17/04/2012
Today we will finish with some startling ideas about the book of Revelation. Remember, Revelation is an outline of what will happen....in the end. We as Christians do not have to worry. We will be enjoying a feast in Heaven during all the chaos. However, the people left on earth will still be pretending to have church and pastors will still be pretending to preach. This statement implies that a huge number of pastors, and people who call themselves Christians, will not be included in the rapture. They will be left behind to suffer through the tribulation, most not having a clue of the misery that awaits them.
How will the world explain the millions that are considered "missing" after the rapture? There is no doubt the stories will be quite compelling. They could include a world-wide poisoning, illness, or some other creative idea the Antichrist creates. For the most part, the world will be glad the Christians are gone, so they can now live in peace, or so they think.
All the talk these days centers around Globalization, which has been described as “the process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together." The process has begun, which will eventually lead to the acceptance of the mark of the beast. At some point, without this mark, no one will be able to buy or sell anything, including water, food, clothing, medicine and fuel. Unfortunately, rather than thinking that accepting the mark is a bad thing, most people will see it as a sensible solution for a cashless society with safer financial transactions. Beware this thought process. Once the mark has been taken, the bearer has reached a point of no return.
The Antichrist will make a covenant with the Middle East to bring a false peace. He will give each nation what they so desperately want. For example, his covenant will allow Israel to rebuild its temple. The Arabs and Muslims want the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Because people are so desperate for peace and the end of senseless war, they will believe his lies. However, in the middle of the tribulation, he will break his covenant, take possession of the Jewish temple, and require the whole world to worship him as God.
Remember, from our last study, the first four seals opened deal with the judgments of the first half of the tribulation, which brings about devastation all over the earth. The last three seals refer to the second half of the tribulation and the world war.
Because Israel has food and natural resources, countries will assemble their armies to march on Israel. We read from Ezekiel 38-39 how God brings Russia and her allies into the mountains of Israel, where they will be massacred. In Daniel 8:1-27, we find a description of a two-horned beast, which grows to be very great and strong. It’s two horns are identified as the Kings of Media and Persia. Media and Persia make up the modern day nations of Iran and Iraq. Their religion is Islam, which is the religion of a very large segment of the Earth's population. Islam is at odds with Christianity and also at odds with the state of Israel.
The Euphrates River is a natural boundary in the Middle East, which forms a barrier of separation for the Holy Land. When it dries up, the kings will begin their march toward Israel. In Rev. 16:12, “the kings of the east” or more literally “the kings from the rising sun”. Most people agree that these are the armies of the Orient. A confederacy of nations such as China, Pakistan, and India will band together and begin their march toward the Holy Land.
Jesus talked much about the persecution of Israel during the tribulation where he said, “flee to the mountains!” Most Biblical scholars believe this to be Petra, which is a city located in modern Jordan. In the latter part of Daniel 11, we read the Antichrist will conquer all the Middle East including Israel, but not the lands of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, also points in Jordan.
Why is Israel hated so much? Food and natural resources are the immediate thought. However, Satan’s motive is to destroy Israel and the city of Jerusalem so there will be no place for Christ to establish his kingdom. Will it work? Of course not!
In Rev. 19:13 Jesus appears at the end of the age ready to establish His kingdom. We as His army will not fight, but will simply follow along and watch. At the end of verse 15 we are reminded that the unsaved people remaining on earth at this point will resemble a wine press. Jesus will tread the wine press and the blood will flow through the land. In verse 17, an angel is in the sky standing in front of the sun essentially saying to the birds of the air, “come and get it”. Take a moment and visualize what is happening here. Satan's armies have assembled in the Valley of Megiddo to wipe out Israel. When they look up and see Christ coming, they band together in an attempt to fight against the Lord. The Antichrist and the False Prophet immediately are cast alive into the lake of fire. The battle of Armageddon will be over before it begins and all the unsaved are killed. We find their epitaph in the final sentence of verse 21: “All the birds were filled with their flesh.”
Finally, the bad is over. God now creates a new heaven and new earth. (Rev. 21) Life is perfect! We will NOT be floating around on little white clouds with angel wings! The new earth will be without the sea, but it will not be without water. We will sit down by the stream. I believe if you love fishing now, you’ll love fishing then! Will we eat? Of course. Jesus talked several times about food, including the marriage supper of the lamb and the wedding banquet. He also said he would not drink of the fruit of the vine until he sees us in our new home that he went to prepare. There will be no more tears, no death, no sorrow, no crying, no more pain. We will not remember love ones that are not there.
It will feel like home, only so much better. We won’t feel out of place. Heaven is not some symbolic spiritual fantasy. I believe we can live inside the city, or out in the country. How many people will just the city of New Jerusalem hold? Billions, and that’s just inside the city! (Rev. 21:16, And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with a reed, twelve thousand furlongs.) The length, breadth, and height are equal. That is a perfect cube, 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high! That’s about the size of the land mass of half of the United States. If there are stories, it could be over six hundred thousand stories! Billions of people could occupy the city with many square miles per person! This is just the city, not including the new heaven and the new earth! If you like space, you've got space!
Also, Rev. 21:18-21 describes walls of jasper, a city of pure gold, foundations garnished with all manner of precious stones, jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolyte, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst. The twelve gates are twelve pearls. The streets of the city are pure gold. Think about this, what so many people lust after on earth is nothing more than building materials in the new heaven and new earth!
There will be no light inside the city because God himself is the light. However, outside the city, I believe we will still be able to enjoy the beautiful sunsets and take midnight strolls without the fear of danger. The psalmist said, “He has established the sun, moon and stars, forever and ever.” That means eternally in the new heaven and new earth.
Now that we have covered this subject, there is nothing to fear about the book of Revelation and the end times, unless of course you’re not a Christian. I sure wouldn’t want to take a chance on missing all this.
