in the mountains in verse 15 and cried out to them in verse 16.
 
 
 
The Sun and the Moon and the stars were used to measure time and the mountains and islands were places of retreat. The mountains will not be available as a place of retreat for the condemned but only for the elect:
 
 
 
 These apocalyptic warnings are exactly the kind Jesus gave in places like Luke 21
 
 
 
20: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.   
 
21: Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it;   
 
22: for these are days of vengeance, to fulfil all that is written.   
 
23: Alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! For great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people;   
 
24: they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.   
 
25: "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,   
 
26: men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.   
 
27: And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.   
 
28: Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise 
 
 
 
The images of the Sun turning black, the Moon turning Red, The stars falling, the sky rolling up are all a very dramatic way of saying that time is up and God's wrath against Jerusalem is at hand and it would be better to have a mountain fall on you than to face it.
 
 
 
We will see you next time for part 7.
 
 
 
 
 

THE BOOK OF REVELATION- PART 4

One of the most pointed challenges you can give an anti-catholic is this one-
 
Show me your church's worship in Scripture.
 
 
 
When confronting chapter 4 and beyond, you must confront a startling reality. That reality is that John was called up to heaven. John saw what worship looks like so none of what you are about to read is speculation.
 
 
 
When you look at what Catholics call worship and what the Book of revelation shows as worship, you see that they are absolutely identical. There is just no way around it. What you call worship means nothing if it does not line up with what Scripture defines worship to be. The realization that the book of Revelation shows worship, Catholic style, has caused many to join up with us.
 
 
 
At the risk of oversimplification, there are two different views at play:
 
God replaced the Old Covenant with something totally new.
God fulfilled the Old Covenant with something that had been foreshadowed and is now realized.
 
 
 
We will show you that the 2nd option is the correct option.
 
 
 
Revelation 4: 1 After this I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up hither, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
 
Isn't the language strange? John says the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up hither, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
 
 
 
Can it be that John does not know who it is? Even if you are one of those who believe that this is a different John than the Apostle, a different John from the writer of the Gospel, you still could not possibly not know by now, who you are speaking to.
 
 
 
Recall that in chapter 1, John describes Him as a Son of Man who says of Himself, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. It is just impossible that John did not recognize who it was. The fact that I do believe it is the same John who sat at table with Jesus and who wrote the 4th Gospel and 3 epistles, who stood at the foot of the cross, makes this phraseology even more staggering.
 
 
 
I have a theory and if you will humor me a bit, I think you may find it to be a compelling one and this one absolutely concerns a different John, one that it is even harder to believe could not know who Jesus was.
 
 
 
John the Baptist was the cousin of Jesus. He was conceived in September of 3 BC after Zechariah was visited by an Angel. Baptized in his mother's womb at the greeting of the Blessed Virgin Mary, sometime between March and the end of June. Tradition places his birth at June 24th, almost exactly 6 months before Jesus.
 
 
 
As the families traveled multiple times each year, to Jerusalem, these cousins would have been well acquainted, and John cried out in the wilderness the herald of Jesus coming.
 
 
 
To the bystanders, John identified Jesus as The Lamb of God which was a powerfully prophetic title pointing to Jesus as the true Passover feast. Finally, John baptized Jesus, saw the Holy Spirit descend as a dove and heard the voice of the Father from heaven.
 
 
 
There wouldn't seem to be much chance that John the Baptist did not know who Jesus was. Yet, we are confronted with this puzzling exchange from Matthew 11:
 
 
 
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
 
 
 
Did John suddenly lose heart after being cast into prison? It's plausible. Perhaps he simply became confused that Jesus wasn't turning out to be the kind of Messiah he imagined. Perhaps, as some have speculated, John was asking the question rhetorically so that Jesus could answer for the benefit of John's disciples.
 
 
 
My personal opinion is that the 3rd explanation is the most plausible and I will tell you why. I believe John knew his end was near and he wanted his disciples to understand why he pointed them to Jesus.
 
 
 
He provided Jesus the opportunity to make the case. When Jesus makes His case, does he admonish John for his lack of faith? Quite the contrary! He exalts John and does a deep dive into describing the significance of his mission.
 
 
 
 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”
 
 
 
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses. 9 Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
 
‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,who shall prepare thy way before thee.’
 
 
 
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Eli′jah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
 
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates,
 
 
 
17 ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance;we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
 
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
 
 
 
I believe John the Revelator is doing exactly the same thing here. He doesn't want to merely tell you who is the one with the voice of a trumpet, He wants to show you.
 
 
 
Let's follow along.
 
 
 
First, we flash back to Chapter 1.
 
 
 
13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; 14 his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters;
 
 
 
John is clearly hearkening back to the prophetic visions of Daniel Chapter 7
 
 
 
9 As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire.10 A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
 
 
 
11 I looked then because of the sound of the great words which the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
 
 
 
13 I saw in the night visions,
 
and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.14 And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
 
 
 
When you compare those verses in John 1 to what Daniel saw, in Daniel 7, you understand that they are one and the same. John's vision is the fulfillment of that which in Daniel's vision is prophetic. In this context, we can continue.
 
 
 
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! 3 And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.
 
So we have seen, again, the Son of Man and now we see again, the Ancient of Days- the Father.
 
Daniel's vision ratified by John's vision. Yet John takes it further. While Daniel refers vaguely and obliquely to many standing and serving and a court in session, John gives us a much sharper image:
 
 
 
4 Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads. 5 From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
 
In 1st Peter, chapter 2, we read:
 
 
 
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
 
 
 
From this verse comes the declaration that we are all Priests (priesthood), Prophets (Those who declare the works of God) and Kings (Royal) and those who declare this are not wrong. However, that doesn't mean that the general priesthood negates the ministerial priesthood or that a hierarchy does not/will not exist.
 
 
 
We are all Priests in that a Priest offers a sacrifice to God and that we can offer our own sufferings in union with those of Christ (Colossians 1:24-25)
 
 
 
We are all prophets in the sense that all of us are called to testify to God's law, will and deeds.
 
 
 
We are all Kings in the sense that we are brothers of the King of Kings and sharers in His Kingdom.
 
 
 
Nevertheless, some will receive the higher calling of Sacred ministry and offer the one-time sacrifice of Christ. Some will be educated and ordained to preach the gospel and some will be elected to those highest positions of authority, through which Jesus exercises Kingship.
 
 
 
What is bound on earth is bound in Heaven, Jesus promised it. What you will see, in the chapters that follow is that the action in heaven have consequences on earth and vice versa.
 
 
 
The word for elder is presbyteroi which actually can be translated as Priest.
 
 
 
 24 Royal Priests on thrones, wearing crowns.
 
 
 
On thrones and wearing crowns of gold.
 
 
 
Many of our protestant brothers and sisters would say that these are the 12 apostles and the 12 sons of Israel. I don't necessarily disagree that they might be right. However, many don't seem to have much to say about what they are doing. Maybe you haven't given it much thought.
 
 
 
So let me be blunt here.
 
 
 
God has called John up to heaven and commanded John to write down what He sees. Would He have done that if what is about to be shown is of little consequence?
 
 
 
These details are all important because they don't just reveal what heaven looks like, they reveal how heaven works. In revealing what heaven looks like and how it works, they reveal to us what worship looks like and how it works. Pay attention. You don't want to miss it.
 
 
 
So picture that there are three levels of vantage with regard to the Throne. There is the Throne, there is the area around the throne, occupied by 24 mini-thrones, so to speak. Then there is the intermediary area between the two, that is called before the throne.
 
 
 
In chapters 1 and 2, we see a couple of references to Jesus and a two-edged sword. In one reference, it is issuing from His mouth, in another it is simply stated as something He has. The two-edged sword is an interesting analogy of a strong weapon that can be very effective if used correctly but you can also cut yourself with it if you aren't careful.
 
 
 
In this analogy, it seems to indicate how God's Word can be our salvation or our downfall depending on the care we show.
 
 
 
The Seven Spirits of God is another example of something to be seen from multiple vantage points. This is now the 3rd reference we see. In chapter 1 recall that we are greeted with Grace and Peace from the Seven Spirits who are before the Throne, along with the Father and The Son. Then, in chapter 3, Jesus speaks as one having the 7 Spirits. Finally, the Seven Spirits appear again before the throne here in Chapter 4 but instead of personified Spirits giving greeting, they appear here as 7 torches. These torches stand lit, before the Throne, between the 24 Elders and the Ancient of Days, as Daniel called Him.
 
 
 
Ponder the fact that a candle or lamp is just a smaller representation of a torch and serve the same purpose- to give light- and then play off the 7 torches before the Throne which represent the 7 Spirits and The 7 Lampstands Jesus walks amongst that represent the 7 Churches. Then ponder that, around the throne, beyond the 7 torches, are the thrones with the 24 Elders.
 
 
 
Before we go deeper, let me address an objection I heard once. It goes like this:
 
 
 
If we agree that the 24 Elders are Apostles and Sons of Israel, where is Mary? Why isn't her place mentioned if she is so special?
 
 
 
I'm glad you asked.
 
 
 
Consider this story from Matthew Chapter 20:
 
 
 
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zeb′edee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
 
 
 
After reading what you have read, consider what Jesus is saying here. He is confirming that someone will sit to His right and left on the throne. On it, not before it, not around it.
 
 
 
On stage, so to speak.
 
 
 
Who would that be?
 
This again, is the beauty of typology.
 
 
 
In 1 Kings, Chapter 2, verse 19, the Queen Mother (The mother of the King) goes in to meet with the King. He bows in respect and places her on a throne to His right. As we have already discussed, Jesus is the Davidic King. That makes Mary the Queen at His right.
 
 
 
I will prove it to you.
 
 
 
Psalm 45 is a prophecy of who?
 
 
 
2 Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured into thy lips: Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
 
3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one, Thy glory and thy majesty.
 
4 And in thy majesty ride on prosperously, Because of truth and meekness and righteousness: And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.  
 
5 Thine arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under thee; They are in the heart of the king's enemies.  
 
6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom.  
 
7 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
 
8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad.
 
 
 
It is impossible not to conclude that it is Jesus.
 
 
 
Then what of the next verse?
 
 
 
9 Kings' daughters are among thy honorable women: At thy right hand doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
 
 
 
Who is this Queen to the right of the King? Any 1st century Christian, former Jew, would have answered without hesitation- His mother. They knew the Old Testament and they knew who the Queen was. That is where she sits- on the right of the King.
 
 
 
Who is on the left? We can only speculate but I would give the 2 most likely options-
 
Peter, the Chief Steward / Prime Minister which means someone else in that 24th throne, so to speak.
Joseph, spouse of Mary and foster father of Jesus.
 
 
 
I would guess Joseph.
 
 
 
Why is this important?
 
 
 
The role of the Queen Mother, as we see clearly in 1 Kings 2: 12-21 was as someone who intercedes to the King, on the behalf of His subjects. The Davidic model on earth is fulfilled in heaven, not just by Mary but by the 24 elders and, as you will see soon- all the saints.
 
 
 
It's how heaven works.
 
 
 
This will be spelled out in more detail as we go but for now, it is important to see that there is a structure to God's governance in heaven and how it is connected to His worship by those on earth. God chooses to act through His creation. He ordains it.
 
 
 
And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing,
 
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
 
 
 
 
 
This version is strikingly similar to a vision in Ezekial Chapter 1
 
 
 
5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the form of men, 6 but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another; they went every one straight forward, without turning as they went. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man in front; the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle at the back.11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 In the midst of the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning.
 
The second vision almost seems like an extraction from the first. There is so much detail and so much symbolism that I feel that it's best not to get bogged down in details but address some large themes.
 
 
 
First, I think there are a few different ways of looking at the two visions.
 
 
 
Are they the same 4 creatures manifested is slightly different ways or are they a second 4 which resemble the first 4 in some ways or attributes? Are these actual creatures that actually look like this or are the symbolic representations?
 
 
 
I will say they are symbolic representations that are to show us some very specific things about how God works,
 
 
 
First, in both vision, what we see are creatures. These are not God. They are not Divine. They are Angels or Men or some combination. Both visions show some human appearance and features, particularly the vision in Daniel. In the Daniel vision, the most compelling thing that is said is right here:
 
 
 
12 And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 In the midst of the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
 
The creatures were led by the Spirit of God. This statement is reinforced by the image of the torches moving among them. You recall, in the Revelation vision, that the torches represent the 7 spirits of God. Notice also that their wings touch each other. This seems to infer a bond or connection- a chain of support, if you will. With other wings, they shield themselves. The wings clearly seem to indicate Divine power acting through them. It actually appears to possibly represent Grace.
 
 
 
Each of the creatures is identified with a Man, A lion, an Ox and an Eagle. In the Revelation vision, they each, separately, take on these personifications but in the Daniel vision, each creature possesses all 4. This also is very interesting. It would seem to indicate that each creature has a special charism or trait, strongest in himself, but shared among the 4. What could this be?
 
 
 
The early church had an interpretation that can even be seen today in churches like Saint Matthew's Cathedral in Washington DC. I've seen it myself.
 
 
 
The early church saw the 4 creatures as representing the 4 Gospel writers.
 
 
 
Michael Barber, in his work Coming Soon (page 86) said that Matthew is represented by the Man, as his gospel begins with the human genealogy of Jesus. Mark is the lion as he begins with the voice crying out in the wilderness, Luke is represented by the Ox as his gospel begins and end with the Temple where Oxen were slaughtered, and John's is the Eagle because of how the theological and spiritual message soars to the heavens.
 
 
 
Again, these are not my conclusions, nor Barber's. This is the take of the early church fathers.
 
 
 
Let's examine their hypothesis.
 
 
 
If they are what the creatures represent, then the phrase about them following the spirit is a beautiful depiction of the Divine inspiration of the Gospels. It's also an image of synergy.
 
Notice that the Spirit (in the symbolism of torches) doesn't move instead of the creatures. They move together. The first moves, the second follows.
 
 
 
They are in sync but it's cooperation not imputation.
 
 
 
Notice in the Revelation vision, they are covered all over with eyes. This is a representation that they see all things. This would be a supernatural ability, but it is entrusted to creatures and, apparently, to human creatures.
 
 
 
I say apparently because that is the almost humorous intrigue of these apocalyptic writings. As soon as you think you have an interpretation that fits, along comes a curve ball.
 
 
 
The curve ball here comes in the prophetic book of Ezekial. In chapter 10, we see these 4 creatures again from yet another vantage point.
 
 
 
7 And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings.
 
9 And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling chrysolite. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced the others followed without turning as they went. 12 And their rims, and their spokes, and the wheels were full of eyes round about—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels. 14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
 
15 And the cherubim mounted up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar. 16 And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
 
18 Then the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight as they went forth, with the wheels beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the house of the Lord; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.
 
20 These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings the semblance of human hands. 22 And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the very faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. They went every one straight forward.
 
So now the creatures are Cherubs (Angels) and the face of the Ox has been replaced by the face of angels?
 
 
 
There are 9 levels of Angels according to Scripture and the early church. Cherubim are the 2nd highest behind Seraphim. The others are Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Principalities, Virtues, Angels and Archangels. You can research that yourself.
 
 
 
All of this changing and moving around of divine, angelic, human...All this switching of past, present and future. It's all so confusing. How do we make any sense of it.
 
 
 
They only way to make sense of it is to throw out the linear concepts you are trying to impose on God and on this Book and look at the image as it is being presented.
 
 
 
Things are not moving left to right from God to the Angels to Man, or even from the Top down. There is not a sharply defined street you can point to and say This is where God ends, and the angels begin" or "This marks the end of angels and the beginning of men".
 
 
 
Look at what we are shown. The Spirits are shown in front of the Throne. The creatures are shown around the throne. The multitudes are shown outside of that. God is not at the top, He is at the center. It proceeds outward, not downward.
 
 
 
The ever widening circles blend and blur because the light of God, like the light of the Sun penetrates all the way out for millions of miles. As the earth revolves around the Sun, creation revolves around God.
 
 
 
Seeing all of space through this image is essential to understanding this book.
 
 
 
Now comes the really challenging part.
 
 
 
Just as God is the center of all space, with all of creation spinning around in the outer reaches, the same is true of time.
 
 
 
God is the I AM not the I WAS or the I WILL BE. He sits at the very center of time and all times are present time to Him.
 
 
 
If you view this Book strictly from the standpoint of this happens and then this and then that, you have no hope of understanding it.
 
 
 
So, are the creatures angels or humans? Do they possess Supernatural characteristics and attributes or human? Are they in the past or present or future?
 
 
 
It's not either/or, it's both/and.
 
 
 
The entire point of what you are being showed here is how God's Divine power and Divine Will become infused with His creation like two molten metals being fused together as an element.
 
 
 
How is this possible? It's possible because of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. This does not make Angels into God or men into God. It makes them into lights, plugged into the Divine power.
 
Think of the 4 living creatures as one of the concentric circles through which this energy passes.
 
 
 
But what of 1 Timothy 2:5?
 
 
 
It is true, there is one mediator between God and Man- Jesus Christ. How could it be otherwise? In the Divine transfer of this heavenly power, He is the Divine Transformer.
 
 
 
Here is why I think the Transformer analogy is a perfect fit.
 
 
 
A transformer converts a primary source of power into a secondary source. The potential power (voltage) is often stepped down from the thousands of volts on the street to the 120 volts that is used in your house. The primary and secondary voltages do not come in contact with each other but the secondary is created by the magnetic field of the primary.
 
 
 
The amount of electrical flow is calculated in Amps, not volts. The Amps increase on the secondary side as the volts decrease- by the same proportion.
 
 
 
In other words, the amount of work that can be done is equal on both sides.
 
 
 
Think of the current flow as Grace and the Voltage as my will (represented by Voltage) decreases, His Grace (represented by Amps) can do more.
 
 
 
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
 
 
 
Thus, the secondary power that flows through the Angels, The Saints, The Priests and me, is His power. It's not either/or, it's both/and. It's God's power and His creation cooperates with it.
 
 
 
The Catholic connection?
 
 
 
This is what Mass looks like. In every Mass, we have a Priest seated on the Altar. In every Mass, we have a reading from the Gospels and in every Mass, we sing out Holy, Holy, Holy to our God.
 
 
 
Does your church service look like this?
 
 
 
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,
 
11 “Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created.”
 
Just as we can speculate which 4 angels and which 4 men are represented by the 4 creatures, the same is true of the 24 elders/priests. It is widely speculated that they are the 12 Apostles and the 12 Sons of Israel. Although that is certainly plausible, I see nothing that compels this view.
 
 
 
They could represent them or they could simply be the top 24 saints in church history even some who lived after John. Remember, time is no obstacle for God.
 
 
 
Here are a few things I believe we do need to know about them.
 
They Worship God as GOD. (vs 10 & 11). Again, this counters the "Catholics worship Mary" tripe. An essential element of worship is an assent to Divinity of the person/object worshipped.
These are Men yet they are seated on thrones and wearing crowns. This proves that the saints are involved in the heavenly government.
 
 
 
Much is made in Evangelical circles of the image of them casting their crowns. The image is one of homage, humility and submission to a higher authority. Some in Evangelical circles take this as a repudiation of their crowns in recognition that God did everything and they don't deserve them.
 
 
 
That would be a repudiation of God's Justice and a terrible ingratitude. Reject this view.
 
 
 
We will see you next time with Chapter 5!