REVELATIOIN LESSON 35

REVELATIOIN

LESSON 35

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 15:6   ⁶ 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.

Seven angels will come out of the temple. They will be dressed in pure bright linen, signifying their righteousness. The perfect righteousness of the acts that are to be performed on earth. They will wear golden bands around their chests, signifying their royal priesthood. This represents the same attire as that of our Lord.

These seven angels will move away from the temple and mercy seat. What they are about to do pertains solely to the work of Christ. In other words Christ Jesus is in charge of all the judgments.

The seven angels are royal and powerful priests preparing to pour out the wrath of God. Those on earth will receive judgment without mercy, because they rejected the word of God and followed the antichrist, they took the mark of the beast and worshiped the image of the beast. They also rejected Jesus as Lord, they will face the full fury of God.

Revelation 15:7   ⁷ 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.

One of the four living creatures will hand the seven angels seven bowls “vials”. When a bowl or vial has been turned upside down, it is suddenly dumped out. That is the picture we have here, Gods wrath will suddenly dump out on the inhabitants of the earth. 

In the old testament days, one time a year on the day of atonement the high priest would take a bowl of blood from an animal who was sacrificed into the holy of holies and pour it on the mercy seat over the ark of the covenant.

God would have them do that to offer atonement for the sin of the people. The antichrist and his followers will not accept the blood of Jesus as an atonement for their sins, these priestly angels will be given these bowls filled with Gods wrath, instead of the Blood of Jesus. Instead of dumping the bowls of blood on the mercy seat they will dump bowls of wrath on those on earth.

First the four living creatures summon the four horsemen. Now the living creatures summon the seven angels of Gods wrath. Man will never get away with sin and rebellion. In the final stages of the tribulation these seven last plagues are poured out on a Christ rejection world who are running after Satan and the false prophet and religious worship that focus’ on the beast.

Revelation 15:8   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.

Things just keep getting worse for those who reject God. No one will be able to divert God from his purpose. When the priestly angels leave the temple, it will be filled with smoke from the glory and power of God.

No one will be able to go back in, or enter the Holy of Holies. No one can change their mind and pour blood on the mercy seat. There will be no more mercy, no more delays and no more opportunities to repent until the seven plagues have passed.

This is a warning to those on earth who won’t listen to the pleas of God made through his messengers, the 144,000 Jews, the two witnesses the angel and others. At some point in the tribulation period God will say it is over, the destiny of those who keep rejection my son Jesus is forever lost. God has been patient with mankind for a very long time. The time will come when he will have no more patience to give to mankind.

He will pour out his wrath, keep people away from the mercy seat and refuse to hear the pleas of those crying out for one more chance.

Now we move on to see what happens when the seven bowls of Gods wrath are poured out on a sinful world. The severity of these judgments indicates the extent of Gods wrath toward those who steadfastly refuse to acknowledge him.

The severity also indicates the extent of Gods love by showing how far he will go to get unbelievers to repent. God loves the wicked and wants them to change before he has to remove them from earth so he can set up his kingdom of righteousness.

In the end times it will be as the days of Noah when the wicked were removed from the earth by the flood and the righteous trusted God and survived. Every lost person will be removed from the earth when Jesus returns at the second coming. The saved will repopulate the earth during the millennium.

Whether you are willing to accept it or not, Armageddon is coming also who in their right mind would choose to fight with the antichrist against God. Yet millions are making such a decision each day when they reject so great a salvation as what was offered by God through his Son Jesus Christ.

This is the heart of what Armageddon is about. It is the world saying we will not bow our knee to anyone, we are too proud we are too important.

Until our next lesson,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy

REVELATION LESSON 34

REVELATION

LESSON 34

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 15:3   ³ And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

When they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, the song given is recorded that Moses wrote this song and taught it to his people.

Deuteronomy 31:22   ²² Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

The tribulation saints will sing two songs the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. The song of Moses is found in the old testament and celebrates the victory God gave Israel when he brought her out of Egypt.

The song of the Lamb is the second song. It begins with the crucifixion. The crucifixion was absolutely necessary if man was to be redeemed and closes with Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The song of the Lamb found in this verse also celebrates Gods reign and victory over all the nations.

Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God almighty, refers to Christ and what he did at the cross. It presents itself as the greatest work of all. The deeds of Jesus are so great and marvelous because he died for the sins of the world and defeated Satan.

The ways of Jesus are just and true he is never unjust, never untruthful. His judgments are righteous, his words are accurate and reliable. Jesus is the King of the ages, he is the eternal King, the one who has reigned, is reigning and always will reign.

Revelation 15:4   ⁴ 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.

Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name. Now leap ahead to the Millennial reign, at that time every human being on the face of the earth will fear the Lord and will glorify His name as well. Today few people speak of having a reverential fear of the Lord or of giving glory to him. Some seem to think there is something wrong with this, however theses are of the utmost importance now in Heaven for three reasons.

Jesus should be feared and glorified because he alone is holy. For you alone are holy speaks of the origination of holiness and that this holiness can be given to believers by virtue of what Christ did at the cross. Jesus was the only one to live by all of Gods standards.

First. The only one worthy of our worship. The only one who never sinned. He has been set apart for Gods special purpose, and an atonement for our sins.

Second. Jesus should be glorified because He will be worshiped by all the nations, this refers to the millennial reign. The day will come when he will deal with the godless leaders of this world. He will do away with them and every nation will worship him.

Third. Jesus should be feared and glorified because of his righteous acts. His judgments are made manifest is referring to the fact that the judgments of God will be poured out upon the antichrist during the battle of Armageddon. He will be defeated along with the entirety of his army. The terrible judgments of the tribulation period will be righteous acts of Jesus Christ. He will deal with those who do not accept his mercy.

Revelation 15:5   ⁵ And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

After that I looked refers to the vials about to be poured out and behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in Heaven was opened refers to the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant was kept. This is a witness both to the Holiness of Gods character and the justice of His government.

Those who reject the grace and mercy of Gods offering through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son will be judged under the Law (the ten commandments). In rejecting what God offers they also reject Jesus. Many including the Jewish people do not realize this most important point.

By rejecting Jesus they reject God. They leave themselves open to be Judged under the Law of Moses in the Old testament. The law of Moses was given to reveal sin, not to take away sin. Sin can only be taken away by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

John 14:6   ⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus declares positively that this approach to God the Father is through Him and what he is and what he has done. There is no plan B. regardless of what people say or think. Jesus is the only way to have fellowship with God. Only through Believing in Jesus and reaching out for that relationship with him and the Father.

Until next time,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy

REVELATION LESSON 33

REVELATION

LESSON 33

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 14:19   ¹⁹ 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.

The fifth angel will use his great sickle to gather the wicked nations of the earth. He will then cast them into the winepress of Gods wrath. This is a symbol to help us understand what is going to happen. He gathers the vine of the earth into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.

The great winepress of the wrath of God refers to the assembled nations that will gather in the valley of Jehoshaphat. When farmers go into their vineyards to harvest the grapes, they cast them into the wine press and squeeze the juice out of them. In this process the grapes are literally destroyed. The same thing will happen to the wicked when this angel harvests the earth. They will be like the grapes being squashed into the wine press.

I believe that the Christians will not be force to endure this wrath of Gods judgment. We will be raptured (caught up) out to meet our Lord in the air at some point prior to the beginning of that dreadful time.

Two reasons why many believe the church will be raptured before the tribulation period are, Jesus rescues us from the wrath, and God did not appoint us to wrath.

1 Thessalonian 1:10   ¹⁰ And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

To wait for his son from heaven refers to the rapture of the church, which is delivered from the wrath to come. Delivered by means of the cross and meaning that judgment will ultimately come to all who reject Christ and the cross.

Revelation 14:20   ²⁰ 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.

This is a reference to the battle of Armageddon. The ripe grapes (the wicked nations) will be trampled in the winepress of Gods wrath. People will be crushed by the fine brass feet of Jesus like small grapes under the weight of the wine press.

Since the blood will rise as high as the horse’s bridles for a thousand and six hundred furlongs, which is approximately 175 miles.

The blood will be mixed with water and in some places, it will be around six feet deep. It is possible that millions will be killed in this battle.

Before this happens, God will preach the gospel through the 144,000 Jewish men and the two witnesses as well as his angels. He wants to warn those who follow the antichrist. He will give the people in the world many chances to repent before He destroys them. Imagine looking to the eastern sky and seeing the King of all Kings, the King of glory, the King of the universe coming with flaming fires of judgment. At that moment those who have denied His name, followed the antichrist, taken his mark (666) will realize that Jesus is the true God and savior of the world. They will see him whom they have pierced and wail in fear under his wrath.

Revelation 15:1-2   15 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

² 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 on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

This will be the third great sign in the heaven. These are the forewarning of the seven vials. First the sun-clothed woman (Israel), second the great red dragon (Satan). Then seven angels with seven last plagues, this sign will be great and marvelous because of its terrible nature and amazing result.

It will bring on the full wrath of God which will cause the fall of Satan and his devilish crew. These plagues can be called the last plagues because they will be Gods final warning to an unrepentant world.

When these plagues are over, all of those who have not made a decision to side with God through Jesus will stand before the judgment of unbelievers and will perish for their unbelief.

In verse two it is speaking of the glassy sea to appear in heaven. The first glassy sea will be clear as crystal, this one they speak of will be mixed with fire. The sea symbolizes the masses of humanity and the fire represents the judgment. The tribulation saints will come up out of the sea of humanity. They will have been in a fiery persecution. They are those who had been victorious over the beast and his image, and over the number of his name.

They will not be deceived by the antichrist or his false prophet. They will be tracked down and ordered to take the mark of the beast. They will refuse.

Because they refuse, they will face retaliation in the form of torture and death. Victory however, will be theirs because they will lose their earthly life but will gain an eternal one.

When they reach heaven, God will give them harps. Their earthly trials will have caused a lot of crying, but when they get to heaven they will sing and play.

Until the next lesson,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy.

REVELATION LESSON 32

REVELATION

LESSON 32

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 14:14   ¹⁴ And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

The one like unto the son of Man: presents as is obvious, the Lord Jesus Christ. White represents purity, the cloud represents glory. Son of man has reference to the humanity of Christ which always points to the cross.

Jesus was called the son of man throughout the gospels. It was the title he most often used for himself. It is a reminder that our coming judge is one who knows what we are like, his humanity gives him valid credentials for judging mankind.

John 5:26-27   ²⁶ For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

²⁷ And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

Having on his head a golden crown, represents the victors crown: And in his hand a sharp sickle, represents the reaping that is going to be done at the battle of Armageddon, as the balance of this chapter describes.

The Scripture teaches that Jesus will come back in the clouds as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He said, the harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

The son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend; Those who practice lawlessness; and cast them into the furnace of fire. It will be a terrible day for the lost because not only will it be their last day on earth, but their destiny will be sealed for all eternity.

Revelation 14:15   ¹⁵ 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.

The first angel preached the everlasting gospel, the second angel predicted the fall of Babylon, the third angel proclaims a warning concerning the taking of the mark of the beast. The fourth angel announces the battle of Armageddon, even though it will be some three and a half years in coming.

As Jesus appears in the clouds, this angel, possibly the forth angel will come forth from the heavenly temple. He will urge Jesus to take his sickle and reap because the time of Judgment has arrived and the harvest is ready. The Greek word for ripe is xeraino, which means totally ripe for gathering.

The harvest of the earth is RIPE is showing us that God will with hold his judgment until the last minute. When his judgment falls, the church will have been raptured (or caught up). Most of the tribulation saints and Jews will have been killed and the world will be totally corrupt.

No one will be able to truthfully claim that Jesus acted too soon. The tribulation saints have already asked God how long he would wait to judge and avenge their blood. He told them to wait a little longer. He will wait, but when the end of the tribulation period starts drawing near the time to wait will be no more.

Revelation 14:16-17   ¹⁶ And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

He who sat on the cloud and thrust in his sickle on the earth refers to Christ, who will orchestrate this tremendous event. When it says the earth was reaped, it means it took place on earth.

Jesus will swing his sickle over the earth. Many of the remaining unbelievers will be filled with terror and try to run and hide others will beg and cry and plead, but it will be to late, they will have wasted their last chance and he will take multitudes and cast them into the everlasting lake of fire.

Revelation 14:17   ¹⁷ And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

When this angel comes out of the temple which is in heaven, it represents the fifth angel of this chapter. Having a sharp sickle portrays the fact that angels will have a great part to play in the coming battle of Armageddon.

This angel will come directly from the presence of God with a sharp sickle just like the one Jesus will have.

Revelation 14:18   ¹⁸ And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry 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.

Yet another angel will come forth. This time from the alter in the heavenly temple. This is the pattern alter after which the brazen alter on earth was fashioned, which had power over fire. It refers to the fire on the alter.

When it speaks of gathering the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are ripe, it proclaims the absolute significance of what is about to happen and that its outcome will affect the earth greatly. God does not always answer prayers right away. He will not let them go unanswered forever. Neither will he let wicked nations or individuals deny him forever.

Until the next lesson,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy