Fred R. Coulter - May 22, 1994
This is number two in a series of the outline of the book of Revelation. And we have come to a part in Revelation 16 where the battle of Armageddon occurs. And that’s when the ten kings receive their power one hour with the beast to make war with the Lamb. Now let’s come to Revelation 13, and let’s look at the last beast. There’s an awful lot here for us. There are a lot of symbologies that are involved in it, which is going to tell us a great deal.
Let’s pick it up here in Revelation 13:1. Remember that the beast of Revelation 13 comes out of the seventh head of Revelation 17. Now, in the book of Revelation we find this pattern, don’t we? We find the seven churches, we find the seven seals, out of which come the seven trumpet plagues, out of which comes the seven last plagues. So we have the same situation with Satan’s system. When we started in Revelation 12 we saw that it was seven heads and ten horns. Then we came to Revelation 17, and what did we see? Seven heads and ten horns with the woman. So we have God on the one hand with the symbol of Israel, being a woman. We have Satan with the counterfeit on the other hand with his whore, called Babylon the Great, and his god called the beast. And it is identified with seven and ten.
All the way down through the history we find that the system of Satan is identified by seven and ten. It’s like with the seven resurrections of the Roman Empire, the ten districts of the Roman Empire. Because that is a mark of his system, seven plus ten. We have the Club of Rome, which is seven. We have the ten regions of the world, which is ten. We have the United Nations which has the Security Council, which now has fifteen members on it. Five are permanent, ten are rotating. However, don’t be surprised if we do not see Germany and Japan added as the sixth and seventh permanent member of the Security Council. Then we would have seven and ten. In the meditation room of the United Nations is every religious symbol of this world, from all of the pagan religions. And that comes from Gnosticism. Gnostics are the ones who know. Comes from the Greek, “gnosis.” So Satan has all of his different systems. They are there. When God gives him permission to bring them all together, then we’re going to have this one world system with religion and government.
Now let’s come to Revelation 13. Because here is something that is really very important. Verse 1, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea,...” Now we know that the many waters of Revelation 17 are defined as “multitudes of peoples, and nations, and tongues, and languages.” The sea represents the sum total of the humanity of the earth, then. So this whole system is going to be encompassing the whole world. No nation will escape. Let’s go to Jeremiah 25. Hold your place here. We’ll be back in Revelation 13. Now what you need to do in tying this together is go through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and the other prophets, and just concentrate on the end-time prophecies, and structure them under two things: Babylon religion, Babylon government, and all the end-time events. Here’s part of it, worldwide events.
Let’s pick it up here, let’s pick it up here in verse 12. “And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.” That happened. And also as you’re going through here, understand that there is a first fulfillment, and a second fulfillment in many of these prophecies. Sometimes some prophecies happen over and over again, like with Israel’s sin and the punishment, and things.
Verse 13, “And I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.” (vs. 13-15). And this is the cup that then, not only Jeremiah takes, but in the second fulfillment it is the woman Babylon, where all nations drink of the cup of the wine of her fornication.
Verse 16, “And they shall drink,...” No one’s going to escape. “...And be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,…” No place on earth is going to escape. “…And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them” (vs. 16-26). Now, Sheshach has never been found in history. So this is a prophecy for the end time.
“Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth” (vs. 27-30). Revelation 14. Treading the grapes of the wrath of God. That’s what it is there.
“A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground” (vs. 31-33).
Let’s go to Isaiah 13 for just a minute, to show that this final Babylon is going to be worldwide. Verse 1, “The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.” And he talks about all the things that are going to happen. Come down to verse 6, “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt; and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames” (Isa. 13:1, 6-8).
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the gold and wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, and the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger” (vs. 9-16).
So that helps finish off Revelation 16 for us, but also connects with Revelation 13. And you read in Revelation 6 how that one-fourth of the earth, the population is killed, then many more are killed. Then you read that one-third of the remainder are killed, so that takes half of all humanity, minimum, up until the time of the seven last plagues. So it’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be awesome.
Now let’s see how this system develops. Revelation 13:1, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea,...” This is going to look like a worldwide democratic movement. And isn’t that what we’re seeing? Right up... (Audience comment) But it’s the same old system, rearranged. Let’s go on. “...And saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”
Now hold your place here, and just turn back, or look across the page to Revelation 12:3, and we’ll see something that’s interesting. “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Now this one, the crowns are on the ten horns instead of the seven heads. (Audience comment) Yes. It shows that the power has shifted downward. Other than that, I don’t know exactly what it means, but it shows that the system has been adjusted. Damage control. Good way to put it.
Now let’s read, and we’ll see how this last system is going to be the greatest of every civilizations combined. “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,...” And every one of these things are listed in Daniel 7. So in order to understand this you must understand Daniel 7. “ ...Like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power,...” And the Greek there is dunamis, meaning power. “...And his [throne] seat,...” “Seat” actually means throne; “...and [his] great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast” (Rev. 13:1-3). So again, notice how it is the whole world involved. So when we say prophecies are speeding up, we may not necessarily really understand what’s happening because we are not thinking big enough.
“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed:...” Now we’ll talk about that in just a bit. “...And all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon...” So all the world is going to come to worship Satan. That’s what all of these religions coming together are - worshiping Satan the devil. “...Which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast,...” (vs. 3-4). Nowhere does it say that they worshiped the false prophet. The beast. The civil authority. The representative of God. He must have a false prophet to legitimize him. That’s why the Pope always coronated the emperor.
“...Saying, Who is like unto the beast?...” “This is the greatest man that has ever come along. He is marvelous! He is wonderful! Look at the miracles. He can bring all the world together. Who has ever done this? Who has ever heard of this?” “...Who is able to make war with him?” (vs. 4). Now I’ll give you a thought to shudder over. It has been suggested that the way to bring peace on the earth is to turn all nuclear weapons over to the control of the United Nations. Think on that for a while. (Audience comment) The comment was made, “They almost have it.” Yes. Think on that. Who could make war against the United Nations if they had all the power? So never have we been at a time when we can see these possibilities. This is something.
Now verse 5. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Now, to continue after he came back to life. That’s what that means. So he’s going to continue forty and two months after he comes back to life. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven” (vs. 5-6). Now then, right here you need to plug in 2 Thessalonians 2. Because the man thatgoes into the temple of God to say he is God, who is worshiped above all things that are called God, is the beast power, not the Pope.
Now let’s go to 2 Thessalonians for just a minute. We won’t go through the whole thing, because I’m sure that all of us are at least familiar with it, where he goes into the temple of God and saying that he is God. Now what I want to point out is here, in verse 6. “And now ye know what [is holding back] withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity [is already working] doth already work: only he [the one] who now [letting, or that is letting] letteth…” (vs. 6-7); or that is, containing; the one who holds back or restraints. I believe this: that the restraint has been removed. And that’s why all of these things are going forward. How long it will take, I don’t know. (Audience comment) Well, it was probably Christ Who was holding back to a certain time. Or, maybe even God the Father in His plan, that He’s not going to let Satan get carried away with his end-time plan until it’s time. (Audience comment) Yes. Comment was made that the world is getting more and more lawless and less believing in any form of the true God, but the mystery of iniquity is the mystery religion, Mystery Babylon. Isn’t that - yes. See? You got it.
Now let’s continue. We’ll finish it here. “And then shall that Wicked [one] [shall] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:...” And that can only refer to the beast and the false prophet when he comes. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness...” And that’s permeating the whole world, isn’t it? The deceivableness everywhere. Everywhere. People are more concerned with image than truth. People are more concerned with the minute of comfort, regardless of how it comes. Gotcha.
Now, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” And this is what becomes critical and important for every Christian, that you love the truth, and that you don’t let in error that you begin to be deceived. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:…” (vs. 8-11). That’s what’s going to happen to the whole world. What does it say, Revelation 12:9? Satan is deceiving the whole world. Yes. It all ties together. This is unreal. The only way you could really put it altogether - and you can’t speak it all once because it’s like a pinpoint of everything connecting, and then all of these spokes are running into the center of it. And the center then being the end-time events. All of them coming together.
Let’s go back to Revelation 13 again. Revelation 13:7, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 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.” No protection there. Martyrdom. That’s why verse 9 is there. Notice, whenever anything important comes along, there’s this verse: “If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” Notice the next one. “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” (vs. 7-10). Is that telling us some of the saints are going to die by the sword because they’re going to fight with the sword? Possible. Question mark. Don’t know.
Now let’s look at the next beast. This is interesting. “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;...” So we’ve got the one coming out of the water from the people, now we have it coming out of the earth. Let’s look at this beast. “...And he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth all the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,…” (vs. 11-12). This is the false prophet who directs worship toward the beast, being the civil power.
To worship the first beast before him, “…and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;…” Going around in twos. So whenever the beast and false prophet are together, the false prophet has the power to do signs and miracles, and deceives the whole world with it. “...Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live” (vs. 12-14). And always the image has been the goddess. It’s always been the image of the beast.
“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,...” Can you imagine what it would be to be able to have a speaking Virgin Mary, or a speaking Sofia? Maybe they have one giant statue that they build and he miraculously causes it to speak. Not just using mechanical or technical means, but a literal demonic miracle. Now notice what happens. “...And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (vs. 15). So that ties right back in over here, how are they going to know who they’re going to kill? The test is going to be, will you fall down and worship this image? Just like the test of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Right? Yes. They didn’t die. They came out alive, not even smelling smoky. (Audience comment) Comment was made, greatest statue in the world is the Statue of Liberty, and guess what’s on top of the Congress of the United States? Another statue of a woman of liberty. Let’s go on. Let’s continue now.
“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads;…” (vs. 16). And it actually means, “to be placed upon.” Epi. Upon. So it’s not going to be a fingerprint, it’s not going to be a voiceprint; it’s not going to be an eye print. It is not going to be a DNA code, unless it is encoded and enscripted and put on your wrist or on your forehead. They already have them. There’s plenty of material out, showing that they have that, and they can do it.
I went into Price Club - now Price Club is a little club, or big club, that we belong to where you get everything wholesale. And you have to have a card. And so I pulled out my wallet and I was fiddling around with my card, because you can’t get in without the card. And I said to myself, “I’m going to try something.” And I said, “Don’t you think this would be a whole lot easier if we just had something on our right hand with kind of a computer code in it, and just went like that and we could walk right in?” He said, “Oh yeah. That would make it so easy.” Not even a thought! Not even a thought! “Oh yes! That’s wonderful!” And I’ve thought about giving a sermon on the mark of the beast. I could give you 200 reasons why the mark of the beast will be the greatest thing the world has ever had. But I’m afraid that if I do, someone is going to excerpt out some of the sermon and say that Fred Coulter is for the mark of the beast. But I’m not, see. So I haven’t. So I’m going to give plenty of warning, so, and if I do give it, I’m going to make sure that I periodically say, “This is to show how the world will be deceived into taking it. And I do not believe in it.”
What does the mark of the beast do that is so anti-God? (Audience comment) Ok. Condemns you. Guarantees you loss of salvation. It is even more fundamental. That is true. That’s fundamental. But I mean, what it does is this: it takes away your choice. You give up your choice. And that’s something God never wants taken from anyone. Because He gave free moral agency. (Audience comment) So the whole lesson here is, brethren, never, never, never give your free moral agency to any other person, period. Never. God does not want you to surrender your free moral agency to Him. Do you realize that? God wants you to love Him because you choose to do so. God does not want you to give up your will; He wants your will to become His will, by you taking from Him, by choice, to put into your heart and mind. That’s how important free moral agency is.
So when the mark of the beast comes and they do it for the sake of living, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:...” It is of the beast, you see, “...for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (vs. 17-18). 666. Just like seven and ten follows Satan’s system, 666 follows the leaders that Satan uses. Always does.
Now let’s come to the chart. Covered an awful lot there. Notice, Revelation 13. The first beast, I have, “1 - 7 Heads & 10 Horns.” That’s the first beast. That’s the first major line that goes all the way across. And we come across in the first major line and it says, “Head wounded & revived & is 8th Head of Rev. 17 .” Then we continue down here where he is - I didn’t know exactly where this was going to happen, so I put two X’s. One in one place, one in another. Then the beast continues forty-two months to make war. We know the beast is destroyed in the lake of fire when Christ returns, so that’s the end, and you go back forty-two months.
Now let’s come to the other one. “2 - 2 Horned Beast.” And I put a little question mark here. “1st Horn - False Prophet.” Have we not always said that a horn equals a king? Yes. This second beast has two horns. Are there going to be two of this beast? So I put a question mark. “1st Horn - False Prophet.” “1st Horn dies?” “2nd Horn.” Is he the one that enforces the mark of the beast? I don’t know. But it’s just a thought. Because many prophecies occur in such a way that it looks like it isn’t going to happen, but it does, and when you turn around it’s already finished. So could it be that the first false prophet is going to come, he’s going to die, bang - another one comes up and he’s the one who does all the miracles? Possible. So I put that down there as a possibility. Then he dies at the same time that the beast is cast into the lake of fire.
Let’s come down to the next one. Revelation 16 and 18. These are combined together. Because it’s the seven last plagues and the judgment on Babylon. And then you just go clear down to the and where those take place right there. Revelation 19, Christ and the saints return. Revelation 20, Satan is bound for a thousand years. Oh yeah, “Christ & Saints Return,” “Beast & False Prophet cast into the Lake of Fire.” Revelation 20, Satan is bound for a thousand years, loosed after the thousand years. Come to the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and we’ll explain that in detail. And then Revelation 21 and 22, the completion of God’s plan.
(Audience Comment) Question has come up concerning the sea of glass, Revelation 5 and Revelation 14. So I’ll answer that before we get to the backside of the chart. Let’s go to Revelation 5 and open to Revelation – no, Revelation 4 and Revelation 15. I didn’t have the numbers correct, so if you’re confused, it’s my fault. Revelation 4, and then Revelation 15. The question is, is it the same sea of glass? So we have to ask another question: Is God only limited to one sea of glass? Or limited to a floor structure created of spirit essence that to us looks like a sea of glass? That would be a more proper definition of it. Well of course, God would not be limited. God is not limited. So we’re going to see that the sea of glass in Revelation 4 is different than the sea of glass in Revelation 15. One serves one function; the other one serves another function.
Revelation 4, and let’s pick it up here in, we’ll just pick it up here in verse 1. “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” So when the church, when it comes to the time that the church age is just about done, that’s when this takes place. The scenes in heaven which opened the last... (Audience comment) So in other words, this takes place just before the first seal is opened. Showing that all of this is going to come from the direction of God. So, “...I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” (vs. 1-3).
Now I cannot envision this myself at all. The description of these things and the colors of them are so fantastic that, especially me being colorblind, I have a hard time really comprehending all of it. But don’t ask me particular questions about it, because I don’t know any more than what is written here. And this is all John was allowed to write of it. So we have to try the best we can to view it. But I don’t know how you can have a rainbow, and it’s around the throne. The rainbow is around. Do you have the throne sitting here and the rainbow goes up and down under? Or it goes around? I could not tell you. I would assume it goes over the top and around the bottom with the sea of glass in the middle of it. That’s all I can make out of it.
“And round about the throne...” So here’s the throne of God, and then you have twenty-four thrones. The word “seats” is the same for throne: thronos. Twenty-four other thrones. “...And upon the [thrones] seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.” Now, I do not understand fully about the twenty-four elders, except that they appear to be created spirit beings that God has created, who are there for some particular function that God has for them to do. Exactly what it is, we are not told. Now we can make a lot of guesses, but those will all be guesses. So we won’t clutter it with guesses. Let’s go on.
“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” (vs. 1-5). And these are the seven spirits of God which go through the whole earth, and that’s how God keeps track of all the events that are going on the earth. God is not infinite. “Infinite” means God is everywhere, in all things, at all times. God is not everywhere, in all things, at all times. God is not in the floor, and in the ceiling, and in the fan, and in the lights, and in the air, and in the house, and in the trees, and in us, and in the animals. That’s infinite. God is not infinite. God is all powerful. There is a vast difference. This is how He keeps track of things on the earth.
Now, verse 6, “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four [living creatures] beasts full of eyes before and behind.” Now that would be an awesome sight. I would have to say I have no concept of how that would be to visualize it, myself. But this sea of glass is the floor of the throne room of God. That’s what this sea of glass is.
Now let’s go to Revelation 15. We’ll see this sea of glass is similar, but different. It has a different function, or purpose. Have you ever wondered when you are resurrected and you rise to meet Christ in the air, where are you going? Why meet Him in the air? And if you’re just going up there for a few hours and coming right back to the earth, why be resurrected to meet Him in the air? Because, you see, in the past it was understood that the resurrection would be on the Feast of Trumpets, and then you would come back the same day. Not so. As you saw for Pentecost, the trumpet is blown on every single holy day. And the trumpet on Pentecost is a distinct and powerful trumpet, right? Yes. The “last trump” doesn’t mean the trumpets quit sounding. The last trump is the seventh trump of the book of Revelation. When the resurrection takes place, which I am convinced the Bible teaches is on Pentecost. So if you’re resurrected and meet Christ in the air, what are you going to do, and where are you going to go? Well, it says we’re going to meet Him in the clouds. So this sea of glass comes down to whatever height God determines in the clouds.
Now I had a very wonderful experience landing here in the plane. We came down and came closer and closer and closer to the clouds, and he sort of cruised right along where I could look out the window, and we were just above the clouds. And I could look out and see all those clouds stretching out for quite a few miles. We were going along, and I was thinking about the clouds and the sea of glass. And then all of a sudden we dipped below the clouds, and there we could see the earth. So I think this is going to be the same thing. The sign of the Son of man is going to appear; it will be up in the heavens and look like it’s coming closer and closer to the earth for a whole year. From the next to the last Pentecost to the last Pentecost. And then the trumpets are blown, comes right down to the earth in the clouds, and then the sea of glass is formed there to receive all of the saints on the sea of glass.
Now let’s read here, Revelation 15:1. “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire:...” (Rev. 15:1-2). Now let’s compare that with chapter 5 for just a minute, and we will see that it is different. Chapter 4. Thank you. Not all of us are sleeping.
Part 2
Revelation 4, and let’s see this one again here. Revelation 4:6, “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal:...” This one is a sea of glass mingled with fire. An entirely different kind of sea of glass. What’s the difference? I don’t know. Except one says it’s like crystal, and the other one says it’s mingled with fire. Totally different complexion.
“...And them that had gotten the victory over the beast,...” Now how long has the beast system existed? From the beginning. Because the beast is Satan the devil. With the seven heads and ten horns, right? “...Over his image,...” Have there been images unto the beast before? Yes. Yes. So this includes all saints everywhere in all of history, have been resurrected. “...And over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses ... and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints” (Rev. 15:2-3).
I believe that when Christ returns on the sea of glass, number one, we’re going to be resurrected and meet Him in the air. Number two, we are going to be given our holy garments, which is the righteousness of the saints. Number three, we are going to be given our rewards and our assignments. Number four, Jesus Christ is going to be crowned as King, which means there is the possibility that at that time we may briefly see God the Father. Because we would be able to see Him, because we are the sons of God, born of the resurrection. Correct? God the Father, however, will not come back to the earth with Christ. Christ will come down and the Father will not return until the end of the millennium.
The marriage of the Lamb takes place. The marriage supper of the Lamb takes place. We are issued our horses (in case you haven’t been horseback riding lately). We are assembled in our armies, and then, Revelation 19, we come back to the earth on the Feast of Trumpets, being a space of about four months. And then the Beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, as we find here in the chart, right down at the end. And Satan is bound, and the millennium begins. We’re going to reign on the earth. The earth has already had 6,000 years of trouble and turmoil, plus or minus; we discussed a little bit about genealogies last night, how that genealogies are accurate if you know the exact day in the year when the person died. Otherwise, if he dies when he’s 70 years old, was he 70 years and three months? 70 years and six months? 70 years and 11 months? So that’s why you can’t go back and reconstruct an accurate genealogy; therefore, Usher’s chronology of the year 4004 being the year 2004 for us, is not correct.
Now let’s look at some interesting things. Let’s turn the chart over and go to the other side. And this is actually the chart that started both of these charts. And the biggest problem in prophecy - now let me ring my opinion bell here (rings bell). Officially recorded on the tape. The biggest problem in wrong prophecies is that people are trying to figure out when the things begin. But God doesn’t always tell us when something begins, does He? So we have to go on what we know. Now, if you’re starting to read this chart at the top and reading down, you are reading backwards. You must start at the bottom to the right, and we will go backwards. The reason being is, is that we know one thing for sure - the end, whenever it comes, is the end. That we know.
So what I did was, I said, “Ok. The end is the end.” Now you come right down here to the lower right-hand corner, and you see in the little box, “Trumpets Pictures Jesus Christ’s Return.” That is the Feast of Trumpets. It may not be exactly on that precise day, but it’s got to be pretty close to it. You come to the right, where you see that last little block, it says, “Tishri [being the seventh month] first 15 days.” What do we have in the fall festivals? We have immediately three things take place, don’t we? Trumpets, symbolizes the return of Christ; Atonement, picturing putting away Satan, where he is bound; and immediately, the millennium, the Feast of Tabernacles.
So we know that as soon as Satan is bound the millennium begins, or, the Feast of Tabernacles. So we have an ending. What year in history is this ending going to be? We don’t know. So therefore, this whole seven year chart must be worked backwards, without knowing any definite year. What we are describing are the known events within what we understand as the last seven years. We don’t know when the seven years begin; we don’t know when the seven years end. But we know that the end is the end. Correct?
Now let’s see what we can do that is interesting. I also did something a little different. I said this: Why are we so sure that in prophecy a year is 360 days? Other than the fact we were told that it was 360 days, right? There’s no other reason. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “A year in prophecy is 360 days.” Nowhere. So I said, “What calendar have we been using through the time we’ve been in the church?” The calculated Hebrew calendar. All right, why should I not then use the calculated Hebrew calendar as a guide? It may not be specifically accurate, but to do what we’re doing here it will be sufficiently accurate. So you have to understand that this chart is an approximation. But it’s interesting what happens once you start with that.
Now I also did one other thing. One main feature of the calculated Hebrew calendar is the 19-year time cycle. We’ve heard of that, haven’t we? (Audience comment) Yeah. That is the lunar-solar calendar. Right. The Hebrew calendar. So what I said, “If the end is the end, could it be that it’s also the end of a 19-year time cycle?” I don’t know. But at least, I said, it gives us a point, correct? (Audience comment) The question was asked, what about the Jubilee? I also think that the first, after Satan is bound on the Day of Atonement, begins the Great Jubilee: freedom from debt, freedom from slavery, freedom from sin, freedom from the demons. So that begins the Jubilee. So that answers your question there. Right after Christ returns, the Jubilee begins, liberty for the earth, liberty for everyone. Hey - all the debts are canceled. All the banks are broke. All the buildings have collapsed. All the cities are destroyed. Correct? Yes. You gotta have a Jubilee! (Laughter)
Now, so that’s why I have over here at the last Trumpets, “A Trumpet of Atonement.” By the way, when the Jubilee begins on the Day of Atonement, another trumpet is blown. See? Now, so what I did, I said, “Ok - the Hebrew calculated calendar alternates every month: 29 days, 30 days, 29 days, 30 days, 29.” So you will notice, going across each of these blocks representing one month has 29 or 30, 29, 30, 29, 30. Now you notice “1/30.” Come to the bottom right hand corner and work backwards. That’s what I want you to start on all of this. Bottom right hand corner and work backwards. You see 29, 30, 29, 30, 29, 30. This 30 has “1/30.” That means it’s the first month of the year in the spring. Then you go backwards: 29, 30, 30. The only time you have two 30-days is when there is the 13th month in the leap year of the lunar-solar calendar. Let’s continue: 29, 30, 29, and you come back to the first month of this last year, which then is “7/30,” which is the seventh month, being 30 days.
Now what I did was this. I said, “If it is a 19-year time cycle, let me count back, from the end, seven years.” So what I want you to do, again, start in the lower right hand corner, put your finger on it, and run all the way to the other side of the paper. See where it says, “19th Year Leap Year”? Now, you count back seven years and you go 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, and 13. Now I labeled each year: 19 is a leap year, 13 months. 18 is a common year, 12 months; 17 is a leap year, 13 months; 16, year 16, is a common year, 12 months. And then I give the number days. Because we’re going to count days, correct? Some prophecies are in days, right ? Yes.
Now notice we come all the way back to the beginning of year seven, and what do we have? Year 13. What is 13? Year of rebellion. The great apostasy and rebellion begins in the 13th year. You don’t have it guaranteed, but it’s interesting how it fits. Now let’s do something interesting here, Ok? Again, let’s come down to the lower right hand corner. Let’s come to where it says, “Trumpets Pictures Jesus Christ’s Return.” We already have seen what’s going to happen. The beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire when Christ sets His feet on the earth. Correct? So we will go back - that’s why I have the number of days. We will go back - run your finger back on that year, come all the way back a little further, and come up to the middle line. Come up to the middle one, Year 16. And I want you to come over to where it says, “42 months.” You see that? 42 months. You see that little square there which says, “42 months”? Ok. Everybody find it. Notice what I have. “42 months with 30 day variation possible...” Why? Because of the leap years that are there. Because the leap year sequence may be different. So you’ve got to give yourself a little hedge.
“...Beast revived counting from his destruction [backwards] (When [he is] cast into [the] lake of fire).” Now notice something very important. Look at that year in which the Beast revives back to power, when the deadly wound is healed. Notice what time of year that is. Between Passover and Pentecost. Correct? Yes. Now, let’s notice something very interesting, Ok? Now you count from the end going backward to the 1,290 days of Daniel, of cutting off the sacrifices. Right? Yes. See that? Come again to the same year where we found the beast revived. Go to the left where it says, “1/30”, and then the box that is right there which says, “10 Nisan 4 days before Passover...” cuts off the sacrifices; that’s 1,290 days from Trumpets, the sacrifice is cut off. Isn’t that profound?
What day is the 10th of Nisan? That’s the day to select the lambs for the temple Passover, right? Yes. Yes. So the beast comes in and stops the sacrifices, right? Now what are the Jews going to do when he does that just before Passover time? Will they be enraged? Whoo hoo hoo! Ok? I’m going to ring the bell again (rings bell). I believe that the Jews are going to get an assassination party to kill the beast. That’s how he gets his deadly wound. That’s why when he stops the sacrifices here, Nisan 10, shortly after that, he receives his deadly wound but comes back. And then in anger, goes into the temple of God and says, “I am God.” And the false prophet says, “Yea, verily, yea, he is God.”
Now, let’s come down to the lower right hand corner again, and let’s look at some other interesting things as we go along. Let’s come back from the lower right hand corner, and let’s come to the last Pentecost - “Resurrection of the First Fruits.” You see that little box right there? Pentecost, and then right above it “Resurrection of the First Fruits”? That’s on the lower line coming in from the right hand corner to the left. You see that? Ok. Now what I want you to do in looking at this, we will come back just a little bit. Come back to that Passover. Now how am I going to know what time the Passover is? I don’t know. So I said, “Perhaps this will be a midweek Passover.” So that’s why I have, “54 days Based on a Midweek Passover.” You see that right there in that section?
Now let’s do this. From the resurrection of the saints, let’s do a little more counting. Let’s come back, come back, come back, come up to the line where we were with the beast being revived. Come past where Nisan 10 was, and come over here to where you see “[Time, Times, & 1/2 a Time].” See that? Then you see, “1,260 days to Resurrection + 3.5 days.” You see that? That’s when the two witnesses begin. Notice, they begin just before the beast comes in and stops the sacrifices. That would be a proper place for them to begin, right?
Also notice that the 1,260 years coincides very closely to the time, times, and half the time of Revelation 12, where the church, the portion of the church goes to a place of safety. You see that just above there? Because the time, times, and half a time for the church ends when? At the resurrection, correct? Yes. Now, so let’s put these events together. Satan is cast down. Those who go to a place of safety go to a place of safety, and God raises up the two witnesses, almost simultaneous, right in Jerusalem. That makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? That makes a lot of sense.
Now let’s do this. We know - let’s continue right there, and go a little bit to the left. King of the north comes down against the king of the south. Let’s go to the left a little bit more. See the little block with “King of the South”? This is when the king of the south pushes at the king of the north. Now this is only an approximation. Let’s go a little bit further to the left. Notice what I have here: “32 days after Trumpets 1335 days to Resurrection.” Now let me tell you the significance of it here. Let’s go to Daniel 12 for just a minute. Let’s go to Daniel 12. I hope you can follow along with that chart. This is giving us an approximation as to when the events will occur. Remember, a chart is not dogmatic doctrine. But this is an approximation to give us some understanding.
Now let’s come to Daniel 12, the very last part of Daniel 12. Here’s where we get the 1,290 days. The 1,290 days has to do with the cutting off of the sacrifices. So it ends at a different point, and begins at a different point than the 1,235 days. Why? Because the 1,235 days ends at the resurrection. So therefore, it reaches back a little further than we have previously supposed. Now let’s read this. Verse 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” (Dan. 12:11). 1,290 days.
Then we have something that comes along that looks like it connects. And everyone assumes that the 1,235 days runs parallel and starts at the same time as the 1,290. But they don’t, because they don’t end both at the same time. Here’s verse 12. “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” What is the blessing? The next verse, verse 13. “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest [in the grave], and stand in thy lot at the end of the days” (vs. 12-13). What is “standing in the lot?” The resurrection. So this ends on the Pentecost resurrection.
Now let’s look at our chart again. Let’s look at this line right up here, the same line we were on. Come clear over to the left where it says, “32 days after Trumpets 1335 days to Resurrection.” When is 32 days after Trumpets? Is it in the winter? No. Is it in the spring? No. It’s in the fall. Let’s go to Matthew 24. Very interesting, again. It just happens to fall there. Matthew 24. What does it say about fleeing? (Audience comment) Yes. You got it. Matthew 24:20, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter,...” There it is. 1,235 days, it’s in the fall, 32 days after Trumpets. Is that when the persecution against the church starts, and then we are taken to a place of safety? I just leave that asa question mark. I cannot dogmatically answer that. Could be. But if that is the case, then the 1,335 days falls in the correct place it should, according to Matthew 24.
Now we’re just about done. We are just about done. Let’s come down here to the next to the last year. See that? Let’s again, go to the right end of the next to the last year and come backwards. I have here the “Sealing of the 144,000 & Great Innumerable Multitude” on Pentecost. And I do believe that the last year harvest, from that Pentecost to the next Pentecost, is going to be the greatest harvest of all. Because God’s direct harvest is going to be greater than the harvest of the church.
Now let’s come on down here to the beginning of the last year. Now I believe that the first trumpet is blown on the Feast of Trumpets. And we know from the layout of Revelation 8 - you see that? Where we have there to the bottom left just below the last year, way over on the left-hand side toward the bottom. You see the first long arrow, “7 Trumpet plagues”? Then below that I break it all down. The first four trumpet plagues come quickly, don’t they? You read Revelation 8: first one, second one, third one, fourth one. Then the fifth one, we are told, lasts five months. You see that there, bottom chart? Bottom of the chart? “5th Trumpet Plague (1st Woe last 5 months).” Notice then, how long it is for the sixth trumpet, or the 2nd Woe. That is one, two, three months, and a little bit more. See that right on the bottom?
Then the seventh trump, the resurrection on Pentecost - the third woe - and then the seven last plagues are poured out, because it takes time for them to be poured out. You read Revelation 16, that they have to go gather the armies to the battle. Correct? That takes some time. You ever tried to move an army? They come. So what I did with this, I said, “This may give us a perspective of how the things will happen, based upon the end, and counting backwards.” Because we’ve never been able to figure out when these things begin. So if we go with what we know and come back, we can get a reasonable approximation, can’t we? Yes we can. So that’s the sum total of this chart, front and back.
Now if you want to take this chart yourself, and if you want to expand it even more, go ahead and do that. Try and plug in some of the other prophecies like Gog and Magog, some other things like that. See how you can put all of this, you know, together. But this is just kind of a guide to give us perhaps an overview on how the things may transpire. And I’ll just repeat at the end: A chart is not dogmatic doctrine.
(Audience comment) Different people have different rewards, depending on when they are resurrected. If you’re in the first resurrection, you receive your reward at the first resurrection. It does not wait until the end of the millennium. No. (Audience comment) We will be at the Great White throne, helping judge those other people. (Audience comment) Yes. Ok.