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Monday, June 2, 2014

Seals, Trumpets, and the Beginning of Sorrows, Revelation 6-12

After looking at Aristeas’s letter last week, we have a clearer picture of descriptive communication in the Bible. So that we don’t think the law was merely about mice and weasels but about not taking on destructive behaviors like mice and weasels, we can relate that to the rest of the descriptive imagery in the Bible. The Book of John shows us Jesus using similes and allegories. Fifty six times Jesus describes himself as something; bread, a lamb, light, a door. He also says he is “from God”, he is “from above”, and he is “the judge”. The biggest news announcement Jesus makes regarding himself is that he is the “I AM”. Who did Moses talk to? Right, that was hard for many to believe, that the one Moses talked to was the same one who walked and talked to Abraham as a friend, and the same one in front of them that day. As we also saw last week from the Book of Barnabas, Abraham prophesied of the coming messiah as the “I AM” on the cross. In Abraham’s day that was something people were to look for. In the first century Jesus was standing among people claiming he is the “I AM”, but when he hung on the cross Abraham’s prophecy was fulfilled. Today, looking back on those things, they all make sense. But how would we describe them today? What kind of ideas and imagery would we use to communicate? By the time of the first century people had progressed from Paleo Hebrew to now writing in Aramaic and speaking Greek. At this time Hebrew was nearly a lost language. So when John had a vision that he was going to write about, he was not writing in hieroglyphs as Abraham and Moses did, but in Aramaic letters.

In Revelation 5 Jesus is the Lamb of God. We have drawn many pictures and paintings of Jesus as a lamb, but Jesus isn’t a four footed, fluffy sacrifice, but a gentle yet strong individual who figuratively clothes us, feeds us, and lays down his own life for the benefit of others; and by his shed blood, is the atonement for everyone who accepts Him. The heavenly star picture is Jesus as Aries. The star picture of the slain lamb was derived from the ancient star names. The entire constellation means the redeemed consummated and enjoyed. That is exactly what we see in Revelation 5, the redeemed, consummated and enjoyed. In Revelation 5 the Lamb takes the scroll, the redeemed rejoice, and all of heaven sings. Remember, we recently looked at the mysteries of heaven and saw ten different locations in the heavens where different things take place. Paradise was called the third heaven where the righteous dead go until they put on incorruption. When the dead in Christ start to rise out of Paradise, those who are alive on earth will join them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Wherever this sphere of Paradise is, when the righteous come out of it they go to meet Jesus in the air, which implies it is somewhere other than where they were. We then see all the redeemed, the one’s from Paradise and the one’s from earth singing about being redeemed. This is the timing of the gathering together or rapture; somewhere before the first seal is opened. In Revelation 6 the seals are opened.

When a scroll was sealed, the seal had to be broken open before the document could be read. As these seven seals are each opened, possibly before being read, things start happening on earth. If we keep in mind that the perspective is that this is to put pressure on people to make a decision for or against Christ, we will understand the middle part of the Book of Revelation better. Also since this is our 30,000 mile high view, and we have previously looked at this in great detail, I won’t reiterate what we have studied previously. Instead we will take a higher perspective. Because this book is to be unsealed to the called out, we want to understand events and timing. As we just put into perspective, the redeemed are worshipping somewhere in heaven, where Jesus will be opening the seals. Remember, humans are the only ones that can be redeemed, not angels or other beings. When the seals start to be opened, four angelic beings are noticed on earth, they have been on a mission, but now their mission is changing. Let’s look at Zechariah to see if we find anything interesting.

Zech 6:1-8 AND AGAIN I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of firm, immovable bronze. 2 The first chariot had red or bay horses, the second chariot had black horses, 3 The third chariot had white horses, and the fourth chariot had dappled, active, and strong horses. 4 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered me, These are the four winds or spirits of the heavens, which go forth from presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. [Ps 104:4; Matt 24:31.] 6 The chariot with the black horses is going forth into the north country, and the white ones are going forth after them [because there are two northern powers to overcome], and the dappled ones are going forth toward the south country. 7 And [the chariots with] the strong [horses] went forth and sought to go that they might patrol the earth. And [the Lord] said to them, Go, walk to and fro through the earth and patrol it. So they walked about through the earth [watching and protecting it]. 8 Then He summoned me and said to me, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted My Spirit [of wrath] and have caused it to rest in the north country.

The “four horsemen of the apocalypse” as they have been called, have been, and are already, here. As soon as the seals are opened their mission changes from peace keeping and reporting to God, to allowing turmoil. Similar to the seven spirits of God from Revelation chapters 3, 4, and 5, and Zechariah 3 and 4, these beings go out into the earth with a purpose. The seven spirits go out and report back while these four horsemen go on peace patrol and report back until the seals start to open.

This next part is a shadow or type that has to take place on earth so that it will take place again with the Messiah. Frequently, men have to do or preform certain things in a certain way so that they will be fulfilled later by Jesus. Think of Abraham sacrificing Isaac, substituting a ram or lamb.

Zech 6:9-13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 10 Accept donations and offerings from these [as representatives of the] exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon; and come the same day and go to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. 11 Yes, take from them silver and gold, and make crowns and set [one] upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, 12 And say to him, Thus says the Lord of hosts: [You, Joshua] behold (look at, keep in sight, watch) the Man [the Messiah] whose name is the Branch, for He shall grow up in His place and He shall build the [true] temple of the Lord. [Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8.] 13 Yes, [you are building a temple of the Lord, but] it is He Who shall build the [true] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and glory [as of the only begotten of the Father] and shall sit and rule upon His throne. And He shall be a Priest upon His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two [offices — Priest and King]. [John 1:14; 17:5; Heb 2:9.] AMP

The four horsemen precede the revealing of Jesus and the Father, during the sixth seal. The seals in Revelation are being opened so that Jesus can build the temple and rule for one thousand years. The shadow of the four different colored horses with peace keeping and patrolling missions in Zechariah is the parallel to Revelation 6; four different colored horses ridden by angels, this time to take away the peace on earth. Angelic beings are holding back violence on the earth. When the seals are opened their mission changes. While the devil is the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air who stole dominion from Adam, he cannot do whatever he wants, he has some boundaries and these angelic beings enforce these boundaries. But as the seals are opened, the time changes and peace leaves the earth. This is the start of Jesus building his temple for the millennial reign. How is he building his temple? People are the temple, and people start dying en mass. Remember the church is not on the earth, the church is worshipping, and as we will observe shortly, praying. These are people left on earth who are now experiencing distress and death. Death is a shedding of our earthly tent, but our spirit is freed into another dimension. We technically are living our eternal life now, while on earth in our mortal bodies as our spirits are now eternal. Being set free from this habitation, or tent, or earthly body, is not an end but a beginning of eternity without earthly constrictions.

The fifth seal shows us that people are martyred under the altar. We know that in the end times Daniel tells us of a peace treaty where the temple will be rebuilt in Israel and that the Jews are misled by this person. They will not realize it until after the first 42 months. Just as there are a number of people who are to enter into the body of Christ in this time period, there will be a number of martyrs that will be murdered for their faith in Jesus as Lord. There is a temple and there are sacrifices made during this time. This is another key in our timeline to make note of. No seals have been opened as of today as the body of Christ is still on the earth, the called out church is still supposed to read and hear this book, and there is no temple in Israel yet. There is also relative peace today. I say relative or virtual peace on the earth, even during previous world wars, because compared to the seals opening, the trumpets sounding, and bowls being poured out, there is still peace in many places, even when some nations rise against each other. Reading through the seals, trumpets, and bowls, we recognize that there will be calamity after calamity. Some supernatural, some man made, and some demonic. What there won’t be is peace.

By the time we get to the sixth seal, everyone on earth will see two things, the wrath of the Lamb and the Father on the throne. Two things will be evident to everyone on earth, that there is a God seated on a throne, and that there is an angry Jesus. No one will question if there is a god, everyone will know that there is a God. Everyone sees this event, the sky receding as a scroll, and everyone one earth is scared. There is no getting around this one, this hasn’t happened yet.

Chapter seven of Revelation tells us there are angels also protecting us from the elements and are not to harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until the 144,000 are sealed on their foreheads. Ezekiel 9 tells us that angels marked those who mourned over the terrible idolatry in Jerusalem. The mark was to protect the righteous from another angel who was to bring death

Ezek 9:4-11 The Lord told him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of everyone who sighs and moans over all of the loathsome things that are happening in it.”5 As I continued to listen, he also told the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing. Don’t spare anyone you see, and don’t show pity of any kind. 6 You are to execute old men, young men, young women, little children, and women. But don’t touch anyone who has been marked. Begin at my Holy Place!” And so they started with the elders who were in standing in front of the Temple.7 “Desecrate my Temple,” he told them, “and fill its courtyard with the dead!” So they went out and began striking down people throughout the city. Ezekiel Intercedes for Israel 8 While they were out carrying out the executions, I was left alone. So I fell on my face and cried out, “O Lord God, are you going to destroy all of the survivors of Israel when you pour out your anger on Jerusalem?”9 “The house of Israel and Judah is guilty—and theirs is a stubborn guilt, at that!” he replied to me. “The land is filled with blood, and the city overflows with injustice, because they keep saying, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land,’ and ‘The Lord isn’t watching.’ 10 So as for me, I’m not going to show pity, and I won’t look in their direction with mercy. I’m repaying them for what they have done.”11 Then I noticed the man dressed in linen who wore the writing case by his side as he brought back this message: “I’ve done as you have commanded me.”ISV.

Just like the destroyer angel at the time of the exodus, the marking of the 144,000 is for their protection. We are not told in Ezekiel, by what method death came, plague, famine, natural disaster, or war. Who is being protected? Hereditary Israelites, those from the line of Jacob. The angels know our DNA. God knows who among the people of earth at that time of the seventh seal will be virgin males with Jacob’s lineage.

Chapter seven contrasts the 144,000 to the nations in verse 9. The nations, from all tribes, peoples, and tongues, are still being martyred while a small group of genetic Jacobites are sealed and protected for a time. Chapter seven is another portion of the story that is taking place at or about the same time as the seals being opened. The earthly characters of importance at this time are those who die for making Jesus Lord since the rapture, the 144,000 genetically descended virgin males who are from Jacob’s line, and all those not believing on Jesus. That is it. There is no differentiation of Jew, Muslim, Catholic, or Buddhist. At this point in time on the earth there are Jesus followers being murdered by non-Jesus followers, and 144,000 others who are hidden. This is important to note because there are some who want to contend their importance is due to being “something” or of some religion. There are only three people groups here. If you are not a virgin male during this time, chances are good that you are not of the 144,000. Previously, we saw that these have to be men as the connotation is someone who has not been married to a woman. This does not infer any particular age, therefore these 144,000 could be babies, young boys, teenagers, or adults. So if one were to find oneself living during this time period, and the requirements of the 144,000 are not applicable, then one must be a follower of Jesus, or not a follower of Jesus. There are no special groups, even though at this time people will believe in the anti-Christ who will make a treaty and build the temple, and Jews will be sacrificing in the temple. One is either martyred for Jesus, or is not a follower of Jesus. Remember, the whole world saw God seated on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb. How hard must one’s heart be to ignore or forget about the sky rolling back and revealing that?

In case we thought the church is missing in action, the seventh seal tells us what those who have been gathered up have been doing. In Revelation 5 we saw the golden bowls of incense which are the prayers of the saints that sing a new song about being redeemed. In Chapter 8, an angel gathers up the prayers of the saints and throws them to earth. What? We, the redeemed saints who had been gathered before the seals were opened, have been praying and interceding, so much so that our prayers will be collected and violently affect the earth. Obviously the redeemed saints can’t be on the earth if their prayers are thrown down to earth. The function of the redeemed, both the living gathered and the redeemed gathered from Paradise, during this period of time that the seals are being opened, is prayer.

As soon as the prayers of the saints are thrown down, the trumpet judgments start. The angels are loosed on earth and the heavens and earth start to suffer; the plants, the sea, the water, the sun, the moon and the stars are all affected. Then something crazy happens, something that has not happened up to this point in time. Locusts are loosed upon earth to torture those without the seal of God for five months. That is very specific timing, five months of torture for those who are not of the 144,000 virgin males. The king over the locusts is Gog the locust king/Abaddon/Apollyon. This is one of the “three woes”.

Let’s not forget who God sees when he looks at the earth. To state it again, during this time there are Jesus followers, non-Jesus followers, and the 144,000 male virgins from Jacob’s lineage. That’s it. Just like in Ezekiel, those without the mark will be tortured for five months. If that wasn’t enough, by the sixth trumpet sounding, the four angels who have been bound in the Euphrates will be loosed to gather an army. Today, people think there is so much evil in the world, but this time period is far worse. Many, many people will die. If they are not following Jesus by this time, they will spend eternity in the lake of fire. The tribulation is the greatest time of conversion to Jesus’ Lordship because of the hardship people will endure. Yet, even still, up to this time there are still people who refuse to say Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Jesus said that people in Jerusalem would not see him again until they accept him as Lord.

At the time of the first six trumpets God is allowing demonic entities to harm the earth and the people left here. Imagine the perspective of those on earth at that time. How many will curse God? Look how society has been trained to think today; every time there is a natural disaster God the creator is blamed, yet clearly we know there is a god of this world, a prince of this world who has power over earth’s atmosphere, and yet people don’t know there is a devil who blinds their minds and works in children of disobedience. What a poor job the church as done to teach the world that there is a devil, and a spiritual battle that has gone on longer than humankind has been in existence. Imagine if the non-believers of today were taught that there is a devil vying for their souls with the intent of causing them to suffer in eternity, and every decision a human makes is vitally important to their future. More people would get saved. Instead we have a large number of groups who disregard the demonic spiritual element in the world, and they claim God is beating up humans. What a pitiful perspective. If we think through this time of the tribulation and compare it to the devil being loosed at the end of the one thousand year millennial reign, we can understand that the devil is being used to determine allegiance. The devil hated Adam and humanity because humanity was made as a ruling class until the devil stole Adam’s authority. We are now living out Adam’s term under the devil’s rule. We have to understand dispensations and administrations to make full sense of this. At this time period God is not sending fires, floods, famine and fear, this is the administration of the Holy Spirit, not wrath.

Chapter ten of Revelation starts another look at something else happening, besides what we have seen taking place on earth. There are seven thunders, but John is not allowed to tell us what is said; however John does tell us in a veiled way what happens. There is something specific here we are not allowed to know, it does not have anything to do with the saints in heaven or the earthly inhabitants. It is the time of the war in heaven. As we saw a few weeks ago, there are many places in heaven, and satan was removed from access to the higher levels, but he still has some access to accuse us before the throne of God day and night. (What a pest! Don’t you hate it when someone constantly complains?) At this time, satan and his angels will go to war with Michael and his angels. This is when the devil will be bound to earth. How do we know this? Revelation 12 tells us. John gives a timeline perspective, which is a veiled sequence of events. How can we relate that to the period of Revelation 10? Because the mystery of the Nations, the number of people coming into the sheepfold, the mystery Paul declared has been finished. The mystery of this dispensation is not only that people from all nations, tribes, and tongues would enter into the sheepfold and brought home as the constellation picture of cancer tells us with its decans of Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Argo; but the rulership of earth has changed from the devil to the King, the lion of Judah, the story of the constellation of Leo. The story has been written in the heavens since the beginning.    

After the thunders sound John eats the book the angel has. Jeremiah says he ate the words of God. What does that mean? The times of humanity, the story that we are living, has been written, as well as the future. John was told to eat the book and prophesy. John had to consume this knowledge then speak about it. So John then tells us about the two witnesses. The two witness are on earth as soon as the church is gathered. They do signs and wonders for three and one half years, or the first half of the tribulation. They are contending against much hostility and the people who decide to follow Jesus at that time are being martyred while seals are opening and trumpets are sounding. Look who kills the two witnesses, Abaddon/Apollyon/Gog the locust king. As we have previously studied, the two witnesses are the only two people mentioned in the Bible that still have their original earthly bodies. That is Enoch and Elijah.


Right after the two witnesses are killed, people on earth start to rejoice and give each other gifts. The earth people have been told that the witnesses are causing all the trouble on earth, therefore people blame them instead of the devil. But on the third day, the two witnesses are resurrected and everyone sees it. Take note, a voice says “Come up here” just like in chapter 4 of Revelation. Once the witnesses go up, the seventh trumpet sounds and the announcement is made that Jesus is now the King of the world and all the kingdoms are his. This is how we know in chapter 10 that when the thunders sound there must be a commotion that removes the old ruler because the new ruler is now stepping in. As soon as Jesus is crowned he gives out rewards to his servants, those who were gathered and redeemed on the day of redemption. This is the mid-point in the tribulation. Three and one half years has passed. Now Jesus is newly crowned and his bride is preparing. John goes into historical perspective in chapter 12 and tells us in a timeline up to the time the devil is thrown out of heaven. We know he hasn’t been thrown out yet and that he is still accusing us before the throne day and night. This is John’s way, using imagery to help us understand that the last thing that happens before Jesus is crowned King is that satan is thrown out of heaven. Now, the second half of the tribulation begins and the devil is very mad. Taking this overview we can see that while John was not allowed to write what the thunders actually said, we can get the idea of what happened. Next, the world leaders are given covert names and titles, while the people on earth are still those who died for Jesus, those who reject Jesus, and the 144,000 virgin males from Jacob’s family line.