After these things comes salvation. Revelation 19:1-2.

 Finally, the tide turns and we are now looking at Revelation 19 and Jesus, returning to earth as the Warrior Messiah.

First, I just want to be honest, trying to grasp chapter 18 and its usage of the name Babylon, was tough. I struggled for days and had to walk away from what I desired to share with you, several times.

Many years ago I took on an attitude in which I would make myself vulnerable when it came to God's Word, my relationship with the Father, and how I talk to God. Some, do not see me as being open, but weak and permanently broken. Guess what, I am and I know it. I can do nothing outside of God's grace and mercy. I think I came to this understanding when I put myself in recovery all those years ago.

My approach to teaching allows me to comprehend things in the Word, that most do not or will not. The underlying rule to understanding is to throw away tradition because tradition paints David, the King to be, as a ridiculously small child; and, it buys into the lie that Jonah lived within the belly of that great fish. If you believe that, then you have watched Walt Disney's Pinocchio too many times.

Since I just offended many of you, allow me to silence your arguments, in this case, about Jonah.

Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. (Matthew 12:22 NLT)

Matthew 12 is the primary place where blasphemy is clearly defined. The Pharisees and a few others, having witnessed a miracle in which Jesus cast out demon(s), began to attribute what He had just done to the power of Satan (Beelzebub if you wish).

Don't let your traditions cause an argument to rage inside your head about how many demons were cast out, or if there were any at all. I have encountered so-called “Christian” people who deny the activity of demons.

Notice the word healed. How does one heal a person whose ailment originates from the action of fallen angels?

The word that almost every translation deemed healed, is the Greek word therapeuō. Wow, that has a familiar ring to it; the primary definition of therapeuō is to serve or do service. It also means to cure or restore to health.

So the obvious thing happening in Matthew 12:22 is that Jesus restored the man to health by doing service to and for him. Many see service as some form of work, like building a home in Mexico; it is not and you see this in Jesus' actions. He frequently responded to the requests of “will you” with a yes and an associated, life-changing response.

Jesus responded to their blasphemous statements by calling them a brood of vipers and trees with rotten fruit.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you who are evil say anything good? For from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:33-34 TLV)

These things made them uncomfortable, and so they come back with this,

Then some of the Torah scholars and Pharisees answered Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” (Matthew 12:38 TLV)

What do you think you just saw?

It's a rhetorical question and you don't have to answer. They did not understand what happened when he delivered the man from the demons, because there is no doubt that someone being freed from possession was uncommon at best.

Now, here is where Jonah comes into the conversation.

But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:39-40 NASB)

If any of these naysayers were skillful with the Word of God (the Old Testament) then they would have been immediately familiar with the fascinating story of Jonah and this massive fish.

In the Mediterranean sea, there is really only one that comes close to being able to inhale a human. The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish,[4] after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Adults typically reach 7.9 m (26 ft) in length. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basking_shark

It would have been highly capable of inhaling a human.

This is not about Jonah, it is about our traditions and how they move us away from the truth.

Jesus compared His upcoming DEATH to Jonah, who had already spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish.

Why is three days and nights significant?

Because the Jews believed that the soul stayed in the body for three days. It was only after this time frame that you are officially dead in their minds. This bizarre thinking is one of the reasons He did not go rushing to Lazarus. He wanted to prove to them that He could raise someone from the dead.

Besides all that, what would be the point of telling this bunch of skeptics that what happened to Jonah would happen to Him, unless Jonah had died?

I have intentionally left out a voluminous amount of information in order to stay on point, and in so doing left the door open for more foolish arguments; it is, however, interesting that God effectively slammed the door on stupidity by telling us this.

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17 NASB)

As ridiculous as this might seem, God appointed a fish capable of swallowing a human, and there you have it.

And with that, we open Revelation chapter 19.

Revelation 19:1 NASB After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;

“After these things,” where have we heard this phrase before?

If you guessed Revelation 4:1 you would be correct.

Now, what had God just finished defining in Revelation chapters one through three as they establish the context for chapter four?

The church age. You should not be surprised to learn that we are living in the age of the final church, the Laodicean church.

'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16 NASB)

We are neither hot nor cold and such worthy of nothing less than to be spit out on the ground in disgust.

So, as in the beginnings of chapter four, something has come to a crashing halt and that is what Revelation 18 calls Babylon. I have twice, in recent posts, explained that Babylon is representative of Israel; and, Babylon is symbolic of the godlessness and lust that motivates the globalists and their agenda to dominate this world.

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;”

Since virtually everything in the Revelation is a witness of the prophetic that we find in the Old Testament, then we should be able to find parallel pieces of evidence.

And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:10 NASB)

If I did not know and understand God, then I might think that God should have wrapped me up in His gladness and joy, but, much like in Ukraine, sorrow and sighing have not fled away. It is the people that have needed to flee. As I stand here today, it is difficult at best to see a statement such as “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,” belonging to the here and now.

Statements such as,

"I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." (Isaiah 49:26 NASB)

For example, the current leader of Russia has been bullying people and nations around for years. Aside from the pushback he has received from the global community, here at the end of February 2022, no one has stood up to this crazed dictator. And yet, God says, in time, I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh.

Words like what we see in Isaiah 60 seem farcical.

"Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders, But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.
(Isaiah 60:18 NASB)

Well, Revelation 19 is where we finally see this happening.

(Revelation 19:2 NASB) “BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”

“ for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality,”

The harlot is integrated into the Babylon system and is also referred to as a beast. And, though it is analogous to Israel the harlot stands apart from Israel and wants Israel destroyed.

In the NASB translation of Revelation 19:2, the harlot is associated with the idea that there is a long-term corruption of Israel and the populace of the earth taking place, while the majority of translations tell us that the harlot corrupted. So, in trying to grasp who the harlot is and what is her role, we have to ascertain whether the damage done by the harlot has already taken place or is an ongoing process.

The Greek term for corrupt is phtheirō. The explanatory terms derived from this word are varied.

The Word Study Dictionary tells us it is to waste, pine. To corrupt, destroy. Trans. to destroy, punish with destruction, bring to a worse state (1Corinthians_3:17). To corrupt, spoil, vitiate, in a moral or spiritual sense (1Corinthians_15:33; Ephesians_4:22; Judges_1:10; Revelation_19:2). To corrupt, with the meaning of to subvert or corrupt opinions (2Corinthians_7:2; 2Corinthians_11:3.

You probably noticed that it says that the great harlot has already been judged.

Wouldn't that imply the end result would have been imposed as well?

Think about our current justice system.

Don't we have thousands sitting on death row, awaiting the judgment imposed upon them?

We do, but even they continue to have rights. Since our worldly legal system is thought to be based upon God's moral values, then it makes sense that these, associated with the harlot, have a potential chance at mercy; and here is why.

"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. (Proverbs 8:22 NASB)

At the beginning is in reference to God's work in the creation of the heavens and humanity. Knowing full well that the man would take a destructive path God had a plan, with the purpose of purging Satan and his army of fallen angels, along with the method of redeeming those He has chosen before any of this cataclysmic damage took place.

Possessed is the Hebrew word qānāh and it means to purchase, to acquire, to possess. It is used with God as its subject to mean His buying back His people, redeeming them.

While it is true that forgiveness was purchased on the cross. So, everyone has been freed to follow Jesus, the Son of the Father, without regard for the punishment associated with following Satan.

But, do we do that?

Well, since we have free will, most choose to follow many other things besides God.

Now, as for judgment. All judgment will be given to the Son.

John 9:39 tells us distinctly that He came into this world to judge.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." (John 9:39 NASB)

But it is not the man Jesus that does the judging right now, it is His word that judges us. If I understand this to be true, and it is, then it would obviously be confusing to hear this next statement.

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17 NASB)

Jesus had more to say about the Word being the judge.

"If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. (John 12:47-48 NASB)

Ah, it is the Word, in the last day, that will judge those that do not keep His Word.

But we do see judgment happening in scripture.

One of those moments is in Revelation 19.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. (Revelation 19:11 NASB)

Here we see Him judging through waging war. War, of course, to Jesus, happens rather quickly.

From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. (Revelation 19:15 NASB)

Some assume there will be a complete annihilation of every person deemed the nations at this point, but that is not true. He only strikes down those who choose to fight against Him.

Ask yourself a question.

Did Russia send every breathing human to fight against Ukraine?

Of course not, but just because they are not on the front lines, does that mean the entrenched hatred of the foreigner does not burn in their hearts? Don't be foolish, prejudice is learned and may stay with you as long as you breathe and are a broken human. Thankfully, all that will be fixed in the twinkling of an eye.

The second judgment happens at the Bema seat of Christ. When this takes place, seems to be associated with the catching away of the church, just moments before the seven years of wrath begins. I see no fear associated with this judgment as it is primarily a time of rewards for God's saints.

And finally, the final judgment at the great white throne. For many, this will be final and complete separation from God. However, for others, whose names are found in the books of life. Matthew 25 spells this out plainly, but it is evidenced in Revelation 20.

“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”(Revelation 20:12 NASB)

The assumption is that the Book of Life is only there to give those watching a chance to mock and laugh at those being sent off to the lake of fire for a permanent separation from God. Honestly, that is NOT funny, but abnormally cruel if you can think in this manner.

If you invested some time reading about the sheep and goat judgment that you find in Matthew 25, then you will know that God spent

time fervently looking to see if there was any reason to show them mercy. It is because of these actions that He is able to separate the crowd into what He deems sheep and goats, based upon their works. Those works boil down to the simplest of acts; bringing someone that is thirsty a drink of water; visiting Jesus in prison, even when it did not look like Jesus; and, feeding someone who was down on their luck. The reality of this is that you acted as God hoped you would if confronted by someone whose life was destroyed by circumstances beyond their control.

I have never been a good gambler so I have to go with the sure thing, God. God, through His Son, has proven Himself to me to be the sure thing. Because of those toward me I have given my life to Him and thrown myself upon His mercy.

I realize that this next little aspect will come across as facetious, I am telling you this because I did it, as Pastors and evangelists repeatedly chastened us to do so.

Having spent most of my life in the church, and, after repeatedly asking God to forgive me for my sins, I thought about some of the things I had heard in church, such as Jesus died once for all (sins.) Well, I decided to dive into my bible, set aside the traditional things I had shoved down my throat, and learn what the Bible had to say, for myself. I learned that God is NOT angry, that Jesus, His Son, demonstrated who God is and that once having given myself over to Him, there is no more reason to ask Jesus to forgive me. Recovery, all those years later, taught me the reality of what the Apostle Paul later trying to convey when he said, confess your sins to one another. 1. That other person has to be safe or this confession process will bring out the religious zealots and they will destroy you. 2. By confession, you are being open and honest about your own brokenness. This brokenness is a common trait among all of us, however, most will not admit they are messed up. 3. Confessing our sins to one another has nothing to do with your relationship with God; the relationship begins with handing your life over to Him.

Consider the thief on the cross. It would seem that he only had a few seconds of Jesus' time before they would both be dead, and yet in those few seconds, that guy gave his life to Jesus. The ABCs I have included is a path to this relationship with Jesus, and, security knowing that you are now His and have the guarantee of a permanent home with the Father.

A - Admit you're a sinner.

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

B - Believe Jesus is Lord.

John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

C - Call upon His name.

Romans 10:13 "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

So that no wind would blow on the earth. Revelation 7:1 - 8

 We are still looking at the sixth seal.

Yes, chapter six has ended; however, if the look, feel, and amount of information that we covered seems odd, that is because it is English-speaking grammarians that have inserted the chapters, book titles, and assorted punctuation, not God.

We covered this information previously, but it is important to your understanding. The Revelation works on a pattern: There are six seals, bowls, and trumpets that indicate some form of God's wrath being poured out upon the nations and Israel. The seventh occurrence of these seals, bowls, or trumpets; ALWAYS announces the next set of events to be poured out. For example, when we get to the seventh seal, it will be describing what happens under the next event – the bowl judgments. We DO NOT see the seventh seal opened until we get to Revelation 8:1, and we haven't touched Revelation until now.

So what is next?

Revelation 7:1 NASB “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.”

Well, after the destruction we just read about, how bad could this be?

Actually, it is very bad. Lacking wind, evaporated waters will not move through the atmosphere, this will drastically increase surface temperatures globally. Rain will cease and bodies of water will dry up. This change in surface temperatures will cause an immense rise in temperatures near the equator and the polar ice caps will freeze solid. Ocean currents will be severely impacted, which will further change weather patterns. Famine is inevitable. With a lack of wind there will no further wind-born seed dispersal, and pollination will cease. The bottom line, it means that life on earth cannot exist; and yet, we know from scripture that there will be those who walk into the millennial era. A bit of a bewilderment, but God is definitely in control.

We now begin to look at Revelation 7: 2 – 4 (or more.)

Revelation 7:2-4 NASB “And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, (3) saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads." (4) And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:”

• “And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun,”

End of page one.

This is not as puzzling as it seems. The NET translation puts it this way, “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east.” If you consider that the entirety of the Revelation and most of prophecy, is focused on the Middle East; then, “the East,” or “the rising of the sun,” merely represents the angel coming from an area East of Israel. I do not think it matters, but what is East of Israel? Saudi, Yemen, and a little bit of Egypt. Saudi is currently, thanks to the Abraham accords, an ally with Israel.

This angel is NOT Jesus.

• “having the seal of the living God;”

  Did you know that God has a seal?

  Ephesians 1:13 [NASB] “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”

  So, we were sealed in Him when we believed, with the Holy Spirit, which came into you when you received Christ. This theme is also in the Old Testament and is the basis for the New Testament gospel, as you see above.

  Here, in Ezekiel, angels are dispatched to mark in the forehead, those who sigh and groan over the abominations in the city, while the others are struck down.

  Ezekiel 9:1-5 [NASB] Then He cried out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, "Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand." (2) Behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand; and among them was a certain man clothed in linen with a writing case at his loins. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. (3) Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case. (4) The LORD said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst." (5) But to the others He said in my hearing, "Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.

  In the book of Esther, it speaks of King Xerxes and how his signet ring was applied as a seal on documents that assured the salvation of the Jews in that region.

  Esther 8:8 NLT “Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever has already been written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked.”

  Certainly, there is an application to the idea that God will NEVER let us who have given ourselves to Him, escape out of His hand.

  Do you think it is possible that Satan has stolen God's ideas and plans? Absolutely.

• “ the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea.”

  Since we have already seen four angels turning off the winds of earth and the subsequent damage that does to the earth, then these are clearly the same four angels.

End of page two.

There is an association to the four angels in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:30-31 [NASB] "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. (31) "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Jesus, in addressing the events that we find in Matthew 24, was speaking to Jewish disciples; and, He was speaking about events from a Jewish perspective. So when He says, “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY,” He is talking about His return after the seven-years of God's wrath.

How do I know that?

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 [NASB] (16) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

When He comes back, as he does in Revelation 1:7, and every eye sees Him, it will be for battle and He will be with the saints who will be dressed in white, and riding upon horses (Revelation 19:14.) But here in 1 Thessalonians 4, it says the Lord Himself will descend. No one on earth sees Him, and we will meet Him in the clouds.

Revelation 7:3 [NASB] saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads."

We are still dealing with the four angels who are destroying the earth.

From this verse, we can validate the global destruction of the earth and the food chain by stopping the winds. This global destruction will be so thorough that this angel we see in Revelation 7:1 is, at God's request, stopping the four angels, momentarily, while they (?) mark those Jewish, male virgins that are to be sealed.

It is not clear who the “they” are. Since there is an uncountable quantity of angels in heaven, we might assume that the angels are the ones doing to sealing. Remember, it only took one angel to kill off the unprotected of Egypt on Passover night.

We get a detailed explanation of where these young Jewish men are coming from and their tribal names.

Revelation 7:4 [MKJV] And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand, having been sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.

I used the MKJV as it clearly states that 144,000 will be saved and that equal quantities will be drawn. This is defined as you read Revelation 7:5-8. I am not sure if the tribes are that important to me, but I give them to you.

Judah, 12,000; Reuben, 12,000; Gad, 12,000; Asher, 12,000; Naphtali, 12,000; Manasseh, 12,000; Simeon, 12,000; Levi, 12,000; Issachar, 12,000; Zebulun, 12,000; Joseph, 12,000; Benjamin, 12,000.

End of page 3.

Again, I remind you that we are still within the sixth seal.

Revelation 7:9 [NASB] After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;

This is the second time John sees the martyred in heaven; however, this time the number is uncountable.

Allow me to crack open a can of worms.

The Monday morning “bible study” teacher would say things like this: no Jews will enter the millennial reign, and neither will anyone who is not a Christian, that “so called” teacher is not alone in his belief. I have also been told that there are no Christians in the seven years of God's wrath. This is deceptive and false teaching; so allow me a moment to explain why.

Start by asking the question, who goes up in the rapture of the church?

The standard, religious answer, is, the Christians. There are a couple of problems with this answer as many think they are Christians merely because they live in America, or, on occasion, sit in a church pew.

As for those who sit in church pews, Jesus threw a wrench in the gears of religious thought when he told the parable of the ten virgins.

Matthew 25:1-13 MKJV “Then shall the kingdom of Heaven be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (2) And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. (3) The foolish ones took their lamps, but took no oil with them. (4) But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (5) While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. (6) And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes! Go out to meet him. (7) Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. (8) And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out. (9) But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there be not enough for us and you. But rather go to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. (10) And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And they who were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. (11) Afterwards the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. (12) But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. (13) Therefore watch, for you do not know either the day or the hour in which the Son of Man comes.”

As virgins, they could easily be assumed to be meeting the religious standards for righteousness, and yet, out of the ten, only five made it into the wedding.

Why is that?

Because they did not have enough oil, they did not have enough oil because it wasn’t important enough to check or maintain that oil. The reasons behind that decision can be ascertained from the actions and reactions of the other virgins.

In talking about this over the last couple of years, I made the point that having run out of oil and knowing that there was nowhere to get more, I would have followed closely behind those that had the lights. Do we see any of those five without the oil doing that? No, and so another door of questions now opens.

I have found this scenario more relevant if I think about the digital flashlights most of us now own, as they work just fine until the power level gets low enough, and then they just quit. The wise person would change the batteries prior to needing them and then carry spare batteries. If you think about the process that all of them have gone through, we learn that they all took their lamps; and, they all arose and trimmed their lamps when the cry went out that the bridegroom comes. That trimming of the wicks may have only taken a few seconds, but we don't see a mad rush.

End of page four.

What we do see is a demand from those without oil, and all five of them, in unison, proceed in their attempts to purchase oil. If the five wanted to be considered attentive, they would have checked the oil level at the beginning of this process and quickly purchased enough and more, assuming it was still daylight. Considering that this was a semi-rural environment, it would be close to impossible to find someone selling oil in the middle of the night.

This opens the door to a rather alarming assumption. The call to come to the waiting point must then be accompanied by the understanding that the call to the wedding could be at any minute, leaving no opportunity for last-minute preparations. All ten faced the anxiety of NOT knowing when the call would come, and they all faced the potential tedium of waiting. The fact that the invitation had come seems to indicate that the moment in which they would hear the call would be soon.

As I write this, I am reminded of the “Christian” brother who tried to humiliate me in a public meeting at church, about how, according to him, Jesus would not be coming for another forty years. Why do I bring this up? Because this man argued that we, as the church, have been waiting for over two-thousand-years, therefore, why should anything change now? His challenge proved that he did not know his Bible as well as he thought. Considering current prophetic conditions, I am convinced that we followers of Christ do not have another forty years left here on this earth.

To put this into a modern perspective, fifty percent - half the virgins invited, are somehow convinced that they are Christians; and, will, in all likelihood, be going through the time of wrath. Since, we as followers of Christ, ARE NOT DESTINED FOR WRATH, and this is precisely what the seven-year period is, how do you explain that when you get to Revelation 6:16, you find many trying to hide from “the wrath of the Lamb.” How fascinating that they understand what is going on while many so-called Christians do not.

So, if thinking you are a Christian does not make you one, then where do all these martyred saints, before the throne, come from?

In the chronology of the Revelation, we are currently at Revelation 7:9, where the 144,000 have been sealed and protected. The first that we see the martyred saints are in Revelation 6:9-11. None of these can be associated with the Church, as the Church is portrayed as the 24 elders. This definition is highly explainable, but let me point something out. John may not have known, until much later, that his conversation about the Revelation was with an elder, and therefore, fell at the elder’s feet to worship him. The elder responds with one piece of evidence proving that they, the elders, are believers.

Revelation 19:9-10 NASB (9) Then he *said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he *said to me, "These are true words of God." (10) Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

If this elder was not a follower of Christ on earth, then he would have identified himself differently, but he did not. Instead he said, I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. There is NO DOUBT that many of the Church were martyred, but as believers, they were, in turn, caught up in the rapture as the dead in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 MKJV “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. (17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord.”

Aside from a logical approach, there is the fact, that the elders can be identified by their attire and actions.

End of page 5.

So, NO, there are NO true believers that enter the seven years of wrath, however, the martyred can be identified in other ways.

Revelation 6:4 NASB “And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.”

Although we have previously covered the second seal, there is a word here that previously escaped me, and it is the word slay. This was brought to my attention by Pastor Billy Crone, as he was interviewed on the Prophecy Watchers program. The word slay is the Greek word spházō and means to slaughter. It is used of animals killed in sacrifice; but Revelation 6:4 is NOT talking about something done to animals, it is talking about people slaughtering people. Pastor Crone said, it is also conveyed as the word butcher, and Thayer's definitions substantiates that assertion. Suddenly Revelation 6:4 takes on a whole new meaning and has given light to how so many are now standing before the throne because they were slaughtered, for their testimony.

The word testimony is one that I previously covered.

Revelation 6:9 NASB “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;”

To use the phrase “the word of God,” certainly makes it seem as though they are “Christians.” Perhaps the time they spent warming a pew permitted some of God’s Word to permeate their thick skulls. Perhaps, it is the fact that God will lift the veil that has held many captive, and they will NOW see the truth that is in the Word. This tends to mandate that they grab a bible and start reading if they have time.

The Greek word that we used and translated as “the word of,” is the word logos. It means something said or implied during a discourse. The mere fact that you talked about God, Jesus, or what the word teaches and you subsequently believe will get you killed. But doesn't it strike you odd that you could not be bothered with talking about God before the rapture, and now, here you are, prattling on, as I do, about this life in Christ?

With this sudden realization that you need to catch up, perhaps you could look up YouTube videos on what to do after the rapture. Just know this, the day will come when they will confiscate the bibles, shut down your internet channels, and butcher you because they think you are a “Christian."

When you read something like Revelation 6:9, it sounds like they were all street preachers and got beheaded, but I do not think it is that intense. Consider this, the most vigorous push for people to deny Christ, take the mark, worship the image of the beast, and worship the beast, primarily happens 1260 days into the time of wrath. This also parallels the Antichrist’s actions, the introduction of the false prophet, and the remainder of Israel fleeing for their lives. Since we have NO clue as to what this “beast” looks like, it is difficult at best to try to tell you what to look for, but one thing is obvious, the slaughter of those who refuse to worship the “beast” will be an uncountable number.

Well, we made to Revelation chapter seven, verse eight, where God halts the outpouring of His wrath to preserve 144,000 Jewish males. Preserved means to protect from damage and to keep for future usage. What a fascinating concept. Could it be, at minimum, that these sealed Jews would be the basis for those who teach others about Shavuot – the feast of booths because He will make all nations come and bow before Him for seven days, as they participate in the feast? Please don’t ask me to explain it, as I am a clueless, adopted Gentile.

If you don't know Jesus, you can. Ask Jesus into your life. He died on that cross for your sins so that you don't have to carry the weight of them, and He was buried and rose again so that you can have this new life. He will seal you and one day soon welcome you into the kingdom.

Time is, just that short.

An introduction to the Revelation.

 I felt that I needed to dive into the Revelation once again. I think that the pressing need for me has everything to do with our rapidly changing global environment; that, and the fact that so many of the video bloggers are seeing the same thing, I see - Jesus is just moments away from gathering the church to Himself.

The Revelation spells out several things, but one of the dominant messages is that God is about to pour out His wrath upon the nations and the Jews.

Notice how there is no church involved in that wrath, and that migration of the church from the earth is where I want to start this study.

It is not that I feel the backgrounds of the churches are not essential, but they have been, in my book, beaten to death. All I need to say is this, if you have ears to hear, then hear this, we are living in the age of the Laodicean church, and as such, we have been spewed out of His mouth.

'So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:16 NASB)

This lack of consistent stance or position on scripture, in our churches today, is deplorable and will only worsen. We, as a nation, are done.

Considerations as you dive into the Revelation.

Most important and vital to your understanding of the Revelation is found in chapter one, verse one.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, (Revelation 1:1 NASB)

Take that verse apart, and you get this.

• It is the Revelation (the apokalupsis – the uncovering, unveiling, or, if you will, the disclosure) of Jesus Christ.

Is there anything about those three words that indicate that this message is coded and not meant to be understood? And yet, to many, it does seem like it is coded and anything but understandable. I mention this because one of my pastors preached that very concept.

• which God gave Him.

Since I know that this was all revealed to John in a vision, I might assume that the “Him” could be John, it is not. The NirV puts it this way, “This is the revelation that God gave to Jesus Christ.” Now, why would Jesus not know precisely what the Father was doing? What I just asked is a rhetorical question because, except for one piece of information (the exact timing of the rapture of the church,) the Father has held nothing back from the Son. The entirety of the message was then given to John and he has given it to the churches. [If you do not understand, I am trying to provide you with some clues that might help your understanding.]

Operating on the understanding that this phrase “which God gave Him,” is referring to the Apostle John, it is important to know that John no advantage over us excluding one thing, he was able to physically feel the love and intimacy of and with Jesus Christ. John got to witness the character of God. But keep in mind that John, almost exclusively, lived off of oral history and presentations of the Old Testament that were given from the Synagogue. We can understand this, as there was very little that was written, and the information that was was written on scrolls made of parchment or skin.

Page one.

• and communicated it by His angel

I want to tell you that this angel is Jesus, but I am not so sure. There is a reasonable assertion, referred to as a Christophany, where Jesus showed himself to humans before His birth, but it was described as the Angel of the Lord. There are 49 verses throughout the Old Testament to back this up. One of the first comes from Genesis 16:7, where the angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a fountain in the wilderness. Here, angel is the Hebrew word malak. The Word Study Dictionary tells us that it is “a masculine noun meaning a messenger, or an angel. The term often denotes one sent on business or diplomacy by another.”

The phrase “of the LORD” is simply the word y^ehōwāh - self Existent or eternal one. We tend to pronounce it Jehovah. Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells us this is the Lord Jesus Christ before His incarnation, and he is not alone in his understanding or belief.

Since we know that the LORD sent angels, such as Gabriel and Michael, to deliver messages to people, then it is easy to accept that assertion now.

• to show to His bond-servants

John wrote down everything he saw in this vision, unlike me, who did not write down anything I saw in my vision concerning my own life. However, I remembered that Jesus was there and that I saw the end of this journey, and it was filled with joy.

The idea of being a Bond-servant is an important one, as it is an admission that I, the human, am not in charge, but He is.

We see the Apostle Paul saying this of himself.

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1 NASB)

James, Peter, and Jude all confessed that they too were bond-servants, so we stand in good company.

The phrase bond-servant is the Greek word doulos and has a literal meaning of being a slave. In a qualified sense, it is one who is in subservience or subjection, much like a slave.

Are we slaves?

In reality, we still have our free will and can therefore choose NOT to follow after Jesus Christ and these laws that are written upon our hearts. Having chosen to follow Him, I would not consider anything else; and have, therefore, put myself in subjection to Him. Since making that decision, I have never felt more loved.

How this should affect you is in your decisions to test the mercy and grace of God.

I used to sit with a group of men; the leader called our meeting place the man cave. Apparently, for some, this meant pushing the boundaries of God's grace. The problem with such excesses arises when we read things like we see in Galatians chapter five, which tells us that we have self-control, or James chapter three, which speaks about controlling your tongue so that you don't set everything on fire with it.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:18-25 NASB)

Page two.

Fascinating how verse 18 opens this treatise by saying, “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law,” (as in the Mosaic law;) and yet we are, for the law is now written upon our hearts. The presumption then is that you have not put yourself under subservience to Jesus Christ, and therefore, not subject to the Law of the Spirit.

Just in case you don't wish to buy into the idea that the law is written upon your heart, have a look at
2 Corinthians 3:2-3.

You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
(NASB)

The other thing to cling to as you read through this book is that the Revelation is the only book of the Bible that has a special blessing upon it. But to be honest, it does come across as an if-then statement.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3 NASB)

Some interpretations convey the idea of those who read to others. Having lived my life, it was not until the Holy Spirit came into my life and filled me, that I had any desire to speak to others about this Jesus I serve. But even at that, I have come to learn that my gifting is to teach. In those moments I am reading, but only because it is a necessity as I know that most of you will NOT read, even as you sit in church.

The “if-then” portion shows up when you read where it says, “and heed the things which are written in it (the Revelation.)

I believe that a portion of this blessing comes when you put what the book says into action. What I mean is, teach clearly what this book says, and make sure those you teaching, understand it.