Like Jesus The aim of all real Christians are to be like Jesus, in nature and character, but also in sinlessness. We cannot achieve that in our own strength or merits, but Jesus covers us with his perfect life and character when we approach the Father. This state of being we accept by faith, but find ourselves still plagued by human flesh, and the inherent propensity to sin. Our sinful natures will be with us until we die, or until we are changed at the Second Advent when we are glorified. Is the removal of our sinful natures part of the process of glorification? Let us see if Scripture can cast some light on this concept. The ritualistic and symbolic removal of sin was part of the annual feast cycle of the Israelites. Nothing of the sanctuary rituals was real, but all symbolic. All the rituals pointed forward to the real, which would start with the life of Christ. The rituals of the sanctuary were symbols, termed types. The fulfilment of these rituals were in Christ Who is the antitype. Throughout the year, on a daily basis, the Israelites would bring a lamb to the sanctuary to be sacrificed. They confessed their sins on the lamb and it was then killed and placed on the altar of sacrifice as a burnt offering. Their sins were transferred to the lamb, then to the temple’s Holy Place, and on the Day of Atonement from the Holy Place to the scapegoat. These transfers were all symbolic. Christ would one day become the Lamb that would carry the sins of the World. On the Day of Atonement the sins of the whole nation for that year would be dealt with, and the sanctuary and the people and the altar would be purified, and the whole nation would then have a fresh start in holiness and purity, just for the new annual cycle to begin, and the Israelites with their sinful natures would sin again, and the whole process would started again: Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. 34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses. In the antitype, Christ was sacrificed once. There is no new cycle. Likewise Atonement will be once for all the saints. The antitype for the Day of Atonement is yet to come. This is obvious because we all have sinful natures still. Revelation elaborates on the fulfilment of the autumn feasts and teaches us some important concepts. Before we look at the prophecies in Revelation with respect to the Day of Atonement, let us take a closer look at the rituals of that day in the annual typical feast. What we should focus on is that the high priest went into the Most Holy Place with the blood of sacrificial animals twice on that day, first for the priesthood and then the congregation: Lev 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: 12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: 13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: 14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: The priesthood had to be purified first, and then the congregation. In the antitype this also occurs, and there is three and a half years between the purification of the priesthood and that of the people at large: Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. Only the priests were allowed into the Holy Place of the Temple. The congregation were assembled in the outer court. Notice that the measuring includes all the elements mentioned in Lev 16:33, except the congregation. They are to be measured 3.5 years later. The parallel between Lev 16:33 and Rev 11:1, 2 indicates that measuring means these elements have been purified. Let us focus on the priesthood at this point. Who are the priests at the end of time? Without proof of Scripture here, because it is a huge study on its own, the priesthood is the 144 000. God chooses His priesthood to mediate for the masses at the end of time. Christ shares His priesthood with the 144 000. Once the priesthood is purified, they may not sin again, because there is only one Atonement for them in the antitype. In order for the 144 000 to be sinless from this point onwards, they need to lose their propensity to sin. God will remove their propensity to sin when He seals them for the priesthood. We see at least two indications of this in Scripture. The first is in Zech 3 where Joshua the high priest is purified from sin. His priestly garments are soiled, but God has his soiled garments replaced with pure garments for him to operate in the office of high priest for the people: Zech 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. 6 And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, 7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Notice that Joshua in his purified state walks with those that stand by, heavenly beings. He has been purified, and does not sin. His garments are pure and will not be soiled again. Another type in Scripture of the 144 000 is Isaiah who was impure and had unclean lips, but a coal from the altar purifies his mouth and he is made fit to work for God: Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Notice that verse 7 says his iniquity has been taken away and his sin purged. Iniquity is our inherent tendency to sin. His sin has also been purged, that is his wrong doings have been cleaned. The difference between sin and iniquity is explained by Strong’s: Chata' (H2398) (sin) describes the mistake or violation, whereas Avon (H5771) (iniquity) describes the crookedness of character or the legal guilt that follows. God does not only take Isaiah’s sin away, but also his inherent sinfulness. Joshua’s iniquity passes from him. This then applies to the 144 000 as well when they are measured. God takes away their past sin, and also removes their fleshly inclination to sin. The antitype is different from the type. In the type a new cycle begins, but in the antitype there is no new cycle, and God changes them to be like Jesus was, with our flesh, but without the propensity to sin. The 144 000, not yet glorified, but having a state of being as Jesus had on Earth, will be tempted while labouring for God, but will remain without sin, just like Jesus overcame all temptation. 3.5 years later is the General Close of Probation. The remaining saints on Earth are sealed in their turn, and the same change takes place. All their sins are removed, and their inherent propensity to sin. They are sinless and will remain so throughout the remaining days before the Second Advent of Christ when all will be glorified, and taken to heaven, that is, all the saints. All the saints will be like Jesus was – in a sinful World with temptation, but without sin. They that are vile and have not been purified when the respective sealings occur will remain vile: Rev 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. When Probation Closes the temple will be filled with smoke, and there will no longer be any mediation between God and man. It won’t be necessary because all the saints are sealed and will not sin again, and all the impenitent are sealed and have chosen their destiny of doom. The temple, altar and saints will all be measured, including those in the outer court. May it be your prayer to be like Jesus, to grow more and more like Him until He seals you and removes from you the inherent desire to sin. God bless you.

As We Forgive our Debtors The Lord’s Prayer is concise, yet contains concepts that are essential for our relationship with our Father. I would like to focus on forgiveness of sins as an important feature in the Lord’s Prayer: Matt 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. What did Jesus mean when he included this phrase in this model prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?” Christ illustrated the meaning of this with the following parable: Matt 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. The king in this parable represents God the Father. Because of our sinfulness we owe Him a great debt. We go to Him in prayer and offer Him the impossible: that we will pay that debt of sins to Him. He is compassionate and by the blood of Jesus forgives us our sins. We are free, justified and have no debt for our sins toward God. Being forgiven we should have a change of attitude toward life. We are free by the grace of God. We can live a life of inexpressible joy. Our attitude toward our fellowmen should be the same as that of God toward us – happy to give space for happiness and forgiveness toward all our relations and associates. We should feel generous toward those in need, whatever their needs are. God expects this change in our attitude toward life and our fellowman. However, if His grace has not changed us, and we hold on to cherished sins, then His forgiveness towards us becomes empty. God does not forgive us so that we can keep living in sin. His forgiveness should change us so that we will abhor sin and have a change of heart. We are human, and will find that our flesh is still weak, and we are still prone to sin, but this sinning is not our desire. If we harbour sin, then God cannot forgive us. That is why the parable ends with the servant finding another who owes him an insignificant debt, yet he has him imprisoned until he has paid the last penny, and pennies is all he owed. The king came to hear about his lack of forgiveness, and called this wicked servant back, retracted his forgiveness and had him imprisoned. When someone has hurt us deeply, we may find it very hard to forgive that person. If we do not feel like forgiving someone, that is human and normal. We should pause and contemplate Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did not feel like forgiving us. He shrank from the burden of our sins and would rather not have forgiven us. Three times He prayed to the Father to remove from Him the burden of our sins, and God’s forgiveness toward us. Three times in prayer He asked the Father to remove the cup of forgiveness toward us. Three times the Father did not remove that cup, but provided support in the form of an angel to help Him accept the burden of that responsibility: Matt 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. If we feel unable to forgive someone, we should agonise in prayer and ask the Father to help us drink that cup. This is His will. We should ask Him for help to forgive our debtors, then He will be able to forgive our debts. May your day be debt free. Free from the debts that others owe you, and free from the debt that you owe the Father.

Born in the Crossfire Babies are cute and they seem innocent, but are quick to learn how to exploit and manipulate their mothers and later the father and other members of the family. They have to be trained at a very early age to know their place and learn the routines of life. Inherently babies are evil, and born sinful. The Psalmist reveals to us that we are conceived in sin: Ps 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. You may exclaim: “It is not fair that I was evil before I could even take responsibility.” What chance do we have to be saved if we are born evil. If righteousness and salvation depends on our own performance and merit, we are lost from the start and doomed to die. It is impossible for us to be good and to gain salvation on our own accord. How did this happen? Let us look at the origin of our sinfulness. Adam was created in perfection, and there was no evil in him. His wife, Eve, likewise was created in perfection. There was just one way in which they could sin, and this would be their choice. God placed in the Garden of Eden, their home, a tree of which they were not to eat. Why did God place this temptation in their perfect world? He did that because He was involved in a controversy. The leading angel in heaven had challenged God on the way He governed His kingdom, the Universe. God reprimanded him and told him where it would lead to. The angel, Lucifer, eventually did not heed His warnings and openly sowed discord among the angels against God. One third of the angels decided to support Lucifer against God. God could have annihilated them, but that would have been the end of God’s regime of love. The loyal angels would have remained loyal out of fear of being destroyed. For that reason God simply banned Lucifer and his followers from heaven. Adam and Eve were created after the banning of the angels from heaven. They were created perfectly just as Lucifer and all the angels were perfect before their rebellion. However, to give Lucifer – Satan – a chance to prove his way of ruling his domain, Adam and Eve were given free choice, and the ability to ascribe to Satan’s way if they so pleased. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was placed in the Garden for Adam to be able to subscribe to Satan’s regime – a polling booth if you please. God warned them to not eat of that tree, because in the day that they did, they would surely die. For many years they lived blissfully in their garden home and had no need to eat the fruit of that tree. They had every type of fruit that they may have desired. Those many years, Satan waited for his chance to subject them to his wiles. One day, Eve wandered off from Adam. She found herself admiring the forbidden tree, wondering what it was that made the tree so bad. While wondering, she heard a strange voice coming from the tree. She looked to see the being that was talking to her. She knew the voices of Adam, God the Father and Jesus only. Focusing on the tree she saw a snake in it, a large one. They knew snakes, but had never heard one speak, or any other animal for that matter. The snake was eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was eating and surviving. He then sowed the seeds of doubt in Eve’s mind: Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Satan in the form of a snake deceived Eve. She ate of the fruit and did not feel the pangs of death. She imagined exhilaration. She then took some of the fruit and offered it to Adam. He immediately recognised the fruit as that belonging to the forbidden tree. His beautiful wife had succumbed to the wiles of Satan. He was faced with the choice between obedience to God, or throwing his destiny in with that of his wife. He chose the latter. He loved his wife more than God. He willfully and consciously decided to eat the fruit: Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Satan’s statement was not all lies. It was a white lie. They did become as gods, knowing good and evil, but the knowledge was not desirable as the serpent had suggested to Eve: Eccl 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. At the moment they partook of the fruit of that tree, they changed. They lost their immortality. Their genes changed. Incorporated into their genes was the propensity to sin. Adam, who had loved his wife so much that he chose her before God, turned on her when God inquired about their state of being. Before sin they were naked in the garden, yet unashamed. They were clothed in light, but when they sinned the light went out. Becoming aware of the change, they felt exposed for the first time, and hid in the garden and covered their shame with fig leaves. Gen 3:9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Adam accused Eve of leading him into eating the fruit, blaming God too, calling her the woman He had given him. Evil had entered into their hearts. Eve likewise blamed the snake. From this point on, incorporated into the genes of mankind and his offspring, there was the natural inclination to evil. We cannot help it. We are born self-centred – I am number one! Goodness and care for others have to be cultivated. Parents have to teach their children to care for others. God also instilled goodness into Adam and Eve after they had succumbed to evil. He said to the snake that He would make man hate evil: Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. After God put enmity between us and Satan, we have in our hearts these warring factions. Within us is both evil in our genes and flesh, and goodness which God reinstilled into us. We have literally become victims in the controversy between God and Satan. We are born in the crossfire of this great and significant conflict. How are we extracted from this conflict? The answer to this is well described in Romans 5. By Adam evil and death came into the world and to all his progeny. His progeny have a lesser sin than Adam. The only way out of this dilemma is by the second Adam – Christ: Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Adam brought sin into all the World. Christ pathed the way of righteousness to all the World as a free gift. We have to accept the free gift. If we reject it Christ’s death for us is in vain. What is also emphasized is that the free gift of Christ is far greater and stronger than the miss-step of Adam. We have been born into the crossfire without our consent or doing. Likewise we have a way of escape from the crossfire without our merits or deeds by Christ. Our sinfulness is not our doing, likewise our salvation is not our doing, it is a free gift presented to us by the love of God through His Son. Revel in God’s love and the freedom He has provided.

Is this the year? The Jewish Spring Feasts all met their fulfilment on the Feast Days of AD 31. The Autumn Feasts have not been fulfilled yet. It is likely that when they are fulfilled, the Day of Atonement will find its fulfilment on the Jewish Day of Atonement of that year. Since the Feast of Trumpets will meet its fulfilment three and a half years before the Atonement (Close of Probation), it will take place in the spring. However, the Feast of Trumpets is an Autumn Feast, so when in the spring will it meet its fulfilment? Looking at what will occur when the fulfilment of the Feast of Trumpets begins it gives us guidance. The Feast of Trumpets finds its fulfilment in the Outpouring of the Latter Rain. This is very much the same as the Former Rain, which is Pentecost. We will probably see flames of fire falling on the heads of the 144 000 when the Latter Rain occurs on the fulfilment of the Feast of Trumpets. As the Trumpets warned Israel that the Day of Atonement was imminent, likewise the Latter Rain will indicate that it is 3.5 years to go before the Close of Probation. I therefore conclude that the Latter Rain is likely to be fulfilled on the date of Pentecost of the year that the Spirit of God is poured out on the saints. At the rate the World is falling apart this year, I would not be surprised if God pours out His Spirit on Pentecost this year. This will be May 24th this year, on a Sunday. Could it be that we are entering the end time events this year? However, He could hold back the winds of strife for another year or two until all His servants are ready to be sealed. It is time for us to consecrate our lives and all we possess to God in preparation for the final events in Earth’s history. For those who are not familiar with all these terms and interpretations, please visit my wall. Chapters are titled with the information they explain like an encyclopedia. God bless as you prepare.

Chapter 75 Time Periods of Daniel 12 Daniel chapter 12 has three time periods: 1260 days (time, times and half a time), 1290 days and 1335 days. Adventists do not really have an explanation for the latter two time periods. Using the year-day principle some Adventist scholars begin the 1290 year period 30 years before 538 AD, ie 508 AD. Beginning the 1335-day period at the same time, 508 AD, it brings us to 1843, the year Miller first thought the Second Advent would be. When they corrected the 2300-day prophecy for year 0 for the transition from BC to AD, and came to 1844, it caused a problem for this explanation of the 1335-year prophecy. Having rejected the year-day principle in general (except for Dan 9) (chapter 5), another explanation must be found for all of these prophecies. The meaning of the 1260-day prophecy is well established with 7 references to it in Daniel and Revelation (chapter 6). The text that indicates its beginning and end the best is Rev 11:1, 2 (chapter 12): 1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. The beginning is the sealing of the 144 000 – the measuring of the people in the temple. The end is when the gentiles are measured. The gentiles represent, amongst others, the great multitude of the second harvest of the righteous (chapter 56) and their Probation Closes 42 months (same as 1260 days, or 3.5 years) later. Let us look and see what Dan 12 says about these three time periods, beginning with the 1260-day period. To place the time period in the context of Dan 12 we need to look at the context. Dan 12 begins with Michael standing up to protect His people: 1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. The time of trouble referred to here is the 3.5-year period. Michael standing up coincides with the sealing of the 144 000. This is indicated by the deliverance of God’s people whose names are written in the book. The book referred to here is the little book of Rev 10 which contains the names of the 144 000 (chapter 60). During the 3.5 years God will protect the 144 000 from the onslaughts of Satan and evil men. It would seem that some of the 144 000 will be saints of old that are resurrected to be a part of the 144 000. Daniel himself is likely to be one of the resurrected saints: Dan 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. This is the special resurrection where some saints and some of the most ardent enemies of God are resurrected to see the triumph of Christ (chapter 67). The wise referred to in verse 3 are the 144 000 who will be proclaiming the Three Angels’ Messages, bringing many people to accept Christ. So in the context of the 144 000, their sealing and their work, the 1260-day time period is mentioned: 5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. In Daniel’s vision one of the men on the banks of the river asks the angel standing on the water of the river, how long these things will be. In the context of the first part of Dan 12, the sealing of the 144 000 and their work, it will be a time (1 year), times (two years) and a half (half a year). From their sealing until all things are finished – Probation is Closed - 3.5 years. Mention is made of the scattering of the power of the 144 000. We saw in Rev 11 that when their work is done, God will remove His protection over them, and many of them will be killed (chapter 53). Daniel affirms this with the scattering of the power of the holy people. We see the first half of Dan 12 agrees very strongly with Rev 10 and 11 – 3.5 years, swearing that time will be no more, little book, activities of the 144 000, their death, and the Close of Probation. Let us look at the 1290-day period: 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. The removal of the daily sacrifice is when global legislation is incorporated preventing people from worshipping the One True God, enforcing the worship of the Trinity. Legislation for Sunday worship will also be set up. We have seen in chapter 22 that these laws will be enforced when the false Christ appears on Earth (beast with lamb-like horns). This will occur 1150 days before the Close of Probation, but 1290 days before the Close of Probation the legislation will be set up, yet not enforced. This then will occur 30 days before the sealing of the 144 000 – the Outpouring of the Latter Rain (chapter 17). The 144 000 will be humbling themselves before God in earnest prayer for these 30 days – saints purified and made white. A similar process occurred before Pentecost – the Former Rain. Christ told His followers to go to Jerusalem and prepare for Pentecost: Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. 13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. The 1290 days begin 30 days before the 1260 days, and end at the same time, the Close of Probation. What does Daniel 12 say about the 1335 days? 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. It would seem the 1335 days begin at the same time as the 1290 days since verse 12 follows directly after verse 11 which explains the 1290 days. It says blessed is he that waits beyond the end of the 1290 days for another 45 days. What blessing will he receive? The blessing of Christ’s return, the Second Advent. That means there will be 45 days between the Close of Probation to the Second Advent. The Seven Last Plagues, therefore, will be poured out in 45 days. These time periods are not hard and fast doctrines, but this is my suggestion as to their meaning. Any other thoughts on these periods will be appreciated. This brings us to the conclusion of this book on an alternative understanding of Revelation. I have laid it out, giving my hermeneutics. It is not a final word, but to me this has made Revelation make much more sense. I am open to any discussion on Revelation, and any other thoughts, since I do not have a final say on prophecy. My email is: martinbredekamp65@gmail.com May God bless you as you contemplate prophecy, and indeed, see how it unfolds, because the time is at hand. Jesus said all these things will occur in one generation. I believe the end time events are already in motion and the time clock of the one generation is already ticking. Matt 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Maranatha.

Chapter 74 Mind Map of Revelation Summarising the concepts we considered in the previous three chapters, we obtain a mind map of Revelation. The introduction and epilogue of Revelation are not shown, but the eight main sections are dissected, giving us a road through Revelation in the order that it is written. We see the pairing of the eight main sections that cover the four time periods. Each section is divided into an introduction, 7 sub parts and where applicable, the parenthetical section. The 7 sub parts are divided by the 4-2-1 principle. The climax of each odd-numbered part is elaborated by the ensuing even-numbered main section. The climax of each even-numbered part is the next odd-numbered part in its entirety. All these principles discussed in chapters 71 to 73 are shown in this table. This view of Revelation has allowed me to understand the meaning of most of Revelation, and it has been my aim to share this understanding with you in this book. All that remains is to try and understand the time periods of Dan 12 – the 1260 days, 1290 days and the 1335 days. This I will do in the next and final chapter. God bless.

Chapter 73 Parenthetical Sections The six middle parts of the eight parts of Revelation have parenthetical sections. Why does Revelation have that? It serves to provide information on a concept that needs to be further elaborated. It sometimes also provides a chiasm that would otherwise not have been there. This phenomenon is well established in the second section of Revelation, the Seven Seals. After the sixth seal where the Second Advent is described, the question is asked “Who shall be able to stand (at the Second Advent)?” Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? As an answer to that question, Rev 7 follows where the two harvests are described: The harvest of the 144 000 in the first eight verses and the harvest of great multitude from verse 9 on. These two groups of people will be able to stand through the wrath of Christ when the plagues are poured out and at the Second Advent. The 144 000 will already be with Christ, coming with Him at the Second Advent as the armies of heaven (chapter 14). Chiastic to this is the two harvests of the impenitent described in Rev 14’s second half (chapter 55). Only after Rev 7 comes the seventh seal in Rev 8:1 which is the whole of the Seven Trumpets. Analysing the other major parts of Revelation, we see that the Seven Churches do not have a parenthetical part because the seventh Church follows right after the sixth. However, we see this phenomenon again in the third section, the Seven Trumpets. The first six Trumpets are described in Rev 8 and 9, but the seventh Trumpet, the Close of Probation, only appears in Rev 11:15-19. The seventh Trumpet is the climax of the Seven Trumpets and is so important that it could be considered the focus of all of Revelation. After the first six Trumpets have been described, we find a warning in Rev 10 where Christ, standing on the land and sea, declares that when the seventh Trumpet sounds, time will be no more – there will be no more grace or probation: Rev 10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. The activities and experience of the 144 000 are then described. They bring the last warning to the World, the Three Angels’ Messages, calling mankind to turn to the real creator God, and avoid being coerced into false worship. Chiastic to the parenthetical part of the Seven Seals which is the two harvests of the righteous, is the two harvests of the impenitent, the parenthetical section of the fourth part of Revelation (Beasts and Angels). The structure of the fourth part of Revelation is not as clear as those preceding because the components are not numbered like the Churches, Seals and Trumpets. Closer study reveals that it works the same. The fourth part has six subsections, a parenthetical part, and the climax of the section on Beasts and Angels is the fifth part in its entirety, repeating the pattern of the seventh Seal being all of the Trumpets. The fifth part is the Seven Last Plagues. After the sixth Plague, which is the drying up of the Euphrates, there is a short parenthetical section briefly describing the unification effort by the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, then the promise of the Second Advent, and finally the preparation for Armageddon: Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. The sixth section on Babylon is again unnumbered, and a study shows the six subsections describing Babylon and her demise. Then a parenthetical section is seen, and the climax is the whole of the Millenium, because it is the transition from an even numbered descriptive part to the seventh (odd numbered) chronological part (previous chapter). In parentheses, if you please, the finality of the demise of Babylon is described: Rev 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. The seventh major part of Revelation, the Millennium, is the last part that has a parenthetical section. Between the sixth and the seventh subsections is a description of the descent of the New Jerusalem and how it will be on the New Earth after the new creation: Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Without an understanding of the structure of Revelation and the parenthetical sections, Rev 21 is confusing with its repetitions. The New Jerusalem descending from heaven as the bride of Christ is described twice. The first time it is the parenthetical section of the Millennium, and the second, the eighth and last major part of Revelation on the New Jerusalem. Understanding the structure of Revelation provides a mind map that slots the prophecies into their rightful places. May God bless you as you ponder these details.

Chapter 72 Descriptive Parts of Revelation Of the eight major sections of Revelation, we have looked at the odd-numbered ones in terms of structure in the previous chapter. They provide a continuum in time from the cross of Christ to the New Earth. What is the role of the even-numbered sections? The focus of every section is the seventh subsection. The most important of the Seven Churches is the seventh Church, Laodicea. We have seen that Laodicea is the church of judgement, so the theme of judgement is very important. The end of the World is approaching and God is going to judge the inhabitants of Earth. The second section of Revelation is the Seven Seals (Rev 6 – 8:1), and the burden of the Seven Seals is judgement (chapter 57). The first six seals elaborate on different aspects of judgement, while the seventh seal, the climax of the seven seals, is the third major section of Revelation in its entirety – The Seven Trumpets. This then sets a pattern for all eight of the sections of Revelation: The odd-numbered section covers a period of time, the ensuing even-numbered section elaborates on and describes the climax of the odd-numbered section, and the climax of the even-numbered section links to the next odd-numbered section. We can therefore pair the major sections, respectively: The Seven Churches and the Seven Seals are paired and have to do with the 2000 years from the crucifixion of Christ to the Outpouring of the Latter Rain. The Seven Trumpets and the section on beasts and angels together form the second period of Revelation, the 3.5 years between the Outpouring of the Latter Rain to the Close of Probation. The Seven Last Plagues and Babylon are paired together, covering the 45 days between the Close of Probation and the Second Advent. Finally, the Millennium and the New Jerusalem are paired together covering the 1000 years after the Second Advent. I like to call the odd-numbered portions of Revelation the chronological parts, and the even-numbered the descriptive parts. Let us see how this principle operates at the third and fourth major parts of Revelation: The Seven Trumpets warn the inhabitants of Earth for the last time that Judgement is coming (chapter 16). The seventh Trumpet is when judgement comes and Probation Closes. The seventh Trumpet is the climax of the Seven Trumpets, and the next section on beasts and angels (Rev 12 – 14) elaborates on the events around and leading up to the Close of Probation. The contest between good and evil is described. Satan tries to destroy the 144 000 and their converts, and the 144 000 bring the last warning messages to the Earth – the Three Angels’ Messages. The climax of section four is the Seven Last Plagues in its entirety. The Seven Last Plagues have as their climax the Second Advent which is the seventh Plague to the impenitent. The sixth section which is on Babylon (chapter 47) describes the demise of Babylon and God’s enemies (Rev 17 and 18). The climax of the section on Babylon is the Millenium in its entirety. Lastly, the climax of the Millennium is God’s activities at the end of the Millennium. The eighth section of the New Jerusalem elaborates on the climax of the Millennium, where we see the New Jerusalem described and the water and tree of life (Rev 21:9 – 22:2). Since the New Jerusalem is the last major portion of Revelation, what does the climax of the New Jerusalem describe? True to the pattern, in Rev 22:3-5 eternity and beyond is described, which is the fifth and open-ended time period of Revelation: 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. The even-numbered of the eight sections of Revelation play a vital role in describing the respective climaxes of the odd-numbered sections. I trust that this will help you in finding a holistic understanding of Revelation.

Chapter 71 Four Time Periods The last few chapters in this book on prophecy will focus on the structure of Revelation. Once the structure is understood, the interpretation of many of the prophecies fall into place, and we create a mind map of Revelation. The Hebrew festive calendar may be divided into four periods of time: The first part is the major part of the year wherein everybody lives their lives because their sinfulness and their sins are covered by God in the time of grace. The Israelites confess their sins with a sin offering, and their guilt is transferred to the temple. Then on the first day of the seventh month of the year, Tishri, there is a feast. The trumpet is sounded because it is the Feast of Trumpets. The aim of this feast is to warn the people that the Day of Atonement is fast approaching, and they should prepare themselves for this solemn feast. They need to clean their houses, but more importantly their hearts, making sure that all their sins are confessed among each other and before God. The trumpet is sounded every day from the first of Tishri through to the 10th. There is an atmosphere of urgency. On the Day of Atonement (10th of Tishri) the congregation comes to the temple in solemnity with their clothes clean and their hearts cleared of all sin. The high priest enters the Most Holy Place of the Temple with the blood of a goat for the congregation. All sins have been confessed, and the high priests bears the sins of the nation, committed during that year, into the Most Holy Place before God. While he is in the Most Holy Place the congregation waits in anticipation. This third period is one day in which the people are focused on their stance before God. From the 15th of Tishri, for a week, the people of Israel celebrate their liberation from the sins of the past year. Their sins have been cleared before God. This week is the Feast of Tabernacles where the people live in tents and booths to celebrate their sojourn from Egypt to Canaan, their journey from sin to salvation. They celebrate their salvation. After the Feast of Tabernacles they return home and their new year begins, starting their new period of grace – the first of four periods in the new year. These four periods are experienced in the small on the Day of Atonement. The day begins with a morning sacrifice where sins may still be confessed. There is grace. Then as the high priests proceeds with the rituals of atonement, first bringing atonement for the priesthood, there is urgency and anticipation among the people. When the high priest enters the Most Holy Place with the blood of the goat for the people, the congregation wait in solemnity. When the high priest returns from the Most Holy Place, having accomplished atonement for the people, the final rituals centre around cleansing the temple and the altar, and the burden of the sins of the whole nation is transferred to the scapegoat. When the scapegoat is led into the wilderness by a strong man, there is rejoicing in the hearts of the people, because their sins are forgiven and they have a fresh start. Revelation is structured around these four periods. The odd numbered major portions of Revelation (chapter 55) cover these four periods in time starting from the sacrifice of Christ. The first, the Seven Churches, represents the time of grace. It covers roughly 2000 years. We are still in the period of the Seven Churches (Rev 1:9 through chapter 3), but at the very end of the last church. The second period which relates to the Feast of Trumpets and the 9 ensuing days is aptly called the Seven Trumpets (third section of Revelation – Rev 8 and 9). It is a time of urgency lasting 3.5 years. The third period has its antitype in the Seven Last Plagues, the fifth section of Revelation (Rev 15 and 16). It is a time of judgement and solemnity. God’s wrath is being poured out (chapter 64) and I believe it will take 45 days. I have derived that number from the difference between the 1335 days and the 1290 days of Dan 12. The fourth and final period is the Millennium, the seventh part of Revelation (Rev 19 through 21:8). It is a time of relief and rejoicing. The saved will be in heaven for a thousand years in transit from the World of sin to the New Earth. The righteous will be “tabernacling” in heaven during the Millennium. Every time one of these periods goes over to the next, it is marked by an important event. The four periods are listed below, and the event between them shown in parentheses: 7 Churches (Latter Rain) 7 Trumpets (Close of Probation) 7 Plagues (Second Advent) Millennium. At each of each respective event, marking the transition of one period into the next, God announces it to the World with thunder, lightning, earthquakes and voices. The Scripture for this follows: Latter Rain: Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. Close of Probation: Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. Second Advent (two texts): Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. The beginning of the 7 Churches was also marked with an earthquake, if you please, when Christ died: Matt 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; At the end of the Millennium after the fires of hell have expired, God will create a new heaven and a New Earth. Creating the New Earth will certainly go with some shaking of the Earth’s crust. We see therefore that relating the antitype in Revelation to the sanctuary on Earth which is the type in terms of the festive calendar, Revelation is clarified in a wonderful way, helping us to make sense of the events in Revelation which at first glance seem very confusing.

Chapter 70 Twenty Four Elders We are approaching the end of this book on understanding prophecy, yet we have not looked into who the 24 elders are. They feature strongly in Rev 4 and 5 where God’s throne room is introduced, and the Lamb is found worthy to open the seals. Twenty-four thrones surround the throne of God and seated on them are the 24 elders. Who are they? We find in Matthew an incident which is related to sitting on thrones. The mother of James and John approached Jesus and asked whether her two sons could sit on His right and left in His kingdom when it was to be established: Matt 20:20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. Christ made it clear that it was not for Him to determine where who sits in His kingdom, but the Father would. Christ then used this opportunity to show them the hardships they would face for following Him, and that most of them would be martyrs for Him – the baptism He would be baptised with. Reading on in this passage we see that this evoked anger and jealousy among the other 10 disciples toward James and John. Christ used this event to also teach them that greatness was not being rulers over people, but to serve. Another conversation between Christ and His disciples casts light on who some of the elders may be: Matt 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Here Christ indicated that as a reward for their discipleship, there would be twelve thrones in heaven on which they would be seated. This then indicates who will sit on twelve of the twenty-four thrones. Who are the other twelve elders? An association in the structure of the New Jerusalem (previous chapter) seems to cast light on this issue: Rev 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The city is square, and each of the four walls have three gates, and the names of the 12 tribes of Israel are written on the gates respectively. The city has twelve foundations and on these are the names of the 12 apostles. We see here the leaders of the Old and the New Testaments. It would seem then that the 24 elders are the twelve apostles and the twelve sons of Jacob. The twelve apostles include Judas, but Judas will not be saved, so another had to be chosen. The apostles chose Matthias, but I believe God had a different choice – the Apostle Paul. I believe, written on the foundations of the city are the names of the 11 disciples and Paul. A similar situation is seen with the twelve tribes of Israel. In Rev 7:5-8 twelve tribes of Israel from which the 144 000 are chosen are listed. Missing from that list is Dan, and in his place Manasses is given. It would seem that, like Judas is excluded from the apostles, Dan is excluded from the sons of Jacob. Could it be that God will exclude Dan from the book of life in judgement, that he was weighed and found wanting, just like Judas? We find then that Joseph and his one son Manasah will be two of the 24 elders. Scripture does not say for certain who the 24 elders are, but it makes sense that they are the leaders of God’s people in the Old Testament, and the New Testament church. It could also be that these sons of Jacob, mentioned in Revelation, were the saints that were resurrected with Christ: Matt 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. One can assume that the saints resurrected with Jesus also ascended, possibly at the same time as Him. Acts does not indicate that there were others with Jesus at His ascension. They may have been invisible and went with Him, or they may have been taken up some other time. It is hard to think that they died again on Earth (like Lazarus). Some or other time the 12 sons of Jacob and the 12 apostles go to heaven, and it would seem this takes place before the 144 000 ascend, they are present in heaven when Christ is found worthy to open the Seven Seals. The chronology of the Seven Seals is not necessarily indicated by Revelation, but it certainly seems to be before the Close of Probation when the Seven Seals are already open.

Chapter 69 The New Jerusalem The eighth and final major section of Revelation deals with the New Jerusalem in Rev 21:9 to 22:5. The 4-2-1 principle applies to this part of Revelation as well. The first four describe the city and the conditions in the city: walls, dimensions, materials the city is constructed with, and the conditions in the city. The fifth and sixth describe the sources of water and food, and the climax, the seventh part, describes life on Earth and in the city in the forever after. In the introduction John is taken in vision onto a high mountain, and observes the city descend from heaven to Earth: Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; The city is called the bride of Christ. We have seen that the bride of Christ is the 144 000 (chapter 15). How can both the 144 000 and the city be the bride of Christ? The city will contain all the saved, not just the 144 000. Once God has created the New Earth, after the fires of hell have gone out, the saved will each have an estate outside of the city. The 144 000 will not have estates outside because they will live in the city with Christ, just like the Levites had no land but lived in the cities. With that in mind, the New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ because it will house the 144 000. The rest of the saved will gather in the city to worship every Sabbath and every new moon but will not have permanent housing in the city. We mentioned in the previous chapter that the New Jerusalem descends from heaven before the final judgement and hellfire. Hellfire will surround the city, but it will not be touched. Once the fires have gone out, God will created a new heaven and renew the Earth. The laws of decay that exist throughout the universe will be changed to a steady state existence, not an entropical one. The physics of the new heaven and Earth will be changed back to what it was before the fall. The city is absolutely beautiful. Jasper is a bright white gem. Revelation then goes on and describes the city, first the walls of the city: Rev 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The city is square, and each of the four walls have three gates, and the names of the 12 tribes of Israel are written on the gates respectively. The city has twelve foundations and on these are the names of the 12 apostles. The leaders of the Old Testament and the New Testament feature on the foundations and gates. We will elaborate on this concept in the next chapter. The measurements of the city are described next: 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. What is the meaning of measuring? In Ezekiel chapters 40-42 the temple is measured in much detail to show the exiles in Babylon that the temple was to be literally restored. The measuring of the New Jerusalem is likewise to show that it is a real city where the saints will reside. The measurement of the temple in Rev 11 is to indicate the early Close of Probation where the 144 000 are sealed (chapter 7). The city is cubic. It has a length, breadth and height of 2 400 km (1 500 miles). It is massive. The amazing thing is its height. The tallest, gravity-defying buildings on Earth today are around 1 km high. The materials of the New Jerusalem will be super strong to stand 2 400 km tall and not crumble under the weight. The thickness of the walls of the city is about 50 meters. The materials the city is made of is described in the third section: 18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. In the introduction the city is described as jasper. The walls are jasper, a white precious stone. The city is made of gold, including the streets. Gold is a beautiful metal, and chemically inert. The city is designed to last forever. The gold is transparent. That means we can see through the structures in the city. It reflects God’s character because God is transparent. He is what He says He is. He is the great I AM. Each of the foundations of the walls of the city are decorated with precious stones, one type of gem for each foundation. All the listed gems polarise light, giving it more beauty. That is why diamonds, for example, do not feature here because they do not polarise light. The gates are made of massive pearls, one pearl per gate. Pearls are made when a grain of sand gets into an oyster, or abalone. To neutralise the irritation of the sand grain, the abalone covers it with layers of a material that forms a pearl. Could it be that Christ made these twelve gates when He covered the blight of sin with His righteousness, making beautiful massive pearls. The fourth part describes conditions in the New Jerusalem: 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. We have already studied the fact that there is no temple in heaven, contrary to what some believe. The antitype to the temple on Earth is a sequence of events in salvation history, not a literal temple in heaven (chapter 11). Even though there will be a sun and moon in the New Earth, the city will not need their light because God is its light. There will be days and months because we will go to Jerusalem every Sabbath and every New Moon, bringing honour to God and Christ for their great salvation. The universe will be cleansed of all evil, so there won’t be a need to shut the gates of the city. The fifth part shows us the river of life flowing from the throne of God in the city out into the countryside. The nations will quench their thirst from God’s water in the river: Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The sixth part describes the tree of life that grows on both banks of the river of life, with its two trunks converging above the river. Every month of the year it will bear another fruit. Its leaves will also be edible and serve to heal the nations. What does that mean in a perfect world? We will probably all grow to the stature of Adam and Eve. We will probably also gradually become a homogeneous race without losing our personal identities. God made a variety of languages and races at the tower of Babel to disperse the rebellious people, but in heaven that will be gradually reversed. Only God knows what the heavenly human race will look like. I am sure it will be far superior to any race on Earth today: 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. The climax of this eighth and last main part of Revelation is the seventh subsection, and shows what life will be like into eternity: 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. God cursed the Earth when Adam and Eve sinned, and Adam was subjected to labour to produce food. This will be removed in heaven, and Edenic beauty and bounty will be restored. God moves His throne from heaven to the New Earth to live with us, and we will see Him face to face in His holiness. In the city where God and Christ are enthroned, there will be no darkness or night. The last part of verse 5 probably talks about the 144 000 who will also live in the city, and reign over the nations. Not everyone can reign, because you cannot have rulers without subjects. Whether we are part of the 144 000, reigning with Christ and God, or whether we have homes in the countryside, visiting the city on Sabbaths and New Moons, it does not matter. What does is living in Edenic beauty with all the saved and the Father and Son and all the angelic hosts forever. Make sure to secure that relationship which begins now. Eternal life begins now. Commit yourself as a child of God. This is His desire and He has engineered your salvation through His Son.

Chapter 68 The Millennium The seventh major section of Revelation (chapter 55) is the Millennium. It is covered by chapters 19 through to 21:8. Two and a half chapters describe the Millennium, but only three verses describe what is done in that time – Rev 20:4-6: 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. We see a group of people described as not having received the mark of the beast or its image, neither having worshipped the beast. They had been beheaded for witnessing for Jesus. These bits of information characterise the 144 000. We saw that at the end of their ministry during the 3.5 years, the beast that ascends from the abyss kills them (chapter 36): Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. The beast that ascends out of the abyss is the Jesuit order. The Jesuits possess all sorts of instruments of torture that were used in the Dark Ages against God’s people. These are still there, kept in basements and dungeons and museums. They will be brought into action again and this passage seems to indicate that the one in prime use will be the guillotine. Many of the 144 000 will be beheaded. 3.5 days after their slaughter, God will resurrect them and they will ascend into heaven. They will return with Christ at the Second Advent as the armies of heaven, and then during the Millennium will reign as kings. They will be kings in that they have judgement in their hands. The books of judgement will be opened and they will reveal to any inquirer details of God’s decisions. They will also be priests because they will mediate between the inquirers and God. The 144 000 are priests, kings and prophets. During the 3.5 years they served as prophets, bringing the word of God to the people. Rev 10:11 indicates they are prophets: Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Christ tells the 144 000 at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain to prophesy before kings and nations. Jacob divided the patriarchal birthright between three of his sons. These three aspects of the birthright come together in the 144 000 (chapter 13). They are kings (rulers), priests and prophets. We see then that during the Millennium, all questions about friends and loved ones will be answered by the 144 000. When the Millennium ends, all the saved will be happy with the judgement of God, all their inquiries will have been answered. During the Millennium all tears will be wiped away. What is the context of the rest of these two and a half chapters? We find a chiastic structure involving seven sections (besides the introduction and a parenthetical part). The first is paired off with the last, the second with the penultimate, and the third with the fifth. The fourth part is the focus, and we have already dealt with it in Rev 20:4-6, where the activities during the Millennium are described. The first three parts deal with occurrences at the Second Advent which marks the beginning of the Millennium. The last three parts deal with events at the Executive Judgement at the end of the Millennium. The first part deals with God and Christ’s judgement at the Second Advent and then Their judgement at the end of the Millennium in the seventh part: The first section we have already dealt with in chapter 66 which describes the Second Advent: Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords. Chiastic to this portion of Scripture is God’s judgements after the Millennium: Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. The Father identifies Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is everything to us. Those of us that yearn to be united with the Father and experience His love are promised that our thirst will be quenched with the water of life in abundance. We are admonished not to give up or grow tired, but to overcome. Then God will remain our God and we will be His children. Verse eight shows us the characteristics of the people who will not inherit eternal life. They will be cast into hellfire and die the second death (previous chapter). The second and sixth parts of this section of Revelation describe what happens to the impenitent before and after the Millennium. The second is covered in Rev 19:17-21: 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. This portion of Scripture was dealt with in chapter 66. The raptors are invited to feast on the corpses of the impenitent when they are slayed by Christ. The beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire which burns throughout the Millennium. The sixth part describes the lot of the impenitent after the Millennium: Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Verse 13 indicates that all the dead are resurrected. Judgement is finally reviewed in the face of everyone that has ever lived on Earth. The Father is seated on His great white throne, the seat of judgement. All the books are opened, books containing a record of all the deeds of the impenitent, also the book of life. The book of life contains the names of all the saved. Those whose names are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. This is the final death of all the impenitent, the second death (previous chapter). Death itself and the grave are also thrown into the lake of fire because hereafter there will be no more death. Those that remain will enjoy eternal life, granted by the Father through the Son. The third and fifth sections deal with what happens to Satan at the Second Advent and after the Millenium, respectively: Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. The description is brief. The dragon, Satan, is metaphorically chained and thrown into the abyss, which is locked and sealed. We have seen that the abyss is a situation where Satan and the scarlet beast (Jesuits) are not allowed to do as they please (chapter 36). The righteous all ascend into heaven at the Second Advent, and the impenitent are all dead. Satan and his angels have nothing to do but work on each other’s nerves. Circumstantially they are in the abyss. They will also see the beast and the false prophet in the lake of fire. This fire seems to burn throughout the Millennium because it burns before the Millennium and is still burning at the end of the Millenium. Every time they look at these two in the fire, they are reminded of where they are headed to. This portion of Scripture ends with the concept that at the end of the Millennium, they will be loosed from the abyss. The dead will be resurrected and they will tempt them again. They will egg them on to destroy God’s city, the New Jerusalem. Rev 20:7-10 describes what Satan does at the end of the Millenium, and what will happen to him: 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. When the impenitent are resurrected, Satan is loosed from the abyss. He then has people to tempt and control. He musters the forces of the impenitent and has them surround the New Jerusalem which has come down to Earth (Rev 21:10). In a last desperate bid to destroy God and His kingdom the forces of the impenitent march onto the city. God finally defends the city and the saved by pouring fire and brimstone (burning sulphur) onto Satan and his vast army. This is the final fires of hell. Satan is united with the beast and the false prophet in hell. It would seem that the fires of hell will burn eternally, but this is simply indicating the finality of the destruction of Satan and the impenitent. Sodom and Gomorrha was destroyed with an eternal fire, and yet they are not burning today. This clarifies the meaning of an eternal fire: Jude 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Understanding the chiasms clarifies the events during the Millennium If read chronologically, it would seem that Satan is destroyed before the judgement of the impenitent. Each section has a focus and looks at particular role players in these events. That is why some events are repeated with a different perspective. That is also true for Scripture beyond the bounds of the Millennium, because the descent of the New Jerusalem is described in Rev 21, but the camp of the righteous, their city, is on Earth in Rev 20. The focus in Rev 21 is the description of the city. A clear understanding of Revelation is important. Contrary to the doctrine of the secret rapture, which implies second chances for those that are not ready at the rapture, Revelation indicates that there is but one chance, and that is to seek and find God before Probation Closes. The current pope has just released a statement that no one will be lost eternally in hellfire, but that everyone will eventually be saved. This then motivates people to continue with their lives of sin and evil. Don’t be caught by the wine of Babylon. Stay sober and seek God while He may be found before your probation closes by death, or corporately.

Chapter 67 Death and Resurrection Revelation 20:5, 6 mention a first resurrection and a second death without mentioning a first death and a second resurrection: 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Death and resurrection are mentioned in the context of the Millennium. The first resurrection is before the Millenium. The impenitent dead are not resurrected at the beginning of the Millennium at the Second Advent. The impenitent, by implication, will be resurrected after the Millennium. Preceding a resurrection must be death, a death that is not permanent, because resurrection brings an end to death. By implication the temporary death is the first death. The second death has grave consequences. The second death has no power over those that are resurrected at the first resurrection. These are blessed and holy. Therefore, the second death is for those that are not blessed and holy. The second death is final. There is no resurrection from the second death. It is a final separation from God. It is the wages of sin (Rom 6:23). All of us deserve the second death. We are born into it because we inherit it from our parents. Christ came and saved us from the second death, bringing us eternal life. The first resurrection is before the Millennium at the Second Advent, corporately. However, the 144 000 experience the first resurrection before the Close of Probation. Moses also experienced the first resurrection before the Transfiguration. The first resurrection is therefore not necessarily associated with a point in time, but rather with the consequences it brings – eternal life. The second resurrection is after the Millennium, and all those that experience this resurrection are brought to life for judgement. Every human that ever lived on Earth will be present after the second resurrection, and God will be vindicated as righteous and fair. Every impenitent soul will acknowledge God as good, righteous and just. Thereafter the impenitent will experience the second death in the purging hellfire, including Satan and his angels. There is also a special resurrection somewhere before the Second Advent of Christ. Some leading righteous will be resurrected to see and be a part of the final events on Earth. Some of the most vocal and leaders among the impenitent will be resurrected to see the vindication of Christ at the Second Advent. Christ told Caiaphas that he would see Him return to Earth at the Second Advent as King of kings: Matt 26:63 But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Christ’s enemies that are resurrected at this special resurrection will die again at the Second Advent, just to be resurrected a second time at the second resurrection. Revelation also indicates that those that crucified Christ will see Him coming in the clouds of heaven: Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Finally, let us focus on the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ died our second death on the cross on our behalf so that we may have the gift of eternal life. It was a death of what seemed to be eternal separation from the Father. We see this in His cry on the cross: Matt 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Three days later He was resurrected with the first resurrection. His resurrection opened the first resurrection for all of us. New life for Him has gifted new life to us. We live today in the hope of eternal life because of His second death and first resurrection. Don’t waste Christ’s death and resurrection on your behalf. Accept the gift of eternal life from the Father through and by His Son. God bless.

Chapter 66 The Second Advent The Second Advent has been a part of several chapters but has not been dealt with as the theme of a chapter. There are many texts in the Bible that focus on or refer to the Second Advent, but my focus here will be mainly on Revelation. My understanding of the Second Advent from Revelation is for the most in line with the Adventist understanding with one important exception – the Armies of Heaven. We have discussed this (chapter 14) but it needs to be highlighted again. Revelation 19:14: 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. What is the meaning of fine linen, white and clean? Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. The 144 000 are the bride of Christ (chapter 15), and they return with Him from heaven at the Second Advent. The armies of heaven cannot be angels (as Adventists believe) because angels will not be wearing the righteous deeds of the saints. Rev 19 gives us quite a lot of detail of the events that take place at the Second Advent. These events link with other portions of Revelation that also deal with the Second Advent: 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. This is clearly the Second Advent because the heavens open and Christ appears on a white horse. Christ is the Word of God, and His vesture is dipped in His own blood which He shed for our salvation. Christ has many names: True and Faithful, The Word of God, and an unknown name which only He knows. Christ is Faithful and True. He promised to come again and save us, and here is described how He does. He is also the Word of God which became flesh and dwelt with us (John 1). The secret name probably describes the depths He went to save us, something none of us will experience, that is why it is unknown. He comes as a victor and to judge. He wears crowns of victory over sin, Satan and death. His eyes are as flaming fire to make war with and to conquer evil and the impenitent. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords. We see more judgement described in verse 15. A sword comes out of His mouth to smite the nations. He rules them with a rod of iron. The grape harvest at the end of Revelation 14 features again: Christ treads the grapes of the fierceness of His Father’s wrath. Christ is Lord of lords and King of kings. Since the Close of Probation, He rules the universe unchallenged. Preempting the destruction of all the impenitent, great and small, free and bond, an angel invites the raptors to feast on their corpses when they are slain: 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. The last three verses of Rev 19 describe the Battle of Armageddon. The beast and all the kings and the impenitent are gathered together, and Christ slays them. The raptors gorge themselves on their corpses. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. The beast and the false prophet are taken live and thrown into the lake of fire. The chronology of this Scripture seems to indicate that the fires of hell are ignited at the Second Advent, before the Millennium, and the papacy and the apparition of Christ (false Christ) are thrown into the fire before the Millennium, and they will burn throughout the Millenium until all the resurrected impenitent at the final judgement are also thrown into the fire, including Satan. Then only will the fire of hell burn out. Whether the beast represents the pope per se, or the Vatican, can be debated. Revelation 18 indicates the destruction of the Vatican before the Second Advent, so the beast is probably the pope. Be it as it may, Satan will see the beast and the false prophet burning in hell during the Millennium as a constant reminder of his destiny. He will have a thousand years to contemplate his rebellion against God, and his final doom. I would like to quote one portion of Scripture from 1 Thessalonians that fills in some details of events at the Second Advent that is not given in Revelation because Revelation 19 is focused on the judgement of the impenitent: 1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. We see from this Scripture that at the Second Advent, the righteous dead will rise first, and then the living saints will follow them in ascending into the air to meet Christ. From that point on we will ever be with Jesus. Paul encourages the Thessalonians, and us, to keep this truth in mind and in our hearts, and comfort one another with this knowledge: 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Let us keep the promise of the Second Advent in our hearts because this will be the climax of our lives (even after death). God bless you, Maranatha.

Chapter 65 The Seven Last Plagues In the Third Angel’s Message, God finally warns the Earth through the 144 000 that those that worship the beast and receive his mark on the forehead or hand will drink the wine of His wrath without mixture (chapter 52): Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. After Probation has closed, no further person will accept God’s salvation. Those that have accepted salvation are saved, and those that have rejected salvation are eternally lost: Rev 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. There is somewhat of a correlation between the Seven Trumpets and the Seven Last Plagues. The first four are different from the rest, showing the 4-2-1 principle again. The first four are quite literal and briefly describe what happens with each vial being poured out. Here are the first three: Rev 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. 3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. Only the impenitent suffer from the plagues as is clear from the first which is boil-like sores that have the people in agony. The second is the sea turning to blood. Could it be the red tide, or is it something worse, more akin to real blood? The third is an extension of the second where the fresh water on the land becomes blood. The people have nothing else to drink but this blood-like water. Revelation now stops the narrative and shows that these people are receiving just punishment, because they shed the blood of God’s saints: 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. The narrative picks up again with the fourth plague being the sun scorching the earth. They worshipped the sun god, and now their god is unkind to them: 8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. The impenitent recognise that the plagues are from God, but instead of repenting, they blaspheme God. Probation has closed and the spirit of God does not operate in the impenitent. Repentance in mankind is a fruit of the presence of God’s Spirit, and without the Spirit there is no repentance. The fifth plague is localised. It is focused on the Vatican – the seat of the beast. The darkness may be real, but it is also figurative because the ruling powers of the New World Order do not experience joy in the fact that they control all the Earth. They have regrets because they realise they are fighting against God and they are in the process of losing their battle against Him. They are also unable to harm those that obey God and have not subjected to their government. They are suffering from the scourges of all the plagues, and in the darkness have nothing to distract them from their pain. 10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. All the impenitent are in pain, and the masses are disillusioned in the rulers of the New World Order. The Vatican loses the support of the people and the political order unravels: 12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. We saw in chapter 20 that water represents the people on Earth. When the river Euphrates dries up, the river that supplied Babylon with water, Babylon – the Vatican – no longer has the support of the populace. The kings of the East in the type are Medo-Persia, but in the antitype represent Christ and the 144 000 at the Second Advent. The systems on Earth are falling apart, and Christ is coming to save the saints and bring judgement to the impenitent. In a desperate bid to unify the World, three spirits emerge to rally the masses: The dragon is Satan (chapter 39) the beast is the Papacy (chapter 40) and the false prophet is the apparition by Satan that appears as Christ (chapter 43). These spirits perform all sorts of miracles in an effort to convince the people to stand together against Christ when He returns. 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Verse 15 uses the words of Christ to warn people to prepare for the imminent Second Advent. We see the rise of this expectation as the plagues are drawing to a close. Earlier we saw the way of the kings of the East was being prepared. Armageddon is an idiom today that indicates massive warfare between nations, but in reality it is the collective rebellion of the impenitent against God. Armageddon is another name for Mount Carmel where there was a contest between God and Baal, and the Israelites had to choose. Choice is over now, so this Carmel experience is God’s superiority and power over the feeble systems and forces of Earth. Under the sixth plague the masses are gathered together, preparing for the seventh plague which is the Second Advent of Christ: 17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. The voice from heaven declaring “It is done” indicates the end of the dispensation of sin on this Earth. Christ is on His way to gather His saints and to destroy the last of the impenitent. Voices, thunders, lightning and earthquakes indicate the change of a dispensation. In this case it is the greatest of earthquakes, so great that mountains are flattened and islands sink into the oceans. Hailstones weighing 25 kg fall on the earth. We see again that the people blaspheme God, and there is no repentance. The earthquake also has a figurative meaning, besides convulsing the Earth, and having the cities fall. Babylon now finally loses all its support from the people. It is divided into three parts. There is no unity and the people mob the rulers of the World. At this earthquake Christ returns, and the masses hide in the rocks and the mountains, asking the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of Christ on the clouds (chapter 58): Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? The earthquake of the sixth seal is clearly the earthquake of the seventh plague. The seventh plague includes the Second Advent of Christ. Looking at the Seven Last Plagues, one should be convinced that it is not worth being part of the impenitent. Rather surrender to God and enjoy His protection. If your motives are wrong in surrendering to God – fear rather than love – He will create love within you. It is worth the while to avoid this hell and accept God’s love and protection.

Chapter 64 The Wrath of God I have heard people say, even theologians, that God cannot be wrathful because He is a God of love. The Bible, however, indicates differently. God is jealous for us. He created us, and when we worship other gods, or credit our existence to other gods, He is jealous: Ex 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. He detests it even when we bow down to images and ascribe them to Him. It makes Him jealous and wrathful. There are several occasions in the Old Testament where God was wrathful. I shall not systematically go through all these events but will focus on one in particular. Notice, it was in the context of worshipping the golden calf – Baal – and calling it God, that He became wrathful: Ex 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. Observe God’s conversation with Moses: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Baal is the sun god through all the ages, and worshipping Baal angers God. Constantine in the fourth century united heathen worship with Christianity to unify the Roman Empire. The day of sun worship became the Christian day of worship – Sunday. The three gods of Babylon became the three gods of the Christians – the Trinity. At the end of time God will go to much trouble to rectify this apostacy and make the masses of people on Earth aware of their worship of the sun god under the false pretext of worshipping Him, the Creator God. When people worship the Trinity or any other god out of ignorance, God forgives them, but if they worship false gods when they know better, it evokes the wrath of God. At the end of time, during the 3.5 year-period, the Three Angel’s Messages (chapters 19, 50 and 52) will see to it that no person on Earth will be ignorant about who the real Creator God is. The third Angel’s Message, in particular, warns us about false worship, the wrath of God, and the Seven Last Plagues (chapter 52). God’s wrath is kindled when Probation Closes and every person alive is divided into two camps, those that accept worship of the One True God, and those who refuse obeisance to Him, in spite of all the evidence they have received. His wrath is focused on those that refuse Him out of arrogance or fear for the beast-power. His wrath begins and ends with the Seven Last Plagues. The King James Version of the Bible is not so clear about this, but many other translations such as the Amplified Bible are: Rev 15:1 Then I saw another wonder (sign, token, symbol) in heaven, great and marvelous [warning of events of ominous significance]: There were seven angels bringing seven plagues (afflictions, calamities), which are the last, for with them God’s wrath (indignation) is completely expressed [reaches its climax and is ended]. Also look at the Contemporary English Version: Rev 15:1 After this, I looked at the sky and saw something else that was strange and important. Seven angels were bringing the seven last terrible troubles. When these are ended, God will no longer be angry. God’s wrath is kindled when Probation has closed, and everyone is secured in their decisions on their destiny. His wrath is abated when all the impenitent have died from the scourges of the Seven Last Plagues. The lesson we learn from this is that God loves all of us dearly, and gives all sufficient time to accept His love and succumb to His wooing. If we reject His love, He will destroy us. People may think: “What kind of lover kills the object of his wooing if rejected?” God’s love isn’t the love of a man toward a potential wife, it is the love of the Creator towards the creation in His own image. It is more related to a mother’s love toward her helpless baby. Through all the ages God has been patient toward those that have rejected His love, but when sin has run its full course, God will purify the universe of its blight. Those that choose to live in sin need to be irradicated. God will do His utmost to save every single person, but when all is done, those that reject Him, in spite of all His efforts, will be euthanised. If those that reject Him were to keep living, their lives would be most miserable in the presence of God’s purity and holiness, and that of all the angelic hosts and the saved. Today, when God woos you, contemplate on His goodness and love, and a love for Him will be kindled. He is your heavenly Father.

Chapter 63 The Seven Spirits In the introduction to Revelation where John brings greetings from the Father and the Son, the Spirit is seen as seven Spirits: Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; People have wondered why the Spirit is introduced as Seven Spirits. Some have suggested it reflects seven aspects of God’s Spirit described in Isaiah 11: 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; They see the seven aspects of the Spirit as the following: 1) The Spirit of the LORD 2) The Spirit of wisdom 3) The Spirit of understanding 4) The Spirit of counsel 5) The Spirit of power 6) The Spirit of knowledge 7) The Spirit of the fear of the Lord However, in the light of the previous chapter where we saw Christ standing amongst the seven candlesticks, representing the omnipresence of God, the flames of the candlesticks are the Spirit of God – His consciousness and unseen presence in the Seven Churches. The Spirit of God was represented in the Hebrew sanctuary as the seven candlesticks. Throughout Revelation the concept of the Seven Spirits of God is developed. It starts off with the position of the seven candlesticks standing before the table of shewbread – the throne of God. God’s Spirit is in front of His throne. In the description of the throne room of God in Rev 4 we see the Seven Spirits burning like seven lamps of fire before God’s throne. Again, the seven candlesticks stand before the throne of God: 5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. In Rev 5 where the worthy Lamb is introduced, the Lamb has seven eyes which are the Seven Spirits of God, searching all the Earth. We see the omniscience of God by His Spirit through the eyes of the Lamb, He sees everything by His Spirit: 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. We see another example of the seven eyes in Zech 3: 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch. 9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Christ is the Branch, and the seven eyes on the stone are the eyes of the omniscience of God by His Spirit through the Branch. In Rev 8 the important connection in this series of texts is the “before the throne.” The candlesticks are before the throne. Here they are described as seven angels: 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. Seven angels blow the Seven Trumpets. The trumpets are partial plagues that come to the Earth with the aim of bringing people to repentance before Probation Closes. We see, therefore, that it is God that causes or allows these Trumpets to blow, warning us of His coming judgement. The theme of seven angels before the throne continues, but first seven thunders: Rev 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. I would like to think that the seven thunders are also the Seven Spirits imparting information when Christ roars like a lion, proclaiming the Close of Probation at the Seventh Trumpet. The Spirits uttered information that was sensitive, and God did not want this to be part of the book of Revelation, telling John not write them up. One can only speculate what the thunders said. Could it be that the Close of Probation was still another two millennia into the future from John’s day? That would be sensitive information, because it would take away the impetus of Christianity, since Christians have always expected the Second Advent of Christ in their lifetime. Whatever the thunders said, God did not want the New Testament church to know that. Where the seven angels with the Seven Trumpets bring scourges to the Earth in thirds only, seven angels bring the Seven Last Plagues undiluted as indicated in the Third Angel’s Message. The wrath of God is undiluted. The seven angels emerge from the temple. The implication is they stood before God in the temple, and therefore are the Seven Spirits of God as before. They receive the plagues in vials from one of the four living creatures: Rev 15:1 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. 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. 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. Another indication that the angels are the Seven Spirits is the golden girdle around their breasts. Christ also has a golden girdle around his chest: Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. We see one of the seven angels (Spirits) talking to John on two occasions: Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. The Spirit introduces John to the scarlet beast that carries Babylon (chapter 35) and then again the Spirit introduces John to the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem. We have seen that Revelation, by the position in the temple of God, and the number 7, by a chain of descriptions shows us the role of God’s Spirit in the end-time events. May one of the Seven Spirits, the omnipresence of God, be with you today as you seek an intimate relationship with Him.

Chapter 62 Temple Furniture An important part of prophecy hermeneutics is finding the antitype of all the types in the Hebrew sanctuary. Revelation has strong ties with the furniture in the temple. There are four main pieces of furniture inside the temple. In the Holy Place we have the seven golden candlesticks in the south, the table of shewbread in the north, and the altar of incense in the west, before the curtain to the Most Holy Place. In the Most Holy Place we have the ark of the covenant. The introductions to the first four major portions of Revelation relate to one of the respective pieces of furniture. Let us go through them one-by-one as they appear in order in Revelation: The Seven Churches is introduced with Christ standing amongst the seven candlesticks, each candlestick belonging to each of the respective Seven Churches: Rev 1: 12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Verse 20 explains what the candlesticks represent: Each candlestick represents one of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. In the next chapter we will see that the flame of each candlestick is the presence of God. God is omnipresent where He is present in each church simultaneously. He is everywhere simultaneously. Christ is introduced to the church of Ephesus as walking amongst the candlesticks: Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; He also warns Ephesus that if they do not repent, He will remove their candlestick: Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. The seven seals is introduced with a vision of the throne room of God. He is sitting on His throne surrounded by the four living creatures, the 24 elders and the angelic host. In the Hebrew sanctuary, the table of shewbread represented God on His throne. On the table are twelve flat loaves of shewbread in two stacks of six. God is the provider of Christ, our Bread of Life. God provides in all our needs. In Revelation 4 we see God on His throne – the table of shewbread, without the bread. John weeps, because we need the provisions for our salvation from God. Chapter 5 brings to us the slain Lamb Who is the Bread of Life on the table of shewbread. All nature erupts in joy and praise when the worthy Lamb appears on the throne with the Father: 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. The Lamb is worthy to open the seals on the book. He gives us the life from the Father, and He did it by being slain in our stead. He died our death so that we can live His life. The seventh Seal is the Seven Trumpets. When the seventh Seal is opened we see in the introduction to the Seven Trumpets Christ the High Priest officiating before the altar of incense (chapter 18). Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. We see the altar of incense featuring here in a process of atonement. The Angel – Christ – is at the altar with a censer. Much incense is given to Him and the censer is filled with hot coals and incense and a thick cloud of sweet-smelling smoke blocks out the glory of God as Christ enters the Most Holy Place – the throne of God in the setting of judgement – while the saints (144 000) are earnestly praying for their atonement. The Father accepts Christs sacrifice on their behalf and Christ then comes out from the presence of the Father with His censer, filling the censer with more fire. He then throws down the censer to the Earth where the 144 000 are agonising in prayer. They have been sealed and the Outpouring of the Latter Rain takes place. When Jesus throws down the censer we are likely to see tongues of fire descending from heaven and resting on the 144 000 as was seen at Pentecost, the Former Rain. Christ has passed on the baton of priesthood to the 144 000, and they will officiate as priests during the 3.5 years of the Seven Trumpets (chapter 17). The fourth piece of furniture is in the Most Holy Place, the ark of the covenant. In the typical services in the temple on Earth, the ark of the covenant only featured on one day in their year – The Day of Atonement. The high priest would enter there twice on the 10th day of Tishri, first with the blood of a bullock for the priesthood, and then again with the blood of a goat for the people. The ark of the covenant represents the throne of God in judgement. We already saw the throne of God when the 144 000 are sealed. 3.5 years later, when the World at large is sealed, atonement is complete. Rev 11:19 shows the completion of atonement and judgement when the door of the temple is open, and the ark of the covenant is seen: 19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. This is the last of the Trumpets, the 7th, which is elaborated on in the 4th major section of Revelation, I have entitled: Beasts and Angels (chapter 55). This section of Revelation, chapters 12 – 14, deals with issues during the 3.5 years that culminate in the Close of Probation, the seventh Trumpet. It is a good exercise to study the liturgy of the Hebrew sanctuary in Leviticus. When understood, the antitype in Revelation will become much clearer. God bless you all.

Chapter 61 The Seven Churches We left this first part of Revelation till late, because it is not the most important, and it is fairly straightforward. In essence, I do not differ with the interpretation of the Adventist pioneers on this aspect of Revelation. We will look at it briefly, and not in detail, highlighting some interesting aspects of the Seven Churches that may not be that well known. In the introduction to Revelation, John is commissioned to write down the vision he is receiving, and to send it to the Seven Churches in Asia Minor: Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. John obeys the command and addresses the Book of Revelation to the Seven Churches: Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; 5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Christ gives John a short letter to each of the consecutive churches in Asia Minor. They contain commendations, reproofs, and then a promise to those in the church that overcome. Each of the churches have their own characteristics, and Christ addresses these. The promise to the overcomers is eternal life, expressed in a way unique to every church. Many scholars also recognize in the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, seven consecutive periods of time throughout the Christian era. Each period is characterised by virtues, challenges and short-comings, parallel to those of the respective churches in Asia Minor. The periods of time are as follows: Ephesus: Faithful church but with diminishing love: AD 27 – 100. Smyrna: Persecuted church: AD 100 – 323 Pergamos: Apostate church: AD 323 – 538 Thyatira: Reigning church: AD 538 – 1565 Sardis: Reformation church: 1565 – 1740 Philadelphia: Evangelical church: 1740 – 1844 Laodicea: Advent church: 1844 – 202? There is a chiastic structure in the Seven Churches: The middle church is Thyatira. The three churches preceding Thyatira represent the Christian church more or less in decline. The three churches that follow are splinter churches from the mother church – daughters and granddaughters if you please. Sardis showed promise of reform, but very rapidly elapsed into structures with creeds and formalism. Then there was the Evangelical awakening with Charles Wesley in the lead. They brought a more dynamic relationship to God in their worship and liturgy but also ended up with creeds. Finally, Adventism was born in the expectation of the Second Advent in 1844. After the Great Disappointment, the church developed a structure, priding themselves as not having a creed. This changed in the 20th century when the church was infiltrated by the Trinity doctrine of the Catholic Church and in 1980 the church formulated a set of 28 fundamental beliefs, in essence a creed. This stifled fundamental Biblical research and a quest for obtaining truth from God and the Word. We have, therefore, a collection of churches that resort under Christianity, but worship the Babylonian Trinity, incorporated into Christianity by Pergamos, the church of the third period. We have Babylon (chapter 47) and her daughters (chapter 48). The last four churches exist in parallel until the Second Advent. This can be seen in the letters to the respective churches: Thyatira: Rev 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. In the letter Christ says to the faithful in that church they must hold fast that which they have until He comes. This coming refers to the Second Advent. Thyatira, the Catholic Church, will exist at the Second Advent. Sardis: Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Christ admonishes this church to remember where they come from – a Reform Church bringing new life into the staleness of Catholic ritual. He then uses the language of expecting the Second Advent: watch, come as a thief in the night, know not the hour I will come. This is an indication that the fifth church of Revelation will exist at the Second Advent – the Reform churches. Philadelphia: Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. For each of these churches Christ says they must hold on to what they have till He comes. The existence of Philadelphia, the Evangelical Churches, at the Second Advent is obvious, indicated directly in this verse. Laodicea: Since it is the last church, it will exist at the end of time. No Scripture indicates it though. Another chiastic occurrence in the Seven Churches is that Christ reprimands all the churches except the second church, Smyrna, and the penultimate church, Philadelphia. Considering the 4-2-1 principle, we see the first four churches are all the original mother Christian church, which evolved into the Roman Catholic Church. The next two churches are daughter churches: the Reform churches and the Evangelical churches. The climactic church is the Advent church. Laodicea means judgement. It is the church that came into being in the time of the expectation of the Second Advent and judgement. A very interesting difference of Laodicea when compared to all six of the previous churches of Revelation is that the first six churches all received commendations from Christ. Christ has no commendations for Laodicea. It is a proud church, believing that it has complete truth. Christ has no place for pride. The Bible calls pride the worst sin: Prov 6:16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, The first of the seven things God hates is a proud look – pride. God tells Laodicea that they think they have need of nothing, but are wretched, naked and blind: Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Christ offers a remedy: His righteousness – white raiment, the riches of His love – gold and His insight – eyesalve to cure our blindness: Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. He ends His reprimand to the Laodiceans with one of the most beautiful verses in Scripture, where he shows His yearning for a personal relationship with the members of Laodicea. He is knocking at the doors of our hearts, wanting to come in and have a meal with us: Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. This then concludes a very brief look at the Seven Churches, where I offer what is probably less known. If you hear a tender knocking at the door of your heart today, do not turn away. Open the door and let the King of Love come into your heart and bring you joy – real joy.

Chapter 60 The Little Book In Daniel 12 and Revelation 10 a little book is seen in prophecy. In Dan 12 the little book is shut: 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. However, in Rev 10 the little book is open: 2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, How do we know that the respective books referred to in Dan 12 and Rev 10 are the same book? The circumstances in the context of Scripture referring to these books are very similar. In Daniel, the person talking about the book is Christ, standing on a river: Dan 10:4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. Dan12:6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? In Revelation the person is also Christ, this time standing with one foot on the ocean and the other on the land: Rev 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, Christ is described in several places in the Bible as having legs as pillars of fire, shining as brass. The golden girdle around white linen is another characterising element. In both these prophetic chapters, Christ raises a hand, or both hands and swears about time and judgement. In Daniel 12: 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. Daniel reveals that at the end of the 3.5 years, all these things shall be finished, especially probation. In Rev 10 the seventh Trumpet which is the Close of Probation is focused on: 5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Adventists have understood the little book of Dan 12 and Rev 10 to refer to the book of Daniel, with particular reference to the 2300-day prophecy (Dan 8:14). This prophecy was first understood to indicate the Second Avent to be in 1844. This expectation was sweet as honey in their mouths. The Great Disappointment is the bitter-in-the-stomach experience. The voice from heaven warned them of this in the prophecy, and when John ate the book, it turned out as the voice had said: Rev 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. Christ then tells the Advent people to warn the world of the proximity of the Second Advent: Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. No matter how Dan 8:14 is understood, the Great Disappointment was real. This then could be one fulfillment of Rev 10. However, the little book of Rev 10 is chiastically related to the scroll with the 7 Seals. In the previous chapter we explored the connection between this scroll and the Book of Life. If the Book of Life contains the names of all the saved, then the little book of Rev 10 contains the names of the 144 000. The little book was closed for Daniel, but open at the sealing of the 144 000 at the outpouring of the Latter Rain. The Book of Life is opened with the 7th Trumpet at the Close of Probation 3.5 years later. Let us look at the meaning of the context of Rev 10 and 11 with this concept in mind: Why is the eating of the little book sweet in the mouth, and bitter in the stomach? When God pours out His Spirit on the 144 000, they will be elated – God has chosen them, they are sealed, they no longer have the propensity to sin, they are filled with God’s Spirit! Then the arduousness of their task dawns on them, the Spirit makes them aware of what they are in for with the strong possibility of suffering a martyr’s death towards the end of the 3.5 years. This realisation is a disillusionment. This is bitter to their stomachs. What is also bitter is seeing friends and colleagues who should have been part of the 144 000, but opted out, being sealed negatively (red-horse people – chapter 57). The Outpouring of the Latter Rain is an experience of strongly positive and negative emotions. The command to prophesy before many people and kings and nations and tongues (gift of tongues needed) is their commission during the 3.5 years, bringing the Three Angels’ Messages at the appropriate times (chapters 19, 50 and 52). Rev 11 begins with the measuring of the temple, the worshippers and the altar. The process of measuring is the Outpouring of the Latter Rain (chapter 7). Here the meaning and placement of the 3.5 years is quite clear. The temple is measured, but the outer court must not be measured for another 3.5 years. If God has earmarked you to be one of the 144 000, and you accept His calling, you will go through this sweet-bitter experience. If you refuse His invitation, you will like Judas exit the upper room, and it will be night for you. Christ chose 12 apostles then, He needs 144 000 now. John 13:30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

Chapter 59 The Book of Life The “book of life” occurs eight times in the Bible of which seven are in Revelation. God gave Paul insight into the existence of the book of life, seen in: Phil 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. Paul mentions people who were labouring for God, characterised by having their names written in the book of life. Interesting concepts come from texts that mention the book of life in Revelation. The first I want to look at is that the Lamb – Christ – was slain from the foundation of the Earth: Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. It says here that Christ was slain, crucified from the foundation of the World. Before the Earth was created, God in His omniscience, knew that man would fall. God also made a way out of sin before man even existed. The Father and the Son planned that the Son would offer Himself to be incarnated, and then sacrificed to pay the penalty for sin and open up a door for man to be recreated and restored. It was a done deal before creation, therefore the Son of God, the Lamb, was slain from the foundation of the World. A second verse that refers to the time before creation is: Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. This verse indicates there are people on Earth whose names are not in the Book of Life, written before the foundation of the Earth. This verse seems to underscore the doctrine of predestination. Some people are predestined to damnation. God does not predestine anyone, but has given everyone on Earth choice. Most choose against Him. With His perfect omniscience, He knows the final choice of every person on Earth. We all still have perfect free choice. He simply just knows what our choice will be. This concept confirms the fact that God does not need an Investigative Judgement when He has known our final choice since before creation (previous chapter). This verse indicates that the names of the saved are written in the Book of Life before the World was created. Rev 3:5 indicates that names may be removed from the Book of Life: 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. This verse seems to contradict the fact that God has a perfect foreknowledge and that the Book of Life was complete before creation. However, what this verse accentuates is that we have choice in our destination. If we do not overcome the hardships of life, and especially those at the end of time, we can have our names removed from the Book of Life. We have to overcome daily by the blood of the Lamb – not in our own strength. Clothing with white raiment is an indication of favourable sealing at death or at the Close of Probation. After the Millenium, the executive judgement will take place. Judgement is already made at first deaths and Closings of Probation, but after the Millenium the executive judgement is put into motion, and the verdicts are already written in books, including the Book of Life: Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Other books contain the deeds of everyone, good deeds and evil deeds. Unforgiven evil deeds lead to a person’s name not being in the Book of Life. Those whose names are not in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire. Rev 21:27 confirms that those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will not enter into the New Jerusalem, i.e. eternal life. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. The last reference to the Book of Life in Revelation goes along with Rev 3:5 having to do with the removal of our names from the Book of Life. Here the fateful crime is removing things from the book of Revelation. At the loss of our eternal destiny, we may not alter anything in the book of Revelation. If we remove something, our names will be removed from the Book of Life. If we add something, the plagues of Revelation will be added to us (Rev 22:18): Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. We learn quite a lot about the Book of Life from Revelation. The Book of Life features elsewhere in Revelation without it being named as such. The scroll of Rev 4-6 and 8, sealed with 7 Seals, is the Book of Life. How do we know that? If we follow the drama that unfolds in Rev 4 and 5 we come to see this. Revelation 4 gives an elaborate description of the throne room of God the Father in all His Glory. We see four beasts, 24 elders and the seven spirits of God. The focus moves to a specific object in chapter 5 – a scroll with 7 Seals. The whole universe is searched, and no one is found worthy of opening the seals of the book. John weeps. The contents of this book is very important, so much so that if it cannot be opened there is no salvation for any human. Then someone worthy is found: The Lamb that was slain. Why is the Lamb worthy? Because He is the Son of God and was slain. It has taken a member of the Godhead to pay our sin-debt. Without the death of Christ, none of us would be saved. There would be no judgement and all of us would be condemned. Because He has died in our place, everyone has a chance at salvation. Some accept this free gift, and others reject it. That is why the Seals elaborate on how people accept or reject salvation. When all the Seals are removed, the content of the scroll is revealed. What does it reveal? It reveals the names of those that have accepted God’s salvation – the Book of Life. Before creation God knew that the incarnation of His Son, and His propitiatory death would be a success. Likewise He knew the names of all the humans that would accept the sacrifice of His Son before creation. When the seventh Seal is broken, the scroll reveals the names. We saw that all the Trumpets are part of the seventh Seal, and the last Trumpet is the Close of Probation. When Probation Closes, the Book of Life is opened and the names of the saved are revealed. When the Lamb appears before the throne of God, all heaven and all nature erupt in jubilation – the four living creatures, the 24 elders, the angelic host, and by implication the 144 000. They first fall down before the Lamb, and at the end of chapter 5 they fall down and worship the Father as well. How are the 144 000 implied? Rev 5:9, 10 reads as follows: 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. This obviously cannot refer to angels. My understanding of who the 24 elders are, which I will write about in the future, is that they are the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve apostles. These were not redeemed from every kindred, tongue, people and nation. It cannot refer to all the saved, because all the saved cannot be kings and priests. This is the role of the 144 000 on the New Earth, so by implication, even if they are not mentioned as such, the “us” in verse 9 refers to the 144 000. Ask God to make you worthy to either be one of those that fall down before the Lamb and the Father when Probation Closes, or be part of the great multitude that will worship God and the Lamb in heaven after the Second Advent. It is not worth being weighed in the balance and found wanting.

Chapter 58 Last Three Seals In the previous chapter we looked at the first four seals that represent all the people that ever were on Earth, how they are divided into four groups during judgement. The next two seals look at very specific groups of people in terms of judgement. The fifth seal deals with martyrs for God: Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Special mention is made of martyrs for God and Christ. These are not just righteous people who resort under the white horse and black horse (previous chapter), they are a part of these but have paid for their faithfulness to God with their lives. How many of you have the courage and devotion to God to die for Him? A little reflection should make us realise that this is what God requires of everyone for salvation. Most of us will not literally die as martyrs, but we all need to die for self, making a full commitment to God. Remember the parables of the pearl of great price, and hidden treasure? Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is selling all that we have to procure the pearl and the hidden treasure. Prophets and servants of God that have literally paid with their lives get special mention here under the fifth Seal. This Scripture is symbolic. When we die, we don’t immediately go to heaven. The Bible makes it clear that at death our consciousness stops. Our minds stop working when the brain cells become non-functional and rot away, just like a computer becomes non-functional when the power is switched off (Ecc 9). The doctrine of the unconsciousness of the dead is further confirmed in this Scripture where the souls are told to rest a little while more. Death is like a sleep. We fall asleep and wake up, and it is as if no time passes while sleeping. The souls of the martyrs are not literally under the altar (burnt offering altar). The aim of this seal is to indicate that there are more martyrs to die for God before the end will come. Since the Seven Seals come just before the Seven Trumpets, it is safe to assume that the point in time referred to in the fifth Seal is at the sealing of the 144 000, the beginning of the 3.5 years. The sealing of the 144 000 is the first time of judgement when their Probations Close, and also those that rejected the calling to the priesthood of the 144 000 – the grain harvest. It cannot refer to the corporate Close of Probation, because from this point on there will be no more martyrs. The future martyrs referred to here are primarily the 144 000. They enjoy protection from God during their service in the 3.5 years, but when their work is complete many of them are killed: Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. The 144 000 are their fellowservants. In Revelation servants mainly refer to prophets. There are martyrs among the brothers of the 144 000 as well. These are the people of God who are not part of the 144 000, some of them converted during the 3.5 years. The giving of white robes indicates that as martyrs for God, their judgement is sealed in death. That goes for everyone: at death our destinies are determined because our probation is over. God does not need to investigate the lives of each person on Earth to determine their destiny. He knows everything because He is omniscient. Those through all the ages that have died in a relationship with Him are judged favourably at death. There is no Investigative Judgement. Adventists believe the Investigative Judgement of the dead have been going on since 1844, but this doctrine was established to make sense of the Great Disappointment in 1844 (chapter 44). In summary, the fifth Seal has as its focus martyrs, especially those that will be killed during the 3.5 years. The sixth seal is also a special group. It is a subsection of the harvests of both groups of lost people, both the grain and the wine harvests: 12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? This seal takes place at the Second Advent of Christ. During the 7 Last Plagues many of the lost have died because of the plagues. The Second Advent of Christ is the 7th Plague to the lost, because those that are still alive at this stage will die because of the earthquake at the Second Advent. Verses 12-14 describe great signs in sun, moon and stars, and a severe earthquake. The focus of verse 15 is first on leaders of different descriptions and ends with anyone and everyone – bondmen and free men. When the remaining impenitent see Christ coming on the clouds of heaven, they realise that they have made bad choices and are eternally lost. Christ’s glory is so blinding that they want to escape it by hiding behind rocks, in caves and in dens. They also experience Christ’s wrath and would like to die to escape it. They call for the rocks and mountains to fall on them and kill them. They ask a question: Who shall be able to stand? The next chapter in Revelation, chapter 7, describes two classes of people that will stand the glory and wrath of the Lamb – the 144 000 and the great multitude (chapter 56). The fifth and sixth Seals are extremes in judgement. The fifth represents martyrs that paid the ultimate price for God, and the sixth represents God's greatest enemies amongst people who proactively went against His cause. He will preserve them through the first six Plagues to see the victorius Christ. We have an indication of a special resurrection of those that crucified Christ: Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. This resurrection will include some of the greatest opponents of God. Christ told Caiaphas that he would see Him coming on the clouds of heaven: Matt 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. The seventh Seal we have dealt with already (chapter 18). It is the Seven Trumpets, which are plagues with mercy, calling the World to repentance before Probation Closes. Are you aspiring to be part of the special group referred to in the 5th seal? Should we aspire to martyrdom like Thomas Becket? I believe not. We can offer God our willingness to be one of the 144 000. If we receive that privilege, we will have a high probability to suffer a martyr’s death at the end of the arduous work allotted to the 144 000. Offer your unconditional services to God today.

Chapter 57 Four Horsemen We have looked quite thoroughly at the middle part of Revelation, but there are parts in the beginning that have not been covered. One of the major themes we still need to look at is the Seven Seals. The Seven Seals are related to the seventh Church, Laodicea. Laodicea means “Justice of the People.” It has to do with judgment. The theme of the Seven Seals that follow directly after the Seven Churches is judgement. In the next few chapters we will look at the Seals and judgement. As part of the structure of Revelation, the major portions have seven subsections. These subsections may be divided into three groups: the first four, the next two, and then the last one as the climax. The concepts taper down 4-2-1, with the focus on the 1 which is the climax. This pattern is clearly seen in the Seven Seals. In this chapter we will look at the first four Seals which deal with symbolic horsemen. They represent all of mankind. People may be divided into four categories as far as beginnings and destinies are concerned. Some people begin their lives in families that acknowledge God and worship Him. Others don’t have such a favourable start. Destinies are more important. Some people will die acknowledging God and some will die averse to Him. Looking at all the combinations of beginnings and destinies, we have the following four: • Those that worship God from the start to the end. • Those that grew up worshipping God but reject Him by the time they die. • Those that grew up ignorant of God but accept Him and worship Him in the later parts of their lives. • Those that grew up godless and remain that way all their lives. The horsemen of the first four Seals each respectively describes these four groups of people. Let us look at the first Seal in Rev 6: 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. This horseman on a white horse is fighting the battle of righteousness. The colour of the horse indicates purity, the bow in the hand of the horseman shows he is fighting a good fight, and the crown given to him shows that he is a victor over sin and evil. This seal and horseman represents the people that have belonged to God all their lives, fighting His cause. The crown given to them is not meritorious, but a gift from God through His Son’s merits. The second seal and horseman follows: 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. The second horseman is also armed for battle with a sword. His battle is not a righteous battle, but a battle to remove peace from amongst people. In our walk of life, the people that cause us the most problems are those that know who we are. They have been born and reared in homes that worship God, yet they have rejected Him. They turn on the children of God, striking where it hurts because they know the inside story. Our greatest opposition comes from those that have apostatised. The horse is red, representing blood and strife. This horseman, then, represents the people who started their lives worshipping God, but have rejected Him. The third seal and horseman are important: 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. This seal portrays judgement by the balances held in the hand of the horseman. It also shows hardship in that food is expensive. A day’s labour is enough to purchase just enough food for one person to survive. The balances also indicate the measuring of the food rations. Yet, it is possible to live. This represents people that were born in a godless environment, but in the spiritually difficult times they have discovered how to survive. The oil and the wine indicate extras above food for survival. There is joy in their finding salvation. The fourth horseman closes this sequence of related seals: 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. This horseman represents the people who have been godless all their lives. The theme here is death and destruction by all sorts of means – war, famine and wild beasts. Notice that a quarter of the people of Earth die in this way. The quarter simply means it is one of four groups. Hell represents the finality of their destiny. They were given the opportunity to know and follow God, but they refused. God does not allow any one to experience the Second Death without having had a choice. He does not want any one on Earth to die that death, but does not coerce. We are the ones that choose. Another angle at the meaning of the four horsemen, probably more important, is that they represent what people claim to be, and what they really are. For the white horse we have people that claim to belong to God and do. For the red horse we have hypocrites. These people claim to be God’s children, but under the guise of godliness they live self-centred lives. The Pharisees were such people, and they killed Christ. The worst persecution comes from people that claim to be working for God but have their own agenda. At the end of time these will cause the most problems for God’s people. They will persecute and even kill the true Christians. Small wonder they are represented by a horseman carrying a sword, removing the peace from Earth. The black horse represents people that lived godless lives but have accepted salvation. Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said the publicans and the harlots will enter the kingdom of God before them. Publicans and harlots know what they are and acknowledge that before God in penitence. Accepting God and salvation, they are saved. The pale horse represents people that have been godless all their lives and have no desire to change that. They are what they are, sinful and godless. This covers every person that has lived on Earth. However, there is still another way to look at these horsemen. We can view them in the context of the 3.5 years on Earth, which does not include the populace of all ages. They can be viewed parallel to the four harvests dealt with in the previous chapter: The white horse represents the 144 000 that bring the last call to mankind. Their conquering and victory are the fruits of their labours. The red horse represents those that should have been sealed at the beginning of the 3.5 years to be part of the 144 000 but reject God’s invitation for this unique work. They are sealed at the beginning of the 3.5 years and become the worst enemies of the 144 000. They remove the peace of the 144 000 by dragging them to courts and tribunals. They are the same as the grain harvest of Rev 14. The black horse represents the people that are converted to God during the 3.5 years, who find God under difficult circumstances. There surely will be great hardships in this period. They are the great multitude of Rev 7. Finally, the pale horse represents those that reject the calls of the 144 000 and accept the mark of the beast. They are the grape harvest of the end of Rev 14. Zech 6:1-8 confirms the division of four types of horses into two categories. Here too the white and black horses are grouped together and please God: 6 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. If God invites you to be of the 144 000, don’t reject this privilege. If God invites you to salvation by the calling of the 144 000 during the 3.5 years, accept His salvation. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.

Chapter 56 – Four Groups at Judgement Chiasms help us see four groups when God judges. We have already seen that there are two Closings of Probation, the first when the 144 000 are sealed (chapter 7) and the second when the Probation of the World is Closed corporately (chapter 12). At both sealings, there are people sealed as saved, or sealed as lost. This makes up the four groups of people. Revelation 7 describes those that are sealed favourably: The first 8 verses describe angels ready to loose the winds of strife, but then another angel calls for them not to let the winds go until all of the 144 000 are sealed: 1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. The sealing of the 144 000 occurs at the beginning of the 3.5-year period, at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain. We have seen that when they are sealed, they no longer have the inherent propensity to sin. The next four verses of Rev 7 describe how 12 000 of the 144 000 come from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, respectively. The purpose of this is to show that this priesthood – the 144 000 are priests – is not a Levitical priesthood, but a different order of priests. We will see in another chapter how one of the tribes of Israel is left out. These priests are called from among all of Israel, representing all of the peoples of the World. The 144 000 has nothing to do with the state of Israel today. At the end of the 3.5 years, when Probation Closes in general, a great multitude of people are sealed favourably. In chapter 54 we saw that 10 percent of the population on Earth are sealed for God. Rev 7:9-17 describes this group of people. It is clear that they are the living at the Close of Probation: 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. They have experienced immense difficulties during the 3.5 years. Further indication that they are alive at the Close of Probation is what they have suffered in this period of time: 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. The righteous dead from all the ages are not included in these two groups. They will be resurrected at the Second Advent and be gathered together with the living saints who comprise the Great Multitude of Revelation 7: 1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Chiasticly opposed to Rev 7 is the last part of Rev 14, following the Three Angels’ Messages. Two harvests are described here: First the grain harvest, then the grape harvest. Everyone accepts that the grape harvest represents the impenitent with 320 kilometers of blood coming out of the winepress, deep enough to reach the bridles of horses. However, most people believe the grain harvest to be the harvest of the righteous. There is one hint though that indicates that the grain harvest is also a harvest of lost souls. Here is the Scriptural portion of Rev 14 that describes the grain harvest: 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. 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. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. Verse 15 indicates that the harvest of the Earth is ripe. Let us look at the Greek word that describes ripe: xērainō. This word is used for the ripening of crops, but it has more the meaning of withering away, dried up. It is used to describe a limb of a person that is dried up and not in use. Some translations of this verse indicate that the harvest is overripe (God’s Word, and Afrikaans) or has dried (DARBY and Disciple’s Literal New Testament). Can the harvest of God’s righteous be overripe? I would hardly think that they can be described thus. We are saved by grace, not our merits. It would be better described as not quite ripe. Being overripe better describes the wicked, because they have perpetually rejected God’s wooing and have become hardened in their choice. They are overripe. To complete the chiastic structure, both these harvests must be harvests of the lost, since we have two “harvests” of the saved in Rev 7. Which harvest of the lost occurs at the sealing of the 144 000 at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain before the 3.5 years, and which occurs at the Corporate Close of Probation at the end of the 3.5 years? The sheer volume of the blood at the wine harvest suggests this harvest to be at the Corporate Close of Probation: 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 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. 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. 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. There is another indication that sorts out these two harvests. For the grain harvest an angel emerges from the temple, telling Christ to thrust in His sickle and reap. For the wine harvest an angel comes from the altar, telling the angel to reap the clusters of grapes. At the beginning of Rev 11 we saw the sealing of the 144 000 is indicated with measuring the temple, the worshippers and the altar (chapter 7). One can assume the altar refers to the altar of incense for two reasons: the altar of sacrifice was in the courtyard which was not to be measured at this stage. Secondly, this measuring has to do with the priesthood, who officiated in the temple on the Day of Atonement and the altar of incense played a central role here. So the angel proceeding from the temple represents the priesthood. The angel proceeding from the altar is for the populace at large. This represents the altar in the outer court which, by implication, was only to be measured at the end of the 3.5 years. Another interesting difference between these two harvests is that Christ harvests the grain, but an angel harvests the grapes. The 144 000 are the bride of Christ (chapter 15) and He is personally involved in their sealing. The blood from the winepress reminds us of the ultimatum on Mount Carmel, where Elijah slaughtered the 450 priests of Baal. You don’t want to be a part of this group that have rejected the God of creation. The implications of the grain harvest is frightening. When God seals His 144 000, He also seals to their doom, 3.5 years before the rest of the lost, a group of people. Who are these that are damned earlier than the rest? One can only conclude that they are people that are earmarked to be part of the 144 000, but do not qualify. They are people that know the Scriptures, that know who God is and what he desires of them, but for some or other reason do not submit to Him while He is sealing. These will include many ministers – part of the priesthood. People who should receive the mark of God but end up receiving the mark of the beast. There are many pastors today that know that God is not a trinity, but that He is one true God with His Only Begotten Son. They know this but do not preach this to their parish because if they do, they will become unpopular. They may lose their positions as pastors in the church. They may lose their pensions and livelihoods. However, Christ is the Pearl of Great Price, and we need to sell everything that we have in order to obtain that pearl. How do pensions, livelihoods and popularity weigh up to being the bride of Christ. The choice is for Christ, or for eternal damnation. There are many other people besides ministers that also have this knowledge. Others will also be sealed for damnation at the earlier Close of Probation. What a privilege to be earmarked by God to be one of the 144 000 and number among those that are the bride of Christ. What loss if we in our worldliness do not make the sacrifice and “sell all that we have” to be given that privilege and be eternally lost. Prayerfully submit to God and allow Him to seal you as part of His priesthood, if He has chosen you for that position by the merits of Christ only.

Chapter 55 Chiasms My understanding of Revelation came from a thorough search for chiasms. I had read the two-volume series of Mervyn Maxwell called “God Cares.” Near the beginning of volume 2 on Revelation, there is a chapter devoted to chiasms based on the work of Strand. Strand saw that Revelation consisted of chunks of Scripture that was chiastically paired. Let us first explore the meaning of chiasms for those who are unfamiliar with the term: Hebrew poetry is usually comprised of matching parts in the beginning and end, then the second part matches the penultimate, etc. In the middle of the poem is its focus, with everything before matching everything after. Here follows an example in the well-known Ps 23: 1a) Psa 23:1, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want; 1b) Psa 23:2, He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters; 1c) Psa 23:3a, He restores my soul; 1d) Psa 23:3b, He leads me in the paths of righteousness; central axis) Psa 23:3c, For His name’s sake; 2d) Psa 23:4a Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; 2c) Psa 23:4b, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me; 2b) Psa 23:5, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over; 2a) Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 1a matches 2a where they both have to do with need. We shall not want, and God will care for us all of our days into eternity. 1b matches 2b dealing with peace and satisfaction. Peace and serenity, and our cups run over. 1c and 2c go together, dealing with restoration and care. 1d and 2d has as theme travelling on paths of salvation, protection even in the face of death. The focus, or central axis is that God’s care for us and His salvation is for His name’s sake. The fact that there is any good in us is because of His love. Our salvation is His honour and glorification. Besides the introduction and epilogue of Revelation, it has eight major portions: 7 Churches 7 Seals 7 Trumpets Beasts and Angels 7 Last Plagues Babylon Millennium New Jerusalem 7 Churches and New Jerusalem are paired off by matching elements in their contents. Likewise the 7 Seals and the Millennium. The middle four portions are not matched nested, but in alternation: The 7 Trumpets are paired off with the 7 Last Plagues, and Beasts and Angels are paired with Babylon. As an example, Beasts and Angels describe the woman in white in Rev 12. Babylon describes an evil woman in scarlet in Rev 17. The focus of this chiastic structure is the Close of Probation. Before the Close of Probation everyone has free choice in their destiny. After the Close of Probation, the destiny of every human is determined. The second half of Revelation simply shows the sequence of events that occur after the Close of Probation. This pairing off of major blocks in Revelation I like to call macrochiasms. Within several of these blocks there also are chiasms, which is more like those in Hebrew poetry. So we have chiasms within chiasms. In the chapters that follow, we will use chiastic structure to gain an understanding or some of the symbols in Revelation. Some of these chiasms ask for the reinterpretation of the understanding of some symbols.