When
things are listed in numerical order, it means that one comes before two, and
two before three. When we talk about the
Book of Revelation, we often hear people quoting or making assertions that are
absurdly out of order. Nowhere in the Bible
does numerical order flow as 6,3,9,2,5,1,7, etc. Understanding that, Jesus, who gave us the
book of Revelation, put things in order for a reason, and we should not take
them out of order for our own purposes. There are seven seals, seven trumpets,
seven vials, and within those three sets of seven, the first two occur in the
first half of the tribulation called “the wrath of the Lamb”. Within the first portion of the tribulation,
there are three woes. After the first two woes, we have seven
thunders that say something that John was not allowed to tell us word for word,
but summarized for us with a look at a longer timeline of events.
There
are three woe’s mentioned in
Revelation. These woes give us a huge
key to timing. Two woes are listed and
then there seems to be a few deviations in the storyline. John is giving us the details as they
happen in order and the woes are our time markers to understanding the order of
things in the Book of Revelation. Two
woes are mentioned first, and then John tells us about the seven thunders. This is an important key to what is happening
in heaven as the seven thunders are another mystery. Then John tells us about the two witnesses. As we studied last week the two witnesses are
on earth for 3 ½ years, the first half of the tribulation. It’s a parenthetical
section added for our understanding.
Their time on earth is not as important as when they leave earth. In Revelation 8 we have an angel saying woe,
woe, woe, as an announcement regarding the next three trumpets.
Rev
8:13 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! KJV
This
angel announces three woes and then John tells us that the fifth angel sounds
the trumpet and the bottomless pit opens.
As we studied the abyss, we noticed that someone is opening it. This individual has a key which means that
the abyss is locked. When it is opened,
smoke blocks the sun, and with the smoke come locusts.
Rev
9:1 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.
The
star that falls, streaks across the sky, looking like a meteor, and although we
have no indication by its definition of it being anything other than a star, we
see the word “him” as if the star is a “he”. This is consistent in the Greek
texts. We are not sure who opens the pit; most people think it is an angel that
is sent with the key. Some think it is satan, but at this point satan has not
been expelled from heaven. We do, however, have another clue. Jesus said he has the keys to hell and death,
Rev 1:18. Whoever opens the abyss has to have the keys. Jesus has the keys. Does he give the key to someone else? We
cannot tell, but my guess is the one who has the keys opens the doors, so this
is one of the “good” spiritual beings, as the evil spiritual beings do not have
any keys. Later in Rev 20:1 we see that
an angel has the keys to the abyss; he binds satan for 1000 years. So it very well may be Jesus opening up the
abyss and after establishing His kingdom someone else shuts it. There is
something else here; someone is giving the locusts directions.
Rev
9:2 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.3 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.4 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.5 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.
The
locusts are first given power. Secondly,
the locusts are commanded to not hurt the grass or anything green, but only the
men without the seal of God. Thirdly,
they are not to kill men, just torment them. The one who has the key is the one
commanding them.
Rev
9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall
desire to die, and death shall flee from them.7 And the shapes of the locusts
were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were
crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.8 And they had hair
as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.9 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.10 And they had tails
like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was
to hurt men five months.
These
locusts are not like locusts we see today.
They have hair, lion type teeth and human faces. They fly and have a
stinging tail. They are not the only ones who come out of the Abyss. The angel of the bottomless pit comes out as
well. Therefore, it is not Apollyon who is commanding the locusts, although
Apollyon is the king over them, Apollyon cannot give them exousia,
authority.
Rev
9:11 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.KJV
Apollyon
means destroyer. Remember Passover?
Ex
12:23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth
the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over
the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses
to smite you.KJV
Moses
told the Israelites what to do so that the destroyer would not kill them, but
it was Yahweh who said He would execute judgment. That seems to be a contradiction except for
the understanding that as we saw in Revelation, Death and Hell were sent out at
the fourth seal. Here in Exodus we can
understand that the destroyer was sent out over the land by command of Yahewh. Apollyon was given permission to kill the
first born who did not have the blood covering.
Ex
12:12-13 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite
all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the
gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.13 And the blood shall be
to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I
will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I
smite the land of Egypt.KJV
Paul
tells us that those who wandered in the wilderness were examples to us. Yet when some of them complained they were
destroyed of the destroyer. This is the only place this word (Strong’s #3644)
is used.
1
Cor 10:4-12 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that
spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.5 But with many of
them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.6 Now
these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil
things, as they also lusted.7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as
it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.8
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one
day three and twenty thousand.9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them
also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.10 Neither murmur ye, as some of
them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer [3644].11 Now
all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.12 Wherefore let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.KJV
NT:3644
olothreutes (ol-oth-ryoo-tace'); from NT:3645; a ruiner, i.e. (specifically) a
venomous serpent: KJV - destroyer.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers
and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003,
2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
The
King James does not translate Abaddon the way other translations do. This leads to people thinking that Abaddon is
not mentioned in the Bible but he is.
Job
26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction [11]hath no covering.KJV
Job
26:6 Sheol (the place of the dead) is naked before God, and Abaddon (the place
of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes]. AMP
Job
26:6 Sheol is naked before God and Abaddon has no clothes.ISV
OT:11'abaddown
(ab-ad-done'); intensive from OT:6; abstract, a perishing; concrete, Hades: KJV
- destruction.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Prov
15:11 Hell and destruction Abaddon [11] are before the Lord: how much
more then the hearts of the children of men? KJV
Here
at this time period during the tribulation, Abaddon/Apollyon, who is an angel, will
be over the locusts that come out of the abyss.
He will direct them as per the Lord’s instruction. This is not the first
time he has been loosed, and not the first time he has brought
destruction. Yet as we have seen, he has
only brought destruction by command of the Lord, not of his own free will. Therefore, to worship Abaddon/Apollyon as
some groups claim to do would be ridiculous.
He only destroys under the authority of God. Jesus has the keys.
Rev
9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.KJV
This
was one woe. The sixth trumpet is woe number two.
Rev
9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of
the golden altar which is before God,14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the
trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.15
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.
The
angel who sounded the sixth trumpet is told to loose the four angels. The
second woe is that four angels will be set free from over (epi) the river and
kill one third of the population. Why
are these angels bound? How long have they been bound? Could these be some of
the fallen angels from the time of Noah? If we remember Azazael was bound in
the desert under jagged rocks. It is
possible that these four have been waiting, and as it says, preparing for their
time to kill men. Since these four have
been bound, they did not have access to heaven so these are not cast down at
the time satan is cast down, they have been bound in, around, above, the
river. They have been ready for the
appointed time; the Amplified says it this way:
Rev
9:14-15 Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Liberate the four angels
who are bound at the great river Euphrates. 15 So the four angels who had been
in readiness for that hour in the appointed day, month, and year were liberated
to destroy a third of mankind.AMP
Also,
when they come out, an army comes out with them. They have been preparing.
Let’s
read a little of the back story from the Book of Enoch. The heavenly watchers
(angels) asked Enoch to speak to the fallen ones and tell them that they will
have no peace. The fallen watchers
(fallen angels) asked for forgiveness through Enoch, with a petition to God,
because they recognized what they had done was wrong.
CHAPTER XIV.
Enoch 14:1. The book of
the words of righteousness, and of the reprimand of the eternal Watchers in
accordance with the command of the Holy Great One in that vision. 2. I saw in
my sleep what I will now say with a tongue of flesh and with the breath of my
mouth: which the Great One has given to men to converse therewith and
understand with the heart. 3. As He has created and given ⌈⌈to man the power of understanding the word of
wisdom, so hath He created me also and given⌉⌉ me the power of reprimanding the Watchers, the children of
heaven. 4. I wrote out your petition, and in my vision it appeared thus, that
your petition will not be granted unto you ⌈⌈throughout all the days of eternity, and that judgement has been
finally passed upon you: yea (your petition) will not be granted unto you⌉⌉. 5. And from henceforth you shall not ascend
into heaven unto all eternity, and ⌈in bonds⌉ of the earth the
decree has gone forth to bind you for all the days of the world. 6. And (that)
previously you shall have seen the destruction of your beloved sons and ye
shall have no pleasure in them, but they shall fall before you by the sword. 7.
And your petition on their behalf shall not be granted, nor yet on your own:
even though you weep and pray and speak all the words contained
in the writing which I have written.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe017.htm
CHAPTER XV.
1. And He answered and
said to me, and I heard His voice: 'Fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man and
scribe of righteousness: approach hither and hear my voice. 2. And go, say
to ⌈⌈the Watchers of heaven⌉⌉, who have sent thee to intercede ⌈⌈for them: "You should intercede"⌉⌉ for men, and not men for you: 3. Wherefore
have ye left the high, holy, and eternal heaven, and lain with women, and
defiled yourselves with the daughters of men and taken to yourselves wives, and
done like the children of earth, and begotten giants (as your) sons? 4. And though
ye were holy, spiritual, living the eternal life, you have defiled yourselves
with the blood of women, and have begotten (children) with the blood of flesh,
and, as the children of men, have lusted after flesh and blood
as those ⌈also⌉ do who die and perish. 5. Therefore have I
given them wives also that they might impregnate them, and beget children by
them, that thus nothing might be wanting to them on earth. 6. But you
were ⌈formerly⌉ spiritual, living the eternal life, and
immortal for all generations of the world. 7. And therefore I have not
appointed wives for you; for as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven
is their dwelling. 8. And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits
and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall
be their dwelling. 9. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because
they are born from men, ⌈⌈and⌉⌉ from the holy
Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; ⌈they shall be evil spirits on earth, and⌉ evil spirits shall they be called. [10. As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their
dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth,
on the earth shall be their dwelling.] 11. And the
spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle,
and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, ⌈but nevertheless hunger⌉ and thirst, and cause offences. And these
spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women,
because they have proceeded ⌈from them⌉.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe018.htm
These fallen angels are bound, and the spirits of their progeny, the Nephilim are now on earth. From Jubilees we see that Noah asked God to bind them or his children would be overtaken. God said he would bind 90%, leaving 10% as satan complained he needed them to do his will on earth. Here we see that not only are the fallen angels bound on earth, but the spirits of their children are bound until the time of the end of the world. Thinking this through for a moment, the world was already a fallen place as Lucifer rebelled before Adam and Eve, causing universal chaos. Then the devil stole Adam’s lease on the earth, so the devil was the reigning god of the age when the angels came to earth. I’d say from their heavenly position prior to coming to the earth women, they knew what was going on here and they believed that they would somehow be protected. As God speaks via Enoch to the fallen watchers, God says that the things they knew, the mysteries, were hardly anything in comparison to all the heavenly knowledge. This suggests that the fallen watchers thought they’d get a free ride under satan’s authority, but didn’t realize that satan only rules as a prince without all power, just some power.
Another point to consider is that since Jesus rose from the dead, the princes of hell are also subject to Him. Since Jesus declares that he has the keys, it would seem that allowing these beings to come out of the ground and attack humans is Jesus’ plan to bring people into humility, as it seems that some people still will not repent even after this second woe. In the Acts of Pontus Pilate we have discourse between the prince of hell and satan. When Jesus came down to the grave he broke the gates and put all of the devils as well as the prince of hell into subjection to himself.
Acts of Pontus Pilate 17:8 Who art thou, who dost spread so glorious and divine a light over those who were made blind by the darkness of sin?9 In like manner all the legions of devils were seized with the like horror, and with the most submissive fear cried out, and said,10 Whence comes it, O thou Jesus Christ, that thou art a man so powerful and glorious in majesty, so bright as to have no spot, and so pure as to have no crime? For that lower world of earth, which was ever till now subject to us, and from whence we received tribute, never sent us such a dead man before, never sent such presents as these to the princes of hell.11 Who therefore art thou, who with such courage enterest among our abodes, and art not only not afraid to threaten us with the greatest punishments, but also endeavourest to rescue all others from the chains in which we hold them?12 Perhaps thou art that Jesus, of whom Satan just now spoke to our prince, that by the death of the cross thou wert about to receive the power of death.13 Then the King of Glory trampling upon death, seized the prince of hell, deprived him of all his power, and took our earthly father Adam with him to his glory.
CHAP. XVIII.
1 Beelzebub, prince of hell,
vehemently upbraids Satan for persecuting Christ and bringing him to hell. 4. Christ gives Beelzebub
dominion over Satan for ever, as a recompense for taking away Adam and his sons.THEN the prince of hell took Satan, and with great indication said to him, O thou prince of destruction, author of Beelzebub's defeat and banishment, the scorn of God's angels and loathed by all righteous persons! What inclined thee to act thus?2 Thou wouldst crucify the King of Glory, and by his destruction, hast made us promises of very large advantages, but as a fool wert ignorant of what thou wast about.3 For behold now that Jesus of Nazareth, with the brightness of his glorious divinity, puts to flight all the horrid powers of darkness and death;4 He has broke down our prisons from top to bottom, dismissed all the captives, released all who were bound, and all who were wont formerly to groan under the weight of their torments have now insulted us, and we are like to be defeated by their prayers.5 Our impious dominions are subdued, and no part of mankind is now left in our subjection, but on the other hand, they all boldly defy us;6 Though, before, the dead never durst behave themselves insolently towards us, nor, being prisoners, could ever on any occasion be merry.7 ¶ O Satan, thou prince of all the wicked, father of the impious and abandoned, why wouldest thou attempt this exploit, seeing our prisoners were hitherto always without the least hopes of salvation and life?8 But now there is not one of them does ever groan, nor is there the least appearance of a tear in any of their faces.9 O prince Satan, thou great keeper of the infernal regions, all thy advantages which thou didst acquire by the forbidden tree, and the loss of Paradise,thou hast now lost by the wood of the cross; 10 And thy happiness all then expired, when thou didst crucify Jesus Christ the King of Glory.11 Thou hast acted against thine own interest and mine, as thou wilt presently perceive by those large torments and infinite punishments which thou art about to suffer.12 O Satan, prince of all evil, author of death, and source of all pride, thou shouldest first have inquired into the evil crimes of Jesus of Nazareth, and then thou wouldest have found that he was guilty of no fault worthy of death.13 Why didst thou venture, without either reason or justice, to crucify him, and hast brought down to our regions a person innocent and righteous, and thereby hast lost all the sinners, impious and unrighteous persons in the whole world?14 While the prince of hell was thus speaking to Satan, the King of Glory said to Beelzebub, the prince of hell, Satan, the prince shall be subject to thy dominion for ever, in the room of Adam and his righteous sons, who are mine.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/lbob/lbob10.htm
To
make the point again, there are angels over the different parts of hell such as
Beelzebub over sheol, and Apollyon over the abyss. There are also fallen angels bound and
waiting to be loosed. There are commands and authorities, princes and
rulers. The spiritual world is a busy
place; remember we are not the center of the story; we are only a portion of a
much larger story. Back to Revelation.
Rev
9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand
thousand: and I heard the number of them.
There
are two hundred million troops that are ready to kill one third of the
population. Let’s just guess how many
people will be killed. We have 7 billion people on earth today; perhaps at best,
2 billion will be raptured, leaving 5 billion.
Many will have died or have been killed from the start of the
tribulation up to this point, almost mid tribulation, but let’s keep our number
at 5 billion. This could mean 1.6 billion people will be killed by these 200
million horsemen. This is by no means
“the” number but just a look to gain perspective as we sometimes gloss over
numbers.
Rev
9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having
breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the
horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and
smoke and brimstone.18 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.
19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were
like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Men
will be killed in three ways, fire, smoke, and brimstone. Fire is by definition, lightning, and
brimstone is sulfur. This sounds like
Sodom and Gomorrah. Again these horsemen are unusual looking and they have been
preparing. That seems strange, but they
have been waiting for the end of this age and they have had plenty of time to
get ready.
Rev
9:20 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 of wood: which neither can see,
nor hear, nor walk:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their
sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.KJV
How
stubborn does one have to be to not repent after two of these woes? We then have a “cut away” a couple of
parenthetical stories that have to be included.
The seven thunders, which we will look at shortly, and the two witnesses
which we looked at last week. Sometimes
with these added details of the things that are going on in heaven and earth,
we find that people start to confuse the timeline but as we will see, John kept
our timeline in order with the clue of the three woes. After our two cut aways, one to the heavenly activities and the other to the
earthly activities, our timeline continues with Revelation 11:14 and the
recognition of the third woe.
Rev
11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.KJV
We
then go right into the coronation of Jesus as receiving the kingdoms and the
rewards given out. This is not a woe in the sense that it’s bad news for us, we
see this as great news, but it is bad news for the world. Something else we
should note, just a few verses prior to this declaration of the second woe
passing, is the beast coming up out of the pit to kill the witnesses in verse
7. The beast coming out of the pit is
another instance where Jesus is directing the evil beings, because it is
important for these witnesses to die. If
they die, they rise and everyone sees them.
The witnesses get to heaven in time for the coronation and rewards
ceremony.
In
order for Jesus to be given the kingdoms of the world, satan has to be removed
from his rule. At this time John gives us another back story, a summation of
history and the future. When he does, we see the third woe starting. So once
the sixth trumpet sounds, and those four angels are loosed, there is a pause
for Revelation 12:12, the third woe is set in motion. Then when Revelation
12:12 is finished, the seventh trumpet sounds and the third woe on earth starts.
Rev
12:12 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 unto you,
having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.KJV
This
is woe number three, the fall of satan from heaven. When satan is cast out of
heaven the earth will go through great turmoil which will culminate with the
fall of Babylon. Here the words for woe
change and now are translated Alas. The
word woe/alas is used in the section of Babylon’s fall two times each in three
verses. This establishes the woe’s and completes them with Babylon’s
destruction.
Rev
18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that
great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.KJV
Rev
18:16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen,
and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and
pearls!KJV
Rev
18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing,
saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships
in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made
desolate.KJV
Clearly, we see the
three woes at the end of the first half of the tribulation as the opening and
loosing of evil spiritual beings on the earth for the punishment of humans for
not repenting. The third woe finishes
after the bowls are poured out. That is a long period of time for woes on
earth. Again these three woes’ are in order within the order of the events of
the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets being sounded.
As we explore the seven
thunders, we can start by taking into consideration Jesus’ name to James and
John. He called them Boanerges, or sons
of thunder. These two were not quiet,
shy men, nor was their Father a pacified, inactive man. They must have all been ADHD, loud,
passionate, argumentative, and always moving and on the move. James and John
were the son’s of commotion, therefore their family must have been quite the
overwhelming presence at parties and in the quiet hours of the night. I would picture these men as Thor and Iron
Man, with their father as the Hulk.
Mark
3:17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he
surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: KJV
NT:993
Boanerges (bo-an-erg-es'); of Aramaic origin [OT:1123 and OT:7266]; sons of
commotion; Boanerges, an epithet of two of the apostles: KJV -
Boanerges.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Now
we have a hint regarding the back story of the seven thunders. These seven thunders are beings, not just
noises. They have voices and they are
ready for commotion. Let’s look.
Rev
10:1-4 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:2 And he had in his hand a little book open:
and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,3 And
cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven
thunders uttered their voices.
One
angel yells loudly and the seven thunders yell back. We don’t know what the one angel yelled but
maybe it was something along the lines of “are you ready to rock and
roll?” The reason I suspect this, is
that something dynamic happens next.
Rev
10:4 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.KJV
Whatever
the conversation was, John was not allowed to write about it. But as we have seen, the next event is Jesus’
coronation. Satan has to be deposed as being the god of this age. First, he is cast out of heaven, and for a
short time on earth he will cause utter chaos.
Let’s look at the third “back story” of past and future events to see
how they match up with the seven thunders and the three woes’.
Rev
12:1 AND A great sign (wonder) — [warning of future events of ominous
significance] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
under her feet, and with a crownlike garland (tiara) of twelve stars on her
head. 2 She was pregnant and she cried out in her birth pangs, in the anguish
of her delivery.
As
we understand, the sign of Virgo, the woman with the crown, symbolizing Israel,
gave birth to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
3
Then another ominous sign (wonder) was seen in heaven: Behold, a huge,
fiery-red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven kingly crowns
(diadems) upon his heads. [Dan 7:7.] 4 His tail swept [across the sky] and
dragged down a third of the stars and flung them to the earth. And the dragon
stationed himself in front of the woman who was about to be delivered, so that
he might devour her child as soon as she brought it forth. [Dan 8:10.]
Draco
the dragon is a symbol for satan, who took a third of the angels with him when
committing treason. As Genesis 3:15 tells us, Jesus was the promised seed who
would bruise the head of satan while Jesus’ heel would be bruised. This is the star picture of Ophiuchus.
5
And she brought forth a male Child, One Who is destined to shepherd (rule) all
the nations with an iron staff (scepter), and her Child was caught up to God
and to His throne. [Ps 2:8,9; 110:1,2.]
Jesus
conquered the grave and is now seated at the right hand of the Father
6
And the woman [herself] fled into the desert (wilderness), where she has a
retreat prepared [for her] by God, in which she is to be fed and kept safe for
1,260 days (42 months; three and one-half years).
The
first fruits of Israel will be hidden during the tribulation for the first half
of the tribulation. Jesus’ first act, after the coronation and rewards ceremony,
is to come to Zion with those he hid, and bring them to heaven. They are sealed,
(Ch7), and set apart for God, 144,000 men. At some point after these 144,000
are sealed, then, then, then, war breaks out. Before the coronation, but after the
sealing, and then the hiding of the 144,000 gives us our time frame. We can narrow this down further by the three
woes, 1st,Abaddon and the locusts (fifth trumpet), 2nd,the
four bound angels and horsemen (sixth trumpet), 3rd,satan on earth,
gathering with the false prophet and the earthly world leader (seventh
trumpet).
7
Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with
the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.
The
seven thunders seem to have a mission and quite possibly are the group that
consists of Michael and his angels. The
seven thunders are seven leaders. Enoch
gives us a clue.'
XX. Name and Functions of the Seven Archangels.
CHAPTER XX.
Enoch 20:1. And these
are the names of the holy angels who watch. 2. Uriel, one of the holy angels,
who is over the world and over Tartarus. 3. Raphael, one of the holy angels,
who is over the spirits of men. 4. Raguel, one of the holy angels who †takes
vengeance on† the world of the luminaries. 5. Michael, one of the holy angels,
to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind ⌈⌈and⌉⌉ over chaos. 6. Saraqâêl, one of the holy angels, who is set
over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. 7. Gabriel, one of the holy angels,
who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. 8. Remiel, one of the
holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.
These
Holy Angels, according to other parts of the Book of Encoh, have a lot of work
to do during the tribulation. They are
busy cleaning up the mess on earth. We
have to keep in mind that there are two major past events that these angels
have witnessed and had a part in. The first is the fall of Lucifer, who, when
he fell, destroyed the planet Rahab and caused chaos on the earth before Adam
and Eve were created. The second bad
event was when the angels came to earth and took wives and spawned the race of
the Nephilim during the time of Noah and after that. These seven archangels have been warring with
the fallen ones and binding them as long as these things have gone on. They are warring on our behalf, and it would
seem that these seven thunders are the warriors that throw satan and his angels
out of heaven.
Rev
12:8 But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any
longer. 9 And the huge dragon was cast down and out — that age-old serpent, who
is called the Devil and Satan, he who is the seducer (deceiver) of all humanity
the world over; he was forced out and down to the earth, and his angels were
flung out along with him. [Gen 3:1,14,15; Zech 3:1.]
This
is what will happen at this point in time, the seventh trumpet, the third woe,
the time right before the announcement that the kingdoms of the world have
become the kingdoms of our Lord and Christ and He shall reign forever. Watch what the voice from heaven says.
Rev
12:10 Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come —
the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our
God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the
Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God
charges against them day and night, has been cast out! [Job 1:9-11.]
This
is a similar announcement to the coronation of Revelation 11:15-ff. Satan is flung out, then the trumpet sounds,
and an announcement is made, rewards are given.
Then satan gathers the false leader and false prophet and the third woe
begins.
Rev
12:11 And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb
and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to
life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die
for their witnessing].
Those
who overcame, the hidden 144,000, overcame by two things, the blood of the Lamb
and the word of their testimony, their witness of Jesus Christ. This is
reiterated twice in this section.
Rev
12:12 Therefore be glad (exult), O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe
to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in fierce anger
(fury), because he knows that he has [only] a short time [left]! [Isa 44:23;
49:13.]AMP
Heaven
will rejoice when the devil is cast out but woe to the earth (the third woe)
because the devil is angry. This is how we know that satan, who is accusing us
day and night, has not been cast out, because heaven has not yet rejoiced.
Rev
12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he went in
pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman
was supplied with the two wings of a giant eagle, so that she might fly from
the presence of the serpent into the desert (wilderness), to the retreat where
she is to be kept safe and fed for a time, and times, and half a time (three
and one-half years, or 1,260 days). [Dan 7:25; 12:7.] 15 Then out of his mouth
the serpent spouted forth water like a flood after the woman,that she might be
carried off with the torrent. 16 But the earth came to the rescue of the woman,
and the ground opened its mouth and swallowed up the stream of water which the
dragon had spouted from his mouth. 17 So then the dragon was furious (enraged)
at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants
— [on those] who obey God's commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus
Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him]. AMP
The
devil then goes to attack the first fruits but he cannot get to them. No matter what the devil tries, he cannot attack
the 144,000. Since he cannot get to them,
he wages war on the rest of the Israelites who do two things; 1) obey God’s commandments
and 2) have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Yes there will be those left on earth
that are continually coming to Jesus throughout the tribulation.
As we put together the
events of Revelation in their numerical order, we see the logic Jesus had in
giving us a number system, so that we could track and trace events. Apollyon is ruler over the locusts. The four
angels who are bound are loosed along with the army they have been preparing.
And satan is cast out of heaven with his angels. All of these events are at the
timing of the Lord; these beings have no say as to when they act and how they
will act. The devil’s every move is told
to us in advance, which is interesting because if one were to seriously want to
avoid the coming tribulation, one has all the tools needed to make that
decision. The recap is that the three
woes are the loosing of evil spiritual beings onto the earth. The seven thunders are good spiritual beings
that eradicate satan from heaven. Enoch wrote about the coming Judgment of the
wicked. We will explore Enoch’s writings
and Revelation next.
XXXVIII. The Coming Judgement of the
Wicked.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
1. The First Parable. When
the congregation of the righteous shall appear, And sinners shall be judged for
their sins, And shall be driven from the face of the earth:
2. And when the
Righteous One shall appear before the eyes of the righteous, Whose elect works
hang upon the Lord of Spirits, And light shall appear to the righteous and the
elect who dwell on the earth, Where then will be the dwelling of the
sinners, And where the resting-place of those who have denied the Lord of
Spirits? It had been good for them if they had not been born.
3. When the secrets of
the righteous shall be revealed and the sinners judged, And the godless driven
from the presence of the righteous and elect,
4. From that time those
that possess the earth shall no longer be powerful and exalted:And they shall
not be able to behold the face of the holy, For the Lord of Spirits has caused
His light to appearOn the face of the holy, righteous, and elect.
5. Then shall the kings
and the mighty perish And be given into the hands of the righteous and holy.
6. And thenceforward
none shall seek for themselves mercy from the Lord of Spirits For their life is
at an end.
