Order of Events in the Book of Revelation

Following the sequence of events from the resurrection on Pentecost to the Feast of Trumpets and Christ's return with the saints!

Fred R. Coulter—May 26, 2018

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to Sabbath services. We are going to see some of the things are in sequence and some are not in sequence. Some things are placed way before the time they happen, and some things are placed in a different order. This all agrees with Isa. 28.

Let's see how we are to understand the prophecies and the Scriptures. We will see it's exactly as it says here in Isa. 28. This becomes very important for us to realize and that we always understand that we must interpret things according to the Scriptures!

We can have some ideas from some things that are said. However, some ideas, even spoken out loud, do not necessarily mean that they are dogmatically going to happen. We take certain events, plus other events, plus certain Scriptures, and certain other Scriptures, and we put it together to understand what we need to understand.

Isaiah 28:12: "To whom He said, 'This is the rest He gives to the weary,' and 'This is the refreshing,' yet, they were not willing to hear." God will give us the understanding IF we are willing to hear. That also means to hearken to obey to do.

The only way we're going to understand the Word of God is to obey His voice. His voice is recorded in writing for us so that we have it absolutely clear what He has said. He's also given us things to understand, which are difficult to understand. He's given us also some things that we do not understand.

As we go back in time, they understood less than we do today. We will see that all brought out, and then we'll come to the book of Revelation and see the sequence of events.

Verse 13: "So then the Word of the LORD was to them precept upon precept…" This comes to everybody the same way. However, we have to 'rightly divide the Word of God' (2-Tim. 2:15) in order to properly understand.

"…precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken and snared and taken" (v 13)—those who do not obey God will not understand!

Verse 9: "'Whom shall He teach knowledge?…. [we'll all be taught of the Father (John 6:45)] …And whom shall He make to understand doctrine?…. [the Truth of the teachings of God] … Those who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts.'" That is, you are not a 'newbee,' but those who have been seasoned in the Word of God.

Verse 10: "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little there a little." For us, we can understand if we do it correctly.

Let's come to another key to understanding the events in Revelation for the end-time: the book of Daniel. All the prophecies that Daniel gave started then—in Daniel's time—and end up at the end-time. In Dan. 9 we're going to see, many of the things, if not most of the things in the book of Revelation are tied to the seventy-weeks prophecy.

• the 49 years to build the temple is one segment
• the 62 weeks to the Messiah and His first coming is the second segment

There are spaces of time and years in between. The last segment is what we find here:

Daniel 9:26: "And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself…"

• the 62 weeks has ended, Christ has finished His ministry; then it jumps ahead clear to the 70th week

"…And the people of the prince… [or the prince of the people] …who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary…." (v 26).

The first coming of this happening was when it was destroyed in 70A.D., but this is talking about the end one to destroy the temple. That's why we know there has to be a temple built.

"…But his end shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined" (v 26). We find that the whole book of Revelation is desolation upon desolation, beginning first of all in Rev. 6.

Verse 27: "And he shall confirm a covenant… [not the covenant of Christ] …with many for one week…. [all of the nations that are involved] …And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease…"

That was done in 70A.D., but this was not completely fulfilled because he did not go into the Holy of Holies to create the abomination that makes desolate. That is saved for the end-time.

"…and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate even until the consummation.… [this is going to end up at the end of the age] …And the fully determined end which is decreed shall be poured out upon the desolator" (v 27).

We will see this last week is seven years! In the middle of the week is when the beast will break that covenant. Let's tie this in with a couple of other Scriptures here, because it talks about the time of the end.

Daniel 11:40: "And at the time of the end, the King of the South shall push at him. And the King of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and sweep through. He shall also enter into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown…." (vs 40-41).

That is the beginning of the Tribulation. Events are leading up to, prior to it, but when the tribulation begins Jesus said, 'When the abomination and desolation is standing in the Holy Place—then and not until then—shall be Great Tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world.'

Daniel 12:1: "And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even until that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered—every one who shall be found written in the book."

That's talking about the first resurrection and the sealing of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude. Here in Dan. 12 we find that understanding would be granted at the end-time. Daniel didn't know what to make of this. He was given all of these tremendous prophecies.

Verse 8: "And I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, 'O my lord, what shall be the end of these things?' And he said, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end'" (vs 8-9).

With the time of the end, there's the beginning; there's the ending of it. There are events leading up to it, but certain things define the time of the end. As we have covered, the abomination that makes desolate will stand in the Holy Place. 2-Thes. 2 is the Beast Power of Rev. 13, proclaiming himself to be God. That has never happened in history. This tells us there must be a temple built, and all of these prophecies must be fulfilled.

Verse 10: "Many shall be purified, and made white and refined. But the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand."

Who are the wise? The ones who love God and keep His commandments and are living in the end-time! Then Daniel gives some other prophecies there. We're going to see that there are a good number of things that follow in chronological order. However, not everything does.

• Rev. 1 Jesus is saying that He is the One Who is going to give the understanding of the book of Revelation

This came from God the Father to Jesus Christ, and Christ gave it to John. The thing that is important to understand is that everything is based upon the Word of God and the Truth.

Rev. 1:10: "I was in the Spirit on the Day of the Lord; and I heard a loud voice like a trumpet behind me, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last… [Jesus Christ in relationship to everything that has been done on this earth] …and what you see, write in a book… [even though he didn't understand it] …and send it to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea'" (vs 10-11).

Then John turned to see and he saw Jesus in His glorified form. This gives the stamp of approval and authority to everything that is in the book of Revelation. The very resurrected Christ in glory. So He told him again, after he saw Him in His glory, shining like the sun:

Verse 17: "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead; but He laid His right hand upon me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, even the One Who is living; for I was dead, and behold, I am alive into the ages of eternity. Amen. And I have the keys of the grave and of death'" (vs 17-18).

• He's the only One Who can overcome death
• He's the only One Who can unlock death for every other human being
• He has that authority

Verse 19: "'Write the things that you saw… [He tells John to write. God wants it written down, because it is to go clear to the end of the age] …and the things that are… [currently] …and the things that shall take place hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven churches'" (vs 19-20).

This is in current order, all seven churches at the time that John wrote. It is also prophetic down through time, and it is also in its fullness at the end of the age again.

Many of the Scriptures that we see in prophecies are layered. Being layered, that means there is more than one possible fulfillment for it. If you look at all the seven churches today, compare that with the Churches of God, it is very evident that there are elements of all of them, though at the end of the age, predominately Laodicean.

• Rev. 4—John is taken up to see the throne of God
• Rev. 5 shows that only Jesus has the authority and the power to open the seals and to unveil the things that are in the book of Revelation, and how they fall into sequence
• Rev. 1-5 fall in chronological order

Then only Christ can open the seven seals, but He cannot open them until the Father tells Him to open them, because Jesus said, 'All of these things are in My Father's hand.' He knows the day, the time, the hour, and knows everything that there is about this. He gave this to Jesus to give to the Church. Jesus, of course then, at that time understood it all. But for us, it comes down in time.

• Rev. 6—we have the beginning of the seven seals

Let's follow those along and we will see how this connects. We're going to send you a chart of Daniel/Revelation so you can see how all of these things begin.

Remember: one week for the power of the civil authority, the beast (Dan. 9:27).

Revelation 6:1: "And I looked when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures say, like the sound of thunder, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, there was a white horse; and the one who was sitting on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer" (vs 1-2). This is the coming one-world movement.

You go online to churchathome.org; I just covered that in: What's Happening in Orthodox Christianity. They are all amalgamating, all of the religions. We don't know when this seal was opened, because this is not the kind of battle where there is warfare. This is a spiritual battle among the various churches, among the various religions.

The way we understand this is in Rev. 17, which also fits right here at the beginning with Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots, and she is gathered with her daughters. I just did a segment on churchathome.org on how they are all going to unite.

The second seal becomes very important; v 3: "And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come and see.' And another horse went out that was red; and power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth…" (vs 3-4).

We know that when they say peace and safety, sudden destruction comes (1-Thes. 5). How sudden? We don't know! How long is the peace and safety? We can look at it this way: he breaks the covenant in the middle of the week! That week is seven years long. Peace, worldwide, is for three and a half years, then sudden destruction comes; that ties in with Dan. 11.

Let's see how the prophecies go way back before the beginning and come right up to that same time at the end of the chapter. Rev. 12 is actually the chapter that contains the history, going way back before the creation of the world, because it's a description of God's plan.

Revelation 12:1: "Then there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And being with child…" (vs 1-2).

This comes right down from the beginning of God's plan to Christ. An amazing thing! We have:

• the beginning
• then Adam and Eve
• then their sin
• then the prophecy of the Messiah

"…she cried in travail, and was in pain to deliver. And another sign was seen in heaven…" (vs 2-3)—Satan the devil!

This goes back in time to where he rebelled and took a third of the angels with him, and then comes up to our age, comes up to the time when Jesus was to be born and He was born. The dragon, the devil, wanted to destroy Him.

Verse 5: "And she gave birth to a man Child, Who was to shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron… [that's why we know it's Christ] …and her Child was caught up to God and His throne."

• His life
• His death
• His crucifixion
• His resurrection

All in that one sentence! Sometimes we have to take a sentence here and go back to other places in the Bible to get the full story. We'll see that all the way through here.

Verse 6: "And the woman escaped into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days."

If you have the DVD: Israel of the Alps, (produced by Seventh Day Adventist Church), this is a good understanding of what that is. The Church fled and was in the wilderness of the mountains of northern Italy and all through that area. They did a great work, as brought out by the Church of Thyatira. They suffered great persecution. We will have more on that later this year.

Verse 7: "And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels warred against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels warred. But they did not prevail, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out…" (vs 7-9).

This happens just before the Tribulation. He was cast out. He's the one who is deceiving the whole world.

"And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. And I heard a great voice in heaven say, 'Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ…'" (vs 9-10—when he is put away.

So, this projects forward. It covers some other Scriptures showing the battles and things that Christ is going to be directing.

"…because the accuser of our brethren has been cast down, who accuses them day and night before our God. But they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb, and through the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death. Therefore, rejoice you heavens and those who dwell in Them. Woe to those who inhabit the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, having great wrath because he knows that he has only a short time" (vs 10-12)—three and a half years.

The first thing Satan does, he comes after the Church. Here's where the Protestants get their misunderstanding of the rapture. They think that all the saints are going to be raptured away and not have to go through the Tribulation. But here it is; this goes right back to the time the abomination that makes desolation and the King of the North coming against the King of the South. All of those come together in this one area.

Verse 14: "And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, so that she might fly to her place in the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time… [three and a half years] …from the face of the serpent."

Why are some taken to a place of safety? Because Jesus said the Church would never die out! The days are going to be so terrible that it looks like all human flesh is going to die. So, He saves those alive and takes them to a place of safety. That's only part of the Church. Luke 17 tells us that it's going to be that the angels are going to take them. That's how they're going to fly there, because angels fly.

The serpent came after them, v 16: "But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed up the river that the dragon had cast out of his mouth. Then the dragon was furious with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her seed…[notice what they do]: …who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (vs 16-17).

That brings us down to the fifth seal, from the second seal through to the fifth seal, which are all contained there. Back to Rev. 6 where the war breaks out, when He opens the second seal.

Revelation 6:4: "And another horse went out that was red; and power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth, and to cause them to kill one another; and a great sword was given to him." This blends forward into the trumpet plagues, and then clear on into the last seven plagues!

Verse 5: "And when He opened the third seal…" There's famine; there's death.

Verse 7: "And when He opened the fourth seal… [there was continuing of the war] (v 8): And I And I looked, and behold, there was a pale horse; and the name of the one sitting on it was Death, and the grave followed him; and authority was given to them over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and with famine and with death, and by the beasts of the earth" (vs 7-8).

With all of this going on, other things are taking place, other Scriptures must apply in different areas of this. Then we find the fifth seal with the martyrdom of the saints, which ties in with:

Revelation 12:17: "Then the dragon was furious with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

What is the testimony of Jesus Christ? That God is God and Satan is not God, and it doesn't matter if you take our heads off or kill us, because God is going to resurrect us.

We're going to see some things in Rev. 14 that are not completely in chronological order. There are things that are called inset, to give us an understanding. So here we have it.

Revelation 14:1: "And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb standing on Mount Sion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads." We will see that there is a different 144,000 in Rev. 7!

Verse 2 describes that they will be resurrected: "Then I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of great thunder; and I heard the sound of lyre players playing their lyres. And they were singing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders.… [this is the resurrection] … And no one was able to learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth" (vs 2-3).

We will see that the 144,000 in Rev. 7 were redeemed from the twelve tribes of Israel and great innumerable multitude. Notice what it describes concerning these, which brings up a possibility:

Verse 4: "These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; they are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, and no guile wasfound in their mouths; for they are blameless before the throne of God" (vs 4-5).

That shows the resurrection! So, this is not in chronological order. However, this is different from the 144,000 in Rev. 7. It says here in Rev. 14 that these are virgins. What does that mean? That they were not involved in the sins of the churches down through time that we find in Rev. 2 and 3:

• you find losing your first love
• you find eating things sacrificed to idols
• you find the deeds of the Nicolaitans
• you find the works of Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess
• you find that she seduced those in the Church

In order words, they committed temporary fornication, though they repented of it, because all of it is repent! Isn't that what God says to all of them? Except Smyrna and Philadelphia! Keep that in mind!

Speculation: Could this 144,000 (Rev. 14) constitute the bride of Christ who is a virgin? Remember, not all are going to be the bride. There are going to be some who are invited to come, who will receive eternal life. These are the ones who are part of the first resurrection, but not part of the bride! We'll have to wait and see if that may be true, that's why this is speculation.

Here we have something that takes place, right at the beginning of the second seal:

Verse 6: "And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people… [human beings no longer able to really preach] …saying with a loud voice…" (vs 6-7).

Here is a final warning. This has to be just right at the time that the second seal is opened, a warning from God:

"…'Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters'" (v 7).

This would apply to the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude who repent, but it's a warning to the whole world. This is why it can never be said that there is a secret second-coming of Jesus Christ. Not so! We'll see that in a bit.

Verse 8: "Then another angel followed, saying… [this has to be before Babylon is falling, a warning it's going to fall] …'The great city Babylon is fallen, is fallen, because of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, which she has given all nations to drink.'…. [Rev. 17] …And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives the mark in his forehead or in his hand'" (vs 8-9).

This has to be before the imposition of the mark of the beast as a mandatory thing. You never give a warning after an event takes place. So, this has to be right after the beginning of the second seal, or maybe just before it.

Verse 10: "He shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God…" [that we find in the seven last plagues] …which is mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath; and he shall be tormented… [whoever takes the mark of the beast] …in fire and brimstone in the sight of the Holy angels, and of the Lamb…. [they have to come to repentance] …And the smoke of their torment ascends into the ages of eternity…" (vs 10-11).

You know that anything that escapes the gravitational pull of the earth, and goes out into the universe, goes out and out forever. We know that with some of the satellites that they send out there and send into space. They've looked at all of the planets in our solar system and have gone way out to the outer reaches of space, as we know it, and measure it.

Verse 13 has to be before the martyrdom of the saints, the fifth seal and Rev. 12:17:

Verse 13: "And I heard a voice from heaven say to me, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from this time forward.…'" That could not be at the end just before Jesus returns. This has to be right at the beginning, before the martyrdom of the saints occurs. So, that's the fifth seal and Rev. 12:17.

"…Yes, says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors; and their works follow them." (v 13). It stops right here, jumps way ahead, which is the first resurrection.

We'll come back to Rev. 14:15 in a little bit, because we will see this is a description of the first resurrection. But other events in the book of Revelation must take place. Let's see those events that take place. We're not going to get in-depth in them, but here we come to the sixth seal.

The sixth seal, as we described on Pentecost, happens at the end of two full years of the last three and a half years. We find that in Hosea 5 and 6; that after two days He will raise us up and in the third day He will revive us. This means that when this takes place, and we come to the 144,000, that this takes place just before that. The sixth seal is going to be a tremendous and awesome earth-shaking thing that is going to shake the earth to its very foundation.

So, you see how this is exactly like Isa. 28 says: line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. We have to put it together.

Revelation 6:12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake…"

There are five major earthquakes here in the book of Revelation. Then we find the sixth and final one in Zech. 7 when Christ and the saints come back to the earth. Jesus' foot goes on the Mount of Olives and it splits it in two from the north to the south. Here the sixth seal opens the revelation of the return of Christ in absolute power. This is going to be startling and absolutely earth-shaking for all the world.

"…and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind" (vs 12-13).

We have no concept of what that is going to be like. The whole earth is going to be shaken out of its place. That's why it says that no one knows the day or the hour, only My Father in heaven knows, because there are so many events that take place that time is eschewed with it.

Sidebar: Remember the great earthquake that happened in Japan. That changed time by a fraction of a second because the impact of the earth was so much that it affected its movement and rotation.

Think about what's going to happen here. Everything is going to be discombobulated. They're going to be fighting, they're going to be warring; they're going after each other.

This event is going to be absolutely stunning, v 14: "Then the heaven departed like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.… [by that great earthquake] …And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains" (vs 14-15).

They are going to be literally scared out of their wits. They're going to know this is of God. However, like all things that human beings do, when the event ends, they change their minds. Very interesting.

Verse 16: "And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 16-17). No one does!

Sidebar: Remember when Jesus Christ died. What happened? There was a great earthquake and the veil covering the front of the temple—which was huge and massive, about 72-feet tall, and hung on a three-ton lintel from the top of the temple—each one of the segments, twelve of them, were for the twelve tribes of Israel. That was ripped right down the middle.

What did the centurion say when he saw these things and heard the earthquake? Yes, you can hear earthquakes. He said, 'Truly, this is the Son of God.' When Jesus died and left physical life for eternal life—and He had to be dead for three days in the grave—the temple veil was ripped to show that men will now have access to God directly, and not through the temple. When Christ returns, how does He return? He rips the heavens apart and the sign of the Son of man appears!

(go to the next track)

On Pentecost I covered Rev. 7 in great detail and I covered the sign of the Son of man, being another sun that appears in the heavens, because it shines from the east to the west like the sun.

This is to give men a chance to repent, because God wants repentance if they're willing to choose it (Rev. 8 and 9). They are so intent in their evil and being led by Satan the devil in these furious wars against each other that they don't repent. I'm not going to go through Rev. 8-10 because I covered those somewhat and I will cover them in more detail for the Feast of Trumpets.

Trumpets 1-7, the only place in the Bible where there is a sequence of trumpets, where we can know the first one and the last one. The last one is the 7th one and that's when the resurrection takes place.

Rev. 11—because we need to understand something and see how we can figure out the proper chronology. I might mention, we're going to send you the small version of the chart, showing the last seven years in the sequence of all of the events of Revelation put together on one page. Then on the backside of it, we have it all listed out according to how the events fit on the Calculated Hebrew Calendar when we come to the end.

Rev. 11 gives us another clue as to what God is doing. We will see why there is a difference between the timing of days and the timing of months.

Revelation 11:1: "Then the angel gave me a measuring rod like a staff, saying, 'Arise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it.'"

John knew when he wrote this down and was putting it together that the temple had been destroyed. He was not able to rise and measure the temple. In vision he measured the temple, so that's why he wrote concerning the abomination of desolation (Matt. 24, Mark 13): the one who reads, let him understand. The temple was destroyed in 70A.D. and there's no way that the temple was existing during the time of John. He knew this had to be for a future time.

Verse 2: "But leave out the court that is within the temple area, and do not measure it because it has been given up to the Gentiles; and they shall trample upon the Holy city for forty-two months"—three and a half years!

But the months are different than days, because on the Calculated Hebrew Calendar, you have one month at 30 days, another one at 29, another at 30, another at 29. So, in that sequence you're missing three days; it's counted differently.

I asked the question when I first thought of this, which was a number of years ago, why does it say 42 months and:

Verse 3: "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

Why is one 42 months and one is 1,260 days? Forty-two months is also given in Rev. 13 where after the beast is wounded to death and revived:

Revelation 13:5: "And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies… [that's when he says, 'I'm God on earth'] …was given to him, and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months"—after the deadly wound was healed.

How do we know when these begin? It's hard to tell by looking for the beginning! But if we know when the end is for the two witnesses, and the end is for the beast and the false prophet. Let's begin with the beast and the false prophet. They're destroyed when Christ and the saints literally come back to the earth. They are cast into the Lake of Fire. That occurs on the Feast of Trumpets when the whole army of God returns from heaven to take over the world.

You count backwards 42 months and you find where in the middle of the 7 years, 42 months, he becomes like a beast and goes into the temple and says he is 'God.' If you look at the chart, that's right around Passover time in the middle of the 7 years! What a time for him to go into the temple and say he's God.

For the two witnesses, when does their ministry end? After 1,260 days! Then what happens? Three and half days their bodies lie in the street unburied (Rev. 11). You take 1,260 plus 3-1/2 and that's 1,264 days. When does that end? That ends when they're resurrected to their feet and then taken up into heaven, which begins the first resurrection, which happens on Pentecost.

We have the beast and the false prophet die on Trumpets, but the two witnesses end their 1263-1/2 days at the beginning of the first resurrection, which is on Pentecost.

So, there's a difference of 4-1/2 months. The 42 months depict the reign of evil. The 1,260 days for the two witnesses puts them starting right after the Feast of Tabernacles, but before winter.

What did Jesus say? Don't let your flight be in the winter or on the Sabbath Day! That's why it's 1,260 days, which applies to a different segment of time given to the two witnesses. Forty-two months are given to the beast and the false prophet.

Let's come over here and see how this is. Rev. 11 goes back in time to pick it up and come through to the time of the first resurrection. These are the last two that are martyred, who will be the first two who are resurrected. It will start in the sight of the whole world! Think of that!

Revelation 11:8: "And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified…. [that's Jerusalem] …Then those of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations shall see their bodies three and a half days, for they will not allow their bodies to be put into tombs" (vs 8-9).

How are they going to do that? I think it's going to happen because everyone's going to have cell phones! They're going to be able to see it. The beast is going to proclaim and the false prophet is going to endorse it—a day of rejoicing because these who have tormented us are dead. They will see the bodies.

That's why there is Wi-Fi being put around the whole world. God wants this to be a witness to every single man and woman who is still alive at that time. There is going to be no doubt that this is the hand of God. There is going to be no question that this is the resurrection from God.

Verse 10: "'And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and will make merry, and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth.' Then after the three and a half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies saw them rise. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake. And the rest were filled with fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately (vs 10-14).

Here's the seventh angel sounding, the trumpet. Notice, this is the seventh trumpet, the last trumpet. What does it say?

Verse 15: "'Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.'" That ties in with Isa. 9 that the government shall be upon His shoulders forever.

Verse 16: "And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 'We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned'" (vs 16-17).

Now then, everything is in the control of Jesus Christ and God the Father. It tells us that the resurrection is going to continue:

Verse 18: "For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to all those who fear Your name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth." Then the resurrection is going to take place.

• Rev. 12 we've already covered
• Rev. 13 tells about the beast and what happens and where that ends

Let's look at Rev. 14:14 because this talks about the first resurrection. The two witnesses will be raised first. This follows in sequence in that time. There's part of it here, part of it there, part in this chapter, part up here, part down there. We put it all together according to the events. So, here's the event:

Revelation 14:14: "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and one like the Son of man sitting on the cloud, having a golden crown on His head; and in His hand was a sharp sickle." We're likened to a grain harvest. What do you harvest with? You use a sickle!

Verse 15: "And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, because the time has come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' And He Who was sitting on the cloud thrust forth His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped" (vs 15-16).

Now the resurrection takes place; the angels take the saints and bring them up to the Sea of Glass, which is over Jerusalem. As I said on the Day of Pentecost, it begins just before the next to the last Pentecost with the sign of the Son of man, that second sun, in the heavens. Now it's there; the earth is turning. The people will get familiar with it, and think it isn't going to be a threat to the earth, so they go about busy with their wars and everything that they are doing.

What's going to happen just before the first resurrection, and this is going to startle the world greatly, even more than it already is. Because here this second sun will come streaking toward the earth. Everyone is going to scared out of their wits that it's going to crash into the earth. There will be great destruction, maybe even destroy the whole world. However, just before it gets over Jerusalem BAM! It spreads out into a great Sea of Glass. That is necessary for all the saints to be carried up to the Sea of Glass.

We know there is a sea of glass (Exo. 24). We know that in the books of Ezekiel and Isaiah, as well as Rev. 4 and 5. We're going to be resurrected and meet Christ in the air, in the clouds, to the joyful meeting with the Lord. Very important for us to understand!

1-Thessalonians 4:14: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in exactly the same way also, those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him."

How can He bring them with Him until the resurrection? They have to be raised from the dead first!

Verse 15: "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep, because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God… [the last trump] …and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord" (vs 15-17).

It's going to be a great meeting. It's going to be an extended meeting. As I covered on Pentecost, all the things that are going to take place on that great Sea of Glass. So, Rev. 14:14-15 has to be the first resurrection.

Revelation 15:1: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is filled up."

We're going to read about that because the saints are given the privilege—all saints resurrected from the dead, on the Sea of Glass—to view down on the earth and see the seven last plagues poured out, the vengeance of God.

Why will the world still be fighting Christ? Because they're going to look at this Sea of Glass as a massive invasion of the earth by aliens from outer space! It is true, we will be aliens to them, but not as the world thinks. So, they will be in a great last attempt trying to save themselves.

Verse 2: "And I saw a sea of glass mingled with fire... [Was there a Sea of Glass under the throne of God (Rev. 4)? Yes, indeed!] …and those who had gotten the victory over the beast..."  When did the beast first start? With Satan entering the Garden of Eden!

• Did Abel overcome? Yes!
• Did Enoch overcome? Yes!
• Did Noah overcome? Yes!
• Did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob overcome? Yes!

Keep all of that in mind!

They will be part of the first resurrection, having great and important positions within the Kingdom of God, greater than any of us, greater than any of the apostles. We're going to be given cities and regions and different administrative jobs.

"…and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the Sea of Glass, having the lyres of God" (v 2).

That answers the question, if we're going to meet Christ in the air, where are we going to meet Him? What is going to take place on the Sea of Glass? I covered that on Pentecost:

• we're going to be given our names
• we're going to be given our assignments
• we're going to know what God wants us to do

The very first thing that's going to happen when we're all there on the Sea of Glass—because it talks about here the temple of God—the temple of God in heaven above will come down close to the earth for the sake of the resurrection. After we're resurrected from the dead, will we see God the Father? But of course, He wants to see all of His children!. Jesus Christ is going to say, 'Behold, the children which You have given Me, Father' (Heb. 2).

Here are all the saints out there. What a ceremony that's going to be! What do you think about that? This is going to be the greatest time ever! We will remember this day and this time from Pentecost to Trumpets, where all of these things take place on the Sea of Glass and we see the seven last plagues poured out by the angels of God. Then we come back to the earth.

Verse 3: "And they were singing the song of Moses… [showing all of those saved concerning the Old Testament] …the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great and awesome are Your works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints. Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You only are Holy; and all the nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been revealed'" (vs 3-4).

All the nations are going to be brought in under the control of God. We read that in the Old Testament pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles.

What we're talking about here, if you want to look at it this way, phase one of the return of Christ begins with the sign of the Son of man, the sun in the heavens. Phase one is finished after we receive all of the things we need to on the Sea of Glass. We're going to see the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place.

This is going to be a fantastic time, indeed. This is going to be one of the most marvelous times that we will ever experience up to that point. We don't know what it's going to be like on down into the ages of eternity and what that will be like. This will be fantastic!

Verse 5: "And after these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened." Yes, coming directly from God! We'll see that.

Here we all are. I don't know how many there are going to be in the resurrection, but we know there are going to be plenty. How many of the great innumerable multitude will there be? We don't know but God knows! That's going to be a tremendous thing for us to understand.

Verse 6: "And the seven angels who had the seven last plagues came out of the temple; they were clothed in linen, pure and bright, and girded about the chest with golden breastplates. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, Who lives into the ages of eternity…. [this is going to be so astounding] …And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no one was able to enter inside the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled" (vs 6-8).

• Rev. 16 is right toward the end of the time from the resurrection of Pentecost.

We don't know how long these things are going to take. It is four and a half months from Pentecost to Trumpets. Look at the things that are going to happen with the wrath of God. I want you to think how terribly the earth is going to be in such a horrible condition. We're going to have to straighten it out! We'll have the power to straighten it out. Christ is going to tell us what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. It's going to be something!

• we're going to have to heal people
• we're going to have to make people well

All of that sort of thing takes place when we come back to the earth. But let's look at the seven last plagues, takes place from the end of the first resurrection until Trumpets, when we come back to the earth and literally stand with Christ on the Mount of Olives.

• Rev. 17 is an inset chapter
• Rev. 18 is an inset chapter
• Rev. 19 picks it up from the end of Rev. 16

So again, it's not all in chronological order. Some parts are. Let's see what applies to Rev. 16 , but first:

Revelation 14:15: "And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, because the time has come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' And He Who was sitting on the cloud thrust forth His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped…. [first resurrection] …Then another angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the temple that is in heaven" (vs 15-17).

What is this? This is the introduction of the seven last plagues! The fate that is going to come upon them which is that if you fight against God, you're going to die.

Verse 18: "And out from the altar came another angel, who had authority over fire; and he called with a loud cry to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, 'Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the earth, because her grapes are fully ripe.'" This is the grapes of the world!. This is coming against the world!

Verse 19: "And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast its fruit into the great winepress of the wrath of God"—Joel 2 and 3, and other prophecies in the Old Testament! We'll cover that when we get to the time of the Feast of Trumpets.

Verse 20: "And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood spewed out from the winepress as high as the horses' bridles, to the distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs."

Quite a thing! Why? We're going to see that all the armies of the world are going to get there! We go from the end of Rev. 14 over to the beginning of Rev. 16, which then is the seven last plagues and the angel in Rev. 14 introduces them:

Revelation 16:1: "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, 'Go and pour out the vials of the wrath of God onto the earth.' And the first angel went and poured out his vial onto the earth; and an evil and grievous sore fell upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon those who were worshiping his image" (vs 1-2). Exactly like the warning said back in Rev. 14!

The first four come out real quickly, v 3: "And the second angel went and poured out his vial into the sea; and it became blood, like that of a dead man; and every living soul in the sea died."

All the animals in the sea are called living souls. They're all going to die. Can the soul die? Yes! Think what that's going to be like. God is going to have to purify the whole world. What a task ahead of us when we first get back down to the earth. That's why we need to be up on the Sea of Glass to know what we're going to do, to be organized, to understand where we're going, to understand how it's going to be done.

Then before that, we're going to see these seven last plagues poured out. We're going to have the greatest task that has ever been in the history of the world to revive it and make it fit for the Millennium of God, the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Verse 4: "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers, and into the fountains of waters; and they became blood."

You want war? God will give it to you! People are going to be out there cursing God. 'Oh, why are You doing this?' Notice what the angel says.

Verse 5: "Then I heard the angel of the waters say, 'You are righteous, O Lord, Who are, and Who was, even the Holy One, in that You have executed this judgment'"—because they know what they've don't to the earth, down through all the centuries of time!

Verse 6: "'For they have poured out the blood of saints and of prophets, and You have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.' And I heard another voice from the altar say, 'Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments'" (vs 6-7). We're going to hear all of that. That's going to be something, quite a thing!

Verse 8: "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given to it to scorch men with fire. Then men were scorched with great heat; and they blasphemed the name of God, Who has authority over these plagues, and did not repent to give Him glory" (vs 8-9). If there's no repentance, it's going to come!

Verse 10: "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain."

Just like it was in Egypt. They couldn't see each other, but they were filled with pain with the darkness.

Verse 11: "And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; yet, they did not repent of their works. And the sixth angel poured out his vial into the great River Euphrates; and its waters were dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared. Then 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... [last ditch try to finally conquer the invaders from outer space] …for they are spirits of demons working miracles, going forth to the kings of the earth, even of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of the Almighty God" (vs 11-14).
How long is it going to take those armies to come? It's going to be quite a thing! It's going to be the last-ditch effort for every nation that there is, every army, every navy, every air force, all of those are coming. They are going to try and get rid of this great sea of glass up in the heavens, but there's nothing they can do. They're going to try. They're going to say, 'You better all come, because if you don't, we won't be able to survive this, and the aliens from outer space are going to take over and we're going to lose everything. You have to come and rescue the world.'

Then here's a little warning for all of us. This is a warning to the Laodiceans: don't be complacent, don't give up, but repent!

Verse 15: "Behold, I come as a thief…. [inset, a warning] …Blessed is the one who is watching and is keeping his garments, so that he may not walk naked and they may not see his shame.'"

A warning! If you don't this to come upon you, then you do what I tell you and you repent! That goes clear back to the last part of Rev. 3.

Verse 16: "And he gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. Then the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 'IT IS FINISHED'" (vs 16-17).

The end of the rule of man and Satan the devil—it is finished! Now the Kingdom of God is going to rule.

Verse 18: "And there were voices and thunders and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake…"

Think how many earthquakes there are going to be. This earth is going to be literally upside down.

"…such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the nations fell…" (vs 18-19). Think about that!

Look at all the cities with their buildings and towers and everything. The final destruction is going to come. What hadn't fallen in the other earthquakes, is now going to be brought to vast destruction and ruins. There's probably going to be well over 50% of all human beings that have suffered death, through beginning with the seals, and then the trumpet plagues, and the seven last plagues! This is going to be awesome indeed. What a work this is going to be. What a task that is set out before us.

This is why we need to really work and study and pray and grow and overcome, to realize we are being qualified by God the Father for the greatest project in the history of the world up that point!

• to help administer the Kingdom of God on earth
• to put an end to violence
• to put an end to war
• to put an end to disease

We will have the supernatural powers as sons and daughters of God to do so.

• to restore
• to heal
• to tell them to worship God in heaven above

This is going to be something!

Verse 21: "And great hail, each stone the weight of a talent… [180 pounds] … fell down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague was exceedingly great." We don't know how many times this will be, but:

• we are going to be the victors
• we are going to be the conquerors
• we are going to be those who are with God
• who love God
• who serve Him
• who now have the power to restore the earth

Here we are on the Sea of Glass, Revelation 19:1: "And after these things I heard the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the honor and the power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments; for He hasjudged the great whore, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.' And they said a second time, 'Hallelujah! And her smoke shall ascend upward into the ages of eternity'" (vs 1-3).

There will be the specks of that smoke out there of the destruction forever. That's going to be quite a thing!

Verse 4: "And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, Who sits on the throne, saying, 'Amen. Hallelujah!" That shows the temple came right down to the Sea of Glass! And we see all of this.

Verse 5: "And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God, all His servants, and all who fear Him, both small and great.'" Isn't that something? That will be us on the Sea of Glass!

Verse 6: "And I heard a voice like that of a great multitude… [this tells about all those who are in the first resurrection; a great multitude] and like the sound of many waters, and the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty has reigned. Let us be glad and shout with joy; and let us give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready'" (vs 5-7).

What a fantastic thing that is going to be. Brethren, whether we're part of the bride or whether we're the guests, we'll all receive eternal life and glorify God!

Verse 8: "And it was granted to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he said to me, 'Write…" (vs 8-9).

• that's why it's written down
• that's why we have it
• that's why it's translated into so many languages
• that's why the Bible is spread across the face of the earth

It's greater than any book in the history of the world because it's from God. God is going to make this known because this is the greatest event that's going to take place. Brethren, understand that God has called us to be a part of this. This should make us excited and really striving to grow, change and overcome.

"…'Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.' And I fell at his feet to worship him. Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do this! I am a fellow servant of yours, and of your brethren, who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy'" (vs 9-10).

That fills in the gap from the resurrection of Pentecost, right on down to Trumpets! So this is quite a thing that takes place.

God's Word is true. It's going to happen, whether we are alive until the resurrection comes or whether we die in the faith. It makes no difference, because all of the saints will be resurrected and we will be there, all of us together, with God the Father and Jesus Christ, the twenty-four elders, the four living creatures and all the angels of God.

Think what it's going to be when that is all over and done with, up on the Sea of Glass, and we sing the departing hymn, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty'! Then Jesus said, 'Now, let's go!' That will take us up to Trumpets.

I hope this helps you understand how the book of Revelation is put together—part here, part there—and how it all fits together into one beautiful picture!

Scriptural References:

• Isaiah 28:12-13, 9-10
• Daniel 9:26-27
• Daniel 11:40-41
• Daniel 12:1, 8-10
• Revelation 1:10-11, 17-20
• Revelation 6:1-4
• Revelation 12:1-3. 5-12, 14-17
• Revelation 6:4-5, 7-8
• Revelation 12:17
• Revelation 14:1-11, 13
• Revelation 6:12-17
• Revelation 11:1-3
• Revelation 13:5
• Revelation 11:8-18
• Revelation 14:14-16
• 1-Thessalonians 4:14-17
• Revelation 15:1-8
• Revelation 14:15-20
• Revelation 16:1-19, 21
• Revelation 19:1-10

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 2-Timothy 2:15
• John 6:45
• 2-Thessalonians 2
• Revelation 5
• 1-Thessalonians 5
• Luke 17
• Revelation 7; 2; 3
• Hosea 5,6
• Zechariah 7
• Isaiah 8-10
• Matthew 24
• Mark 13
• Exodus 24
• Hebrews 2
• Joel 2; 3

Also referenced:

DVD: Israel of the Alps (produced by Seventh Day Adventist Church)

Series (churchathome.org): What's Happening in Orthodox Christianity

FRC:lp
Transcribed: 6-4-18
Formatted: bo—6/5/18

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