Let's Study The Revelation

by Dr. Jack Hyles

Foreword

For a year and a half I taught the Book of Revelation to the midweek crowds of the Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas. This study was begun in 1953. Hundreds of the people asked that the notes of this study be published. After some deliberation and prayer, we felt led to publish them. For years these notes have been sold under the title of RICHES FROM REVELATION. Now re-edited, re-named, and re-bound, we prayerfully submit them again for your study.

During this study the crowd at the Miller Road Baptist Church midweek service grew from 21 to an average of 625. This is not by any means a scholarly study; it is simply a compilation of the actual notes that were used in the aforementioned series. It is for the layman and not the theologian.

It would be a definite help to you if you would read the passages discussed from the Bible as you study, bearing in mind as you read that these sermon notes were used to teach the laymen the basic truths of the Revelation.

May the study of the Revelation truly be as the name implies-an unveiling of the truths found in this wonderful book.

Jack Hyles, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Hammond, Indiana

Chapter 1

REASONS SOME OPPOSE THE STUDY OF REVELATION:

SOME SAY THAT REVELATION CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD.
If this be true, then the Holy Spirit is falling down on His job to reveal the truth of the Scripture.
OTHERS SAY THAT THEY WILL LEAVE OFF REVELATION AND SIMPLY PREACH THE GOSPEL.
God has charged us to preach the Word. Revelation is part of that Word.
SOME HAVE SAID JOHN WAS AN OLD MAN WHEN HE WROTE REVELATION AND WAS MENTALLY WEAK.
Anyone who will say this denies the inspiration of a portion of the Bible and is of his father, the Devil.
SOME SAY THAT SINCE REVELATION WAS WRITTEN IN A TIME OF DANGER FOR CHRISTIANS
JOHN HAD TO WRITE COMPLETELY IN SYMBOLS SO AS NOT TO BE PERSECUTED.
Revelation was written in the same decade and by the same man as First, Second, and Third John.
Why, then, were they not also written in symbols?
STILL OTHERS SAY THAT IT IS TOO DEEP FOR THEM.
The only reason for the Bible being too deep for anybody is found in I Corinthians 2:14.

DATE OF THE BOOK....96 A.D.

Author (writer)...THE APOSTLE JOHN, who was alone on the Island of Patmos.

INTRODUCTION: Revelation 1:1-3.

Verse 1:

"THE REVELATION" The word means: unveiling, uncovering, presentation, appearing, coming (as in a great performance when the curtain is pulled and the star is unveiled). The same word was used when Paul saw Jesus on the Damascus Road. This Book, above all, shows the Lord Jesus Christ and reveals Him to us. Hence, one who does not know Revelation cannot know Jesus as he should. What a shame that so many are so ignorant concerning this wonderful Book.
"WHICH GOD GAVE UNTO HIM." This probably means that God has given His Son the glory of the coming Revelation because of the suffering that He endured. He shall avenge His death on the cross when He comes in His glory.
The word "servants" means literally, "bondservants." A bondservant was one who had completed his time as a slave, but out of love for his master had volunteered to continue to be a servant. This is the kind of servant God wants.
"Shortly" in this verse means "speedily" or "surely." In other words there is no doubt that the things written in this Book will come to pass.
You will note that this message was given to John by an angel. Read Revelation 22:9. Some think that this teaches that this particular heavenly messenger was one of the Old Testament prophets. This may be true.
We find the writer in this verse. It was John, the apostle. We will find in verse 2 which John it was speaking of in verse 1.

Verse 2:

This verse says that the John verse 1 mentions is the one who bore record that Jesus was the WORD, and wrote that Jesus was the Son of God. Read John 1:1 and John 20:31 and you will see that it was the same John who wrote both books.

Verse 3:

Notice that God promises a blessing to those who study Revelation. Let us notice whom He promises to bless:
1. Those who read.
2. Those who hear.
3. Those who keep. ("Keep" means "to guard with care." So you can see that God will bless anyone who will observe or study Revelation.)
You will notice also we are to study these things because "the time is at hand." It is always at hand. In other words, it could happen any minute. We are to WATCH at all times because it could be today.
The word "blessed" in this verse means happy, contented, etc. The reason is that those who are looking for Jesus to come are the happiest people in all the world. Communism, atomic bombs, wars, etc., cannot keep the person from being happy who is looking up every day for the return of the King.

God also seems to abundantly bless the churches who believe and study Revelation.

Note: Let us notice again the meaning of the word, "Revelation." It is called in the Greek the "Apocalypse." This word means to manifest or reveal. Its twin word "Apocrypha" means to conceal or hide. From these two words we have the true meaning of the Book: "TO REVEAL THAT WHICH HAD BEEN HIDDEN."

SALUTATION: Revelation 1:4-8.

Verse 4:

In these verses John is greeting the churches to whom he is writing. There were many things wrong with the churches and yet John takes time to greet them in a courteous way. There is a lesson here, real Christianity is courteous. To be unfriendly and curt is not Christian.
Notice that John was writing to seven churches. Seven is God?s number of completion. So He is writing it to all churches. It isn?t nice not to read your mail, so for a church to leave off Revelation is a breach of good manner.
(Numbers have significant meaning in the Bible. For example, one is the number of beginnings; two is the number of separation; three is the number of the Trinity; four is the earth?s number; six is man?s number; seven is God?s number of completion; eight is the number of new beginning; ten is the number of testing, etc.)
It was written to churches. These were young churches. Nowadays, people say that Revelation is too hard for us to understand, yet the Book was written to young churches.
Note that he says, "GRACE BE UNTO YOU AND PEACE" It was the custom of the Jews to greet each other with the phrase, "Peace be unto you." John went a step further and added grace to that because there can be no real peace unless there has been grace for our sins first. In other words, a person who has never been saved cannot know true peace.
AND FROM THE SEVEN SPIRITS. Remember that seven is God?s perfect number of completeness. To find the real meaning of the seven spirits, read Isaiah 11:2.

Verse 5:

"AND FROM JESUS CHRIST." Think of it. A letter from One so important as Jesus Christ.
"WHO IS THE FAITHFUL WITNESS." I believe that this means that Jesus is our legal witness before God. In a trial there is always the " key witness." When we stand before God, Jesus will say that He witnessed our conversion experience, and will be our witness.
Notice the word " prince." It should be " ruler." He is the King of kings and is going to reign someday on the earth for one thousand blessed years.
" UNTO HIM THAT LOVED US" should be " Unto him that loves us." Not only did He love us enough to die for us, but He loves us now as much as ever. His love never grows stale.
" AND WASHED US" can also be rendered " And freed us." He untied our chains, and has freed us from the bondage of sin.

Verse 6:

" AND HATH MADE US KINGS" is better translated, " And hath made us a kingdom of priests." We are to be a kingdom when Jesus comes. John here is looking forward to the one thousand years of peace that Christ will bring with Him when He comes.
" TO HIM BE GLORY." The thought of the coming King thrilled John, so he says, " Glory to God."
" AMEN." The word means," Let it be done." John says that he likes what he sees and is anxious for it to happen. Are you anxious for the King to come?

Verse 7:

" BEHOLD, HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS." Verse 6 can only take place when verse 7 takes place. Jesus must come before the Kingdom can come. Some believe that we can bring in a kingdom of peace and then Jesus will come. There will be no kingdom until the King comes.
" BEHOLD" means " look." John was probably carried away and shouted, " Look, He cometh."
" WITH CLOUDS." His throne shall be the clouds. Have you ever been above the clouds and looked down? What a beautiful picture that shall be when Jesus comes with the clouds.
" ALL KINDRED OF THE EARTH SHALL WAIL." Why? Because when He comes here, we will be with Him, and the people who will be on the earth for the most part will be the lost who have been in the Great Tribulation. They are Christ rejectors and have a right to mourn.
" EVEN SO, AMEN." This means " Yes, let it happen." John had to say " Amen" every once in a while. He couldn?t wait. He was looking for Jesus to come at any moment.

Verse 8:

"I AM THE ALPHA AND OMEGA." These are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. It is like saying, "I am the A to Z." Jesus is everything. He meets every need. A little boy said,"The Lord is my Shepherd and that?s all I want."
"THE ALMIGHTY." Read Isaiah 9:6. Note: In concluding the salutation, let us go back to verse 7 and the "Even so, amen." It teaches at least two important things:
1. An affirmation of the fact that these things shall take place.
2. An expression of joy by John because of the thought that Jesus is coming.

JOHN?S VISION OF JESUS: Revelation 1:9-20.

"JOHN." Notice the simple title, "John." He used no high sounding titles to impress.
"WHO ALSO AM YOUR BROTHER. " John would rather be called "brother. " To be called "brother "is the highest title that one Christian can give another.
"AND COMPANION. " "Companion "really means "co-laborer. " John put himself on the plain level. He did not want to be high and above the layman. God does not intend in this age for the preacher to dress higher or think of himself higher than the laymen.
"IN TRIBULATION, AND IN THE KINGDOM. " John could not get his mind off the Kingdom that Jesus was going to establish. He was exiled on a lonely, barren island, but he did not complain. He found joy in thinking of the coming Kingdom.
"AND PATIENCE OF JESUS CHRIST. " The literal translation is, "The patient waiting for Jesus Christ. " The Bible teaches that often the saints in Heaven say, "How much longer, Lord? " We should be praying the prayer, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus. "
"WAS IN THE ISLE THAT IS CALLED PATMOS, FOR THE WORD OF GOD AND FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST. " John tells here why he was on the Isle: 1. For the Word of the Lord (because he dared preach the Word). 2. Because he testified for Jesus. Many preachers are almost exiled today who preach the Word as it is.

Verse 10:

"I WAS IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD?S DAY. " The word "was "is translated "became. "
"AND HEARD BEHIND ME A GREAT VOICE, AS OF A TRUMPET. " When God speaks of the last days, He often makes mention of a trumpet. When Jesus comes, He will come with the sound of a trumpet. Oh, to be in the Spirit at the sound of the trumpet.
The next thing on God?s timetable is the trumpet. The blowing of the trumpet means two things:
1. Get up in the morning (resurrection)
2. Assemble (rapture)

Verse 11:

This verse deals with the letters being sent to the seven churches. John sent them their orders. Notice that they were orders from God. Let us be careful that we take our orders only from Him.

Verse 12:

"AND I TURNED TO SEE THE VOICE. " This is Jesus. Note John 1:1 and Genesis 3:8.
"I SAW SEVEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS. " Read verse 20 for the key to this.

Verse 13:

Notice who is in the middle of the churches. It was the job of the high priest to keep the candlestick of the Tabernacle in order. So it is the job of our High Priest to keep His churches in order.

Verse 14-16:

LOOK AT JESUS.
1. Hair like snow (purest thing in all the world).
2. Eyes as a flame of fire.
3. Feet like fine brass.
4. Countenance as the sun.
WHAT A PICTURE!! John saw Jesus. Someday we shall see Him too.
In verse 16 read, ?AND HE HAD IN HIS RIGHT HAND SEVEN STARS. " For the key to this read verse 20. Angel means messenger. It probably referred to the pastors. What a joy to know that Jesus holds His preachers in His right hand.

Verse 17:

Tells us what John did when he saw Jesus. Jesus answered "FEAR NOT. " To those of us who know Jesus we need not fear His coming, as He is coming to reward us.

Verse 18:

"FOR EVERMORE "means "Into the ages upon ages, "not "through, "but "into. "

Verse 19:

This is the outline verse of the Book.

Things which thou has seen. (Chapter 1)
Things which are. (Chapters 2 and 3)
Things which shall be hereafter. (Chapters 4 through 22)

Chapter 2

THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS:

Verse 1:

"UNTO THE ANGEL. " The word "angel "means "messenger. " Probably this pertained to the pastor of the church. Why do you suppose that Jesus was writing to the pastor? It was probably because no church can rise any higher than its pastor. The same is true with a Sunday School class or any organization. The class will rise no higher than its leaders.
"OF THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS. " "Ephesus "means "love. " This is the greatest need of every church. How would you like for Jesus to come back and find you and a fellow church member at variance? "I don?t like her, " "She did it first, "and "I just can?t stand him "are not words of the true child of God.
"THESE THINGS SAITH HE THAT HOLDETH THE SEVEN STARS IN HIS RIGHT HAND. " Read verse 20 of chapter one for the explanation. The stars are the messengers or pastors. Thank God He holds us in His right hand. Read John 10:27-30.
"WHO WALKETH IN THE MIDST OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS. " In 1:20 you find that the candlesticks are the churches. So you see that Jesus walks in the midst of the churches. Imagine Him walking in may of our present-day churches.

Verse 2:

"I KNOW THY WORKS, AND THEY LABOUR. " It was a working church. Thank God for churches that work. On the other hand there are many churches that are working who are not yet satisfying the Lord Jesus. This church could get many men to come to help work on the building; they could get ladies to cook and sew for the needy; they could get a large crowd at the Worker?s Conference, and yet they were not working for Jesus. There is a difference in church work and Jesus work.
"AND HOW THOU CANST NOT BEAR THEM WHICH ARE EVIL. " This church hated sin. How we need churches today who hate sin and fight it. Sam Jones used to say that when he first started preaching he was afraid that he would make somebody man, and that later on he was afraid that he wouldn?t make anybody mad.
"AND THOU HAST TRIED THEM WHICH SAY THEY ARE APOSTLES, AND ARE NOT, AND HAST FOUND THEM LIARS. " This church was sound in the faith. Yet God was not pleased with it.

Lots of folks are sound on baptism but are not baptizing anybody.

Lots of folks are sound on soul winning but are not winning anybody.

Let?s get our doctrine on fire for God.

Verse 3:

This verse probably means that they had borne reproach for Jesus? Name. His name has never been popular in this world. To be a real church means bearing His reproach. When a church really gets down to business for God, there is going to be a certain stigma about it. Thank God for the privilege of bearing reproach for Jesus.

Verse 4:

In this verse Jesus says the bad things that He has to say about the church. Notice that He says everything good first before he mentions a single bad thing. Wouldn?t this be a wonderful world if we would do the same thing?
"THOU HAST LEFT THY FIRST LOVE. " Much like newlyweds whose love lessens with the years, often churches lose their first love. Let us always keep the sweet, pure love of our honeymoon with Jesus!

Verse 5:

"REMEMBER THEREFORE FROM WHENCE THOU ART FALLEN, AND REPENT. " Repent means "to turn around. " What Jesus is saying is to get back on your honeymoon. Suppose a married couple could regain the sweet love they had when they first married, wouldn?t it be wonderful?
"AND DO THE FIRST WORKS. " What are the first works of a new Christian? Telling somebody else about Jesus, of course. Let us get back to it.
"OR ELSE I WILL COME UNTO THEE QUICKLY. " Jesus tells them that He wants to find them winning souls when He comes again. Oh, to be pleasing Him when He comes.
"AND WILL REMOVE THY CANDLESTICK. " The candlestick in 1:20 is the church. Some churches have ceased to be real churches because they left soul winning and Jesus removed their power. Let us guard the power that we have lest we find ourselves without our candlestick.

Verse 6:

Note the word "Nicolaitanes. " It means to "rule the people. " God does not expect a church to be ruled by anyone. It is a spiritual democracy. A true New Testament church has no place for bishops, popes, etc. We take our orders only from God.

Verse 7:

"HE THAT HATH AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAITH UNTO THE CHURCHES. " It means a spiritual ear. In other words, "you who are spiritual, hear these things. "
THE TREE OF LIFE is for the healing of the nation as mentioned in Revelation 22:2. Thank God for the provisions He has made for His own.

THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA:

Verse 8:

"AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN SMYRNA WRITE. " The word "Smyrna "is the same word for "myrrh, " which was a sweet smelling perfume. This church was a fragrance to the Lord. They were willing to suffer for Jesus.
"THESE THINGS SAITH THE FIRST. " That forever settles the possibility of evolution. Jesus was first and made man from dust.
"AND THE LAST. " That settles what is going to happen in the future. When all else is gone, Jesus will be here. This is a day when everyone seems to be worrying about the future. I do not know what the future hold, but I know that Jesus holds the future.
"WHICH WAS DEAD, AND IS ALIVE. " This is a encouragement to the suffering people at Smyrna. They were facing death for Jesus. He reminds them that He rose from the grave and that they will too. Jesus was saying, "They killed me too, Smyrna, but I got up again. "

Verse 9:

"I KNOW THY WORKS, AND TRIBULATION, AND POVERTY. " They did not have a lovely building to draw folks. They had no carpets, no stained glass windows, no rich members, no prestige in the community, but they had the approval of God.
"(BUT THOU ART RICH). " They were rich in things that money cannot buy. You cannot buy the power of God or spirit of unity among the church members. I know many churches who would gladly trade big buildings for a sweet spirit.
"WHICH SAY THEY ARE JEWS, AND ARE NOT. " Could this apply to the folks who say that all Anglo-Saxons are Jews (or the real Israel)?
"BUT ARE THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN. " "Synagogue "means "gathering together. " The word "church "means "called out. " We have too many gatherings today where the people have never been called out. The Devil has his churches. A church that does not teach salvation by grace, the blood of Jesus, etc., is a church of the Devil.

Verse 10:

"BE THOU FAITHFUL. " What a command. The one thing God wants from His churches is faithfulness.
"FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH, AND I WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN OF LIFE. " This has nothing to do with salvation. It simply refers to rewards. God is going to give a special crown to the faithful. Will you get one?

Verse 11:

"SHALL NOT BE HURT OF THE SECOND DEATH "can be translated to this: "is not about to go to the lake of fire. " Read Revelation 20:14.

THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT PERGAMOS:

Verse 12:

The word "Pergamos "means "marriage. "
"THESE THINGS SAITH HE WHICH HATH THE SHARP SWORD WITH TWO EDGES. " This sword is the Word of God, as taught in Ephesians 6:17. This shows us that Jesus is bringing judgment upon the church at Pergamos. When a person is cut he cries. The same is true with a church that is cold and indifferent. When someone preaches the Gospel to them, they cry like babies.

Verse 13:

"I KNOW...WHERE THOU DWELLEST, EVEN WHERE SATAN?S SEAT IS. " The word "seat "should be translated "throne. " This church was living where Satan?s throne was. Where is Satan?s throne? Read II Corinthians 4:4 and John 12:31. Satan?s throne is in the world. Occasionally someone says, "God is on the throne of this world. " THAT IS NOT SO. The god of this world is Satan himself.
From this, we find that this was a worldly church. Isn?t that a picture of the churches in many places today? Many have gone out of the soul-saving business into a recreation business. We have brought dances, card games, movies, pool tables, etc., right into the church house. God take us back to the business of winning souls to Jesus and get us out of the world. The drawing card of church is Jesus. That?s enough.
"AND THOU HOLDEST FAST MY NAME. " They believed that Jesus was God?s son. There are some among us who deny that Jesus is the Son of God. There are preachers who do not believe that Jesus is God?s Son. Yet this is not our greatest danger. Our greatest danger lies in the same place as that of Pergamos. Though we are fundamentally sound, we are getting more worldly by the day.
"AND HAST NOT DENIED MY FAITH. " They were straight on the plan of salvation. They did not believe that works were essential to being saved. They were straight on that and yet they were worldly. Brother, what you believe will not do you a big of good if it does not change your life.
"EVEN IN THOSE DAYS WHEREIN ANTIPAS WAS MY FAITHFUL MARTYR, WHO WAS SLAIN AMONG YOU, WHERE SATAN DWELLETH. " The word "martyr "means "witness. " Thank God for those who are willing to witness for Jesus.

Verse 14:

BUT I HAVE A FEW THINGS AGAINST THEE, BECAUSE THOU HAST THERE THEM THAT HOLD THE DOCTRINE OF BALAAM. " Read Numbers 22 and Numbers 31:36 for the story of Balaam:
Note these facts about Balaam:
He would not go to wicked King Balak in order to gain money for himself, but to please him he did go to him when God had forbidden him. He was a popularity seeker.
He caused the Israelites to intermarry and to tolerate idolatry. Since "Pergamos "means marriage, then could we not say that this doctrine was tied in with the fact that the members of this church were married to the world, where Satan dwelleth?

Verse 16:

What God says in this verse could be translated thusly: "Get out of the world before I come. I don?t want to find you in the world when I come again. "

Verse 17:

"TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I GIVE TO EAT OF THE HIDDEN MANNA. " The spiritual interpretation is this: God has hidden truths to teach us, but he will not let us understand them if we are living in the world. When we come out of the world, God lets us understand the hidden truths of His Word.
"AND WILL GIVE HIM A WHITE STONE, AND IN THE STONE A NEW NAME WRITTEN. " Praise God, He will engrave my name in Heaven. My name is in the Book of Life right now. Is yours?
"WHICH NO MAN KNOWETH SAVING HE THAT RECEIVETH IT. " No man knows your condition before God right now save you. Would you search your heart and find if you are right with God?

THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT THYATIRA:

Verse 18:

"THESE THINGS SAITH THE SON OF GOD. " If man had said these things, he would certainly have been criticized, so God reminds us that these things were said by Jesus. Bible preaching is hard preaching. When we preach the truth of Jesus, we must say some hard things and yet we must always say them in a tender spirit of love, as a parent who finds it necessary to punish a child.
"WHO HATH HIS EYES LIKE UNTO A FLAME OF FIRE, AND HIS FEET ARE LIKE FINE BRASS. " Brass is a symbol of judgment. God may be reminding Thyatira that certain judgment will come because of their sins.

Verse 19:

"I KNOW THEY WORKS, AND CHARITY [LOVE], AND SERVICE, AND FAITH, AND THY PATIENCE. " Notice that all of the good things that God said about this church are positive things. They stood for some things but did not stand against anything. Here was a church that did many good things, but did not take a strong stand against evil. Our Gospel is both positive and negative.
You will also notice that this church was rich in social service. God did not commend them for soul winning. His commendations were for social service. That is good, but social service is not the main service of the New Testament church. To build hospitals, schools, etc., is good, but they are second to the reaching of men for Jesus. If we spent as much time doing soul service as we do social service, God would be pleased.
"AND THY WORKS; AND THE LAST TO BE MORE THAN THE FIRST. " Note that it was a growing church. Its last works were more than the first ones. Growth is not the only sign of a true church. In fact, it may not be a sign at all. Big reports and added membership are good, but not the sign of a real New Testament church.

Verse 20:

"NOTWITHSTANDING I HAVE A FEW THINGS AGAINST THEE, BECAUSE THOU SUFFEREST THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL. " Notice the word, "sufferest. " It means "to allow. " This church allowed sin to creep in. It did not judge sin and condemn it. It tolerated sin. A person can live like he wants to in many churches and never get his sins condemned.
Notice the woman, Jezebel. There was a wife of a wicked king in the Old Testament named Jezebel. She dominated her husband. Obviously, Jesus was calling some woman in this church "a Jezebel. " Note these things about this Jezebel:
1. She was worldly.
2. She was out of her place
  - Probably tried to run the church.
  - Led in the church when she should have taken the place of a woman which the Bible says is to follow.
  - It is believed that she may have been the preacher?s wife. Women preacher and bossy women are an abomination to God.
3. "TO TEACH AND TO SEDUCE MY SERVANTS TO COMMIT FORNICATION. " "Seduce "means to "mislead. " She shouldn?t have been allowed to teach in this church. This church was just too sweet to make the Devil mad.
4. "AND TO EAT THINGS SACRIFICED UNTO IDOLS. " This was the eating of the lambs, etc., that had been offered as a sacrifice to idols. It was not wrong in itself, but was doubtful and not to be eaten (Romans 14). Churches need to be taught to abstain from doubtful things.

Verse 21, 22:

The rapture will not eve affect a church like this unless she repents. It will be left here during the Great Tribulation that is to come upon the earth after the true saints have gone up to meet Jesus in the air. The tribulation will last for seven years and will be a period of terrible wars and events. Thank God! I?ll be with Jesus. Will you?

Verse 23:

In this verse Jesus reminds us that He will judge every church. We must stand the test before the judgment of God, so we need to watch our churches that they stay pure. Let us keep our program one of simply preaching, praying, and teaching the Word of God.

Verse 24, 25:

Jesus tells the real believers in this church to "Hold Fast "until He comes. In these days of darkness and apostasy, let us hold to the truth and look up for Jesus to come.

Verses 26-28:

Look at those promises. God says that we will rule the nations. This refers to the one thousand years reign of peace upon the earth when we shall rule the earth with Jesus. Read Revelation 20:1-6. I makes the load lighter now when we realize that one day we will be kings and priests and shall rule and reign with Jesus.

Notice that the morning is coming. It is spiritual night now. It is hard to stand up for Jesus and live the kind of life that God wants us to live, but morning is coming when Jesus is on the throne.

Verse 29:

Let us hear what the Spirit says to the churches and apply these teaching to our own church.

Chapter 3

THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT SARDIS:

Verse 1:

"AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN SARDIS WRITE; THESE THINGS SAITH HE THAT HATH THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD, AND THE SEVEN STARS. " You will notice in chapter 1, verse 20, that the seven stars are the angels, and the angels are the messengers or probably pastors. Hence you will notice the close association here of the Spirit and the pastors. We desperately need Spirit-filled pastors today. When churches call a pastor, they ask about his education, manners, personality, etc., but the main thing is to be filled with the spirit.
"THOU HAST A NAME THAT THOU LIVEST, AND ART DEAD. " What a pity. This church had a good name. They turned in good reports. They had a fine reputation. They baptized people. They grew, but they were dead.

Verse2:

"BE WATCHFUL. " One of the fastest ways to wake up a dead church is to get the members to be watching for Jesus to come. I do not know of a single dead church that is looking for Jesus to come. The two just do not go together. By the way, you cannot be very watchful if you believe that the world must be converted before Jesus can come.
"AND STRENGTHEN THE THINGS WHICH REMAIN, THAT ARE READY TO DIE. " In other words, God is saying, "Save the remains. " The remains of many a church could be set on fire, and the church could be revived. If this doesn?t happen, you might as well have a funeral for the church and bury the remains.
"FOR I HAVE NOT FOUND THY WORKS PERFECT BEFORE GOD. " The word "perfect " means "mature. " In other words, the folks at this church were not doing mature work for Jesus. mature works are: soul winning, praying, preaching, and studying the Bible. Why do we need to have so many new things for the folks to do today when we haven?t done the ones God gave us to do yet?

Verse 3:

"REMEMBER THEREFORE HOW THOU HAST RECEIVED AND HEARD, AND HOLD FAST, AND REPENT. " This church received the truth and had left it. God tells them to hold on to what they had.
"IF THEREFORE THOU SHALT NOT WATCH, I WILL COME ON THEE AS A THIEF, AND THOU SHALT NOT KNOW WHAT HOUR I WILL COME UPON THEE. " What does a thief do? He steals. The greatest "steal " will be when Jesus steals us away and carries us into the skies. Let us keep looking for Jesus every day lest He find us not ready for His coming.

Verse 4:

"THOU HAST A FEW NAMES. ": There were just a few left who loved God, who won souls, who came to prayer meeting, and who loved the Word of God. I believe that their greatest sin was staying in Sardis. I do not believe that God would want one of His children to freeze to death in a dead church, even if Grandma did go there.
"EVEN IN SARDIS. " What a statement. Even in Sardis there were some who loved God.
"AND THEY SHALL WALK WITH ME IN WHITE: FOR THEY ARE WORTHY. " These are those who are going to be stolen by Jesus. While the "dead " ones are going through the tribulation, we will be walking in white with Jesus.

Verse 5:

"AND I WILL NOT BLOT HIS NAME OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE. " God has a book of the names of every man. Those who fail to trust Him as Saviour are blotted out of His book, but those of us who have been born again are listed in His book.
"BUT I WILL CONFESS HIS NAME BEFORE MY FATHER, AND BEFORE HIS ANGELS. " Thank God, Jesus is confessing my name here tonight. He will confess you, too, if you will confess Him before men.

THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT PHILADELPHIA:

Verse 7:

"AND TO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA WRITE. " The word "Philadelphia " means "brotherly love. " This was a church of believers who loved each other. How refreshing in a day when so many churches are splitting in two for lack of love. Let?s keep loving each other. People who love God can tell when they walk into a church if the people love each other or not.
"HE THAT OPENTH, AND NO MAN SHUTTETH. " God reminds them that if the door is to be left open, he is the One who will do it. If souls constantly walk the aisles, it is God who keeps the door open. Note also that when God opens a door, no man can shut it. Praise God! No human enemy can bother a church when God keeps the door open.
"AND SHUTTETH, AND NO MAN OPENETH. " When God so desires, He can withdraw His power from a church and close the door. A man told me recently that his church was growing and the folks were visiting, but no one was walking the aisles. Brother, it is God alone who can open and shut the door. Many a church has had its doors shut and could not reopen them. The same is true with denominations and individual Christians.

Verse 8:

"BEHOLD, I HAVE SET BEFORE THEE AN OPEN DOOR. " This church had an open door. let us notice three reasons why God had kept their door open:

They had a little strength.
They had kept the Word of God
They had not denied the name of Jesus.

The reason that the doors of a spiritual power have been closed to many churches is that they have ceased to believe that the Bible is the Word of God. They do not preach the Word anymore. They do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that the blood is essential for salvation, and other fundamental Bible truths. God have mercy on this generation of so-called churches.

Verse 9:

Judging from verse 8, this church was a small church. In this verse, Jesus promises that there shall be a day when the false churches will have to fall down and worship the true church and admit their error.

Verse 10:

The key word in this verse is "FROM. " It means "out of. " We are to be kept out of the hour of temptation that is going to come. What is the hour of temptation? It is the Great Tribulation that is going to last seven years, when Satan is turned loose and the greatest of all wars, famines, etc., shall take place. This verse teaches that all real churches will be taken out of this period. We will be with Jesus during this time. Praise God! Just as Noah was taken out before the flood, we shall be taken out before the Great Tribulation.

Note also the word "KEEP. " It means "guard. " Jesus is guarding us from the coming tribulation.

Verse 11:

"BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY. " Why is He coming quickly? To take them out of the tribulation.
?THAT NO MAN TAKE THY CROWN. " "Take " could be translated "receive. " What crown? There is a crown to be given for loving the appearing of Jesus. This church was to get that crown. Will you get this one? Are you loving the appearing of Jesus?

Verse 12:

"PILLAR. " We may not have much strength here, but we shall be pillars there. My, what bodies we shall have, as strong as the pillars of the Temple of God.
"AND HE SHALL GO NO MORE OUT. " Vacations end, week ends end, honeymoons end, but there will be no leaving in Heaven. No good-byes.
"AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM THE NAME OF MY GOD. " Read Revelation 22:4. We will be branded for Jesus. Imagine. God?s name, Jesus? name, the name of the city of Heaven all written on us. Just as cattlemen brand their cattle, so Jesus will have us branded for Him.

Verse 13:

Let us hear what the Lord says and make our church like the church at Philadelphia. Thank God for the true churches left today even though they be few in number.

THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA:

Verse 14:

"AND UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH OF THE LAODICEANS WRITE. " The word "Laodicea " means "please the people. " Galatians 1:10 says that you cannot please the people and God at the same time.
"THESE THINGS SAITH THE AMEN. " The word "amen " means "So let it be " or "it will be so. " Jesus is reminding the people that His prophesies will transpire just as He had said they would.
"THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS. " A witness tells what he has seen. Jesus sees all that goes on in our churches, and one day He will witness concerning what He has seen.

Verse 15:

"COLD " is the same word that is used for ice water. Isn?t that a pretty good description of many churches?
The word "HOT " means "burning " or "fervent. " Wouldn?t it be wonderful if our churches were really on fire for God.
This sums up most of us - NEITHER COLD NOR HOT. In other words, as spoken in the next verse, they were lukewarm. Have you ever drunk coffee or a hot drink that was nearly cool. Have you ever drunk iced tea when it was nearly warm? How awful it tastes. How awful for a child of God who is supposed to be on fire for God to be lukewarm.
Did you know that lukewarmness sends more folks to Hell than just about anything else? The world has more respect for a drunkard in the gutter than for a Christian who is half and half and lukewarm. How many times have I heard a lost person hide behind a lukewarm Christian and say "I am as good as he is. "

Verse 16:

"SPUE " means "vomit. " God says that a lukewarm Christian makes Him want to vomit. "Well...I?m not so bad "... "I?m sort of lukewarm " are the comments of many that I visit. God says they are vomit.
What does the doctor give someone when he wants him to vomit? Lukewarm water is the answer.

Verse 17:

Notice in the first part of the verse what the church said about itself. They had beautiful furnishings, prestige, and were self-satisfied.
Note what God says about them:
1. Poor. They were just the opposite of Smyrna.
2. Naked. Laodicea was one of the most fashionable cities of that day. Yet God said they were naked.
3. Blind. (Nearsighted.) They were blind to souls, missions, etc. Imagine (if you can) this letter being read at the Sunday morning worship hour at Laodicea. Can?t you just see the anger on faces of aristocrats?

Verse 18:

Notice that there was hope for this church. Many a cold, dead church has been set on fire for God. Many a preacher has been set on fire for God, such as Wesley, William Booth, Luther, and others.
Note the prescription that God gave them: Eyesalve. Eyesalve first hurts, then blinds, then heals.

Verse 19:

"AS MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN. " The parent who doesn?t spank his child doesn?t love him. A preacher who will not stand against the sins of his people doesn?t love them. God shows us His love by chastening us.
"BE ZEALOUS THEREFORE, AND REPENT. " In other words, get on fire for God.

Verse 20:

"BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR, AND KNOCK. " This really should be interpreted "Behold, I am taking My stand at the door. " Jesus stands outside the door of cold, lukewarm churches. He is always there asking for admission. What a pity.
"IF ANY MAN HEAR MY VOICE. " Just one person can turn the tide sometimes. If just one person would get on fire, many churches would get on fire.
Notice He will "SUP " with us. Supper is the evening meal. When the church is so worldly as this it is a sign that the morning when Christ is coming is near. Supper is at night. What a joy in a world of night to sup with Jesus.

Verse 21:

He is speaking about the Millennium here when we shall reign with Jesus upon the earth. We shall have the same relationship to Him then as He has to the Father now.
We are now through with the study of the churches. What have we gained? Is it going to make our a better church for Jesus? Go over the seven churches and pick out one good thing that we should have from all and one bad thing that we should avoid. God help our churches to be one hundred per cent New Testament churches.

Chapter 4 THE RAPTURE

Of course, as you will recall, "rapture " means "caught away. " It refers to the event when Jesus comes in the air and calls away His own from this world. It is the next event on God?s prophetic program.

Verse 1:

"AFTER THIS. " This is better interpreted, "After these things. " What things? It means after the church age. When Jesus comes to call us out of this world, the church age ceases, as the church will be with Jesus. So then we will not be caught out until the church age is completed. The rapture will mark the end of the church age.
"I LOOKED, AND BEHOLD. " The word "behold " means "look. " So John said, "Look, " when he saw what God had prepared for us. John was like a child in a circus as he saw all that was ahead for himself.
"A DOOR WAS OPENED IN HEAVEN. " That door is Jesus (John 10:9). He is the only door to Heaven. Our job is to tell people to look to the door that is open to Heaven, or to the Lord Jesus Christ.
"AND THE FIRST VOICE WHICH I HEARD WAS AS IT WERE OF A TRUMPET. " This proves that this verse speaks of the rapture as it fits in perfectly with I Thessalonians 4:16 and I Corinthians 15:52. We who are looking for Jesus are simply awaiting the sound of the trumpet now.
"WHICH SAID, COME UP HITHER. " Here is the even that we call the rapture. Here the church is caught out of the world and we do not find the word church mentioned again in Revelation until all has been fulfilled. Some day Jesus will open up Heaven and say, "Come up hither. " The time of the Great Tribulation is going to come upon the earth. The Lord seems to be saying to His own that He does not want them to have to go through such an hour, so He calls them out of that period.

Verse 2:

"AND IMMEDIATELY [in the twinkling of an eye] I WAS IN THE SPIRIT. " It is the Holy Spirit who will call us out. He alone has the power to rapture us. Those who do not have Him in their hearts by being born again will not be caught away at the rapture.
Notice in the remainder of this verse whom we shall see at once. We will see a great throne and Jesus on the throne. He is the first one the real Christian wants to see.

Verse 3:

"AND HE THAT SAT WAS TO LOOK UPON LIKE A JASPER AND A SARDINE STONE. "
Jasper is a symbol of wisdom. Could it mean that it is wise to be ready for His coming? How foolish for a person to be lost as we see the time approaching.
Sardine is a symbol of marital happiness. That is exactly why He is coming. We are going to be married and live with our Bridegroom forever.
"AND THERE WAS A RAINBOW ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE, IN SIGHT LIKE UNTO AN EMERALD. "
The rainbow is a symbol of Calvary. It is a promise by God not to judge again that which has already been judged. The rainbow in Heaven will remind us that we will never have to suffer the sorrow and pains of this world again. It will be a constant reminder that we are in heavenly bodies to stay.
Emerald is a symbol of discovering false friends. You can rest assured that all of the false friends of Jesus will be discovered at the rapture. When the saints are gone, those who are left can?t fool anybody any more about their salvation.

Verse 4:

"AND ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE WERE FOUR AND TWENTY SEATS. " The word "seats " is better translated "throne. "
"AND UPON THE SEATS I SAW FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS. " These elders represent every New Testament Christian. In Old Testament days there were 24 priests on duty at a time, but they represented all of the priests. Hence, these 24 probably represent all of the priests. The Bible teaches that every New Testament Christian is his own priest, so these 24 represent all of us who are saved. Praise God, all of His children are priests.
"CLOTHED IN WHITE RAIMENT. " We will be wearing white raiment. You remember in the Garden of Eden God made a coat of skins to clothe naked man. In order to get a coat of skins, an animal had to die and shed its blood before the skins could be obtained. So our Lamb of God shed His blood in order that we might have white raiment picturing our righteousness before God.
"AND THEY AHD ON THEIR HEADS CROWNS OF GOLD. " God is going to reward us for our faithfulness, etc., with crowns at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Crowns for faithfulness, clean living, suffering, soul winning, and loving the appearing of Jesus are all mentioned in the Bible as crowns that will be given. How many will you get?

Verse 5:

This verse shows the clouds with lightning and thunder. Above the clouds all may be peaceful when a storm is raging under them. When we are above the clouds with Jesus at the marriage of the Lamb, under the clouds shall be a time of Great Tribulation on the earth. Thank God, those of us who belong to Him shall be above the storm.

Verse 6:

Four new creatures are introduced in this verse. They are called "beasts, " but the best translators call them "living creatures. " Really they are "full of life creatures. " They constantly are praising God as you see in verses 7 and 8. Their sole purpose is to sing praises unto God around the throne.

Verses 9,10:

Notice now what will happen. We hear the creatures praising God, so we join in the song and sing with the living creatures and praise our wonderful Saviour.

Note also what else we do. We take off our rewards that God has given us as crowns and hurl them at Jesus? feet, and say He alone is worthy to receive them. Perhaps we shall sing,

All hail the power of Jesus? name, Let angels prostate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all.

Chapter 5 THE REDEMPTION OF THE PURCHASED POSSESSION

There are those who say that Revelation is not a book of prophecy, but rather of the history of the church. This theory seems even more absurd than ever when you study carefully the fifth chapter of this wonderful Book. No history of the church has ever recorded any such event as you find in this marvelous chapter.

Verse 1:

When one had to forfeit his property because of need, there were certain conditions when a kinsman could redeem it from the one who had bought it from his kinsman. When such a deal was made a sealed book contained the title deed to the property and was held by the purchaser. This is the book mentioned by the Lord here. It was the title deed to that which Jesus had redeemed on Calvary that His kinsman, Adam, had lost in the Garden of Eden. Thank God, Jesus has redeemed us as well as the earth.
Notice it was sealed with seven seals. We are the purchased possession and the Bible says that we are sealed with seven seals. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Hence, we are secure until the day when Jesus breaks the seals.

Verses 2,3,4:

Notice that no man could open the seals and the book and redeem the earth. Man has tried to do it and thinks he can do it, but peace will only come on the earth when Jesus comes and opens the seals to His purchased possession. Leagues of Nations, Security Councils, United Nations, and all the rest will fail, but Jesus will bring peace when He comes.

Verse 5:

John was weeping when he was told that there was One who could open the book. Jesus had prevailed. "Prevailed " means "conquered. " Jesus had conquered on Calvary and could open the book.

Verse 6:

Notice who it was. It was the Lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God. The reason He is pictured as a Lamb here is that it was as a Lamb that He purchased our redemption.

Also note that He is standing even though He had been slain. This pictures our risen Lamb. All of the Old Testament lambs died and that was it, but our Lamb died and got up from death. Praise His name!

Verse 7:

Here is one of the greatest days in all time past and to come, Jesus steps up to receive what He has purchased.

Verses 8, 9, 10:

Notice the pomp of the occasion. At the moment Jesus received the deed:

The harps start playing.
We all sing redemption?s song.
We shall reign on the earth with Jesus.

Chapter 6 Verse 1:

In the preceding chapter, we had the acceptance of the sealed book by the Lamb. Remember that the book is the Title Deed to the purchased possession bought by Jesus on Calvary. In this chapter we have the opening of the seals. In this verse, the Lamb (Jesus) starts to open the seals.
Notice the words, "COME AND SEE. " Probably this should have been simply "Come. "

Verse 2:

THE FIRST SEAL IS OPENED and lo, one comes forth on a white horse. Comparing other Scriptures with this, it undoubtedly speaks of the coming of the Man of Sin, the Antichrist. The Bible teaches that immediately after the church is caught out a terrible world dictator will come who will be Satan incarnate (Satan in a human form). He is the Devil?s key figure in the Great Tribulation. Read II Thessalonians 2.
You will notice that he comes on a horse. He is imitating Jesus. Other Scripture passages seem to teach that he comes as a false messiah. At any rate, he comes as Jesus will eventually come--on a white horse.

Verses 3, 4:

THE SECOND SEAL IS OPENED. What is it? It is war. Remember now that the church has already been taken out and the Antichrist is revealed. Now comes bloody war.

Verses 5, 6:

THE THIRD SEAL IS OPENED. What is it? It is a famine.

A measure of wheat is approximately one quart. A "penny " was the normal day?s wage for a laborer. Imagine a day?s wage only buying a quart of wheat. The depression of the 1920?s and 30?s was nothing compared to the one that is coming to the world after the church is caught out. Thank God, I?ll be with Jesus at the marriage of the Lamb.
"SEE THOU HURT NOT THE OIL AND THE WINE. " Oil and wine in the Bible seem to symbolize luxury. There will be none in that day. The world shall be cast into a terrible time of hunger.

Verses 7, 8:

THE FOURTH SEAL IS OPENED. What is it? It is death.

"ONE FOURTH PART OF THE EARTH " seems to imply that one fourth of the people of the earth will be killed. Imagine it. The world?s population is approximately three billion. One fourth of that would be 750 million people. Can you imagine that many killed in such a short period of time?

All of these events will take place after the Christians are gone.

How foolish for one to be here when he could be with Jesus by trusting Him as Saviour and Lord.

Verses 9, 10, 11:

The next three verses deal with the souls of martyrs. The question comes immediately as to what martyrs they are. They could not be the souls of martyrs who were slain before the rapture because they were raptured and received their glorified bodies in chapter 4. Hence these must be the ones who are to be killed for the Gospel during the tribulation up to this time. In verse 8, one fourth of the world?s population was killed, and probably many of these were martyrs.
Notice why these are to be killed. "FOR THE WORD OF GOD, AND FOR THE TESTIMONY WHICH THEY HELD. "
Notice that they are under the altar. Why an altar? The answer is simple. The brazen altar was the place of sacrifice. Every person who dies for Jesus gives the supreme sacrifice.
There are several things that are taught here about souls that should be brought out in this study:
1. The dead in Christ are still alive.
2. They can be seen. John said that he saw them.
3. They are with Jesus.
NOTICE THEIR CRY, "HOW LONG? " They are so anxious to gain their glorified bodies. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus "
THE SINNER?S PRAYER MEETING...Revelation 6:12-17.

Verse 12:

HERE WE HAVE THE OPENING OF THE SIXTH SEAL:

"THERE WAS A GREAT EARTHQUAKE. " The word here for "earthquake " means "quaking in general. " In other words, there shall be quaking all over the earth. It also means to "shake, toss, or jolt. " It involves the entire world and planetary system in a time of commotion.
"AND THE SUN BECAME BLACK. " Imagine sleeping until noon and it still being dark. Imagine it with the sun completely darkened. Such a day took place in the northeastern section of this country in May, 1780. People were in a state of panic as the day became dark for seemingly no reason at all.

Verse 13:

You can easily imagine this verse transpiring after reading verse 12. On November 13, 1833, a night like this happened and the people were scared to death. On that night, for nearly three hours, fiery balls filled the sky and people were horrified.

Verse 14:

You have seen a scroll unroll and roll up. That is what is meant here.
The reason for the mountains moving is simple. Several times in California there has been a quake so bad that rivers have dried up and mountains have been leveled. That is exactly what will take place except that all the mountains will be moved. Imagine how morbid everything will look.

NOW LET US LOOK AT THE PRAYER MEETING ITSELF:

Look at the "PRAY-ERS. "
1. Kings-who thought they were too powerful for Jesus.
2. Great men- who thought they were too great for God.
3. Rich men-who thought they were too wealthy for God.
4. Soldiers-who thought they were too strong for God.
5. All Christ rejectors.
Look at the object of their prayers: The rocks. They rejected the Rock of Ages and now they are praying to the rocks.
Now notice their PRAYER: "HIDE US. " They were asking to be hidden from Jesus, when they could have been hidden in Jesus. And well they might cry for a hiding place from Jesus, for He will pour out His wrath upon them.

Chapter 7

THOSE SAVED DURING THE TRIBULATION

There will be some people saved after the rapture of the saints. Some teacher?s believe that II Thessalonians 2:10-12 teach that if anyone has heard the plan of salvation and rejected it, they will not have a chance to be saved after the rapture of the saints. This chapter deals with the group that will be saved during the Great Tribulation.

Verse 1:

THE FOUR WINDS in this verse can be explained by Ephesians 2:2 and Daniel 7:2. These winds are the wrath that is going to be unloosed by Satan who is the prince of the power of air.

Verses 2, 3:

Just before the trumpets of judgment are turned loose, an angel comes from the sun rising and delays them for a while in order for the servants of God to be sealed.
Once again, God protects His own.

Verse 4:

WHO ARE THOSE TO BE SEALED? They are 144,000 Jews, GOD IS NOT THROUGH WITH HIS CHOSEN RACE, THE JEWS. They are returning every day to their land. Some are to be there to make a covenant with the Antichrist, we believe from Daniel 9:27.
HOW WILL THEY GET THE GOSPEL? After the rapture, there will still be Bibles here, as well as tracts, etc. These will probably be used by the Lord to reach the House of Israel.
WHAT IS THEIR WORK? Probably they will be the ones who spread the Gospel to all the world during the tribulation. These 144,000 preachers preach that Jesus is the Messiah.

Verses 5-8:

The meanings of the names of the twelve tribes are interesting. Notice the following:

Judah................................PRAISERS OF GOD
Reuben.....................LOOKING TO THE SON
Gad......................................A COMPANY (of)
Aser.......................................BLESSED ONES
Nepthalim..........................WRESTLING WITH
Manasses............................FORGETFULNESS
Simeon..................HEARING AND OBEYING
Levi..........................................CLEAVING TO
Issachar..........................................A REWARD
Zabulon...A HOME AND DWELLING PLACE
Joseph................................................ADDING
Benjamin......SONS AT GOD?S RIGHT HAND

Read down the list of meaning and you?ll find the purpose of these Jews. They are praisers of God looking to the Son, a company of blessed ones wrestling with forgetfulness, hearing and obeying and cleaving to a reward of a home and a dwelling place, adding sons at God?s right hand.

THOSE SAVED DURING THE TRIBULATION: Not only will there be 144,000 Jews saved during the tribulation, but there will be people of every nation under the sun. Verses 9-17 deal with these converts.

Verses 9, 10:

Imagine the beauty of this occasion-people from every nation under the heavens singing together.
Notice that they had palms in their hands. This came from the Old Testament Feast of the Trumpets when the people, after harvest, carried palm leaves in their hands and worshipped God in booths as a time of rejoicing, hence, these saints are rejoicing because of their salvation.

Verses 11, 12:

At such an impressive scene as this, the angels join in singing in a time of real rejoicing. This is in accord with Luke 15:10. The angels always rejoice when a soul comes to Jesus.

Verses 13, 14:

Notice that these verses tell who these are who are saved. They came out of great tribulation. Actually, it should be the Great Tribulation.

Chapter 8

PREPARATION FOR THE TRUMPETS

Thus far, we have seen the opening of the six of the seven seals. The seals contain punishments man shall bring upon himself. The trumpets begin the judgments God will inflict upon man. The seventh seal contains the seven trumpets. Sketching it out, it would look like this:

In other words, the seven trumpets are in the seventh seal.

Verse 1:

For several chapters now we have been hearing choirs rejoice. As we come to chapter 8, these choirs suddenly stop. Have you ever heard a large choir come to an abrupt halt? That is what happens here. The four living creatures, the hundreds of millions of angels, the saints of all the ages, suddenly stop their singing. Imagine it!
WHY DOES THE SINGING AND REJOICING STOP? Simply because the most horrible things that have ever happened are about to happen as the trumpets are about to sound. The silence is like a breathless gasp in horror. For about thirty minutes, all of the choirs of Heaven gasp in horror as they stop the music for a breathless moment of silence.

Verse 2:

In the midst of this silence, we see seven angels who are about to blow seven trumpets. If you will read Numbers 10:1-9 you will see several things for which trumpets were blown.

For a gathering for a Feast. When Jesus comes to rapture His church, the trumpet will gather us to the wedding feast at the marriage of the Lamb.
For a gathering for War. The same trumpet that gathers us to the Great Feast hurls the remaining people into terrible war. What will the trumpet sound mean to you? War or a Feast?
For the anointing of a King. Jesus is going to come back to the earth as King of kings to establish His reign of peace for one thousand years. We shall be His subjects. The sounding of the trumpets mean that the King is coming soon.

Verse 3:

What could the prayers of the saints have to do with this great event? Simply this: This even has been the heart throb of all praying saints through the years as they have prayed, "THY KINGDOM COME. " Far too many pray that prayer and do not realize what they are praying. When you pray this prayer, you are asking God to hasten the day when Jesus will reign as King over the earth in His Kingdom. These trumpets are the beginning of the answer to that prayer.
An interesting thing taught here is that God is recording the prayers of the saints. This should make us resolve to pray more than ever. You are making a recording, not on Decca or Columbia, but on God?s machine as you pray.

Verses 4, 5:

You will remember that the altar was the place of the substitute, a type of the cross. The fire consumed the substitute, but since those upon the earth at this time are those who have failed to accept the Substitute, the angel throws the fire to the earth. Either man accepts the fire upon the substitution or he must suffer the fires of Hell himself.
"CAST " means to throw or hurl.
Now hear the noise start again. Just as the sudden stopping of noises was awesome, even shall the sudden lightning and thundering earthquake be awesome.
The voices in this verse are probably voices of horror and crying over the soon coming of the awful trumpets.

Verse 6:

Now we prepare ourselves to see what could be so horrible as to cause so much concern. In the next verse we shall see what the trumpets are and why they caused millions to gasp in horror.
Before us stand seven angels with seven trumpets. Heaven?s rejoicing has been silenced because of the awfulness that the blowing of the trumpets was going to bring immediately. The angels are ready to sound the trumpets. The first one is sounded.
Please note the word, "PREPARED." It means "prepared by appointment." In other words, God has appointed these things to happen and they will happen. God?s train runs according to schedule.

Verse 7:

The first trumpet brought hail and fire mingled with blood and burned up the third part of trees and all green grass. Some teachers symbolize the entire thing. They say the trees are great men, or teachers or doctors. They say that the grass means people in general. They say that the earth is the church. Brother, as far as I?m concerned the trees mean trees, the grass means grass, and the earth means earth.
Others say that all of the hail and fire, etc., are symbolic and that such as that could not really happen. Well, it has happened before. The plagues that God sent upon Egypt brought a similar thing. Read Exodus 9:23, 24. God has said that this would happen again in Jeremiah 23:7, 8.

Verse 8, 9:

The second trumpet will bring an object that will be like a great mountain that will be cast into the sea and turn one third of the sea to blood. Some try to symbolize and say that the mountain is this thing or another and the blood stand for something and that the sea will never actually turn to blood.
This also happened before. You will find it recorded in Exodus 7:19, 20.
I believe that one reason that the word "blood " is mentioned here is that God is going to constantly remind them that they could have escaped this awful time had they accepted the blood of Jesus.
Note also that one third part of sea life will die and one third of the ships will be destroyed. When one ship is destroyed, it gets headlines and disaster help. Imagine one third of the ships being destroyed.

Verses 10, 11:

One third of the waters will be like wormwood. Wormwood is a bitter, intoxicating, poisonous thing. It paralyzes and kills. Imagine one third of the water supply turned this way. it is the bitterest herb known to man.
WHY WILL GOD DO THIS? Could it be that it is because of the bitter gall they gave Jesus to drink on Calvary? The world has always been bitter towards Jesus. They will receive their deserts.

Verse 12:

This brings the blowing of the fourth trumpet that brings a partial darkness over all the earth.

Verse 13:

The word "ANGEL " here should be "eagle. " Now in the Scriptures many times when God speaks of the rapture. He calls the raptured saints eagles. Though this is probably a real eagle, it is interesting to note that God does speak of the saints as eagles. Why?
1. Eagles are great watchers. They are hard to fool and are alert. We are to watch all the time for the coming of our King.
2. Eagles like to go higher than most birds. The farther they fly from the earth the better they like it. We too should live high and separated lives from the world.
3. We are going to mount wings as eagles and fly up to meet the Lord when He comes at the rapture.
4. This eagle that comes is warning the earthdwellers of the three remaining plagues that are to come.

Chapter 9

We have seen the first four trumpets and the horrors that accompanied their blowing, and also the eagle flying through the air announcing the three WOES as the last three trumpets prepare to blow. Let us look at the trumpet number five.

Verse 1:

The fifth trumpet is sounded. Immediately John saw a star. "FALLING " is better translated "fallen. " So this star was fallen from Heaven. Notice that the star is called him, so it must be a personality. Angelic being are often called stars. Adding all of this together, we find that this star is an angelic being, fallen from Heaven.
You will note that this creature has the key to the bottomless pit, or Hell. Have you ever thought of Hell as a bottomless pit? You fall and fall and fall and fall and never reach the bottom, for there is no bottom.

Verse 2:

If anyone doubted the literal fires of a burning Hell, this verse should dispel any of those doubts. It is a furnace from which comes terrible smoke that darkens the earth.

Verse 3:

When this person opens the pit, locusts come out. Some say this could not be. It happened in Exodus and it will happen again. If these are not literal locusts, then no man could ever tell us what they might be.
In the Reader?s Digest in 1953 there appeared an article describing the critical problem caused by locusts. Many crops have been entirely eaten up by the locusts in the East.

Verse 4:

The normal food of the locust is green food. However, God does not let them eat on green food in this time, but rather they shall feed upon the flesh of men.
What men? Those who have not the seal of God. God always cares for His own. We shall be with Jesus, and the others who have been saved in the tribulation will be protected. The locusts will feed only upon the bodies of the unredeemed.

Verse 5:

These will be deadly locusts. They will not kill men, but they will only torture them for five months. Think of it!
They will sting like a scorpion. Men have foamed at the mouth and gone into convulsions many times over the sting of one scorpion. What a horrible time when the entire world does this.

Verse 6:

The torment of the locusts will be so great that men shall try to commit suicide, but cannot. God will not let them die. They may take poison, but it will not kill them. They may shoot themselves, but cannot die. They may try to die, but cannot. (No wonder the seeing of this scene silenced Heaven.)

Verses 7-9:

These verses give a description of these locusts:

THE SHAPE -like that of a horse.
CROWNS ON THEIR HEADS -like gold.
FACES -like that of a man.
HAIR -like that of a woman.
TEETH -like those of a lion.
SOUND -like many horses and chariots preparing for battle.

Verse 10:

Notice that this shall last five months. Imagine the terribleness of this.

Let us thank our God over and over again that we will not have to endure this awful time. We will till be enjoying the marriage of the Lamb with Jesus in Heaven.

Verse 11-12:

The sixth angel sounds the sixth trumpet. Let us see what it contains.

Verse 13-14:

The angels which are bound are no doubt four of Satan?s angels that have been prepared for this specific time of tribulation.
Notice also where they have been bound-near the River Euphrates (the word "in " also means near or around). It is interesting to note that the place where they have been bound is in the locality of the place where the Garden of Eden was located. This is where Satan first made his attack on the human race, where sin first came into the earth, and where death first came to man.

Verse 15:

This verse tells us that these angels are to be used to slay the third part of men. You will remember that in chapter four, one fourth of the people have been killed and that leaves three fourths. Now one third of that three fourths is killed leaving only half of the previous population of the world. The population of the world now is in excess of two billion. If it were exactly two billion, that means 500 million would be killed in chapter four and another 500 million would be killed here in the sixth trumpet. That would leave only one billion people left.
HOW MUCH TIME SHALL THESE ANGELS USE IN PERFORMING THEIR JOBS? This verse tells us one year, one month, one day, and one hour. Think of it!

Verse 16:

What will the four angels use to carry out their march of death? It will be the Devil?s calvary-two hundred million horses from Hell. We have seen Hell?s locusts. Now we see Hell?s horses. The locusts tormented for five months. Now the horses kill for over thirteen months.

Verse 17, 18:

Notice that the horses have heads of lions. What a horrible picture.
They have Hell in their mouth. Fire, brimstone (sulfur), and the smoke that blows out of their mouths is used to kill. Brother, the smell of burning sulphur is enough to kill, let alone the intense heat.

Verse 19:

They have tails like serpents. In other words, they have whiplike tails that could lash a person to death.
The tails also had heads of serpents. Probably many shall die from the bite of these serpent tails on the horses. (Think of the horror: People will call the police department, but they cannot be of help. Newspapers will be swamped. Highways will be blocked. People will try to hide in the mountains. There will be one horsemen for every ten people or two families. Imagine your boy, girl, mother, or father being tortured by these hideous monsters. People will die of heart failure. How horrible!)
Let us thank God for the blessed truth that we are under the blood and safe in Jesus. If you are not His child, you had better come into the ark of safety while there is yet time.

Verses 20, 21:

A lost person might say, "Well, after all that, if I am still alive I will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. " That is not so. This verse teaches that you will not repent then. Men do not get saved on their own terms, but on God?s. God?s terms are now.
Note that they will still be worshipping wooden gods, etc., that cannot see, hear or walk. Thank God, our Saviour is alive. We have a living God!
Notice the things that men shall do in this period:
1. Idolatry.
2. Sorceries (fortune-telling, narcotics, etc.).
3. Fornication (adultery, marriage laxity, etc.).
4. Thefts.

>From these things, it sounds like we must be near the time now, doesn?t it?

Chapter 10

Remember that we are still in the sixth trumpet awaiting the blowing of the seventh trumpet. As we begin this chapter, and angel comes down from Heaven with a proclamation. Let us look at the events of this great chapter:

Verse 1:

Some say that this angel is Jesus (and there are some good arguments). Others say that it is just another angel. I believe that at least if this is not Jesus that it is His special angel. You will notice that the following things will remind you of Jesus:
1. "CLOTHED WITH A CLOUD. " Jesus is to come in the clouds.
2. "AND A RAINBOW. " Remember Revelation 4:3, the rainbow about the throne.
3. "AND HIS FACE WAS AS IT WERE THE SUN. " Revelation 1:16.
4. Verse 3 speaks of him roaring as a lion. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
This could easily be Jesus, for He is spoken of in the Old Testament as and Angel.

Verse 2:

"AND HE HAD IN HIS HAND A LITTLE BOOK. " Read in Revelation 5:1. No doubt this is the same book mentioned in chapter 5 as the title deed to the redeemed possession bought by Jesus on Calvary. He has the deed with Him.
"AND HE SET HIS RIGHT FOOT UPON THE SEA, AND HIS LEFT FOOT ON THE EARTH. " Notice two facts about this act:
1. This was the Roman custom of triumph. We are more than conquerers through Jesus. We will win through Jesus.
2. This also signifies possession. He is taking possession of the purchased property. It is a sign that Jesus will reign upon the earth and it shall be under His dominion for one thousand years.

Verse 3:

We have had the seven seals. In the seventh seal were the seven trumpets. Now we have the seven thunders. Let us see them.

Verse 4:

1. John says when he saw them, he got ready to write.

2. Suddenly God told John to seal up the seven thunders and not write them. Perhaps it was too horrible to be written. You have heard soldiers say that certain battles were too horrible to describe. Perhaps this is the case here.

3. Please note that this is the only place in Revelation where God says it cannot be understood. The rest of it is revealed to us and we can understand its teaching.

Verses 5-7:

1. The angels declares that time (better translated "delay ") should be no longer. God gives plenty of time, but sooner or later, He cannot delay any more and time runs out.

2. What a solemn occasion! The end is coming. The world has about run its course. We should not be too much in love with this old world for it is going to pass away. It is foolish to try to whitewash this world that is headed for destruction.

Verses 8-11:

1. We are supposed to feed upon the Word of God and make this prophecy a part of us. We have no right to neglect it.

2. It was both sweet and bitter. (Read the call of Ezekiel.) It is sweet to serve Jesus, yet there is bitterness with it. This world is not a friend of Jesus.

3. There are two sides in the Gospel-the sweet and the bitter. To those who receive Jesus, it is sweet; to those who refuse it, it is bitter. Perhaps that is why the Bible is called a two-edged sword in Hebrews 4:12.

Let us thank God that our Lord has the title deed to this earth and that we will someday rule with Him for one thousand glorious years.

Chapter 11

Verse 3:

1. You will notice that God speaks of the coming of two witnesses to prophesy. Bear in mind that the period that we are now studying is the Great Tribulation, which takes place after the saints have been called up to meet the Lord in the air. Some think that these witnesses are the Old and New Testaments, and many other speculations are given.

It seems to me that these men are men who have left the earth and have come from heaven to witness. One of these men undoubtedly is Elijah. You recall that Elijah did not die, but that he was caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The Bible says many times that Elijah is going to come and preach again. He will be one of the two witnesses.

Well, who is the other one? Who else in the Bible did not die. Enoch is the answer, so it seems logical that the witnesses are Elijah and Enoch. A few think they will be Elijah and Moses. At any rate, these will preach during the Great Tribulation.

2. This verse speaks of the length of their ministry-1,260 days, which is exactly three and one half years.

Verse 4:

For a clear explanation of this verse simply read Zechariah 4:2, 3.

Verse 5:

Notice how these witnesses will be protected. When people try to hurt them, they spit fire on them and kill them. God always has a way to care for His own, doesn?t He?

Verse 6:

Notice another power that they will have. They can stop the rain or send plagues on the earth. They can send the plagues of lice, frogs, hail, etc., that God sent in Moses? day, if they so desire. many take this verse to prove that one of these men will be Moses, and they have a strong argument.

Verse 7:

After they finish their course, the Antichrist will come and destroy them, but he will not and cannot until God is through with them.

Verses 8, 9:

For three and one-half days their bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem for the people to view.

Verse 10:

When these two witnesses are dead, the people shall rejoice and even send gifts to each other celebrating the death of these two men.

Verse 11:

The celebration is broken up , however, by the men coming back to life again right in the middle of the party. "He who laughs last laughs loudest. "

Verse 12:

All of a sudden, the men are caught up in Heaven as their enemies watched them. So closes a wonderful episode in the events of the tribulation.

Verses 13, 14:

These verses show the response of the people of the earth when these two witnesses are caught away in the clouds. It says that they give glory to God. This means very little for two reasons:

They were only giving Him the glory because they were in trouble. Many people think that they can live a life away from the Lord and when death comes they can just turn to the Lord and go to Heaven. There are three reasons why you had better not take that chance.
1. Jesus may come at any moment, and you would not be ready.
2. You may die a sudden death and not have any time to repent.
3. You had better come while the Spirit draws you else He may not convict you at death.
They were giving glory only to God. The Devil doesn?t mind you talking about God or the Creator or Deity, but he hates for you to talk about Jesus.

Verse 15:

Two things are taught in this verse:

The kingdoms of this world are headed for doom. We are not going to build a kingdom ourselves on the earth. All of this talk about "kingdom building " and "bringing in the kingdom " is unscriptural.
Jesus is going to come and bring His own Kingdom upon the earth.

Verse 16:

Remember that the four and twenty elders represent all new Testament priests (all believers). We will reign with Him.

Verse 17:

This verse teaches that we shall be a part of a kingdom that will never die. Stalins die. Hitlers die. Roosevelts die. Our Lord shall never die.

Verse 18:

Four things are spoken of as pertaining to the reign of our Lord.

It will make the Devil?s crowd man. When God is working, the Devil?s crowd always gets stirred up.
The lost dead will be judged. This will take place after the 1,000-year reign (Rev. 20).
Rewards shall be given. Our place in the Kingdom will be determined by what we have done for Jesus. Some will rule ten cities; other, one city.
Those that destroy the earth will be destroyed. All of the liquor dealers, robbers, gamblers, etc., will be destroyed. Won?t it be wonderful to live in a world ruled by Jesus, in perfect peace, with all of the earth destroyers gone. Praise the Lord for the hope of the Millennium when we shall reign with Jesus for one thousand glorious years!

Chapter 12

Verse 1:

"WONDER " means "signs " or "symbol. " So we see that this chapter deals largely with symbols. Isn?t it wonderful that when God is going to speak in symbols He tells us so. Hence we can follow our rule of taking the Revelation literally unless God tells us otherwise as He does here in this chapter.
The "WOMAN " mentioned in this verse is Israel. Israel is often called a woman in the Scriptures. You will also notice that she has on her head a crown of twelve stars. Probably these stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel, so the woman is Israel.

Verse 2:

God promised Israel a Child to become the Messiah. All through the years of Jewish history the Jews looked for the coming of that Child. She was in travail looking for the birth of the promised Child. In Isaiah 9:6 the prophet says, "Unto us [Israel} a child is born.... "

Verse 3:

As soon as the promise of the Child was given there appeared a dragon to try to destroy the Child. The dragon is Satan. Notice he is powerful and has crowns and horns upon his head. Horns in the Scriptures always symbolize kingdoms. So Satan has his kingdoms in this world.

Verse 4:

Notice that the dragon is standing to try to destroy the Child as soon as the Child is born. You will remember how Herod was used of the Devil to try to destroy Jesus by killing all of the male infants. God marveously protected the Child Jesus by sending Joseph into Egypt to stay until Herod?s death.

Verse 5:

The first words of this verse almost fit exactly the words spoken in the Gospels concerning the birth of Jesus. Israel gave us our Saviour. We should eternally be grateful to the Jews for the One they have given to us.
The second truth in this verse is the fact that Jesus will rule the nations with a rod of iron. This prophesies the one thousand years that Jesus will rule the earth with the saints.
Another statement, "AND HER CHILD WAS CAUGHT UP UNTO GOD, AND TO HIS THRONE, " deal with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus into Heaven.

Verse 6:

Notice that when the Child was taken into Heaven the woman fled. The Jews have been scattered ever since Jesus went back into Heaven to be with the Father.
Notice also in this verse the mention of the 1,260 days again which divides the seven years of tribulation. My, it is wonderful how God knows what He is talking about, isn?t it?

Verse 7:

This war takes place at the end of the first three and one half years of the tribulation period. The Devil is thrown out of Heaven with his angels. The reason that the Devil has access to Heaven now is found in verse 10-he is accusing the saints.
The word "FOUGHT " means "declared war. "

Verse 8:

The word "PREVAILED NOT " mean "conquered not. " Satan will lose this war, will be conquered, and will not accuse us any more.

Verse 9:

The word "CAST " means "throw. " He is literally thrown out of Heaven.
He is thrown into earth.

Verse 10:

He is called in this verse the accuser. As previously stated, his job now is to accuse us before God. He would love to get every child of God unsaved, but, thank God, he cannot touch a one of us.
You will notice that he accuses us both day and night.

Verse 11:

You will notice this verse gives us the only way we can defeat the Devil in our Christian lives:

We overcome by the blood of the Lamb. The Devil does not mind when we preach good works, live a good life, or help the poor; but he hates the blood and those who preach the blood. Our only hope at judgment will be to plead the blood of Jesus.
The word of our testimony also defeats the Devil. If he ever gives you any trouble, just give your testimony-he hates that.
Love not your own life. When we love God?s work more than our own lives, the Devil become defeated in our lives.

Verse 12:

As the Devil is thrown out of Heaven, Heaven swells into a great joyful song. What a happy day when the Devil can no longer accuse the saints.
Notice the words, "WOE TO THE INHABITERS OF THE EARTH. " The reason is simple. As the Devil no longer appears in Heaven, he will put all of his efforts and wicked devices into action on the earth. Hence, the last three and one half years of the tribulation will be even more horrible than the first.
The Devil will be more vicious than ever because he is living his last years as the prince of the power of the air. He is beginning to sweat because he knows his end is near. A dying animal is the most vicious animal. The Devil will become more vicious when he is cast out of Heaven at the beginning of the last half of the seven years of tribulation.

Verse 13:

Immediately when he comes to earth he begins to persecute the Jews. The Devil hates the Jews. They gave us the Bible. They gave us Jesus. We will dwell in their land in the millennium. Hence, he hates and persecutes Israel. One of the sure signs of the coming of our Lord is the growing persecution of God?s race.

Verse 14-16:

These verses show the marvelous protection that God will give Israel in these days. Just as He protected Noah and his family through the flood, He will protect His people once again through the tribulation. God cares for His own. He fights for His people.

Verse 17:

Seeing that he could not touch God?s people, he goes out to make war against the other saved people in the world at that time. You can rest assured that wherever people love and serve God, the Devil is going to fight them. The churches that are doing the most for God receive the most criticism from the Devil?s crowd. Christians who win the most souls and look for the Lord?s return will be fought at every turn by the Devil. Thank God, victory is coming when the Devil is defeated.

CONCLUSION: There are four times in the Bible when Satan is cast out:

He was cast out of his exalted position as an angel in Heaven before the foundation of the world.
He will be cast out of Heaven as our accuser during the tribulation.
At the beginning of the millennium he will be cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years.
Before the great white throne judgment he will be cast into the lake of fire forever.

Chapter 13

Verse 1:

We are beginning now the last three and one half years of the tribulation period. This verse shows the coming in fierceness of the Antichrist, the final world dictator who will try to rule the world. He is this Beast.
According to the teaching of Daniel, these ten horns will be ten kingdoms that will be under this Antichrist.
This man is the Devil incarnate. In other words, he is to the Devil what Jesus is to God. He is the Devil in a human body. Just as God has His Trinity, even so, Satan has his trinity. This Beast is the opposite to Jesus in the Devil?s trinity.

Verse 2:

Notice that he gets power over the Devil?s throne. This word "SEAT " means "throne. " Since the world is the Devil?s throne, this Antichrist will be on the throne of the world.
He is in the process of taking over now as you will find in I John 2. Those who deny the Deity of Jesus have the spirit of the Antichrist now. That spirit is prevalent.

Verse 3:

Probably the teaching here is that Rome will have a king over her kingdom again. There has been no head of the Roman Empire for centuries. This head will be healed, and this man will be the emperor. Many think that this man will be Judas resurrected, and they have some pretty good arguments.

Verse 4:

Note that this Beast will be a great religious leader. In fact, Daniel teaches us that he will pose as the Messiah to the Jews and shall be accepted as such. Then in the middle of the seven years of tribulation, he will exalt himself as God. You find this in I Thessalonians 2:4.
The Scriptures teach also that he will attempt to unite all religious bodies and form a religious federation. The World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches are playing right into his hands. many of the leaders of the National Council are men who have leaned toward Communism for years. Others do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. Following is a chart of what has happened and will happen in religious circles:

NOTE: The Catholic church split and many denominations came from her. They are going now into one Protestant body and will very likely join the old Mother herself one of these days. Then the stage will be set for the Antichrist to take over.

Let us summarize the studies on the Antichrist before beginning a new study on the False Prophet:

He is the Devil in a human body.
He is the world dictator who will revive the Roman Empire.
He is the second person of the Devil?s trinity.
He will be revealed just after the rapture of the church.
An interesting study on this Man of Sin is found in Daniel 11. Vs. 21. He will seem to be peaceful and will offer himself as the Messiah to Israel, making promises unlimited. Vs. 23. He will enter into a league of federation with the Jews and break it at the middle of the seven years of tribulation. Vs. 36, 37. He will want to be worshipped as God and will reject the real God.

NOW LET US LOOK AT THE THIRD PERSON OF SATAN?S TRINITY, THE FALSE PROPHET:

Verse 11:

Note that this man comes like a lamb. Read John 1:29. He is simply imitating Jesus, who is the Lamb of God.
Just as the first Beast was the political head of a federation, this False Prophet is the ecclesiastical head of a church federation. Since the political kingdom is the Roman Empire, it seems likely that this man could be a Pope since he resides in Rome himself. At any rate, this man is the leader of the great World Council of Churches that will be in existence then.
When the church was organized, the pastor was the highest office. The crave for power came and bishops were appointed over several churches. Then they chose one bishop to oversee the others and called him the archbishop. Then they put someone over all of the archbishop. Then they put someone over all of the churches and called him the Pope.
Here you see also a union of church and state. This fits in very nicely with the Roman Catholic Church which has always tried to make theirs the state church.

Verse 12:

Notice that this Beast points to the first one and makes the people worship him. This is proof that he is the opposite of the Holy Spirit, who points people to Jesus.

Verse 13:

Notice that he has supernatural powers. Some people think that just because a miracle is performed, that proves that it is of God. That is not so. Satan has power to perform miracles. A good example of this is fortune-tellers. Do not believe that a movement is of God just because it has miracles attached to it.

Verse 14:

Here is another evidence that this has something to do with the Catholic Church. Here is an image made of the Beast. God deliver us from anything that resembles idolatry.

Verse 15:

"AND HE HAD POWER " is better translated, "And to him was given power. " Satan has no power but that which is given to him by God. God has a governor on him.
Notice that death is the penalty for not worshipping the Beast?s image. It reminds us of the three Hebrew children in Daniel when they were cast into the fiery furnace.
This image will be the image of the federation of churches. When the Federal Council of Churches are in control you almost have to bow down now. God keep us fighting the World Council, National Council, etc.

Verses 16, 17:

This certainly sounds like Communism, doesn?t it?

Verse 18:

The mark of the Beast is 666. Seven is God?s number. Six is man?s number. Six is the best the Devil can do. Each one of these sixes represents one of the Devil?s trinity.

Chapter 14

Verse 1:

"A LAMB " should be "the Lamb. "
You will remember that the 144,000 were spoken of in chapter seven. They are twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel who are going to preach the Gospel of Jesus during the tribulation. Here we find them mentioned again. This chapter shows them at the end of the tribulation as they are rewarded for their works.
Even though the world is to be at its worst period in history, there will still be 144,000 who are true to the Lord. Always there is a remnant for Jesus. Even in these dark hours, there are some who love the Lord and His work and preach the truth. Let us thank God for those who stand for the truth and hold them high in prayer.
Notice that they wear the name of God on their heads. The translation should be, "HIS NAME AND HIS FATHER?S. " In other words, they will wear Jesus? name and the Father?s name on their foreheads. They are not ashamed. God help us to wear His name so men might know that we are His.

These will have a new name. When a woman marries, she adopts the name of her husband. So it is with us. When we see Jesus we will wear His name.

Verse 2:

Notice that John said that he heard the voice of harpers; Heaven?s harps will play for these who have been faithful.

Verse 3:

These 144,000 will sing a new song together. What a choir that will be! They will not be able to sing the old songs because they all pertained to events that will already have happened at that time. For example, they cannot sing, "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder, " because the roll will have already been called when this happens.

Verses 4, 5:

Several things that should be noted about these are:

They are chaste. The word "VIRGIN " means "chaste " or "pure. "
They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. This is exactly what every Christian should do. Many say that they take Jesus with them wherever they go. You cannot do this unless you follow Him wherever He goes. Our job is to follow Jesus and not to take Him anywhere. The most wonderful place in the world is to be in the center of the will of God.
Their mouths were pure. How wonderful to see a person who sins not with him mouth.
They are without fault before God. This means blameless. God saw them as blameless in His sight.

Verse 6:

Some say that this is one of several different gospels. I believe that there is only one Gospel and that the only one is salvation by grace through faith.

Verse 7:

Notice the words, "LOUD VOICE, " repeated over and over again, denoting the urgency of the occasion.
Notice the words, "THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME. " God?s judgment has come before, and yet this is the greatest hour of judgment when God?s wrath is completely poured out upon the earth. What we are about to see is God?s wrath without any mercy.

Verse 8:

This verse no doubt points to chapters 17 and 18 when political and ecclesiastical Babylon shall be destroyed. Notice, "FALLEN, " mentioned twice, means that both Babylons shall fall.

Verse 9-11:

Now comes the punishment upon the unbelievers who have worshiped the Beast. Notice the different statements about the punishment.

It is without mixture. This means it is unmixed. It is pure wrath not mixed with mercy, love or grace. It is God?s power given completely in anger.
"THE CUP OF HIS INDIGNATION " means the cup of His anger. God has been holding His anger in check, but at this final day God will be an angry God with no mercy upon the unbeliever.
They will be tormented with fire and brimstone (sulphur). There is no fire as painful, nauseating, and hot as burning sulphur or brimstone.
Notice in whose presence the punishment will be-in the presence of the holy angels and the Son of God. What humiliation!
The punishment of the unbeliever will last forever. Hell is eternal fire punishing Christ-rejecters forever and ever. Verse 11.
The unbelievers will have no rest again. This means no relief from suffering. There will be no anesthetic to deaden the pain.

Verse 12, 13:

You will notice in verse 13 that at this time in the latter days of the tribulation period even the Christians will be better off if they die. The reasons are:

They can rest from their labors. (This is in direct contrast to verse 11 prohibiting rest.)
Their works do follow them, and they shall be rewarded for their labors for God.

"THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON "

The following verses deal with the coming Battle of Armageddon. This battle gets its name from Revelation 16:16. A study of this is in order because of the widespread ignorance about the battle. Some thought World War I might be Armageddon; still others thought World War II might be it; others were concerned about the Korean War. Let us note several things concerning this battle:

It is a literal battle.
It is not a battle between nations.
It cannot be fought as long as we Christians are here.
It will happen after the rapture.
It is between Jesus and the Antichrist and his forces.
It closes the seven years of tribulation.
It ushers in the millennium.

Verse 13:

The word "CLOUD " means "a special, prepared cloud. " Acts 1:11 says Jesus will come again as He went away. He went away in the clouds. He will come again in the clouds.
The Son of Man spoken of in this verse is undoubtedly Jesus.
You will notice that He has a golden crown upon His head.
He left this world with a crown of thorns as the suffering Saviour...He will return with a golden crown as the conquering King!

Verse 15:

The word "THRUST " means "to throw. "
Notice that this sickle is to be thrust in the earth in order to reap the harvest. The only harvest one can reap is the product of that which has been sown. Galatians 6:7 certainly proves this; hence, the earth will reap what she has sown. For two thousand years she has sown sin and rebellion against God; therefore, she will reap the wrath of God.
"RIPE " means "rotten. " That will be the condition of the world. Once again we find that this world is not going to get better; rather, at the time of reaping it will be rotten.

Verse 16:

This is a climactic verse. It is the thrusting in of God?s sickle of judgment. The word "ON " means "against. " God?s judgment is going to be against this earth.

Verses 17, 18:

Here we find another sickle and another thrusting. This one is not the harvest of the earth, but the harvest of the vine of the earth. Just as Christ is the True Vine, the Antichrist is the vine of the earth. Just as we Christians are on the True Vine, even so, unbelievers will be on the false vine (Antichrist). In verse 18 it says that her grapes are fully rotten.

Verse 19:

The grapes on the vine will be cast into the great winepress. A winepress is a big trough or vat for the treading and smashing of grapes in order for the juice to be made into wine. The wicked shall be put in God?s winepress and trampled upon.

Verse 20:

When the wicked have been trampled upon in God?s winepress, this verse says the blood will come out and form a river two hundred miles long, that will come up to the horses? bridles. Men scoff at such a prophesy. Let us be reminded that when Titus destroyed Jerusalem, Josephus tells us that the blood ran along the streets and into the houses, even putting out some of the fires!

When Cylla destroyed Athens, the blood was in the streets and yards and ran through the gates like a river. Let us thank God that through the shedding of the blood of His Son, we will avoid this terrible shedding of man?s blood.

INTRODUCTION: In order that we might understand better the preparation for the Battle of Armageddon, we need to understand the par Russia is going to play in the end-time. To understand this, turn to Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. Some say this has already been fulfilled; however, since chapter 37 deals with the final millennium, chapters 38 and 39 must take place between two preceding events. The only period between these two events is the seven years tribulation. That these chapters could be fulfilled soon is proved by the recent recognition of Israel as a State and their acceptance into the United Nations. Let us look at these two chapters:

EZEKIEL 38:1, 2:

"GOG " means the "chief prince of Rosh. " The word "Rosh " is the root word for Russia.
"MAGOG " means the "land of the prince " (the word "Gog " meaning "prince, " and the word "Ma " meaning "land "). Historians say that this land is located around the Black Sea. All of us know that this is the location of Russia.
The words "MESHECH " and "TUBAL " represent tribes which settled in the vicinity of Magog. They settled in the places now known as the Russian cities of Moscow and Tobolsk.

EZEKIEL 38:9:

This verse teaches that when Russia does attack Palestine she will come (1) Like a storm (Russia is now planning a standing army of sixty million men), and (2) Like a cloud. Perhaps this refers to Russia?s tremendous emphasis on paratroopers. On September 16, 1935, the Russian papers told of a Russian paratrooper experiment that "obscured the sky like a cloud. " Little did they know that they were quoting Scripture.

EZEKIEL 38:11:

Contrary to the past, the new villages in Palestine are all unwalled as the Scripture predicts.

EZEKIEL 38:12, 13:

These verses show why Russia will come into Palestine-to get riches. There is more wealth in the bottom of the Dead Sea than in all of the United States of America. There are chemicals worth one and one fourth trillion dollars in the Dead Sea. Russia wants that wealth.

EZEKIEL 38:15:

You will notice that one of the main arms of Russia?s army will be a calvary. Many people say this proves the fallacy of this Scripture. Notice two things:

Russia has been buying up the world?s horses for years, and now owns almost three-fourths of all the horses in the world.
For years Russia has been breeding a new super-horse.

EZEKIEL 38: 5, 6:

Notice the allies who will come with Russia:

PERSIA-In 1936 Russia and Persia signed a treaty strengthening their friendship. Persia is now called Iran, and is now antagonistic toward the British and the Americans. Several years ago Iran asked the American troops to leave the country. The reason that Russia will ally with Iran is that one-fourth of the world?s oil is in this little country.
ETHIOPIA-Some say this is ancient Ethiopia and perhaps this is true. However, it is interesting to notice that the little country of Ethiopia is extremely friendly with Russia and has been since the Italian-Ethiopian War in the late 1930?s.
LYBIA-This is located in the general vicinity of Egypt that has been a hotbed of international strife for the last decade.
GOMER-Gomer was the originator of a tribe named after Japheth?s son, which migrated into what became Eastern Germany and Poland. Russia has both today. So you can see the division of Germany was not news to God.
TOGARMAH-This was a tribe which settled in Armenia. Armenia is now Turkey. Russia has always wanted Turkey and will have her some day.

>From Turkey to Haifa to Megiddo (the valley of the Battle of Armageddon) is a straight run.

EZEKIEL 38:18:

As Russia comes on Palestine the fury of God will be aroused.

EZEKIEL 38:19:

He will send an earthquake.

EZEKIEL 38:23:

He will defeat Russia.

EZEKIEL 39:2:

Five-sixths of Russia will be destroyed.

EZEKIEL 39:12:

It will take seven months for Israel to bury all the Russians.

CONCLUSION: Jesus wins the victory at Armageddon. The nations of this earth are overturned. The Battle of Armageddon is over, and the Millennium is begun. Praise God, He will be the Victor.

DANIEL 2-THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

INTRODUCTION: In order to understand the true significance of the Battle of Armageddon we must understand the second chapter of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the world empire of Babylon. He is the chief character of this chapter.

Verse 29:

Nebuchadnezzar was lying upon his bed thinking about what would come to pass after his death. He was interested in the future! Would to God that all Christians were interested in the future. If one is willing to pay the price in Bible study, he will find that the course of events is outlined completely in the Word of God. It is a sin for a Christian not to know prophecy.

Verses 31-35:

While laying on his bed Nebuchadnezzar saw an image described in these verses. Daniel revealed to him the image, and in verse 36 prepares to give the interpretation of the image. The image had a head of fine gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay.

Verses 37, 38:

In these verses we find that Babylon, the world empire, was the head of gold. In following verses we will find that this image represents the entire Gentile dominion over the world. All of the Gentile kingdoms that will ever rule the world are mentioned in this image.

Verse 39:

This verse teaches that another world kingdom will conquer Babylon. This kingdom is mentioned in Daniel 5:31 as the Median Kingdom, which united with Persia and ruled the world. Still another kingdom is mentioned in this verse that would conquer the Median-Persian Kingdom and rule the world. This was fulfilled when Alexander the Great conquered the world for Greece.

Verse 40:

Another kingdom was to conquer Greece. History tells us that Rome conquered Greece and was the next world empire. You will recall when Jesus was born-all the world was taxed by the Roman Empire.

Another interesting fact is that we are down to the legs of the image, denoting the split in the Roman Empire that took place four or five hundred years after the birth of Christ.

Verse 41:

This is the only part of the image that has not yet been fulfilled. No kingdom has conquered the world since Rome. This chapter and other chapters of the Bible (Daniel 7) teach that these toes represent ten kingdoms that will form a revised Roman Empire. This has not happened yet, but is in the making. It will be simply a United States of Europe and will be headed, according to Daniel 7, by the Antichrist himself. When this federation is complete, and the religious federation previously studied about in Revelation 13 is complete, the stage will be set for the Battle of Armageddon.

Verses 44, 45:

The vision showed a stone smiting the image and becoming a great mountain, filling the whole earth. Verse 44 shows that this stone is the kingdom that will break down the kingdoms of this world and will cover the whole earth. This is the millennium.
This kingdom shall never be destroyed.
It is set up by the God of Heaven.
It will consume all other kingdoms.
It shall stand forever.
It will not be a man-made kingdom. It is cut out "without hands. "
The King will be Jesus, the Stone rejected by the builders, the Rock of Ages.

CONCLUSION: Per chance there be some who would doubt the authenticity of this interpretation, God has an answer for this verse 45b- "The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. "

Chapter 15 and 16

INTRODUCTION: These two chapters should be one, so we are going to treat them as such.

Revelation 15

Verses 1:

The words "FILLED UP " mean "completed. " In other words, God?s wrath will be completed with these seven last plagues found in chapter 16. As horrible as the previous plagues have been, they cannot compare to these last seven plagues which complete the wrath of God.

Verses 2-4:

These verses are stated parenthetically, showing the joys of God?s people at the sight of the completion of God?s wrath and the nearness of the coming Kingdom.

Verses 5-8:

A door opens to the Temple in Heaven.
Seven angels having seven last plagues come out of the door.
One of the four beasts (living creatures) gives to each angel a vial from which to pour the seven last plagues.

Revelation 16, Verse 1:

"VIALS " means "bowls, " implying that God?s wrath is going to be poured out on the earth, with no mercy whatsoever. Let us look at these seven plagues.

Verse 2:

PLAGUE 1- "NOISOME " means "terribly destructive. " The word "SORE " means "boils or ulcers. " Imagine running boils and bloody ulcers upon the men who worship the Beast. Some say this cannot happen and cannot be literal. Proof that this can happen is that it did happen to the Egyptians in the Book of Exodus.

Verse 3:

PLAGUE 2-The second plague is the death of every living soul in the sea. Imagine the dead carcasses of all of the fish, etc., in the sea floating on top of the water. In the second trumpet mentioned in chapter 8 one-third of the life in the sea died. Now all of it dies. Imagine the diseases that could come from such a catastrophe.

Verses 4-6:

PLAGUE 3-In this plague all water becomes blood. Verse 6 tells the reason. They have shed the blood of God?s people and refused the blood of God?s Son, so they are reaping what they have sown. The word "worthy " in verse 6 means "deserving. "

Verse 7:

The question arises immediately- "How could a righteous God do such a thing? " This verse explains that a righteous God must do such things. Justice and righteousness demand punishment for sin. That is what God is giving in these plagues.

Verse 8:

PLAGUE 4-This plague gives power for the sun to scorch men with great heat. Many will die with heat strokes, many will burn to death.

Verse 19:

People often say that when these days come, then they will repent. This verse says they will not repent. Repentance can only come by conviction of the Holy Spirit, and He will not convict those who have continually rebelled against Him when this day comes. They will curse God and repent not. That is exactly what is happening today.

Verse 10:

PLAGUE 5-This plague is darkness and the kingdom of the beast. This darkness will be so great that the men of the earth will chew their tongues for pain. Will this cause them to repent? They will curse God more and repent not.

Verse 12:

PLAGUE 6-This is a very interesting verse. You will notice that the Euphrates River is going to be dried up in order that the kings of the East might cross it and have a way to Palestine. "East " means "sun-rising. " The land of the rising sun is Japan and the East (China, etc.).

This verse definitely teaches, along with other verses in the bible, that the kings from the East will also march on Israel. In our two previous studies we have found that the Battle of Armageddon will see the armies from the North (Russia, Turkey, etc.) invading Israel and the armies from the West (the revived Roman Empire, or the United States of Europe) invading Israel.

Now then, we find that the countries from the East will invade Israel, but something hinders them. The Euphrates River has long been a dividing force and a natural protection for countries east and west of it, so God will simply dry up this river to let the kings of the sun-rising march through. If that sounds foolish to you, you may study the history of Israel as God dried up the Red Sea and the River Jordan. The Euphrates River is 1,800 miles long, 300-1,200 yards wide, and 20 to 60 feet deep. God will dry it up to make ready for the great Battle of Armageddon.

SUMMARY THUS FAR: In our study of the Revelation we are now prepared for the Battle of Armageddon. We have studied how that Russia and her allies will come from the north, the revived Roman Empire under the Antichrist will come from the west, and China, Japan etc., will come from the eat upon the land of Palestine. Now, let us notice some concluding things about this battle.

Verse 13:

The word "SPIRITS " means "demons. " These demons come out of the mouth of the Devil?s trinity.
You will notice the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, which compose the Devil?s trinity. The dragon is the opposite to God the Father, the beast (Antichrist) to God the Son, and the false prophet to God the Holy Spirit.
You will notice that the spirits are like frogs, denoting that these three personalities, like a frog, come from quagmire and dark, evil places.

Verse 14-15:

1. These demons will enable the Devil?s trinity to work miracles. Satan, you know, does have the power to perform miracles.

2. These miracles will be used to deceive the nations in order to gather them together for the Battle of Armageddon.

Verse 16:

This verse tells the place where they will be gathered. They will be marching upon Armageddon, which means the "Mount of Slaughter. " Little does Russia realize today that as she plans her conquest, she is simply a tool in God?s hand to meet the appointment that she has with Christ at Armageddon. Little does Western Europe and the countries of the East realize that they are only preparing now for the appointment with Jesus at Armageddon.

Verse 15:

We are placing verse 15 after verse 16 because we believe that it has an entirely different thought. It is inserted to warn us who read that Jesus will come as a thief.
A "THIEF " comes to steal and carry something away. Jesus is coming to carry us away.
The word "BLESSED " means "happy. " Happy is he who watches for the Lord?s return.
Those who are not ready will be exposed shamefully as naked, because they have not been covered by the blood of Jesus.

Verses 17, 18:

PLAGUE 7-The word "INTO " means "upon. " Hence, this vial is poured out upon the air.
This plague concludes God?s judgment upon the earth. Notice the words, "It is done, "-the same words that Christ uttered on the cross.
When this vial is poured out upon the earth it caused thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes worse than have ever been in history.

Verse 19:

This verse explains the fall of Babylon which we will discuss in chapters 17 and 18. This verse summarizes the events of Revelation 17 and 18.

Verse 20:

The earthquakes will be so bad that islands shall be moved, valleys shall become mountains, and mountains shall become valleys. The whole form of the earth will be changed. This fits in perfectly with Zechariah 14, which tells of the Mount of Olives being torn in two pieces at the final day of our Lord.

Verse 21:

To conclude the plagues, great hail falls out of the Heaven. Every hailstone weighs a talent. (A talent is over approximately 114 lbs.) Imagine hailstones weighing over 100 pounds each. In Constantinople in 1831, the report came that hailstones the size of a man?s shoe fell killing animals and people, splintering houses, and causing havoc in general. These hailstones weighed around two pounds. Imagine the destruction of hailstones weighing fifty times that much.

Chapter 17

INTRODUCTION: We have read several times thus far about the coming destruction of Babylon. Chapter 17 is that destruction. We will find that the Babylon mentioned in chapter 17 represents all forms of false religion.

Verse 1:

A bad woman in the Bible is invariably a symbol of false religion. This woman is the anti-bride of Christ. Those who claim salvation in a man-made religion compose this harlot, the anti-bride. She is called a whore because she is guilty of spiritual adultery.
The word "WHORE" in this verse means harlot or prostitute. It is associated with the selling of one?s purity. Two things could be implied-first, those who teach salvation by works, and second, those who charge for spiritual service.
You will notice she is sitting on many waters. Verse 15 explains that these waters are nations and peoples and tongues. In other words, she is universal. Whoever she is, she covers the earth.
There is nothing better than a good woman, and nothing worse than a bad woman. Applied spiritually, there is nothing better than being a part of the bride of Christ, but there is nothing worse than being of a false religion.

Verse 2:

She is guilty of fornication with the kings of the earth. This religion, hence, is a state of religion, not believing in separation of church and state. Do you know of any religion today who would love for their school children to ride on state school buses, and who has an ambassador to their headquarters, and who, when in power in a country, has always tried to control the government?
You will notice that this religion is a religion of loose morals. Need I say more?

Verse 3:

This woman is sitting on a Beast. You will find the explanation of this Beast in Revelation 13:1. It is the Antichrist and the revived Roman Empire. You will remember that there was to come one following the Antichrist and pointing to him called the false prophet. Could it be that the false prophet is the leader of this religion which rides on the Beast?

Verse 4:

This woman is wealthy. This religion can afford purple and scarlet, gold, precious stones, and pearls. Hence, she can have the prettiest building, more elaborate furnishings, etc. She reminds us of the church at Laodicea.
Dear friends, you can search the Bible and find invariably that God?s people are simple, humble people who do not have, usually, much of this world?s goods.
There is a cup in her hand. Even though outwardly she is beautiful, this cup is full of abomination and filthiness. This religion is an abomination in the sight of the Lord.

Verse 5:

Let us see her name. First, it was called "BABYLON THE GREAT." Babylon has, since Genesis 11, been a symbol of the world?s false religions. "BABYLON" means "confusion." In Genesis 10 and 11 Nimrod led in the building of a tower and a city in order to unify a false religion. It was called the Tower of Babel. From that day until this God has associated false religion with the terms Babylon or Babel. Even today the National Council of Churches, the Federal Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches are trying to build a Tower of Babel. Four things about the Tower of Babel.
1. It was a man-made religion.
2. It was made of a false unity.
3. It had an earthly city as its center.
4. It had an earthly representative from Heaven. In other words, one man was over it.
The MOTHER OF HARLOTS-The Roman Catholic Church is the mother of most great denominations. A child is one who comes from the body of its mother. Most of the great denominations came out of the body of Roman Catholicism. A child usually favors its mother; hence, the children of Catholicism, even thought they are the lady herself...such as sprinkling, having centralized denominational leaders, baptizing babies, etc. These all came from Roman Catholicism.
There was a day when the two great bodies were Catholics and the true believers. many children have come out from their mother, making other groups, and are now in the process, it seems, of returning to their mother. Hence, someday there will simply be, once again, the federation all in one body (Babylon) and Bible believers.

Verse 6:

You will notice that this religion is also guilty of murder-cold-blooded murder. She kills the saints. Through the centuries Roman Catholicism has been killing true believers when she could get by with it. First, she takes over a state or government. Then she forces herself as the state religion and persecutes others.

Verse 8:

The "BEAST" in this verse is the "Antichrist" mentioned in Revelation 13. You will notice that he was and is not, and yet shall be. Consequently, the Antichrist must be one who has lived, but was dead at John?s time, but would be resurrected later on.
You will notice that some were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. This would indicate that some have been in the book of life before the foundation of the world. What a blessing to think that before the world?s foundation was laid, our names were written in God?s book.

Verse 9:

Some would say that ecclesiastical Babylon in this chapter has nothing to do with the religion of Rome. You will notice, however, that the seven heads represent seven mountains on which the woman sits. Bear in mind that a bad woman is a sign of false religion. Hence, this false religion sits on a city of seven mountains. The City of Rome has long been known as the City of Seven Hills. Some say these represent the seven kingdoms which the seven kings in verse 10 rule.

Verse 10:

There are seven kings.
Five are already fallen.
One was living in John?s time.
Another was to come after John?s time.

Verse 11:

The Beast in verse 11 is the same Antichrist mentioned in verse 8.
You will notice that he WAS, meaning that he had lived.
You will notice that he IS NOT, meaning that he did not live in John?s time.
He is the eighth king.
He is OF THE SEVEN, meaning that he is one of the previous seven kings, leading us to believe that the Antichrist is one of the historical kings resurrected again.

Verse 12:

The ten horns on the beast represent ten kingdoms. These kingdoms are composing the revived Roman Empire and parallel the teachings of Daniel, chapters 2 and 7.

Verse 14:

These kings will make war with the Lamb-the Lamb being Jesus.
The Lamb will win the war because He is the King of kings. Thank God, we are on the winning side.
You will notice that some are with Him, that is, with the Lamb. Those are the believers. When Jesus returns to the earth, He will conquer the Antichrist and his armies and set up a Kingdom of Righteousness, and we will be with Him as He comes.

Verse 16:

An interesting thing happens here. You will remember that the false religion was riding on the Antichrist in verse 3. In this verse the Antichrist and his ten kings turn upon the Mother of Harlots, hate her, and destroy her. Here is the destruction of false religion.

Verse 17:

Hence, the Antichrist will run his course only until God?s words be fulfilled. In other words, the kingdoms of this world today are only fitting into God?s master plan. Rulers, nations, congresses and peace pacts do not change the course of human history. They only fit into God?s plan for the world.

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 deals with the destruction of political Babylon. Remember that political Babylon is the union of nations of the earth under the Antichrist to march on Palestine. Also remember that religious Babylon, which is a union of the religions of the world, was destroyed in Chapter 17 by political Babylon.

Verses 1-3:

You will notice that Babylon had become the habitation of devils, and the hold of foul spirits and unclean things. Let shoe who say the world is going to get better and better read these verses. This world system is going to get more corrupt until the coming of our Lord.

Verses 4, 5:

Notice God?s command to His people to come out of Babylon. This means that we are to come out of the world and be separate. Also, we are to come out of churches that are worldly and teach false doctrines.

Verses 9, 10:

Politicians shall weep with the fall of political Babylon. They have invested their lives in politics and government, and now Babylon is destroyed.

Businessmen shall weep over Babylon. Those who have wrapped their lives around business will find their business gone. Stores will close. Business will fail in this great hour.

Verses 17-19:

Commerce and travel shall fail.

Verse 22:

Pleasure and amusement shall cease. In other words, Jesus will destroy the political unions of this world and establish a rule of righteousness. Let those beware who invest their lives in this world. A life invested in this world shall be wasted. A life invested in Jesus will some day rule this world.

Chapter 19

"THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB"

Verse 1:

The scene is in Heaven after the destruction of political and ecclesiastical Babylon. Heaven is rejoicing in verse 1 because of the destruction of the great whore symbolizing all false religion. Imagine the joy of the redeemed when all religions contrary to the Bible are destroyed.

Verse 2:

The first reason that they rejoiced was that the false religions had corrupted the earth and could do so no more.
The second reason is that the blood of the martyred saints has been avenged.

Verse 3:

Notice the continued rejoicing. Also notice the number of times Alleluia is mentioned in these few verses.

Verses 4, 5:

Notice who does the rejoicing. First, the four and twenty elders who represent all those who have been redeemed. In other words, we shall rejoice after the battle has been won. A small idea of the great rejoicing was found when World War II was over. You perhaps remember the great rejoicing on the city streets when the war was over.

Also rejoicing are the four beasts, or living creatures. We will join in with the living creatures and say "Amen" and "Alleluia." Also a voice will come out of the throne shouting, "Praise God."

Verse 6:

The multitudes join in the shouting.
For the fourth time the word "ALLELUIA" is used.
Our Lord is called "OMNIPOTENT," which means He is all-powerful. Even the united forces of the kings of this world could not defeat Him.
Notice that He reigneth. He is going to be King over the whole world.

Verse 7:

Notice the words, "LET US BE GLAD AND REJOICE." A wedding is a time of rejoicing. certainly there shall be tears of joy also.
You will notice who is going to marry. The Bridegroom will be the Lamb, the bride will be His wife, or all the redeemed. Some seem to think that just one denomination will be the bride. This is not consistent with the teaching of the Bible. We are all members of His body and will be one with Him as His bride. Many have even gone so far as to say that only Baptists will be the bride. This is not so. Every saved Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, every saved Church of Christ, every saved Catholic, and those saved from every other denomination or no denomination will be a part of the bride.
Notice that the bride has made herself ready. She has prepared herself for the wedding. Two things a bride does in preparation.
- First, she accepts the invitation of the bridegroom.
- Second, she makes herself as lovely as she can for the ceremony.

Verse 8:

"GRANTED" in this verse means "given," picturing again that salvation and all that accompanies it is by the grace of God.
You will notice the wedding gown of the bride. We will be arrayed in fine linen.
The word, "RIGHTEOUSNESS," means "righteous acts." The fine linen, according to this verse, is the righteous acts of the saints. In other words your wedding gown at the marriage of the Lamb will be made of the good things that you have done for God here. I fear many people will have a pretty skimpy wedding gown.

Verse 9:

The word "BLESSED" in this verse means "happy and contented." The happy people in this world are those who are going to be at the marriage of the Lamb.
You will notice that John says that these are the true sayings of God. Many try to disprove the literalness of the Book of Revelation. John says here that these are the true sayings, meaning they are the literal sayings of God.
Let us summarize briefly the marriage of the Lamb:
The false suitors are eliminated-19:2.
The place of the wedding is Heaven-19:1.
Every formal wedding is characterized by the wedding music-19:1, 4-6.
Every marriage must have a bridegroom. Jesus is the Bridegroom-19:7.
Then we must have the bride-19:7b. The bride in this wedding is composed of all the saints.
After each wedding there is a reception. This is found in verse 9 in the marriage supper.
After the reception the bride and groom go on a honeymoon. The honeymoon is found in Revelation 20:6. We shall have a thousand years of honeymoon on earth with Jesus.
After the honeymoon, the bridegroom takes the bride to their home. Read Revelation 21:2. Jesus will take us to the place He has prepared.
...And they lived happily ever after.

Verse 10:

John was so carried away with what the angel showed him that he fell at the angel?s feet to worship him. Immediately the angel rebuked John explaining that Jesus alone was worthy of worship.
Notice the last few words in this verse. We find that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In other words, prophecy is what Jesus loves to testify about. Many so-called Christians make fun of prophetic preaching and prophetic study. From this verse, however, we find that if we are to be like Jesus, prophecy must be close to our hearts.

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS TO THE EARTH

Many times we call the rapture of the church the second coming of Jesus. That is not so. The second coming of Jesus to earth will take place after the seven years of tribulation on earth and the marriage supper in Heaven. Verses 11-16 deal with the true second coming of Jesus to the earth.

Verse 11:

He comes on a white horse. He presented Himself in Jerusalem on a white colt. The next time He comes to Jerusalem He will come on a horse.
He is called "FAITHFUL" and "TRUE." The most wonderful thing about Jesus is that He is faithful...meaning that you can count on Him to come and to be on time. The greatest thing that can be said about a Christian is that he is faithful.
Notice the words, "MAKE WAR." The modernist says that God is not a God of war. Here it says that the purpose of His coming is partially to make war.

Verse 12:

He has many crowns on His head. The word "CROWNS" means "diadems." In history many kings after conquering many countries wore the crown of each country. The reason Jesus will have many crowns is that He will be King of every nation of the earth.
He had another name that we do not know of. Here is something in Revelation that we cannot understand. God is always faithful to tell us what He does not want us to understand. When He does not make such instructions, we are accountable to learn.

Verse 13:

His clothing is dipped in blood, not in His blood, but the blood of those that He conquers.
He is called the Word of God. This proves that this is Jesus. John 1:1.

Verse 14:

Notice that someone is following Jesus. To distinguish who these armies are is simple. As it says, they are clothed in fine linen. In verse 8 we have already found that the bride is clothed in fine linen. Hence, we will come back with Him.
We will be on white horses also. If one would doubt these horses to be literal, he might remember that Elijah was carried into Heaven by a horse and chariot.

Verse 15;

The sharp sword coming out of His mouth is the Word. He will simply speak and smite the nations.
He will rule the nations.
He will tread the winepress of the people of the earth. A winepress is the making of juice by trampling of the fruit under the feet. Hence, Jesus is going to trample this earth until the blood will be to the horses? bridles, according to Revelation 14:20.

Verse 16:

Written on His clothing will be "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." On the cross His enemies wrote Him a title of mockery. At His return He will be King of kings, and Lord of lords!

"THE GREAT SUPPER OF GOD"

Chapter 19 is a chapter of suppers. There are two suppers mentioned. You may take your choice of the one you want to attend. The first is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb discussed earlier. The second is the Great Supper of God discussed in Revelation 19:17-21.

Verse 17:

The angel announces the supper.
Those that eat are the fowls that fly in the air.
In this verse these fowls are summoned to the great supper.

Verse 18:

In this verse we have the menu for the supper. Kings who forget God, military leaders and mighty men, and all those who forget God are on the menu for this supper. Those who attend the marriage supper of the Lamb will eat. Those who attend this great supper of God will be eaten.

Verse 19:

Here is the closing battle of the age, the Battle of Armageddon. The Antichrist and the kings march against God.

Verse 20:

Here is the result of the battle. The Antichrist and the false prophet will be taken and cast into the lake of fire.

Verse 21:

The armies of the Antichrist and false prophet, after their leaders have been cast into the lake of fire, will be killed at the coming of Jesus.
Their bodies shall lie in the Valley of Megiddo.
Then the fowls will come to supper. They will eat the dead carcasses of those killed in this battle. In other words, just as you see the buzzard on the highway carrying off a dead carcass of an animal, even so will the ungodly be eaten by the fowls in the air. This is the great supper of God.

Chapter 20

In our last study we came back with Jesus to the earth. Now, in chapter 20 we are going to help Him establish a kingdom upon the earth that will last one thousand years.

Verse 1-3:

In order to have this kingdom, an angel comes and binds the Devil with a chain. Some make light of this fact, but that does not change it. The Devil will be bound by a chain for one thousand years. This will be during the millennium. The idea that Satan is bound no wise ridiculous and unscriptural. As someone has said, "If he is chained now, he is on a rubber chain."

Now let us look at a little of the history of Satan:

He was originally an angel in Heaven.
He rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven to the earth, bringing other angels with him.
Though he is now the prince of the power of the air and the god of this age, he still has access to God to accuse us day and night (Rev. 12:10).
In the middle of the tribulation period he will be cast completed from the presence of God and will pour all of his wrath upon the earth for three and one-half years.
At the end of the three and one-half year period, he will be bound for one thousand years.

Verse 4:

There are many thrones and many sitting upon them. Jesus, of course, will have the main preeminence, but we, too, shall sit on thrones with Him.
Notice the words, "AND JUDGMENT WAS GIVEN UNTO THEM." During this one thousand years we shall judge the world.
This period will be characterized by many wonderful things. For example, wild animals will b tamed, and serpents will lose their poison. There will be no wars. We shall hold places of leadership. Won?t it be wonderful to live in a city where all the city officials are children of God!
This period, as stated before, is the millennium. The premillennialist believes that Jesus will come back and establish a millennium. The postmillennialist believes that we will have the millennium and then Jesus will come back. The amillennialist believes that there is not going to be a millennium. Those who believe the simple words of the Bible are premillennialists.

Verse 5:

You will recall that already at the rapture the saved dead have been resurrected. This verse teaches that the lost dead will not live again until the thousand years are finished. Some teach a general resurrection where both saved and lost will be resurrected. This is not in line with the teachings of the Word of God.

Verse 6:

This verse teaches that all will not be resurrected in the FIRST resurrection. If that were not the case, then drunkards, harlots, murderers, and all lost people are blessed and holy, since the Lord says that those taking part in the first resurrection are blessed and holy.
We shall be priests of God. Every believer is a priest.
We shall reign with Him a thousand years. The word "REIGN" means "to govern." We shall govern this world with Jesus for one thousand years.

THE MILLENNIUM "SATAN?S LAST WAR"

Verse 7:

At the end of the millennium Satan will be loosed for a season to wage his last war against Jesus. You can always look out for the Devil when things are going smoothly. When a church or home or a Christian?s life is going too smoothly, the Devil will try to interfere, so after one thousand years of perfect peace, Satan once again wages war.

The question always arises in this study as to where Satan gets his people for his battle. AT the beginning of the millennium we will be in our glorified bodies, having come back with Jesus to start the thousand years of peace; however, those who have been saved during the tribulation will enter into the millennium in the natural bodies. They will have children during the millennium, and some of those children will never accept Jesus. After a thousand years of this, many will be unsaved and will be willing to follow the Devil in a war against Jesus.

Verse 8:

After one thousand years of being bound in prison, Satan is still the same Satan. He has not reformed a bit. The same is true with all the unregenerated people.

Verses 9, 10:

Here we find the final destruction of Satan. Two things of note about these verses are as follows:

The Beast and the false prophet are still in the lake of fire. You will recall that they were cast in the lake of fire as the thousand years started. Now, at the end of one thousand years, they are still there. This eliminates the false teaching that Hell is not eternal burning.
This is the end of the Devil and one of the greatest days in the history of man. No more will Satan deceive the nations of the world.

"THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT"

The great white throne judgment is the last judgment that will transpire. There will not be a single saved person judged. It will only be for lost people and will determine how hot their Hell will be. Let us look at verses 11-15 carefully.

Verse 11:

Notice the words, "AND HIM THAT SAT ON IT." Who is it that will be on the throne? John 5:22 teaches that all judgment has been give to Jesus.
Notice the words, "FROM WHOSE FACE THE EARTH AND THE HEAVEN FLED AWAY." The Bible says that some day the earth shall dissolve and melt away. It will be at the presence of Jesus at the great white throne. The earth will naturally flee away because it has been cursed by sin, and sin cannot stand in the presence of God?s judgment. This question immediately comes: then why will Heaven flee away? The only logical answer is the fact that Satan was once an angel in Heaven. He sinned and was immediately cast out of Heaven. Perhaps because Satan sinned in Heaven, Heaven would flee away.

Verse 12:

"...AND I SAW THE DEAD...." These dead are only those who are lost. The saved dead were resurrected at the beginning of the millennium, but Revelation 20:5 teaches that the lost dead remain in their graves until after the thousand years; hence, those at the great white throne are those who died unsaved.
"...SMALL AND GREAT." The lost people must face Jesus regardless of how wealthy or how poor, how great or how small.
"...AND THE BOOKS WERE OPENED." What books will be opened? There will be a book of deeds. There will be a book of words that lost people have said. There may be a book of sermons that lost people have heard. No doubt there will be a songbook containing the gospel songs that lost people have heard. In other words, all the events that transpired in the lives of the unsaved are recorded in God?s books.
"...ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS." This does not mean that they will go to Heaven if they have done good works, and to Hell if they have done bad works. All of these people are going to Hell, but some will suffer more than others because of their evil lives. It is only to determine the degree of suffering.

Verse 13:

"...AND DEATH AND HELL DELIVERED UP THE DEAD WHICH WERE IN THEM." Death is the place where the body goes. The word "HELL" really means "Hades," which is the place where the souls of the unsaved people burn. At the great white throne judgment the body will come out of the grave, and the soul will come out of Hades and be reunited. Then both body and soul will be cast into the final lake of fire to burn forever.

Verse 14:

This verse teaches that when both body and soul are cast into the lake of fire; this is the second death. This is the death that Jesus died for us on the cross. Hence, one who trusts Jesus will never die the second death. Someone has said, "If you are born once, you die twice; if you are born twice, you die once."

Verse 15:

Notice the determining question of the great white throne: IS YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK OF LIFE? If it is, you will not appear before the great white throne. If it is not, no matter how many good deeds you have done, how many churches you have joined, how many baptistries you have waded through, or sacraments you have taken, you will be cast into the lake of fire!

Chapter 21

"THE NEW JERUSALEM"

Verses 1-8:

Immediately after the great white throne judgment takes place and the lost dead have been cast into eternal fire, John sees a city coming down from Heaven. Several things are going to be absent from this City:

There shall be no sea.
There will be no tears.
There shall be no death.
There will be no sorrow.
There will be no pain.
There will be no murderers.
There will be no adulterers.
There will be no idolaters.
There will be no liars.
There will be no sin.

Verses 12-18:

Now let us look at the description of the city.

It has a wall.
It has twelve gates, guarded by twelve angels. The names of the twelve tribes are on the gates.
There are three gates facing in each direction.
There are twelve foundations to the City. These must be literal, as nothing figurative is mentioned here.
A reed is a measuring stick of about ten feet. With this reed the City is measured.
The City is foursquare. The length, the height, and the breadth are equal. The size is listed as 12,000 furlongs. There are approximately eight furlongs in a mile, making the size 1,500 miles.
The wall is 144 cubics high. A cubic is the distance between the elbow and the fingertip, which is approximately eighteen inches. This would make the wall 216 feet high.

Verses 19, 20:

Now, let us look at the foundations of the City.

Jasper-wisdom. The people who accept God?s gift are wise. How foolish it would be to turn down such a wonderful city.
Sapphire-repentance.
Chalcedony-drives away sadness. There will be no broken hearts in Glory.
Emerald-discovers false friends. There are no counterfeits in Heaven.
Sardonyx-married happiness. The bride and the Groom shall live happily forever.
Chrysolite-frees from evil passions and melancholy.
Beryl-everlasting youth and happiness.
Topaz-fidelity and friendship. Imagine, we?ll have friendship with all the saved! Won?t it be glorious to meet Abraham, Noah, Paul, David, Joseph, the apostles, and best of all, Jesus!

No wonder somebody wrote:

Do not let your heart be troubles, neither let it be afraid; Lean upon the precious promise that the blessed Master made, "In my Father?s house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told, In my Father?s house are many mansions, and the streets are paved with God."

Chapter 22

Verse 1:

Out of the throne in heaven proceeds a river of the water of life. When Ponce de Leon looked for the fountain of youth, he was looking in the wrong places. As the old country preacher has said, "When you get old in Heaven, just take a drink and you will be young again; when you see a grey hair, just take a drink of water. When you see a wrinkle in your face, just get a drink, and it will be smoothed out again."

Verse 2:

Notice that there will be a street in Heaven.
Notice the tree of life and the fruit. Someone has asked if there will be any eating in Heaven. Well, the only thing I know to do with fruit is to eat it. Someone has suggested that it wouldn?t be Heaven to them if we couldn?t eat. One thing certain is that if we do eat, we won?t have to watch our calories and our waistlines.
Notice the purpose of the leaves. They are for the healing of the nations. There will be no sickness, for the leaves on the tree of life are healing agents. There will be no more polio, cancer, heart trouble, or any other sickness. Thank God for the tree of life.

Verse 3:

"AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE." You will recall that in the Garden of Eden a curse was put upon man. This curse included suffering, death, etc. This curse will someday be lifted.
"AND HIS SERVANTS SHALL SERVE HIM." This teaches that there shall be occupations in Heaven. We shall serve the Lord Jesus. Many have the idea that Heaven will be a place where we shall sit around all the time. That is not the case. We will have occupations. I believe, and yet we shall never tire as we do here because the curse will have been lifted. I?m looking forward to preaching in Heaven.

Verse 4:

"AND THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE." This is the big moment of them all. We shall gaze upon our blessed Lord and see His face.
Notice again that we shall be branded for Jesus. We shall wear His mark on our foreheads. That is a sign of ownership. We shall be His forever.

Verse 5:

The brightness of His presence will be so great that we will have no need of any other light.

Verse 6:

Notice again that God reminds us that these sayings are "FAITHFUL AND TRUE." You can depend on these writings as being true. Woe be to the man who denies them.
"SHORTLY" means "surely." These things will surely be done.

Verse 7:

"BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY." Again God is reminding us that He is going to come quickly some day.
The word "BLESSED" also means "happy and contented." The happiest people in the world are those who are looking for the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus in the air. If you ant to be a happy and contented Christian, then look up for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
The word "KEEPETH" means "to guard as a treasure." We are to guard as a treasure the things in the Book of Revelation. What a pity when so few even take time to read and study this marvelous Book.

Verses 8, 9:

There is a real danger here. John began to worship the angel which brought the message to him. The angel reminds him that God is the one whom he should worship. Dear friend, the One to worship is not the teachers of the truth, but the one who is the Truth. Don?t ever be guilty of preacher worship. yes, we preachers want you to love us, but our main desire is that you love and worship the Lord Jesus.

Verse 10:

Notice the words, "SEAL NOT." It is the command of God that we seal not the things written in this Book.
Notice the words, "THE TIME IS AT HAND." The reason that we are to seal not is that the time is at hand. We are to let people know about the prophetic truths because His coming is near.

Verse 11:

This verse teaches that what you are here determines what you will be when He comes. If you have been filthy here, you will be filthy in eternity. If you have been holy here, you will be holy in eternity.

Verse 12:

When He comes, His rewards will be with Him. We are to work here in order that we may receive rewards from Him at the judgment seat of Christ.

Verse 13, 14:

"DO HIS COMMANDMENTS" should be translated, "wash their robes." The only way that you may have a right to the tree of life is to wash you robes. The only way to have your robes washed is to be born of the Spirit by faith in Jesus.
Also, we find that the only way a person can enter the gates of the City is to wash his robes.

Verse 15:

In this verse we find some of the ones who will NOT be in the City. They are:

DOGS...meaning "unclean ones."
SORCERERS...those who deal in witchcraft, fortune-telling, spiritism, etc.
MURDERERS.
WHOREMONGERS...those guilty of sexual sins so prevalent in our day.
IDOLATORS..those who worship anything or anyone but the real God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
LIARS.

How would you like to spend eternity with this crowd?

Verse 16:

In this verse we find the place where Jesus wants Revelation taught...IN THE CHURCHES. So many neglect it and say that we cannot understand it. Many churches never study this wonderful Book. God says that He wants this Book taught in the churches.
Note the words, "ROOT AND OFFSPRING OF DAVID." How could Jesus be both? First, He is the root of David in that all things were made by Him as God, the Creator. Then as a man, He is a descendant of David and will someday claim the throne of David as His own.
Note the words, "THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR." Have you ever noticed the Morning Star? It is the brightest one of all just before daybreak pointing to the coming of the day. Jesus is the Star, pointing to the coming of day as He comes for His own.

Verse 17:

There are two pleas in this verse:
1. One meaning is for the lost to come to Jesus.
2. I believe that the main meaning of this verse is the plea for Jesus to come. When the personalities mentioned in this verse say, "Come," I believe that they are beckoning for Jesus to hurry and come back for His own.
"THE SPIRIT SAYS, COME."...He has been calling people to Jesus and He is anxious for the marriage of the Lamb.
"THE BRIDE SAYS, COME."...In Revelation 21:2 we find the Holy City is prepared as a bride. Not only does the Holy Spirit cry out for Jesus to come but all Heaven is crying, "Come."
"LET HIM THAT HEARETH SAY COME."...We, too, are to join in the chorus with the Holy Spirit and say, "Come." Think of it...all of the believers are to join in one big chorus saying, "Come, Lord Jesus." You have probably been to a football game when the entire crowd cried, "Go...Go...Go...Go...Go..." So it should be as all of the redeemed cry to Jesus day by day,...."Come...Come...Come..."
"FREELY" in this verse means "undeservingly." Even though we are saved we do not deserve salvation. Thank God for His grace.

Verses 18, 19:

These verses warn anyone about tampering with this Book. You had better be careful what you say about this Book, for God will punish those who add or take away from it.

Verse 20:

The word "SURELY" means "for a fact." Jesus is coming quickly "for a fact." We know that He is coming.
John says, "AMEN." He just couldn?t wait for Jesus to come.
"EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS." John had seen the whole prophetic future. He had seen the rapture, the marriage of the Lamb, the millennium, the New Jerusalem, and the many other wonderful things that God has prepared for those who love Jesus. He cried out, "Hurry up, Lord, and come."

Verse 21:

"THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH YOU ALL. AMEN."