Why would anyone ever say this? Migrating to Revelation 16, part 4

We are still under the seventh seal, and, why anyone would ever say this I do not know, but we are awaiting the seventh trumpet. Until that trumpet blows we have this grand and yet cryptic scene to decipher.

Revelation 10:1-7 ESV Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. (2) He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, (3) and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. (4) And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down." (5) And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven (6) and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, (7) but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

As a layman - without theological training, I run into scenarios like this, and I find myself overwhelmed with words and visuals. How I deal with overwhelming scenarios is to dissect them. So, that is what I am going to do now.

“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring.” (Revelation 10:1-3)

His face shone like the sun.

I am immediately struck some visuals here and they describe the Jesus I know.

First, most of us understand that instances of the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, are pre-incarnate visitations of Jesus Christ. I hate fancy words when I don't understand them, so let me explain. This idea of pre-incarnate visitations are the instances where Jesus appeared on earth prior to his birth. An example:

Genesis 16:6-10 ESV “But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. (7) The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. (8) And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." (9) The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her." (10) The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude."

Secondly, we see Jesus wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head. Is this a common visualization? Apparently.

Revelation 4:3 ESV And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.

I have taken on the mindset that this entire book is a Jewish book. Why is that important? Because the majority of the early church consisted of Jewish believers. That also means that 99% of what we read makes an instant impression on a Jewish community that was trained through memorization of the Law and the Prophets. The Jewish community is also very much in tune with prophecy, but prophecy is not flash and bright lights. It is pattern and consistency. So, do we have a pattern here? Yes, and we find it here in Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 1:28 ESV "Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking."

What about this little scroll? Although we may not be looking for a particularly little scroll, the concept of scrolls carrying important information is an part of the Old Testament. One example that speaks to this is:

Psalms 40:7 ESV Then I said, "Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

I am convinced I am looking at imagery of Jesus.

“And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring.” Revelation 10:2

I am not sure why we have to look for the dark and deep meanings in everything, but of the assumptions made about why Jesus would plant one foot on the sea and the other on the land, while giving out a shout, the one makes the most sense to me is that Jesus is reestablishing his authority and reign on this earth. Is the reign of Jesus in question? Not at all, but Satan is still running rampant for a while, and, therefore, we think that God is not in control. Therefore, this may be a visual demonstration meant for the people still on earth.

This next aspect taunts me. What did John hear? Good, bad or indifferent, we will never know this side of heaven.

“Revelation 10:3-4 ESV “ and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. (4) And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down."

Speaking to God, he lifts his right hand to heaven and says:

Revelation 10:5-7 ESV And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven (6) and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, (7) but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

While the ESV says, there would be no more delay, the KJV translated it like this, “that there should be time no longer:” To say that there would be no more delay would imply that there have been delays and that they had been intentional. And why not? God himself told the martyred before the throne, to wait a little longer until the full number had been brought in. We also know that God never longed to lose even one, so the delays could be meant to give people time. You also know that not all will come to him. So, are we seeing God's mercy in what we perceive as hesitancy?

But what if the interpretation is more closely matched to the KJV translation? “that there should be time no longer:”

What then could that mean? It could mean what it says. However, if this is indicative of the close of the time of wrath, then, as many perceive, this would be the end of all time. Sorry, but that cannot be. Why? Because as the time of wrath closes, the 1000 year reign of Christ, where Satan is bound, begins. Here, in the 1000 year reign, the nations are forced to come bow before him every year as they take part in the Feast of Tabernacles. Doesn't that need a keeping of time? It does, so it is not valid to say that time would be no more, during this period.

One of our comparative clues comes from Daniel. (This also corroborates the prophecy of Revelation 10.) Pay attention to the action and conversation. Daniel had seen two men standing by the river bank. One of them asks an angel standing upstream when the end would be. This is what the disciples asked Jesus. When will the end be?

Daniel 12:6-7 GNB One of them asked the angel who was standing further upstream, "How long will it be until these amazing events come to an end?" (7) The angel raised both hands toward the sky and made a solemn promise in the name of the Eternal God. I heard him say, "It will be three and a half years. When the persecution of God's people ends, all these things will have happened."

His response has two critical events buried within it:

• It will be three and a half-years.
• And, “When the persecution of God's people ends,”

This is the primary time frame that God refers to, and, if I can be bold here, the only time frame God refers to. However, our main source of this information is associated with the Antichrist making and breaking a seven-year peace treaty. God, as we see here in Daniel, only seems to be interested in three and a half of those years. Do I have to be dogmatic about this? No, and honestly, I cannot, because beyond this is simply a variable contingent upon God's plan and timing. Something we are clearly not given in Daniel's prophecy. Can we find a definitive scripture that tells us when the persecution of God's people (Israel) ends? No, but you can make the assumption that it is in near to this three and a half-year mark.

Allow me to recap our timeline here.

• At some point, soon, the church is removed from the earth.

Why is that important? Not because you get to escape from some wrath that man is pouring out upon the earth, but because as the church leaves, the limiting force (our voice) that holds back the Antichrist is then removed. With that limitation gone the beast/Antichrist erupts in full fury.

• After the church is gone the Antichrist initiates a peace treaty, with many, for a seven-year period.

No, there is nothing that says this is with Israel. I get the sense that Israel will get some benefit from it. We know this because Israel gets the chance to build the temple. This will happen relatively quick. Initiating a peace treaty by no means guarantees that it is maintained for the seven years. If you are even remotely honest, you will admit that you see nothing that indicates God's intent to support some sort of seven-year treaty either.

• We know that the Antichrist breaks his own treaty at the end of three and a half years.

There are so many things happening at this point, but pointing them all out is not my purpose in this. Let's simply say that this is the time that Jesus alluded to when he said, pray that your flight is not in the Winter.

“the mystery of God would be fulfilled”

“but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:7)

You remember where we are in the scheme of things, don't you? The nations and a rebellious Israel are under the seventh seal. Enduring torments, many have come to knowledge of Christ, and they are now anxiously awaiting the seventh trumpet.

What happens at the blast of the seventh trumpet? The end of the time frame, and, the mystery of God would be fulfilled. As a follower of Christ surely you are familiar with this terminology. The Apostle Paul wrote about it several times.

Romans 16:25 KJV Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

The Him, referenced here, is, of course, Jesus Christ. Since we, through our acceptance, have given him the reigns of our life, then He, through his power is establishing us through the good news of the Word. All of this is part of the secret plan, the mystery. Kept secret from whom? Well, Satan of course, or that fool would try to thwart God's plan by killing Jesus off prior to the proper time. Did we see anything like that happening in scripture? At every turn. It seems like Satan tried to kill off anything that had God's mark and

Kept secret from whom? Well, Satan of course, or that fool would try to thwart God's plan by killing Jesus off prior to the appropriate time. Did we see anything like that happening in scripture? At every turn. It seems like Satan tried to kill off anything that had God's mark or seal on it. I am even thinking about Lot and his family. The biggest event that comes to mind is King Herod, killing off every baby two years old and under, after finding out that the wise men had come to pay homage to the Messiah. Does it seem like such a mystery when men from the regions of Babylon had come seeking him? When you consider that the chief priests and elders knew these things also, and did what about it? Nothing. Brought before Herod and questioned, they said the same things the wise men did, but they did not seek the Messiah. So, maybe it is still a mystery to some.

Romans 16:26 KJV But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

I suppose the next question is, if you are a follower of Christ, then why do you not spend time in his word. It is the primary place where you will find out what his character, nature, and plans are. Those plans involve you.

To the zealots, this passage, among others, tell us that the commandment of God has been made known to all the nations. Does that exclude me from preaching the gospel as though they don't know? No, but tramping through the jungles of Borneo, trying to reach some lost tribe, is not my calling. Talking to the heart as though you do know, but choose to act like a Jew that refuses to look at the truth, is more my thing.

Should you have stumbled upon this, and have no comprehension at all, then I suggest that you ask Jesus to make himself real to you, and then accept him. Many former Muslims have done just that, some have even lost their lives because of it.

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This is the stuff bad dreams are made of. Migrating toward Revelation 16. Part 3

We are still within the seventh seal, and we are up to the sixth trumpet.

THE SIXTH TRUMPET BRINGS THE SECOND TERROR

Revelation 9:13-15 AMP Then the sixth angel blew [his] trumpet, and from the four horns of the golden altar which stands before God I heard a solitary voice, (14) 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.

“Liberate the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

After you sit under some of the teachings out there, you begin to develop at least the hope that Satan and his cohorts were put out-of-the-way. I know I did. But, if that were the case we wouldn't be having most of the troubles we have. Spend some time in the Word, sorting these out, and you will find out that Satan still runs around deceiving, and he has helpers in the form of fallen angels. (These are what many call demons. If you watch any of those ghost chaser shows, you know that these angels will throw stuff around the room. This is very real.)

The number of angels is an unknown to us, but Satan convinced a third of them to follow him. Four of those have been chained in Euphrates river. Remember, it only took one angel, working on behalf of God, to kill all the firstborn of Egypt in one night.

“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.”

The Greek word for readiness is hetoimazō (het-oy-mad'-zo), and means to prepare. Are the angels preparing for the time they would be freed, or is it that God has placed them there because of their destructive capabilities, while he awaits the proper time to release them?

Try reading some of Frank Peretti's books, such as This Present Darkness; Piercing the Darkness, or The Visitation, and you will get a fairly accurate picture of how these fallen angels operate on the earth. We seem to forget that they are extremely powerful even if they have fallen, but we - those who follow Christ and have his name, have all authority in the name of Jesus. And, every knee will bow before that name, even if it does not seem like it now.

So, four angels get released and destroy a third of mankind. Are they selective in whom they kill? It does not specify. I feel safe in saying that they will not be able to harm those sealed by God. And, if you are paying attention, they are not excluding their own followers. Isn't that a strange irony. Satan does not care about anyone, not even his followers.

What is this sudden transition?

Revelation 9:16 NASB The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

In verse 15 we see four angels, held in chains for years, now released upon the earth. But just that quickly we are looking at 200 million horsemen.

Where did 200 million horsemen come from? Are they human or inhuman?

When I was younger I heard that this would be a Chinese infantry. The impracticability of mounting 200 million horses becomes more evident when you see some practical numbers. The IVPBB Commentary gives us this: “Two hundred million” would be a huge standing army even today (nearly the entire population of the United States, almost four times that of Great Britain, over twice that of Nigeria, and eight times that of Canada); in the first century it may have represented more than the population of the entire world.” Is it impossible for God? No, but it seems highly improbable, especially after you read the description in verse 17.

Revelation 9:17 NASB And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.

It seems easy to associate passages like what we see in Ezekiel. However, because there is an undeclared quantity of people and horsemen I do not believe we should be looking for a physical, mounted force.

Ezekiel 38:1-6 NASB And the word of the LORD came to me saying, (2) "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him (3) and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. (4) "I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; (5) Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; (6) Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops--many peoples with you.

The visuals we see in verse 17 do not sound like anything from reality, horses with heads like lions, and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. Seeing as there is nothing like this on earth, then it has to be spiritual, even demonic, and they come out of the pit with these fallen angels.

By these three plagues.

Revelation 9:18-19 ESV By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. (19) For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed. We are within the seventh seal and the sixth trumpet. When I paid attention to what this said, I found myself saying, what plagues?

Coming out of the horses mouths are:

• fire
• smoke
• sulfur

“For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.” So, one-third of mankind dies because of them.

I was recently asked, what about the survivors of the time of wrath? It is hard to imagine anyone surviving. This tells us that they did not repent nor give up worshiping demons and idols.

Revelation 9:20-21 ESV The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, (21) nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Greek word translated repent here, means to think differently. All this is being done to get hardcore fools to think otherwise, change from their own way of doing things, and turn toward God. This shows a special kind of arrogance, as these people just continue the godless lives they were living.

In what ways do we worship demons? Idols I can understand, but unless you joined yourself to a Satanic cult, what else could this mean? The word worship here is proskuneō and means (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand). Hasn't the world's ways taught us that money and the pursuit of it, is the only way to go? In living like this haven't, we enslaved ourselves almost in worship to the ways of the world?

These are not your regular locusts. Migrating toward Revelation 16, part 2

I suppose by now you have figured out that I struggle to stay on point. I suppose that is why you love me so. I really am going to get to Revelation 16 eventually. But in the meantime, you and I are going to get a grip on the layout of the judgments being poured out on the earth.

Ah, here it comes, The Seventh Seal

Since we know that seven is indicative of completion, you might think it is all about to end. Sorry, there is more, and they seem almost as if they were a subset of the seal judgments.

Revelation 8:1-5 ESV “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (2) Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. (3) And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, (4) and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. (5) Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”

Under the seventh seal an angel, having filled the censer with fire from the altar that is before God, throws it upon the earth. The effects of this are experienced through: “peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.” I venture a guess that most would consider these to be an effective tool, but have you ever heard some of the sounds people have recorded coming from the skies? Many have told how the sounds have gone on for days, vibrated their homes, and in some cases sounded like trains crashing. The effect may intentionally be more psychological. Do a search on the effects of lightning; you might as well have a bomb go off next to you. And, a violent earthquake can literally swallow you, among other things.

I do not see how we can separate the trumpets from the seals.

The Trumpet judgments.

Revelation 8:6-7 ESV Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. (7) The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

The first angel blew his trumpet.

• “there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth.”
  • “a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.”
    I do not need to say much, just look at the numbers. The effects of devastation are typically not selective. That means anything getting in the path of this will be destroyed.

The second angel blew his trumpet.

Revelation 8:8-9 ESV The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. (9) A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

• “and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea,”
  • “a third of the sea became blood. (9) A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”

Once again, the impact is dished out in thirds.

The third angel blew his trumpet.

Revelation 8:10-11 ESV The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. (11) The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

• “a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. (11) The name of the star is Wormwood.”
  • “ A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water”

How many of you remember the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster? Due to a tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake, the nuclear reactors exploded and went into a full meltdown, probably exceeding the Chernobyl disaster. To this day, nuclear waste water still floods into the Pacific ocean. What might the long-range effects of that be?

The fourth angel blew his trumpet.

Revelation 8:12 ESV The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

• “a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.”

This is over and above the sun being darkened and the moon turning to blood, which we saw before.

We are being warned that it is about to get worse.

Revelation 8:13 ESV Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!"

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet.

Revelation 9:1-3 ESV And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. (2) He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. (3) Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.

Locusts swarm over Egypt within the last couple of years.

To the Jew, and to us, there should be a correlation. Yes, the plagues against Egypt. We see this in Exodus 10: 4-15.

God had his own symbology going on, as he told Israel that the Midianites and the Amalekites - nations swarming upon Israel, would cover the valley floor in numbers like the sand of the sea. Numbers so large, that it borders on impossible to count. You can find this in Judges 7:12.

We can even find that God decreed a time when he would restore the years that the locusts destroyed. Joel 2:25 ESV I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.

I cannot even imagine what these locusts must look like. Are they symbolic of something else? I do not think so.

The very thing that a locust eats is vegetation, yet, look at this description.

Revelation 9:4 ESV They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Who is the one group of people they cannot touch? Those that have been marked in their foreheads by God – the 144,000 Jewish men, who are serving as witnesses to God.

Revelation 9:5-6 ESV They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. (6) And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

These creatures are allowed to torment the earth population for five months, but not kill them. Note what the passage tells us: “their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.” Verse 6 says, “And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” Did you ever wonder why this would be important? If God had sent his wrath to the earth with the express purpose to kill offenders, then why not just allow these locusts to polish the offenders off? I am allergic to bees, so the sting from a scorpion might just polish me off quickly. I venture a guess that most people, without medical aid, would die from a scorpion sting. And yet, death flees from these people.

Is it possible that God is trying to drive people to him? Think about this. When Israel was inundated with vipers, and began to die from the bites, what was the solution? God had Moses put a bronze serpent upon a pole. When someone got bit they could then look upon the bronze serpent and be saved. This did not prevent them from getting bit, nor did it drive the serpents from them, but it did prevent them from being killed due to the bite. Our correlation is that for us Christ became that serpent on the pole for us. Looking to him prevents our death due to the bite of this world.

Revelation 9:7-10 LITV And the likenesses of the locusts were like horses having been prepared for war; and on their heads as crowns, like gold; and their faces like the faces of men. (8) And they had hairs like the hairs of women; and their teeth were like those of lions. (9) And they had breastplates like iron breastplates; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running to war. (10) And they have tails like scorpions, and their stings were in their tails; and their authority is to harm men five months.

• “like horses having been prepared for war”
• “on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold”
• “their faces were like human faces”
• “their hair like women's hair”
• “their teeth like lions' teeth”
• “they had breastplates like breastplates of iron”
• “And they have tails like scorpions, and their stings were in their tails; and their authority is to harm men five months.”

These are not your everyday locusts.

Revelation 9:11 AMP Over them as king they have the angel of the Abyss (of the bottomless pit). In Hebrew his name is Abaddon [destruction], but in Greek he is called Apollyon [destroyer].

Think this through with me for a moment. Lucifer, the angel of light, decides that he wants to be the god and mutinies. It is pointless to have a mutiny without followers, and he managed to convince a third of heavens angels to join him. The mutiny is fought off, and Lucifer and his followers are taken captive and thrown to earth. Jesus told the disciples that he beheld Satan fall to earth like lightning. That must have been fairly dramatic. But, like a cartoon character, he springs back, tormenting not only those on earth but also in heaven, where he consistently whines in God's ear about us. We, as astute students of the bible, know that four angels are held in chains, in the Euphrates river, and here we see an angel named Abaddon, who is most likely released from this pit at the same time as these “locusts”.

The problem I used to have, and still, to some degree, haunts my understanding is: What became of Satan? One might think that a dramatic expulsion from heaven would have done him in. But, that was not the case. An old teaching focused on, “What happened from the cross to the throne” points out how Jesus descended into hell, and then snatched the keys to death, hell and the grave out of Satan's hands, and led captivity free. That sounds like a satisfactory and permanent defeat to me. And yet the writer of Hebrews stated that Jesus ever makes intercession and mediation for us, before the Father. In the book of Job, we see Satan before God with the sons of God – the angels.

If Satan was defeated as thoroughly as we thought, then why are we still so tortured?

Why does the Dragon (Satan) have the ability to give the beast his power?

And, why does God have to eventually have to throw him into the lake of fire, where he stays permanently?

Maybe the problem lies in my assumptions, and my choice to not read and comprehend what the Word itself says about the situation. As a child, how are you to know any better? Besides, those over you are not supposed to lie to you, or, if you wish to lessen the blow, distort the reality of God. Perhaps it is not so much a lie, as they did the same thing, trusting that what they heard would be correct. Well, it wasn't, and nothing is going to change until you look into the law of truth for yourself.

Revelation 9:12 AMP The first woe (calamity) has passed; behold, two others are yet to follow.

All we have seen is a subset of the seventh seal and yet there is more to come.

I have heard the phrase “fire insurance” used when referring to those who come to the Lord as an escape from the horrors that are coming. How much sweeter it is to come to him because of the love you have developed for him. There is the story in which the “upright religious” brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus, to trap him, and for him to pronounce judgment. My first thought when reading this was, it takes two to tango, and it is usually the man who makes the first move. Scripture was very clear that they were both to receive judgment, but there was no man. I can assume then, that one of these elders was the guy.

She may have known of Jesus as everywhere he went he was healing people, teaching and drawing big crowds. If you were not interested, it was still difficult to get to the well for water. Thrown before Jesus with the idea that you are about to receive a death sentence for your actions, your thoughts are not about love, they are filled with fear. How does Jesus respond to all this? At first, he seems to ignore her, but I can just about guarantee you that he looked so deeply into her eyes that he saw her soul. He then stoops and begins writing in the dirt. We do not know what he wrote, but it got their attention. They rallied again, demanding a verdict. He may have looked at her once again. Saying yet nothing, he turns back to the dirt and writes some more. When he finally speaks, he says, those of you without sin cast the first stone. Do you get the picture here? They came with stones; stones about the size of a softball. And, someone was going to die, her, or this Jesus who claims to be the Son of God. They dropped their rocks and walked away. Jesus in turn, lifts himself up, turns to her and says, where are your accusers?

I can just about guarantee you that she fell in love with this Jesus. Was she drawn to Jesus for fire insurance? No, but the fire was already upon her. Was she drawn to Jesus because of the great works and deeds he had performed? We do not see that either. What we do see is that often, when confronted by his love, we choose to receive it because we have never experienced anything like it before.

I never wanted to scare anybody with this horrendous destruction that we see in Revelation. Having found the love he showed this woman, I turned to him. From that point on I wanted to know as much about him as I could. The Revelation is the revealing of Jesus, but it definitely shows the culmination of all things. None of which are directed at those who have given themselves to him in the relationship. You find this relationship when you finally say, I cannot do this on my own, I need you, Jesus. Come into me and have your way in me. You might as well receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, it is a gift. Besides, this is where the power lies.

 

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