Revelation
Revelation
1
Prologue
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show
His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel
to His servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is,
the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the
one
who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and
blessed are those who hear it and
take to heart what is written in it because the time is near.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSES 01-02
Verse
1 The word revelation means revealing. Here we have the purpose of this book,
the revealing of God’s plan and what He will soon do. We also have a hierarchy.
The revelation is given by God to Jesus, Jesus to His servants and the servants
to the world. More specifically, Jesus sent His angels (messengers) to tell the
Apostle John who wrote it down so the revelation would be made know to other
servants of Jesus who would tell the world.
Psalm 103:20; Matt 13:49; John 20:12
VERSE
03:
Note the use of the
terms “the one” and “those” in this opening passage. There are a few
interpretations of the use of these two terms. 1) The term ‘the one” refers to
a specific individual who God chooses to make the letter contents clear and
understood and “those” refers to the believers who will accept what the person
chosen by God says. This interpretation has its foundation in the work of John
the Baptist, the prophesies in the Old Testament and most certainly in the
words of Jesus (Matt. 17:9-11; Mark 9:1; John 21:20-24 2) The term “the one” refers to the individual
who physically reads this letter to an individual church. This interpretation
comes from the practice in the early of a letter being written and passed from
church to church to be read aloud to “those” in the congregation.
“the
one” denotes an individual, not a term used in a general manner. {In Greek it
is the one reading.} See Matt. 17:10-11
“those”
refers to all who hear and take action on the prophesy. A term used in a
general manner. {In Greek it is the ones hearing.} Gen. 33:6; Ex. 4:21; Ezr.
10:3, Psa. 70:4; Matt 25:7
“Take
to heart” is important. It is important to the entire book of Revelation. This
phrase means to internalize. To go beyond listening and considering but to make
it a part of your life. To live the words on a daily basis. This cannot be
stressed enough. We MUST LIVE what we hear and learn. ‘\See Abraham, Moses,
David, John the Baptist, James 2:17-26.
There
has been much discussion and argument concerning John’s comment that “the time
is near.” Looking at the comment from a human perspective it has been a long
time, not near at all. From God’s perspective in eternity the time has been
very short. As with all of Revelation we must see with spiritual eyes and hear
with spiritual ears and understanding comes through the Holy Spirit) Deut,
7:10, 2 Peter 3:9. (JAS
Comments – End)
Greetings
and Doxology
4 John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and
peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come and from the
Seven Spirits before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings
of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood,
6and
has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be
glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
(JAS Comments – Start)
There are three
personalities in this passage: 1] God; 2] the seven spirits and 3] Jesus. God
was, is and is to come. God is eternal. Jesus, being begotten of God, is also
eternal. The seven spirits operate by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the
third person in the Trinity and is therefore also eternal. The second part of
this passage is very important. It establishes the place of Jesus, God’s love
for us, Jesus’ love for us, the work of Jesus as the Christ and our place in
God’s plan
VERSE
04:
Alpha
and Omega, the Beginning and End. God was before the beginning of time and will
be after time ends. Genesis 1:1;
Genesis 21:33; Deut 33:27; Psalm 41:13, Isa 9:6; John 1:1-5.
Seven
is the number of perfection. For a description of the seven spirits see the
letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2&3.
John’s wording
here “and from the seven spirits before the throne” let us know the seven
spirits are living beings with personalities.
VERSE
05:
Here
we have three important attributes of Jesus: 1} He is the faithful witness, 2}
He is the firstborn from the dead and 3} He is ruler of all the earth.
He is
the faithful witness. Jesus was, is, and will be the witness to God, God’s plan
and especially God’s love. Jesus faithfully brings God’s message and plan of
salvation to the world but it is the responsibility of each person to choose if
they will believe and accept that witness.
He is
the firstborn from the dead. Jesus is the very first to be resurrected bodily
from physical death. Satan had no hold on Jesus and therefore Jesus could not
be held in death. As the first Adam chose to follow Satan’s lies and partake of
the Tree of Knowledge, Jesus, the second
Adam, chose to follow God and is the Tree of Life to all who will believe in
and on Him.
Despite
what the world think Jesus is over all. Everything comes under His rule and
Lordship. To deny this or to think something else is not factual and is futile.
To live a life based on anything other than Jesus is Lord of all is also futile
and wasted.
This
is the same theme that runs throughout God’s Word. He loves us and freedom from
sin is only through the blood of Christ. Without His blood there can be no
salvation. If a person does not accept Christ and His Blood and the salvation
for their sins they cannot be part of God’s family. A person who not accept the
Blood of Christ belongs to the old fallen world led by Satan and cannot be a
new creature in Christ. Goodness and right living are not enough.
VERSE
06:
Our
purpose and work as believers in Jesus the Christ. We must consider the gravity, importance,
confidence in us and responsibility that is ours in this statement. In the ancient world and really up until
modern times, kings and priests were the most important members of society. If
we look at ancient Egypt and even the Holy Roman Empire we see priests were
considered to be higher than kings. (JAS
Comments - End)
7 “Look, He is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see
Him, even those who pierced Him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because
of Him.” So shall it be! Amen. 8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the
Almighty.”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 07:
Why
are they mourning? Is it because we crucified the Christ or because the world
recognizes the terrible day of the Lord has come? Isaiah 61:2 states the day of
God’s favor and the day of His vengeance. In Luke 4:17-21 Jesus only reads the
section concerning God’s favor. That was why Jesus came, to spread God’s favor,
to save us. This passage in Revelation is the day of God’s vengeance. It will
not be a happy time for the world.
VERSE 08:
This passage again
establishes Jesus as a part of the Trinity and therefore existing with God the
Father from before the beginning of creation.
Alpha
and Omega signify the beginning and the end. In the English alphabet it would
be similar to saying from A to Z. This is saying God and therefore Jesus are
our beginning and our end. Christ created us and saves us. We have our entire
physical and spiritual being in Him. This is specific to creation. When applied
to God the term Alpha and Omega does not go far enough. The second part of the
verse provides a more far reaching description. God is, was and will be the
Almighty. That is, God always was and always is and always will be. God is
totally independent of time. Something we have a difficult time understanding.
In eternity is simultaneously the past, present and future. With God, unlike
with His creation, there is no beginning and end. Again, there is always the
past, present and future as one, a unity. Very hard for us to wrap our heads
around.
The
world will finally realize what they did to the Lord, their Creator. This does
not refer to just Israel but to everyone.
(JAS Comments - End)
John’s
Vision of Christ
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and
kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of
Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
10 On
the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit and I
heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said:
“Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus,
Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 09:
· Gives
John’s location and why he was there. John was on the isle because of his
testimony and work for the Lord. He was not on vacation but was banished to
Patmos as a result of his love for the Lord.
VERSE
10:
· “Lords
Day” This is not the Sabbath or Sunday but rather on the day of the Lord. The
day when Christ returns. The day Christ comes to restore things and rule. Is.
13:6; 13:9; Joel 2:1, 11; Amos 5:18
· “I was
in the Spirit” John’s
spirit is communing directly with God’s Spirit. The state of John’s body is not
known or important at this point. John sees what will happen through the Holy
Spirit.
· Trumpets
denote a warning cry and a call to battle
VERSE
11:
· Note
the recurrent seven in Revelation. Here, at the beginning we are told there are
seven spirits before the throne and then to send the message to the seven
churches. This is not a coincidence. Each of the seven churches either has or
is missing a specific spirit. By looking at what is evident or missing we can
identify what is needed to be a perfect Church, or Bride, of Christ. (JAS Comments - End)
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to
me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the
lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to
His feet and with a golden sash around His
chest. 14 The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as
snow and His eyes were like blazing fire.
15
His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the
sound of rushing waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars,
and coming out of His mouth was a sharp,
double-edged sword His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 12:
· Again
seven. Lampstands raise a light source to where it may give more light to a
larger area. Following through with the seven spirits these lampstands give the
light of Christ to a much larger area. In Matthew Jesus tells us we are to be a
light. We are to spread the light of Christ to the entire world.
VERSE 13:
· “golden
sash around His chest” is purity. Gold is made pure by being refined in fire. I
wonder if this denotes His heart is truly pure. He has been tested in the fire
and is found to be without sin, his heart is truly pure?
VERSE 14:
·
“white as snow.” White is the symbol of purity.
·
“blazing fire” Fire purifies.
VERSE 16:
·
“seven stars” Again, seven.
·
“double-edged” See comments about the Spirit being a
sharp sword that cleaves between body and spirit. This also gives us a hint
about the Trinity. Hebrews 4:12
·
“sun shining in all its brilliance.” The
sun brings light and warmth, the opposite of darkness and cold. Later in
Revelation John states the New Jerusalem will not need the sun. Jesus will be
the light of the city. (JAS
Comments - End)
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He
placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the
Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive
forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 “Write,
therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20
The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven
golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels
of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven
churches.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 17
· The
sight of the glorified Christ was enough to put John into a deep faint. What
happens next shows the consistent character of Christ. He comforted John and
told him not to be afraid. Jesus then identifies Himself as the First and the
Last. The Alpha and Omega. This makes it very clear that God the Father and God
the Son are one.
ERSE
18
· Christ
then goes to the next part of His being. He was dead and is now alive, forever.
Jesus was crucified and was truly dead but was resurrected from the dead and is
now alive. He is the Living One. In addition Jesus the Christ holds the key of
death and Hades. Neither has any power or control over Him. In fact, Jesus has
all power and control over both death and Hades.
VERSE
20
· Stars
represent angels? If so how does this apply to seeing the starts falling from
the heavens later in Revelation? Can it mean seeing Satan and his following
angels falling from Heaven?
· Again,
the seven churches are to bring the light of God’s Word, Christ, to the world.
Often stars represent Angels and, as noted, lampstands provide light. This
leads us to understand that each church had an Angel looking after that church
to help and protect them. The Angel also identified the shortcomings of the
church, let the church know what they are and help them to overcome these
through Christ. Finally the Angel would recognize when the backsliding or
apostasy of the church was too great and the church would lose their lampstand,
their walk with Christ and ability to be a light to the world.) (Job 7:8; 1Kings 07:49; Ecc. 1:9-10; Isaiah 2:1-22;
Isaiah 13:6; Isaiah 13:9; Isaiah 30:27-33; Isaiah 32:1-2; Isaiah 32:1-2;
Isaiah 35:3-1; Isaiah 61:2; Ezekiel 7:10-11; Daniel All; Joel 2: 1,11; Amos
5:18-20; Amos 5:18-20; Ezekiel 7:5-9; Zephaniah 1:7; Zeph 1:13-18; Nahum 2:3-4;
Ezekiel 12:26-28; Matt. 17:10-11; Matt. 17:11-13; Mark 9:1; Luke 4:17-21; John
1:1-5; 1 Thess 04:13-18 (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
2
To the
Church in Ephesus (Restoration seem to be the
Spirit here)
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the
words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the
seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and
your perseverance. I know
that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to
be apostles but are not and have found them false. 3 You have
persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 01
· The
seven starts are the angels of the seven churches? The seven lampstands are the
seven churches?
VERSE
02
· They
were working to make Jesus the Christ known to others.
· See
John’s admonition to try the spirits to see if they are of God. 1 John 4:1
VERSE
03
· The
church is commended for persevering for the Lord.
· The church has held
on to their belief despite the attempts of Satan to shake it through false
teachers and prophets. They test the spirits and teachings to determine if they
match up with the Word of God. (1 Thess. 5:21; 1 John 4:1-4) (JAS Comments - End)
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had
at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the
things you did at first. If you do
not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
6
But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,
which I also hate. 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To
the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the Tree of Life,
which is in the paradise of God.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
· This second section would appear to be in some
contradiction to the first. How can they work hard, persevere and identify
false teaching while, at the same time forsaken the love they had at first?
There is no contradiction. We can see the same condition in churches in all
time frames, including ours. People can know the Word inside and out. They can
identify false teachers and heretical teachers. At the same time they can lose
their focus on God and why they are working hard and identifying false teachings.
When this happens people can (and often do) wander away from God’s light and
eventually become technicians of the Word and not true believers. They end up
having a similitude of the real thing but not the real thing. (2 Tim 3:5; 2 Tim
3:7; 1 John 3:9-10)
·
There are a number of thought concerning who the
Nicolaitans were and the beliefs and errors. The two most common follow: 1)
They were a group of Gnostics who believed and taught once a person was saved
they were free from the Law of God. Therefore any think they did, sexual
immorality, eating food sacrificed to pagan deities, etc. did not affect the
souls since it was saved. 2) They were a group that divided the church into
clergy and laity with the clergy having control over the laity. These two
trains of thought seem to derive from the definition of the word Nicolas.
Perhaps the true answer lies in a combination of the two thoughts with the
division of the church into clergy and laity and one of those being privileged
to practice lifestyles they did not allow the others to practice. Much like the
Pharisees/Sadducees vs. the common people in the time of Jesus.
· Nicolaitans believed
that, since we are saved by grace through Christ, the deeds of the body (sins)
had no effect on the salvation of the person. This resulted in people saying
they were saved yet continuing to commit the same and even worse sins after claiming
salvation. (1 Corinthians 6:15; 1 John 3:8-10; 1 John 5:18)
VERSE 04
· You have forsaken the
love you had at first.’ is critical.
It would seem they have drifted from their original passion for the Word and
doing God’s Will. Perhaps the cares of the world caused their priorities to
shift their focus away from serving God. Perhaps their message of Christ became
important in their daily communication and lives. They are warned to return to
Christ and God’s Love as the focus for their lives. If they do not then they
will move farther away from the light of the Word and God will come and remove
the light they have. (Luke 9:62; Gal. 4:9; Heb. 6:4-8; Heb. 10:38-39)
·
Perhaps we need to look at this verse from the
perspective of being a new Christian. When people first become Christians they
are excited and want to tell everyone about their experience and the Lord. As
people walk with Christ through time that zeal and excitement become less.
Christians tend to stay in their own groups more and spread the Word less. We
need to keep the zeal and the excitement and continue to let others know about
Christ.
VERSE 05-06
·
The church is told to look at themselves honestly and
recognize their current state and how far they have fallen away from where they
started.
·
What do we do at first? We love the Christ with all of
our heart. We repent of our sins. As much as possible we make restitution. We
tell others about the Christ. Our actions and priorities change.
·
“remove your lampstand from its place.” Take away the
light of the Word and the Spirit of God.
·
The one thing they are doing right is they have no use
for the philosophy, teaching and practices of the Nicolaitans.
VERSE 07
·
We may read this and think we all have ears. Generally
speaking we all have physical ears and can hear physically. The question is, do
we have spiritual ears to hear spiritually?
· (JAS Comments - End)
To the
Church in Smyrna
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the
words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9
I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the
slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of
Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell
you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer
persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will
give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them
hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not
be hurt at all by the second death.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
The
Church in Smyrna shows the Spirit of Preservation of the Faith
Christ looks at things much differently
than the world. Where the world sees affliction, poverty and trials Christ sees
riches. This is a clear indication that the spiritual is much more important
than the temporal. They are warned about what is coming but also comforted that
Christ is with them even through physical death. Their faith must be preserved
regardless of the apparent circumstances. By keeping faith with Christ they
will have eternal life. They will be victorious because physical death is not
the end. In the middle of this message Christ defines who is a true Jew. A true
Jew is one who believes in Christ and operates from the love that comes from
Christ, not just being a Hebrew.) (Matt 7:21; Romans 2:28-29; Titus 1:6).
VERSE 08
· Christ
starts by identifying who He is, the First and Last, who died and came to life
again. This would leave no doubt who was addressing them and would also affirm
their belief in Him
VERSE 09
· Compare
Smyrna to Laodicea. Laodicea thought they were rich but were really in poverty.
VERSE 10
· The
church is told that suffering is coming. Some members would be jailed. Being
jailed in that time often involved torture and perhaps death. Jesus tells this
will happen to them but there is and end to the suffering and those who
persevere through it all will receive eternal life.
VERSE 11
· Notice
the two deaths mentioned and the difference between them. The first death is
physical and temporal. The second death is eternal, not temporal, and does not
happen to the true believer in Christ. The believers are preserved through
their faith in Christ. It is also important that they, and we, are told not to
be afraid of the suffering we go through for Christ. (JAS Comments - End)
To the
Church in Pergamum .
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the
words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
13 I
know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to My name.
You did not renounce your faith in Me, not even in the days of Antipas, my
faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless,
I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the
teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that
they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you
also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent
therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with
the sword of My mouth.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
The Church in
Pergamum shows the Spirit of Marking -
making visible, plain and clear the things of God. Hab. 2:2-3
Pergamum
was a political center in the Roman Empire. It was also a center of pagan
worship with temples to the Roman emperors, Athena and Zeus. The pagan worship
was so important to the people of Pergamum that Antipas, as leader of the
Christian church in Pergamum, was executed because of his testimony and work
for the Lord. The city was so evil that it was referred to as the throne of
Satan. In other words, Satan felt comfortable enough to make his home there.
VERSE 12
· Hebrews
4:12
· Hebrews 4:12 and Rev 1:16 show the sword referred to
here is the Word of God and is fundamental to this message. An important fact
about the written word is however much a person agrees, disagrees, believes or
disbelieves after all has been said and argued what was written does not
change. The Word of God makes it plain what God requires, how we are to act,
why God requires these things, what has happened, is happening and will happen.
God has marked out the road for us. He has made it plain. We have no excuse.
(Romans 1:16; Eph 6:17)
VERSE 13
· Pergamum
had a very prominent temple dedicated to the Greek god of healing. In addition
the first Christian martyr, Antipas, was murdered there.
· In the
midst of all the pressure to renounce Christ the church stayed true to Him.
This pressure would be
· cultural,
economic, physical and from family.
VERSE
14
· There
were those who taught that, since a person had been born again they could do
anything they wanted to do. The body did not matter and any sin to, in or with
the body did not affect the spirit. The two, food sacrificed to idols and
sexual immorality are linked here. This linking indicates far more than
[unknowingly] eating food sacrificed to idols
but rather joining in the idol [pagan] worship.
· The false doctrines of Balak and the Nicolaitans is
specifically noted. We have addressed the Nicolaitans above. Balak was the King
of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel. Balak’s idea was for Balaam to put
God under an obligation to help Balak defeat Israel. When that did not work
Balaam came up with the idea to lead the Israelites astray by intermarriage and
leading the Israelites into idolatry. The error of Balak and the Nicolaitans
were similar in nature. Both were designed to lead believers away from God
through the sins of the flesh. (Numbers 22-24)
VERSE 15
· See
previous comments concerning this group.
VERSE
16
· The
believers in Pergamum stayed with Jesus and clearly made the Word known, to the
point where the first Christian martyr [Antipas] was martyred there. (JAS Comments - End)
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the
churches: To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden
manna. I will also give that person a
white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives
it.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 17
·
Manna, heavenly food. Does this mean more of the Word of
God will be revealed to those who have the true desire to hear the Holy Spirit
speaking? Not food for just everyone?
·
Revelation 14:3 teaches that those in Christ will sing a
new song. Names were very important in earlier times. A person’s name told much
about the person and their parent’s expectations for them. The new name is
given by God and tells much about the person and God’s love for and
expectations for the person. The name is very, very personal and therefore is
not shared. (JAS
Comments - End)
To the
Church in Thyatira
18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the
words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are
like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith,
your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at
first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that
woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my
servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but
she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I
will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they
repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead.
Then all the churches will know that I am He
who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your
deeds.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
The Church in
Thyatira shows the Spirit of Teaching.
VERSE 18
· Again Jesus the Christ introduces who
He is in no uncertain terms. He is the Son of God. He is all powerful. He is I
AM.
· The introduction to this message identifies the
person whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished
bronze. It is the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. The message starts off with a
compliment on their perseverance and growth doing the works of God. Immediately
after the compliment the church is taken to task for allowing a woman who is a
false prophet to teach. The woman is identified as Jezebel. This may not be her
name but certainly does identify her spirit. As Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, led
the Israelites into idolatry so this woman, by her false teachings is doing the
same. (1 Kings 18:4; 1 Kings 21:25)
VERSE
19
· Christ,
through John, lets the Thyatira Church of God know that He is very aware of
their deeds, their works, what they do daily. It is important to see that
Christ does NOT point out specifics but rather sees the deeds as the natural
result of the love, faith, service and perseverance through Christ. In effect
Christ looks at the state of their heart which results in Christian works. This
is very much the same as what James said {James 2:17-19}. Christ also notes
they have grown. Their faith, love, service and perseverance have grown and
become stronger.
VERSE
20
· This
points up the importance of teaching and how it can be used for evil. It seems
Jezebel is promulgating the teaching of the Gnostics and the Nicolaitans. Both
groups taught the body and spirit were separate therefore what
was done in the body did not affect the spirit. This led to believers sinning
while thinking it did not matter to their salvation. This is not consistent
with God’s Word.
· Looking at the works of this woman we can see a great
similarity to the works of Balak, Balaam and the Nicolaitans. The woman is
leading believers astray by her teaching. The importance of teaching the Word
of God can be clearly seen in Matt. 5:19; 1 Tim. 1:3; 1 Tim 4:10-11; Titus
1:10-11; Titus 2:1-15. Despite her false teaching God gave her opportunity to
repent but she refused to do so. She was caught up in her false teaching and
the supposed power it brought her. There is a clear delineation between those
who follow her false teachings and those who do not follow her but rather
follow the teachings of God.
VERSE
21-22
· Even
in the case of this false prophet Christ allows time and room for repentance.
The person chose not to repent therefore her punishment is what she did choose.
In addition to her punishment those who follow her
· and
take part in her teachings and actions will, if they do not repent, share in
the punishment.
VERSE
23
· “Her
children”…does this mean all those who follow her teachings, people and
organizations?
· Each
person is responsible for their own walk with Christ. Each person is
responsible to obey and DO God’s Word. Following another person’s or
organization’s set of rules is no help if their rules do not match up with the
Word. Being liberal or conservative does not matter if a person is not obeying
and doing the Word of God. Paul says to work out our own salvation in fear and
trembling {Php. 2:12}. He also said that
those in the Berean church were more honorable because they looked into what he
said. They did not just take Paul at his word but looked into the law and
prophets. We must do the same by listening to what is said, reading what is
written, then looking into the Word to see if they match. {Acts 17:10-11} (JAS Comments - End)
24 Now I say to the rest of
you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned
Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25
except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ 26 To the one who is
victorious and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them
to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28
I will also give that one, the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 24
· The
woman called Jezebel was teaching false beliefs. She was trying to use a
counterfeit of Christ’s teaching to confuse people and lead them away from the
one true God. {During this time in history Mithraism was very prevalent.
Mithraism was a “mystery” religion, meaning initiates had to go through many
rituals before they could learn the “mysteries” of Mithra. The iconic scenes of Mithras show him being born from a rock, slaughtering
a bull, and sharing a banquet with the god Sol {the Sun}. The bull was slaughtered above the initiate
with the blood of the bull pouring down on and over the initiate. This is a
direct attempt by Satan to mimic what Christ did for us by His death and
resurrection. It was intended to confuse those
both inside and outside the Church of God. The Mithraic mysteries were
practiced from about the 1st to 4th centuries AD.}
VERSE 25
·
Exodus 14:13
VERSE 26-27
· Finally there is a statement that seems to be a bit
odd in this context. “26
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give
authority over the nations— 27
that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like
pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one, the
morning star. 29
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
[Emphasis mine.] In Rev. 22:16 Jesus calls himself the Bright Morning Star.
This is clearly different than the Morning Star. Another point often missed is
Jesus said “the one.” If everyone was to be the morning star the term used
would be more inclusive. Job 38:7 tells of a time when the morning stars sang
together. Satan rebelled against God’s Will and left his place in heaven.
Perhaps the idea is a person to replace Satan and take his place as the morning
star. (Is. 14:13; Oba 1:4; Matt 28:20; Luke 10:18; Rev. 22:16)
VERSE 28
·
Once again, as in Revelation 1:3 it denotes an
individual, not anyone in general but a specific individual.
·
Remember, the Morning Star was Satan and, since he
rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven his position must be restored
by another taking his place.
VERSE 29
·
Spiritual ears.
·
Exodus 14:13; Ezekiel 7:10-11; Daniel All; Isaiah 2:1-22;
Amos 5:18-20; Hab. 2:2-3; Acts 17:10-11; Php. 2:12; James 2:17-19; 1 John 4:1;
Rev. 14:3 (JAS
Comments - End)
Revelation
3
To the
Church in Sardis
1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the
words of Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you
have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen
what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the
sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and
heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a
thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few
people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with Me, dressed in white, for
they are worthy. 5 The
one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot
out the name of that person from the Book of Life, but will acknowledge that
name before my Father and His angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them
hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
The
Church in Sardis shows the Spirit of Perfection
VERSE 01
·
Again, seven, the number of perfection. Christ here
introduces Himself as the Perfect one.
·
This seems to be directly related to Christ’s comment to
the church at Thyatira. In the previous church Christ tells them He sees their
deeds, acts, and sees they are genuine, from the heart, the new heart they
received when they were saved. In this case He sees the deeds and acts are not
genuine, not from the foundation of Christian love, service, faith and
perseverance. Christ sees well beyond appearances to the foundation for our
actions, our heart.
VERSE 02
·
The call to wake up is incumbent upon the ministry and
all members of the Church of God to make. {Eze. 33:6-7; Isa 21:6, 11}
·
Going part way is not enough. It is all or nothing. {Luke
9:62}
·
It
would seem in this case they are being told not to believe their own press but
to see themselves as they are but to realize they are not perfect and return to
following God completely. Although the church members and those around them may
think they are alive and working hard, God sees into the heart and knows they
are really dead. Their motivations are wrong. They do the works but for the
wrong reasons. (Matthew 7:21-23) The idea of perfection is seen in verses 4 and
5 with those who have not soiled their clothes with sin. The color white
indicates being spotless, without any stain or blot of sin. This can only come
through Christ.) (Is. 1:18; Is. 61:10;
Zec. 3:4; 2 Peter 2:20; 1 John 1:7; 1 John 2:15-16
VERSE 03
·
They had received the Word and learned to Word but were
letting it slip away. It had become a lower priority.
·
Echoes Matt 25 and other Scriptures
VERSE 04
·
Have not walked in sin. Their trust, hope, heart and
actions are in Christ.
·
Christ states they will walk with Him. They will have
eternal life with Christ. Think of the privilege we have to walk with the
Christ.
·
White denotes purity.
VERSE 05
· Again,
the one. Since this is Christ talking who is He referring to? Is this the same
person as in Chapter 1 verse 3? Purity and perfection work together. A person
whose heart, thinking and actions are pure will also be perfect. In Matt. 5:48
commands us to “be perfect even as the Father in Heaven is perfect.” This is
not a suggestion but a command. To understand this command we must look at the
context of the section. Jesus was talking about love, loving everyone, having a
heart that loves regardless of circumstance or past history. Only by having
God’s heart of love can we be pure and perfect.
VERSE 06
· This
is again very similar to Chapter 1. This also emphasizes the importance of the
message to the seven churches. There is much to learn from each of the messages
and each of the churches. (JAS
Comments - End)
To the
Church in Philadelphia
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are
the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can
shut, and what He shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I
have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have
little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim
to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall
down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept My command
to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going
to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold
on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one
who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of My God. Never again
will they leave it. I will write on them the name of My God and the name of the
city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My
God; and I will also write on them My new name. 13 Whoever has ears,
let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
The
Church in Philadelphia shows the Spirit of Publishing {making known,
spreading about} God’s Word Hab. 2:2-3
VERSE 07
·
Here is another aspect of the Christ He shows in His
introduction. He is Holy and True. There is no sin or falsehood in Christ. He
holds the government in His hands and has the power to control what does and
does not happen.
·
Isaiah 9:6-7, 22:20-22. Isaiah 9:6-7 tells us the
government shall be upon the shoulder of the Christ. That is, the Christ is the
ruler of this world and, after His return, shall govern the world from
Jerusalem. Isaiah 22:20-22 repeats that the government shall be upon the
shoulder of the Christ but adds the phrase “the key of David.” Further
clarification is provided by the statement “so he shall open, and none shall
shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” There were two doors in the
temple. The first opened into the Holy Place. The second door opened into the
Holiest of Holies. Christ unlocked and opened both of these doors indicating He
is the way to salvation and therefore to God.
·
This phrase is a direct repetition of Isaiah 20:22 and a
direct link back to the prophets. What Christ does cannot be stopped regardless
of man’s efforts to do so. What Christ stops cannot be restarted regardless of
man’s efforts.
VERSE 08
·
The Christians in Philadelphia are given an opportunity
to make know, publish, the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. This door to make the
Word of God known will stay open as long as God wants it to remain open.
Nothing man does can shut that door of opportunity. Only God can shut that door
when God determines it is time.
·
This message starts out by making it very clear what
God intends will happen and what God does not intend will not happen. This also
lets both the church in Philadelphia, and us, know it is not by our power but
by God’s power our work is accomplished. Although the church seemed to have
little influence or strength they are saved through Christ and God’s hand will
save them. (John 4:22; Romans 1:16; Romans 10:10)
VERSE 09
·
“ Those enemies are described to be such as said they
were Jews, but lied in saying so - pretended to be the only and peculiar people
of God, but were really the synagogue of Satan. Assemblies that worship God in
spirit and in truth are the Israel of God; assemblies that either worship false
gods, or the true God in a false manner, are the synagogues of Satan: though
they may profess to be the only people of God, their profession is a lie.”
{Matthew Henry Commentary} Henry makes an important distinction here between
physical and spiritual Jews. Those born Jewish are not the true Jews, Those
born again through Jesus the Christ are in fact the true Jews, God’s chosen
people. {John 3:1-21}
·
Specific mention is made here of a synagogue of Jews
that appear to be giving the church difficulty. This group claims to be Jews
but are not and are liars. This can be
interpreted that the group really were not Jews but were falsely claiming to be
so. Another interpretation is the group really are Jews by birth but not by
belief. This brings up the question of who is a Jew, a member of the covenant.
Is the covenant a matter of physical circumcision only or a spiritual matter.
Is a true Jew a person who accepts the old covenant or the new covenant through
Christ. (Romans 2:28-29; Col. 2:11)
·
John 3:3-21
provides guidance in this area. Jesus told Nicodemus, a Jew by birth and
circumcised, that a person must be born twice, once physically and once
spiritually. Without the spiritual birth and person cannot see heaven. This
makes it clear that even a Jew by birth and circumcised must be born again. A
true Jew is one who believes in Christ as the Messiah.
VERSE 10
· They
did not complain or try to shortcut God’s plan but waited and endured having
faith that God would do what He said. They did not worry about apparent
circumstances but continued to have faith and believe. Because they were
patient in faith they would be spared the hour of trial. Exactly what this
means is unclear nor does Christ tell us how they would be spared.
VERSE 11
· This
goes back to the previous comment about patience. Keep safe the Word of God in
you. Hold fast to the Gospel you have learned. Have faith in Christ and His
Word and no one can take away your crown, reward. If you hold fast to the Word
Satan and his followers cannot entice or deceive you to leave your first love,
Christ.
VERSE 12 - 13
· Finally, they are told they
will be a pillar in the temple of God. They will be seen as group that holds up
and supports the Church of God. “I will write on them the name of my God
and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out
of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Their
position and faithfulness will be published (written and made known) to all.
(Matt. 24:13; Romans 4:16; 1 Cor. 1:8; Heb 3:14) They will be known to all as
those who belong to God.
·
This goes back to the previous comment about patience.
Keep safe the Word of God in you. Hold fast to the Gospel you have learned.
Have faith in Christ and His Word and no one can take away your crown, reward.
If you hold fast to the Word Satan and his followers cannot entice or deceive
you to leave your first love, Christ.
·
Again a new name. This time it is the name of God as well
as the individual’s new name. God’s name indicates we belong to God. We are His
people. We are also given a new name indicating we are special in God’s eyes.
He names us as a father names his children.
(JAS Comments - End)
To the
Church in Laodicea
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the
words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish
you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are
lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a
thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked. 18 I counsel you to buy
from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to
wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes,
so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I
rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me. 21 To the one who is
victorious, I will give the right to sit with Me on my throne, just as I was
victorious and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 Whoever has
ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
The
Church in Laodicea shows the Spirit of Evangelism
Ezekiel
7:10-11; Eze. 33:6-7; Daniel All; Job 23:10; Psa. 103:12; Isaiah 2:1-22; Isaiah
9:6-7; Isa 21:6, 11; Isaiah 22:20-22; Amos 5:18-20; Zec. 3:3; Matt. 5:48; Matt. 17:3; Matt
25:all; Matt 28:3; Luke 9:62; John 3:1-21; Acts 3:19; 26:20)
The church at Laodicea is seen by many as a church
desperately needing revival. Revival has been defined as calling sinners to
repentance and Christians to action. Laodicea needed both. Matthew 28:19-20 {“19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
NIV} clearly defines our work and responsibility as believers.
VERSE 14
· This
introduction is a bit different than the others. Christ immediately establishes
His position and credentials. This introduction immediately lets the reader
know that Christ will allow no argument with His following remarks. There is no
justification for the Laodicean’s present position, philosophies and actions.
VERSE 15
· Now
Jesus lets the Laodiceans know He is well aware of their attitudes, priorities
and actions. They were lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. Not good for
accomplishing anything. They lived in the gray area we humans seem to love.
VERSE 16
·
Water
was and is very important to those living in arid or semi-arid parts of the
world. Hold water can be used to cook. Cold water is refreshing. Lukewarm water
is good for neither cooking nor refreshing a thirsty person. Taking a mouthful
of lukewarm water when expecting either hot or cold water often results in
spitting it out.
·
Make a decision either for or against. Not making a
decision is making a decision against Christ but not caring. A wrong decision
can be recovered. Paul is a great example. He made a decision against Christ
but Christ used that to turn him around and make a decision for Christ.{Acts
7:58; Acts 9:3-6} Not making a decision is difficult to recover from and change
direction.
VERSE 17
· Because they were
wealthy and comfortable by the world’s standards they thought they were also
spiritually wealthy. They were wrong.
Due to their material wealth they did not see they were spiritually
wretched, blind, naked and poor. Spiritually they were the opposite of what
they were materially. They had laid up treasure on earth and not in heaven.
Worse, they thought because they laid up treasures on earth those same
treasures translated into heavenly treasures. They were blinded by the world
and their possessions to their true condition and were in great danger, by
their own choice, of being left out of God’s family. (Prov. 27:24; Matt 6:24;
Matt. 13:22; Luke 18:22-27; 1 Tim 6:17)
VERSE 18
· Regardless
of their self-delusion and blindness Christ still holds out His hand with
salvation. They can repent of their ways and come back to Christ. They can
rearrange their priorities and put Christ first. This will not be easy.
Christ’s remarks about gold refined in the fire lets them and we know that.
Gold refined in the fire is pure. {Job 23:10} They can become truly rich in the
things of God. They can have white clothes {another symbol of purity Matt.
17:3, 28:3} to wear. Souls washed in the blood of Christ become totally white,
pure. They can clothe themselves with righteousness and perfection through the
love of Christ. Finally they can have the healing power of Christ and the Holy
Spirit so they can see spiritually, truly see.
VERSE 19
· Verse 19 gives us the reason God is upbraiding the
church for their condition, He loves them. God does not want to see the church
leave Him through ignorance of what they were actually doing, their true
spiritual condition or confusion. All of these are the result of Satan’s work
and God is opening their eyes to reality. God holds out his love to those in
the church and offers forgiveness and eternal safety. (Prov. 15:5; Eph. 5:11; 1
Tim. 5:20)
·
Very clearly shows Christ’s love for the wayward church.
He does not want any to be lost. Be clear in your recognition of your sin and
truly repent. {Acts 3:19; 26:20}
VERSE 20
· Anyone!!
All can open the door of their being to Christ. What that person was or did in
the past does not matter {Psa. 103:12} if they truly repent and accept the
salvation of Christ.
VERSE 21
· Once
again we see the use of the phrase “the one.” Is this an individual as in
Chapter 1 or is it anyone who is victorious?
VERSE 21
· Again,
hearing and understanding which comes only through the Holy Spirit. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
4
The
Throne in Heaven
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing
open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet
said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2
At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with
someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the
appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled
the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne
were twenty-four other thrones and seated on them were twenty-four elders.
They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold
on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning,
rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were
blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 01
· John
10:7-9; Rev. 3:8
· John
was summoned. John did not presume to enter the presence of God until he was
summoned.
VERSE
02-03
· John
is very clear that he is in the spirit when he entered God’s presence. He was
not in doubt about what was happening.
· Jasper
is the glory of God, splendor, brightness, magnificence and beauty while ruby
indicates great value, costly glories, wisdom, and prized treasure. It is
Christ on the throne. The glory of God is spoken of many times in the Bible. We
cannot truly understand the awesomeness, breadth, depth and timelessness of
God’s glory. John 11:40 brings us to see and somewhat understand the power of
God and His glory when He raised Lazarus from the dead. Php. 2:10-11; Psa.
24:7-10; 104:31. Proverbs makes it very
clear that wisdom is a key. It comes from the Lord and leads a person to the
Lord. Job 32:7-9; Prov. 9:1 & 10; 15:33; 24:3; 30:3-5; Luke 2:40; 1 Cor.
1:24 & 30. Prov. 3:35 ties together wisdom and glory. “The wise shall
inherit glory…” Those who believe in and accept Christ as their personal savior
shall inherit the glory God has for us. Those who do not accept Christ shall
only inherit eternal shame. They will not inherit the glory God has for us.
· Emerald
denotes the glories of God, fresh, flourishing, essence of life, growth,
integrity, new life, increase and prosperity. All of these come from and are a
part of God. There cannot be life without God, whether that is life on earth or
spiritual life in heaven
· the
rainbow is a sign of God’s promise that He would never again destroy the earth
by water. Gen. 9:11-17
VERSE
04
· They
were pure in their body {actions} and minds {thoughts, etc.}
· The number 24 is one
of many times 24, or two twelves, (12 from the old covenant and 12 from the new
covenant.) appear in the Scriptures and especially in Revelation. As we
study the Scriptures we see 12 princes of the tribes of Israel and the original
12 apostles. (Num. 1:44; Isa. 32:1; Psa. 122:5; Matt. 19:28; 22:30.) Both
groups are told they would reign with Christ in eternity. The Seven Spirits
take us back to the seven churches. We can have an indication of who and what
the Spirits are by looking at what was emphasized in the seven churches. The
one commonality between all of the churches is communication. God communicates
with His creation.
VERSE
05
· These
show the power in the message of God, a message that demands our attention.
· Is the
Menorah a type of this? In this case the candles were blazing not just burning.
Burning means to be on fire. Blazing means to burn brightly and intensely.
These were burning with great intensity indicating their importance and vital
nature for the believer.
· See
the seven churches and the Spirit each had or was missing
· Is the Menorah a type
of the seven lamps? (JAS
Comments - End)
6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of
glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living
creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7
The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third
had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of
the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around,
even under its wings. Day and
night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who
was, and is, and is to come.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 06
· In the
Temple was a very large vessel of brass called a laver or sea. {1 kings 7:23}
This vessel was filled with water and was to be used by the priests for washing
before offering the sacrifice. John sees a sea made of glass and totally clear.
This sea could not be used for washing before a sacrifice. This is because
Christ is the perfect sacrifice and there was/is no longer any need for
washing. We will not need to sacrifice any animals. Christ is the eternal
sacrifice. The sea was clear as crystal. Nothing was/is hidden. Through Christ
all things are revealed.
· The
creatures take us back to Ezekiel, EZE. 1:10. Each creature has a
characteristic that reflects part of the character of God.
· The sea that “looked like a sea of glass” has
captured the interest of many. It is important to note John did not say it was
a sea of glass but rather it “looked like a sea of glass.” We are not told what
is the nature of the substance making up the sea. We are told it shone like a
sea of the purest glass, a sea of crystal glass, absolutely pure and clear,
totally transparent. This sea would shine to the point it would be impossible
to look at directly. God is absolutely pure and His Holiness Purity, Love and
Grace shine forth to the point it is impossible for us to look at directly.
Through Christ we can see the holiness, purity, love and grace of God.
· The living creatures are very similar to those seen
by Ezekiel. Some historians and (I am sad to say) theologians posit that these
beasts came from the deities of the Babylonians. The opposite is the case.
Satan, having been a chief angel of God, saw what was in heaven and has tried
to replicate it on earth. The Babylonians, via their father Satan, have tried
to usurp what is God’s and claim it as theirs.
· Zechariah 6:1,5 provide
a bit more information concerning the “living creatures”.
VERSE
07
· A lion
is seen as a ruler, mighty and powerful. Gen. 49:9-10; Prov. 28:1; 30:30
· The ox
is patient, a servant. The ox does not give up but continues until the task is
done. The ox has great strength. Prov. 14:4
· Gen.
1:26-27; 2:7; Rom.
5:15-19. Man is the only earthly creation made in God’s image.
This does not mean Go has the same physical appearance as do we but we have the
same characteristics as God. We have personality, emotions, intelligence, the
ability to make decisions, etc. The creature with the face of a man may be man
as God created us, not as we have become.
· Is.
40:31; Exodus 19:4. The eagle also shows power but in ancient times was also
considered the symbol of wisdom and rational thinking. Eagles are known by
their ability to fly while seldom using their wings. They ride the thermals.
Another trait of the eagle is the time, patience and effort they give to
teaching their young to fly. All of these are a part of God’s characteristics.
God is wisdom. God loves His creation and take much time to teach us how to
follow His word and depend on the Holy Spirit.
VERSE
08
· The
six wings seem to indicate these are Seraphim. Seraphim are described in Is.
6:1-7; 2:4 The root of "Seraphim" comes either from the Hebrew verb
saraph ('to burn') or the Hebrew noun saraph {a fiery, flying serpent}. As an
aside there is thought that Lucifer, Satan, was originally a Seraphim before he
chose to leave God. (JAS
Comments - End)
9 Whenever the living
creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who
lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before
Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay
their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord
and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and
by Your will they were created and have their being.”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 09-10
·
There is a connection here with all of the creation in
heaven and earth giving praise to God.
·
The four living creature who are and have been in heaven
give praise to God and the 24 elders who had been of the earth and now ar5e in
Heaven join in the praise and worship to God.
·
12 old covenant & 12 new covenant
·
The elders acknowledge God as God and Creator of all and
their crowns truly belong to God who gave the crowns to the elders.
VERSE 11
·
Gen. 1:1; John 1:1 The Seraphim give praise to God and
the 24 elders on the thrones follow. They all recognize God’s glory, power,
holiness and as the creator of everything. The elders place their crowns before
God’s throne recognizing all they have and are belong to God. This is also
because they love God who first loved them.)
·
Php. 2:10-11; Psa. 24:7-10; 104:31; Job 32:7-9; Prov.
9:1, 10; Prov. 15:33; 24:3; 30:3-5; Luke
2:40; 1 Cor. 1:24, 30. Prov. 3:35; Gen. 9:11-17; Num. 1:44; Isa. 32:1; Psa.
122:5; Matt. 19:28; 22:30; 1 kings 7:23; Eze. 1:10; Gen. 49:9-10; Prov. 28:1;
30:30 Prov. 14:4 Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7; Rom.
5:15-19 Is. 6:1-7; 2:4; Is. 40:31;
Exodus 19:4 Is. 6:1-7; 2:4 Gen. 1:1; John 1:1; Ezekiel 7:10-11; Daniel All;
Isaiah 2:1-22; Amos 5:18-20; John 10:7-9; Rev. 3:8 (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
5
The Scroll
and the Lamb
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a
scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
2 And
I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the
seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or
under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and
wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
5
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of
Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its
seven seals.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 01
· The
scroll written on both sides indicate completeness. The seven seals indicate
importance and limited access. They also indicate the Seven Spirits which again
show completeness and what is written is from God.
VERSE
02
· The
term “a mighty angel” points out that this angel was/is a bit different from
the others. Perhaps this angel had more power than others. His question is
proclaimed to all creation within earth and heaven.
VERSE
03
· No one
or nothing in creation could open the scroll. This means any person, creature
or angelic being, including Satan. No one and nothing in creation could reveal
the mysteries of God except God.
VERSE
04
· John
was crushed by the fact the scroll could not be opened. His emotion was so
strong he wept because no one could be found to reveal what was in the scroll.
No one could reveal the mysteries of God.
VERSE
05
· While weeping
in despair one of the elders comes to John and tells him there is one who can
open the scroll. That one is “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” That
is Christ. {Gen. 49:10; Isa. 11:1; Isa. 11:10} Jesus the Christ is the only one
able to open the scroll. Jesus is NOT part of the creation but is a part of
God. Jesus is the Word of God. Only God can open the scroll. (JAS Comments - End)
6 Then I saw a Lamb,
looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne,
encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns
and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on
the throne. 8 And when
He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down
before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they
sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its
seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You
have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will
reign on the earth.”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 06-07
·
John saw Christ. Jesus is the perfect Passover Lamb. John
saw Jesus in the center, or midst, of the throne and clearly saw His wound from
the crucifixion. It is important we recognize Jesus was in the center or midst
of the throne. Jesus was not on the outside looking in as were the elders,
angels, creatures, etc. He was in the midst of the throne with God the Father.
The seven horns and seven eyes tell us Jesus has perfect power {horns} and
perfect knowledge, understanding and wisdom {eyes}.
·
Jesus took {received} the scroll from God. We must take
care that we do in read the word “took” as something snatched or taken by some
force. In this case it means received, was given.
VERSE 08
· Once
Jesus took the scroll the elders and creatures worshipped Him as they did/do
the Father. The harps are instruments of praise. David played the harp {lyre}
to praise God in his psalms. The golden bowls full of incense are the prayers
of the saints. The description of the bowels as gold tells us these prayers are
pure, the saints have been refined in the fire and their prayers and praises
are pure with nothing false at all in them.
VERSE 09-10
· Again
we have a new song being sung by the elders and creatures. The entire church
and creation sing this song. In this case we are given the words of the song.
The words are praises to Christ for being worthy to open the scroll because His
willingness to suffer and die for His creation. This song also makes it very
clear Jesus’ blood purchased salvation for everyone, not just one group or
nation but all of mankind. Finally the song tells us God’s future plans for
those who accept the Salvation of Christ. They will be a nation. They will be
priests to God and will reign on the earth under the government of Christ. This
could be during the thousand years of Christ’s reign on the earth {Rev.
20:6-7}, on the new earth {Rev. 21} or perhaps both. (JAS Comments - End)
11 Then I looked and heard
the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand
times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the
elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb,
who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor
and glory and praise!” 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory
and power, forever and ever!” 14 The four living creatures said,
“Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 11
· Notice
again that all of the angels, living creatures and elders encircled the throne,
they were not in the midst of the throne but were outside the throne,
surrounding it and praising the Lamb, Christ, who was in the midst {part of}
the throne.
VERSE 12
· The
angels recognize Christ as the lamb slain (the Passover lamb) and His power,
strength, glory and praise. The Lamb is worthy to be praised and glorified as
well as to receive power, wisdom and strength because of His love and
willingness to suffer and be slain for our salvation.
VERSE 13
· Now
John sees an amazing thing, every creature in all of God’s creation sings
praises to the Lamb, Christ, for His salvation. All of creation, every
creature, is ecstatic with joy, love, adoration and praises for Jesus’
salvation of mankind.) (Job 7:8; Psalm 40:3; Isaiah 32:1-2; Isaiah 42:10-17;
Gen. 49:10; Isa. 11:1; Isa. 11:10)
VERSE 14
· As the
creation is praising God and Christ the four living creature and the 24 elders
said Amen (agreed with the praise and stating there is no more to be added) and
also fell before the throne and worshipped.
(JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
6
The
Seals
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then
I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2
I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he
was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. 3
When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say,
“Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider
was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other.
To him was given a large sword. 5 When the Lamb opened the third
seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before
me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6
Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying,
“Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s
wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
A note before looking at the seals and
plagues:
· Notice
that many (most) of the plagues God brings on the earth come through nature,
conditions we are familiar with but the degree and extent are far greater than
anything seen previously in history. Once again I take us back to Luke 18:8
“But the Son of Man coming then, will He find faith on the earth?” Those who
chose not to believe in God and Christ will attribute these happenings to
natural occurrences, much as they do now when looking at previous miracles.
Those who do truly believe and have faith in God will recognize these events
for what they are, God’s judgment for sin.
VERSE 01
· Dan
12:4 To seal something indicates the
matter is finished and cannot be changed, It also serves to maintain the
integrity of something so it cannot be disturbed until the appointed time. Dan
6:10-23 is an example of a king throwing Daniel into a lion’s den and then
sealing the den in order that none might save Daniel from the lions. The seal
of man does not bind God and Daniel was alive the next morning. While the seal
of man means very little to God the seal of God means everything to man. What
God has declared and sealed cannot be changed regardless of man’s efforts. The
only one able to open God’s seal is Jesus, the Son of God and part of the
Trinity. Notice also the reoccurrence of the number seven. Again this denotes
perfection and God’s plan is perfect and will be unfolded in seven distinct
parts. This does not imply they happen consecutively, although they may
VERSE 02-03
·
White shows purity and the crown shows kingship. The bow
indicates power and victory. All of these would lead us to believe the rider is
Jesus and He is the Righteous {entirely sinless, pure} King of all who has
conquered Sin and Death, Satan.
·
Christ opens the second seal and the
second horse is instructed to come.
VERSE 04
· Fire
is judgment on sin. Fire is a purifying gent. It removes contaminants {dross}.
Most metals are refined and strengthened in fire. Red often indicates sin and
corruption {although it is also the color of blood}. The rider of the fiery red
horse brought warfare to the earth. Beyond actual warfare the rider took peace
from the earth. People would not be at peace with each other even if they were
not killing each other. Taking away peace involves removing peace of mind,
peach in relationships, peace in families, etc. So this rider takes peace from
the earth and as a result people to kill each other
VERSE 05
·
Black usually signifies affliction, death, plague,
starvation.
·
Prov. 11:1 God’s
scales are just and accurate
VERSE 06
·
Black is Affliction—anguish, moral darkness, sin,
apostasy. The rider was holding scales. Daniel 5:27 provides a possible meaning
for the scales mentioned here. In Daniel the king saw handwriting appear on the
wall and called Daniel to interpret it. The interpretation was God had weighed
the king in God’s balances {scales} and the king was weighed as deficient, not
up to standard. The rider has the balance of God (scale) and the world was
found deficient.
·
Because of the world’s refusal to worship God affliction,
moral darkness and sin would be their lot. Part of the affliction will be
famine throughout the earth. It seems this affliction may not affect those who
worship the one true God and have been saved through Christ. (JAS Comments - End)
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the
fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me
was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close
behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword,
famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
9 When he
opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been
slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10
They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true,
until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11
Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little
longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and
sisters, were killed just as they had been.
12 I watched as He opened
the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like
sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and
the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by
a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up,
and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then
the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and
everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the
mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on
us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath
of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who
can withstand it?”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 07
· Once
again the Lamb opens the seal then the fourth living creature calls the horse
and rider out. Nothing can happen until the Lamb opens the seal and only the
Lamb can open the seal.
VERSE 08
· A pale
horse is the one that brings fear and trembling to the people. {Nahum 2:10
& Joel 2:6}. In Lev. 26:21-25 states if the people do not turn to God then
He will send wild beasts to destroy them as well as the sword, famine, plague,
etc. Death and Hades partnered here. It might be the idea is those who do not
turn to God will take part in the second death, eternal death, and be consigned
to Hell, which their actions showed they wanted.
VERSE 09-10
·
The altar is where offerings are made to God. These are
the souls of those killed for their belief in Christ, they offered all they
had, their lives, to the Lord.
·
This verse presents something we do not often discuss, it
seems to go against our sensibilities. The sould killed for their beliefs are
crying out for God to avenge their deaths and judge the earth. End this thing.
VERSE 11
·
The fifth seal is very different from the previous four.
Here John sees the souls of all those who had been slain because of their
belief in God and in His Son Jesus. It is important to emphasize they were
slain because of the testimony they maintained. Regardless of what was done to
them they maintained their testimony. They persevered in this even though it
meant their death. They were under the altar. The altar in the Temple was where
the sacrifices were made. These souls were willing sacrifices for the Word of
God. There is some question as to whether these were old covenant or new
covenant believers. My thinking is they could very well be both. Pre-Christ
believers believed and followed the Law and the prophets, which is what God had
given them at that time. Post-Christ believers believe in salvation through the
blood the Christ, the Son of God, shed for mankind. In both cases these people
maintained their beliefs and died for them. Their call for the Lord to avenge
their blood may seem a bit harsh but there is a twofold reason for it. First
and foremost is their total commitment to the Lord and second wanting to see
sin and Satan, who caused them to be killed, eternally condemned. The souls
were given white robes indicating their purity through the Word of God. Then
their answer was to wait just a bit longer until Satan’s evil and rebellion
reached its fullness with even more believers slain, then they would be
avenged. Satan, sin and Satan’s followers would be removed and condemned to
hell.
·
God, being completely Holy and just will not condemn
anyone before they have been given full opportunity to repent and accept Jesus
the Christ as the Son of God and Savior.
VERSE 12
·
Is. 29:6
·
Isa. 5:30
·
The events of an earthquake, sun turned black and the
moon turned blood red may well be connected. Earthquakes of give rise to, or
can be caused by volcanoes. Debris from earthquakes and especially debris
clouds from volcanoes can cause the sun to be black and the moon to appear red.
These would seem to be natural, not miraculous, events and would be explained
away as such by the world. These events will happen at the specific time Christ
is returning. There is a chronology that will be missed by the world but not by
true believers. In Luke 18:8 Christ asks “But the Son of Man coming then, will
He find faith on the earth?” Recognizing the signs comes from true belief in
Christ and faith.
VERSE 13
·
Stars usually denote angels. Could this be saying the
rebellious angels fell to earth. They came to earth to deceive man?
VERSE 14
·
A scroll was rolled up at the end of reading it. A scroll
being rolled up denotes the end, the finish
·
Isa. 64:1
VERSE 15
· At
this time there are no artificial hierarchies between peoples, all are equal in
the sight of the Lord. All are equal in their fear of the judgment and their
refusal to accept salvation through Christ.
VERSE 16
· Isa.
2:16; Eze. 33:27
VERSE 17
·
Joel 2:11 & 31; Amos 5:18
·
The seventh seal is opened in Chapter 8 At this point
people finally realize what is happening and try to hide. They see utter and
complete destruction due to their continuing sin and refusal to acknowledge God
and accept Christ. The wages of sin are finally recognized. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
7
144,000
Sealed
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of
the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from
blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw
another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He
called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm
the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the
trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4
Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes
of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah
12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad
12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali
12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of
Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar
12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph
12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 01
· Here
again we have a demonstration of God’s absolute control over the earth and all
thing associated with the earth. God has His angels stop all the winds over all
of the earth. The air would be absolutely still, a stillness very, very seldom
felt anywhere on earth let alone over the entire earth This is a prelude to
what is coming.
VERSE 02-03
· God
sends another angel to take His order for the four angles to harm the earth but
they could not start until God’s seal had been placed on His designated
servants. The second job of the angel was to seal His servants.
VERSE 04
·
This makes it very clear these 144,000 were from the
tribes of Israel. In Eze. 9:1-11 we see God telling the angel to mark those who
mourn due to the idolatry and sin of the world. We also see God telling other
angels to go after the angel doing the marking and kill those without the mark
of God.
·
Exodus 13:16
VERSE 05-08
·
Eze. 9:1-11
·
This is the first set of 144,000 mentioned. This set is
specific to the 12 tribes of Israel. (JAS
Comments - End)
The Great Multitude in
White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude
that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes
and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out
in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to
the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and
around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces
before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Praise and
glory and wisdom. Amen!”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 09
· There
is a false doctrine that states only 144,000 will be saved. Here we see a
multitude of people from all nations and walks of life before the throne of
God. This multitude was dressed in white robes showing purity, washed by the
blood of Jesus the Christ and praising God. This proves the doctrine of only
144,000 being saved is false. This multitude worshipped God and Christ. The
eternally dead (in Hell) do not and cannot worship God.
VERSE 10
· Note that these saved persons praise God and ascribe
their and all salvation to God and His Christ.
VERSE 11-12
· All God’s creation in Heaven responded to the cries of
the saved by worshipping God and saying AMEN, so be it, it is true and there is
nothing more to be added. To God belongs all praise, glory and wisdom. Again,
there is nothing more to be added. (JAS
Comments - End)
13 Then one of the elders
asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” 14
I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “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, “they are before the throne
of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne
will shelter them with His presence. 16 ‘Never again will they
hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor
any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will
be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will
wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 13
· Now
one of the elders (which one is not specified) asks John a question. The
question appears to be aimed at the elder providing the answer, an explanation.
VERSE 14-15
·
This defines who the multitudes are and where they come
from. They have come through the great tribulation. This would seem to indicate
that there were Christians present during the great tribulation. Whether they
were saved before the tribulation started, were saved during the tribulation or
both, we cannot tell.
·
These are given the great honor of directly serving God
and being directly protected by God.
·
The idea of being protected goes beyond our simple
definition of protection but includes all of the creature being protected,
loved, etc.
VERSE 16
· The
concerns man faces on the earth will no longer be a concern to them. Their food
and drink come from Christ. It is spiritual food and drink that truly satisfies
the soul, not just the body.
VERSE 17
· This
underscores the fact this multitude are saved through the Christ. The 144,000
seem to be a special group but I am not sure in what way they are special. It
is not special in-so-far as being saved but there is something special about
them. In addition we see again that Christ is at the center of the throne and,
as in Psalm 23, leads His followers to living water and provides for all of
their needs. The trials, tribulations, persecutions and suffering they went
through for Christ will be wiped away by Christ. The great joy of being with
Jesus and worshipping Him will wipe away the tears of the past. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
8
The
Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven
for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand
before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel,
who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense
to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of
the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of
God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the
angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the
earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an
earthquake.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 01
· Christ,
the Lamb, opens the seventh and last seal and silence ensues for about half an
hour. This begins the work of the seven angels and their seven trumpets.
VERSE
02 - 05
· Takes
us back to the seven spirits standing before God’s throne {Revelation 1:4-11}.
Each of these seven spirits, angels, were was responsible for one of the seven
churches named in the Rev. 1:4-11. In the Scriptures the trumpet denoted a
clear call to the people. { Ex
19:13; Lev 25:9; Psalms 47:5, Matt 24:31; 1 Cor. 14:8} It is interesting that the censer, filled
with the prayers of God’s people, caused thunder, rumblings,
lightning and earthquakes. These came before the angels sounded their trumpets.
This a wakeup call to the world before the seven angels sounded their trumpets
and usher in the plagues? (JAS Comments - End)
The
Trumpets
6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to
sound them. 7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there
came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A
third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all
the green grass was burned up. 8 The second angel sounded his
trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the
sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living
creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a
torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11
the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many
people died from the waters that had become bitter. 12 The fourth
angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of
the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A
third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. 13
As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud
voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet
blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 06
· Again
seven. This time with trumpets to issue a clear call that the normal routines
have been usurped. A call to mankind that God has decided the time has come to
punish sin and restore creation back to what He intended.
VERSE 07
·
Here we see a repetition of thirds. A third of the earth
and trees were destroyed by fire. It is important to note all of the green
grass was destroyed. Grass is the staple food of many of the herbivores. Grass
grows from the bottom up which means regardless of how much is eaten as long as
the root is not destroyed the grass will grow and continue to feed the animals.
Here we see that continuous food source is destroyed. This would result in the
grazing animals dying, then the predators. It would also result in great
starvation among people.
·
Hail and fire are both instruments of judgment and
cleansing. We are familiar with fire as a refining and cleansing agent. We use
fire to refine gold and other minerals. Fire also cleanses and prepares the
earth for new growth. As fire removes dross from gold so fire removes dead and
dying plant life from the earth.
·
The blood would seem to represent the blood of the
righteous being returned upon those who killed them.
·
Could God be providing the cleansing and the reason for
the cleansing? The fire and hail is not arbitrary but has a reason behind it.
The unrighteous are receiving what they asked for….blood and death.
VERSE 08-09
·
Here we have another third. In this case a third of the
sea was turned into blood (See Exodus and the Nile turning into blood). In
addition, a third of the living creatures in the seas and a third of the ships
on the seas were destroyed.
·
This was the result of something like a mountain being
thrown into the sea. Remembering that when this was written the writer did not
have the vocabulary we have today. He could describe what he saw but did not
have a word for it. Is it possible he could be describing a meteor or asteroid
hitting the Earth?
·
God always uses what is created to accomplish His will
and work. Many of the scientists posit that a meteor or asteroid hitting the
ocean would make much of the water uninhabitable and would cause great
destruction. People ignore God and blame the occurrence on natural phenomenon
and not on God’s work. (Just a personal thought.)
VERSE 10-11
·
Once again a third.
·
Looking at the comments on verses 8-9 we can see the same
thing occurring. Scientists have stated that, if a large meteor or asteroid
fell on the earth much of the fresh water would be poisoned. This would result
in people who drink the water being poisoned and dying.
·
Water is essential to life, Christ said he was the Living
Water. Those who do not accept Christ but rather turn to the things of the
world (controlled by Satan) are drinking poisoned water. They die spiritually.
Here we again have God giving people in the natural what they ask for in the
spiritual, deathly water, not the living water from Christ.
VERSE 12
·
Another third.
·
Here we have a third of the sun, moon and stars becoming
dark. A third of the day and the night was dark. We are not used to total
darkness at night. There is always some light from the stars. Here we have a
third of the night as well as the day turning very, very dark.
·
Again turning to recent science and events we can see a
similitude of this event. During recent volcanic eruptions the sun, the moon
and the stars have been darkened by volcanic ash. These were minor occurrences
compared to what is possible. Science has told us a massive eruption could
cause a widespread blackout as killing of the flora and fauna, including
people.
·
I am not saying this is how God will do what He does but,
again, if we look to Exodus we see God uses that which is created to punish
non-believers and to bring people back to Him.
VERSE 13
·
Eagles are a sign of power and vision. Here the eagle is
warning the people that what is to come is worse than what has happened.
·
The use of three woes indicates the importance and
gravity of what is to come. It also serves to call people to repentance.
Although this is not specifically stated, a warning is always a call to repent
before the woes strike. (JAS
Comments - End)
Revelation 9
1 The fifth angel sounded
his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The
star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened
the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun
and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the
smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of
scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of
the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal
of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture
them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of
a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek
death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE
01
· Could this be
referring to Satan? Luke 10:18
VERSE
02
· Here there is a
repetition of the sun and sky being darkened. The light was cut off and the people
are without physical light. This mirrors how people chose to live, without the
light of God’s Word, His Son.
VERSE
03
· Exodus 10:14; Joel
2:1-11
VERSE
04
· Implies there were
people who were there that had the Seal of God.
· That these are not normal locusts is shown by the fact they
are told NOT to harm the grass, plants, trees, etc. but only those who did not
have the seal of God. Locusts are known for eating every plant, tree, grass
they can find. These were special and prepared for this time.
· VERSE
05
o
Scorpions were and
are greatly feared. Not all scorpions kill with their sting but they cause
great pain to the point people stung often wish they were dead. While this
torture may seem excessive it is what those being tortured asked for by denying
God. The state of their souls are having physical results.
· VERSE
06
o
Locusts are a
swarming insect that destroys everything in their path. Locusts were one of the
plagues that struck Egypt at the time of the exodus. The locusts destroyed all
the grain in Egypt, except that belonging to the Israelites. Theologians and
historians have stated the Israelite grain was not destroyed because they lived
in the land of Goshen. The problem with this thinking is there were Egyptians
living in that same area and their grains were destroyed. The Israelites were
chosen by and protected by God. They were a lesson for those at the end who
will be chosen and protected by God. In this case the locusts were even more
destructive and dangerous than those in Egypt, and other countries after
that. These had the power inflict great
pain and torture for five months. This is far beyond the power to destroy the
grain {food supplies}. My thought is part of that torture is knowing the
torture has come because the individuals rejected God and His Christ. Before we
think God is too harsh we must remember all of these plagues, etc. are there to
wake people up and have them turn to Him. Most will not and will instead blame
and curse God for the plague.) (JAS Comments - End)
7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their
heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human
faces. 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like
lions’ teeth. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and
the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots
rushing into battle. 10 They had tails with stingers, like
scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.
11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in
Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 07-10
· See Joel 1:4
VERSE
11
· Verse 11 makes it very
clear these creatures are led by the destroyer, the enemy, Satan (JAS Comments - End)
12 The first woe is past;
two other woes are yet to come. 13 The sixth angel sounded
his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar
that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the
trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15
And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and
month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The
number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard
their number.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 12 -14
·
Here we have another set of three. There are a total of
three woes.
·
The three woes
seem to be a subset of the seven angels with the seven trumpets. These three
are part of what the sixth angel brings.
·
The voice from the altar that is before God must be God,
perhaps Christ. It is the voice of authority who tells the sixth angel to
release four angels prepared for and held for this particular time and work.
·
The work of the four angels was to kill one third of
mankind. This was done through mounted troops numbering 100,000,000.
·
Thirds seem to be at work again here. We are told
one-third of the angels fell, were cast out of Heaven, and here one-third of
mankind will be killed. (JAS Comments - End)
17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this:
Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads
of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire,
smoke and sulfur. 18 A third of mankind was killed by the three
plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19
The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails
were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. 20
The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent
of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of
gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21
Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality
or their thefts.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 17-19
· See Joel and Nahum.
· This
one third is a repeated theme in Revelation and, again, appears to take us to
the rebellion against God where one-third of the angels followed Satan,
rebelled against God and were thrown out of Heaven and God’s presence.
· The
lack of repentance even after God’s fury and correction are made very clear and
tells us why the plagues, etc.,
continue.
· Perhaps
people will not see the hand of God but rather will blame all that is happening
to natural catastrophes. Their eyes will be blinded.(JAS
Comments - End)
Revelation
10
The
Angel and the Little Scroll
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was
robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and
his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll,
which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left
foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a
lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And
when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from
heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it
down.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 01-04
· After
people choose not to repent of their sins and turn to God there are more
messengers and warnings. In this case we are not told the messages and what
they portend for people.
· There
are seven thunders that speak. Again the number of perfection, seven. John is
told not to write down what they said. This is unusual for Revelation. God is
keeping something hidden on God and John know. Could this be used as a
verification of God’s work and John’s position at the appropriate time and
place?
· The
next verse indicates the finality that is about to happen. (JAS
Comments - End)
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land
raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by Him who lives
forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth
and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will
be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about
to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He
announced to His servants the prophets.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 05-07
· The
angel swears by Christ, the Son of God, who created everything, that all that
was written and prophesied will be accomplished.
· Since
Jesus is the Son of God, part of God, there is nothing greater the angel could
swear by.
· The
Bible tells us not to swear an oath since we cannot change God or His plan but
in this case the angel is simply swearing by the Lord that His will shall be
done. (JAS Comments - End)
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once
more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is
standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and
asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It
will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’”
10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It
tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach
turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many
peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 08-11
· Many
times people read the Word of God and it is sweet. We hear the words of
salvation and know the Lord is speaking to us through His written Word. Once
the initial euphoria is gone we come face to face with the responsibility that
comes with the Word. This includes the responsibility to be committed to Him in
every part of our lives. The responsibility to love, completely and without
thought of reward. It includes the responsibility to put His Love and our faith
into action, to work for Him because we love Him.
·
John’s eating the scroll shows how sweet is the God’s
Word but also how unsettling it can be when confronted with the responsibility
that comes with true love for God and God’s creation. John had work to do. He
was to tell people what was going to happen to them and their children into the
distant future. This did not make him a popular fellow. If we truly follow
God’s Word and our individual calling we also may not be very popular. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
11
The Two
Witnesses
1 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and
measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But
exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the
Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.
3 And
I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two
olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand
before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire
comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants
to harm them must die. 6 They
have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they
are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood
and to strike the earth with every kind of
plague as often as they want.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 02
· 3.5
years is 42 months.
VERSE
03
· 3.5
years is 1260 days.
· The two witnesses will prophesy for 3.5 years. They will be
dressed in such a way everyone will know they are in mourning,
· Their message will match their attire and be one of mourning
for the world and warning the world what is coming.
VERSE
04
· Zech
4:1-14
· Romans
11:17-23
· The
two olive trees represent Jew and Gentile. The same with the two lampstands.
· Olive
oil is what was burned in the lamps to give light. The Holy Spirit works thru
the two witnesses to give the light of God’s Word to the world.
VERSE
05
· This verse is a mystery to me. Is this
literal fire?
VERSE
06
· See
Elijah & Luke 4:25
· See
Moses in Egypt
· It has
been said the two witnesses are the Old and New Testaments. Given the context
of the verse this does not seem likely. The two witnesses are given power to
stop the rain, turn waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind
of plague as often as they want. This would seem to be specific to men sent by
God, living, breathing men.
· To
understand this section we must look at what was happening at the time Elijah
stopped the rain (1 Kings 17:1-17) as well as the plagues in Israel. Each
plague was specific to a particular Egyptian pagan deity.
· (Exodus
4-12) (JAS Comments - End)
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that
comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8
Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is
figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified.
9 For
three and a half days some from every
people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them
burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and
will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had
tormented those who live on the earth.
11 But after the three and
a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their
feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a
loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to
heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. 13 At that very
hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven
thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified
and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe has passed;
the third woe is coming soon.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 07
·
Their death comes only after their work is completed.
Satan has no power to stop their testimony until they have completed their
work.
VERSE 08
·
Jerusalem. The Lord was crucified in Jerusalem.
·
The city is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt because
their people were enslaved (Egypt) to and by sin (Sodom).
VERSE 09-10
·
Again, 3.5
·
Their bodies are kept on display where they were killed.
The world leadership does this is to give the people who are not Christians a
chance to gloat and disparage the testimony of the two witnesses. Again, the
world leadership is not in control, God has His plan and is working it out by
using the decisions of the world leader. This is very similar to what happened
with the Christ. The Jewish leaders made decisions based on their agendas and
what they thought was good for them and the nation. Their decisions (generated
by Satan) backfired on them.
·
The giving of gifts because of the death of the witnesses
shows how far from the Truth and God’s Word the people of the earth had gone.
Instead of hearing the message and taking heed to the signs the witnesses
performed the people were just thrilled to get rid of those they considered to
be the source of their problem. This is similar to Elijah and Ahab. Ahab saw
Elijah as the source of the problems in Israel. Ahab did not recognize he was
the problem, his turning away from God, his sin, his rebellion. His leading the
people of Israel astray. (1 Kings 16-22)
VERSE 11-13
·
Again, 3.5
·
What happens to the two witnesses is similar in a number
of ways to the work of the Christ. Jesus was crucified after 3.5 years of
ministry. The two witnesses were not killed until after 3.5 days. Jesus
completed His work and then Satan could have Him crucified. The work of Satan
(having Jesus killed) could not happen until Jesus allowed it to happen. The
two witnesses could not happen until their work was completed and the Lord
allowed them to be killed. Jesus was resurrected after 3 nights and 3 days. The
two witnesses were given life again after 3.5 days. After His resurrection (40
days after) Jesus was taken into heaven in a cloud. (Moses was in the mountain
40 days, Christ was tempted 40 days and Christ was seen on earth for 40 days
after His resurrection.) After the resurrection (immediately after) of the two
witnesses they were taken into heaven in a cloud.
·
Immediately after the witnesses were received into Heaven
there was an earthquake in the city. In this earthquake seven thousand people
were killed. There is no doubt that the earthquake was tied to the killing and
resurrection of the two witnesses. The earthquake made a great impression on
many of the survivors who gave glory to God. This does not say they became
Christians or believers. It does show they recognized God as the only true God.
·
If we go to James 2:19 (“You believe that there is one God; you do
well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” KJV) we can plainly see
believing there is one God and that God does exist is not enough to save a
person. As James points out the fallen angels know for a surety God exists, God
is real, God created and controls everything but that knowledge does not save.
It is too late for the fallen angels but not for humans. We can still be saved
through the blood of the Christ.
VERSE 14
· After
all that has happened the in the world’s judgment, there is a third woe to
come. (JAS Comments - End)
The
Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were
loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever.” 16
And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell
on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give thanks to you,
Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your
great power and have begun to reign. 18 The nations were angry, and
Your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding
Your servants the prophets and Your people who revere Your name, both great and
small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” 19 Then God’s
temple in heaven was opened, and within His temple was seen the ark of His
covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an
earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 15-19
· Now
starts the third woe.
· Notice
that many (most) of the plagues God brings on the earth appear to come through
nature, conditions we are familiar with, but the degree and extent are far
greater than anything seen in history. The two witnesses are certainly an
exception and they were given power similar to that of Elijah and Elisha. Once
again I take us back to Luke 18:8 “But the Son of Man coming then, will He find
faith on the earth? ”Those who chose not to believe in God and Christ will
attribute these happenings to natural occurrences, much as they do now when
looking at God’s works. Those who do truly believe and have faith in God will
recognize these events for what they are, God’s judgment for sin.)
·
I wonder who will have the ears to hear the voice. John
12:28-30 (Father,
glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified
it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd that stood there and heard it
said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to
him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
KJV) tells us not all hear the voice of God when He speaks. As with the
attitude that miracles are only natural happening many will say the voice of
God is only thunder or another “natural” occurrence.
·
The Ark of the Covenant has been missing for millennia.
It is now revealed in Heaven. The Ark being shown now indicates God is living
up to His end of the Covenant even those humans have not. (JAS
Comments - End)
Revelation 12
The
Woman and the Dragon
1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2
She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads
and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a
third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood
in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her
child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male
child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was
snatched up to God and to his throne.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 01 - 02
· Is the woman the Church of God?
· “….clothed with the Sun” could that
indicate Christ? The Church of God put on Christ, has their being in Christ and
appears like Christ.
· “…crown of twelve stars on her head.”
Could this be the 12 leaders of the tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles. The
revelation of God’s Word, Christ, comes through these men thus the crown on the
head, the place where knowledge is stored.
VERSE
03
· The
dragon is Satan. See verse 8
· Could the
seven heads and seven crowns indicate false knowledge and a counterfeit of the
seven spirits of God?
· We can go to the
previous comments re. Seraphim to understand the “dragon” in this passage. Satan was a Seraphim. In this
case Satan (the dragon) looked like the real thing, seduced and deluded
one-third of the angels.
VERSE
04
· Satan
led a third of the angels astray to rebel against God. The angels lost their
place in Heaven and were cast out with Satan (Luke 10:18).
VERSE
05
·
Jesus the Christ. Satan was waiting to
kill Jesus when He was born.
·
When Satan finally managed to kill
Jesus (or so he thought) Jesus was taken back to the throne of God after His
resurrection. (JAS
Comments - End)
6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her
by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong
enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was
hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the
whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 06
· Again 3.5 years
VERSE 07 – 08
·
Satan
evidently thought he could fight against God and win. He was wrong.
·
God’s
angels fought against Satan and won. Satan could not defeat God’s heavenly
creation nor, because of Christ, can Satan defeat God’s earthly creation.
·
Once
again we can go to the previous comments re. Seraphim to understand the
“dragon” in this passage. The dragon refers to Satan who was a Seraphim before
his fall.
·
See
Luke 10:18
·
As
Satan was defeated in heaven so he shall be defeated on Earth.
VERSE 09
· See Luke 10:18
(JAS Comments - End)
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the
salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his
Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before
our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over
him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not
love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore
rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the
sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he
knows that his time is short.”
13 When the dragon saw that
he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to
the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great
eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness,
where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the
serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water
like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16
But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river
that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was
enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her
offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about
Jesus.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 10 - 11
·
The time for the authority of the Messiah and the power
and kingdom of God to happen.
·
Satan loses his privilege of accusing believers before
God for their shortcomings.
·
It is important to note that the human
believers triumphed over Satan but only by the blood of Christ.
·
In verse 8 above Satan was defeated by
the angels. Here Satan is defeated again by the believers in Christ through the
blood of Christ.
·
It is also very important to note they
triumphed over Satan ONLY through the blood of Christ, not through their own
efforts.
VERSE 12
·
The rejoicing is twofold.
o
1) Salvation and God’s power and kingdom have come.
o
2) Satan is hurled to the Earth and is out of Heaven.
VERSE 13
·
Is the woman is the Church of God, the Bride of Christ.
·
Mary gave birth to Jesus but after the resurrection of
Christ the Church of God became the Bride of Christ.
VERSE14
·
We are not told how the Church of God will be taken to
the hiding place. In Exodus 19:4 God says He brought Israel out of Egypt on the
wings of an eagle. The walked behind Moses for forty years. Because of this and
other verses I am very reluctant to say how God will bring His people to the
hiding place.
·
3.5 years
VERSE 16
·
Quite often waters denotes peoples. There seems to be two
groups here. One group is the woman and the other is the rest of her offspring.
There is a mystery here.
VERSE 17
·
There seems to be two groups here. One group is the woman
and the other is the rest of her offspring. There is a mystery here.
·
Where we are now in history. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
13
The
Beast out of the Sea
1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast
coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its
horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw
resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of
a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound,
but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and
followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had
given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who
is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
5 The beast was given a
mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for
forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and
to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7
It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them.
And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not
been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the
creation of the world. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear. 10
“If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is
to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls
for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 01
·
The dragon, Satan,
was not the beast but the beast serves Satan. The ten horns could be a
counterfeit of the five gifts of ministry for the two nations, Israel and
Gentile. The seven heads could be a visual counterfeit of the Seven Spirits of
God. The ten crowns could be both a counterfeit sign of kingship and a
counterfeit sign of knowledge and wisdom.
·
The beast is a
person.
VERSE 02-03
The
power, position and authority of the beast comes directly from Satan.
VERSE 04
·
People worship Satan
and his representative. People may not think they are worshipping Satan but
worshipping the things of Satan they are worshipping Satan. In this case there
seems to be a specific representative of Satan. A representative Satan put in
place and the people worshipped both Satan and Satan’s representative. People looked at appearances and Satan and
the beast appear to be all powerful. They are not.
VERSE 05-06
· 3.5
years the beast boasted of itself and blasphemed God and slandered His name.
This is not a hidden blaspheme and slander. This is in the open and much of the
world will not resist. They also slandered God’s dwelling place, Israel and
Jerusalem, and God’s angels and the believers who are in Heaven. The time of
the beast’s ability to do this was limited.
VERSE 07
·
The beast was given power over the entire earth and to
wage war on God’s people and to conquer God’s for a time. This is confusing.
Why would the beast be allowed to conquer God’s people? Could it be to separate
the true from the false believers?
VERSE 08
· Implies
there are those present who will have their names in the Book of Life. (JAS Comments - End)
VERSE 9-10
·
God’s people may not understand all that
is happening but must continue to have faith and persevere.
·
God’s people are to persevere to the
end. Appearances must not keep the believer from believing.
(JAS
Comments - End)
The
Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two
horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised
all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its
inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13
And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the
earth in full view of the people.
14 Because of the signs it
was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the
inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the
beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second
beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that
the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be
killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and
poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their
foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the
mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18
This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of
the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 11
·
Looks like the Lamb [Christ] but is not. The beast’s
words give it away. They are not in accordance with the Word of God.
·
Again, a person.
VERSE
12-13
·
VERSE
14-15
·
The second beast deceived the people by the apparent
miracles it performed.
·
This goes back to Matthew 12:38-42 and Mark 8:11-12. In
these cases (and many others) people kept looking for a sign and Jesus kept
pointing them to the prophets and the Word of God.
·
By emphasizing signs instead of the Word of God the
people were setting themselves up to be deceived.
VERSE
16-18
· The
beast forced everyone to receive a mark showing they belonged to
the beast, Social position, connections, insolvency, hardship, etc.
religious conviction mean nothing. No mark, no food, shelter, clothes, job,
etc. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation 14
The
Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and there
before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had
his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I
heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal
of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living
creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who
had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not
defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb
wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as first
fruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they
are blameless.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 01
·
Christ is on Mount Zion, the Holy
Mountain of God.
·
With Christ were 144,000 with both the
name of Christ and the name of God written on their foreheads.
·
The name written on their foreheads
indicates they clearly followed and belonged to God. They did not hide the fact
they were totally God’s but wore God’s name where EVERYONE could see them and
their actions and know they were God’s.
·
It also indicates their thinking,
philosophy, paradigms and complete being/actions were God-led and belong to
God.
·
Based on description this 144,000
appears to be a group separate from the other 144,000 mentioned.
VERSE
02
·
VERSE 03
·
Isaiah 42:10-13
·
The new song was sung before the
throne, the four living creatures and the 24 elders.
·
This and the fact only the 144,000
could learn the song indicates something special about the group.
VERSE 04 - 05
· The
question here is: What is meant by the term “…who did not defile themselves
with women.”? Is this speaking about physical or spiritual defilement? Is God
talking about not having sex with any woman, a woman other than a man’s wife or
is it spiritual. That is, having relations with churches other than the Church
of God, the Bride of Christ. Since no indication of gender is provided I tend
to think it is spiritual defilement. These were true to God and do not run
after false beliefs. They do not lie, they do not claim one thing and do
another. Their words were true and without dissimilation. They always stand for
and with Christ. They are blameless in the sight of God. (JAS Comments - End)
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the
eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation,
tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and
give Him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship Him who made
the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” 8 A
second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which
made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If
anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead
or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury,
which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath. They will be
tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the
Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever.
There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its
image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of
God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. 13 Then I
heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor,
for their deeds will follow them.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE
06-07
VERSE
08
VERSE
09-11
VERSE 12-13
· Again,
it appears some believers in Christ are still alive and will be killed (There
seems to
be a timeline here. First we have the
emphasis on the 3.5 years and 3.5 days (the two witnesses
are one example and then a second period of
3.5.} If we go back to the church of
Philadelphia {Rev. 3:10} we see they are told
those who “kept the Word of My patience, I
also will keep you out of the hour of trial
which is going to come on all the habitable world
in order to try those dwelling on the earth.”
As we have seen there are a number of verses
that show two 3.5 year periods. We have also seen that there will be
those with the Mark of
God during at least part of the seven years.
It would seem that there will be believers
alive through the first 3.5 years {the time
of tribulation} but not the second
3.5 years {indignation}. This view makes
sense of the various scriptures that talk about
Christ finding faith when He returns as well
as taking believers to a hiding place. (JAS
Comments - End)
Harvesting the Earth and
Trampling the Winepress
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on
the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a
sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the
temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take
your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the
earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his
sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had
a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire,
came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle,
“Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s
vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on
the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s
wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and
blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a
distance of 1,600 stadia.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 14- 20
(JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
15
Seven
Angels With Seven Plagues
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels
with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. 2
And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing
beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and
over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and
sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are
your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the
nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your
name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for
your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is,
the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the
temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in
clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7
Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden
bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power,
and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels
were completed.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 01-04
VERSE 05-08
Revelation
16
The
Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven
angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering
sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its
image.
3 The
second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that
of a dead person, and every living
thing in the sea died. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the
rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard
the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy
One, you who are and who were; 6 for they have shed the blood of
your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as
they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true
and just are your judgments.” 8
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to
scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and
they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they
refused to repent and glorify Him. 10 The fifth angel poured out his
bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.
People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven
because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they
had done.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river
Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the
East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs;
they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out
of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that
perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them
for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “Look, I come like a thief Blessed is the one who stays awake
and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” 16
Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called
Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of
the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18
Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe
earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on
earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into
three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon
the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath. 20
Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From
the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people.
And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so
terrible.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 01
VERSE 02
· Implies
there were those who did not take the mark. Believers?
VERSE 03
·
Different than from a live person?
·
VERSE
04-06
VERSE 07-11
·
Indicates they still had the opportunity to repent.
·
VERSE
12-14
VERSE 15-16
· Matt.
24:43; Luke 12:39; 1 Thess. 5:2-4; 2 Peter 3:10
(JAS Comments - End)
VERSE 17-21
Revelation
17
Babylon,
the Prostitute on the Beast
1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said
to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits
by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed
adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of
her adulteries.” 3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into
a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered
with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The
woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable
things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her
forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy
people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was
greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you
astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she
rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which
you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to
its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written
in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they
see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven
hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the
other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little
while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king.
He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 12 “The ten
horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for
one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13
They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14
They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them
because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called,
chosen and faithful followers.”
15 Then the angel said to
me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes,
nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will
hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will
eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into
their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast
their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman
you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 01-05
VERSE 06-08
VERSE
09-14
· What
city sits on seven hills? Rome.
VERSE 15-18
(JAS
Comments - End)
Revelation
18
Lament
Over Fallen Babylon
1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had
great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2
With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has
become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for
every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. 3
For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings
of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew
rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Warning
to Escape Babylon’s Judgment
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her,
My people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not
receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes. 6 Give back to her as she has
given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion
from her own cup. 7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory
and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as
queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ 8 Therefore in one day
her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed
by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
Threefold
Woe Over Babylon’s Fall
9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her
and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn
over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and
cry: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour
your doom has come!’ 11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and
mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— 12 cargoes
of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and
scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of
ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon
and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine
flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold
as slaves.
14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All
your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15
The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand
far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and
cry out: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and
scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 17 In
one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and
all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the
sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning,
they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’
19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and
mourning cry out: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the
sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ 20
“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles
and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 19-20
· Psalm
63:9-11 (JAS Comments - End)
The
Finality of Babylon’s Doom
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large
millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great
city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 22 The
music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in
you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of
a millstone will never be heard in you again. 23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be
heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your
magic spell all the nations were led astray. 24 In her was found the
blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on
the earth.”
Revelation
19
Threefold
Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great
multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong
to our God, 2 for true and just are His judgments. He has condemned
the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged
on her the blood of His servants.” 3 And again they shouted:
“Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 The
twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,
who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all
you His servants, you who fear Him, both great and small!” 6 Then I
heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and
like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty
reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the
wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. 8
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen is the
righteousness of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who
are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the
true words of God.” 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him.
But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your
brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is
the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
The
Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white
horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and
wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are
many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He himself. 13
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.
14 The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses
and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his
mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule
them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of
God Almighty. 16 On His robe and on His thigh He has this name
written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a
loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the
great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings,
generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all
people, free and slave, great and small.”
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 18
· Eze.
39:4, 17-20 (JAS
Comments - End)
19 Then I saw the beast and
the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against
the rider on the horse and His army. 20 But the beast was captured,
and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With
these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and
worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of
the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on
their flesh.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 21
· Eze.
39:4, 17-19; Psalm 63:9-11 (JAS
Comments - End)
Revelation
20
The
Thousand Years
1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to
the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the
dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a
thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed
it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand
years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which
were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because
of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not
received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and
reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did
not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first
resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first
resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests
of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 04
·
This would seem to indicate there are Christians alive
during the tribulation and perhaps some became Christian during the indignation.
VERSE 06
·
Psalm 63:9-11 (JAS
Comments - End)
The Judgment of Satan
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from
his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four
corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number
they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the
breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city He
loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the
devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the
beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and
night forever and ever.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 09
· The
“city that God loves is Jerusalem. (JAS
Comments - End)
The
Judgment of the Dead
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it.
The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for
them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of
life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the
books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and
Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according
to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose
name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of
fire.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 13
The one thing a person must have
done was accept Jesus as Savior. If that did not happen no other good works
matter. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
21
A New
Heaven and a New Earth
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I
heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now
among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God
Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every
tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or
pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything
new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and
true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from
the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will
inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually
immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will
be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
The New
Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the
seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the
wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a
mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its
brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as
crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with
twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve
tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on
the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of
the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb.
(JAS Comments –
Start)
VERSE 12-13
· We
enter in through the 12 gates and our beliefs are built on the foundation.
Israel is the entry, the beginning. The doctrine of Christ given through the 12
Apostles is our foundation for belief and life.
VERSE 14
· Note,
12 for old covenant and 12 for new covenant.
(JAS Comments - End)
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to
measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out
like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and
found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17
The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits
thick. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as
pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated
with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second
sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx,
the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the
tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The
great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the
sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the
Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the
kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day
will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26
The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27
Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or
deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE 16
·
Approx. 1000 miles
VERSE 17
·
Approx. 216 feet
VERSE 20
·
Compare this to the gem stones on the vestments of the
High Priest.
VERSE 12-14
·
The Word of
God came through the 12 tribes of Israel therefore they are the gates.
·
The knowledge
of who Jesus is, the Christ, the Word of God is built on the foundation of the
teaching of the Apostles.
VERSE 23
·
The Light is God shining through Christ. (JAS Comments - End)
Revelation
22
Eden
Restored
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as
clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2
down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river
stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every
month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in
the city, and His servants will serve Him. 4 They will see His face,
and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more
night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the
Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.
John
and the Angel
6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true.
The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent His angel to show His
servants the things that must soon take place.” 7 “Look, I am coming
soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this
scroll.” 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And
when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel
who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do
that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all
who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” 10 Then he told me, “Do not seal
up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. 11
Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue
to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy
person continue to be holy.”
Epilogue:
Invitation and Warning
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give
to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the
tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside
are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the
murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My
angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the
offspring of David, and the Bright Morning Star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say,
“Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come;
and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. 18
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone
adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in
this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of
prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and
in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. 20 He who
testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord
Jesus.
(JAS
Comments – Start)
VERSE
20
It
occurs to me that many are taking from and/or adding to Revelation. Often this
may be in an attempt to interpret the book or denigrate the book.)
(JAS Comments - End)
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be
with God’s people. Amen
References:
http://versebyversecommentary.com/revelation/revelation-41/
Matthew Henry’s
Commentary on the Whole Bible
http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/jamieson-fausset-brown/revelation/
Christian Fruit, Jewish Roots
John Garr PhD. ThD.
Full Life Study Bible NIV
eSword.com
Tony comments:
- We must remember we cannot
look at these things from only our understanding and perspective. What
seems to be unusual or uncomfortable would not be in God’s plan and
design.
- We cannot judge time by our
measure but must use God’s measure (as best we can). We say the early
church was wrong in saying they were in the last days. If we look at time
from our perspective and not God’s we may well make that error. If we use
Peter’s comment that one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day (2Pe 3:8) as a minimum staring point then just a
bit over 2 days have passed since Christ returned to the Father. This
is only a minimal starting point but it does put the differences in
perspective..
Pre, Mid, or Post
Tribulation
Then
the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand
to heaven. 6 And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who
created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it,
and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7
But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the
mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the
prophets.” Revelation 10:5-7
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels
with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.
Revelation 15:1
