Chapter 1

First of all, we shall consider the five words, which begin this prophecy. They are, "The apocalypse of Jesus Christ." The word, "apocalypse," is at this point translated, "revelation." In Romans 8:19 "the apocalypse of the sons of GOD," the word is translated, "manifestation." In I Cor. 1:7, for "the apocalypse of our Lord Jesus Christ," we have the rendering, "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." In II Thessalonians 1:7, "in the apocalypse of the Lord Jesus," is translated, "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed." I Peter 1:7, "in the apocalypse of Jesus Christ," is rendered, "at the appearing of Jesus Christ," while the identical Greek wording in I peter 1:13 is translated, 'AT THE REVELATION OF Jesus Christ." Let us look at one more example: I Peter 4:13, "and in the apocalypse of His glory," translated, "and when His glory shall be revealed." In all the foregoing examples, the first rendering is the literal translation of the phrase, with the word, "apocalypse," retained instead of the more commonly used word, "revelation." The next translation, in each case, is from our King James Version of the Holy Bible. This seems sufficient to establish the fact, that the "apocalypse," or, "revelation," of Jesus the Christ is principally "His manifestation," "His appearing," "His coming," or, as in II Thess. 1:7-8, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from haven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not GOD, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."

This revelation, or appearing, "which GOD gave unto Him," is that, which was "given," or "appointed," unto Him of the Father. As our Lord was talking to His disciples, He told them a few things about His return. But, He explicitly told them, (Matt. 24:36) 'but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.’" Again (Mark 13:32 ) "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Certainly, no one, who believes in the Divinity of the Christ and the Trinity of the Godhead, would doubt that, as GOD, He knew all things. Nevertheless, in His office as the Son of man, and in His role as the sacrificial Lamb of GOD, Who was to "become sin for us," He laid no claim to such knowledge. Because His work was not completed, and therefore He could not yet reclaim His royal robe and crown. Although from eternity He is "Saviour," "King," "Judge," "Counselor," "Christ," and "Lord," as well as having many other titles; yet in Acts 2:36, the Apostle Peter says, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that GOD HATH MADE this same Jesus Whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ." That is, although He is this, and more, from the foundation of the world, He having finished the great work of salvation, is now by the Father MADE, or officially established, as both Lord and Christ. He is now given, or appointed, of GOD this revelation, or appearing, in a profile, if we may use such a word, which has never before been seen on earth.

Having, then, this appearing officially assigned to Him, He, in order to show His servants things that "must shortly come to pass," sent His angel, and signified, or showed, them to His servant John. The things thus shown, for the greater part, reveal Him in His new profile, or office. Thus, they must "shortly" come to pass--not shortly, or immediately, after they were shown to John, but immediately after His appearing--for these are the things that show Him in His office as the great Judge. (Rev. 11:18) "And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward to Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them that destroy the earth."

John declares that, as Jesus sent and signified these things to him, he has borne record of the word of GOD, the testimony of Christ Jesus, and of all things that he saw. That is, everything that he saw, and heard, in all visions that followed, with, of course, the exception of those things, which, at the time of their being presented to him, he was commanded not to write. Then he assures us that there is a blessing to those who read, and hear, the words of this prophecy, and hold on to those things which are written therein. "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the book of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand." The word here translated, "readeth," often carries the meaning of reading aloud. This, certainly seems appropriate in this instance. For only by one's reading aloud would others be able to hear the reading. Then it also follows that both the reader and the hearers must keep, or retain those things written therein, if they are to receive the blessing. The last statement of this verse, "for the time is at hand," signifies, not that they must begin to come to pass immediately after John was given this vision, but that this is the next great prophesied event to come. Christ has completed His great work of salvation. He has ascended to the Father, has been officially "made both Lord and Christ," and has of the Father been appointed this appearing. So His return in glory is the next event of importance. Keep in mind that, with GOD, "one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day." Therefore, except when GOD tells us that a time Is of a specific duration, we need not try to limit His timetable to fit our ideas.

(Verses 4 through 7) "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace from Him Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful Witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him That loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto GOD and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen. Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also who pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him."

Here we have John's salutation to "the seven churches which are in Asia ," the same churches to which the second and third chapters of this book are specifically addressed. "Asia," in this sentence, does not refer to what we now call "the continent of Asia," but to a comparatively very small area of what we sometimes call, " Asia Minor ." Although John mentions only seven churches; inasmuch as the number seven is usually found to refer to the whole of anything rather than to the exact number stated, this might be the manner of its usage here. We then would be led to believe that this message of grace and peace is to all the church of GOD . John desires this grace and peace to be from Him, Who was, is, and is to come, the Eternal GOD; and the seven Spirits which are before His throne. From the repeated usage of the phrase, "seven Spirits," in later passages, it seems obvious that it indicates the fullness of GOD. In addition thereunto, he desires this grace and peace to come from Christ Jesus, Who is not only the faithful Witness; that is, the One Who faithfully declared, or witnessed, the Father to the world: (John 1:18) "No man hath seen GOD at any time; the only begotten Son, Which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." But He is also the first begotten of the dead. He is the first to arise from the dead to immortality. Certainly, the Bible gives instances, even in the Old Testament, of persons who died, and were brought back to life; also Jesus raised some from the dead while He was here on earth. Yet all of these were only brought back to the same mortal life they had before. When Jesus arose from the dead, He arose to His full power and immortality, thus attaining to the title, "firstborn of the dead," or "firstfruits of them that slept." In addition to this, He is the "Prince of the kings of the earth." In this phrase, "Prince," means "First," or "Greatest." Even the great King Nebuchadnezzar found to his dismay that this is true. After his amazing experience of GOD'S power, he declared, (Dan. 4:34-35) "And mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him That liveth for ever, Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?"

Hereupon John is so lifted up by the Spirit that he breaks forth in praise to this wonderful Jesus, saying, "Unto Him That LOVED US, AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD, and HATH MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS UNTO GOD and HIS FATHER; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." Then he makes a glorious announcement; "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen." This announcement sets the stage for the whole book. "Behold, He cometh with clouds," indicates that His coming is, indeed, the "center stage" idea of the whole message. It is worthy of the greatest interest. His coming is far more important than anything else, even His going away. On the day of His ascension, two white-clad men stood by, and said to His disciples, "Ye men of Galilee , why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11 ) In Acts 1:9, we find, "---- and a cloud received Him out of their sight." So, as He left with clouds, He shall also return with clouds. Elsewhere the clouds are mentioned as "clouds of heaven," "clouds and great glory," etc. Then comes the part of the announcement that differs so much from that of His first advent, (Luke 2:14, "Glory to GOD in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men"); but, very definitely, sets the tone of His second coming: "And every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen." His coming as here declared is one of judgment. His enemies will indeed see Him and, because of the judgments He will declare, and cause to be executed, all kindreds of the earth shall wail. Notice also the order of events: first, "He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him." That is, instantaneously His coming shall be visible to all the world, a truly great miracle, totally impossible according to nature, but not impossible with GOD. (Matt.24:27) "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall the coming of the Son of man be." Next, "And they also which pierced Him;" not necessarily at the same time as His arrival, but when He shall raise the wicked dead, those who pierced Him shall actually be among them; and shall stand before Him to be judged. Finally all the "kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him." No nation, no tribe, and no family on earth is without sin. Just as He has declared that He has a people in every nation, kindred, family, and tongue, so there are also wicked in all, and on that day of final judgment there will be wailing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. "Even so, Amen." John declares that this is exactly the way it will be, and adds his "So be it."

In verse 8 John gives us a message from Him, Whose coming he has just announced. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come, the Almighty." Alpha is the first character of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last, and their use here, as elsewhere when the same expression is used, signifies that He is first, since there was no GOD before Him; and that He is last, inasmuch as there will be no God after Him; and since He is eternal, He is not only the First and the Last, but also all that intervenes. And thus the expression answers to one in common use today, "From A to Z." Also, since He is the "Lord Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come, the Almighty,” not only is He the One, Who sits upon the throne with the seven Spirits before it, and, in CHAPTER V, holds the book in His right hand, but is also Jesus the Christ, the faithful Witness, the One Who is coming in the clouds, and Who, in CHAPTER V, takes the book to loose the seals and to look thereon. He bore witness to this while here on earth. (John 11:30) "I and My Father are One." And (John 14:9) "he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." Since He is Almighty, we can rest in the assurance that there is no power, and no combination of powers that can thwart His purposes or disrupt His schedule. HE WILL COME AT THE APPOINTED TIME.

In verse 9 John gives us a little introduction to himself, identifies his location, and gives the reason for his being where he is. "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos , for the word of GOD and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

In this modern age we have many men who profess to be, and perhaps are, ministers of the gospel, who, seemingly, delight in introducing themselves as "Reverend ______," "Elder _______," "Doctor _____," "Father ______," or some other elevated title, while John, who, we must all agree, must have been eminently greater than any of us, inasmuch as he was an Apostle of our Lord, and one to whom was given the vision of this great revelation, as well as many other blessings that were not given to any of us, simply says, "I - - - am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." How wonderful it would be if we could all learn that if we are brothers to the children of GOD, no greater honor is needed, nor, indeed, can be found. Then we could witness with the Apostle Paul, (Rom. 5:3) "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience." Thus would we be companions with the Lord's people in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. Now because of John's witness of the word of GOD and his continuous testimony that Jesus is the Christ, he was banished by the political authorities, and sent in exile, to the island that is called, " Patmos ." According to the "UNIVERSAL WORLD REFERENCE ENCYCLOPEDIA," Patmos is "a rocky barren island, of most irregular outline, in the Agean Sea , one of the Sporades , lying Southwest of Ephesus; area, 16 square miles." This, then, is John's location; and these are the circumstances of his being here. Even in this dismal place, though forsaken of men, he is still in close communion with GOD, as is soon evident from what he next says.

(Verses 10 and 11) "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."

We have fallen into the habit of thinking that "the Lord's day" and Sunday are one and the same. There is, however, no indication that such is the meaning in this case. The time of the week is totally immaterial and irrelevant. The important point is that it is a day of the Lord's choosing-- not John's. Thus, at this time John was in the Spirit, that is, the Spirit came upon him with such force that he was in an ecstasy, or trance, and being thus, he heard One behind him speak. The Speaker's voice was so loud that it was comparable to the blast of a trumpet. What is first spoken identifies the speaker as the same One Who has already been identified in verse 8; and John is instructed to write the things he will see, and send this writing, or book, to the seven churches which are in Asia . We have previously noted that, since only seven of the churches are mentioned, and certainly there must have been more than seven at this time, they must be used representatively of all the churches. Possibly, these seven were chosen because of the condition of each, about which, more later. As will be noticed in Chapters II and III, a special message is sent to each church, but here he is instructed to send the book to all the churches, each of which is here named.

(Verses 12 through 16) "And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks One like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Since the voice came from behind John, he turned to see who was speaking to him. He then describes what he saw. The first thing to catch his sight was seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of those candlesticks he saw One, Whom he recognized as being like unto the Son of man, that is Jesus with Whom he had traveled about three and one-half years, yet as he never saw Him on earth. For the greater part of their association together on earth they had been "on the move;" therefore, He was usually dressed in clothing suitable for walking and, primarily, that of a peasant. Here He is dressed in what is, indeed, a royal robe reaching down to the foot. In addition He is wearing a golden girdle around His breasts--not just a gold-colored girdle, but one of pure gold, signifying a Personage of great wealth as well as royalty. What a contrast to His statement (Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58), "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head"! Then "His head and His hairs (or beard) were white like wool, as white as snow." Compare Dan. 7:9, "_ _ _and the Ancient of days did sit, Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool_ _ _" Undoubtedly this is the royal Person Whom Daniel saw, the Ancient of days, the One Who is older than time. The white hair signifies age and wisdom while the robe and girdle declare royalty, wealth, and righteousness. Now, "His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." Rom. 10:15 , "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" This being true, how much more beautiful must be the feet of Him Who IS the gospel of peace! Also, these feet are likened to fine brass. Looking back into the law for the things of the Lord's service under the law, we find that brass always denotes judgment; and these are the feet that have been prophesied to tread the winepress of the wrath of God. Looking forward to Rev. 14:20, we find, "and the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." More about this at the appropriate time. "And His voice as the sound of many waters." This was not a meek nor even necessarily a gentle voice, and certainly not one of weakness. It was a voice of power and authority, and strong or loud enough to be clearly heard, described earlier as being "as of a trumpet," and here "as the sound of many waters," that is, as the roar of the sea or a mighty river. Also this August Person held "in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." Remember that Benjamin was so named by his father Jacob because "Benjamin" means "son of the right hand". The right hand has always been considered as the symbol of power. Thus the seven stars being held in the right hand of Him Whom John saw signifies that they are under both His protecting power and His control. The sharp two-edged sword that went out of His mouth is no other than the "word of God." (Heb.4:12) "For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Here we want to pick up a clause passed over earlier, "and His eyes were like a flame of fire." As the word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, so also these eyes that are like a flame of fire are able to penetrate the darkest night and even the blackest recesses of the depraved heart and soul. So when He sits on His throne of judgment, no witnesses will have to be questioned, or even summoned to appear in court, for He will be able to see for Himself all details of the case. (John 2:24-25) "But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man." (Heb.4:13) "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do." Now this wonderful Being Who is of such royal lineage, Who has such wealth, such wisdom, such an authoritative voice, such power of perception, and such a powerful and discerning word cannot possibly be without glory. Look upon His countenance, or face! It is so glorious that it shines as the sun in its strength, that is, at that time of day when it is at its brightest. It is no wonder that Moses had to wear a veil over his face after spending forty days and nights in the presence of God on Mount Sinai . However his face was only reflecting the glory of God, and was, nevertheless, so bright that the Israelites could not bear to look upon it. How much more glorious must be the face of Him, Who is the source of this glory! He Whose face "was as the sun shineth in his strength."

At this point John was so overcome by this wonderful sight, and, no doubt, with fear also, that he tells us, "And when I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead." Even though John had been with Jesus all during His earthly ministry, and had enjoyed an extremely close companionship with Him, upon seeing this vision of His great power and glory he was so affected thereby that he completely fainted away and was as one dead. With John in this condition, Jesus (for, indeed, it is He Whom John has here seen) lays His right hand upon him, gives him a message of comfort, and explains to him some things contained in this vision.

Evidently, John (although he was in an ecstasy of the Spirit, and had previously, as before mentioned, enjoyed a very close companionship with Jesus) was as much affected by fear as by awe as he beheld the power, majesty, and glory of the once meek and lowly Jesus. Accordingly, Jesus' first statement to him is one of comfort: "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He That liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Thus He reminded John that the same love that was shown to him and others while Jesus walked on earth remains constant even when our Lord has taken unto Himself His full glory, power, and majesty. He declares that He, not someone else, is "the first and the last." Not only so, but this same One, Whom John saw crucified and dead, is not only living now, but is alive forevermore and has full possession of, and power over hell and death as signified by His holding the keys thereof. The word here translated "hell" is "Hades" which was not commonly understood to be the place of punishment (although He certainly has power over that also), but the place of departed souls of both wicked and righteous. So, He has the authority and power to keep, protect, and, at the appointed time, bring forth the souls of the righteous to the "manifestation of the sons of God," and the same power and authority to "reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." Not only does He have power over the souls of both righteous and wicked, but over their bodies as well, since He has the keys of death. He, therefore, can and will bring forth at the appointed times the resurrected bodies of both righteous and wicked to be reunited each to its proper soul for the final and full glorification of the saints, and the judgment and punishment of the wicked.

Having thus comforted this "disciple whom Jesus loved," Jesus instructed John to "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter." That which we have already discussed constitutes "the things which thou hast seen." Not only were these things to be recorded in the book which John had already been instructed to send to the churches; but also "the things which are," including, but not necessarily limited to, the explanation of the candlesticks and the stars, and the messages to the churches, as set forth in Chapters II and III. The messages in Chapters II and III all start with "I know thy works," the present tense, and should, very likely, be considered the historical present. For the moment let us consider the explanation of the two things in the present vision that are designated as "mysteries," or "secrets." "The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." No further explanation is needed of what the stars and the candlesticks are. Notice should be taken of two very important things in connection with them, however. First consider that Jesus is in the midst of His churches, having such penetrating vision that nothing is or can be hidden from His sight, and power and authority to bless those therein who render faithful service to Him and to chastise those who are not faithful. Then we see the stars in His right hand signifying that they, "the angels of the churches," (and since the word "angel" literally means "messenger," we feel that, undoubtedly, they are the ministers of the churches) are also under His protection, power, and authority. In short, He can and does protect, lead, and reward His faithful ministers, while, at the same time, He rebukes and chastens those who do not serve acceptably. So, both the ministry and the laity are in the same hands, under the same rule and authority-- kept, led, and rewarded or chastised by none other than the Alpha and Omega, Jesus Christ Himself.

Chapters II and III set forth the messages to the seven churches, to each church a message fitting the conditions existing in and around that church. It has long been held by most Bible scholars that the messages, though they do describe the situations of the individual churches, also, taken together, give a foreview of the whole church as it moves through the successive ages until the time of the end, and, in light of that, we often hear the expressions, "The Ephesian Dispensation," "The Smyrna Dispensation," etc., on through the "Laodicean Dispensation." While I am of the opinion that this, in a great measure, is the proper view of this, there is another point that we should consider. That point is that there can, and likely will, be, in all ages or dispensations of the church, more than one of these conditions existing, sometimes one or more in one church, while other churches are found to have different situations, just as, obviously, these seven churches were in different conditions. Through the whole scene the important thing to keep in mind is that Jesus, He Whose "eyes were as a flame of fire," is constantly in the midst of these "candlesticks," or churches. Therefore nothing either good or bad can escape His sight. The good will be commended and rewarded while the evil will be judged and punished. The fact that each message is addressed not directly to the church but to the angel of the church further evidences the fact that the angel of the church is the pastor or minister of the church, the word "angel," as earlier stated, meaning "messenger." Another fact that immediately stands out is this: the angel of the church is simply entrusted with the message--not with authority to reward or chastise. In each case Jesus identifies Himself by one or more of the items of description of Him that have already been set forth in Chapter I. Then He begins the message with these words, "I know thy works." Then, when the message reaches the point of reward or judgment the expression is, "I will_ _ _," signifying that He reserves to Himself the right and authority of judging and rewarding or chastising.

With these things in mind we shall proceed to look at the messages themselves. Many writers have set forth in their commentaries to give us geographic, political, cultural, and social background of the various cities in which these churches were located. We will not attempt to go into these things, even though they might be of interest to some, but will confine our remarks to the substance of these messages because our Lord gave His judgment of these conditions, not of the backgrounds of the cities. Verses 1 through 7 give the message to the angel of the church of Ephesus , which message, of course, he was to deliver to the church. Having already stated that these messages were given to the "angel of the church" for delivery to the church itself, we will pass over the angel of the church and speak of these messages as being to the churches, which, in the final analysis, they are.

In His message to the church of Ephesus , Jesus identifies Himself by two things that we have already noted: He holds the seven stars in His hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. He first declares to them that He is fully aware of their works, labor (or burden), and patience. Further, He recognizes that they have such a vehement hatred of evil that they cannot "bear them that are evil." In addition to this, some have evidently come unto them claiming to be apostles, and instead of being carried away with their doctrines, the church has tried them and found them to be liars. He knows also what afflictions they have borne, what patience they have shown in these afflictions, and what great burdens they have endured for His name's sake.

No doubt, we would think ourselves to be very acceptable to our Lord if we could sincerely feel that we fit this description. Yet, He says, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." How sad it is when we as a church or even as an individual Christian "leave our first love"! Some may wonder just what is meant by this expression. I believe that just a little jogging of the memory might help us here. Can you remember when you were under conviction by the Spirit of the Lord? How wretched, how miserable, yes, how despairing you were as you felt to be justly condemned of God to spend eternity in hell! To quote the words of one of our wonderful old hymns:

                        To Sinai's fiery mount I flew;

                        But Justice cried with frowning face,

                        This mountain is no hiding place."

Then, when it seemed all hope was gone and nothing but condemnation remaining for you:

                       "Ere long a heavenly voice I heard,

                        And Mercy's angel form appeared;

                        She led me on with gentle pace,

                        To Jesus as my hiding place."

Sweet deliverance came by the mercy of God through Christ Jesus, the loving and only Saviour of poor, wretched sinners. What a fervent and glorious love of and for this wonderful Saviour sprang up in your heart! Nothing else mattered at all. This is "first love" or, as the Apostle Paul calls it in I Cor. 13, "charity," without which all faith, all gifts of the Spirit, and all sacrifices that we might make count for nothing at all. Then, as did the Ephesians, we may become somewhat complacent, sometimes even to the point of boasting, as many have for years, saying, "We've got the true doctrine," "We are the true church," etc. The saddest thing of all about this condition is that instead of our repenting of our fall, we become, for lack of a better word, somewhat callous, and thinking ourselves to stand so firmly, we fall, even failing to do the things of which Jesus spoke approvingly among the Ephesians. We do not maintain good works, we do not exercise patience, and (seeing that the apostles are the only ones commissioned by our Lord to establish doctrine and practice) we evidently sometimes even follow liars who say they are apostles instead of trying them and finding or proving them liars. For we pick up points, of both doctrine and practice, that cannot be justified by scripture. History of the church is full of notations of such errors. Jesus declares that unless the church repents and returns to its "first works" or its "first love", (for love without works is like faith without works--DEAD), He will remove the candlestick out of its place. Where is its place? (Matt. 5:15) "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Without question the candlestick's place is one from which it will give "light unto all that are in the house." If, then, the candlestick be removed out of its place, no doubt light will NOT be given to all who are in the house. Some areas will have little light and, perhaps, even total darkness. Could this in some part be the condition of the church today? Our Lord's instructions to His disciples (Matt. 5:16) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Which is in heaven," ought to be our constant watchword. We are to glorify our Heavenly Father by letting our light shine forth before men. This can only be done through our works. When so done, they will see the light. Some will be drawn to it and some will not. This is not the place for a lengthy discussion of why they will or will not. The simple statement is sufficient for the moment. There is today such a cry, among those who are concerned, that the church is (in many places) losing its appeal to people--that is, attendance is rapidly dropping, people are more and more turning not only to worldly pursuits and pleasures, but even to demonic cults and satanic worship. Could it be that by not repenting of our fall from our first love we have brought on the removal of the candlestick from its place to one that gives so little light "in the house" that it is no wonder those on the outside see no light at all?

In spite of this fault the Ephesian Church had one more "asset," if we might use such a word. "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." Much has been written by learned men concerning the Nicolaitans. They are mentioned only once more in Holy Writ. There has been disagreement among writers as to the exact origin of these people. However a few points seem to come fairly clear. One is that the combination of the two Greek words "Niko" and " Laos ," which together form the root of this word "Nicolaitans," gives some insight into its meaning. "Niko," meaning "to have the victory over," or "to destroy," and "Laos," meaning "the people" or, as some say, "the laity," when joined together give us the thought of someone's having a victory over, or being set above, the people, from which comes the practice and doctrine of the clergy's being separate from and above the laity, or people; or the thought of destruction of the people as Balaam taught Balak to cast a stumbling stone before Israel in enticing them to eat things offered to idols and to commit fornication and other sins. These practices all seem to apply to the Nicolaitans, and the Ephesians hated these deeds, as does also our Lord.

In closing this message Jesus says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Whoever has his ears opened to the message of God, let him hear. That is, not just receive the sound, but pay attention to and follow the instructions that the Spirit gives unto the churches, not just to the church of Ephesus , but to the others also, clearly showing that all these messages, though individually addressed to each church, equally apply to all. "To him that overcometh," that is, does those things here commanded, "will I give to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Rev. 22:2) "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." So to those who repent and return to their "first love" He gives the right and access to the tree of life. There is a sufficient variety of fruits, twelve, that one would never tire of this wonderful food, and there is a constant supply every month. There is no dormant or barren season for this wonderful tree. Certainly this is to be understood as the constant supply of spiritual food that He supplies to all who serve Him. Let us then, indeed, take heed to what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the church at Smyrna He introduces Himself as, "the First and the Last, Which was dead and is alive." (See Chapter I, verses 8, 11, and 17-18). His message to this church is one of love, comfort, and encouragement. "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)." Not only does our Lord have knowledge of these things, but these words carry also the thought that He takes notice of, and gives recognition to, the works, which are, evidently, good works, the tribulation, and the poverty of this church. At the same time He assures them that, in spite of their poverty, which is only a lack of the luxuries of this world, they are rich in the true riches which are the wonderful spiritual blessings of communion with Him and assurance that He will both keep them in this life and receive them into His kingdom in its glory. He reminds them that the blasphemy of those "which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" has not gone unnoticed. Certainly, since He has noticed it, it will at the proper time receive appropriate punishment also. This same "synagogue of Satan" is brought to our attention in the message to the church at Philadelphia , at which point He says, "I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee." Apparently these may have been some who continued to teach that no one could be saved without being circumcised and keeping the whole law, claiming by flesh and blood lineage a right to the things of God--which is everywhere in the New Testament denied. These continued their teachings in spite of the message from the apostles in Jerusalem to the "brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia" (Acts 15:23) by the hands of Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas, to wit: "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well." (Acts 15:28-29). Thus they are called not Jews (which Paul explains as, "but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Rom. 2:29 ) but "the synagogue of Satan" and blasphemers.

Jesus continues His comfort to this church thus: "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful and I will give thee a crown of life."

Yes, they were going to have tribulation: some would be cast into prison, some (possibly) killed, although this is not here so stated. Some commentators have described certain extremely severe times of persecution as being the "ten days" of tribulation here noted. They may or may not be correct in their selection of the historical "moments" of time, but this is immaterial to the case. What is germane is that He set a limit upon this tribulation and promised to everyone who bears it faithfully, even if it should issue in death, "a crown of life." This promise of our Lord should be sufficient to encourage and comfort any Christian even in the midst of the most severe times. As noticed in the Ephesian message, He says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." Then, in the present address He adds, "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." The only other places where the "second death" is mentioned are in Rev.20, verses 6 and 14. (Rev,20:14-15) "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." The Lord promises that those who are faithful will not be so treated.

In His letter to Pergamos our Lord describes Himself by only one of the things previously shown, "He that hath the sharp sword with two edges." This sword, the word of God, is for the protection of the faithful, and the destruction of the enemies of our Lord. Then He says, "I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is." The Greek word "thronos" is here used and should have been translated "throne" instead of "seat," making the phrase be "Satan's throne." Not only does the Lord know their works; He also knows where and under what conditions they live and labor. Pergamos was such a wicked place and so noted for its persecution of Christians that the Lord calls it "Satan's throne," and says that, in spite of their living in such a place of wickedness and persecution, He takes notice of their works and "that thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth." They had been faithful to the point of enduring such persecution that it cost the life of at least one of their own brethren, our Lord's faithful martyr, Antipas, and still they did not recant, nor deny the faith. Nevertheless, these brethren are judged to come short.

(Verses 14 and 15) "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac (or Balak) to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel , to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."

The story of Balaam is given in Chapters 22, 23, 24 and 25 of Numbers; at which point nothing is said directly concerning Balaam's teaching. However, in Numbers 31:15-16 we find the following, "And Moses said unto them, "Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel THROUGH THE COUNSEL OF BALAAM, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord_ _ _." Connecting this with the incidents described in the afore mentioned Chapters we find ample proof that Balaam's doctrine is very much the same as some we hear today, "Since God's people are saved not by their works but by the grace and power of God, they can take part in idol worship, live immorally, and do anything else they please without in any way affecting their salvation." As with all evil doctrines, a little truth has to be mixed in or it will not meet with much acceptance. The truth that is embodied in this doctrine is, "We are saved by the grace of God and not by our works." But as to the conclusion Balaamites draw from it, let us not give an answer but ask, as it were, the Apostle Paul. His answer, ( Rom. 6:1-2), "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? GOD FORBID. HOW SHALL WE THAT ARE DEAD TO SIN, LIVE ANY LONGER THEREIN?" "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." The Greek word "outos," here rendered "so," signifies that "in this manner," or since you have them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, you have those that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes--these doctrines being one and the same. Notice that, what in the Ephesian church was only a matter of deeds or practice of some, has now become a doctrine, or teaching. How quickly we develop a doctrine to try to justify our actions! Nevertheless, God is neither mocked nor deceived. When He says, "Which thing I hate," it signifies that God hates the effort to justify wickedness fully as much as the original deed itself, and it will bring on, just as quickly, a suitable response and recompense. "Repent: or else I will come unto THEE quickly, and will fight against THEM with the sword of My mouth." He knows who in the church are the guilty parties, and it is against them that He will fight. This is the same Lord, Who, in Rev. 19:21, sits upon the white horse and Whose sword proceeds out of His mouth.

Again He calls upon "him that hath an ear" to "hear what the Spirit saith to the churches," and a promise is made: "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." As in all other places, the promises of our Lord are to those who are faithful, those who endure to the end, those who overcome, etc. The promise here is of two things. First there is the hidden manna, a food that cannot be seen by others but will feed and strengthen the recipient. (John 4:32-34) "But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought Him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work." That is, the recipient of this manna is brought into such close communion with his Lord that his hunger is no longer for natural things, but simply to do the will of God, being fully assured that He will provide for all other needs. Then there is a WHITE stone. The word here rendered "white" literally means "brilliant or dazzling white." Thus it will shine forth to him in such brilliance that it will give him full assurance of his relationship to his Lord. Add to this that the stone is inscribed with a new name for the recipient, and no one else, since no man knows it "saving he that receiveth it". Since no one but the recipient knows that name, it would be foolish for anyone to try to tell us what that name is; but we can rest assured that it is of great comfort, consolation, strength, and assurance to him to whom it is given.

To the minister (angel) of the church in Thyatira the Lord identifies Himself as "the Son of God, Who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass." As the Son of God: all divine authority and wisdom is His; as One Whose eyes are like a flame of fire: nothing can escape His sight; and having His feet as fine brass: He is shown as coming to bring judgment. Then the message: "I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first." In this, works are mentioned twice and the last mention of them declares "the last to be more than the first." These Christians then could not be charged with lazy or neglectful performance of their duties. Furthermore, they had charity, or love, which the Apostle Paul says gives value to all other gifts, and without which, all are in vain. Also their service, faith, and patience are duly noted; but with all this there is still something that is not as it should be.

(Verse 19) "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."

Here let us take notice of something that, perhaps, some may think should have been set forth concerning Chapter I, verse 16. However, here is the strongest statement given concerning it in all these letters, "Thou hast suffered_ _ _." Not only is the minister protected and led by the right hand of the Lord, but he is directly responsible to Him for his care of the church. Here the minister is called to account for the fact that he has suffered this woman, Jezebel, who claims to be a prophetess, to teach, and by her teaching, to seduce the servants of God to do the same ungodly things that have already been covered in previous letters. Some may consider "fornication" in this passage to mean what is known as "spiritual fornication," and certainly when one is led into worshipping and sacrificing to idols he is committing "spiritual fornication" or "spiritual adultery." However, considering the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans and the fact that both fornication and eating of sacrifices to idols are mentioned, it seems far more likely that this immoral act itself is under consideration. The name "Jezebel," although it may, indeed, have been the actual name of a woman in Thyatira, still leads our minds to perhaps the most wicked woman described in scripture, Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab. (For her story see Chapter 16 of I Kings through Chapter 9 of II Kings.) The message continues: "And I gave her space (or time) to repent of her fornication; and she repented not." As we look back through the record of God's dealing with men and women, we see a pattern that is here pointed out. Compare I Peter 3:20:   "_ _ _when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing." Consider also our Lord's address to Jerusalem shortly before His crucifixion (which was the final signal to usher in the destruction of Jerusalem though it was nearly forty years before the consummation thereof). "Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Many other passages could be cited to the same result. These prove two things: first, God gives time for repentance, and second, the wicked will not, indeed, are so filled with and enwrapped in their wickedness that they cannot, repent unless God directly intervenes and gives them the grace of repentance. Without this gift, any call upon them to repent or, for that matter, even to control temporarily their sinfulness, will only excite their anger and hatred toward the one, who tries to admonish them. (Gen. 19:9) "And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot , and came near to break the door." Now, as we consider the punishment to be given this woman and those who join with her in immorality, some may wonder why the Lord does not say that He will destroy her from among His people. Certainly, He could do so, and why He did not is not for us to inquire. Nevertheless He does pronounce sentence upon both her and her companions.

(Verses 22 and 23) "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He That searcheth the reins and the hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."

First, Jezebel's punishment consists of two parts. Although separated in the address, they may come consecutively or simultaneously. The first part of this punishment is that she will be cast into a bed. She will not be killed. If she were killed, the second part of her punishment would have little effect upon her. She is to be given some affliction that is so severe that it completely disables her and causes her to be bedridden. She will no longer be able to prepare or offer sacrifices unto idols, or take part in the orgies to which she is accustomed. All she can do is lie there and compare her present wretched and miserable condition to what she had considered her great glory in her wanton pleasures. In addition to this she can only watch, helplessly, while her children are taken by death. What a wretched condition! The outcome of this terrible judgment will be, "And all the churches shall know that I am He that searcheth the reins and the hearts." Nothing is said about any lesson in this for Jezebel. It is only, so far as she is concerned, a judgment for her wickedness, but for the churches it is a most vital lesson--not only does the Lord see the outward manifestation of things that are done; He also sees the secret thoughts and intents of the heart.

Those who have been deceived and enticed into evil by Jezebel are judged thus: "I will cast_ _ _them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds." Even God's servants, when they are led astray, whether it be by their own lusts or by false teachers and such wicked ones as this Jezebel, are subject to chastisement. In this case He says that if they do not repent He will cast them into great tribulation. Tribulation is often used of God to bring us to repentance, and that is the purpose of it in this case. "And I will give unto every one of you according to your works." (Matt. 12:33) "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit." The tree (good or evil) governs the fruit; but the fruit identifies the tree. So each will receive according to his works.

(Verses 24 and 25) "But unto you (the angel of the church) I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come."

Although the angel of this church had suffered Jezebel to carry on these ungodly acts and doctrines, he must have had no involvement in them himself and no doubt had remonstrated against them since he is to receive no greater burden than the reprimand for having failed to stop it. Also there are others in the church who have not embraced these doctrines and practices and have not learned the "depths of Satan, as they speak," (or rather "the mysteries of Satan, as they say"). No doubt these Satanic rites had for initiation certain secrets, or "mysteries," as they were called, together with certain acts of wickedness which the novitiate had to perform to be accepted into the society. Some of the Christians at Thyatira, evidently would have none of this, so to them, "I will put upon you none other burden." Now to all (both those who have had nothing to do with these evil things and those who have but have now repented of them) the commandment is given to hold fast that which you have, that is, good works, charity, service, faith, and patience, as mentioned in verse 19. These are to be maintained until the coming of the Lord.

(Verses 26 through 28) "To him that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the Morning Star."

In Psalms 2:7-9 we find the promise of the Father to our Lord Jesus, "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." This also is the promise Jesus passes on to "him that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end," just as He received it of the Father. This is in perfect accord with what the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, (I Cor. 6:2-3) "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" Not only will He give this power to judge and rule over the nations, but also, "I will give him the Morning Star." In Rev. 22:16 we are given the explanation of the Morning Star: "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and off-spring of David, the bright and Morning Star." So then, assuredly, if one is given "the Morning Star," he is given the wonderful privilege of the glorious presence of and constant communion with Jesus our Lord Himself. Now He reminds us, as He does in all these letters, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches," reinforcing the fact that what is said to one church is to be considered by all churches, showing that what is pleasing to Him in one church is also pleasing in all; and what is displeasing in one is displeasing in all, as He deals equally with all.

Chapter III is, in reality, a continuation of Chapter II, and together they contain the letters to the angels of the seven churches, which, as we have previously noted makes them actually for the churches. Our Lord addresses matters pertaining to the church in Sardis thus: "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; these things saith He That hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead."

Not only does Jesus hold the seven stars, already identified in Chapter I, but He also holds the seven Spirits of God, mentioned in Chapter I, verse 4, and again in Chapter IV, verse 5. That is, He is in possession of the "entire" Spirit of God. (John 3:34) "For He Whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him," and (Col. 2:9) "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." So, although the seven Spirits of God stand before the throne of the Father, the Son holds them also and they identify Him as the Son of God. Therefore, having the "seven Spirits," it logically follows that He is cognizant of the works of this church. And what a deplorable condition these works declare it to be in! "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." Paul's statement to Timothy (I Tim. 5:6) "But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth" seems to describe this church as well as the widow of whom he spoke directly. Just as the widow who gives herself over to sinful pleasures instead of serving the Lord "is dead while she liveth," so the church that turns away from God and embraces world-pleasing doctrines and/or practices is judged in the same condition. Even in the most corrupt church there may be a few "things which remain," that is, the church probably retains a few items of truth in its doctrines and practices. This church is warned to "be watchful and strengthen" these things. The best way to strengthen the good things is to put away the evil ones lest they further corrupt the situation even to the point of causing the good that remains to die also. In the present case the Lord says, "I have not found thy works perfect before God." He therefore admonishes them, "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent" --not hold fast to the evil doctrines and practices into which they had fallen, but to the good things they had originally been taught, and repent of the evil ones. "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Compare this to Matt, 24:42-44, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh," and (Matt. 24:48-51) "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth His coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day that he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth". In spite of all the evil in this church the Lord says, "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy." Those who have been faithful to the Lord among all the evils of this church are pronounced worthy to walk with the Lord in white, that is, to partake of His righteousness and share His fellowship.  This is a high honor indeed.

(Verses 5 and 6) "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

Not only are those who have not defiled their garments accounted worthy to walk with the Lord in white; but those also who, though they have erred and strayed from the truth, repent and overcome the evils into which they have fallen shall be clothed with the same garments of righteousness. And, though men might have looked upon them while in error and concluded that they had no part in the book of life and were unworthy of recognition before God, Jesus says that these (the ones who overcome, or repent) are assured that their names are in, and will not be taken out of, the book of life. They will be clothed with His righteousness and He will confess, or recognize, them in the presence of His Father and His Father's angels. Compare (Matt. 10:32 ) "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father Which is in heaven" and (Luke 12:8) "Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God." So, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

(Verse 7) "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He That is holy, He That is true, He That hath the key of David, He That openeth and no man shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth."

Thus our Lord introduces Himself to the Philadelphians. He is the Holy One and the True One. Since these attributes can, in full, apply only to God, this declaration bears witness to John's statement (John 1:1) "_ _ _and the Word was God." The Son of God is, in all essentials, God; as John says, (I John 5:7) "_ _ _and these three are One." Further, He has the "key of David."

In spite of the fact that God gave to Solomon greater wisdom, wealth, and glory in the kingdom of Israel than to any other man, including David, David is still always "the great king of Israel ." For no other man ever received this testimony of God: "’I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, which shall fulfill all My will.’ Of this man's seed hath God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus." (Acts 13:22-23). Therefore, not only is Jesus, as the Son of God, holy and true, but as the Son of David He holds the key (or authority) of David. To Him must answer all things and all people, whether Jews or Gentiles. Any door that He opens must remain open until He closes it: likewise any door He sees fit to close can be opened by no one except Him. To Him belongs all power. With this introduction He proceeds with His message.

(Verses 8 through 10) "I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."

As in all these letters the church is assured that the Lord is well acquainted with its works. In this case He finds nothing for which it needs any chastisement but, on the contrary, He commends this church for having "a little strength," keeping His word, and refusing to deny His name, even in the face of all the afflictions and persecutions evidently heaped upon them by this "synagogue of Satan." No doubt these were "Jews according to the flesh," but not "Jews inwardly." Most probably, they were constantly trying to force the Philadelphians to recant their faith in the Lord Christ Jesus, be circumcised, and keep the law of Moses as they claimed to do. (They said they were Jews.) However, the Lord says that they are not Jews and are only lying about it. Instead, they are the synagogue of Satan. Not only does He set before this church an open door which no man, not even this synagogue of Satan, can shut, He also declares that He will make these enemies come and "worship before thy feet." Certainly He does not mean that He will make them worship this church in the sense that we use the word "worship" concerning our adoration of God. But in the sense of begging for mercy, as (Matt. 18:26 ) "The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." We might also consider what God said to Eliphaz the Temanite (Job 42:7-8) "My wrath is kindled against thee, and thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to My servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept." This seems the more fitting as the Lord says, "I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, AND TO KNOW THAT I HAVE LOVED THEE." In addition to this He promises, "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, (or tribulation) which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Many times in the scriptures we find references to the hour of tribulation or the time of tribulation. The book of Revelation itself is filled with prophecies of tribulations. Also our Lord foretells many such things in Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. In Luke 21 He finishes this prophecy thus: "For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." This is "the hour of temptation" from which our Lord promises to keep the church in Philadelphia . What a blessed comfort! "Behold I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." No matter how obedient God's servants have been, there is no place nor time to let up in the fight. Rather, He constantly encourages us to hold fast to what we have, and to fight on with renewed vigor.

(Verse 12) "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name."

Again those who overcome are given wonderful promises. They are to be given permanent status as pillars in the temple of God , never to be removed therefrom. Upon them is to be written the name of God and the name of His holy city, the New Jerusalem, (see Rev. Chapters 21 and 22) signifying that forever they belong to God and have a place in His holy city. Then our Lord says, "I will write upon him My new name." While here, our Lord was the humble, suffering sacrificial Lamb of God. (Is. 53:2-5) "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him: He was despised and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." This is His "old name," and is the same name that is upon His servants as they travel here. (II Tim. 3:12) "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (Phil. 1:29) "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." For Him no longer will this name suffice. He has overcome! He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah ! As Isaiah said (Is. 9:6), "_ _ _and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." His "new name" is one of the highest glory; it is "above every name"; and this new name He will write upon him that overcometh. Again He repeats His admonition to "him that hath an ear." As always, "Let him hear (give heed to) what the Spirit saith to the churches."

In verses 14 through 18 we have a description of, perhaps, the most wretched condition that can exist in a church. First our Lord identifies Himself as "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." The expression, "the beginning of the creation of God" by no means signifies that He is a "creature" or "created being or thing", either first or last, but that "He is the One Who began the work of creation." (Col. 1:15-17): "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for BY HIM were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created BY HIM, and FOR HIM: and HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, and BY HIM ALL THINGS CONSIST." It is not even to be imagined that One such as He would, even in the smallest degree, deviate from declaring the truth in this situation. So, the first statement concerning the Laodicean church is, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot." When one is, physically, neither cold nor hot he feels no need of a change of condition. There is satisfaction with the status quo. So it is spiritually. If one has neither the feeling of a need to be warmed by a more fervent love of Christ, nor of a need to be strengthened by His power against the heat of tribulation or temptation, he is indeed "lukewarm." That is, he is satisfied with things as they are, steeped in the pleasures of the present life, which are none other than the pleasures of sin. He has, whether temporarily or permanently, completely abandoned the apostle's admonition, (Col. 3:1), "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above;" and he is indulging in the lusts of the flesh, no matter how much he may proclaim, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." This is, indeed, a miserable condition for an individual--how much more so for a church! The Lord judges it to be severe enough to merit this penalty: "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth." Obviously, the picture is that of one who has become so sick of something that he vomits it up. What possible further use could He have for a church in such a condition that He is so sick of it that He will vomit it up? Yet He gives this admonition, "thou_ _ _knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent." They think themselves to be rich while they are, indeed, so poor as to be destitute of all things, and blind withal. Our Lord counsels them to "buy of Me gold tried in the fire." In I Peter 1:7 the apostle says, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried by fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." So it would seem that this admonition is that this church should cease from trying to maintain its "status quo" in the world, take up its "shield of faith," and endure whatever persecutions such a stand may bring forth. Further, He says, "buy_ _ _of Me white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." Rev. 19:8, "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for fine linen is the righteousness of saints." This white raiment is, therefore, no other than the righteousness of our Lord. They are, then. commanded to cease from trusting in their own righteousness, which Isaiah describes thus, (Is. 64:6) "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," and trust in His righteousness which, according to Psalms 111:3, 112:3, and 112:9, "endureth for ever." Undoubtedly, those who follow this counsel will by this action "anoint their eyes with eye-salve" that will enable them to see, and, especially, to see themselves in a proper perspective in relation to their Lord. No longer will they feel to be self-sufficient, but they will be brought to a true acknowledgment of their complete and utter dependence upon the merit of their Saviour. Because the Lord is faithful He does not abandon any that He loves, but regardless of any sin they may commit, He overshadows them with His mercy. However, that very mercy is manifested not in petting and pampering them, but in rebuking and chastening them, and that sometimes severely. He therefore commands them thus, "Be zealous therefore, and repent." It would seem from the language of the next verse that this church has reached such a low ebb that it contains only a very few real Christians, for the address is no longer directed to the church but to the individual. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." This is not, as the world so fondly pictures it, a powerless, would-be saviour standing at the door of the heart of one who is dead in sin, trying to save him. On the contrary, It is the Omnipotent Son of God, standing at the door of an apostate church, upon which He has already declared the sentence, "I will spue thee out of My mouth," assuring any one who hears His voice that even though He has declared judgment upon the church, He will still keep His sheep. (John 10:26-28), "But ye believe not because ye are not of My sheep, as I said unto you, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish_ _ _." No matter how hopeless a situation may appear, His message to His children is always the same. Matt. 11:28 , "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." To those who overcome is given a promise of great honor, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne." The writer in Hebrews 12:2 says, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." What a wonderful joy! Then there is the repetition of the admonition that ends each letter, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." It may be well to note that this is the last reference to the "church" or "churches" until we come to Rev. 22:16, where He says, "I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches:" and even this reference has no regard to a continuation of the church through the times of tribulation and judgment as set forth in the remainder of this book, but rather to the churches in existence in John's day and those that continue down to the end of the Laodicean era.

(Verse 1) "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter."

All the messages to the seven churches having been completed, we are brought to a different scene. First, as John looked, "behold, a door was opened in heaven." Many, either because they do not believe that God knows how to express His thoughts to man, or for some other equally invalid reason, have developed a system of heraldry for explaining this entire book, which renders "heaven" as "the church." This certainly is not the meaning of the language. Furthermore the circumstances do not fit such an interpretation. John, being an apostle of our Lord, was, most assuredly already in the church although temporarily separated physically from other members thereof. In addition to this, the opening of a door in the church would not have been of great enough significance to bring forth the note of wonder expressed by the word "behold." Also in this place John is about to receive revelations of things hidden not in the church, but in the secret counsels of God. However, the greatest reason of all to contend that "heaven" means "heaven" is that GOD IS THE MASTER OF ALL LANGUAGE, and unbelief is man's only reason for attempting to change what God has said. Not only so, but He does not have to hide His meaning from His enemies by using some secret code or word substitution, as some have claimed. Various times when Jesus would set forth parables that condemned the Pharisees, they understood them, and the scriptures say, "they perceived that He had spoken this parable against them." Their problem was not one of not being able to understand; it was unbelief. Unless God gives faith, no man believes, no matter how plainly the message is set forth. The door having been opened, a voice spoke.  This is the same voice John had heard at first. (Literal translation: "The voice the first"). It is speaking in the same strong authoritative tones as in Chapter I, verse 10, "as of a trumpet." The invitation, or as it should properly be called, the command, that this voice gives to John is, "Come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." Some very learned men have contended that, in view of many scriptures (among which are Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21), this call coincides significantly with I Thess. 4:14-17. That is, since the church is no more mentioned in "The Revelation," John's being "called up" into heaven corresponds to the calling up, or as some state it, "the rapture" of the church. I see no reason to quarrel with their arguments. Some might object on the ground that, although the church is no more mentioned, there is notation of others who are saved during the times of tribulation and judgment, I see no difficulty in this since after the harvest there is always the gleaning. (Lev. 19:9-10), "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God," and (Lev.23:22), "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest; thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God." Certainly, in these references the Lord states specifically that these gleanings are to be left for the poor and the stranger. Nevertheless the pattern is set for reaping, whatever the purpose. In Luke 21:36, after having told of the great tribulations that shall "come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth," He says, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Therefore, undoubtedly some will be taken away before the tribulation period, and there will still be some saved during that time. The purpose of John's being called up was that he should be shown "things that must be hereafter." Emphasis should be laid upon the fact that these things that must come to pass, although great and important, derive their chief importance not from themselves, but from the fact that they display the glory and majesty of the coming of our Lord and manifest Him as the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" instead of the meek and suffering Lamb.

Immediately upon hearing this command, John is caught up in an ecstasy of the Spirit; in heaven he sees a wonderful and beautiful sight. There have been arguments among men as to whether John was bodily caught up into heaven or whether only in a visionary way. This question is in no wise germane to the subject. Compare Paul's statement in II Cor. 12:2-3, "I knew such a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth)." So whether lifted up bodily or only in the Spirit in a vision, the experience is real; and that is what really matters. The first thing that draws John's attention is set forth thus: "Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." John gives no description of the throne; so we must conclude that no matter how great and magnificent it may be, it is not to be the center of our attention. Rather we are to focus upon Him Who is seated thereon. He is so glorious that He dazzles the sight even as would a "jasper and a sardine stone." Others have written much concerning the significance of these stones as they might be thought to represent the attributes of God. However, at this point our concern is not so much what we might think can be represented by this or that, as what is actually present. People have for ages been attracted by the appearance of beautiful gems. Here we find a Person so glorious that He attracts our gaze just as would such beautiful shining stones. Then there is "a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." The first mention we find in scripture of the rainbow is in Gen. 9:13-15, just after the abatement of the flood in Noah's day. "I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh_ _ _." That rainbow was a sign of God's covenant with the earth and all its creatures that He would never again bring a flood of water upon the earth to destroy it. This rainbow around the throne, no doubt, bespeaks the faithfulness of God in His covenant of grace to all His elect. This rainbow is said to be "in sight like unto an emerald." The color of the emerald is green, perhaps the most restful color known. If we can here indulge a little symbolic comparison, consider this. If while here and viewing only by faith the covenant of grace (as the Apostle Paul says in I Cor. 13:12 , "through a glass darkly"), it is so restful to our weary spirits, how infinitely greater will be the joy and rest we shall have when we see it as it encircles the throne of God!

(Verse 4) "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."

The same word that is translated "throne" is also translated "seat." So we have a picture of the heavenly court of judgment; on the central throne is seated the Supreme Judge, the Almighty God, and on the lesser thrones (or seats) are His subordinates, or assistants: (not that God is in any way in need of assistance, but that His promise to His saints is thus fulfilled; for He has promised that the saints shall judge the world, and the time of judgment is near at hand.) An elder is by definition "an ancestor, a chief, a prince, or one who is older than another, or others_ _ _and one who on account of his age, experience, and wisdom is selected for office." (THE NEW ENCYCLOPEDIC DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE). By usage the term has always referred to a representative of the group to which he belongs. Therefore, we see no difficulty in looking upon these elders as the saints of God, their number, twenty-four, being the total sum of the twelve patriarchs added to the twelve apostles, thus representing His saints through both the Old and the New Testament dispensations. They were clothed in white raiment signifying the righteousness of God. They wore crowns of gold indicative of the authority conferred upon them by God, in Whose presence they were seated.

(Verse 5) And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."

This throne is, without doubt, a throne of judgment. From it comes forth lightnings and thunderings which have, throughout the history of man, been looked upon with awe and fear. Sometimes idolatrous man has even worshipped a "thunder god" because of his great fear of the thunder and lightning; and all men, unless very foolish, will seek shelter when the lightning begins to flash and the thunder begins to shake the very ground itself. The voices proceeding from this throne are surely the threatenings of God's vengeance upon a world of ungodly sinners. Before His throne are the seven lamps of fire which the apostle himself tells us are the seven Spirits of God, that is, the Spirit of God not measured but in Its fullness. "And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal." It seems that this sea of glass, by its position (before the throne) and by its clarity (like unto crystal) signifies exactly what the writer says in Hebrews 4:13 , "Neither is there any creature that is not manifested in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do." As He is seated upon His throne of judgment, He can look through this crystalline sea and behold, without any obstruction, all activities on earth, both good and evil. The next thing to claim our attention is four living creatures or, as in our King James Version, "beasts." These living creatures are described as full of eyes before, behind, and within. Thus equipped they are able to see clearly to fulfill their function in the presence of God--which is to "rest not day and night, saying Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Which was, and is, and is to come." Also these living creatures each had six wings, making them able to swiftly fly and carry out any command given them. Some have tried to say that these living creatures are the same as those Ezekiel saw by the river Chebar. However it should be pointed out that those had only four wings each, while at the same time each had four faces. These, on the other hand have six wings each and only one face each. Much has been written about the faces of these four creatures. Usually, in the final analysis of these comments one finds that it is generally agreed that: the likeness of the lion indicates courage; the likeness of the calf or, as some render it "ox", represents patience; the face of a man is assumed to stand for wisdom; and the likeness of the eagle shows the ability to rise above the things of the world as well as swiftness to obey the will of God. Here the agreement usually ends. Each commentator tries to interpret these living creatures in a manner different from what someone else has indicated, making for complete confusion. We will not attempt to indulge our fancy in this matter, but will say that they together with the four and twenty elders do represent the saints of God. Witness the new song in Chapter V, verses 9 and 10, about which we shall comment a little more later.

(Verses 9 through 11) "When these living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to Him That sat on the throne, Who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before Him That sat on the throne, and worship Him That liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."

So, at whatsoever time the living creatures worship and give thanks to God the elders join with them signifying a common unity in their worship. They glorify God as Creator of all things and declare that all things were created for, and exist solely for, His pleasure.

"And I saw in the right hand of Him That sat on the throne a book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals."

This book has through the centuries been the subject of many arguments. Some have been thoroughly convinced that this is the "book of life;" others, that it is the book of coming events, or prophecy. Both ideas seem to have some merit, but neither satisfies all the description and circumstances pertinent to this book. Let us look a little more closely at these. First, we take notice of where this book is at this time, and what is its condition. John saw this book in "the right hand of Him That sat upon the throne," signifying that it is in His power and protection as the legal guardian of it until either the appointed time for its opening or the time of the coming of the One Who has the right to open it. In this case, I believe both the time and the Person are awaited. This book, or scroll (for such indeed it was) was rolled up and sealed with seven seals. It was written within and on the backside. Before proceeding further with this book, let us look at something in God's law to get a little background on the subject. (Leviticus 25:23-25), "The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold." Every student of the Bible is familiar with the doctrine of "the near kinsman" regarding the redemption of a poor brother who has sold himself into servitude to a stranger (Lev. 25:47-55). This is well known as an illustration of our redemption by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, as the "near kinsman," has redeemed us when we were totally unable to redeem ourselves. Few, however, consider that He is also the "near kinsman" Who redeems our lost possession. The Prophet Jeremiah describes for us the sale of property (Jer. 32:7-15). The part of the description that is most pertinent to the present matter is found in verses 10 through 12, "And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; and I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison." According to those who have studied the ancient customs of the Jews, it appears that this "evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open" refers to two books, or scrolls, each containing the details of the transaction, and the requirements for redeeming the "purchased possession." One remained open so that when one came forth to redeem this possession a proper determination could be made of his right of redemption before he was permitted to open the sealed book. This sealed book was considered the legal contract. Just as the open book, it contained a full record of the transaction and all requirements of redemption. All this was "within" the book, while on the backside the witnesses wrote their names. Then the book was sealed. No one could take the sealed book to open it until he had met all requirements set forth in the contract. This is why Boaz could not redeem Elimelech's possession until all other claimants who were closer in line had stepped aside. (See Ruth 3:12 through 4:10 .) On this basis it seems that we have here a picture of God as He holds in His right hand the "sealed evidence" of the possession of man which was sold under sin, (sold to a stranger). (Gen. 1:26), "And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." After thus creating man, God tells him, in verse 28, that this is man's lot, and adds, in verse 29, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." So in the day of man's creation, God gave him the earth and its fullness for his possession.

What a contrast between this state and man's condition after his fall! (Gen. 3:17-19), "_ _ _cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Not only did man lose his relationship with God and become lost, "dead in trespasses and sin," and totally unable to regain peace with God, but he also forfeited the wonderful dominion to which God created him. God had given him dominion over a most beautiful earth. (Gen. 2:8-9), "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden : and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food_ _ _." Now this is all gone. In its place there are thorns and thistles. Some claim that when man fell he sold out his dominion to Satan. NOT SO. Verily, he followed Satan's temptation, but God drove him out of his possession and placed a curse upon both it and him. Satan's only hold is that which he has by usurpation through his cunning devices and delusions of mankind.

God is still "King of kings" and "Lord of lords." God is the One Who holds this book of "sealed evidence" until the time appointed for the rightful "near Kinsman" to come and dispossess the usurper. The "evidence which is open" is, assuredly, none other than the Holy Scriptures themselves. The seven seals on the book "in the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne" symbolize the whole power and fullness of God involved in the keeping of the contract in every detail. They also upon their being opened indicate certain things that shall take place in the redeeming of the "purchased possession." (Eph. 1:13-14), "_ _ _in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory."

(Verses 2 and 3) "And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon."

Compare Ruth 4:1-6, especially Boaz's declaration in verse 4, "And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee_ _ _," and the other kinsman's answer in verse 6,"And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it." Obviously, no man, neither of those in heaven as represented by the elders and the living creatures, nor those yet on the earth, nor even any under the earth could possibly make the redemption. At the same time God, (Who being omnipotent surely has the power or ability to redeem the possession), had He done so, would have set His mercy and power in opposition to His justice, thus "marring His own inheritance" as said the kinsman. (Ruth 4:6)

With this state of affairs John was so overcome with grief that he says (verse 4), "And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon." It is hardly reasonable to think that John, had he perceived this book to be "the book of life," would have been so seriously affected. When he first saw the book it was "in the right hand of Him That sat on the throne_ _ _, sealed with seven seals." That is, it was in the keeping of God Himself and sealed with His full authority. No one could take it from Him, neither destroy it nor even alter it. John knew that it was in perfect safety. He also knew that he was the servant of Jesus the Christ (Rev. 1:1) and a brother to the Lord's people (Rev. 1:9). He had no apprehension for the security of his salvation nor that of any other of God's redeemed. Further, the book of life is mentioned eight times in the Scriptures but is never spoken of as being sealed. However, in spite of the security of salvation, if there is no redemption of the forfeited possession, or inheritance, this becomes a matter of great grief to any saint of God, especially one so filled with the Spirit and so zealous as the Apostle John. Accordingly he wept much. Nevertheless he is soon comforted.

(Verses 5 through 7) "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as It had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him That sat upon the throne."

The search having been made and no nearer kinsman found able to break the seals and redeem the inheritance, and John being much cast down thereby, he is comforted by having his attention directed to One Who is able to meet all requirements and redeem the possession without "marring His own inheritance," the God-man, Christ Jesus our Lord. He is introduced by one of His many titles, "The Lion of The Tribe of Judah, The Root of David," thus identifying Him as Man, a near Kinsman of him who forfeited the inheritance in the first place. Then He is seen as "a Lamb as it had been slain." He is Himself the sacrifice as exemplified by the slain Lamb, and that He appears before the throne in this manner shows not only that He has paid the price, but He also presents the receipt thereof before the Judge. He is shown as "having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth." The seven horns and seven eyes need no further interpretation than that which the apostle gives. They identify this Lamb as being He in Whom "dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Having thus met all requirements as "near Kinsman" and "able Redeemer" He proceeds to approach the throne and take the book from the hand of Him, Who sits upon the throne.

This occasions an immediate and spontaneous act of worship and adoration directed not to Him Who sat upon the throne, as in Chapter 4, verses 9 through 11, but to the Lamb, as follows: "And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." In the first chapter of John's record of the gospel, he tells us that the Word, Which is none other than this same Lamb, was in the beginning with God, was God, and was He Who made all things-- that is, He was the Creator. Many times Jesus declared that He and the Father are One, and John tells us that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost are One. We must understand, therefore that the praise and adoration offered in Chapter IV is to the Trinity. However, that offered here is directed to the Lamb Who alone of the Godhead could die and thus pay the price of redemption. This worship comes only from the "four beasts and four and twenty elders" whom we have previously identified as redeemed saints of God. As they fall down before the Lamb they have harps and golden vials of odours. Since the Old Testament in many places mentions harps and other musical instruments in connection with praising God, there seems to be no reason to consider them as having any significance other than as stated. Certainly John did not understand them to represent anything else, for he makes no mention of them as such, while specifically explaining that the "golden vials full of odours" are the prayers of saints. It must be remembered that prayers can be, and often are, declarations of praise to God as well as requests for blessings, and, in this case that is their primary content since the whole scene is one of praise. The new song, which they sang, is one in which angels could not join. While angels might, indeed, declare Him worthy to "take the book, and to open the seals thereof," they could never finish the song. None but the redeemed of God could sing, “For Thou hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."

These redeemed saints further declare, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." Many who claim to believe the word of God seem far too selective about what parts of it they believe. Often we hear those who say, "So far as our reigning on earth is concerned, that means that in the gospel church here and now we are reigning with Christ." Let me direct your thoughts to the Apostle Paul's way of seeing this. (I Cor. 15:19 ), "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable," and (I Cor. 4:8), "Now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I WOULD TO GOD YE DID REIGN, that we might reign with you." Also, let us look at the very statement of the song itself--"and hast made us unto our God kings and priests." The present perfect tense is here used indicating action already fully completed. "And we shall reign on the earth." Here we have the future tense, which denotes action neither finished nor even yet beginning. So we should consider God's word as true without any twisting. Several times in various places in the New Testament, in the words of both our Lord and His apostles, we find the promise that God's saints shall reign on the earth, not the earth as it now is under the curse, but "a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." The saints having rendered this wonderful song of praise to the Lamb, John's attention is engaged by another great event.

(Verses 11 through 13) "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him That liveth for ever and ever."

Throughout the ages people have been amazed and sometimes tremendously exalted in their emotions by the performances of great choirs. No one has ever yet heard a choir of men containing thousands of thousands in addition to ten millions of voices. What, indeed, must be the sound of such a choir of angels? Then add to that every "created thing" (that is the literal meaning of the word "Ktisma," here translated "creature") in heaven, in earth, under the earth, and in the sea. What a tremendous sound it must be when they say, "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him That sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Some will surely say, "That is only a figure of speech. It cannot literally happen." Turn your attention to Luke 19:40, "And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out," and to Numbers 22:28, "And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" One can no more happen than the other. All are alike, impossible with man, but so also are the virgin birth and the resurrection of our Lord. I readily submit that none of these things ever happened, because "to happen" suggests that it comes by chance. In that consideration none of these happened, nor can they happen. They are all events brought about by the power of the Omniscient and Omnipotent God. Those He declares as past action have taken place because He brought them to pass. Those He sets forth as future will come about by the same power. This great acclaim of glory to Him, Who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever are yet to come. It is among those "things which must be hereafter" (Rev. 4:1). To this wonderful accolade the four beasts add their "Amen" and the four and twenty elders fall down and worship "Him that liveth for ever and ever." See Chapter I, verse 18, where Jesus declares, "I am He That liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore."

Chapter 6

As we have seen in Chapter V, the book is now in the hands of the Lamb, Who begins to open the seals thereof. As these seals are opened various scenes are presented to John and he is invited at the opening of each seal to "Come and see". Some writers contend that in some Greek manuscripts the "see" does not occur. They then translate the "come" as "go," thus applying it as a command to the horsemen that appear at the opening of the seals. However, since the entire message given in this book is for John to fix in his mind that he might testify the same to the churches, it seems proper to consider this as an invitation either to approach a little more closely that he might have a better view, or else to bring his attention to bear more intensely upon the scene that no detail should escape his notice.

(Verses 1 and 2) "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto Him: and He went forth conquering, and to conquer."

Certainly these horses and horsemen are symbolic presentations. In the time of John there was no faster transportation than a good horse, and so it remained until somewhat less than two hundred years ago. In addition to this, horses were often used in battle as witnessed by passages from Deuteronomy through Revelation. Thus the rider of this horse was not only armed with a bow but was mounted upon a swift and powerful animal to indicate something of the speed and power with which He goes forth. The color of His horse is white, which in scripture invariably indicates righteousness, justice, and purity, all of which are involved in the prosecution of this war that is about to begin. So much for the horse: let us consider Him, Who is mounted upon the same. First of all, He had a bow, which was in that day an instrument of war and identifies Him as a warrior. Also "He went forth conquering and to conquer." Nothing could successfully stand against Him. Not only did He go forth conquering, but to conquer, signifying that His campaign was to be successful all the way. (I Cor. 15:25 ), "For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet." Note also that "a crown was given unto Him." This signifies that He is a king as well as a warrior. Various commentators have tried to make this rider represent many diverse things. Some have given him the name of one or another of the early Christian ministers. Some have tried to make him represent Satan or one of his minions pretending to be Christ. Dr. Gill seemed uncertain as to whether this might represent Christ as He went forth "conquering and to conquer" in the ministration of the gospel during the early times of the church, or possibly Vespasian, the Roman Emperor "whom Christ made use of to conquer His enemies the Jews." Many other ideas have been brought forth. But in view of the office He holds as the "near Kinsman" Who has paid the redemption price for the inheritance and must now dispossess the usurper, Satan, and his armies from it (since Satan in his cunning manipulation of men had usurped the authority of it), this great Warrior and King can be none other than Jesus the Christ as He rides into battle upon the white horse of His own righteousness. (Rev. 19:11), "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He That sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war." The fact that John saw Him at the opening of the first seal and He is not mentioned at the opening of the next three seals in no way indicates that His ride is completed before they can start. Rather, it signifies that He is leading the way and those following after Him are, indeed, His army and fulfilling His commands in the work of bringing judgment on the world. This campaign culminates in the great battle of Revelation Chapter 19. All the wonderful works of judgment recorded in this book are by the power of our Lord as He brings even Satan himself to judgment. He suffers Satan and wicked men to do many evil things (see especially Chapters XI and XIII), but when the appointed time comes He metes out proper punishment for every one of them.

(Verses 3 and 4) "And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword."

The color of this horse is very appropriate for the mission given to the rider, red, the color of blood, as well as being a very irritating color. It has long been known that a red object will enrage a bull more quickly than other colors. Thus we have a horse that well signifies the hate, distrust, violence, and the bloodshed of this time. And to the rider of this horse was given the power, or authority, to take peace from the earth. Dr. Gill seemed to think that this was a prophecy of things which took place during the reigns of Trajan, the Roman Emperor, and his successor, Hadrian, and gives account of some extremely bloody times in that era. But, while we can find in history instances that seem to fit, in part, the description here given, it may be observed that none of them were worldwide, while here it is said, "and power was given_ _ _to take peace from the earth," thus declaring it to be a worldwide condition. Not only will there be war between nations, but an unprecedented time of violence among individuals, as well as anarchy running rampant through the world. To further signify this state of affairs, there was given to this rider a great sword.

(Verses 5 and 6) "And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."

The conditions represented by this horse and rider seem so obvious as to require little explanation. As a result of the violence that will be in the world at this time there will be little opportunity to produce anything in the way of provisions, to say nothing of being able to maintain any stored supply of them. Famine in some measure always attends war and violence. The more war and violence rage, the greater is the resultant famine and scarcity of all necessities of life. This will be a time of such extreme shortage of all things that, as signified by the balances in the rider's hand, food will be so closely rationed as to be carefully weighed out to each one individually. As here stated, one will be able to obtain only one measure of wheat or three measures of barley for a penny. Different writers give the size of this measure at slightly different weights, but most seem to agree that it amounts to what would be considered as the minimum daily requirement for one person. Since barley is considered as inferior to wheat for human food grain, it is less costly than wheat. The "measure," according to THAYER'S LEXICON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, is the "choenix," a dry measure holding less than a quart. By the same authority, the "penny" is a "denarius," equivalent to about sixteen and two thirds cents, which was considered as a day's pay for a workman. In the light of this, it is evident that in this time, living will be strictly "hand to mouth," with nothing left over for dependents who cannot provide for themselves. In the time of John, oil and wine were considered necessary items of the food supply, and the voice John heard giving the price of the wheat and the barley cautioned, "See thou hurt not the oil and the wine." These two items have historically been in good supply, especially in the Mediterranean area. At the time of this great famine, however, the caution will be given, "Hurt not the oil and the wine." That is, "Don't spill it," or "Don't waste it." Everything will be so scarce that no one can afford to waste anything. That is famine, indeed.

(Verses7 and 8) "And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."

It is readily apparent that this seal includes both the second and third seals. Where there is such violence as shown under the second seal, there is death "with sword," and following or accompanying such severe famine, there must be death "with hunger." There are also added two more significant factors. These are, "to kill _ _ _ with death, and with the beasts of the earth." At this time, because of the carnage in the streets, as well as on the battlefield, there will be such pollution, that epidemics of all manner of diseases will rage through the earth causing death from so many and various forms of illness to be so common that they will simply be grouped together under the heading of "to kill with death." Then there will be a terrible increase of attacks by wild animals. In Genesis 9:2, God said to Noah, "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth." This holds true even today. It has often been proven that, in a majority of cases, all wild beasts will avoid confrontation with man, if possible. However, in the time here foretold, either from feeding upon dead bodies they may find in their habitat, or from God's removing the fear of man from them, or both, wild beasts will become so bold that there will be an unprecedented increase of their attacks upon humans. It cannot be denied that these three seals sum up God's "four sore judgments" as He declared against Jerusalem . (Ezekiel 14:21, "For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send My four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off man and beast?") Every one of these judgments is seen under these seals. Just as in many other things, God's dealing with Jerusalem by way of judgments foreshadows His judgments upon the earth in dispossessing Satan from it. As it is here stated that Death rides the fourth horse, and Hell follows him, Who can possibly be more fitting to ride the white horse, shown at the opening of the first seal, than He Who has the keys of hell and of death, Jesus the Christ of God? He is in command of all the judgments of God. (John 5:22. "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." Some commentators have tried to make a great thing of the fact that when the first seal was opened the voice of the beast then heard was as "the noise of thunder," and the following voices were not said to be so loud. It seems that this follows the natural pattern. The first voice was announcing the KING, our Lord CHRIST JESUS, Who "in righteousness _ _ _ doth judge and make war." The later voices were only announcing His army. They were of lesser importance. After these scenes a different subject is introduced at the opening of the fifth seal.

(Verses 9 through 11) "And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

Some have set forth this scene as having been fulfilled in the early days of the Christian church. Dr. Gill said that it was in the time of Diocletian, the Roman Emperor. Although, without question, many Christians were put to death during those times of persecution, that era seems to be only a foreview of the tribulations of the last days. And it seems more logical in consideration of the four seals, which precede this event, to view it as part of the final tribulation which our Lord described in Matthew 24:21. "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Many have applied this statement to the tribulation during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD It may, indeed apply to that in what may be called a limited, or a local scope, since such tribulation was only in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, but in a world-wide scope it can only apply to the days of judgment of the world. The souls, which John saw, were not the souls of all the martyrs of Christ from all generations, the "harvest," as we have pointed out earlier, having already been reaped. They, rather, are part of the "gleaning" and are those who have been killed thus far in the days of tribulation. The fact that they are under the altar may suggest several things, among which we shall consider a few. First, their being thus brings to mind the custom, according to God's law, of pouring the blood of the sacrifice at the foot of the altar. They indeed were a sacrifice to God in that they were martyred for His word and the testimony they held (would not give up nor deny). The soul of the living creature, including man, is in the blood. (Gen. 9:4), "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." Secondly, the altar is the place of refuge and sanctuary for any one who is wrongfully accused, and, certainly, these had been wrongfully accused, condemned, and executed. Yet as their souls are under the altar, they are fully protected. Thirdly, the most important consideration of all is that, inasmuch as Christ is not only the sacrifice for our sins but also the altar upon which and by Whom all our offerings of praise to God are made acceptable and, in fact, in Whom even we are made accepted to Him (Eph. 1:6) "wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved," they are now with Christ and under His care. While in this blessed state they are fully aware of things that have taken place and are taking place. Thus they cry with a loud voice, first ascribing praise to God, as being holy and true. At the same time they inquire, "How long_ _ _dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" This in no wise signifies that they are unhappy, nor does it show a mean spirit of desiring revenge on their enemies. Instead it is simply an inquiry as to how long will God suffer the insults and affronts of Satan and wicked men before He will, for His own glory, execute the judgments He has declared against the wicked, and will vindicate His own righteousness by taking vengeance upon Satan and all his wicked followers. (II Thess. 1:6, "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.") In answer to this cry every one of these martyred saints was presented with a white robe, signifying that before God he is holy and without blame as the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:4, "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." In addition to this it was told them that there were still some of their brethren and fellow-servants in the world, who must be killed as they had been, that it would only be a little while longer until then, and that they should rest till these things were completed. Since they were at this time already in the presence of their Lord and Saviour, they surely could not be unhappy even in this little waiting period.

(Verses 12 through 17) "And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and great men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him That sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

Some writers have interpreted the "stars of heaven" to be pagan priests who were overthrown as the gospel spread victoriously through the world in the early days of the church, others, as gospel ministers who became apostates. These same commentators make "mountains" and "islands" to be kingdoms in the world that were shaken by the gospel as it spread through them. By the same system they give various meanings for the "sun" and the "moon." Also most of them try to establish a time in what is now ancient history for their fulfillment. Though there may be instances in which mountains do represent kingdoms, the best rule of interpretation of scripture is, "When there is no obvious reason to think otherwise, and no key given in the context to indicate otherwise, God's word should be taken for what it is, the word of God. Therefore it means what it says; and we do not need to change it." Let us consider some selections from what our Lord told His disciples concerning the last days. (Matt. 24:29-30), "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with great glory." (Mark 13:24 -26), "But in those days, after the tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." (Luke 21:10-11, 25-28), "Then said He unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earthquakes in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven._ _ _ And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them with fear, and looking after those things that are coming upon the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

All these passages are almost identical in their description of those days, and all very much agree with John's vision at the opening of the sixth seal. The first event which John noticed was a great earthquake, so great that it must have shaken the whole earth, since, in verse 14, he saw all mountains and islands moved out of their places. They were not destroyed nor moved out of the earth, but shaken so that they were moved out of their original locations. Then he saw the sun become "black as sackcloth of hair." That is, it was similar to the effect of covering a light with a coarse cloth made of hair. As Jesus told His disciples, in passages quoted above, "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." As John here saw the moon become as blood, certainly it would in this condition give little light. Then "the stars of heaven fell unto the earth." Our Lord testified that this will come to pass, and added, "the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." Astrologers and soothsayers in all history have contended that the stars control the lives of men. And since wicked men are the ones who will be so greatly affected by these signs, it may be that this has some reference to the fact that when the stars fall to the earth, as here stated, they can no longer be considered by such persons as having any power. However, since it has long been considered a scientific fact that the moon has control of the ocean tides, and that the magnetic fields of the stars have some effect upon earth, perhaps it is better to understand this as having reference to a loosening of some of these stabilizing controls, which would most certainly be affected by such an occurrence as this, particularly, if in "the stars of heaven" are included the planets, whose magnetic fields do have an effect upon the earth. One thing is an absolute certainty. That is that God's power is in no wise shaken nor weakened. Sometimes governments of nations are considered "the powers of heaven" since they are ordained of God; and, without question, they will be shaken and will become unstable to make way for the beast who appears later in this account. As before mentioned, many commentators have tried to "spiritualize" all these things, either from fear of the very enormity of this great event if taken literally, or simply because they did not believe the word of God as written. Yet, when we consider the fact that at the time of the birth of Jesus--a time when He came for the very purpose of suffering and sacrificing Himself for us-- there was a special star set in the heavens to guide the wise men to the place of His birth, and there was an angelic chorus sent to announce His birth to the shepherds, does it seem too much, that when He is coming to judge the world and dispossess Satan from the inheritance of His saints, that an earthquake should shake the whole earth, the stars of heaven should fall, mountains and islands should be moved, the sun and the moon should be darkened, and the heavens should be rolled up as a scroll and be completely set aside?

It must be kept in mind that although John saw the opening of these seals in successive order, it does not necessarily follow that what is shown under one seal must be completely finished before another can start. Some overlap one another, and some even run concurrently, though he, obviously, could not record them simultaneously. Even though there is still another seal to be opened, the time is short until the situation will be as described in Chapter XXI, verse 23, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." And the Apostle Peter tells us (II Peter 3:13 ), "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

No events have ever occurred in history that have produced such effects as will these. There have, no doubt, been a few individuals at some point who have been so troubled at events of their experience that they have wished they could be hidden by rocks, mountains, and any thing else that they might imagine could suffice, from the judgment of God. But John says that "the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man" were so frightened that they sought refuge in the dens and rocks of the mountains and called for the mountains and rocks to fall upon them, and hide them. Not only did they want to be hidden from "Him that sitteth on the throne," they wanted most of all to be hidden "from the wrath of the Lamb." No longer could they consider Him as humble, meek, and, as they had heretofore thought, weak enough that they could with impunity do whatever they pleased to His servants. Much to the contrary, "the great day of His wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand?" Remember the prophecy concerning Him (Luke 20:18 ), Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." In all these events He is preparing for that final crushing blow upon His enemies, and they are fully aware of it; and not one can escape.

In the preceding chapter John's attention was engaged by the various scenes of horses, horsemen, and events taking place at the opening of the first six seals. In this chapter he is shown judgment prepared for execution but held in abeyance until the servants of God are sealed, or marked, to insure their protection even under the administration of this judgment. (Compare the ninth chapter of Ezekiel's prophecy.) He is also given the number of those of Israel who are thus sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, which when broken down by tribes makes twelve thousand of each tribe. In listing these, the tribe of Dan is completely omitted, and that of Manasses included in addition to that of Joseph. Why this is so has been a matter of discussion among commentators through the centuries, but since no reason for it is given in scripture, we simply conclude that the best answer is (Matt 11:26 ), "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight."

After having seen these and having been given the number of them, John saw another group, "a great multitude which no man could number." This expression might mean that the size of the multitude is so great as to defy numbers. However, since the Israelites that were sealed were listed in such an orderly manner with the numbers broken down by tribes, and the word "ochlos," here translated "multitude," usually signifies a milling crowd or throng and not a regimented group, it seems likely that the meaning is that this is, so far as man is concerned, a multitude of undetermined size. Since they are "of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," no attempt is made to give a breakdown according to nations. This multitude of people were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were dressed in white robes, a symbol of righteousness, and carried in their hands palm fronds, the sign of victory: all of which indicates that this scene looks beyond the time of tribulation that is represented by the proposed blowing of the winds upon the earth and the sea, as set forth in verse 1.

(Verses 1 through 3) "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."

This shows the preparation for a time of great tribulation on earth, such as would be symbolized by a great storm of winds blowing from all four directions at once, which would, indeed, amount to the same thing as a violent tornado covering the whole earth at once. Such will be the severity of the tribulation of that period. Yet, with this judgment poised and ready to be executed, God's care for His own is clearly shown in the staying of this awful time of tumult until each of His servants has received His seal which guarantees the eternal safety of each one. They may, indeed, be persecuted, tormented, and even put to death by men, but that will not overthrow God's protection of them, for He will bring forth each and every one of them to stand before Him dressed in white robes of the righteousness of God, holding in their hands the palms of victory. While thus standing before the throne and before the Lamb, they will break forth in a great shout of praise, saying, "Salvation to our God Which sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." (Not that God and the Lamb are to receive salvation, for, indeed, They were never in need of salvation, nor could They be, but salvation is ascribed to Them as the Author and Finisher thereof.)

(Verses 11 and 12) "And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, "Amen: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

It is noteworthy that when this white-robed throng break forth in praise to God and to the Lamb, the angels also add their declaration of praise just as they did in Chapter V. However, as there they made no mention of redemption, here they say nothing of salvation. Angels were never lost and then redeemed. So they have no claim on redemption or salvation. This is something in which man alone, of all God's creatures, has part. Nevertheless, the angels do add their "Amen" to the declaration of the white-robed multitude, which shows that they are fully aware of God's great salvation of men.

At this point one of the elders clearly shows that this great congregation is not of those represented by the elders and the four beasts, which we have earlier identified as those called up before the times beginning in Chapter VI.

(Verses 13 through 17) "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He That sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb Which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

When the elder asked John who and from whence were these that were clad in white robes it was evidently not from any lack of his own knowledge, but rather to stir John's interest in the subject. John's answer, "Sir, thou knowest," is the equivalent of saying, "I have no knowledge of the subject, but I'm sure that you know." The elder then begins to enlighten John by telling him who they are, from whence they have come, what they have done, and what is both their present situation and their future prospect. The first two considerations are answered as one, to wit, "These are they which came out of great tribulation." That is, they are those whom the angel in verse 3 said must be sealed before the storms of persecution could be let loose upon the earth, which tribulation began at the going forth of the red horse and his rider described in Chapter VI, verse 4, and continues through this entire book until it finally culminates in the great battle of Chapter XIX. Not only did they come out of "great tribulation" (or as is the Greek wording "the great tribulation") but they had also washed their robes "and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." These were sealed with the seal of God, which insured their knowledge of God and their faith in the blood of the Lamb, made them strong enough to stand for the testimony of Jesus against all wickedness, persecution, and tribulation, as Daniel said (Dan. 11:32) "_ _ _but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." Thus their standing faithful to the testimony of God and the Lamb through all the fire of persecution is called washing their robes, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb. Keep in mind that this period of tribulation is described thus by our Lord Himself, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matt. 24:21).

As the elder proceeds to give John some information about their status after all tribulation is past, he begins by saying, "Therefore," a word which we all understand to mean "because of the foregoing." So because of their suffering and enduring faithfully these tribulations which were greater than ever endured by any other generation, they are to be constantly before the throne of God, serving Him day and night in His temple: and He will dwell among them. While in the days of their tribulation they no doubt suffered hunger and thirst, that shall never trouble them again. The expression "neither shall the sun light on them," may seem strange to us until we consider that among some people a very common form of torture was to strip a person naked, stretch him on the ground on his back, tie his hands and feet (in this stretched-out position) to stakes with wet rawhide thongs, or other fetters that would shrink as they dried in the sunshine, and leave him there to die. Such, or similar, torture some of them may have suffered; but never again. From now on, the only heat they will ever feel is the gentle warmth of their Saviour's love, and the only light they will have or want is the light of His countenance as He feeds them with that true bread of heaven, and leads them to living (flowing) fountains of waters, while God Himself wipes away all tears from their eyes. This expression signifies not that they shall weep and need tears wiped from their eyes, but that God will forever banish every thing that causes weeping, so that they will never weep again. If it could be thought that tears could ever again come to their eyes, they would have to be tears of Joy. However it seems that the joy that awaits not only those here described, but all of God's children, is so wonderful, so sublime, and so solemn, that it is beyond either laughter or tears.

Chapter 8

Chapter VIII begins with the opening of the seventh, or last, seal. Although many learned men, in commenting upon the seven seals, have tried to consider them as running altogether consecutively (that is, one must be completely finished before the next can begin), this appears in error. They seem in many points to overlap, and even to some degree to be concurrent. Under the opening of the first six seals we have seen a very short outline, if you will, of the executions of judgments upon the earth and, even a glimpse after the period of great tribulation, of God's saints who were brought through it. So we consider those things which follow the opening of the seventh seal as, in a great measure, a more detailed description of the times outlined in the first six.

(Verse 1) "And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."

We shall not attempt to discuss all the many and various ideas men have offered concerning this "silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." Yet there are a few things that this seems to indicate. The first thing that comes to mind is that there must have been in the minds of those present, both saints and angels, a feeling of great expectation and, perhaps awe as they realized that this was the last seal, and after this the book can be opened. They were satisfied to wait upon God, knowing that in His time He would make known all things necessary. Then the very solemnity of the occasion demanded that everyone wait quietly until proper timing for whatever activity was to be his. Also this time of silent waiting shows that God has no need to rush as men often feel they must, but as the Apostle Paul says (Eph. 1:11), "_ _ _worketh all things after the counsel of His own will," which expression itself indicates a deliberate order of things, and not a hurried movement of them. In addition, another consideration arises: in deference to the offering that is about to be made, the offering up of incense together with the prayers of all saints, a time of silence should be observed since that in itself is such a solemn act in the worship of God.

(Verses 2 through 4) "And I saw seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."

Although there has been no previous mention of "the seven angels which stood before God," there is no reason to think that they were not there all the time. In fact, John's language seems to indicate that they were, but are only now called to our attention as preparations for their work are taking place. There is an ancient custom, still in use in many places, of having a herald sound his trumpet to announce either the arrival of some dignitary or the beginning of some noteworthy event. To this end a trumpet was given to each of the seven angels. However, before they were permitted to sound, another scene is shown. For this, another angel came and stood by the altar that he might officiate in the office of priest to offer up the prayers of all saints together with much incense on the golden altar that is before God. Since this scene takes place after the rapture of the church and before the days of tribulation are over, it is to be understood that the expression "of all saints" includes those in heaven and those on earth. Some may object to this on the grounds that those in heaven will not be praying because they have already received that for which they were praying during the time of their pilgrimage on earth. That might be considered a valid objection if prayer were only an act of making requests to God. But the first purpose of true prayer is that of honoring God by offering praise and thanksgiving to Him. Certainly this function of prayer will continue in heaven, and that on a higher plane and in a more perfect manner than has ever been possible in this life. As the angel stood by the altar, there was much incense given unto him that he might offer it with the prayers on the golden altar. This altar and the offering on it seem to refer us to the pattern which God gave Moses concerning the altar of incense for the tabernacle. (See Ex. 30:1-10.) As the angel made this offering upon the golden altar, the smoke of the incense ascended up before God. The sweet fragrance of the smoke of the incense rising up before God signifies that the prayers of God's saints are "of a sweet smelling savour, well pleasing to God."

(Verses 5 and 6) "And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound."

Having finished offering the prayers and the incense, the angel filled his censer with fire from the altar and cast it into the earth. This is the signal for ending the silence, which had prevailed through the time of his offering. Upon the throwing of this censer full of fire into the earth there was in the earth a great tumult, "voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. These voices, thunderings, etc., may be, indeed, things of nature that will be set in motion at that time, but, probably, they also represent many other tumultuous events as well, that will at that time begin to take place. As these things take place, the seven angels who have the seven trumpets prepare to sound. That is, they take their proper places in their proper order so that each will be ready with no more ado when his time to sound arrives.

(Verse 7) "The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up."

It must be kept in mind that John is, in his vision, in heaven, but since before the throne of God there is this sea of glass that is clear as crystal, he has an unobstructed view of earth also. The hail and fire mingled with blood that are cast into the earth may have literal fulfillment. However they seem to signify also the terrible times of violence shown under the opening of the second seal together with the famine and suffering under the third seal. In fact, the opening of the first six seals seems to give us only a brief preview of all the events covered by the entire book of The Revelation through the nineteenth chapter. The scenes set forth at the blowing of the trumpets are, for the most part, if not entirely, more detailed description of those things. In this burning up of a third of all trees and all green grass the picture is one of such desolation that the question which comes immediately to mind is, "Under such devastation, what becomes of food crops and other things considered necessary to life and comfort?" Those who have tried to set the timing of these things in what is now past history have, of course, been driven to "spiritualize" all of this even to the trees and grass, because never in history has such destruction taken place in the entire earth. Nevertheless, the same God Who spoke this world into existence by the word of His power can certainly bring about a literal fulfillment of whatever He has declared. I have no alternative but to believe His word as written.

(Verses 8 and 9) "And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and a third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of ships were destroyed.

John's statement, "as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea," does not carry the meaning that this is actually what will be done, but that it will be something fully as momentous as if such a mountain were cast into the sea. And the actual result will be that a third part of the sea will become blood, bringing about the resulting events mentioned. Surely, during a time of violence such as when peace is removed from the earth, one could hardly be surprised at a third of the living creatures in the sea and a third of all ships being destroyed. Nor is it beyond reason to believe that under such conditions a third of the sea would become blood.

(Verses 10 and 11) "And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is Wormwood: and the third part of the rivers became wormwood: and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."

At the sounding of the second trumpet we were given a picture of a third part of the water of the seas, that is, the waters upon which men rely for commerce, such as transportation, commercial fishing, etc., as it becomes blood thus killing a third of all marine life and bringing destruction to a third of the world's shipping. Now, as the third trumpet is blown, "A great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp" falls upon a third of the rivers and fountains of water, the water upon which men depend for their supply of drinking water, and a third of this was rendered unfit for use, even in many cases fatal. The first reaction of the skeptic is that it just could not be this way, so he begins to search for some way of explaining this that will make it symbolic instead of literal. This might be excusable in men of past centuries, inasmuch as with the level of man's scientific advance in their days, the only way in which they could envision a literal fulfillment is that a star large enough to cover a third of all the rivers and fountains on earth should fall and thus affect them. This, indeed, could take place, but it seems that there can be another explanation that is not far from probability in our present time. The word "heaven" is used in reference to more than one location. John has told us that he has been called up into heaven. He describes it as a place wherein is the throne of God and wherein are the Lamb, the saints of God, and the angels. This heaven is not the place from whence the star falls. "Heaven" is in many places used to refer to outer space in which are the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, etc. It also is used to denote the atmosphere, in which area we find the clouds. This star could, of course, be from the area of the other stars, outer space. However, it could very well be one of the many satellites that by that time will be in orbit around the earth, if God permits man to do some of the things he now imagines himself able to do. Such a satellite could well be nuclear-loaded, and when it makes re-entry into the atmosphere an explosion of it could easily spread nuclear fall-out over a third of the rivers and fountains. This is not to say that this the way it will take place, but simply to show how easily it can take place without even requiring a miracle to be wrought. Yet God may see fit to bring it about in a far more miraculous manner, and make no mistake about it, He is able. "And the name of that star is called Wormwood." According to THE NEW WEBSTER ENCYCLOPEDIC DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,wormwood is a plant that has no relation to wood, and the only relation it has to worms is that it was used as a remedy for same-- "a well known plant celebrated for its intensely bitter, tonic, and stimulating qualities." Thus a third of the earth's water supply will be rendered useless. "And many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter," either because they drank them and the bitter pollution of the waters caused their deaths, or because the waters were so bitter they could not drink them and thus died of thirst.

(Verses 12 and 13) "And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!"

Notice should be taken of the similarity of some things in this scene and those at the opening of the sixth seal. Under the opening of that seal the stars of heaven fell to the earth, the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, all of which sets forth a time of darkness in both day and night. There it is said that "the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when shaken of a mighty wind," indicating that there was indeed a great shower of falling stars, yet not all of them fell even as with the fig tree only the "untimely" or immature ones were blown off. The rest remained. At the sounding of the trumpet of this angel we are told that only a third of the stars fell. At the opening of the sixth seal we are told that the sun became "black as sackcloth of hair. Such a cloth, while it would obscure a great deal of the light, would, since it is a very coarse cloth, give passage to some light, and at the sounding of this trumpet the degree to which it was darkened is given us. One third of its light is cut out. The same is true of the moon. As it in appearance becomes as blood, it loses a third of its light, so that instead of the bright, silvery beauty that we are accustomed to see when we go outside on a clear night when the moon is full, there will be only a dull, reddish, somewhat sullen-appearing light that will have little, if any, beauty. The expression "and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise" when considered together with what is said about the sun, moon, and stars seems not to mean chronologically, that is, for a third part of its hours, the day loses its light and the night likewise, but that for the entire time of each, the light is cut down so that a third of it does not shine. I have no doubt whatsoever that God can bring all this about with no help from man, and that He will bring it as He sees fit. However, just to consider how that He may see fit to let natural causes bring some of it about, think of this. The atmospheric pollution that is increasingly being produced in the world today, if not stopped, or at least slowed down, might contribute more than we realize to such a situation. Even now some of our cities with their surrounding areas are so loaded with smog and pollutants in the air that there is almost constantly such a haze in the atmosphere that it almost approaches the condition here described. If permitted to increase at the rate it has for many years, how much longer might it take to reach such proportions?

John having seen these great things, now has his attention called to something else, an angel flying through the midst of heaven. As we have said before, not heaven in which is the throne of God, but in the space over the earth, since his message is to, and concerning, those who live on the earth. This message is, "Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound." The things already revealed are terrible, indeed, but they seem pale beside those yet to come. The fact that the angel repeats the word "woe" so that it becomes a three-time declaration indicates how important it is that the inhabitants of the earth take warning that as the following three angels shall blow their trumpets greater tribulations are to take place.

Chapter 9

The seventh and last seal was opened at the beginning of Chapter VIII. So everything from that point on is revealed with no more seals to open. However, under the opening of that seal there have been four trumpets sounded, each to call attention to some further details of the days of tribulation and judgment. This continues under the sounding of two more trumpets in this Chapter. Under the first of these, the fifth trumpet, there is a great plague of unusual locusts, and under the other, trumpet number six, a battle of thirteen months, one day, and one hour. An account is given of the army, its action, and the results thereof.

(Verses 1 through 3) "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power."

Before commenting on these verses let us look forward to verse 12, "One woe is past; and behold, there come two woes more hereafter." One might think this to mean that after this great plague comes to pass and is finished the next two will follow, consecutively, and, indeed, it may. Yet it can also mean, simply, that this woe is past so far as having been revealed and the next two will be set forth. The angel in Chapter VIII, verse 13, said, "Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound." That is, as these angels sound their trumpets, an unveiling will take place of three woes worse than those already revealed. No chronology of the sequence of these with reference either to themselves or to those already set forth is ever made. As we have before said, there is a possibility that some of these things, though, necessarily shown and written down in sequence, may take place concurrently. The expression in verse 2, "and the sun and air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit," may signify that this will have some part in the darkening of the sun mentioned at the opening of the sixth seal and the sounding of the second trumpet. However that may be, let us consider the three verses quoted above.

It seems quite obvious that the star which John saw fall from heaven must have been an angel and not a literal star; for "to him was given the key of the bottomless pit." As to the question of who this angel may be, we might consider two possibilities. First, if he is the same as "the angel of the bottomless pit" in verse 11, then he is no other than the devil himself, since the Hebrew name "Abaddon" means "destruction" or "hell" and the Greek name "Apollyon" means "destroyer." In this case perhaps it is better to understand "heaven" not as heaven where God's throne is, but the atmospheric heaven, for Satan is called "the prince of the power of the air." However, no mention is made of the star in verse 1 as being "the king of the bottomless pit." He is only shown as the messenger of God, sent down to earth in a manner that appears as a star falling from heaven. After his arrival on earth he is given the key of the bottomless pit which he proceeds to use in unlocking and opening this pit.

Some may claim that "the bottomless pit" is only an expression, a figment of the imagination, and really can't possibly exist. To which my answer is, "This pit is not said to be on earth. The star came down to earth because the opening of the pit would affect the earth. Our space scientists tell us that in space there are areas into which if anything, even light, enters, it is lost forever. For this reason these areas are called “black holes.” These same holes are said to have no end--thus bottomless. If man, as foolish as he is in spite of all his boasted wisdom, has discovered these things, why refuse to believe that God, Who is Omniscient and Omnipotent and has created all things, knows exactly where a “bottomless pit” is that no man has even suspected, much less discovered? It may also have some figurative meaning, but let us never lose sight of the fact that God is able to do any thing He says exactly as He says it."

As the star, or angel, opened the pit a great smoke came out of it--so great that it darkened the sun and the air. Then out of this great cloud of smoke came a swarm of locusts. Countries around the Mediterranean area, as well as many other places, have historically been subject to plagues of locusts from time to time, but never any such as these, for to "them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power." Of course, a scorpion has a poisonous sting, which is something no locust has ever yet been found to have.

(Verses 4 through 6) "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it; and desire to die, and death shall flee from them."

Historically, locusts are known primarily for their voracious appetite for and total devastation of green vegetation, particularly grass and grain crops. They have often been recorded as the cause of great famines by reason of their destruction of food grain. However, these locusts are commanded to do nothing of the kind. They are to eat no green vegetation of any kind, neither of grass or tree. Their only purpose is to be of torment to those men who have not been sealed in the forehead with the seal of God. Because of this strange commandment given to them, many have thought this could only be figurative and must be explained by some event in history already past. In order to do this they have tried to make "grass" represent one group of men, usually the laity, or private members of the church and "the trees" represent more outstanding Christians, while at the same time contending that the "men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads" are the wicked people of the earth; and some have even set them forth as the Catholic Church, and the locusts as the Mahometans, thus explaining this whole thing as the rise of Mohammedanism and its spread over the world from about 622 AD to about 1057 AD To use any such method of explanation as this seems to me a far greater mixing of metaphors than can be justified by the language used, to say nothing of the contradiction in the length of time involved. If in the scriptural account here given, "men" means "men" does it not follow that "locusts" should mean "locusts," "grass" mean "grass," and "trees" mean “trees?” Also it seems somewhat far-fetched to consider a period of about 435 years as the proper explanation of the phrase "five months," especially when such an explanation comes entirely from the imagination of man, with no key for such even hinted at in scripture.

It seems far better to understand the word of God to mean exactly what it says. There will, at the appointed time, be a plague of locusts let loose upon the earth. These locusts will be such that they will not feed upon green vegetation and their sole purpose will be to torment the men who have not been sealed in their foreheads by the seal of God. The duration of this plague will be five months, in which time, by reason of the stings of these specially equipped locusts, the men thus tormented will seek to commit suicide, but will not be able to die.

There is another explanation that has been used by some of our modern writers which looks a little more plausible than that mentioned above. As we look at the further description John gives us of these locusts we will say more about this theory. First let us consider his description.

(Verses 7 through 11) "And the shapes of these locusts were like unto horses prepared for battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

The theory of explanation mentioned above, as used by some of our modern writers, is that this description is simply the effort of a first-century A. D. man trying to describe to his contemporaries the appearance of a squadron of ultra-modern helicopter gunships. As one looks at such a machine in flight it is readily apparent that there are some similarities between it and a huge locust in flight. Also it might be difficult for a man of the first century, having never before seen or even imagined such a thing, to distinguish clearly between man and machine, thus giving rise to a composite description of both man and machine as a single entity. The noise of such machines would indeed be "as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle." The odd, beating sound of the helicopter is always readily distinguishable from the smooth hum of an airplane or an automobile. This theory, though more plausible than those of many earlier commentators may not be correct either. Since John says nothing about any unusually great size of these locusts, one is left to wonder why no mention is made of this point, if indeed this be the explanation of the scene. Certainly, that is one of the first things we would expect in the description of such a machine when likening it to a locust.

No matter whether these locusts are machines of war, or a special type of insect created at the time and for the purpose stated, one thing is certain. When they are released upon the earth they will be recognized and they will fulfill the purpose for which they are sent. The king over them "is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." The Hebrew name means "destruction" or "hell" and the Greek name means "destroyer," and both are synonyms for Satan. It must not be thought that Satan as their king has unlimited authority. He is still under the limitations and restrictions God has set upon him, for in verse 4 it was commanded them to hurt only those men who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads.

Having seen this vision of the locust plague, John tells us, "One woe is past; and behold there come two woes more hereafter." This obviously does not mean that this woe has already come to pass and is now relegated to the file of historical statistics, but rather that this completes the picture of this woe, and there are two more that we have not yet seen. Thus we come to the sounding of the trumpet of the sixth angel, which announces the scene of the second woe.

(Verses 13 through 19) "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates . And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt." 

This woe, as have indeed practically all other matters in this great book, has by many been considered as having had its fulfillment somewhere in the time that is now ancient history. We believe that such arguments are completely off the mark and need not be enlarged upon here.

It is our firm conviction that this great scene will take place during the time of the "redemption of the purchased possession," that is, during the time of our Lord's bringing judgment upon this wicked world. When this angel sounded his trumpet a voice "from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God," spoke, and commanded this angel, "Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates ." Now the word here translated "in" (the Greek word "epi") can mean "upon," "by," "at," "near," or several other words. In this particular instance, perhaps a better reading would be, "bound at the great river Euphrates ." Looking forward to Chapter XVI, verse 12, we find, "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." In the present time the river Euphrates , large as it is, would present no barrier to an army of two hundred million men, but in John's day it would present something more of a problem. So the drying up of that river to prepare the way of the kings of the east would, indeed, seem to answer to the command that the angels bound, or stopped, there be loosed.

Since the angels there bound are evidently in command of this great army, it seems that they and the kings of the east are one and the same. Certainly there is no reason to think that the river itself will be any physical barrier to such an army thus being the means by which they are "bound," or held up. Rather, it seems apparent that they are here stopped and by the power of God restrained until the time, appointed by Him and signaled by the sounding of the trumpet, for their release. An example of how God holds back great military powers without their being aware of it can be seen in this: most historians agree that, in what is called "World War II," had Japan followed up the bombing of Pearl Harbor by immediately bombing, or even invading the USA , there could have been a very different story of that war. However, by causing disagreement among Japan 's leaders as to the feasibility of such action, He held them in check long enough for the Allies to, to some extent, re-group. In the picture given to John, He has apparently held these "angels" or kings in check until His appointed time by some means or other. Thus they are bound at that point and, since the trumpet has sounded, they are to be let loose for their march toward Jerusalem . As these angels are let loose, John is given the length of their attack (thirteen months, one day, and one hour) and the number of horsemen in this army (two hundred thousand thousand, or two hundred million).

He then proceeds to give a description of these horsemen and their horses. Here one might have a tendency to lean somewhat to the explanation given by some of our modern writers--that of a first-century AD man describing to his contemporaries a modern tank battle. Remember that in John's day gunpowder had not been invented and that the fastest means of transportation for an army was by use of the horse or the horse-drawn chariot. So, as the forward gun of a tank blazes forth it appears to envelop the machine with a breastplate of fire and brimstone and, perhaps, the glow of a jacinth. At the same time it appears to come forth from the mouth of the "beast," and surely is the means of destruction, which makes a tank so formidable in battle. In addition a turret gun can cover the sides and back, thus resembling the description given in verse 19, "for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt." Again, although there may be some other, far better explanation of this scene, there remains, I believe, one absolute certainty. This is a preview of things to come in the days of the judgment of this world, not something that happened centuries ago and no longer has any importance for us. During the time of this particular war, a third of the people on earth will be killed. Yet with all this destruction, what a sad commentary is given of the depravity of mankind, as John gives us the remainder of the picture!

(Verses 20 and 21) "And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."

There is, and for some time has been, a great rise in humanism, which is, of course, the study of human nature with its abilities and accomplishments and, when extended too far, it becomes a denial of any power or wisdom above that of man. Thus, when carried to that extreme, it becomes the worship of devils in that it sets the accomplishments of man above God Himself. Compare Paul's description of the "man of sin_ _ _the son of perdition" in II Thessalonians 2:4, "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God , shewing himself that he is God." The rest of the people, the ones not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands--that is, the worship of those things-- which constitutes the worship of devils. Neither did they repent of their worship of idols, whether of precious materials as silver and gold or common materials as wood and stone, thus showing that rich and poor alike are guilty and will not repent. Neither repented they though the plagues were visited upon them for these things, and certainly they knew that these things could do nothing for them, not even see, hear, nor walk. They would continue to worship the same vain things as before.

Neither would they repent of, nor turn away from, their evil deeds. It seems that the four evils mentioned here are the very ones, which are most prevalent in the present day. The incidence of murder, as commonly reported, has been on the increase for some time, and that DOES NOT INCLUDE THE UNCOUNTED MURDERS OF UN-BORN INFANTS. This latter part of the numbers is brought about by the humanistic cry of, "We have the right to choice," which when analyzed simply comes out to, "If we don't want them, we have the right to kill them." Never do we hear them say, "We have the right to choose abstinence, as God long ago commanded us." Instead, the whole thrust is, "Let us do any thing we want, and have someone remove the consequences." This very attitude will prevail among the people that are not killed by these plagues. There will be no repentance.

Consider the next evil mentioned, their sorceries. The word here translated "sorceries" is the Greek word "Pharmakon," meaning "a drug," "a potion," "an incantation," or "an enchantment." It is the same word from which we have our present word, "pharmacy," and other related words. Perhaps the reason why those who translated the Bible in 1611 chose to use "sorceries" instead of "drugs" is that in the seventeenth century people were more concerned with witchcraft than with drug abuse. Both always have been, and still are very closely associated together. In our present society both are on the increase. Since both are very much joined together, they form one problem; and there will be no repentance of it.

The evil of fornication needs little said in explanation of it. The principal alarm about it is that it has become so extensive in modern society that most of our "educators" have for some time been discussing bringing "sex education" into our schools, at a very early age of the children, as a part of the regular school curriculum, in order to teach the children how to commit fornication without a resultant pregnancy or the transmitting of any disease. Anyone can see that this will only promote this evil. And people will no more repent of it than of the other evils in which they delight.

Theft is another very common evil today. In scope it ranges from the pickpocket on the street up to and including the "TV evangelist," as we have seen very graphically set forth in the past few years. Theft has always been a common sin of humanity, but it, like all other sins of man, is constantly on the increase, and, indeed, all three of the other evils already mentioned contain theft in them. When a person is murdered, his life is stolen. When he is enticed to partake of drugs or engage in witchcraft, his sound judgment is stolen from him. When fornication is committed, the innocence of both parties is forever gone. In addition to this, when one commits any one of these, or when he worships idols, he steals from God the respect due Him. But the depravity of mankind is such that even under such great plagues as here described there is no repentance. In fact, judgment, although it sometimes frightens men, as shown in Chapter VI, verses 14 through 17, never brings repentance. Repentance comes about when the Spirit of God opens our eyes to see and our hearts to understand just how sinful and depraved we are, and how utterly helpless and hopeless we are without His grace. Only then do we, or indeed can we, truly repent.

John is to hear another trumpet sounding, but not until the fifteenth verse of Chapter XI. So as we look at Chapter X, we are only seeing the preparation for the sounding of that trumpet.

(Verses 1 through 4) "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not."

The mighty angel whom John saw come down from heaven is described as having a rainbow upon his head. Inasmuch as the rainbow is God's sign, which He gave to Noah and his seed after him, of His covenant that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood, it is also often interpreted as a symbol of the covenant of grace; and, in view of the declaration the angel is about to make, it seems very fitting to so consider it here. For, in spite of its wickedness, the world of humanity has, by the grace of God only, been spared down to this time, but that is soon to come to its close. His face is described as being "as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire." This very readily carries our minds back to Rev. 1:15-16, where our Lord is similarly described. Indeed, some commentators have declared that this angel is none other than our Lord Jesus the Christ Himself. This may be the case, but John does not positively identify him as such.

However, one can be sure that he is clothed with and supported by the power and authority of God. So, instead of quibbling over his identity, we should concern ourselves with what he does and what he says. This angel held a little open book in his hand. In Chapter V we saw that there was a book in the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne. At that time it was sealed with seven seals which, after receiving the book, the Lamb proceeded to loose one after another until all seven were loosed. Nothing is there said about the size of that book, and this one which the angel has is said to be a little book. Therefore it cannot be positively maintained that they are the same. However, there seem to be some similarities that should be noted. These we shall take up later in this chapter.

The angel then placed his right foot upon the sea and his left upon the earth, or land, in preparation for the declaration he was about to make. Then, to call the attention of everyone to the importance of his announcement, he cried, or shouted, with a loud voice, compared in volume to the roaring of a lion. When he had thus shouted, he was answered by seven thunders. Let no man try to tell you what the thunders said; for even John was commanded by a voice from heaven to seal that up and leave it unwritten. The fact that they answered the shout of the angel seems to indicate that they were acknowledging the authority of God in what was taking place, but beyond that they are best left alone. What they said, to put it bluntly, is none of our business.

(Verses 5 through 7) "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets."

Since this angel had already taken up his position (standing "upon the sea and upon the earth"), he lifted his hand up to (or toward) heaven, as has historically been the manner of preparation for any oath that is to be taken. Then in the most solemn manner possible he swore by the One Who can never die, and Who by His own power created not only heaven, earth, and sea, but also all the fullness of them all. The substance of this oath is that "time shall be no more," that is, although the grace and mercy of God had spared this wicked world down to the present time for the sake of His own, this (the mystery of God) will be finished when the seventh angel begins to sound his trumpet. There will be no more delay, for God's justice demands vengeance upon His enemies, just as He has declared to His servants the prophets all the way back to Enoch. (Jude 14-15), "and Enoch also, the seventh from Adam prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." The time for such will have fully arrived at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. The day of God's grace and forbearance will have come to an end, to be replaced by the day of His vengeance.

(Verses 8 through 11) "And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings."

The same voice which John had heard earlier and which commanded him to seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered now told him to go and take the little book which was open in the angel's hand. He accordingly approached the angel and asked for the book, which the angel readily gave him together with some instructions that may at first seem very strange. These instructions are that he should take the book and eat it up, which John did just as instructed. Some have said that this does not mean that John literally ate the book, but that he read it so avidly that it was as one eating a meal with a very great appetite. Such quibbling is ridiculous. It must be remembered that this was in a vision, not something that John was physically acting out. For that reason, there is no cause to think that it does not mean exactly what it says. In his vision John heard himself instructed to eat it and saw himself actually do so. Of course there is a symbolic explanation of the results of that eating. The angel told John that this book would be sweet to the mouth and bitter to the belly, and upon eating it he found this to be the case. If we consider the comparison earlier mentioned we can find this symbolic explanation. As before noticed, the book in the hand of Him, Who sat upon the throne, although at that time sealed, has since had all seven seals broken and is therefore now opened. The little book in the hand of the angel is also open showing that the time is come when, as the angel himself said, "the mystery of God" (that is His secret judgments for the earth) will be finished as soon as the seventh angel shall sound his trumpet. Then it will be a secret no more, but will be revealed to all. The book in the right hand of Him, Who sat upon the throne is the sealed evidence of the details of the transaction necessary to the redemption of the forfeited possession. The fact that the time has come for the fulfillment of all these things and the redemption of the possession is cause for great joy, comparable to the little book's being in the mouth sweet as honey. However, when one contemplates the suffering, persecutions, and tribulations that those saints still on earth must endure, there is sorrow, which might answer to John's expression, "and when I had eaten it, my belly was bitter."

Reference may also be had to the fact that even with the sweetness of the knowledge that God will at His appointed time deliver this world from the usurpation of Satan, there follows the thought that this is to be at some future time, and John has much suffering yet to do before he is delivered. Then the angel called John's attention to this fact by saying to him, "Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." John was well aware of why he was on the Island of Patmos in the first place. He was in exile because of his faith in the testimony of the Lord Christ Jesus. This message of the angel must have comforted him in the assurance that he would be delivered from this exile, but at the same time it seems probable that some thoughts of apprehension may have entered his mind because he knew not what might befall him, even as Paul declared (Acts 20:23), "Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me." Certainly, such thoughts would never deter John from prophesying, just as the angel told him he must, but even so, one would think his prayer might be the same as he later expresses it (Rev. 22:21), "Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus."

In Chapter XI, John is given a measuring reed and is instructed to measure certain things and certain areas. At the same time He is cautioned to refrain from measuring one area; and the reason is given for not measuring it. Then an account is given of two persons who are designated as "witnesses." Also is given a description of the power and works of these witnesses, the length of the duration of their work, and what follows the completion of their work. During this account, there is introduced a being who has not been previously mentioned, but who will be much noticed in some of the following accounts of this prophecy. After these things the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, whereupon there breaks forth a great shout of praise to our Lord and His Christ.

(Verses 1 through 3) "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God , and the altar, and them which worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth."

No reason is given why John is instructed to measure the "temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." However, since the reason for his refraining from measuring the outer court is that it is given to the Gentiles, or heathen, for forty-two months, one might surmise that his measuring these is symbolic of the Lord's care for His own in that He constantly keeps before Him the measure of them and all their limitations. Still, since He does not give us His reason, our best course is to leave the matter in His hands and not fret about it.

Two things seem to come quite clear in this account. First, there seems to be further clarification of this Angel, Who is the same as the Angel in Chapter X, Who holds the little book in His hand. When He says, "And I will give power to My two witnesses," it is evident that He is the One some writers refer to as "the uncreated Angel"--the Lord Christ Jesus. The second point established is that He will appoint His two witnesses and empower them to prophesy for the exact duration of time in which the heathen will tread the holy city under foot. The fact that these witnesses will be clothed in sackcloth during the time of their prophecy shows plainly that they will not be great men in the eyes of the world. They will wear no fancy clothes nor other signs of wealth, but only very coarse clothing, just as did their predecessors, the prophets of Old Testament days.

(Verses 4 through 6) "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will."

Here again we must break away from the traditions of men who have assigned their "spiritualized" interpretations to this account. They seemed to think that the 1260 days could not be simply days, as set forth in this account, but "days of years." that is, each day must be a year, making the whole to be 1260 years instead of days as John says. Some of them even set a particular time in what is now ancient history for the beginning of these things, and thus projected from that the time of the end. This might be thought to be a reasonable explanation of these things, were it not for the fact that the projected end has long been past and no end has come. We feel compelled to think that the scriptural account is accurate without such explanation, and that the time of its fulfilling is yet future.

Some of the very early Christian writers had some thoughts as to the identity of these two witnesses, that practically all later writers have completely ignored. However, although no one can say that they were absolutely correct, there are some things in scripture that one might do well to inspect while considering the manner in which some of them looked upon this account.

First of all, they considered this account to be one that will be literally fulfilled in the final days of judgment on this world, and the duration thereof to be forty-two months (or 1260 days), just as stated. This we feel compelled to acknowledge as the truth. Next, they considered these two witnesses to be Enoch and Elijah. There is no absolute proof that this is the case, but there are some scriptural points that we do wish to examine. In all history of the human race, including our Lord Jesus Christ, no one other than Enoch and Elijah ever left this world without passing through death. Genesis 5:24 says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." II Kings 2:11 tells us, "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

Verse 4 of the account we have of these two witnesses says "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the whole earth." This seems to be a reference to Zechariah 4:11-14, "Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." It is commonly thought that the two olive trees mentioned by Zechariah are Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua, and this may be, in that they are the types of the two witnesses who will be in the last days; but, since, of all humanity, God made choice of Enoch and Elijah that they should leave this world without passing through death, and these olive trees mentioned by Zechariah are called not "two of the anointed ones," but "the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth," there seems to be some merit to the argument that they are here intended. If indeed they are, then at the close of their ministry of witness, they too will pass through death, and thus death will have "passed upon all."

Further, in Rev. 11:13, the Lord says, "And I will give power to my two witnesses," which seems to imply that these two witnesses have until now been, as it were, held in reserve, and will at that time be commissioned with authority, and equipped with suitable ability, to carry out their mission of prophesying. Although there is little on record of the prophesying of Enoch, what we do have seems to establish him as a "judgment prophet." (Jude 14 and 15) "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Certainly Elijah was a "judgment prophet". Witness his declarations against Ahab, Jezebel, and others, Also II Kings 1:9-12 tells of an incident in which Elijah demonstrated the power of destroying his enemies by fire.

Some commentators have interpreted the fire that proceeds out of their mouths as simply being their testimony, which so strongly declared the righteous judgment of God that it "devoureth their enemies." This might sound very good until we remember that not even the testimony of our Lord ever killed anyone; indeed, neither did it ever give life to any. Surely He raised the dead, but not by His preaching. It was by the word of His power, such as, "Talitha cumi," (Mark 5:4), or "Lazarus, come forth," (John 11:43 ), not by His preaching. So it is hardly likely that the preaching of these witnesses is the means of devouring their enemies, since it is further affirmed that "if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These witnesses have "power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy." The duration of their prophecy is one thousand two hundred and three score days, or three years and six months, the exact length of time that rain was withheld as the result of Elijah's prayer. (James 5:17), "Elias [Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." Dr. Gill interpreted this rain (in the days of the two witnesses) not as rain but as the preaching of the gospel, and gave as his major reason for so doing the excuse that, according to his system of interpretation (taking each day to be a year, which he called a "prophetic day") there would have to be a period of twelve hundred and sixty years without rain. This he could not accept, and, frankly neither can we. So he concluded that this had to mean a time of twelve hundred and sixty years in which the gospel would be silenced, or nearly so. This has not taken place either. However, the Apostle John said nothing about twelve hundred and sixty years; only twelve hundred and sixty days, which amount to three and one-half years. Droughts of longer duration than this have been recorded in some places in the world already. Is it totally incredible that at the appointed time it might be worldwide? We think not.

In addition to this, these two witnesses will have power over all plagues to make use of them as often as they will. The power to turn water into blood is especially noted here. All this is reminiscent of the plagues on the Egyptians to make Pharaoh let Israel go free from Egypt . Whether these two witnesses are indeed Enoch and Elijah, or whether others, it is obvious that they are two men who will be endowed with special powers of judgment for the duration of the days of their prophecy.

(Verse 7) "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."

Not only will God give these two witnesses the power to protect themselves from all their enemies during the time of their prophecy, but He will also remove it when they have finished their work, in order that, in their death and that which shall follow, they will glorify Him even more. So at the end of their prophecy, He suffers the beast of the bottomless pit, which surely is Satan's representative, to overcome them and kill them.

(Verse 8)"And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt , where also our Lord was crucified."

No student of the Bible would try to deny that our Lord was crucified at Jerusalem . However, he says that it "is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt ." This is most likely in reference to the darkness God sent upon Egypt in the days of His plagues upon Pharaoh, and the fiery judgment which He sent upon Sodom for its sins. The city is considered holy by Moslems, Jews, and all professed Christians who worship places instead of God. So in the eyes of the world, it is "the great city," although spiritually it is as dark as Egypt and as sinful as Sodom .

When these two witnesses shall be killed, the whole world will be so happy and will so gloat over this seemingly great victory over them that they will not permit their dead bodies to be put into graves, but will derive such great pleasure from viewing these bodies and boasting of the great victory of the beast over them that they will celebrate for three days and a half by sending presents and, no doubt, congratulatory messages one to another, and in general abandon themselves to the great joy of being forever (or so they will think) rid of these men who had tormented them with all manner of plagues for three and one-half years.

However their joy will be short-lived, for at the end of the three and one-half days "the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them." Some learned and sincere men from times a few centuries ago have been brought to the conclusion that this three and one-half day period had to be interpreted as "prophetic days," as mentioned before, which would make it three and one-half years instead of days, by reason of the fact that in their day it would have taken almost that much time to get the news of the death of these witnesses to all the nations of the world. This misconception led also to their "spiritualizing" the death of the witnesses as well as the dead bodies of the same. In our present day, any event can be made known all over the whole world almost instantaneously without even the use of a miracle. Certainly, news of such great moment as this would be broadcast immediately. Consequently, there is no excuse for making anything out of this other than its literal meaning.

So complete consternation will be upon those who see these two bodies that have been lying dead for three days and a half suddenly rise to their feet. How much greater will be their amazement as verse 12 is fulfilled! "And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them." Not only did those who had just been celebrating the death of these two witnesses see them come alive and stand upon their feet, they also heard a voice from heaven commanding these formerly dead bodies to ascend from earth to heaven, which they immediately did, ascending "up to heaven in a cloud" before the very eyes of those who so lately celebrated their death.

(Verses 13 and 14) "And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven."

The expression "and the same hour" is the equivalent of our common expression "at the same time" signifying, of course, that as these two witnesses ascend in a cloud, there will come a great earthquake. This earthquake will be so strong that it will destroy a tenth of the city ( Jerusalem , as earlier noted) and it will kill seven thousand men. This earthquake coming as it will in connection with the ascension of the two witnesses will so frighten the people that are left, that they will glorify "the God of heaven." Nothing is said about their repenting of their sins or worshipping God. So it seems to present about the same situation as is meant by a common expression among combat veterans, "There are no atheists in foxholes." They were just so frightened that they temporarily recognized God as greater than they. The remainder of the book of Revelation shows clearly that they did not become worshippers of God. This is the second woe pronounced by the angel in Chapter VIII, verse 13, and the showing of it is hereby completed, but there remains another to be shown.

(Verse 15) "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever."

In Chapter X, verses 6 and 7, the angel who stood upon the sea and the land declared that there should be no more delay, but when the seventh angel sounded his trumpet the mystery of God would be finished. Here we find the seventh angel sounding and immediately there were great voices in heaven declaring that the kingdoms of this world have been taken over by "our Lord, and His Christ," and that He will reign for ever and ever. This obviously sets the stage for the final showdown between God and Satan although, as we continue on, we shall see more details of the conflict. However there can be no doubt of the outcome. He will reign forever and ever.

(Verses 16 through 18) "And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come, because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."

The seventh angel having sounded, and the announcement having been made that our Lord and His Christ have taken over the reins of government over the kingdoms of the world, the twenty-four elders at once fall down and worship God. They give thanks to Him because He has taken unto Himself His great power. This is not a new power that He has taken up. It is His from eternity. He has only suffered Satan to usurp the power over the kingdoms of this world for a time, that His own glory will shine forth more brightly in the overthrow of Satan, who has deceived men into thinking him invincible. That great power of His, which He has seemingly laid down, or set aside, temporarily, the Almighty God takes again unto Himself and reigns supreme, which action occasions this outpouring of thanks to Him by the elders. They further declare, "The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come." This may remind us of Psalms 2:1-3, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." The disciples, in their prayer recorded in Acts 4:24-30, explain this as the prophecy of the crucifixion of Christ. The nations, or heathen, were angry, as were the people of Israel . That, however, is at this point a thing of the past for, as the elders declare, "Thy wrath is come." Now instead of the heathen raging against God, and thinking that they can break away from Him, they are about to feel His wrath.

Not only has the time come for God's wrath to come but also for it to be poured forth in judgment of the dead. He is shortly to sit upon His great throne of judgment, as described later, and judge the dead. Also it is time that He will give reward to His "servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear His name, small and great." This expression by no means sets forth three different classes of God's people, but simply declares that none will be left out. This reward is "the reward of the inheritance" mentioned in Col. 3:24 and is altogether by the grace of God, since our Lord Himself has said, (Luke 17:10), "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." Nevertheless, even though it is by grace, it will be declared, as it were, in open court to the glory of God.

One more thing is said to be awaiting accomplishment: that God should destroy "them that destroy the earth." In ages past men may have thought that the phrase "them which destroy the earth" might need some special explanation, but if one is at all knowledgeable of the events currently taking place, it stands forth in stark reality just as written. Man's pollution of the earth is destroying our rivers, lakes, and even our oceans, as well as our atmosphere. Some of our scientists say that we are even destroying the ozone layer, which, they tell us, is our major protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. And some tell us that, at our present rate of depletion of our forests, the last tree will be cut down in about fifty years. If that is not literally "destroying the earth", please tell us what it is. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the time will be at hand for God to "destroy them which destroy the earth."

(Verse 19) "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and a great hail."

As before noted, it was declared in Chapter X that when the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, the mystery of God would be finished. So at this sounding, the temple of God was opened in heaven, revealing to sight the ark of His testament, signifying that the mystery is finished (His secret is revealed). The time is come for His purposes of judgment to be set in motion. When this is done in heaven, it is accompanied on earth by lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. All these speak of the judgments God is about to let loose upon the earth.

For the most part, earlier scenes of this revelation have been introduced with, "I saw," or "I heard," with no reference to their being "wonders," or symbolic illustrations of other things. In this chapter, however, there are two "wonders," or symbolic representations set forth. Also there are given sufficient keys to their meaning.

(Verses 1 through 4) "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born."

Since these two beings are introduced as "wonders" (literally "signs," which are representative of something other than the actual scene itself), we shall try to inquire into their meanings. The first wonder, or symbol, is a woman. She is called "a great wonder," indicating that she is of great importance and also a great mystery, or secret. However, since the mystery of God is to be finished at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, which was recorded in the fifteenth verse of the preceding chapter, this part of the mystery of God is here revealed in the "great wonder" of the woman, of whom a description is given. Of course, there have been many theories advanced as to the identity of the woman. Most of them can be brushed aside, simply by considering what is said in this chapter.

There are also some things in other locations of the scriptures which can be brought to bear upon the subject. We find in Matthew 17:1-2, "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light." Then in Rev. 1:16, "And He had in His hand, seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." Other excerpts could be quoted, but this should be sufficient to prove that, inasmuch as this woman was "clothed in the sun," she was dressed in the pure glory and righteousness of God. Men have long known that the moon has no light of its own but is a reflection of the light of the sun. For this reason, it is often used as a representation of the law, since the law has no righteousness of its own but is only the reflection of the righteousness of God. So this woman is above the law. Consider Paul's statement to the Romans (Rom. 6:14 ), "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace;" and to the Galatians (Gal. 5:18 ), "But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law."

She also wears a "crown of twelve stars," signifying that as the head is the governing part of the body (since in proper order thought precedes action), she is guided by the same principles as were the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. One might object to this on the grounds that to add the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles together produces a sum much in excess of twelve. Nevertheless, since twelve is a number that is often used to represent fullness or completion of divine things, and is therefore considered a "perfect" number, it will suffice here, especially since all three groups, although serving in different time frames, were motivated by the same thing--faith in God

Let us look now at the last verse of this chapter, verse 17, "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." This certainly should clinch the identity of the woman. She must of necessity be the true worshippers of God--the church, if you will--not some particular organized denomination nor, for that matter, even the gospel church from the days of the apostles down to the end of time. Rather it is the true worshippers of God from the beginning of man to the end.

Next, let us consider the woman's condition and the child she is to bring forth. This woman is not only with child but has come to the time of being in labor, indicating that the time of birth is at hand. This is in perfect accord with what the angel said in Chapter X, verses 6 and 7--that there should be no more delay after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. So the time of travail has come and she does bring forth "a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron." In spite of what some commentators have tried to do with this expression, it is always scripturally applied only to our Lord Jesus the Christ and those of whom He says, (Rev. 2:26-27), "And he that overcometh, and keepeth My words unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father." In this case, it obviously indicates Jesus Himself.

The identification of the woman and the "man child" may seem strange to some, but let us consider two more scriptures that we believe bear upon the subject. Moses tells us (Deut. 18:15) "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken." Then our Lord Himself says, (Matt. 12:50 ), "For whosoever shall do the will of My Father Which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." Since this woman was introduced as a "wonder," or symbol, we are not looking for a flesh and blood mother and son, but for a symbolic relation. The fact that this scene is set after the sounding of the seventh trumpet indicates that it is not to be taken as the birth of the Christ, when He came into the world to be the offering for sin, but it symbolizes His coming in judgment to "rule all nations with a rod of iron." The fifth verse of this chapter continues, "And her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne." This is, of course for His protection from the dragon, but even more so to establish Him as the ruler on the throne, that He may fulfill His work of ruling all nations with a rod of iron, which no one who has ever read any history at all can say He has done since His first advent.

We shall now consider the second "wonder," or sign, that is introduced in this chapter. This symbol is a "great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." A dragon is considered today as a completely fictional beast. I will not attempt to argue the pros and cons of that idea. In most ancient cultures, and some not so ancient, dragons have been considered as very real beings, and always considered as terrible monsters. So, whatever one may think of their actual flesh and blood existence, since this chapter is symbolic, the dragon is the ideal picture to be used. The color of this dragon is red, which may be used to further illustrate his terribly violent temper, and perhaps in reference to the blood he has caused to be shed upon earth. There can be no doubt as to the identity of the character represented by the dragon, for verse 9 gives this concerning him: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." His purpose and intent at that time will be the same that it has ever been, to destroy the Son of God, overthrow God's plan, and bring Him into disgrace as a complete failure. This, of course, he can never do, because God is still King of kings and Lord of lords. So, instead of giving any more time for Satan to attempt such plans, God immediately raises up "the man child" to His throne and establishes Him as the ruler to break all nations as a potter's vessel is broken into shreds.

(Verse 6) "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her a thousand two hundred and threescore days."

As we examine this verse together with other statements in this chapter and elsewhere, we come to the conclusion that the chronology of events is probably a little different from the order in which John penned them down, and their chronology is not so important as the events themselves. For instance, verse 6 is given before anything is said about the casting out of Satan from heaven, but in verses 13 and 14 it is said, "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the great serpent."

Apparently these two quotations refer to one and the same thing, and the second only clarifies the first. If we look back at Chapter XI, we find that the two witnesses prophesy for exactly the same length of time that the woman is nourished in the wilderness, one thousand two hundred and sixty days, or three and one-half years; and since the witnesses are called "My two witnesses" (Rev.11:3), it seems to indicate that they are the only two active witnesses and the woman is hidden away in the wilderness during the days of their prophesying.

Some have interpreted this wilderness to be some isolated place in the world, outside the main areas of civilization, which it could be. However, it could just as well mean that the true worshippers are, as we sometimes use the expression, "driven underground." That is, they are not permitted to meet openly for worship services, or to have part in social, political, or economic activities. This latter explanation seems more appropriate in view of things that will appear in following chapters, Whatever the rendering of that particular expression, we have a firm declaration that God has prepared a place for this woman and that He will support her there during those days of persecution.

(Verses 7 through 12) "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down to you having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

We normally do not think of heaven as a place of war but, rather, a place of the greatest peace ever dreamed of. Indeed, for the elect of God, it will be a place of wonderful peace. However, it is commonly believed among Bible scholars and, even though not expressly stated in so many words, it seems to be inferred by many scriptural expressions that Satan was once a resident of heaven. At which time he made insurrection against God and, as a penalty, was cast out of heaven and came down to earth. Our Lord once said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." This, however is not the occasion referred to in this time of war in heaven. Instead it is the final cutting off and casting out Satan as the accuser of God's servants. Compare the incidents related in the first and second chapters of Job, where, as the sons of God came to present themselves before God, Satan also came up among them. In both instances, Satan brought accusations against Job. He is still constantly on the job as the accuser of the saints. That is why Christ "is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8:34 ); and it is only "by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony" (Rev. 12:11) that the saints overcome him and his accusations. At the time appointed for Jesus to take up His rod of iron wherewith to rule all nations, Satan will be cut off from access to heaven as the accuser of the saints, just as the voice of verse 10 said, "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." At this point, intercession will no longer be needed because there will be no more accusations and no accuser.

The voice continues, and declares, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." This has ever been the case of God's servants. Their only means of overcoming Satan is by the "blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony," not their testimony itself, which may sometimes not reach the stage of perfection they would desire, but the "word of their testimony," which is indeed the "word of faith" of which Paul speaks in Romans 10:8. Paul again says, (II Cor. 4:13-14) "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you." The brethren mentioned here, in that same full and sure expectation of the resurrection, were willing to lay down their lives for the testimony of Jesus: so "they loved not their lives unto the death."

With such a complete victory over Satan, and with him no longer able to accuse the brethren, it is a time of great rejoicing for the heavens and all who dwell therein. However, having been thus overcome, and being henceforth denied access to heaven, even as the accuser of the saints, Satan is made fully and painfully aware that the time is short until he himself shall be cast into everlasting fire long ago prepared for him, and because of this, he is greatly angered and comes down to earth having great wrath. So, for the inhabitants of earth it is a time of direst woe.

(Verses 13 through 16) "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."

Always Satan's greatest delight is to cause trouble for the saints of God. Therefore when he sees that he no longer has access to God as the accuser of the elect, he immediately intensifies his persecution of them on earth by whatever means possible, as signified by the casting forth "waters as a flood." As before noted, God has prepared a place of protection and nourishment for His people during that time of terrible persecution; as He said (Isaiah 43:2), "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

It appears that much of the force of the tribulation and persecution aimed at the saints at that time will be absorbed by others before it can reach the saints, just as the murderous wrath of Herod was absorbed by others before it could reach the child Jesus. Thus will the earth open her mouth and swallow the flood. Verse 17, "and the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Christ." Thus, the stage is set for three and one-half years of the worst and most violent persecution that has ever been directed against the saints since the world was created. However, as noted above, much of its ferocity will find its mark among the people of the world instead of the elect, as the earth swallows up the flood.

As we consider the thirteenth chapter, we must keep in mind the fact that it is, in reality, only a continuation of Chapter XII. The dragon, Satan, was highly incensed because he was overcome and cast down to the earth, and for this reason he sets forth to make war against the remnant of the seed of the woman. In view of the fact that Satan has always persecuted the elect of God, this declaration seems to indicate that he now sets forth in "all-out war" to attempt their extermination. The same symbolism found in Chapter XII continues, as John introduces to us the beasts of this chapter.

(Verses 1 through 4) "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"

As John thus beholds this beast arise, one might question, "What is the significance of the sea as the point of origin of this beast?" Remembering that this is a continuation of the picture given in the preceding chapter and that the scriptures very often use "the sea," or "the waters," as symbolizing the multitudes of people in the world, particularly the common people, we would consider this beast as a man who rises up from the populace, for we are still dealing with symbolic representations as in Chapter XII. So this beast will be a man. One might also consider that, since the sea is about the most unlikely place possible for such a land animal as the description of the beast portrays, to originate, this man's rise will be somewhat unexpected, and from an unexpected quarter. Notice that the description of this beast is almost exactly the same as the dragon in the preceding chapter, which might alert us to the fact that even as David was a "man after God's own heart" so will this man be "one after Satan's own heart." He has seven heads and ten horns, and upon those horns, ten crowns. The seven heads represent seven kingdoms, or as is often the case with the number "seven," all the kingdoms or nations of the whole world. The horn represents power, and the fact that there are ten of them seems to indicate that this is the final stage of the great image given in the second chapter of Daniel's prophecy. Not only does this beast hold all nations and the power of them, but inasmuch as each of these horns is capped by a crown it signifies that he rules as a monarch, having total authority, and not as a president or other ruler subject to the checks and balances to which we are accustomed. His word will be law.

The next thing of importance is that he had "upon his heads the name of blasphemy." Webster gives the meaning of "blasphemy" as follows: "Blasphemy. (noun). The language of one who blasphemes; words uttered impiously against God; grossly irreverent or outrageous language." All three of these definitions will certainly apply in this case, but the second is especially applicable. The fact that this name is on each of his heads indicates that blasphemy is constantly in his thoughts, and he does not accidentally use such language, but it is premeditated. Paul describes this man in II Thess. 2:4, "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God , shewing himself that he is God." He further declares the fate of this man in verse 8 of that same chapter, "whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming." Daniel also describes this man and declares his fate in the seventh chapter of his prophecy.

This beast, or man, will also be as a leopard for his ferocity, and have "feet as the feet of a bear" in that he will have great power for destroying both people and things. Perhaps the most fearful sound of the jungle is the roaring of the lion. Not only is it loud, but the quality of it is such that it has struck terror to the heart of man through the centuries, so that although there are other animals larger and stronger than the lion, men have given to him the title "King of Beasts." This man will have a mouth like a lion in that when he speaks men will quake and tremble. His seat, or throne, his power, and his authority, are all given him by Satan, the dragon.

John saw one of this man's heads, or kingdoms, "as it were wounded unto death; and the deadly wound was healed." One of these kingdoms was almost destroyed, or else almost taken from him. However, if it was almost destroyed, he re-vitalized it; or, what is a more likely meaning of this, is that the kingdom attempted a revolt and almost succeeded, at which point he put down the revolt with such crushing force and ferocity that it caused all the world to wonder at him, or admire him. And they worshipped Satan who had given him such great power, and worshipped him, saying, "Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"

(Verses 5 Through 8) "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

In verse 2 we saw the throne, power, and authority of this beast given by the dragon, Satan. However, since the only power Satan has is that which he has usurped, and derived from deceiving men into following him, that which he could give to any man can only operate within the limitations set by God. Therefore, as John says, "It was given unto him," we are to understand that God permitted this to be.

Not only is it by the permission of God, but He has limited the duration of this permission to forty-two months, or three and one-half years, the exact time as the prophesying of the two witnesses and the sojourning of the woman in the wilderness, as described in Chapter XII. During this time the beast will be permitted to blaspheme God, His tabernacle, His name, and His servants in heaven, and make war upon His saints on earth and overcome them, so that they will be driven to the wilderness for survival. As before stated, this might be understood as being driven out of civilization to some remote part of the world or, perhaps, driven "underground" since they will not be allowed to have any part in social, political, or economic matters. This is not to affect just some particular locality, but "all kindreds, tongues, and nations," so that every person in the world except those whose names are "written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," shall worship the beast.

(Verses 9 and 10) "If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints."

This message is not inserted at this point by accident. Not only is the message very important, but it also comes at a very opportune time. John has just finished the description of this terrible ruler that will at that time be in power over all the earth and will make war with the saints and persecute them in every possible manner. Also he is about to introduce another beast equally evil. Therefore, he reminds us, that, with all these evils to come, His saints are not to become discouraged, nor are they to be aroused with a desire to avenge themselves. God will take the entire situation into account. He has so established cause and effect that "he that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity" and "he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword." This is another way of saying, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord," and John cautions any one who has an ear to hear this, or pay heed to it. He further declares that this is "the patience and faith of the saints." The more firmly we believe that God has all things under control and will bring them to their proper end, the more patiently we can bear whatever may come.

(Verses 11 and 12) "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."

Commonly we find writers referring to the first beast as the "secular beast," and the second as the "ecclesiastical beast," and this would seem proper, since the first beast is described as the one to whom is given the power to rule the world, and make war with the saints, while the second beast is presented as a priest, orchestrating the worship of the first beast, by the world. It seems evident that this second beast is the same person called, in the sixteenth and nineteenth chapters, "the false prophet." As he arises out of the earth ("the earth" having the same general significance as "the sea" out of which the first beast came), he appears gentle. Although he has two horns, he is not described as in Daniel 8:3 "Behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns." Instead, he is said to have "two horns like a lamb," which would seem to indicate a very gentle appearance. However, as soon as he speaks, all sign of gentleness is gone. He speaks as a dragon, that is, Satan. When he comes before the first beast, he exercises all the power of the first beast, evidently with the complete sanction of the first beast, and the result of this is that he causes all people on earth, with the exception of those already noted in verse 8, to worship the "first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."

(Verses 13 through 15) "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."

Much has been written concerning these great wonders or miracles that this beast will do in the time of his power. Some have tried to "spiritualize" them, while others have attempted to discredit them by saying that they will be only sleight-of-hand tricks, and not miracles at all. It seems that neither of these ideas hold within the framework of the language here used. Admittedly, both beasts are symbolic, in that they will both actually be men who will come upon the scene at the appointed time. Yet, their works are all very real. Here are neither symbols that have to be given some other interpretation nor sham tricks that will only appear to take place but not be real.

Paul speaks thus, "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" (II Thess. 2:9). He did not say that the power and signs are false, nor did he say that the wonders, or miracles, were not real. These wonders are "lying" only in that they testify that this beast, or man of sin, is the source of power, whereas he is only permitted to exercise it for a time pre-determined of God. God will allow this for His own purpose, as Paul continues, "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." God's purpose is to delude the wicked and bring them to destruction. What greater delusion could be found than to permit one to bring down fire from heaven in the presence of men, or to give life to an image which men themselves had made. While doing these things this false prophet will constantly declare that this first beast is greater than all other beings, even greater than God Himself, thus leading the world into false worship of the beast. Those who refuse to worship the beast and his image will be put to death.

(Verses 16 through 18) "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six."

Acting as the first beast's executive officer, the second beast establishes an iron grip on all commerce and will allow no one, no matter what his economic, political, or social standing, to buy or sell anything unless he has received proper identification of himself as a worshipper of the beast.

This mark has to be either in his right hand, or in his forehead. There may be some slight symbolism in this. It may perhaps indicate that his labor, signified by his right hand, the hand of power, or his mind, as represented by his forehead, is engaged in serving the beast. However, the foremost thought here is that every person must have approval of the beast before he can engage in commerce of any sort. It seems that this mark can be either of three things. First, it may be a mark, which is not here identified but will be approved by the beast; second, it may be the name of the beast; and third, it may be the number of his name. The last verse of this chapter has been as great a puzzle to men through the centuries as any statement in the Bible. Almost every man who has claimed to have this number of the beast counted has come up with a different name from that figured out by any one else. So we will not join in this exercise. We will, however, make mention of two theories that some others have thought valid. Both seem to have a little merit, but neither can be proved.

The first of these is one considered by some early Christians. They attempted to identify both beasts. We will not try to give all their reasons for this theory; but will mention a few of them just for your consideration. They considered the first beast as none other than the resurrected Nero, and the second beast, or false prophet, as the resurrected Judas Iscariot. Perhaps the first objection to this would concern the raising of the dead to fulfill such offices as these two will be. Probably the only scripture that might seem to support any such idea is Rev. 19:20-21, "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the white horse." Their thinking was that, since the beast and the false prophet were cast alive into the lake of fire (which in Chapter XX we find to be the same place in which the resurrected wicked will be cast after the judgment), they must already be in resurrected bodies, since the body as it now is cannot endure such a climate. Their reason for considering Nero as the first beast, instead of any one of several of the pagan Roman Emperors, seems to be his love of cruelty. One of his practices to be remembered is that of tying Christians to stakes or trees, covering them with pitch, and burning them alive to light his garden. Then Judas, by reason of his betraying Christ, was their prime candidate for the office of false prophet.

The other theory that we will mention is that, since seven is considered a "number of perfection" and as such thought to represent God, six is considered to represent man. Therefore, six hundred sixty-six being, when written in numerical form, three sixes, would, in imitation of the Trinity of the Godhead, make up a trinity of man. Thus it would represent man as the greatest being of all. In short, it would be the mark of humanism carried to its furthest extreme. Certainly, the description of the beast leaves little doubt that his attitude is that of believing that he is "above all that is called God; or that is worshipped."

Although many intelligent and highly educated men have tried to "count the number of the beast," it is doubtful that any man will ever be able to identify him positively until he is revealed. Paul says (II Thess. 2:3), "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." The only other place in scripture where the term "the son of perdition" is applied to any man is John 17:12, in which place it directly and specifically refers to Judas Iscariot. This alone, however is not sufficient to identify him as the one about whom Paul is speaking.

John, having seen the terrible and ferocious beast that will be permitted for a time to make war with the saints and overcome them, and his lieutenant, the second beast or false prophet, now has his attention drawn to another facet of the situation.

(Verses 1 through 5) "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on mount Sion , and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they, which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."

There is, of course, no possible difficulty in identifying this Lamb. He is, without question, the same Lamb Who, in Chapter V, verse 6, "stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." At the same time, the identity of His Father, Whose name is written in the foreheads of the hundred forty and four thousand, is fully established as none other than He, Whom John describes in verses 2 and 3 of Chapter IV.

The only remaining question is, "Who are the hundred forty and four thousand?" One might be tempted to think them to be the same as the group of equal number set forth in Chapter VII, as being sealed of the twelve tribes of Israel before the releasing of the winds of persecution that are to come. Yet there are some noticeable differences between the two groups. Those mentioned in Chapter VII join together with the unnumbered multitude from "all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," as they shout their praises to God. Also, though Chapter VII, verse 17, says, "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters," they are, in this, still joined with the unnumbered throng. Neither is there anything said about their ever being separated from the multitude nor about their following "the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." In addition to this, the hundred forty and four thousand here mentioned sing a song which no one not of their number can even learn. Since nowhere in scripture is this group declared to be the same as any other, our only hope of finding any further identification of them has to depend upon expressions brought from various places in the scriptures, that might shed some light upon the matter, but do not give positive proof. These are offered only for consideration and not as absolute identification.

The first thing we would like to consider is the place upon which they stand, mount Sion (or Zion ). Certainly, Christians often refer to the gospel church as Zion . However, to the Old Testament saint, Mt. Zion held a joy that could not be equaled by any other place or thing. A comparison of the name in the Old and New Testaments will give us, perhaps, a better appreciation of this. In the Old Testament, the names "Zion" and "Mt. Zion" are used a total of one hundred twenty-two times, while in the New Testament they occur only five times, and three of those times are in quotations from the Old Testament. In verse 3, John says, "the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed from the earth," and in verse 4, "These were redeemed from among men." Unless some special significance is to be attached to the fact that John states that they were redeemed instead of their redemption being declared in their praise to the Lamb, as was that of the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures in Chapter V, this hardly seems to warrant the separation of these from all the rest of God's redeemed. However, if John is using their "redemption" in the same manner as did the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:23, "_ _ _even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body," we may have a little more light on the subject. It is evident that in the excerpt quoted from Romans, Paul was referring to the resurrection of the body by the phrase "the redemption of the body." If John is using the same meaning, the fact that he says, "They WERE redeemed_ _ _" may indicate that this had taken place before the time of his writing. This, then, would bring us, perhaps, to a group of saints mentioned only once in scripture (Matt. 27:52-53), "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." John further states that these were "the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." In I Corinthians 15:22-23, Paul says, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming." In other scriptures, Christ is called, "the firstfruits of them that slept," "the first begotten of the dead," etc. However, in John 12:24 , Jesus likens Himself to a "corn of wheat," that is, a single grain of wheat. Leviticus 2:14 says, "And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears;" and Leviticus 23:10 says, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest." Nowhere in scripture is there anything to tell us whether those who arose after the resurrection of Christ went back into the tombs or whether He took them to heaven with Him. It is, however, a fact that the law of the firstfruits called for more than a single grain; and since John declares these to be the "firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb," this brings into the realm of probability that these hundred and forty-four thousand may be the ones who rose after His resurrection. If so, it is no wonder that they could sing a song that no one else could learn. This would also seem to fit them for the special privilege of following "the Lamb whithersoever He goeth."

(Verses 6 and 7) "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him That made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

"Heaven" in the midst of which the angel is said to fly is not to be understood as the place of God's throne, but the firmament which God made and called "heaven" (Gen. 1:7-8). The angel is said to fly there, preaching the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth, in reference to the fact that it must be done quickly, for the time is short. No attempt is made to identify this angel. As the word "angel" signifies, it will be a "messenger" sent forth to proclaim this gospel to them that dwell on the earth. No doubt, it will be a man, or men, whom God will send forth at that time to proclaim the gospel with a somewhat different tone from what it has historically carried. Heretofore, the message has been, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" that is, the King has come, as declared by His prophets, and He has paid the price for the redemption of His people. At this time it will be, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Notice that no mention is made of repentance; and none of redemption. The inhabitants of the earth are called upon to fear God, give glory to Him, and worship Him as the Creator of all things, because the time has come for His judgment to be executed. We have been, and now are under the declaration, "of that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Then will that declaration be set aside and it will be announced, "For the hour of His judgment is come."

(Verse 8) "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." This is, undoubtedly, an early announcement of that which is more fully detailed in Chapter XVII. So, we shall defer discussion of it until we take up that chapter. Here it is sufficient to say only that this is not the ancient city of Babylon which was destroyed centuries ago, but is the "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth," Rev. 17:5).

(Verses 9 through 12) "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

The first angel declared that the hour of God's judgment had come. Now the third angel tells those who do not heed the call of the first angel what can be most surely expected. Just as the beast will allow no excuses but will force all whose names are not written in the book of life to receive his mark, the Lord declares that all who do receive it, and who worship the beast and his image shall, without exception, be punished eternally with fire and brimstone in the presence of the very Lamb whom they have despised and ridiculed, and in the presence of the holy angels. The knowledge of this gives the saints patience under the terrible persecutions heaped upon them by the beast. So they keep the commandments of God, and maintain their faith in the Lord Christ Jesus in spite of all tribulation.

(Verse 13) "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."

We often, at funerals, hear ministers trying to comfort the mourners by using a part of this verse, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Indeed, we will all agree that those who die in the Lord are blessed characters. However, this passage does not properly apply now in the full force that it will have at the time to which this entire verse looks. The expression "blessed," as used here and in many other places in the scriptures, means "happy". The voice from heaven instructed John to write not just, "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord," but "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord FROM HENCEFORTH," the emphasis being on the "from henceforth." Thus the message to us is that from the time of this declaration on to the end of the tribulations that are imminent, the dead that die in the Lord will be happier than those living and having to endure the tribulations and persecutions that are before them. Those who die in the Lord will have no more persecutions to endure. They will rest from their labors. They will be forever at peace. It is further declared that "their works do follow them," that is, their works are always held in remembrance before God.

(Verses 14 through 16) "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."

Having been given a message of comfort to those who from henceforth would die in the Lord, John has his attention turned to a wonderful sight, a white cloud with Someone riding upon it. This Person is described as being like unto the Son of man, with Whom John was well familiar, having journeyed with Him on earth for about three and one-half years as He preached the gospel, healed the sick, cast out devils, and even raised the dead. In addition, He was wearing a crown of gold, which clearly sets Him forth as the King of kings. He is also holding in His hand a sharp sickle. At this point, another angel came out of the temple. The expression "another angel" in no way intimates that the Person, Who sat on the cloud was an angel: He was no other than the Lord Christ Jesus. This angel was "another angel" in addition to the ones in the earlier part of the chapter. As the Lord sits upon the white cloud, it brings to mind an expression used by James, "Be patient therefore brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and the latter rain." As this angel comes forth from the temple, he cries to the Lord that the time has come for reaping, since the harvest of the earth is ripe. This by no means implies that the Lord does not know when the harvest of the earth is ripe. It only signifies that, in the great plan of God, every action is scheduled with the greatest exactitude and must receive proper announcement before it comes to pass. Immediately the Lord thrusts in His sickle and the earth is reaped. Some may consider this harvest the same as that of the vine which follows. However two things concerning them indicate that they are different. First our Lord Himself reaps the "harvest of the earth" while it is an angel who is commanded to "gather the clusters of the vine"; and second, the clusters of the vine will be cast into the "winepress of the wrath of God" and trodden as further described. At the same time the fact that the Lord does the reaping of the harvest of the earth shows His personal care for it. Both matters seem to be a foreview of something to come, which will be more fully detailed in later chapters, beginning with Chapter XVI. This harvest of the earth seems to be the bringing home of the last of His saints, the gleaning, since He will personally reap it, thus showing His personal care for all of His.

(Verses 17 through 19) "And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God."

This is, without question, a symbolic representation of the terrible judgments of God to come upon the wicked of the earth during the days of the seven last plagues and culminating in the great battle of Revelation XIX. This vine is not "the true vine" to which Jesus referred when He said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches" (John 15:5) This is an evil vine, a sour grape, which will, upon being gathered, immediately be cast into the winepress of the wrath of God. Instead of being the vine of God, it is the vine of the earth.

(Verse 20) "And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even to the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."

Literally, this would be blood about three feet deep, or a little deeper, over a space of two hundred miles. Since, most likely, this is figurative language instead of literal, we are simply assured that this will, no doubt, be the bloodiest period in the history of mankind.

This winepress of the wrath of God was trodden without, or outside, the city, just as our Lord was crucified "without the camp." Thus it is what is sometimes called "poetic justice", as well as it also shows that these great judgments will not be confined to a small space such as that within a city, but will be worldwide. Isaiah says, "I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with Me; for I will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment." Revelation 19:15 says, "_ _ _and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." So there can be no doubt Who will tread that winepress. It will be Jesus Himself. Many times people refer to His crucifixion as the fulfillment of the passage quoted from Isaiah. Not so. Rather, on the contrary, His crucifixion was where He was actually trodden in the winepress of the wrath of God, if it is to be likened to the treading of such a winepress at all. It will be remembered that He suffered "without the gates," that is, outside the city. Thus, how fitting that in the same place where He suffered, He metes out the punishment to His enemies!

This chapter should by no means be considered as separate from Chapter XVI. In this chapter John sees seven angels who hold the seven last, or final plagues that shall be let loose upon the earth. Then before the actual sending forth of these plagues, or judgments, he is shown the joy of the saints who have been given the victory over the beast and all he represents.

(Verse 1) "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God."

This, then, is a "sign" (symbolic representation) of that which is to come. John declares it to be a "great and marvelous" one. This symbol, or picture, is that of seven angels, each holding one of the seven last, or final, plagues, which God has determined to send upon this wicked world. Each plague is symbolically shown as being in a vial, or bowl, ready to be poured out upon the world. When these are poured out upon the world His wrath will have been "filled up," or completed, in its exercise against the kingdom of the beast. Yet before these are poured out upon the world John is shown a different picture.

(Verses 2 through 4) "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest."

Having shown John the picture of impending doom upon the world, as represented by the seven angels with the seven last plagues, God presents to him another picture which, no doubt, was a great comfort to him in assuring him that with all the terrible judgments to come, nothing could harm God's saints or keep them from the victory and joy He had purposed for them. The picture now shown is that of a sea of glass, not one "like unto crystal," as shown in Chapter IV, but "glass mingled with fire." This must, surely, represent the fiery trials and persecutions of the saints during the period of these judgments: for, without question, as these judgments fall upon the kingdom of the beast, his fury against the saints will increase. Then John sees those who have the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name. However, he does not see them in this sea of tribulation. Rather, he is shown them after they are delivered from all trials. They now stand upon this sea. It is beneath their feet; and as they stand, they hold the harps of God. How fitting that as they stand upon this sea they "sing the song of Moses the servant of God"! These saints had been delivered from the sea of tribulation just as Moses and the Israelites had been delivered from the Red Sea and the Egyptians by the power of God. And they sang "the song of the Lamb," for all deliverance comes by and through Him, just as do all other blessings. They praise the Lord God Almighty, Who is also King of saints. All His ways are great and marvelous and He alone is holy. Having experienced His great power in the deliverance He has wrought for them, they can see no excuse for the failure of anyone to fear Him and glorify His name; and they further declare that all nations shall come and worship before Him, because His judgments are now made manifest. There is no implication here that the world "will be won to Christ," as some evangelists have so glibly proclaimed for so long, and thus worship God "in Spirit and in truth." Rather it is a declaration that, because of their being completely overcome by God's great power as manifested in His judgments, they will be forced to bow before Him and acknowledge His power. Just as great kings and emperors formerly did when they overcame their enemies, He will make all nations come and bow before Him, showing that they acknowledge Him as greater and more glorious than they. They cannot deny His superior power, in spite of their lack of repentance for their wickedness.

(Verses 5 through 7) "And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, Who liveth for ever and ever."

After seeing the saints who stood on the sea of glass mingled with fire and sang the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb, John took another look at the scene before him. Thus he saw that the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened, which signifies that the secret testimony, or purpose, of God had now been made manifest. It is no longer secret, but is ready for execution. He saw the same seven angels he had earlier seen holding the seven last plagues. They were holding those same plagues as they came out of the temple. Since these angels were emissaries of our Lord, and were about to execute very serious tasks assigned to them, it is fitting that their attire should be much like His as He was introduced in Chapter I. They were dressed in "pure and white linen," which we are told in Rev. 19:8, is the righteousness of saints, and "having their breasts girded with golden girdles" which, one might say, identified them as "officers of the court" for tasks set before them. As they came forth from the temple, one of the four living creatures, introduced in Chapter IV gave them "seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, Who liveth for ever and ever." Since each of these angels held one of the seven last plagues, to each was given a golden vial, or bowl, of the wrath of the eternal God. For since in these seven plagues is "filled up the wrath of God," it is fitting that each of the plagues should be accompanied by a measure of the wrath of God. Some commentators have attempted to tell us, which of the four living creatures it was who gave the vials of wrath to the seven angels. However, since John gives no intimation that this is of any importance, and certainly gives no clue to the identification, I readily admit that I have neither the wisdom to know it nor the desire to imagine it.

(Verse 8) "And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled."

It has been said by some that the filling of the temple with smoke so that no man could enter until the plagues were all finished indicates that there will be no conversions of men during the time of these plagues. Whether or not this is the significance of that, it is clear from verses 9, 11, and 21 of Chapter XVI that these plagues brought no repentance to men. However, it seems, from the words used by John, "And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and His power_ _ _," that God's glory and power will be so fully manifested in all of this that throughout the entire period it will be as at the close of Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple, (2 Chronicles 7:1-2) "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house."

Chapter 16

(Verse 1) "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."

Since the smoke from the glory of God, and from His power, so filled the temple that no man could enter therein, we must conclude that the voice John heard from the temple was the voice of God. Consequently it would be a great voice. Whether or not it was a loud voice, it would be one of authority, and of such quality that it would command the respect of all, who heard it. It was addressed to the seven angels having these plagues and vials of the wrath of God. By it they were commanded, "Go your ways," meaning not that they should go in any way they might choose, but that each was to go in the way, to the station, and at the time already assigned to him. The command continues, "and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth." Thus the stage is set for the final plagues of mankind upon the earth.

(Verse 2) "And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image."

Since God had already appointed the order in which these vials were to be poured out, the angel who was charged with executing the first mission of this judgment went immediately, upon receipt of the command, to the post assigned him, and poured out his vial of the wrath of God upon the earth. Although the command in verse 1 is, "_ _ _pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth," as we look further into the matter we see that "earth" is here used to mean the earth, the sea, the air, and even the sun, in short, all things pertaining to the earth. However, in verse 2 "earth" is used in the narrower sense, in that it refers to the land and men, who usually dwell upon the land. When this angel poured out his vial upon the earth, "there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men, which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." The word "noisome" is so seldom used in modern English (in fact, even in the Bible, it occurs only three times) that a definition of it might be proper at this point. From THE NEW WEBSTER ENCYCLOPEDIC DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: "Noisome. (adj.). Noxious to health; morally noxious or injurious; offensive to smell or other senses; fetid."

Since, during the reign of the beast no person will be allowed to buy or sell unless he has the mark, or the name, or the number of the name of the beast in his right hand or in his forehead, surely by far the majority of people on earth at that time will receive this noisome and grievous sore. Many have tried to explain this away, and interpret it as some social, spiritual, or other type of evil, but in view of recent developments in the present age, there is no reason to doubt that it will be a literal, physical sore, most likely fitting every part of the definition of "noisome" as well as being grievously painful. Notice that while this will be upon the followers of the beast, no word is said of its affecting any one of the saints. This reminds us of a statement concerning the night of the great Passover in Egypt . (Exodus 11:7), "But against any one of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel ."

(Verse 3) "And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea."

This second angel, already having been appointed his time and order, needed no new command, but at his assigned time went forth and poured out his vial not on the land as did the first, but on the sea as, no doubt, he had been instructed previously. As this was done, the waters of the seas became as the "blood of a dead man," that is, putrid and partially, if not completely, coagulated. As the result of this, every living thing in the sea died, as is signified by the language from which the expression "every living soul" is translated. In past generations, men have thought this to be just too terrible a situation to ever take place literally. Yet if one listens to the reports of pollution in our seas, oceans, and rivers, today, he will soon become convinced that not only can this take place literally, but that it is well under way already from natural causes. And unless God intervenes and puts a stop to that, it will not even need a miraculous pouring out of His wrath to bring it about.

(Verses 4 through 7) "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, Which art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments."

As the pouring out of the vial of the second angel made the seas, or salt waters, to be "as the blood of a dead man," so that of the third made blood of the fresh waters--the source of drinking water for all the world. Upon this result, the angel who had poured his vial upon these waters spoke, and declared the righteousness of the Lord, Who is, was, and shall be, The Eternal One. Inasmuch as these wicked ones had shed so much blood of the saints and prophets, it was only fitting that their drink be turned to blood. They fully deserved it. When this angel had spoken, John heard another out of the altar answer him, affirming it to be so, and declaring that the judgments of the Omnipotent God are true and righteous. We, as creatures, can only pray for our enemies, but it is a righteous thing with God, the Creator, to take vengeance upon those who trouble His saints.

(Verses 8 and 9) "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, Which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory."

That this will literally take place should be evident to everyone in our present age. In the past few years there has been increased concern about the depletion of the ozone layer of our atmosphere by the use of the many pollutants that are constantly being released into it. Our modern scientists are becoming more and more alarmed by this. And no one seems willing or able to do anything about it. We are told that as this continues the ultraviolet rays of the sun will strike us more and more strongly, thus causing more and more skin cancers, and some other forms of cancer, as well as having what the scientists refer to as a "greenhouse effect" on the whole world, possibly to the extent of melting the polar ice caps and raising the temperature of the world to such a level that the earth will no longer be inhabitable. Many men today believe these very things; but who believes God when He says that He will give the sun power to scorch men with fire? He knows, even from eternity, that men will not believe Him. Nevertheless, His word stands true, and will stand when heaven and earth shall be removed.

The sad thing about it, so far as man is concerned, is that even when God brings these judgments upon him, man will not repent, nor give glory to God. John tells us that after these four plagues are sent upon man there will still be no repentance; neither will men give glory to God, Who has power over these plagues. They will not even acknowledge that God is in control of such things. An outstanding example of this is presently before us. Everyone today is familiar with the reports concerning the disease called AIDS. According to the records, it started among homosexuals (God calls them sodomites). Although a few have innocently (through blood transfusions, and the like) contracted this disease, it is still acknowledged to be primarily transmitted through promiscuous sex activity. Yet there is no repentance. These sodomites are all crying, "Someone must do something to eradicate this disease, so that we can continue our `life-style' as we please, without having to pay the consequences." They are all demanding "their rights," but they really do not want their "rights," which the angel has fully declared in verses 5 and 6 of this chapter.

(Verses 10 and 11) "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds."

As the fifth angel pours out his vial upon the throne of the beast, (for such is the meaning of the word translated "seat") his entire kingdom is affected so that there is much darkness in it. Some have tried to explain this as spiritual darkness. But this can hardly be its meaning. For the darkness noted here is brought on by the pouring out of the vial of God's wrath upon the throne of the beast; and the kingdom of the beast could never have developed to the point shown here without first being filled with spiritual darkness. Rather, it must be natural darkness just as God sent upon Egypt by the hand of Moses. Here, as there, He apparently will make a separation between the kingdom of the beast and the camp of the saints in the "wilderness." Since in both these verses mention is made of the pains of the followers of the beast, it seems evident that, at least to some extent, these plagues will run concurrently, as noted earlier concerning all these judgments. Since nothing but God's grace can bring repentance, the people of the beast's kingdom being completely devoid of His grace, will not repent of their evil deeds even under all these plagues; but they will blaspheme God even more because of all their ills.

(Verses 12 through 16) "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."

This plague and the second, third, and fifth ones set forth in this chapter bear some resemblance to some of the "trumpet judgments" given in Chapters VIII and IX. However, a closer look finds some indication that these are all more intense and of wider scope than those. There, only a part of the waters were affected so that a part of those things in the seas were destroyed and some men were killed because a third of the supply of drinking water was made wormwood; while here, all living things in the seas died because all the waters of the seas became "as the blood of a dead man" and all sources of drinking water were turned to blood. There, the sun, moon, and stars were smitten so that one-third of their light was lost; while here, the darkness was such that there was no light at all in the kingdom of the beast.

Then at the sounding of the sixth trumpet the four angels (or as it seems from the context, kings or generals) who had been stopped and held up for a while at the river Euphrates were released to continue their march. Nothing is said about any other kings, or nations, being involved. Here, the way is opened for the kings of the east. Also the dragon (Satan), the beast, and the false prophet send forth "spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." The fact that John says, "the kings of the earth" and adds, "and of the whole world," seems to indicate very forcefully that none will be left out. This great day of battle seems to bear a strong resemblance to that prophesied by Ezekiel in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of his prophecy, in which all nations will be gathered against Israel though there may be some differences. Zechariah gives some further details in Zech. 14. Both Ezekiel and Zechariah speak of the besieged city as " Jerusalem " and the people as " Israel ," which, no doubt, are the correct designations for them. However, in Rev. 7:5-17 we saw that those who were sealed of Israel were also united with an innumerable multitude from all nations, kindreds, and tongues. So, most likely, those of Gentile origin who refuse to worship the beast will be found with those of the twelve tribes of Israel .

God here inserts an admonition, "Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." As so many times throughout God's word, He has given warnings, counseled watchfulness, and called for repentance, so that all men are without excuse. Yet, no man has, does, or ever will, pay heed, except the one whose heart has been touched, and whose ear has been opened by the Spirit. No thief sends word to let us know when he is coming. Since God will come as a thief, neither will He tell us the day nor the hour of His coming. Still He warns us to watch, and says that those who do so are blessed (or happy) for they will hold on to their garments (righteousness) and not be found in the embarrassing position of having to "walk naked."

Having delivered this warning, John returns to the subject at hand, and concludes it thus: "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." It is generally thought that Armageddon, though not shown by this name on the map, is the same as the plain of Megiddo. To this place will be gathered armies from all nations of the world united under the banner of the beast. This is the time of which Jeremiah speaks when he tells us that God will plead with all flesh (Jer. 25:31). However this pleading will not be the begging of one who is powerless and is trying to persuade someone to do what he wants done. On the contrary, it will be the turning loose of the sword of His wrath upon them; and no one shall be able to stand.

(Verses 17 through 21) "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon
came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great."

John describes this so graphically that there is little need for explanations. As this seventh and last vial of His wrath is poured out into the air (or atmosphere) God immediately declares, "It is done." This does not mean that there is nothing else to be shown to John, nor that there is to be no more action in the dispensing of judgment, but that it will all be done under this segment of the wrath of God. Chapters XVII, XVIII, and XIX all have some very strong action in this work, but all come under the heading of this seventh vial of the wrath of God. As the declaration is made from the throne, it is followed by "voices, and thunders, and lightnings," accompanied by a great earthquake and a great hail storm, just as when the temple of God was opened in heaven after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. However, this earthquake was much greater than the earlier one. In fact, it is described as being the greatest since man was placed on earth; so great that even the islands were destroyed, and the mountains were leveled so that they could not be found.

Also during this time, "great Babylon came into remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath." This in no wise suggests that until now God had forgotten Babylon, and just at this point remembered her. It simply means that His predetermined time for her judgment had come. She was to be punished during the time of this last plague. This is the same Babylon described in Chapter XVII, and we will defer any further discussion of her until that point. The hail, which John reports at this time, must also be the greatest that ever has been, or ever will be, in the world. Each stone will be about the weight of a talent. The talent weight varies. Two examples are: first, the Attic talent was about 56 pounds; second, the Hebrew talent was 93 pounds and 12 ounces. Either of these is much heavier than any recorded hailstone. As under all the other plagues, men, instead of repenting of their evil deeds, were only hardened in their sins, and blasphemed God instead of giving glory to Him.

Chapter 17

The scenes of this chapter, although shown to John after the completion of the last plague, must in chronology be sometime before the end of it. In Chapter XVI, John makes note of Babylon 's time of judgment having arrived before he records the great hail. In Chapter XVII, he gives us a description of her wealth, her power, and her sinfulness, and gives a hint of the judgment to come upon her, which he further describes in Chapter XVIII.

(Verses 1 through 3) "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."

No identification is given of this angel beyond his being one of those who had the seven vials. Therefore, we have no reason to attempt to inquire further into this matter. After speaking to John and telling him to come to him for the purpose of seeing the "judgment of the great whore that sitteth on many waters," the angel took him away into the wilderness, not physically or bodily, but in the spirit. Before taking him there, however, the angel explained to John that this lewd woman sits upon, or is supported by, many waters, which, to skip down to verse 15, we find explained as "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." In verse 2, he says that not only the rulers of the earth, but also the inhabitants thereof have been completely overcome or "made drunk" by the ardor of the gratification of their lusts with her. When John saw the woman she was not only sitting upon many waters, as already explained, but also "upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." This description is so nearly identical with that of the dragon in Chapter XII and the first beast in Chapter XIII that we have no reason to wonder about his identification, which is, indeed, affirmed a little later in this chapter.

(Verses 4 through 6, and verse 18) "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration_ _ _And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

In Chapter XII we saw "a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." All of her clothing and her ornaments were such as none but God can provide. Here, we see one clothed and adorned with nothing but that which man is enabled to supply. There, we saw one protected and sustained by the power of God. Here, one having a golden cup full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication, sporting in capital letters her name as the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, and drunken with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. What a contrast!

John says, "When I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." "Admiration" is not here used according to our common usage of it. Instead of being favorably impressed by the woman, John was so repulsed by her that he was astonished that such an evil and brazen creature could be so popular with, and so richly supported by the kings and inhabitants of the world.

In verse 18, the angel told John, "The woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." At the time of this writing Rome was, indeed, the city that ruled over the kings of the earth, and later, through the influence of the Catholic Church, it for a long time held sway over the whole civilized world. Because of this, many commentators have pointed the finger of accusation at Rome --some at pagan, and some at papal Rome . Yet it seems more probable that, as the woman in Chapter XII is the representation of "pure and undefiled religion," or the whole body of the elect of God from beginning to end, so this woman represents false religion throughout the ages.

As will be remembered, both true and false religion appeared in the days of Cain and Abel. Also Abel was the first saint to suffer martyrdom. Cain brought an offering to God; but it was not of faith, nor was it of a nature to show redemption by the shedding of blood. Neither was it of righteousness; for John tells us (I John 3:12 ), "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."

As will be seen from even a casual look at the Old Testament, the kings and inhabitants of the world always have followed zealously after false religions; and even Israel was often found following such. Those same false religions have continued to flourish throughout the world even down to the present time. In fact, lately, devil worship, witchcraft, and other false religions are increasing at an alarming rate. History will confirm that the satanic spirit (the beast upon which the woman sits) is the moving cause of the shedding of the blood of every saint who has been murdered since the murder of Abel.

Although some of those killed have suffered at the hands of people claiming to be Christians, it by no means follows that the murderers were led by the Spirit of Christ; just as the Jew's claim that they were protecting the true worship of God when they crucified our Lord Jesus the Christ does not confirm them as following the Spirit of God. Time after time in history, both individual and mass murders have been committed, and wars have been waged in the name of religion; and though it has often been claimed that these things were done in the name of Christ, such is not the case. Rather, it was really in the name and spirit of Satan upon whom this woman has ridden through the ages of history. Upon seeing the astonishment of John, the angel promptly began to set him aright concerning the whole matter.

(Verses 7 and 8) "And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they shall behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."

When the angel questioned John for being awed by this filthy, lewd woman arrayed in all her finery and supported by the "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues," and, as it were, riding upon Satan himself, he declared that he would tell John the mystery (or secret) of both the woman and the beast upon which she rode. As will be noted, he deferred her identity until the beast was fully explained. In verse 18, she is identified, and we have already noted that along with the earlier description of her.

As he spoke of the beast he said, "The beast that was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition," and a few words later, "the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." This language seems to indicate that this beast is one who has at one time been very evident in the world, is for a time hidden away, and will again come forth from the bottomless pit to flourish for a while, and will finally be cast into perdition, or destruction. This appears in perfect harmony with history as well as with the word of God.

From the beginning of the world down to the coming of our Lord Christ Jesus as our Saviour and sin bearer, of all the nations in the world, one--and that a very small one--was chosen of God to be entrusted with His law, His prophecies, and His promises. Satan, for the most part, had full sway over the other nations of the world, and, at times, even over Israel . Although there were others, two outstandingly evil kings of Israel were Ahab and his son Ahaziah. Since after His ascension our Lord sent the Holy Ghost to be our comforter and guide, we are now in the situation described by the Apostle Paul (II Thessalonians 2:6-8), "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He Who now letteth will let, until He be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:" The Holy Ghost is presently "letting" (literally "hindering") the revelation of that man of sin until the appointed time. At that time He will be "taken out of the way," not removed entirely from the earth, but He will be moved out of the way of the revelation of the man of sin. Then, and only then, can that wicked one be revealed. So, in reality, this beast must be the satanic political machine that has ruled the world in all times and places that God would suffer such to be. In the last days, when the Holy Ghost is taken out of the way, that evil machine will come forth, headed by a man whom we cannot yet identify; but he will be revealed at the appointed time. Then he will "ascend from the bottomless pit." When God breaks his kingdom into shreds, the beast will go, or more properly, be cast into perdition, or destruction. The only ones who will not "wonder after" (worship) him and follow him are they whose names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

(Verses 9 through 11) "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."

Perhaps, "The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth" is the statement that has been more confusing to many than any other in this entire description. As soon as their minds receive this expression, most people think, " Rome has always been called `the city of seven hills' so this must be a reference to Rome ." If this were the end of the description, one might be excused for so thinking. However the statement continues, "And there are seven kings_ _ _." There are just as many kings as mountains. Apparently each mountain has a king. This leads us to one or the other of two conclusions--either these mountains represent kingdoms, or they represent dynasties of Satan's political influence through the ages. Consider the remainder of this description: "Five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is one of the seven, and goeth into perdition." This seems clearly to indicate a reference to dynasties or divisions of time, five of which were already past at the time of John's writing. One was present at that time, and is continuing in our day, and the other is not yet come; and it will be of short duration when it does come.

Here are some times to consider: first, the time from the beginning to Noah's day, during which man became so wicked that God destroyed the world with a flood; then the era from the flood to the Babylonian Empire. (In this period we see the attempt to build the tower of Babel and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, as well as many other instances that show Satan to have been "alive and well.") Then, in their order, we might consider the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Greek Empires. (Someone else may think other divisions of time more appropriate.) In John's day all of these had fallen. The Roman Empire was flourishing at that time. Though, as an Empire, the Roman Empire has long ago fallen, since Roman law is the basis for the laws of many nations, particularly those which are considered as promoting freedom and civil rights, one might consider Roman rule as still operating, albeit in a measure hidden. Then will come the rise of the beast out of the bottomless pit, and he will lay a strangle hold upon men until God destroys him. The beast which was (that is, he was visibly in control of the Gentile nations, and sometimes of great influence in Israel), is not now quite so clearly seen, inasmuch as many nations allow their citizens a great deal more freedom than was formerly permitted. Yet his influence is still very much present. Witness the corruption in even the best governments in the world. This beast, then, is of, or among the seven and together with them he brings the total to eight, since he is the supporter of them all. In spite of his long reign through all these kings, he will finally go into perdition as God decreed before the world began. He is well aware of this sentence, as shown by the cry of the demons (Matt. 8:29 ), "_ _ _art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?"

(Verses 12 through 14) "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

The ten horns are kings whose time has not yet come. During the reign of the beast they will be given "power as kings one hour." That is, their reign will be very short. No doubt, the beast will give them that power for the very purpose of making war against the Lamb. To this they will readily agree and will give their power and strength to him in this endeavor. Nevertheless, it will be a lost cause, because the Lamb is Lord of lords and King of kings, and His army will be of those who are called, chosen, and faithful. So the outcome of the battle is never in doubt. See earlier part of this discussion for verse 15.

(Verses 16 and 17) "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdoms unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled."

This scene seems to be chronologically earlier than that in verse 14, since this will take place during their reign with the beast, and verse 14 brings them to the end of their careers in being overcome by the Lamb. In the process of bringing the whore to judgment, God will put it into the hearts of these kings to hate her, and to give their allegiance to the beast until she is fully destroyed. One might wonder why the beast would want her destroyed, since he was the one who brought her into being, as he is the founder of false religion. The answer seems fairly simple. All through the ages he has supported her because she has been his most effective way of controlling men. Now he no longer wants men to worship anyone or anything but himself. In short, jealousy is the moving cause of his hatred for her. He destroys her that he may fulfill that written by the Apostle Paul (II Thessalonians 2:3-4), "_ _ _the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." But his exaltation will be short lived. (II Thessalonians 2:8), "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming." Thus we have the angel's explanation of the woman and the beast. The eighteenth chapter will give a further description of the judgment of the woman.

Chapter 18

This chapter continues the prophecy of the judgment of the great whore who is the representative figure of all false religion from the beginning of man's time on earth to the time of her destruction. She is sometimes referred to as a woman, and at other times, as a city. Perhaps the reason for this is that at the time of the beast's rise to power, he will need the services of this woman so badly for consolidating his power over the world that he will build a great city as a central headquarters for her religion in imitation of God's choice of Jerusalem for the central location for His worship under the law dispensation. Then when his power is consolidated to the point that he feels he no longer needs the services of any religion other than his own imagined power, his jealousy will cause him to hate her. Then God will put it in the hearts of the beast's vassal kings to "fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." As the angel told John in Chapter XVII, verse 16, "_ _ _these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." So, although it will be God's judgment and wrath poured out upon her, He will make use of the beast and his lieutenants to perform the actual work. John was apparently still in the wilderness where the angel took him to see the great whore and the judgment of her.

(Verses 1 through 3) "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies."

Whether this angel who has such great power and such earth-lightening glory be the Lord Jesus Christ, as some have affirmed, or not, we have no way of knowing positively. This, however, we do know. He was the messenger of God, and the message he brought is the word of God. When the angel says, "Babylon the great is fallen_ _ _," one might ask how the tense of the verb can agree with the fact that God's people are later told to come out of her (Babylon) lest they be partakers of her sins and her plagues. The reason is that God can, and does speak of things He has decreed as being finished because there is no possibility of their failure. Babylon 's fallen condition is described as not fit for human habitation. It is said to be the "habitation of devils" as well as "a hold for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hateful bird." The Greek word translated "hateful" literally means "hated." So in such a condition, Babylon , after her downfall, will not be a pleasant place at all. The reason for her destruction is given. She has been the seducer of all nations and kings of the earth. So it is fitting that judgment fall upon her. It has been man's history that he has always adorned his temples and places of worship with expensive decorations. Even the buildings of some Christian Churches have been, and still are being, highly ornamented with costly objects. The central city of the great false religion of the beast's kingdom will be no exception. "The merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies."

(Verses 4 through 7) "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."

This voice which John heard from heaven seems, evidently, to be that of God, since the message is, "Come out of her, My people." Just as Lot, a righteous, God-fearing man, was living in Sodom until the time of Sodom 's judgment was at hand, so may some of God's people be living in that city. It is to be remembered that Lot was given no time to gather up any of his possessions, or to go and try to persuade anyone else to go out of Sodom with him. Only those present with him in the house were led out. This also will be a very urgent message, and will permit no delay. The city will be under sentence of immediate destruction along with all, who remain in it. Her sins are so great and have been of such long continuance that they have "reached unto heaven." They are remembered before God, and the time of their judgment is come.

It seems that verses 6 and 7 must be addressed as a prayer to God instead of being a continuation of the message to His people. Just as false religion has, in all ages, (and especially will in that day) blasphemed, ridiculed, scorned, and insulted God, He is requested to reward the same to her, and to double the measure of that reward. It is asked that He give her a double portion of the cup, which she herself has filled. Let the measure of her own self-glorification and the riches she has enjoyed be the measure of the torment and sorrow to be given her. Her heart is lifted up in wickedness and self-glory so that "she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow." No doubt this is her arrogance in feeling that she is above retribution for the widowhood and sorrow she has inflicted upon others, for she has no repentance for her wickedness, but rather glories in it. So she deserves a double portion of torment and sorrow.

(Verse 8) "Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord Who judgeth her."

Because of her sins and her arrogance, all her plagues will come in one day. The very things that she so contemptuously pushes aside from her mind, saying, "I shall not see them," are the very things that shall be given her--death, mourning, and famine. In addition to this, she will be burned with fire. That is, this entire false religion will be destroyed and the magnificently furnished and ornamented city that will at that time be its headquarters will be burned with fire. God is the One, Who has decreed this judgment, and He is strong. No power can stay His hand, for He is omnipotent.

Verses 9 through 19 give the story of those who will have been so greatly involved in taking part in the activities of this great false religion, and those who have been supplying all the things considered necessary to maintain the religion and the city in its great riches. The kings of the earth who have been so greatly involved with this harlot will stand afar off, as if they think that they can avoid judgment by placing distance between themselves and her; while all the time they are bewailing the fact that she is no longer there to satisfy their lusts. No doubt, seeing so great a city destroyed so suddenly will cause fear also in their hearts; but take notice that there is no mention made of any repentance on their part, nor is there any hint of repentance in the merchants, sailors, and others listed in later verses.

The destruction of this great city will have a catastrophic effect upon the commerce of the world. The merchants will be crying because there is no more sale for all the fine foods, drinks, perfumes, expensive woods, precious stones, slaves, and even souls of men. One may wonder about this last item mentioned. There have been in some religions such practices as the selling of souls, and no doubt, it will be a very common practice in that day. Then in verse 14 we find, "And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all." This is said to the city. Not only will it be destroyed, but also the fruits that were so highly prized by its inhabitants, and every thing that is "dainty and goodly" will be cut off from it so that if anyone were left in the city he would never again be able to find such.

The merchants will continue to weep and wail for that great city that was so decked out with gold and precious stones, and whose inhabitants were clothed in such fine garments, but which will at that time be burned, and most, if not all, its inhabitants killed. Like the kings mentioned earlier, these merchants will stand afar off because of their fear, and lament because such great riches have been destroyed so suddenly. The shipmasters, sailors, and all others who were involved in traffic by the sea will join the wailing of the merchants. They too, will be filled with fear, and will stand a long way off from the city. With all this lamenting, fear, and sorrow, among the kings, merchants, shipmasters, sailors, etc., one might even be tempted to sympathize with them a little.

However, God's message is quite to the contrary. Verse 20, "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets: for God hath avenged you on her. Since false religions of one sort or another have been the cause of the persecutions of the prophets, apostles, and all other saints, in all ages from the beginning of time, when God pours His wrath out upon her, it will be time for great rejoicing by heaven and all inhabitants thereof: for God will have avenged them upon her.

(Verses 21 through 23) "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."

The mighty angel, in a very demonstrative gesture, emphasizes the finality of the destruction of this great city (and entire religious system) by picking up a great stone, casting it into the sea, and at the same time declaring that, with this same violence Babylon shall be forever destroyed. His declaration of the finality and completeness of Babylon 's destruction is so forceful and so vivid that it needs no further explanation. There will never be another sign of human habitation in that city. Her merchants were the great men of the earth, but that will be no more. Her judgment is come upon her because it is by her sorceries that all nations were deceived. The word here translated "sorceries" means "drugs," "incantations," or "enchantments," and in this case all meanings will apply, as all have had, do have, and will have, great exercise in false religion.

(Verse 24) "And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth."

This seems to confirm that this great city that will literally exist in the time of the beast, and will be overthrown in the manner described in this chapter, also stands symbolically for the entire system of false religion that has existed through the history of man; for false religion has been the cause of the shedding of "the blood of prophets, and saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth" from the murder of Abel to the last one who shall be killed on earth. This city is guilty of all this blood. This finishes God's wrath, and the seven last plagues upon the earth. There will follow a description of the final great battle between our Lord and Satan. We call this the "last battle" because Satan's attempt in Chapter XX cannot rightly be called a battle, but simply the destruction of Satan's army.

Chapter 19

After seeing the judgment executed upon the great harlot, Mystery Babylon, John beheld a scene of great rejoicing in heaven. The first cause of this rejoicing was that judgment had been executed upon "the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication;" the second, "the Lord God omnipotent reigneth;" and third, "the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." This so affected John that he attempted to worship the one who showed and told him these things. This person immediately rebuked him and declared himself to be a fellow-servant and brother to John and those who have the testimony of Jesus. After this, another scene opened up, and John saw a white horse with a rider Whom he describes very clearly. Then an invitation is given to some very strange guests to an equally strange supper. The chapter ends with a record of the results of the greatest battle that will ever be fought.

(Verses 1 through 4) "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, "Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are His judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God That sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia."

Since John saw the four and twenty elders and the four beasts as they worshipped God, and only heard the multitude who were praising God (verses 1 through 3), it seems apparent that they are two separate groups. In Chapters IV and V, we feel that there is sufficient evidence to identify the twenty-four elders and the four beasts as God's saints who were taken out of the world before the great tribulation began. Therefore we believe that this other multitude must be those who are described in Chapter VII, and of whom one of the elders said (Ch. VII, v. 14), "These are they which came out of great tribulation_ _ _." Another thought for consideration is that, since John only heard this multitude, and did not see them, it may be that their souls only are in heaven, and their bodies yet to be resurrected.

This great congregation, with one voice, was crying, "Alleluia," and ascribing to God all salvation, glory, honor, and power for His true and righteous judgments upon the great whore, and for avenging the blood of His servants who had suffered so much at her hands. That her punishment is eternal cannot be denied, for "her smoke rose up for ever and ever." As they again cried "Alleluia," the twenty-four elders and the four beasts added to it their, "Amen; Alleluia," as they fell down and worshipped God Who sat on the throne.

(Verses 5 through 10) "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they, which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Whether the voice that John heard was the voice of the angel who showed him the woman on the scarlet colored beast, the mighty angel who cast the great stone into the sea, or someone else is not stated, and evidently, is neither material nor relevant to the matter at hand. Had it been, no doubt, John would have identified it. However, John was so affected by these things he had seen and that which he heard that he fell at the feet of the one who gave him this message, to worship him, whereupon this one immediately rebuked him, saying, "See thou do it not . . . worship God." Then he gives the only clue we have to his identity, "I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus." All true servants of God recognize that they are not worthy to receive worship, and must, just as quickly as did this one, rebuke any person who attempts to worship them.

He further instructed John, saying, "Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." There is no identification given of the voice that came out of the throne. But the words spoken seem to indicate a possibility of its being that of this same individual: for the message is, "Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great." Then the great voice, which John heard, was rejoicing, saying, "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." God has always reigned, and has been always omnipotent, but the occasion for such great rejoicing is that He has demonstrated His great power in executing His righteous judgment upon the one who has from the beginning of time persecuted and murdered His saints.

Not only Has God executed this judgment, but also the long awaited "marriage of the Lamb" is at hand, and "His wife hath made herself ready." Many times, in God's word, the saints are called the "bride," and the final assembling of them all together, in the Presence of God, free from all trouble, sin, sorrow, death, etc., is called "the marriage of the Lamb." Since the time for the marriage will be at hand, the bride will be clothed in "fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." So, in reality, she will be clothed with the righteousness of Christ Jesus our Lord, as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1:30, "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." What a wonderful contrast between the great whore of Chapter XVII, dressed in her gaudy attire, having in her hand her golden cup filled with abominations and the filthiness of her fornication, and this beautiful bride dressed in fine linen, clean and white.

Another great contrast is that between the cities by which these two are represented. We have already discussed the city, "Mystery Babylon" and its destruction. Later we shall consider "New Jerusalem." All who are in any way involved with "Mystery Babylon" will be brought to sorrow. (See Chapter XVIII). The message John was instructed to write in verse 9 gives a totally different picture for those related to "New Jerusalem." "Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Since "these are the true sayings of God," they leave no room for doubt.

(Verses 11 through 16) "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

We have encountered before the description of the August Person Who leads this army. There can be no doubt at all that this is none other than our Lord Jesus the Christ. It is noticeable, however, that at this point He will be wearing a garment that differs measurably from any before seen in any description of Him except that given by Isaiah (Is. 63:1-3). In verse 13, it is said, "And He was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood," and in verse 15, "_ _ _and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." Although, as John sees Him clothed in this bloodstained garment the battle is about to begin, the bloodstain is symbolic of what will be at the end of the battle. His garment is not stained with His own blood, but that of His enemies. This description is a further account of Chapter XIV, verse 20. The white horses upon which He and His army are mounted, and the white linen in which His followers are clothed, symbolize the righteousness in which "He doth judge and make war." His righteous judgment is about to be executed in an all-out war against the beast and the kings of the earth. However, before the battle is joined, a great invitation is sent forth.

(Verses 17 and 18) "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God: that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great."

This angel spoke to all the flesh eating birds "that fly in the midst of heaven." "Heaven" is not to be understood here as the throne of God but rather "the open firmament of heaven" (Gen. 1:20). He called them to "the supper of the great God." This is not to be confused with "the marriage supper of the Lamb," in verse 9. This is a supper for flesh-eating birds only, that they may feast upon the flesh of those slain in battle. Some have attempted to explain away this great battle and treat it as either a figment of the imagination, or a symbolic representation of something entirely different from the picture presented. While it is probably true that the horses are symbolic. Since they were in John's day the fastest means for the transportation of an army, he uses them in this description. But we must not dismiss the fact that there will be at that time the bloodiest battle this world has ever seen--so bloody that when it is over the enemies of our Lord will have been completely overcome.

(Verses 19 through 21) "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."

Chapter 20

This is likely one of the most controversial chapters, if not the most controversial chapter, in the Bible. Many and varied are the interpretations of it. There are three major schools of thought concerning it. They are the "Pre-millennial," the "Post-millennial," and the "A-millennial." One school believes that the millennium will take place before the resurrection; one believes that it will take place after the resurrection; and the other believes that God did not know what He was talking about, and it will not be at all. We shall make no attempt to debate the issue from either side, but simply try to examine the scriptures themselves to see if we can understand what is actually written.

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

Evidently, John was at this time upon earth as he saw the angel come down from heaven. He was, nevertheless, still in the Spirit, and was by the Spirit enabled to see the vision that he described. In this part of the vision he saw two persons. One was an angel; the other, Satan. This angel's purpose, mission, and authority were that he should bind Satan, shut him up in the bottomless pit, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till a thousand years had passed, after which he must be loosed for a little season.

This angel was equipped for his mission by having in his hand the key of the bottomless pit, with which to lock or unlock the door thereof, and a great chain with which to bind Satan. In discussing this matter, a man once told me, "This can't possibly be taken literally, because no chain made could hold Satan. He is a spirit, and cannot be bound with a chain; and John could not see a spirit." Let anyone who thinks thus, consider this. Certainly no chain forged by man could bind Satan; but if God should make one of a spider's web and bind Satan therewith, Satan would remain bound until God ordered his release. Then, as for John's inability to see a spirit, see Chapter XVI, verse 13, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet." As to how he could see spirits, it should be remembered that in all of this John was in the Spirit, which makes quite a difference. Also if God should see fit, you and I could see spirits. To say anything less is to deny the power of God.

It is specifically said that at that time Satan shall not deceive the nations anymore till the thousand years are fulfilled. The Greek word "ethnos" translated "nations" also means "Gentiles" or "heathens"--and there has never been a time, the time is not now, and the time will never be, until that set forth here, when they were not, or are not, or will not be, deceived. The deception by Satan is the cause of all sin, sorrow, and trouble that ever has been, or ever will be, in the world. When the heathen are no longer deceived there will be peace throughout the world. Some object to accepting "a thousand years" at face value, on the grounds that the Apostle Peter said (II Peter 3:8), "But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." However, even to a casual reader, the context of this quotation will show that Peter did not set this forth as a key for interpreting God's chronology, but rather, only to remind us that since God is eternal, time makes no difference to Him. Though it may seem to us mortals that His promises are sometimes long on fulfillment, they will be kept. So, when God showed this vision to John it was to be a message to men. And since God is master of all languages, and His purpose was to give a message to men, without question He would use the language of men as they are accustomed to understand it. And His statement must be taken prima facie. God has decreed that at the end of the thousand years Satan must be loosed for a little season, the purpose of which will appear later in this chapter.

(Verses 4 through 6) "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

In this scene, John saw thrones, how many we have no way of knowing. One might be tempted to say that there will be twelve, since in Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:30, our Lord told His disciples that they will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel . Yet in I Corinthians 6:2, Paul says, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?" In addition to this, it appears that this is a special occasion, and different from both of those mentioned. The known fact is that more than one throne was shown to John, and upon each throne was a judge, for "judgment was given (or committed) unto them."

The next thing that John mentions is that he saw some souls. It seems from the context that the meaning of "soul" here is the same as where it is used seven times in Genesis, Chapter XLVI, that is, not as disembodied souls but as whole persons. These, whom he saw, were those who "were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands: and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Thus these are identified as those who during the reign of the beast will suffer martyrdom for their faith. They will at this time be made alive, resurrected, and will reign with Christ a thousand years.

All along from Chapter IV, we have seen the representatives of the saints who will be raptured before the reign of the beast. Here we see those who will suffer during that time. John then tells us that there will be no more of the dead raised until the thousand years are finished. "This is the first resurrection." That is, this final group, here seen alive, completes the first resurrection inasmuch as it completes the entire body of saints. Therefore those who have not been raised prior to this time and are not in this group have no part in the first resurrection, but will have to await the "resurrection of damnation."

That there are two resurrections can not be denied: for our Lord Himself said, (John 5:28 -29) "_ _ _all that are in the graves shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation." Then, Paul, in I Cor. 15:22-26, gives us the order of the resurrections, saying, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

This clearly indicates that the resurrection of Christ and those who came out of their graves after His resurrection (the firstfruits), the saints, living and dead, raptured away at His coming (See I Thess. 4:13-17), and the resurrection of these martyrs from the era of the beast's reign-- all are stages of the first resurrection, or "resurrection of life." All are according to the order given by the Apostle Paul. The scene here shown is only the last step in the first resurrection. Therefore the order of wording in John's statement, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." In our present-day way of speaking, this is equivalent to, "The rest of the dead must wait till the thousand years are passed, because, so far as the first resurrection is concerned, THIS IS IT." That is, this completes the first resurrection. Then John says that all who have part in the first resurrection are blessed characters, and "they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

(Verses 7 through 10) "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

I make no apology for my ignorance of God's purposes which He has chosen to keep hidden, but freely confess that I do not know why He sees fit to release Satan, and permit him to stir up a final attempt at rebellion. I do believe that I can see two worthwhile results, but whether they are His purposes in the matter or not, I see no reason to inquire since He has not declared them. Let us simply examine what will take place, and not ask why. Satan is to be loosed, and his first, and apparently only, work is to go out and deceive all nations (or heathen) that are in the four quarters of the world. Since, in Chapter XIX, we saw that the beast and the false prophet were taken and cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, and all the remnant of their army were slain, one might question, "Who else could there be in the world whom Satan could deceive and gather together against the saints?"

There have been many theories concerning this. One is that the expression, "the remnant were slain," does not mean that each and every one of the wicked were slain but that they were so completely demoralized that they had no more fight left in them. So those who escaped would still be there for him to gather together. There seems to be a better explanation. In a scripture quoted earlier (John 5:28 ), Jesus said, "_ _ _all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth_ _ _." Now since the wicked, though raised by the voice of the Son of God, are still wicked when raised, Satan will have no difficulty deceiving them and leading them into another attempt to make war against the saints. John declares that the number of them will be as the sand of the sea, and they will come up on the breadth of the earth. This seems to include more than just a remnant left over from the great battle of Chapter XIX. As they gather themselves together and attempt to set up a siege of the camp of the saints. Before a shot is fired, God will send down upon them fire from heaven, and devour them. As is seen from the remainder of this chapter, the meaning of this seems to be, not that they were literally consumed, but that they were so completely disoriented that they had no power to do anything. Also Satan, himself, will be captured and cast into the same lake of fire and brimstone in which the beast and the false prophet will already have spent a thousand years. His punishment here will not be for a thousand years, as in the bottomless pit, but will be "for ever and ever." Two things that seem of some importance as results of this episode are: God will demonstrate to His saints in a wonderful way His great care and protection of them, as He destroys the army of the wicked, without the saints even having to be involved in the fight. And He will show Satan that with all the leniency and longsuffering that He has shown, His judgments are inescapable.

(Verses 11 through 15) "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell gave up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

That this is a description of the final judgment seems obvious, and would probably be questioned by few who claim to believe the word of God. There is only one sentence delivered in this judgment: it is that the subject must be cast into the lake of fire. The only things left about which we may inquire are: Who is the Judge? Who are those to be judged? By what evidence are they judged? From whence do they come? And Whither do they go? This last question we have already answered. They go into the lake of fire.

The Judge is One, Who is so great and wonderful that even the heaven and the earth cannot stand before Him. He could only be God the Father, or God the Son. Since Jesus has told us (John 5:22 ), "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son," the logical conclusion is that this must be the Son, and to this the introductory statement of this book bears witness, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him." In this scene, He is revealed as the Righteous Judge in the final trial of wicked men.

That those judged at this time are the wicked is obvious since they are spoken of as "the dead," whereas all except the wicked had been raised at least a thousand years earlier, and had reigned with Christ for that period. There are two witnesses in these trials. The first is the set of books (however many there may be) containing the records of the works of those to be judged. The other is the book of life, which contains the names of all those whom Christ has redeemed. The dead are judged according to their works. No mention is made of any one of the righteous appearing in this judgment. Only the book of life appears as their security; for their names are in it. If this were not the case, they too would be condemned. There is abundant witness in scripture that the works of man are evil and by them shall no flesh be justified. Therefore, as these will be judged according to their works, they are condemned; and as their names are not in the book of life, no atonement has been made for them. So they are cast into the lake of fire.

No matter where they may have been buried, whether on land, or at sea, all will appear. Even death and hell (Hades) will no longer be of any use. So both death and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire. Physical death is what has held the bodies of those who have died since the beginning of time, and "Hades" is the name given to the place of departed spirits until the reunion of spirit and body in the resurrection, whether "the resurrection of life" or "the resurrection of damnation;" and since at that time both will have passed, there will be no further need for either death or hell, so both are cast into the lake of fire. This fulfills what the Apostle Paul said, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

Chapter 21

The Apostle Peter, having declared that, "_ _ _the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also shall be burned up_ _ _wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," (II Peter 3:10, and 12), continues with this assurance, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (II Peter 3:13). In the remaining two chapters of the Revelation, John gives us a description of that new world and the holy city, New Jerusalem.

(Verses 1 and 2) "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

As John looked, he saw a new heaven (or firmament, as in Gen. 1:18) and a new earth, because, as we saw in Chapter XX, verse 11, the first earth and heaven were gone and there was no place for them. A special attraction of this new earth seems to be that there was no more sea. Of the area of the present earth, about three-fourths are taken up by the oceans, or seas. Of course, God may have had many reasons for putting so much water in the make-up of the earth. However, through many centuries, it rendered an extremely great service to man in that it served as a barrier to separate different groups of people, thus, to some extent, restraining them from working their warlike ambitions upon neighbors. When the "new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" is ushered in, there will be no need of such barriers. No one will covet that which belongs to his neighbor. If the new earth should be the same size as the old, the absence of the sea would give the new earth four times the land area of the old. As he thus described the new earth, John was also greeted by another sight that was indeed glorious to behold.

This wonderful sight was the holy city, new Jerusalem. It was not old Jerusalem which many have considered, and even now do consider, holy, although it is not holy and could never have any claim to holiness except in those few times when Israel carried on the true worship of God there in the manner which He prescribed. As will be remembered, at the dedication of Solomon's temple, God made it very plain to the people that as long as they served Him faithfully, He would make the temple and the city a blessing and a glory to them, but when they turned aside, He would make these a curse and a reproach to them. This city which John saw was THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM. Not only was it a holy city, it was also coming from a HOLY PRESENCE and a holy place. It was "coming down from God out of heaven." Just as the great city, Mystery Babylon, is compared to a woman, so is New Jerusalem, but here all similarity immediately stops. Mystery Babylon is described as a whore dressed in a manner calculated to attract lustful men. New Jerusalem is "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." In Chapter XIX, we saw that her garments were of "fine linen, clean and white: for fine linen is the righteousness of saints."

(Verses 3 and 4) "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

I never cease to be amazed at those who try to make this New Jerusalem answer to the gospel church of today. If it does, John gave us an erroneous description, and that he did not do. If what is said in verse 3 were all the description given, one might be excusable for believing such--for in some sense God does dwell with His people in the gospel church. However, for one to claim that in the gospel church all tears have been wiped away and there is no more death, sorrow, crying, nor pain, he must deny even his own experience as well as our Saviour's words, "when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them, then shall they fast" (Matt. 9:15), and those of the Apostle Paul, "Yea, and all they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," together with a host of other scriptures. God's promise here is not that in that city He will stand by to wipe away our tears and comfort us when troubles come. NO. The promise is that He will wipe the tears away so that they will never come again and there will never again be death, sorrow, crying, or pain; "for the former things are passed away." They will be non-existent.

(Verses 5 through 8) "And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

The One Who sat upon the throne is none other than our Lord Jesus Himself; and He It is Who spoke to John, saying, "Behold, I make all things new." He has already declared that the former things, such as death, sorrow, pain, etc., were passed away. Then He instructed John to write down this promise because these words are faithful and true. They are not to be changed. He further identifies Himself as "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end," just as He had in Chapter I.

He continued speaking to John thus, "I will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." In Matthew 5:6, He had already promised, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Now His promise carries with it the message that the time has come for fulfillment. Not only will He personally give of this fountain of the water of life, but also there will be no shortage of it. Back in Chapters II and III, He mentioned several things that will be done for him that overcomes, while here the promise is, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son." What more could anyone desire?

Then the other side of the story is told, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” The "fearful and unbelieving" are not those who fear God, but, rather, those who fear that His word is not true, and therefore they will not or can not believe Him. The others listed here need no explanation. These are those who stood before the great white throne in Chapter XX, and were cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.

(Verses 9 through 14) "And there came unto me one of the angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel: on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

Just as in Chapter XVII one of the seven angels who had the vials of the wrath of God showed John the judgment of the great whore, so one of these same angels came to show him the glory of the bride of the Lamb. Also, as the city which will be the center of the false religious system and the woman on the scarlet colored beast together represent those who have been, are, and will be, involved in false religion, so "the bride, the Lamb's wife" and "the holy city, New Jerusalem," which will be the home of the redeemed, are symbolic representations of the redeemed themselves. Thus it is unclear just how much of the description of the city is absolutely literal and what, if any of it is symbolic. However, since we are dealing with the word of God--and He is able to bring literally to pass anything that He wills-- we will treat all of it as literal, which it certainly could be.

As John viewed this wonderful city, it was making its descent from heaven to earth, and was sent from God. The city was wrapped in the glory of God, so that the light (or brilliance) of it was like that of a very precious stone, "like a jasper stone clear as crystal." Since he says it is like a stone clear as crystal, we probably would not be amiss to think of it as shining like a diamond, a stone with which we are a little more familiar than the jasper. John tells us that the city had a wall great and high, in fact, as we shall see a little later, two hundred sixteen feet high. The wall completely enclosed the city, and on each of the four sides of this city there were three gates in the wall, making a total of twelve. On each of these gates there was the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel , thus including all twelve tribes. There was, also, an angel at each of the gates. The wall was built with "twelve foundations" (or stories). In these twelve stories were the names of the "twelve apostles of the Lamb". Thus we have all the elect of God represented: the Old Testament saints, by the names of the twelve tribes of Israel ; and those of the gospel day and the tribulation, by the names of the twelve apostles.

(Verses 15 through 18) "And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure Gold, like unto clear glass."

The angel who showed John these things had in his hand a golden reed, or measuring rod, for the purpose of measuring "the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof." The measurements of the gates are not given, but the measurements of the city and the wall are. John said, "he measured the wall thereof," which could only mean the height or the thickness thereof, since the wall had to be long enough to enclose the whole city, which was itself fifteen hundred miles ("twelve thousand furlongs") long, and of the same width. Thus, since the height would be the next most important dimension, it is logical that this is what the angel measured, which turned out to be two hundred sixteen feet ("an hundred and forty and four cubits").

As before noted, we do not know whether every item in this description is to be taken as literal, or if some are figurative, simply for emphasis of the glory of the city. Yet, to establish this emphasis, we shall treat all as completely literal. Some have objected to a literal acceptance on the grounds that a literal, physical city of such magnitude and glory would be an impossibility. To such this is my answer: "so is the virgin birth and the resurrection of our Lord, to say nothing of the very first verse of the Bible; yet all came to pass by the power of God." Then let me remind you of Paul's warning to the people of Antioch (Acts 13: 40-41), "Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." I see no difficulty in God's doing whatever He has declared that He will, whether the declaration be by the pen of John or of Isaiah, and no matter how incredible it may sound to men.

Let us continue with the description here given. The furlong being one-eighth of a mile, the length of the city is fifteen hundred miles; and since all dimensions are equal, it is fifteen hundred miles wide and fifteen hundred miles high. Often, in songs and sermons, we hear about the streets' of this city being "paved with gold," but notice that no mention is made of any pavement at all. The whole city, including the streets, is gold; and that gold so pure and polished that its brilliance is as that of light reflecting from clear glass. Nothing is said of how many stories there are to this city, but we are told that the wall has twelve stories ("foundations"). John further states that the wall itself ("the building of the wall") is of jasper, which, according to the dictionary, is an opaque quartz which can be very highly polished.

(Verses 19 through 21) "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."

It is no wonder that those who know nothing of the power and glory of God dismiss all of this as a pipe dream or a flight of the imagination. A city fifteen hundred miles wide, the same length, and reaching up for fifteen hundred miles; with a wall two hundred sixteen feet high, built in twelve tiers; the principal construction material jasper, and each tier of the wall garnished with a different kind of precious stone; twelve gates in the wall of the city and each gate a single pearl; add to this the fact that the city itself is built of such pure gold that even the streets are of gold so pure that it is as transparent glass; and what do you have? A story impossible and unbelievable to any person except those who believe Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." If one believes this, there can be no difficulty in believing the entire book of THE REVELATION just as it is written.

I shall not attempt to take up each of the precious stones mentioned as garnishing the twelve foundations of the wall, and try, as some have, to give my imagination of what each represents. Frankly such is not germane to the case at hand. Yet there are a few facts that should be considered.

First, with the mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans as they are in the present world, there is not even space sufficient for a city such as described here. Second, there is not enough gold in this world to build such a city. Third, there are not enough precious stones in this world to garnish even one tier of the wall (assuming that the wall is equally divided). And fourth, no pearl has ever been found large enough to be a gate for such a city. Yet to build such will not even put the power of God to any strain at all. For the greater part, God's people have always been the poor of the world, having access to very little of the gold and precious stones that are in this world. Now, consider the contrast. In that city not only is there such an abundance of gold that the whole city, including the streets, is made of it, but it is also purer and more beautiful than any now known. In that city no one will wear a little piece of jewelry in order to see the beauty of a precious stone. The city wall will be garnished with precious stones. Let us not forget the greatest sight of all: the whole city will be bathed in the glory of God! What comfort to those who believe!

(Verses 22 and 23) "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of the Lord did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

The temple with which John was acquainted was a place of which God had told Israel , "There will I place My name, and there will I receive your sacrifices and offerings; to this place you are to come to worship Me." That will no longer be the case. It will not be a matter of God's meeting with His people. In the gospel church we often pray that God will "come and be One in our midst." This will not then be the case. Look back to verse 3 of this chapter. "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them." No longer will He "meet with" us. He will "dwell with" us instead. So there will be no need of a temple: "for the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple of it." If while on this earth we had no sun and no moon, we would be in total darkness day and night; but in that city we will have no need of either. There the glory of God will forever shine, and the Lamb Himself will be the light. No more darkness! No more stumbling! Only the wonderful light of the glory of God as it beams forth from the face of the Lamb!

(Verses 24 through 27) "And the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

John used the expressions "the nations of them that are saved" and "the glory and honour of the nations," not with any intention to indicate that the population of the new earth will be politically organized and segregated into nations, but in reference to the fact that they have been redeemed from every nation, kindred, and tongue of the present world. This wonderful city will be the light of, and the focal point for, all the glory and honor of the new earth. So far as the expression, "the kings of the earth," is concerned, Chapter V, verse 10 seems to explain this sufficiently: "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." There will be no need ever to shut the gates, since they will not be closed by day, and there will be no night there. Nothing of evil will, or can, ever enter that city--nothing that defiles, works abomination, or makes a lie. How peaceful it will be for all the saints of God, and especially for those who have suffered so much persecutions in this present world! The only persons who will ever enter that city are those whose, names are in the Lamb's book of life.

Chapter 22

In Chapter XXII John finishes his description of the city. Then, as the angel talks further with him, John makes another attempt to worship him, and is rebuked in the same manner as before, and again instructed to worship God. There follow some instructions and warnings, and finally John's prayer for the coming of our Lord Jesus and the bestowing of His grace upon all the saints.

(Verses 1 through 5) "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."

The first thing we want to notice is that when the "throne" is mentioned, it is "the throne of God and of the Lamb," NOT THRONES as more than one, but in the singular only. See I Corinthians 15: 21-28, which climaxes thus: "And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him That put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."

It will be remembered that when Jesus was with His disciples on the mount of transfiguration, there came a voice from heaven saying, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him," setting the Son as the central figure during His earthly ministry, in His death, and His resurrection. Further, in all scenes of the execution of judgment in THE REVELATION, He is the central One: for He is the "near kinsman" with the right of redemption of the forfeited possession or inheritance. In this city His work will have been finished; all enemies will have been subdued; and He will "have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father." They will occupy one throne. From that throne will proceed "a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal." It is called a river to show that there is such a bountiful supply that no one will ever have to go thirsty.

In the expression "In the midst of the street of it," the "it" refers to the city, not the river. Evidently, this will be a wide street with a median in it. And in that median there will be the tree of life, as well as on both sides of the river--not that one tree will be in all these places, but the term is used generically, just as we would say, "a forest of oak," not "a forest of oaks." The tree is said to bear twelve manner of fruits and to yield its fruit every month. There will be no dormant or barren season. Also the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. This is, no doubt, said in reference to the fact that in the present world God's saints are an afflicted people subject to much tribulation and sorrow. But in that city where the tree of life stands forever, they will be fully healed and will never again be troubled by anything, whether disease, affliction, or whatever may have been their lot in this world. All such will be removed forever and ever.

In the day that God sent Adam out of the garden of Eden, He said to him, "_ _ _cursed is the ground for thy sake_ _ _." That curse has never yet been removed, nor will it be until the first earth has passed away and the "new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" is ushered in. But in that new earth and this wonderful city there shall be no more curse. "The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him." Have you ever thought that for a little while you were able to serve the Lord, but suddenly you come face to face with the reality that you have either done something you ought not, or have left off something you should have done? You will never have that experience in that city: for there His servants shall serve Him. There will be nothing to hinder their service to Him. Since the Lord God Himself shall give us light, we will have no need for sun or moon and no need for a candle. We will have perfect light.

(Verses 6 through 9) "And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things that must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."

Having shown John all these wonderful scenes, and having told him so much about this beautiful and holy city, the angel assured him that all these sayings, and pictures of the future of God's saints, however incredible they might appear, are true and faithful. They cannot fail of accomplishment, because the Lord God of the holy prophets, the Faithful and True, has declared them, and has sent His angel to show these things unto His servants because they are things that "must shortly be done"--not that they must take place immediately upon their being shown, but that they will allow of no hindrance. Nothing can prevent their coming to pass exactly at the appointed time and in exactly the manner shown. The Lord God of the holy prophets is no other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that in Chapter XIX, verse 10, the angel told John, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy," and in Chapter I, verse 1, John said of Jesus, "and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John."

Then, as if to establish this identity, there was delivered to John a message directly from Jesus Himself. The wording will permit no other assumption: "Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." Why those who have taken the authority to set the words of Jesus in red ink and all else in black have set this in red ink to the colon, and the remainder in black, perhaps no one will ever know. The entire sentence is so obviously of one piece that the whole message must be of Him. Just as "the things which must shortly be done" must take place without any hindrance and at the appointed time without delay, so must His coming be immediately at the appointed time and nothing can prevent it. Since "the sayings of the prophecy of this book" are His, those who keep them in mind, meditate upon them, and look for their faithful fulfillment are blessed persons. Once again John was so overcome by the great and wonderful things the angel had shown and told him that he fell at his feet to worship him. And again the angel rebuked him, declaring himself to be only a fellow servant and a brother to John, the prophets, and those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book. He completed this with the same instructions given in Chapter XIX, verse 10, "Worship God."

(Verses 10 through 20) "And he saith unto me, seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the Root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He Which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

There is some disagreement among men as to just how much of the above quotation should be considered the actual words of our Lord Jesus, and how much the words of the angel. There is no reason to make a great uproar about this matter. From the words themselves, it is obvious that the Person speaking in verses 12, 13, 16, and part of 20, is unquestionably Jesus Himself. In some other parts, it may be the angel speaking. Yet, since the angel is only delivering the message given him by Jesus, the whole is by the authority of our Lord, and should be considered His word. He directed John to SEAL NOT the sayings of this prophecy "for the time is at hand." This does not mean that all these things must happen immediately after they were shown to John, but that there is no intervening era, dispensation, period, or whatever designation one might use, between the gospel day and the coming of our Lord Jesus. Although, as we look at history, it has been almost two thousand years since John wrote this, that does not alter the fact that John was living in the gospel day; and at the end of that day the Lord Jesus will come again. Remember also that with God time is not counted. He is eternal. We are creatures of time, subject to its limitations, counting its days and years.

The message in verse 11, "He that is unjust . . .," is by no means given to encourage people to be unjust, filthy, and wicked. It does, however, point very forcefully to the fact that those who are unjust, filthy, etc., until His coming will gain nothing by trying to change then. Those who are righteous and those who are holy are to hold steadfast as they are: for, after all, our righteousness is not of ourselves. It is the imputed righteousness of Jesus, bestowed upon those whose faith is in Him, and not in themselves.

In verse 12, He declares that not only is He coming without delay at the appointed time, but also He will have His reward with Him, to give to every man according as his work shall be. This is in perfect harmony with John 5:28-29, ". . . for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." Some will surely say that this proves salvation to be by works. Not so. It does, however, abundantly prove that identification is by works, just as our Lord said (Matt. 7:16 -20) "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

Then, He identifies Himself as He did earlier, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." With His authority thus established, we are told that those who do His commandments are blessed, or happy, characters, for they have a right to the tree of life and have access through the gates into the city.

"For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." There have been many conjectures as to the meaning of the word "dogs" in this statement. Undoubtedly, it refers to people of some sort; and since the scriptures are our best, in fact, our only dependable, source of information on this, let us examine a passage where the word is used. (II Peter 2:22) "But it hath happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to His own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." Inquiry into the matter will show that this whole chapter discusses false teachers who try to lead astray the saints of God, and the verse quoted is the Apostle Peter's summation of their case. So, probably the reference here is also to false teachers. All others here named are readily identified without explanations. When the Lord says these are "without," He does not mean that they are roaming around outside the walls of the city. The meaning is that they have neither access to, nor part in, the city: for, in fact, they are in the lake of fire, as declared in Chapter XX.

In verse 16, Jesus declares that He has sent His angel (messenger) to testify these things to His saints who are in the churches. He then gives further identification of Himself, "I am the Root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." Notice the following message: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." The Spirit, the Holy Ghost, was sent to be the comforter, advisor, and leader of the bride, the elect of God, until the Lord shall return. Both are looking longingly forward to the day of His coming, and saying, with great desire, "Come." Also let everyone who hears the wonderful news say, Come." That is, this should be the constant prayer of everyone who is looking for His coming. Then, when that day comes, "Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." Remember in Chapter XXI, verse 6, ". . . I will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." In this life, the saints are often hungering for the spiritual manna which Jesus gives them, and thirsting for the water of life. He gives them drink; and they are refreshed, but only for a while. What a difference when He comes back again! Then "Let him that is athirst come," and whosoever will may drink so freely of that water of life that he will never thirst again.

We then have His testimony to every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. Any person who adds to these things will have all the plagues of this book added to him. Certainly, God knows that we are weak, and subject to incorrect understanding of His word, even when we are sincerely trying to come to the right knowledge of it. So this warning is not directed at the sincere child of God who may make an erroneous statement that might seem to be adding to these things, but to the one who intentionally adds to them for the purpose of misleading others. The same would hold for those who "take away from the words of the book of this prophecy." "God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." The best explanation we can find for this, perhaps, is Luke 8:18 , "Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have."

No true servant of God will ever deliberately take anything away from the word of God, whether in this book, or any other, but false teachers are constantly making every effort to deceive, whether by adding to, or taking from; and such will have even that part which they claim and seem to have, taken away. This testimony is on no less authority than that of Jesus Himself, and He says, "He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen." To this John adds his prayer, "Even so, Come, Lord Jesus," and this should be the prayer of every servant of God: for that is the next event of any real importance to us. Then John closes out this wonderful account with these words, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."