Lesson 7, The Desolation of Smaug

Revelation lesson 7, The Desolation of Smaug.  Revelation 12-14

Last week we finished Revelation 6-7 and focused on the opening of the seals, primarily the ones that unleashed the 4 Horsemen.  We touched briefly on the 144,000 and the Multitudes (knowing we'd get deeper into them this week).

As we break the book of Revelation into sections (see Lesson 2: The Magnificent 7) we are going to make our first deviation from the linear order of the book.  We left off with the opening of the 7th Seal, which contains the Sounding of the 7 Trumpets and Pouring of the 7 Bowls).  Today we are going to skip to Revelation 12-14 and look at the 7 Histories.  An interlude of sorts as John is given more insight into what leads up to, and will happen during the end times.

The Woman:
Chapter 12 talks about the woman and the dragon.  There are bits and pieces of these verses that can have you jumping (at least your mind) into several areas as you determine what the Woman symbolizes.

First, there are some obvious visuals of both Eve (with that ancient serpent), and Mary (Herod's attempt to get the baby Jesus).  And while I think these visuals are there purposefully, there is a more overriding symbolic meaning of the woman that we derive from some of the references in the passages.

First, she is clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars.  The sun, moon, and stars reflect directly back to Joseph's dream and can indicate the woman represents Israel (we'll come back to the sun, moon, and stars in few minutes).  Now the debate could be made whether this is the 'proper' Israel, the Converted Jews, or the Church as a whole (including the Gentiles).  We don't have enough time or space today to dive into all that, but the common theme in all those interpretation is that those people all follow and are faithful to God.  In other words, "God's People".

But this woman is pregnant and gives birth to a male son who will rule the nations with an iron scepter.  Jesus is referred to often along with the iron scepter, and this indicates the Woman birthed the Messiah.  Now if you take the Woman to be Israel, or the Church - the question might be how does she birth the Messiah?  The Old Testament is the history of the Israelite's, with many prophecies indicating the Messiah is coming, and it is because of the Church (or God's love and grace for it) that the Son had to come and sacrifice Himself in order that there be eternal life.  It is also important to note that this pregnant woman is in pain (suffering).  I believe there is a correlation between this and Matthew 24:8 where Jesus talks about the suffering before the tribulation being, 'birth pains'. (more on the woman in a few paragraphs).

The Dragon:

Now let's take a look at the Dragon.  The dragon is Satan.  We're told so in verse 7.  That was easy... well, not exactly.  While we know who the dragon is, there are some interesting aspects to what John sees.

1. The dragon is described as sweeping a third of the angels to earth with his tail.  Indicative of Satan's fall and taking some of the angels with him.
2.  The dragon waits to devour the pregnant woman's child the moment he is born.  Could be the plot of Herod to kill Jesus.  Could be Satan standing by to devour the Church.
3. Then war breaks out in Heaven between Michael and the dragon.  The dragon loses and is hurled to the earth along with his angels.  The question is: is this a more detailed version of Satan sweeping the stars and falling to earth?  Is this an insight into the original fall of Satan?  Or is this a flash-forward to the final battle in Revelation where Satan is defeated?

So now (verse 13) the dragon saw he had been hurled to earth.  That is an interesting way of phrasing the dragon's response to getting his rear-end kicked by Michael.  But what I think it is to mean is that, "Satan realized he no longer had access to Heaven." (I'll come back to this in a second).

Back to the Woman.  She is given two wings of a great eagle so she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness.  Here the wilderness represents spiritual refuge, and it appears that this refuge is from Satan.  Also, I believe that the eagle's wings she is given indicates Michael's protection (see Daniel 12:1 - Michael is Israel's protector).  Eagle wings are often symbolic of angelic nature. That's why we fantasize about angels being these magnificent creatures with broad and strong wings. It is what I based the image of my main character, Jude in my book, Providence.

Back to the Dragon.  He is now enraged that the woman is protected, and thus wages war against the rest of her offspring (those who keep God's testimony about Jesus).

So here is my summary of the Woman and the Dragon.  The woman is Israel, The Old Testament 'births' the Messiah.  Satan can't get him and focus on the woman.  Michael defeats him and casts him to earth.  Satan again tries to get the woman, Michael protects her.  Satan is frustrated and focuses on the rest of her offspring (the Gentiles).

The Rabbit Hole:
In these first few verses, we bounce between Heaven and Earth, the beginning of time and the end times.  I tried to wrap my head around some chronology here, but I failed.  What I did do was stumble onto an interesting question.

"The dragon saw he had been hurled to earth".  Did he not know?  Or did I misunderstand Satan's fall?  When did Satan fall?  When were the angels created?  (please note, I want your curiosity piqued and I want you read the Bible and discover - I spent about a day and half in this rabbit hole...)

First, I assumed angels had been here long before the creation of the earth.  I assumed Satan had fallen beforehand, and that is why he tempted Eve into eating the apple.  So I took my questions and began reading.

Genesis 1:14-19 (The Fourth Day)

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Genesis 2:1 (Immediately following the Sixth Day)

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

These two verses made me wonder, did God make the angels on the 4th day?  Finishing both the heavens and the earth on the sixth day?  Now, before you jump - I realize this says "heavens" and not "heaven" - meaning it could simply be translated to refer to the universe.  I get that.  But for me personally, the symbolism of the sun, moon, and stars is pretty strong.  And we know Satan was in the Garden of Eden along with Adam and Eve.  As a matter of fact, he was a guardian.

Go to Ezekiel 28:11-19.  These verses describe Satan and indicate he was there in the Garden, and that he was beautiful and worthy (right up until he fell).  So the question becomes, when he tempted Eve, was that his fall?

Now we have to jump to Job 1:6-8.  The angels come to present themselves to God, and Satan comes with them.  So he still had access to God. But, even after he had fallen?  Maybe, and Michael hurling him to earth was the straw that locked him down here.  And don't forget Jude describes Michael disputing with Satan about Moses' body.  So was Jude still in heaven's grace during this dispute?  So then when does this hurling take place?  I'm not sure.  But, I hope I've gotten your curiosity up a bit and that you'll do some personal reading this week.  I know I'm going to be reading some more.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

The Beast of the Sea:
So after verse 12, we are taken to the shore of the sea with the dragon standing there.  That doesn't mean the next events happen immediately following, but it very well could.  Remember God is atemporal, and it is possible any amount of time could pass between the end of verse 12 and beginning of verse 13.  Anyway, I'll just start by telling you I think the beast of the sea is the Antichrist.  I know those exact words are not used in Revelation, but they are used elsewhere.  This beast has ten horns, and ten crowns and seven heads.  This imagery is used in Daniel and other places in Revelation.  It is symbolic of the military and political power and authority.  I won't dive into the realm of trying to determine the exact meaning of each head, horn, and crown.  But many think it is indicative of future 'kingdoms' or 'rulers' dividing the earth up into some kind of 10 nation global union under the Antichrist's rule.  Note that there is a slight variance between this beast's makeup of horns, heads and crowns to those of the dragon who only had seven crowns.

This beast has blasphemous names on it's head and spouts blasphemous words for 42 months (we'll talk about these months and others a bit later).  This indicates that the beast is not going to friendly toward God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit).  It's good to note that blasphemy of the Spirit is considered an unpardonable sin (we spoke of that a couple of weeks ago).  So anyone who follows or worships this beast, could by proxy be guilty of the same.

The verse declares that the beast will get its power from the dragon.  Whether the dragon can actually give the beast power, I don't know for sure.  But we can be sure the beast will be executing whatever it does in the name of the dragon.

Finally we are told that all will worship the beast except those written in the book of life.  This is subject of its own, which we discussed a few blogs ago about losing salvation.  So let's just summarize here - you worship the beast, you die.

This section ends with the familiar pattern of Revelation, "This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people." (stand firm, folks).

The Beast out of the Earth:
Now John sees a second beast, this one coming from the earth - perhaps the Abyss we'll talk about in later chapters.  This beast has two horns like a lamb (gentle sacrifice) but spoke like a dragon.  Means he is going to preach one thing knowing it is deceitful.  This beast is going cause great signs such as fire from heaven and even make an image of the Sea Beast actually come to life.  People will be in awe of this guy and he force people to worship the first beast.  I believe this beast is the false prophet and will be the leader of the religion of the end times that is lock-step in bed with the political workings of the first beast.

Finally, the second beast will make everyone who wants to buy or sell to where the mark of the first beast (this would include food - remember the Black Horse and economically induced famine?).  In other words, he'll make you worship the first beast in order to survive.

Here is also where we get the famous "666" as the mark of the beast.  It is described as the "number of man".  There are many interpretations of this number.  It could be some form of gematria that calculates a given name into a number - a practice quite common in early Biblical days.  It could symbolize that the Antichrist is incomplete in every way.  Since 7 is the number of completion, and 6 is just short of that.  Or it could simply be that God was revealing that the Antichrist is just a man.  Not God or Jesus or Angelic.

The 144,000:
Verse 14 starts with John looking and seeing the Lamb (Jesus) on Mount Zion with the 144,000.  The 144,000 were first mentioned in Chapter 7.

Rev 7:
…Hurt not the earth…, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (List doesn’t match OT)

The Great Multitude: “These are they who have come out of the Great Tribulation.”

Rev 14:
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads…

…These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

Defile with women… Spiritual defilement (Rev. 17 refers to the new religion as a harlot prostitute)
No lie was found in their mouths – they held the truth, the faith.

The 144,000 can be looked at in many ways.  While you can study many parts of Revelation without fully deciding if you are pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, or which 'millennialism' you adhere to, etc., that is a bit more difficult here.  The number 144,000 can be taken literally or symbolically and can be interpretted in the following manner.

• A different way of describing the 'multitude' spoke of in Rev. 7
• Exactly 144,000 Jewish, male, virgins who convert and witness.
• All the Jewish converts during the last days.
• The whole Church (either of all time, or in the last days)
• Spiritual Israel - the Church on earth
• And probably a few others I haven't listed.

You can see by these possibilities that your view of the end times will directly reflect the way you interpret who the 144,000 are.  Me personally - I think the number is symbolic and represents the great multitude and therefore is representative of the Church.  But, you make your own call here.

The Angelic Announcers:

We are now presented with 3 angelic announcers.  Each one arrives on scene, makes their declarations and then we get a final word of encouragement.

• Angel 1:
• Proclaims the eternal Gospel
• God’s judgement is here. Day of the Lord
• Angel 2:
• Fall of Babylon (new world politics, religion, economy)
• Maddening wine and her adulteries (spiritual corruptness)
• Angel 3:
• If you take the mark or worship the beast… same punishment as Babylon.
• Have patient endurance

You can see their goal is two-fold.  1) Highlight what you should do, and 2) highlight what will happen if you don't. They end with encouragement in a not so encouraging setting.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.

So we've learned about the Woman and the Dragon.  We've been introduced to the two beasts. We seen the 144,000 be taken care of by God. And then we get a summary by the angelic announcers wrapping it for us.  This takes us to the last part of this week's study where we'll learn the purpose of all that John has just learned.

The Harvest.
Chapter 14 is broken into two parts.

Part 1:
Jesus is waiting with his sickle in the clouds.  He gathers his followers.(Note, this is also similar to the rapture in that we have the references of Jesus in the clouds and gathering of the saints).  In Jesus harvesting here, the word ripe (xērainō), means dried and ready (withered).  Indicating the saints are tired and weary, but persistent and ready.

Part 2.

Another angel comes out with a sickle and then another angel in charge of the fire (judgement) comes out and the command to harvest the ripe grapes.  This word 'ripe' (akmazō) means to come to maturity.  This ripe, is only used once in the NT.  (signifies a difference from the other use of ripe).

These harvested grapes are not taken to Jesus, these are trampled in God’s winepress.  (I'll take Part 1 please).

Before we conclude, let's talk a bit about 3 and 1/2 years.  You've probably heard or read that the Tribulation will take 7 years.  Whether that is a literal 7 years, or symbolic, I'll let you ponder.  I think it is symbolic, meaning it will just need to be 'complete'.  I do not take all the numbers in prophetic literature literally (as a matter of fact, I don't take many literally - or any).  But throughout Daniel and especially these few verses, we seen reference to 3 and 1/2 years on several occurrences.  I believe these to mean that these events will occur during the Tribulation, they won't comprise all of the tribulation, and are designated with the time frame to show they have a beginning and an end.  Here are some ways that 3 and 1/2 years are described in the Bible.

A time, times, and half time.

• A Time = 1 year, 
• Times = 2 years, 
• Dividing of Times = 1/2 year.

1260 days

• 360 X 3 =1080+180 = 1260

Forty two months

• 42 X 30 = 1260
• 12+12+12+6 months

A thousand Two hundred and threescore (score = 20) = 1260

So let's conclude/summarize the 7 Histories.

• The woman (God’s people) are protected and victorious
• The dragon (Satan) angry and on the war path.
• The Sea Beast (Antichrist) will have political power to rule
• The Earth Beast (False Prophet) will deceive with his religion
• The 144,000 will have eternal life after surviving the Tribulation
• The Announcers proclaim; 
• Worship God
• Babylon will fall
• Remain faithful
• The Harvest:
• Jesus will gather his believers
• The rest will face God’s Wrath

I hope these studies are prompting you to dig into the study even further.  Remember, these writings are not facts, they are simply how the Scriptures are being revealed to me.  It is a preparation to understand as much as possible to be ready for whatever may occur.  Always be open minded and remember to let the Spirit guide your study.

Until next time,
God Bless you all,
Rob

Don't forget to check out my website, www.starvt.com.  And for those of you who have read my novel Providence, you can be assured that this journey through Revelation will show up in the next two books of the series, Purpose and Perseverance (hint, hint).

Also, here is a table of contents for the Revelation series (it is also located in the side menu).

Revelation Series, 2016

Revelation series table of contents - quick index.

As each item in the series is added, this post will be updated to include links to each one.  Each link will open in a new window, so that this post will remain active in case you want to return here for another selection.  Some of the lessons will have 'sub-bullets'.  These are previous posts that support or add to the main one in the series.

Happy reading!

• Background Lesson 1: Interpreting Scripture guide
• Background Lesson 2: Getting Started in Revelation

• Lesson 1: "Back to the Future"
  (an intro into the study)
• Lesson 2: The Magnificent Sevens
  (a structured way to approach Revelation)
• Lesson 3: Terms of Endearment
  (letters to the 7 churches)
• Lesson 4: "The Hustler"
  (a peek into the salvation and the rapture)
• Satan's Final Trick part 1
• Satan's Final Trick part 2
• Lesson 5: "Stand by Me"
  (a look at losing salvation)
• Lesson 6: "Pale Rider"
  (the opening of the 7 seals)
• The White Horse
• The Red Horse
• The Black Horse
• Lesson 7: The Desolation of Smaug
  (the 7 histories of Rev. 12-14)

Until next time,
God Bless you all,
Rob

Don't forget to check out my website, www.starvt.com.  And for those of you who have read my novel Providence, you can be assured that this journey through Revelation will show up in the next two books of the series, Purpose and Perseverance (hint, hint).

Lesson 6, Pale Rider

Revelation lesson 6, Pale Rider

This week we dive back into meat of things with the first of our Magnificent Sevens (click for a recap) with a look at Revelation Chapter 6, the opening of the seals.  I'm going to dip back into the archives a bit for some background information regarding the White, Red, and Black horsemen.  I would have an article on the Pale Horse too, but it was lost in the great hard drive crash of 2012, so you'll only get a surface view there (sorry).

Which reminds me, I think it was somewhere in Deuteronomy where it is written, "Thou shalt back up thy data, and do so often."

White Horse
Okay, back to the subject at hand...  Many times when we read or study Revelation, we can focus on the "physical" aspects of the Tribulation period.  But, more importantly than those is the Spritual warfare going on during the Tribulation.  As we study today, let's look at the seals from a more spiritual focused view.

Revelation chapter 6 starts with the Lamb (Jesus) opening up the first of the 6 seals.  When the seal is opened, John sees the first of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", the White Horse.

I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

There are several repeating patterns for the horsemen, the first being the "horse".  In the first century, the horse symbolized Strength, Conquest, and War.  You can imagine that in those days, a horse was much like a tank or some other mechanized war machine would be today.  This first symbol indicates that all the horsemen are performing some form of conquest or another.  But the White Horse in particular is given the role of Conqueror in the verse itself.  It is interesting to note, that the rider in this case was given his 'victor's crown' before he had actually completed his conquest.  The white horse in this instance would also symbolize the parade horse that a conquering general would ride back into town after a successful battle. The last bit too look at here is that this rider is carrying a bow, not the most symbolic choice for war.  The bow is more symbolic of 'hunting'.  We can also note that the Greek god Apollo's symbol was also the bow.  Later in Revelation, the Antichrist is referred to as "Apollos, or in Hebrew, Abaddon".  You can read more detail about the White Horse here.

It is my opinion that this rider represents the arrival of the Antichrist.  The Greek 'anti' can mean 'instead of'.  Remember Jesus telling us in Matthew not to be deceived by those claiming to be the savior.  The Antichrist will deceive and conquer, but it is possible it might not be as apparent as we expect.  I suspect he will do so deceptively in order to fool people into following him.  How might he do that you ask, well let's look at the other horsemen to find out.

Red Horse

Next, the second seal is opened and again the beast announces and John sees.

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take the peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

This is typically known as the War Rider.  The color red (pyros) in this instance symbolizes War, Fire, and Blood.  He also carries a sword, the more common symbol for war.  However, there is an interesting twist to the symbol in this case.  Here (in English) it is called a great sword.  But the Greek word for sword used here is different than what we'll see later with the Pale Horse.  This Greek word means "small sword or large knife".  So in essence, the translation is literally a "great small sword".  This could mean that the effects of this war are great, but the way it is implemented is not a grand "WW III" or nuclear holocaust, but something more deceptive and subversive.  To further illustrate that point, let's look at the line, "take the peace from the earth and that they should kill one another."  The "the peace" spoken of here could be the civil morality we have in the Holy Spirit, notice the definite article "the".  It isn't just peace, it is the peace.  If that is somehow withheld or pulled back, then it could be neighbor against neighbor.  Remember Jesus also said "many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other."  Now he did say "nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom", but he also said "wars and rumors of wars", so deceit will still be high during this time.

I think that because of "the peace" and the "kill one another" that in addition to what we would view as traditional warfare, there will be a great amount of civil anarchy as well, and the morality of many will be gone in the process.  (the second greatest commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself".

You can read more detail about the Red Horse here.

Black Horse

The third seal is opened and reveals another rider.  This one has an additional element in that after the rider is described, an unknown voice calls out another set of information.

And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

The Black Horse is traditionally viewed as famine.  I don't disagree with this, but I do want to point out a few things.  One, is that the famine is always coupled with the other things occurring in the world at this time (earthquakes, fires, blood water, etc.).  And I agree, this should cause a shortage of food.  But remember we are dealing with the great deceiver here, and it is possible that this could be a government imposed famine too.  Later we'll study about the mark of the beast.  A mark that one will not be able to buy or sell unless they possess.  So if you don't have the mark of the beast, you would be in a famine state, even if the crops are not all ruined.

Secondly, the use of the word "balances", while it seems very fitting to mean scales like used in the market (since later the unknown voice talks about measures of wheat) actually has a more common use that is something else.  The Greek word here is, "zygos", which in every other instance of the New Testament means "yoke".  So if you use that definition, then it appears that this rider is measuring the food, he is binding others in order to limit the access.

But let's take a detour for that unknown voice that speaks of wheat, barley, oil, and wine.  These items are very symbolic in other areas.  Wheat and barley make bread, oil and wine are tied to divinity.  In the last supper bread symbolizes the body of Christ.  Jesus is often referred to as the "Bread of Life".  if we look at these as symbols of Christ and perhaps the Gospel, then in keeping with our Spiritual theme, it may indicate that the famine spoken of here is a Spiritual famine.  Meaning the Gospel will be pushed aside for something else, something false.  So it is with this I tie the Black Horse with the "False Prophet".  Spreading his deceitfulness in a manner to get believers to go down the wrong path.  Violating the greatest commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind".

You can read more about the Black Horse here.

Before we see what is in the fourth seal, let's recap using our "Spiritual" focus, rather than the physical focus.

• The Antichrist arrives.  Ready to conquer by deceiving people into thinking he is the savior.
• Civil and Moral Anarchy ensues taking the peace from the earth.
• The False Prophet comes to spread his fake religion to mislead people away from the true faith and hope.

Pale Horse

And then, the fourth seal is opened.

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Death arrives and Hell follows.  Everyone physically dies.  Even us sitting here today will die, regardless of whether the Tribulation happens in our lifetime or not.  And if we are believers, then Hell doesn't follow Death, Heaven does.  So we aren't talking about physical death here.  This is Spiritual Death.  Satan's ultimate goal.  Satan doesn't care if your body dies.  He wants your eternal soul.  That is his mission.  If he can convince people the Antichrist is the real savior, subject the world to chaos and killing and famine. And then have the False Prophet swoop in to give fake hope and worship.  Those who fall into those traps will be victims to the "second death".  Judgement and eternal damnation.

Jesus said the following to the Church in Smyrna (the persecuted). 

Revelation 2:10-11
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

During the Tribulation much focus will be on the "physical" needs.  Food, clothing, shelter, surviving natural disasters, wars, and the wrath of God.  We can not lose sight of the more important prize.  Standing firm in the faith till the end.  Satan is after your eternal soul, not your physical body.

A short summary of the fifth and sixth seals.  These will be covered more in later blogs.

The fifth seal reveals John seeing martyred Christians wanting to know when judgement will occur.  They are reassured with white robes and reminded of the promise that victory will be theirs.

The sixth seal gives a quick view of the wraths that are about to be unleashed when the seventh seal is opened and the Trumpets are sounded and the Bowls are poured.  The final line in those verses states this, "For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"  Who will be able to stand before God on judgement day? Those who held the faith until the end.

Next week we will look at the 7 Histories outlined in Revelation 12-14.

Until next time,
God Bless you all,
Rob

Don't forget to check out my website, www.starvt.com.  And for those of you who have read my novel Providence, you can be assured that this journey through Revelation will show up in the next two books of the series, Purpose and Perseverance (hint, hint).

Lesson 5: Stand By Me

Revelation Lesson 5: Can you lose your salvation?

Last week we dove into the complexities of when the Rapture may occur (before, during, or at the end of the Tribulation period).  Directly related to that is if Christians can lose their salvation.  An important point if we are in fact enduring the "end times".

This sparked great conversation during the Sunday School class, and so I thought I would venture into this space a little further before moving on into the opening of seals (Revelation 6).

Before we begin, remember I reserve the right of the Holy Spirit to change my mind on all things Biblical.  I repeat that because I've uncovered a few nuances to the verbiage of "lose" your salvation that I'll highlight later in this post.  Let's begin.

First, let's establish what Salvation is.

Salvation is spiritual deliverance from the consequence of sin.

CONSEQUENCE: Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

DELIVERANCE: John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Now we establish why we even have salvation (beyond God's love mentioned above).

Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

GRACE: God’s unmerited favor and merciful kindness.

• There is nothing we can do to “earn” God’s grace.
• There is nothing we can do to “lose” God’s grace.
• God’s grace is for EVERYONE.

Now please do not try to apply human logic to the Living God.  We can never fully understand His Grace, Love and Wisdom.  So you can get lost trying to understand a grace or love of this magnitude since we can not fathom that with our feeble little minds.  Our real understandings of grace and love are based on our human experiences - they just don't equate.

So then the question becomes, what do we need for salvation? (note I didn't yet say what we need to do...).

We need three things.

• Knowledge – in some way, shape, or form we must have an understanding of God and Jesus.
• Assent – must agree that this ‘knowledge’ is true.
• Faith – personal commitment and acceptance that this is the route to eternal salvation. 

Please note: Even pagans have Knowledge (and maybe even Assent) and that Satan and his demons have both Knowledge and Assent.  It is Faith is that makes you different.

So what is Faith? The Greek word used in the New Testament for faith is "pistis".  It means in relation to God, the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. And in relation to Christ it means, a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 11:1 sums it up nicely. "Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Faith, Trust, and Belief are nouns (things you have). Trust and Believe are verbs (things you do).  Faith, Trust, and Belief are tightly coupled and used synonymously throughout the New Testament.

And what does the word "believe" mean in the Bible?  The Greek "pisteuo" means: accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth, To have faith. Used in the NT, of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul. To trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith.  Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

Faith and Believe are used in the Bible about 250 times each. Check out these verses for some good examples. (1 John 5:13, Luke 7:50, Acts 26:18, Mark 16:15-16, Romans 10:10, and Romans 3:28).

So now we get to what you actually have to do for your salvation.  Many will tell you the answer is nothing.  I disagree slightly based on semantics.  If someone tells you that you can not "earn" your salvation, and by that they mean it doesn't matter how often you go to church or how many lessons you teach or if you have this really cool blog...  then they are right.  Church attendance, good deeds, memorizing the Bible, and such will not grant you salvation.  No matter how much you do.  This is really tied to the Grace of Salvation.  You can not earn God's Grace.  That he freely gives to all.  It is his Gift.

But, you do actually have to "do" something here.  You can not be a lump on a log.  Remember the three things (Knowledge, Assent, Faith)?

• You have to have faith.  
• You have to accept the truth. 
• You have trust in Christ as your Savior. 
• You have to believe He has paid your price.
• You have to “choose” (free will) Him.

So we might ask, "Does faith equal salvation?"  No, but if we agree to needing the three things listed, and that Faith is what sets one apart from Satan and pagans, then we have to agree that you have to have Faith in order to get Salvation.  And by the way, this faith is not ordinary faith (like faith in your car or sports team, or the chair you are sitting in).  This is saving faith.  And you can't have saving faith with Knowledge and Assent.  So while faith does not 'equal' salvation, you can't have salvation without Faith.

So can you lose faith? There are a multitude of verses that indicate one can lose faith.  Matthew 24 states that "many will turn away from the faith..." and later states "... if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

All during the letters to the seven churches in Revelation (see previous post), they are reminded repeatedly to remain faithful and hold on to the end.  If they couldn't lose it, why so many warnings?

STAND FIRM:

Now, I'll grant you that not all these verses specifically state words about faith, but the context and meaning for all of them has to with standing firm in the faith.

• Matthew 10:22: You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 
• Matthew 24:13: but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
• Mark 13:13: Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
• Luke 21:19: Stand firm, and you will win life.
• 1 Corinthians 10:12: So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
• 1 Corinthians 15:58: Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
• 1 Corinthians 16:13: Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
• 2 Corinthians 1:21: Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
• 2 Corinthians 1:24: Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
• Galatians 5:1: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
• Ephesians 6:14: Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 

Jesus is clearly stating, "Stand by Me."

Next, you should spend some time in the letter to Hebrews.  The letter was written to Jewish converts (believers in Christ) in Rome who were being tempted to revert back to Judaism.  The theme of the letter is focused heavily on faith and on Jesus as the supreme and sufficient mediator of God's grace for salvation.  While you'll find many debates regarding Hebrews 6:4-11 and its meaning, that alone should induce your prayerful reading and consideration so that you can derive from the Spirit your own understanding.

We can't talk about losing salvation or faith without at least dipping our toes into "eternal sins".  Various denominations have differing views on whether there even are eternal sins.  I can't do any better than Mark, so I'll simply leave you with the words from Mark 3:28-30.

Mark 3:28-30
Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

We also have to reference the "mark of the beast".

Revelation 14:9-12
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

However, if after all of this comment, I didn't share with you John 10:25-30, I would be remiss.

John 10:25-30:
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

So now you are probably saying, "Hey, wait a minute.  After all that commentary about the possibility of losing faith and salvation, you give us Jesus himself saying - he gives eternal life and no one can take that away - what gives?"

My answer is this.  No one can take it away.  No one can deny you the opportunity.  No one can force you to fall away or lose faith.  Satan can not make you lose faith.  Just like the choice to believe and accept is yours alone, The choice to not believe or to deny Him is yours alone.

Now let me make something very, very clear.  I also believe and defend the following.

• Losing faith and possibly salvation is in no way a negative reflection of God, his divinity, sovereignty, or power.
• God’s grace for salvation is never changed.
• Our ability to “fall” or lose faith is no more a knock on God than our original inadequacies and doom in sin.
• Jesus sacrifice stands the test of time and paid for all our sins and is available for anyone who believes in Him.

Let's conclude with a summary.

• Can you "LOSE" your salvation or have it taken from you?  NO
• Are we talking about our normal, sinful nature causing us to fall? NO
• Can you willfully turn your back on Christ and deny the truth (even after knowing Him)?  YES
• It is "mathematically possible" in my opinion
• As long as you have free will, I have to believe it is your option.
• How can this happen?
• Blasphemy toward the Spirit and thus denial of Christ and God
• Taking the Mark of the Beast and thus ‘worshiping’ the Antichrist
• Not standing firm or remaining faithful.
• Who would do such a thing?  That I leave for you to ponder...

So what is the point of all this?  Well, there are questions to be answered.  Will we or won't we endure the Tribulation? When will the Rapture occur? Can you lose or give up your faith or salvation? Can someone willfully turn their back on Christ?  And all these questions can be debated and studied.  So the point is for you to get into your Bible and with the Holy Spirit, find your answers.

I leave you with this.

We Pray for the best.

Prepare for the worse. (study all aspects of the theology)

Deal with whatever comes. (Remain faithful. Stand Firm. Persevere.)

Until next time,
God Bless you all,
Rob

Don't forget to check out my website, www.starvt.com.  And for those of you who have read my novel Providence, you can be assured that this journey through Revelation will show up in the next two books of the series, Purpose and Perseverance (hint, hint).

Lesson 4: The Hustler

Revelation, Lesson 4: The Hustler

Today's lesson happens to fall on Easter which makes it an appropriate time to cover a few items.

1) Whatever we study in Revelation, we mustn't forget that because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He has already achieved victory over evil.
2) Whatever we study in Revelation, we can't forget #1 above.  Meaning, we can disagree about some of the particulars of prophetic literature and their meanings, but we have to hold true to the core doctrines.

For today, we are going to briefly cover Revelation 4 & 5.  Remember, when we skim over certain things, it is not because they are unimportant or irrelevant, but because our time is so short I have to choose what I spend time on.  Please dive into areas you don't feel I cover deeply enough on your own.  We can always talk about them in class, or in the comments section of the blog. (please comment).

Revelation 4:  I've selected a several areas of focus for this verse.

• John is told, "Come up here...". This indicates John was taken to Heaven for this viewing.  I don't know how this experience differed from his visions, but it seems significant to me in that John was being shown these things existed at the time, rather than indicating they are future things.
• John's vision of the throne and its surroundings indicates that all the events of the Tribulation would be managed from this location.  The command center.
• You'll note that there are 24 elders surrounding the throne.  A possible significance of this is that 24 is 12x2. 12 is the number of divine governance. The two sets could be the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles.
• Again, we are told of the 7 lampstands and 7 spirits. The Church (Rev. 1:20)
• We could spend weeks discussing the 4 living creatures, so I'll just give you a glimpse and allow you to explore these on your own. 4 is the number of the earth. The lion, ox, man, and eagle representation is the same as Ezekiel 1:6-10.  The wings indicate angelic power.  Hence the creatures could represent angelic power over the earth.
• Finally, quite a bit of the verse shows God being worshiped forever.  Meaning, this isn't a short-lived experience.  He has been, is now and will be - forever. The goal - worship Him.

Revelation 5:

• The scroll is God's right hand.  The hand of power and prestige. I believe this is the same scroll mentioned in Daniel 12:9 (where Daniel views the end times.
• The question is asked, "Who is worthy?" Rhetorical in a sense, but John is perplexed because he doesn't know until he's told.
• The Lion and the Lamb.  Both names/metaphors for Jesus.  Power and sacrifice.
• He is described as having 7 horns and 7 eyes.  Horns indicate Kingdom and eyes (which are the 7 Spirits) are all seeing.  The number 7 indicates "completeness".  Jesus has the power and insight into His Church.  This shows God's power in Jesus.
• Rev. 5 ends out with all the people of the world and those in Heaven praising and worshiping Jesus, just as they had done for God in Chapter 4.  God's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah to all the people.

Now, before we launch into Chapter 6, when the 7 Seals begin to be opened, we need to address a subject we started last week (Terms of Endearment).  I broached the subject of losing salvation and the timing of the rapture.  I think it is important to continue that discussion prior to actually diving into the details of the Tribulation.  We need to establish whether we will be here to endure it or not, right?

First, a disclaimer:

My goal and belief is not that one view is necessarily right and the other is wrong.

 

But rather, it is to ensure everyone has the knowledge to prepare for all scenarios.

So will we (the Church) be raptured before, during, or after the tribulation period described in Revelation?  My belief is the Church will endure the tribulation.  You can read in greater detail my reasoning in these two blogs I posted back in 2014.

Satan's Final Trick & Satan's Final Trick part II

Since I wrote those, I've compiled a few other items to support my reasoning. First, I used to always be a "pre-trib" rapture and "always saved" person.  But truthfully, I was that way because of word of mouth.  Meaning, I just followed what others believed.  But when it got deep into the Olivet Discourse, particularly in Matthew 24, I started to question the strong language that indicated we would suffer through the tribulation.  So I started studying more and asking myself questions.

• Maybe it doesn’t matter… maybe it does?
• I looked… I found plenty of Biblical evidence, but no direct statement of pre-trib rapture.
• I asked why not? This led to the discovery of other views.
• Pre-trib’s history
• Mid and Post Trib views
• Millennialism… (and all the other varying and respected opinions and theories)
• I realized, doctrinally it didn’t seem to matter which view you took, so long as you maintained the base foundation of belief that Jesus is your Savior.  So I asked myself, why all the disagreement?
• Then, as I read more, I began to believe you could lose your faith.  But, is that the same as losing salvation?
• We know Satan is the great deceiver (he's like a fake Rolex, has to be real enough to fool you). But why so much difference on these things that aren’t doctrinally different?

So I came up with these two questions.

1. If someone believes in “once saved” and “pre-trib” rapture, what would happen if they were wrong?
2. If someone believes you can lose salvation and post-trib rapture, what would happen if they were wrong?

Let's answer question 2 first.  The answer is, nothing.  Nothing negative would happen.  You'd be raptured away safely at the beginning.

For question 1, the answer would be different.  That person would have some pretty confused opinions, thoughts, and beliefs.  Everything they had thought to be true would not have been. They would endure the tribulation along with the risk of losing their salvation unbeknownst to them. That could be dangerous.

Now, I'm not completely certain that FAITH = SALVATION.  But I do know you have to have faith.  And repeatedly we are told some will lose faith, some will grow cold, and some will turn away.  We are also told "But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." and "To the one that is victorious..." the rewards will be given.

We are also told that anyone who takes the mark of the beast will suffer torment forever. (Rev. 14).  Jesus also says that whoever blasphemies the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness (Mark 3).

So let's say you can fall (turn cold, lose your faith, take the mark).  Would you even be here to do that?  For this I'd like to parallel three different verses.  I admit, just because these verses are extremely close on imagery and construction does not mean they have to describe the same event - but you have to consider it.

First, "the Rapture verse":

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Second, from the Olivet Discourse (this follows Jesus statement, "Immediately after the distress of those days..."):

Matthew 24:30-31
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Finally, from Revelation after the bowls of wrath have been poured out:

Revelation 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

While these items are no way conclusive (and there is so much more to study), I think it is at least enough to make you wonder.  And if you wonder, I pray that you'll study more.  Because remember,

My goal and belief is not that one view is necessarily right and the other is wrong.

 

But rather, it is to ensure everyone has the knowledge to prepare for all scenarios.

Oh, and in case you were still trying to put the title to the message, a hustler fools you into thinking you are winning or can win, then they swoop up and beat and take your money.  Satan is a hustler, and he does it with our beliefs in order to try to keep us from Heaven.

Until next time,

Peace and Love,
Rob
www.starvt.com

And check out my novel Providence.

Lesson 3: Terms of Endearment... sort of.

A study of Revelation: Lesson 3, the letters to the churches.

Most of you have probably studied the letters to the churches at one point in time or another as either the focal point of a sermon or a Sunday school lesson.  But, since during this study, we're only spending 14 weeks (as opposed to the needed 52 weeks), I'm breaking it down a little differently.  Rather than dissecting each verse or group of verses in great detail, I'm looking at things a little more broadly and doing a lot of summarizing and comparing.



If you read last week's lesson The Magnificent Sevens, you'll see that I have divided the book into seven major sections. This week we'll be looking at the 7 letters to the 7 churches.

There are several components within the letters that repeat (loosely repeat, I’ll highlight the differences as we move along). The components that repeat are as follows;

• The Command to write.  Each letter begins with the exact verbiage, “To the angel of the church in LOCATION write:”.  The angel referenced here is  stated in Revelation 1:20, as the seven stars in Jesus’ right hand.  Lampstand is also explained as the churches themselves.
  
• A description of Jesus. Many of these descriptions are references to others throughout the Bible and couple show his divinity over the writings in Revelation itself.
  
• Positive Evaluation and Praise.  Sardis and Laodicea have no positive praise (wouldn't want to be them).  Their evaluation is not very positive.  (Note: The praises can also blur into the encouragement)
  
• Encouragement and/or Criticism.  In this next portion of the letters (which sometimes bleed into the exhortation) come either some “hang-on” words, some direct chastisement, or both.  Smyrna and Philadelphia do not have any criticism (yay them!).
  
• Exhortation (request/command).  All the churches are told to repent (of the items in the criticisms) except for Smyrna and Philadelphia.  Those two are told to “hold on” and remain faithful.  Thyatira has some repent language also in the criticism, but are also told if they can hang on Jesus won’t put any more request on them.
  
• The reward for obedience.
• All the churches are told “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches”.  Some are told before the reward, some after. This is a reminder that they have to choose to listen and have to be believers (can't hear the Spirit if you don't believe)
• All seven are given the statement, “To the one that is victorious… (all those that overcometh - KJV)” prior to the statement of reward.  
• The Greek word used for victory is nikaō. The definition is to conquer, achieve victory, overcome.  With a specified use during the time: “of Christians, that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions.”

Also, in case you are wondering - I refer to a particular church (First Baptist, United Methodist, etc.) as little "c", church.  I refer to all Christians and Christ followers as the Church, big "C".

First, let's agree that these letters are to established Christians (believers, people considered 'saved').  Let's also agree, that not only are these letters to the churches (little "c") during John's life, but also have applicability to, and are metaphors for churches (little "c") during all times and as well pertain to The Church (big "C").  I could go as far to add that the personification of the churches in the letters also indicate that they are written to us as individuals and the Church (big "C"). (reference back to Lesson 1 to read about my theory on the Trinity of Applicability).  

Disclaimer: I will discuss in detail in a later blog my beliefs on a Post-Tribulation Rapture and that I believe there are serious things to consider about the philosophy of 'once saved, always saved'.  This next section gives some leading insight to those two beliefs by me.

Let's take a moment to examine a few highlights from the exhortations.

In the letter to Ephesus, they are told, "if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand (metaphor for the actual church and also the Church) from its place."  They are clearly told if they don't repent, they will be removed.

In the letter to Smyrna, they are told to "be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown."  I highlight the word, "and" to indicate the message appears to say if you are not faithful to the point of death, then you won't get life as a victor's crown.

Those in Thyatira are told, they "will suffer intensely, unless they repent."

Philadelphia is told "Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown."  The crown symbolizes victory (which we have already discussed).  

Can someone can take your crown?  I personally believe we can give it up by not repenting, not staying faithful till the end, and by doing a couple of specific things such as "taking the mark of the beast" and "blasphemy toward the Spirit" (these will be covered in more detail in future blogs).

Now, one (of many) arguments against my thought that you can lose your salvation, is that Jesus is not saying you will lose your salvation in these statements, but is highlighting the level of reward for those who are most faithful.  And I will admit, I also believe in levels of reward. As a good friend once said, "I reserve the right to let the Holy Spirit change my mind." Which means, I know I don't know everything, and this is how I interpret it, but I'm not so stubborn as to ignore other viewpoints.

As you can see, each letter serves and repeats specific behaviors.  Jesus establishes his glory and power so that you know you should obey. He gives some praise and encouragement on what you have done, but then highlights were you have fallen short. Then He commands you correct these shortcomings so that you can receive the rewards He has planned for you.

Lastly, let's look at the rewards in the letters.  If we jump ahead to Lesson 12 where we will study the 7 Visions, Revelation 19-22, we can see that there are some parallels between the two.

1.       Authority to eat from the tree of life. (you are accepted into the Kingdom)
2.       Not hurt by the second death. (the final judgement)
3.       White stone and new name. (new name and body)
4.       Authority over nations and the morning star. (Satan is defeated and has no power)
5.       Dressed in white, not blotted from the book of life. (with Jesus in the clouds)
6.       Become a pillar of the temple. (new Jerusalem)
7.       Seated with Christ (with him during his reign)

Don't forget that these rewards are specifically designated for "those who have ears and hear what the Spirit says" and to "the one who is victorious" or remains faithful till the end.

One of the most important things we need to take away from the letters is the applicability to our current world, and the applicability to Christians during the end times and Tribulation period.  He clearly commands us to remain faithful and obedient along with these specifics:

• Continue to love as He has shown us.
• We will be persecuted, but stand firm.
• Do not compromise with evil.
• Do not become corrupt like the world.
• Do not let ourselves become spiritually dead.
• Remain Faithful.
• Do not be indifferent.

Until next time,
God Bless you all,
Rob

Don't forget to check out my website, www.starvt.com.  And for those of you who have read my novel Providence, you can be assured that this journey through Revelation will show up in the next two books of the series, Purpose and Perseverance (hint, hint).

Lesson 2: The Magnificent Sevens (a structured way to approach Revelation)

Lesson 2: The Magnificent Sevens

Welcome back! (If this is your first visit, you can review last weeks lesson here),

Today I want to provide you with a couple of methods you can use to view the Book of Revelation.  you will find many outlines and timelines on the internet regarding this subject.  Probably so many that it might even make your study of Revelation even more daunting. (At least that is what happened to me.)  Eventually, after much searching and reading, I finally was able to put together the following that opened up the book to me in a more understandable manner. Please remember, though, there are so many views on this topic. I am not claiming this to the "right" way. It is just my way...

Recapitulation and Linear Views

There are 3 prominent series of visions/descriptions John goes through in the book.  The first are the 7 seals, then the 7 Trumpets, and finally the 7 bowls (wrath).

Some feel that those components follow each other sequentially and that each describe a different event - this is known as the Linear View.

Others think the three are all the same events, repeated three different times - this is known as the Recapitulation View.

There is also a view that believes there is some overlap of each section of Revelation - this is known as the Progressive View.

Progressive View

My view leans more towards the Recapitulation View, but with a few tweaks and differences.

First, I want to share with you want I call the "Magnificent Sevens". (Another movie reference...).  In the last article we touched briefly on numerology and its widespread use in Revelation.  Once such example is the number 7.  The number seven symbolizes completeness in the Bible. (God created all things and then rested in 7 days).

There is a pattern in Revelation that highlights several key components, (seven of them) and each has sub-components (seven of them).  Here is a chart depicting them.

	Verses	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Churches	1:1-3:2	Ephesus: The Loveless	Smyrna: The Persecuted	Pergamun: The Compromising	Thyratia: The Corrupt	Sardis: The Dead	Philadelphia: The Faithful	Laodicea: The Lukewarm
Seals	4:1-8:5	The White Horse	The Red Horse	The Black Horse	The Pale Horse	Martyrs under alter	Earthquake & Black Sun	The Trumpets
Trumpets	8:2-11:19	Hail Fire & Blood	Mountain in sea turn to 1/3 blood	Wormwood falls on 1/3 of Rivers	1/3 of Sun, Moon, Stars	Demons from Abyss	Demons Riders of the Euphrates	Kingdom of the Lord
Histories	12:1-14:20	The Dragon	The Woman	The Sea Beast	The Earth Beast	The 144,000	The Announcers	The Harvest
Bowls	15:1-16:21	Painful Sores	Sea to Blood	Rivers into Blood	Sun Burns people	Kingdom of Beast in Darkness	Dries Euphrates, Armegeddon	Judgment against Babylon!
Judgements	17:1-19:10	The Vision explained	Announcement of the Fall of Babylon	Call to God's People. Babylon's Judgement	The kings lament	The merchants lament	The seafarer lament	Destruction of Babylon
Visions	19:11-22:5	The White Rider comes!	Invite birds to the Great Supper	Beast and Kings Ready for war	The thousand years	Satan's Doom	Judgement of Dead	New Heaven and Earth

Now, from the chart above, you begin to see some patterns, that (to me) indicate the items are repeated (not an exact repeat - the diagram below will help with this).

This expands on the relationship between the various sections of the "Sevens".

I feel that studying the book in the order of the numbers, gives a good contextual representation of how the events will play out.

• Starting with #1 to get an idea of the "frame of mind" the church will be in when the Tribulation starts.
• #2 Is a high-level overview of all that is to come.  As we used to say in instructor school, "tell them what you're going to tell them."
• Skipping to #4 now makes sense because this section gives an in-depth look into a lot of the major players in the book.  It gives some context and background that makes the other sections more clear.
• #4 and #5 are what I think to be repeated descriptions of the same time period and events.  I do think there is a slight difference, in that #4 seems to lean toward the trials the antichrist will be allowed to unleash and #5 is clearly the wrath that God will unleash. (plus there are some interludes of encouragement and other items to discuss, like the witnesses).
• #6 Is a listing of the Judgements that will be brought down on all who don't believe.
• #7 Is a listing of the rewards to all those who endured faithfully.

Next week we'll take a closer look at the item #1, The Churches.

<< Last Lesson  | Next Lesson >>

Until next time,
God Bless you all,
Rob

Don't forget to check out my website, www.starvt.com.  And for those of you who have read my novel Providence, you can be assured that this journey through Revelation will show up in the next two books of the series, Purpose and Perseverance (hint, hint).

Lesson 1: "Great Scott, Marty. We've got to get Back to the Future!"

Lesson 1: A journey through the Book of Revelation.

I hope the title got your attention, but I apologize if you thought this had something to do with the movie. It doesn't.  What it does deal with is a study I'm leading my Sunday School class through in the Book of Revelation.  

"Study I'm leading..." might be too strong of words.  Really what I intend to do is simply lead a quest of discovery, pointing out things and giving interpretations of others.  As I told the class, this is not a "dictation of fact, but a personal journey of discovery."

I've done this type of study before with a good friend and brother in Christ at another church. This is my attempt to repeat part of that process (I'm limiting this study to 14 lessons) and changing it slightly over the original path (as my friend used to remind students, "I reserve the right to allow the Holy Spirit to change my mind...").

In that original study, I also tried to document the lessons and such on this blog.  However due to the computer crash of 2012 - I lost a lot of my material and am working to recreate a lot of it. (some of this may be repeated).

You'll note as I have over the years that there is no shortage of interpretations of Revelation.  I attended an all day event at a local seminary that had 6 experts in eschatology and each had differing views.  And that's okay.  Anyone who claims to know definitively the meanings of Revelation is lying to you and themselves.  But that doesn't mean we can't understand them better.  

And with this mindset, I chose the title of this series to be called, "Back to the Future".  Primarily based on my belief that either parts of all the major theories are true or that they all are true all at the same time.  I call this applicability of the trinity of time.  God can create a narrative that describes the past, present, and future all at once.

Well, that is enough introduction.  Let's get started.

Prepare yourself to receive God’s message

Before you begin any quest (mountain climbing, jogging, repairing a toilet), you have to ensure you are prepared.  The same is true for Biblical studies.  This first component is the key to why it is sometimes impossible to debate the Bible or Scripture with someone, or why you yourself may find that you don’t understand any of it.  If you don’t have this first element taken care of, you will not find fruit in this guide, and you won’t find it in the Bible.               

John 3:3-6- ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  ...⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (NIV)

Matthew 13:11-16 - ¹¹ He (Jesus) replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ...¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.  (NIV)

Now from these two passages we can deduce the following.  Jesus clearly states that to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven you must be born again.  He clearly states that there are some who have eyes and ears but do not see or hear.  Your heart has to be open to what God wants to tell you (even if it is just a little crack).  You cannot approach your study with a closed and calloused heart.   Basically you have to get yourself out of the way and let God do the talking.  You can’t do that if you have Him shut out.

First, let me state the obvious.  God can do anything He desires.  So the Bible can be understood by anyone He wants it to be understood by and it can reach anyone at any level of belief.  However, those who are believers and have Christ as their Savior can have a distinct (major) advantage over someone who does not believe (or worse who “anti-believes”). So if you are not a believer or don’t have Christ as your Savior, you can still get God’s message by being open to Christ so that he can communicate with you.  You just cannot have a closed heart and expect to be enlightened.

Along those same lines, you have to be open to the truth.  This almost sounds too simple, but it is sometimes the biggest hindrance to our understanding.  Many times we have a pre-conceived notion of what a Bible verse means (or more to the point, what we want it to mean).  We have to let go of those notions and allow God to truly show us the meaning without interjecting our own idea (or Satan’s prompting) of what the verse may mean.

Finally, you have to be willing to obey God.  If the interpretation starts going towards pointing out where we have been disobedient, you would be surprised how quickly our “self” jumps in and redirects the interpretation to something a little more amiable.  That cannot be allowed to happen for the truth to be unveiled.

So, basically you have to get yourself out of the way.  Open up your heart to the Lord so he can get in.  Remove your own interpretation. Be willing to accept what you learn.

Holy Spirit

This is how God is going to deliver his message to you if you are prepared to accept it.  We are incapable of interpreting God’s word perfectly all the time.  We are incapable of doing anything perfectly all the time. We need help.  The Holy Spirit will (and must) guide your Bible study. Imagine if you will, while reading this article there is something you don’t quite understand (I can’t believe that would ever happen).  Who would be the best person to answer your question?  The author, of course.  The same holds true for the Bible.  God is the author – using the Holy Spirit to inspire and direct the authorship. Who better than the Holy Spirit to guide your study?

2 Peter 1:21 - For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

John 16:13 - But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 2:10-11 - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (NIV)

Clearly the Bible is God inspired through the Spirit, and the Spirit reveals things to us, so it should be easy to allow the Spirit to guide your study, right?  I wish.  (You have to revisit the first section on preparing yourself.)  You have to pray for guidance.  And just as importantly you have to listen.

When I am studying a lesson (or preparing an article or lesson) I try desperately to listen what the Spirit is telling me as it guides my study.  While doing this there are two things I make myself very cognizant of in order to keep me on track.  First, I watch closely to make sure it is not me driving the direction.  I have had some really cool ideas in the past (so I thought).  Ones that made me think, “Wow, the class is going to love this parallel I’m drawing and the ‘real world’ example I’m using.  This is going to really hit home with them.”  But I’ve ended up throwing those ideas in the trash either because the Biblical reference was weak, or I finally realized that was not the message I was being “told” to deliver.  

The second big distraction is Satan (and it is debatable who is the bigger distraction, me or him.)  If you are on to something good, you can be sure the Deceiver is going to be right there trying to get you to chase rabbits rather than finding the intended meaning God has in store for you.

You are now ready.  You have opened your heart.  You are ready and willing to hear the truth.  You are keeping yourself and Satan at bay.  So the Holy Spirit is going to whisper in your ear the true meaning of all that has eluded you, right?  Wrong. Don’t get me wrong, there may be some “ah-ha” moments when the light bulb finally goes on, but don’t be expecting any great revelation like John got; one that suddenly makes everything crystal clear (remember, even John didn’t understand everything he was shown).  The Spirit will work through your diligent study.  If you are not open to the Spirit, reading the Bible can be like reading someone else’s mail – but, if you are open to the Spirit, it is like God is talking directly to you. (that is not my original line, but I do not know who said it).

Scripture interprets Scripture

So let’s get into the tools of interpreting.  The first (and best) tool to use when interpreting the Bible; is the Bible.

2 Peter 1:20 - Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. (NIV)

The prophets didn’t use their own interpretation.  The disciples didn’t use their own interpretation.  Why should you or anyone else get to use your own interpretation? Since the Bible was God inspired, let’s use God’s inspiration to help us understand what He is telling us.  The following five items can be used to help whenever you come across a particular word, phrase, symbol, or passage that you have difficulty understanding.

First/Common/Other Usages: This technique is designed to help you understand the most relevant definition of the item in question.   You will need a good concordance (there are many online versions now that can really help you.  I have been using www.blueletterbible.org).  Remember, regardless of the message you think you are supposed to get from the Bible, the author was writing it to first century Jews – so you need to see a couple of references to how they used that word to really understand what the writer (or speaker) means.

Word Definition: This tool is very closely related to the first tool.  This is the actual definition of the word.  It is important to note the relevant first century definition.   It is also important to use a good lexicon of the original Greek wording.  I know this can be daunting, but if you find a good online version to use, it can really help your study. (again, I use www.blueletterbible.org).  An interesting verse to look at for this is John 21:15-17.  This is where Jesus asks Peter if he “loves” him (they use two different words for love throughout the exchange).  I won’t spoil the search for you by divulging any clues.

Context: Next and still closely associated with the first two items is context.  This one may be the most abused rule but if you are looking for true meaning – context has to be taken into account.  Many verses or “one liners” if not placed within the whole picture of the message have different meanings.  Paul said, “Wives, submit to your husbands.” (Eph 5:22) – Therefore the Bible says women should do what men say – wrong.  Read the entire chapter (actually read the entire book! Read 1 Corinthians while you’re at it).

Historical background: This one may be a little harder to gather information on, but the history of the time and place can be so vital to understanding.  A great example of this is the economic posture and geographical status of Laodicea – the lukewarm church in Revelation.  Knowing about the hot springs and cold springs surrounding the city, knowing that Laodicea had a medical school that produced eye salve for various ailments, and knowing that they were famous for certain tunics makes several of the references much more meaningful.

Genre: This one is almost too simple, but can keep you from getting off on the deep end when the message is much easier.  What I mean by genre is that the books of the Bible can be divided into different categories of writing (Prophetic, Historical, Epistles, Gospels, Poetry).  Knowing what you are reading can streamline your interpretation to some degree.  For example, an Epistle to the Corinthians (a letter to the church members) has a great wealth of information that we can also use to live our lives by, but it is going to be pretty straight forward in its direction – much straighter forward than prophetic literature such as Revelation – which uses symbols and imagery.

So let’s get started with some more basic items to prepare ourselves.  The first place I like to start is with who, why, where, what, when, and how questions.  Answering these questions can really open you up to some new insights that you may have overlooked before, especially if you always approach the text with only a 21^st century mindset.

Who: John the apostle wrote the book of Revelation.  This is the same apostle that wrote the Gospel of John and three epistles 1, 2, and 3 John.  He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of apostles (along with Peter and James).  He stood by the cross and was charged by Jesus to look after Mary. He was one who raced to the empty tomb the day it was found to be empty. He was referred to as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”.  John outlived all the other apostles – and outlived the Caesar who had him imprisoned for following Christ.  You will find much debate amongst the “scholars” on whether this John is the same who wrote the gospel and the epistles.  You’ll find some that state the writing style is too different to be the same man.  I say the writings are three different genres for three different purposes and maybe he just wrote them differently based on that need.  Either way, I see no need to challenge the authorship.  I am inclined to agree with those that were with the disciples at the time, the early church fathers that declared and ultimately agreed that this John, was the same as the apostle John and the author of the other books.

Why: Sometimes it is important to understand “why” an author wrote what he wrote.  While all of the scripture is God inspired, some had some really personal reasons for being written.  Take for example the epistles to the various churches.  Those letters were to help those early churches to grow, stay strong, and correct some of their erroneous ways.  Revelation is slightly different.  John wrote Revelation because he was commanded to by Jesus directly, and therefore we can assume because Jesus wanted to make sure we had this message on hand.  Revelation 1:11 and 1:19, “Write on a scroll what you see…” This was not John’s idea to share this information with the seven churches.  It was not his idea to capture a vision of the future.  He was told to write what he was told and what he was going to see in the vision.  Basically, he was told “Write this down.  It is important.”

Where:  John wrote Revelation while imprisoned on the island of Patmos (Rev 1:9).  He was imprisoned there by Caesar for preaching about Jesus.  Caesar sentenced him to remain in prison till death, but John outlived the Caesar and was released shortly after completing Revelation. Some feel that Revelation was secretly passed out of the prison piece by piece until it was completed.

What: What this book is about – well that is the whole point of this exercise isn’t it? Here is a brief look into what is to come - Persecution, the rise of evil, encouragement, perseverance, the defeat of evil, the reign of Jesus.  Victory.

When: There is much debate (as always…) but the general consensus is that John wrote this around 95 AD.  John outlived all the other apostles, and it may be that this was the last inspired work.

How:  I use the “how” for a number of various definitions, mostly, the genre.  Revelation is apocalyptic literature.  That means it is going to be highly symbolic and prophetic.  It was very popular at the time.  The word “apocalyptic” in Greek, means “revelation” (an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling).

Now that we have established a baseline (and while I understand that we may not all agree on all the items listed above, it is important that you understand the stance from where I will be writing this articles as well as others), let us now look at some of the most debated aspects of the book in whole, before we dive into some of the specifics within the book.

First, let us revisit Rev 1:8, where Jesus states he is “who is, and who was, and who is to come.”  Also, in Rev 1:19, John is instructed to “write what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.”  Both of these statements (especially 1:19) set the book of Revelation into an organization pattern of three elements John is to describe.  “What you have seen” – things of the past; “what is now” – things occurring at the time of writing (letters to the churches); and “what will take place later” – prophesies of future events.  Some of the writings clearly fall into those categories, but the book of Revelation itself is widely debated as to where it falls within those confines, and the arguments for each are all strong and remarkable.  Here is a brief overview of each of the four main views on the placement of the book’s events.

1.       Preterist – the described events took place in the 1st century

2.       Historical – the events that take place from the writing up until Christ’s return

3.       Futurist – the end times leading to Christ’s victory

4.       Idealist – a symbolic writing of God’s triumphs over evil with no direct ties to actual events.

So it is with this knowledge that I submit the following.  God is the most awesome author to ever write a book, and he has written Revelation to satisfy all of the differing views of the interpretation of the text.  If notable scholars can clearly define how the four horsemen fit the early Roman empire, then why argue that point.  It fit the people of that day and allowed them to draw closer to the word of God based on the relevancy of the prophecies.  Could those same conclusions be applied to other periods of history?  Absolutely.  Do the events foretell some future occurrence when the antichrist will rise and reign? Most definitely.  So although I am a futurist by choice (design, nature, whatever), I do not discount the application of the visions to the other methodologies – in fact I think they only strengthen God’s power that it can occur that way.  So when John wrote about one of the visions he saw, he was describing something that was seen (the past), was (the now), and is to come (the future) – each vision fits and continues to fit multiple applications. The only thing I caution you on (or do not agree with) is if someone claims the victory has already occurred, and that tribulation is occurring right now, or the antichrist is already in power.  I think the culmination of those events is going to be quite dramatic and unmistakable – and those events are truly for the end times,

The next thing I’d like to discuss is symbolism in general.  Most people have a pretty good grasp of symbolism and what it means.  The symbolism arguments usually center on whether the symbolism is a Literal Interpretation (the events will occur just as described) or Metaphoric Interpretation (these descriptions use familiar things to describe unfamiliar events).  For most writing styles the interpretation is pretty straight forward - metaphoric.  However, when dealing with the Bible, and especially prophetic visions, this is a pretty daunting task – since God can create anything, any symbolic description is possible as a reality (not saying they all are, but that option exists for each one).

We can surely find examples of both throughout the Bible.  Literal: Moses parting the Red Sea, Jesus feeding the 5,000. Both of those acts are so magnificent of an accomplishment, on human standards they would have to be metaphoric – but since these were actions by God, they are literal events.  

Metaphoric: the serpent in the garden, the four horsemen.  Again, these could be literal – Eve could have been tempted by a large snake, but most likely the attributes of a snake were simply given to Satan in this instance. Then we can find some that could be either – many people debate if the entire book of Jonah is metaphoric (I don’t think so, I think it is literal), almost the entire book of Revelation can be debated along those lines (the woman on the beast, the great Abyss). 

Particularly with prophetic literature, that is the purpose for the symbolism; it is meant to be vague enough to only be realized after the prophecy has come true.  That way people don’t have enough information to either purposefully ‘help’ the prophecy or purposefully try to stop it. 

While this brief explanation of symbolism will leave you with as many questions as you had before, it was never intended to answer them for you.  It is merely to help you break down the barriers and fear of digging into the Bible’s unknown and confusing areas.  So many people avoid Revelation because they fear they will not be able to decipher all the clues and information contained there.  You don’t have to worry about that.  What you need to do is approach it with an open heart and allow the Spirit to guide your study.  The Spirit will lead you where you need to go, and you’ll find insight into those areas needed for understanding.  The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter if actual “locusts” are going to devour or if “fallen angels” are going to devour like locust.  What does matter is that you get the message God is sending you.

One last thing in regards to symbolism I would like to discuss, and this is an area you can get caught up in that may distract your study, is the fads such as numerology or other “secret codes” within the Bible.  You will find any number of fantastic discoveries of secrets from within the Bible such as “Shakespeare in Psalms”, etc.  I will be the first to admit, I find some of these things fascinating – but let me assure you, God’s message to you is NOT HIDDEN in some mathematical equation that causes you to piece words together.  So you can enjoy these little “trivia” pieces if you’d like, but please do not take them as being the intended message.  Find that intended message with your own study. (And I say all this knowing full well I will spend some time on numerology).

This concludes the “interpretation” lesson.  I know there probably wasn’t anything overly groundbreaking for you in these, but remember – this is my journey into Revelation (I’m just letting you tag along for the ride).  See you next week in the next article (I hope you come back.) where I will show you how I break the Book of Revelation down into a timeline that can help you understand the whole picture and guide your study.



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Until next time,
God Bless you all,
Rob

Don't forget to check out my website, www.starvt.com.  And for those of you who have read my novel Providence, you can be assured that this journey through Revelation will show up in the next two books of the series, Purpose and Perseverance (hint, hint).