As the prophecy of Daniel's 70 weeks ticks down for the Jews, Jesus is crucified by a people celebrating Caesar. For the chief priests cried out saying, "We have no king but Caesar." [John 19:15] And they even made Caesar's deadly wound to be healed, counterfeiting the resurrection of Christ. For Jesus claimed, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." [Matt. 28:18] Yet the chief priests stood as a dragon in lamb's clothing, seeking to strip Christ of this claim. For they bribed soldiers to say that the resurrection did not happen. Thus the chief priests declared Caesar victor in their war that they waged in heaven. [Matt. 28:11-15]
"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". [Rev. 13:11-12] And this is the fulfilment of this act. That Pilate ordered the Jews to judge Jesus according to their law. "The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death". [John 18:31]
7 Letters:
To the seven churches Jesus says, "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." [Rev. 3:9] So Christ makes a distinction between Jew and Jew. Paul writes, he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, "but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly". [Rom. 2:28-29]
The plagues which follow will fulfill all of curses spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy to the people of Israel. For Moses gave warning that in the latter days a nation of fierce countenance shall "besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down". [Deut. 28:52] "All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume." [Deut. 28:42] "Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed." [Deut. 28:61]
5 Seals:
The four horsemen fulfill Zechariah's vision of riders who go forth distressing those who have troubled God's people. [Zech. 1:8-17] The seals also fulfill Jesus' words in Matthew. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars..." "And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places... Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you". [Matt. 24:6-7,14]
6th Seal:
The sun, the moon and the stars are an allusion to the dream of Joseph in Genesis, the lights signifying the nation of Israel. [Gen. 37:9-10] Jesus says however that these lights will be darkened. And in Luke Jesus warns that men's hearts will be "failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." [Luke 21:25-26] In this Jesus quotes the curses listed in Deuteronomy: "But the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee". [Deut. 28:65-66]
Israel is Sealed:
The census from every tribe alludes to the preparing of Israel for war in the book of Numbers. For God instructs Moses, "From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies." [Num. 1:3] [Num. 31:5] And that Dan is omitted, there is no more an idolator among God's people for "Dan set up the graven image." [Judg. 18:30] Compare these to those "which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands". [Rev. 20:4] God's servants are sealed in their forehead. [Rev. 7:3]
The 7th Seal:
The seventh seal announces silence in heaven. But David proclaims, "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him." [Psal. 50:3]
The Mighty Angel:
The Angel standing with pillars of fire and dressed in a cloud is the Angel of the Lord calling God's people out to him in the wilderness as when the children of Israel left Egypt.
5th Trumpet:
6th Trumpet:
7th trumpet:
Now Moses camped with Israel outside the walled city of Jericho, which stood at the entrance to the promised land. [Num. 22:1] And after the death of Moses, which signifies a dying to the law, the children of Israel marched in under their new leader Joshua to take the city. [Josh. 4:13] So it is with the saints, having been made dead to the law, that they stand without the city of Jerusalem, which contains the law and the ceremonies of the old covenant. But these things are fulfilled in Christ who sits, not in a copy of the heavenly things, but in heaven itself. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:" [Heb. 9:24]
Two Witnesses:
7 Years:
An angel instructed Daniel saying, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city". [Dan. 9:24] But in the last week, "in the midst of week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." [Dan. 9:27] This is a prophecy for the crucifixion of the Messiah. So afterward there remains 3 ½ years (1260 days) for the Jews. For this reason a mighty angel stands up, declaring, "there should be time no longer." [Rev. 10:6] For the gospel must go to the gentiles. And Acts shows the fulfilment of this. "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." [Acts 13:46]
The Wilderness:
God's Bride: War in Heaven:
Jerusalem's fall:
The Beast:
The Seven Nations:
Solomon's riddle:
144,000:
The 3rd Vial:
The 4th Vial:
The 5th Vial:
The 6th Vial:
The 7th Vial:
The Ten Horns:
The Seven Kings:
God mocks the healing of the Deadly Wound:
Nadab: Does evil. [1 Kings 14:20]
Ahab and Elijah:
Lamentation:
A White Horse:
The Thousand Years:
Gog and Magog:
The Earth rolled up:
The Heavenly City: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" [I Corinth. 3:16] Invitation to Everlasting Life:
The fifth trumpet alludes to Jesus' words in Luke: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions". [Luke 10:18-19] The teeth of lions represent slander
An army crosses the Great River Euphrates being ordered to kill a third of men. Jeremiah associated the Euphrates with judgment on Babylon. "And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates". [Jer. 51:63] The Euphrates here signifies the flood of lies from the bottomless pit that the wicked city is built upon. Contrast this now to the river of life flowing in the Holy City. [Rev. 21:1] For the earthly city is full of uncleanness, but the heavenly city comes down from God.
"And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies." [Num. 10:9] In the same way the first disciples who obeyed Jesus' warning to flee Jerusalem were saved. [Luke 21:20] The blowing of the 7th trumpet is an allusion to the days of Joshua when Israel marched around the city of Jericho bearing seven trumpets. "And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city." [Josh. 6:16]
The trumpets announce plagues and they are followed by 'Two Witnesses' who have power to cause any plague as often as they want. [Rev. 11:7] It is necessary for there to be two witnesses for their testimony to be valid. [Deut. 19:15] Jesus also sent out his disciples two by two. [Mark 6:7] Compare the fire from their mouth to Jeremiah: "Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them." [Jer. 5:14] The trampling of the holy city is an allusion to persecution for in Isaiah God calls his people a holy city. [Is. 62:12, Zech. 2] The wicked city here is described as 'where our Lord was crucified' which is Jerusalem, and it is likened to Jericho. [Josh. 6:16]
And after 3 ½ days, the last half of the week, the witnesses ascend to heaven in a cloud. [Rev. 11:12] And this is an allusion to the children of Israel being caught up to God in a pillar of cloud in the wilderness. [Exod. 13:21] And the woman in the next vision also appears in the wilderness. So like Lot, the saints escaped out of the city before the impending judgment. [Gen. 19]
Commentary on Chapter 12
The woman is dressed in the symbols that belong to Joseph's dream in Genesis. [Gen. 37:9-10] The stars are the sons of Israel, the Moon represents Leah, and the Sun is Jacob. The woman is Israel and her flight into the wilderness is a picture from the Old Testament of Pharoah chasing the children of Israel against the sea. [Exod. 14] The flood from the dragon's mouth is the flood of lies from the bottomless pit. Also, recall the signs of the sixth seal. [Rev. 6:29] The woman is dressed in all of these symbols. For this reason Isaiah refers to the shaking of the heavenly bodies in relation to the day of judgment against Babylon, for Babylon is red with the blood of the saints. [Is. 13:9-10, Rev. 17]
The war in heaven is the crucifixion of Jesus. And afterward Jesus is caught up to God's throne. So the dragon is enraged at the woman, and she is persecuted for 1,260 days, the same time as the two witnesses. And that the woman is persecuted for a time, times and half a time, the wording alludes to the book of Daniel. [Dan. 7:25] To the King of Babylon it was written: Mene, Mene, (times) Tekel, (time) Upharsin. (half a time) [Dan. 5:25] And Daniel interpreted this things saying, "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it." [Dan. 5:26]
Jesus warns his disciples,
"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 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". [Luke 21:24-25] So the imagery of the woman's lights being darkened relates to the fall of Jerusalem.
Commentary on Chapter 13
Unlike the sacrifice of Jesus this beast is unclean for he is full of spots, and his feet are spiritually uncloven. He does not walk uprightly. In fact he is a murderer. [Lev. 11:26, II Kings 2:24] The vision alludes to Daniel chapter 7 of four beasts rising out of the Great Sea. The first beast being like a Lion (The Kingdom of Babylon) and the second like a Bear raised up on one side (The Medo-Persian Kingdom, the strength leaning toward the Persians). The third beast was a four-headed Leopard (Greece, a kingdom divided into four kingoms). And the last beast had ten horns (Rome, a kingdom subduing all kingdoms). So there are 7 heads altogether.
Just as it was in the days of Joshua who fought for Israel casting out seven stronger nations from the promised land, the image of the seven-headed beast reveals that God is about to deliver his people a second time. [Deut. 7:1] For Jesus Christ came during the reign of the seventh head of these four beasts to undo the work of the devil. [Luke 3]
A Dragon in Sheep's Clothing:
The beast that rises out of the Sea is the King of Babylon who makes war through blasphemy. But the second beast "exercises the power of the first beast before him." [Rev. 13:12] This is fulfilled in that the chief priests said of Jesus, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death." [John 18:31] The chief priests then, were if possible, the elect who Christ warned would be deceived. [Matt. 24:24] Now the second beast brings fire down from heaven as when God visited the temple. [2 Chron. 7:1] So the chief priests presented their fire, Caesar, to the people affirming, "We have no king but Caesar." [John 19:15] Thus the chief priests are a dragon in sheep's clothing offering the strange fire of Nadab and Abihu. [Lev. 10:1]
Healing of the Deadly Wound:
The chief priests performed as Pharoah's magicians showing not that Christ had been raised from the dead but that Caesar's wound was healed. For Jesus declared, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth", but the chief priests denied this. [Matt. 28:18] The forty and two months is 1260 days, the time left for the Jews to receive the gospel, ending Daniel's 70th week. Now the chief priests had committed an abomination, elevating Caesar to the holy place, and the desolation of Jerusalem was in waiting only for God's people to be delivered out of the city. For John hears a 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." [Rev. 18:4] But God says of the wicked city, "And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not." [Rev. 2:21]
Let him with wisdom count the number of the beast. Now wise King Solomon received 666 talents of gold. [1 Kings 10:14] So likewise this man has "surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom." [I Kings 10:23] "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." [1 Sam. 16:7] This was the error of the chief priests, for they did not consider Isaiah who prophesied, "his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men". [Is. 52:14]
Commentary on Chapters 14-16
Following these things there is seen 144,000, God's people called out by their ranks just as he had done in the Book of Numbers. For he arranged Israel in the wilderness by tribe, numbering them for war. And these stand on Mount Sion. Now earthly Jerusalem sat upon earthly Sion. So there is a difference between that which is heavenly and that which is earthly. And afterward the earth is reaped, God's people being gathered away from the winepress of the wrath of God. [Rev. 14:15] And the seven last plagues are poured out, the great city afterward being divided into three parts. Now God spoke this prophecy to Ezekiel that God would punish his people in three parts if they committed all these abominations. [Ezek. 5] And earthly Jerusalem listened not, becoming instead like the nations that conquered her, even Babylon and Persia and Greece and Rome.
The rivers and fountains of waters are turned to blood. [Rev. 16:4] An angel interprets this vision: "For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy." [Rev. 16:6] "Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood." [Ex. 7:17]
The sun made to scorch men. [Rev. 16:8] Jesus said that some would hear the word of God, but they would be like a plant that had no root. "But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away." [Mark 4:6] This vision then is a weeding out of those who are not of good seed. Jesus said, "Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." [Mark 7:6, Is. 29:13]
A kingdom full of darkness. The imagery is a parallel to the torment of the fifth trumpet. [Rev. 9:2] "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." [John 3:19]
The Kings of the East are gathered against the Kings of the Earth. The Euphrates being dried signifies that Babylon's fall is imminent. For the great Euphrates river once protected Babylon to the east. [Dan. 5:28] The kings of the east that conquered old Bablyon were Media and Persia. But now Christ has "made us kings and priests unto God". And Ezekiel declares that, "the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east." [Ezek. 43:4] Now the kings of the earth are gathered by unclean spirits like frogs to camp at Megiddo, which is outside of Jerusalem. So the battle is staged. "And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs". [Exod. 8:2]
The great city then is divided into three parts, an allusion to Ezekiel's prophecy of Jerusalem's judgment in three parts. [Rev. 16:19] For Ezekiel prophesies that a third shall die by pestilence, a third by famine and a third by the sword. [Ezek. 5:2]
Commentary on Chapters 17-18
That made all the earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
Therefore the nations are deranged.
Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed."
[Jer. 51:7-8]
The great city is burned with fire by the ten horns of the beast. Rome was the beast in Daniel's prophecy to wear ten horns, an empire having subdued many kingdoms. [Dan. 7] And as Revelation describes the horns, they are those who have received no kingdom, yet they receive power as kings. This is a fitting description of the client kings which had no kingdom outside of Rome's authority over them. The armies given to Rome by these kings encamp now against Jerusalem ready to desolate her, fulfilling all the curses God pronounced in Deuteronomy. [Deut. 28]
The seven heads hearken back to the four beasts with seven heads in Daniel 7, which are those of a lion, a bear, a four-headed leopard and a beast with ten horns. [Rev. 13, Dan. 7]
Five have fallen: The King of Medo-Persia and also the 4 Kings of Greece. [Dan. 7:5-6, Dan. 10:20]
One is: Caesar of Rome. [Dan. 7:7, Luke 3:1]
The other is not yet come: Babylon. [Dan. 7:4] Though this king has not yet come, he has already been. [Rev. 17:11, Rev. 17:8]
Emperor Vespasian fulfills the man who God brings back in the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to beseige Jerusalem and burn the city with fire. For Nebuchadnezzar "burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about." [II Kings 25:9-10]
This woman is another revelation of the dragon in sheep's clothing seen in Chapter 13. As the chief priests feigned to bring down the fire of God from heaven, Caesar, therefore will they be burned with fire. [Rev. 13:13, 17:16] How fitting then that the man which Jerusalem worshipped, Caesar, is now the beast that burns the city with fire. I believe this is God's response to the chief priests performing a lying wonder with Caesar, the healing as it were, of his deadly wound. But God, mocking this wonder, chooses to bring back a man in the spirit of King Nebuchadnezzar to make Jerusalem desolate, putting her fully into the winepress of his wrath.
The ten horns are an allusion both to the ten-horned beast in Daniel 7, and to the rebellious Kingdom of Israel in the book of I & II Kings.
Jeroboam, King of the ten tribes of Israel: This man offered new gods to Israel and created a priesthood of the lowest of people, thus destroying the people. [1 Kings 13:28-33]
Baasha: Does evil. [1 Kings 15:25-26]
Elah: Does evil. [1 Kings 15:27-13]
Zimri: Does evil. [1 Kings 16:15-25]
Omri: Worse than any before him. [1 Kings 16:23]
Ahab: Worse than even Omri. [1 Kings 16:29-30]
Jezebel: Queen who kills many prophets. [1 Kings 16:31]
Ahab, being the seventh king of the ten tribes of Israel, is an image of this beast. His counterpart, Elijah, caused there to be no rain for 3 ½ years. So this is a parallel to the 3 ½ years of the two witnesses. [I Kings 17:1] And that there is no rain, God says to Amos, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD". [Amos 8:11] This is fulfilled in that the Jews stopped up their ears to the hearing of the gospel. Therefore the gospel went to the gentiles. Notwithstanding God gave the Jews forty years to repent.
"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:" [Rev. 18:11]
Commentary on Chapters 19-20
"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." [Rev. 19:11] This is Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who treads the winepress of God's wrath. "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." [Is. 63:3]
Remember Adam's curse. God said to Adam that he will die in the day that he eats from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. [Gen. 2:17] Peter writes saying, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." [Peter 3:8] Adam lived 930 years, 70 years shy of 1,000 because he was cursed with death. [Gen. 5:5] The saints have attained the thousand years, or one day with God. Thus, the curse is broken. Christ is the new Adam. [I Cor. 15:22]
Satan shall gather Gog and Magog to battle against the saints. [Rev. 20:7-8] An allusion to Ezekiel's vision: "And I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone." [Ezek. 38:22] This is the plague of hail at the battle of Armageddon also. "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." [Rev. 16:21] "And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt." [Exod. 9:23]
The earth is rolled up like a scroll. Under the signs of the sixth seal men tried to hide themselves. Now, however, there is no place to hide from God. [Rev. 6:14-17, 16:20] "For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad." [Luke 8:17] Zechariah also saw God's judgment going forth as a flying scroll. [Zech. 5]
Commentary on Chapters 21-22
The city described here is perfect and without spot. It is not a building with foundations of stone, but a description of how spotless God
has made his saints which make up one spiritual city of believers who came out of every nation. The thickness of the walls being 144,000 cubits is a perfect fit for the victorious saints who number 144,000, a spiritual number of God's people at war. [Num. 31:5] Because of Jesus' victory over death God's dwelling is now with man as he lives with his believers through the Holy Spirit. [I Cor. 6:19] God's promise to create a new heavens and a new earth is being fulfilled. Whereas the first heaven and earth were corruptible. The new heaven and earth have God's Spirit indwelling his creation.
God beautifully describes the wonderful message his saints are delivering to the world. Blessed are those who obey God for they have the right to the tree of life, and that tree of life is Jesus Christ. [Acts 5:30] Those outside the city are not yet numbered with the saints. They remain filthy and are dogs and whoremongers and murderers. Nevertheless, Christ's invitation stands open. God invites everyone saying, "Come."
