REVELATION STUDY

[oldhermit]

C. The mystery of God is finished, 5-7

1. “Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it,”

This strong angel (messenger), who seems to be the Lord himself, swears by the eternal one. This is God swearing by himself just as in the case of the Abrahamic promise, “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself...,” Hebrews 6:13.

The fact that an oath is issued regarding the following statement reveals the certainty of the thing spoken. In the same way that God had sworn an oath to David bound the certainty of the promise that God would raise up one of his descendants to sit upon his throne, so too, the binding of these events seen by John were confirmed by a divine oath.

2. “There will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.”

The “delay” relates to time. The things that were about to transpire between Rome and the Jewish nation would culminate in these events that would be heralded by the sounding of the seventh trumpet. The time of destruction was near. This end of Jerusalem would complete the mystery of God that had been long since revealed to the prophets. This was not new knowledge. These things had been prophesied centuries beforehand. Through revelation, the prophets saw this time coming, Jesus confirmed it, and the Jews should have been able to connect the words of the Jesus and the prophets to the events, and some did! This would be the day of vindication promised by the Lord to those saints who are seen under the altar in 6:10 crying, “How long O Lord...?” That wait is now about to end.

II. The Eating of the Little Book, 8-11
The eating of the book comes out of the vision received by Ezekiel in 2:8-10. “’Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.’ Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.”

A. The voice John hears again is the same voice he heard in verse four.
“Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, ‘Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.’”

B. Sweetness and bitterness seem to be associated with blessings and cursings contained in the book.

“So, I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book and he said to me, ‘Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth, it will be sweet as honey.’ I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth, it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.”

The book is the book of prophesy out of which all of the things seen up to now have been revealed.

1. The sweetness is the blessings and promises associated with overcoming.

2. The bitterness may be the judgments that are being poured out and the horrors connected with the persecution that were yet to be endured by the people of God. It was also in the assignment of John to proclaim these things to an obstinate people. See Ezekiel 3:7-14.

C. John's work is not yet finished.
Why was John to eat the book...the same reason Ezekiel was told to eat the scroll. He was to prophesy concerning “many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

The entire message of Revelation was summed up by Jesus in Matthew 24:9-14, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

When John was released from Patmos, he would continue to preach the gospel to “many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

 

[Truth7t7]

C. The mystery of God is finished, 5-7

1. “Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it,”

This strong angel (messenger), who seems to be the Lord himself, swears by the eternal one. This is God swearing by himself just as in the case of the Abrahamic promise, “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself...,” Hebrews 6:13.

The fact that an oath is issued regarding the following statement reveals the certainty of the thing spoken. In the same way that God had sworn an oath to David bound the certainty of the promise that God would raise up one of his descendants to sit upon his throne, so too, the binding of these events seen by John were confirmed by a divine oath.

2. “There will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.”

The “delay” relates to time. The things that were about to transpire between Rome and the Jewish nation would culminate in these events that would be heralded by the sounding of the seventh trumpet. The time of destruction was near. This end of Jerusalem would complete the mystery of God that had been long since revealed to the prophets. This was not new knowledge. These things had been prophesied centuries beforehand. Through revelation, the prophets saw this time coming, Jesus confirmed it, and the Jews should have been able to connect the words of the Jesus and the prophets to the events, and some did! This would be the day of vindication promised by the Lord to those saints who are seen under the altar in 6:10 crying, “How long O Lord...?” That wait is now about to end.

II. The Eating of the Little Book, 8-11
The eating of the book comes out of the vision received by Ezekiel in 2:8-10. “’Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.’ Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.”

A. The voice John hears again is the same voice he heard in verse four.
“Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, ‘Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.’”

B. Sweetness and bitterness seem to be associated with blessings and cursings contained in the book.

“So, I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book and he said to me, ‘Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth, it will be sweet as honey.’ I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth, it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.”

The book is the book of prophesy out of which all of the things seen up to now have been revealed.

1. The sweetness is the blessings and promises associated with overcoming.

2. The bitterness may be the judgments that are being poured out and the horrors connected with the persecution that were yet to be endured by the people of God. It was also in the assignment of John to proclaim these things to an obstinate people. See Ezekiel 3:7-14.

C. John's work is not yet finished.
Why was John to eat the book...the same reason Ezekiel was told to eat the scroll. He was to prophesy concerning “many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

The entire message of Revelation was summed up by Jesus in Matthew 24:9-14, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

When John was released from Patmos, he would continue to preach the gospel to “many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

Glenn as is clearly seen, last response to you was from Watermark on Mar 30th one week ago

This should tell you the interest of a person regarding (Comentary) provided by a man (Glenn) without interaction and response to your claims made

In Love

Jesus Christ Is Lord

 

[101G]

Addressing the OP.
thanks for the topic, kust seen it. if I may I would before you go on, like to address the very first verse,
Revelation 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:"
this is a revelation of ONE PERSON, God the Christ in Glorified flesh. the revelation is from God, Jesus, (who is the Spirit), to himself, about himfelf.
and you're correct on the verses below from Daniel, which correspond to Revelation 1:13-15, which indicate God in Glorified in "Diversified" flesh, as a man, the Holy Spirit.

The term Son of Man comes out of Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.”

D. His appearance, 14-17
“His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.”

This is the same vision seen by Daniel in chapter 10, although there is more detail given in John's revelation concerning his appearance. “I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.”
Everything about his appearance will represent something about his character or his function.

1. “Son of Man”
This is a picture of glorified man. The term Son of Man as it applies to Jesus is used to emphasize his human nature just as the term Son of God defines his divine nature. This term, as it relates to Jesus, seems to always be used in relation to his mediatorial or redemptive function as man.

this letter is from the Spirit, God, himself, (the Holy Spirit), now Amalgamated in Glorified flesh, which this Amalgamation is the result of his being and ECHAD of ONE.

PICJAG, 101G.

 

[oldhermit]

Chapter Eleven
Re-capping the unfolding of events from the previous chapters​

In chapter one, we are introduced to Jesus as the Almighty God. He is the giver of the revelation.

In chapters two and three, we see Jesus as the God of covenant and his judgments concerning the seven Churches in Asia. Why does Jesus begin this revelation with the judgments of the seven Churches? Because judgment always begins with the house of God.

In chapter four, we are shown the throne room scene of heaven itself with the glory and awe that is associated with the one who occupies the throne.

In chapter five, the Lamb is given the sealed book of judgments that were to come. Why? Because the Lamb is worthy to judge. All judgment has been committed to the Son, John 5:22.

In chapter six, Jesus begins to open the book with the breaking of the seals. The four horsemen reveal the nature of the pending judgments. Judgment is being pronounced upon someone. The reason for the pending judgment is the vindication of the martyred saints.

In chapter seven, God seals his redeemed out of the tribes of Israel and the great assembly of the redeemed of the earth before he begins the pouring out of judgment.

Chapter eight is the breaking of the seventh seal and the sounding of the first of the seven trumpets. Judgment figures depict the internally collapsing political system of Jerusalem. Three woes are pronounced upon Jerusalem.

In chapter nine, the evil of the abyss is unleashed in the form of the armies of Rome as they descend upon the city and the siege begins. The besieging of the city was the first woe.

In chapter ten, John is given the book of judgments to eat that he might yet prophesy concerning tribes, tongues, peoples, and nations. The gospel will continue to sound forth.

In chapter eleven, the temple is measured for separation from the things that profane, to preserve the things that were holy. Jerusalem would be besieged for 42 months. During this time, the Jewish persecution of the saints would continue. The completion of the 42 months of siege was the end of the second woe. The third woe would be their ultimate destruction and the completion of the mystery of God.

I. The End of the Second Woe, 1-14

A. The measuring of the temple, 1-2

1. The measuring of the temple in verses one and two comes out of Ezekiel chapters 40-42. Remember, chapter eleven is still part of the scene of the second woe which is part of the sixth trumpet which is all part of the scene of the breaking of the seventh seal. What is being done in chapter eleven is the separating of the sealed of God in Israel that began in chapter seven in the breaking of the sixth seal. John was told to measure three things – the temple, the altar, and the worshipers, but he was forbidden to measure the outer court. The purpose of the measuring according to Ezekiel 42:20 was to “divide between the holy and the profane (common).” That which was common was designated as unclean, profane, or unholy.

a. The temple here probably refers to the literal temple in Jerusalem rather than simply a metaphor for the people of God. If so, this would certainly be an indication that the book itself was written prior to AD 70.

b. The measuring of the temple was for the purpose of separating the redeemed of Israel from the unredeemed of Israel. He is separating out the 144,000 sealed ones.

c. The measuring of the altar and the worshiper separated those who clung to the offering of bulls and goats from those who's altar was the cross.

d. The measuring of the worshiper separated those whose worship was still linked to the Levitical system from those whose worship was according to spirit and truth. “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth,” John 4:21-21. This prophesy has become reality.

2. The trampling for forty-two months

a. The courtyard was not to be measured because from now on, it would be in the possession of the Gentiles. Clearly, measuring is linked to separation and preservation. This is the same idea as being weighed in the balances, which message Daniel interpreted to Belshazzar in Daniel 5. Whatever is measured is preserved, that which is not measured is assigned to destruction. “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations.”

In Matthew 23:37-38, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 1:21 and pronounced this judgment upon national Israel because of their unbelief. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ‘Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!’”

In Luke 21:24, Jesus told them that Jerusalem would be destroyed and trampled on by the Gentiles. “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

In Revelation 11, John is reiterating that same pronouncement of judgment given by the Lord in the gospels. “Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” is not talking about the saving of the Gentiles, but the trampling of the court BY the Gentiles. For the Jews, the time of the Gentiles was a time of destruction.

b. The length of the time of the trampling of the Gentiles was to be forty-two months. “And they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.” The historical significance of this shows that the temple that was to be measured was the actual temple in Jerusalem and not a metaphor for the Church.

 

[oldhermit]

B . Two Witnesses, 3-14
The two witnesses could be either the two testimonies of God – the Old covenant and the New covenant or they may represent the collectivity of the Old Testament prophets and the Apostolic testimony.

1. The speaker is Jesus, the strong angel of chapter ten. “I will grant authority...” Whatever authority these two witnesses have is from the Lord.

2. The number 'two' is significant with relation to witnesses.

a. In Deuteronomy 19:15 the Lord established that “A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”

b. Also, in John 8:17, Jesus confirms this again saying, “Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.”

c. This is how Jesus said judgments were to be decided within the Church regarding matters of a person's sinful conduct. “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

d. In 1 Timothy 5:19, Paul tells Timothy that no accusation is to brought against an elder “except on the basis of two or three witnesses.”

e. In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul says regarding the conduct of the Church at Corinth, “This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

f. In Hebrews 10:28, the Hebrew writer again confirms that judgment against any accused must be established by at least two witnesses in order for judgment to be exercised against that person. “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

What is being confirmed by these two witnesses in Revelation eleven is the judgment against Israel. The testimony of the two witnesses was the preaching of the gospel. Rejection of the gospel and persecution of Christians was the evidence that stood against them. Even the Lord confirms testimony by two witnesses in accusing the nation.

3. “And they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
They are prophesying to Israel. The Lord has always sent prophets to warn the people of impending judgment urging them to repent. The 1260 days are the forty-two months of verse two which was the duration of time given to the trampling of the outer court by the Gentiles. This 1260 days or 42 months will be designated later on as three and one-half years. This was the exact length of time from the day Cestius Gallus lay siege to the city in AD 66 until it was eventually destroyed by Titus in AD 70. Why the symbolism of the sackcloth? This is the garment of humility and mourning. These two witnesses are in mourning because of a stiff-necked and stubborn people. The mourning is in response to the fate of the nation. The nation is about to be destroyed.

4. These two witnesses are described as “the two olive trees” and the “two lampstands that stand before the Lord....” The background of this vision comes from Zechariah 4:11-14, “Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?’ And I answered the second time and said to him, ‘What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?’ So, he answered me, saying, ‘Do you not know what these are? And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.’” This may refer to the Law and the prophets or they may refer to Israel and the Gentiles as in Romans 11.

5. Their power

a. Over their enemies - “And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so, if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.” Whoever seeks to harm those who preach the gospel, the judgment of the gospel is against them. They are condemned by the witness of the gospel. These witnesses are granted divine protection until they have completed their prophesying. The consuming fire is a judgment figure. The fire that proceeds from their mouths is the Word of God – the gospel, which holds both the power to save and to destroy.

b. They have power over the natural world. In other words, they have the power to curse their adversaries.
“These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying;” Elijah who cursed Israel with drought, 1 Kings 17:1.

“And they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.” Moses who cursed Egypt with plague. This emphasizes the response of God to the prayers of the saints. Saints possess the power of blessing and cursing.

6. Their death - “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them.”
It is only after their prophesying is finished that the Lord allows them to be overcome by the beast. This is the persecuting powers of Israel who will be described in chapter thirteen as the land beast. We know this is talking about Jerusalem because it was where the Lord was crucified. These two witnesses are slain in “the great city” – Jerusalem. “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.” This is certainly not the first time God has described Israel in such a way (Ezekiel 16:48-56, Isaiah 1:9-10).

7. There were two different responses to the death of the two witnesses.

a. Who are these who are “out of the peoples, tribes, tongues and nations”?
They are those who were the redeemed from among mankind in 5:9 for they are “OUT of” every people, tribe, tongue, and nation. These stand as witnesses of the persecution as they “look at their dead bodies for three and a half days.”

Three and one half, is half of seven which represents a complete period of time. The three and one-half days simply represents the brevity of those days.

“Will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.” In other words, the testimony of these witnesses will continue to be preached by those who are “from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations.” The cause of the two witnesses did not die simply because they were martyred.

b. The persecuting powers - “And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”
The world celebrated the persecution of the saints represented by the two witnesses because through their preaching, the world was tormented. They rejoicing is in the expectation that their testimony has been silenced through their deaths.

8. The spread of Christianity once again began to flourish in spite of the persecution that was waged to silence the preaching of the gospel. “But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.”

9. The martyred saints (the witnesses) have been taken into the presence of the Lord. “And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.”
These are those whose souls were seen in 6:9 underneath the altar crying, “How long of Lord...will you refrain from judging and avenging?" They have been given their reward and told to wait yet a little longer because they have overcome. Their faithfulness was maintained even to the point of death.

 

[oldhermit]

10. Now, judgement is going to be poured out upon Jerusalem.
This judgment is symbolized by the “great earthquake” which signifies great political upheaval. This is certainly what was taking place in the political climate between Rome and Jerusalem.

“And in that hour, there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

a. A tenth is the tenth part of that which is represented by the 'city'. The use of one tenth again represents the fact that the destruction was only partial and not yet complete.

b. Seven thousand killed is represented by ὀνόματα ἀνθρώπων – “names of men.”
This number is directly proportionate to the one tenth. The number seven is generally used to represent the idea of a full period of time, and when linked to one thousand, it simply lays stress to the absolute nature of the completeness. This number is modified by the one tenth which signifies only a portion of the whole. So, how does both set of numbers modify the level of destruction related to the city in this scene? I am not sure I have an answer for that. It may only imply that a full tenth of the city's population was destroyed in the pronouncement of the second woe, I do not know. In all of these scenes we have seen, this destruction of Jerusalem is played out in a series of progressive proportions represented by one third and one tenth.

The first trumpet of 8:7 – one third

The second trumpet of 8:8-9 – one third

The third trumpet of 8:10-11 – one third

The fourth trumpet of 8:12 – one third

As the woes are poured out one after the other, each woe brings with it another level of destruction. Since this is only the second woe, this tells us that Jerusalem's destruction was not yet complete, for another woe was yet to follow.

c. The rest “were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” The giving of glory is in direct response to the terror instilled by the second woe. How would this giving of glory to God be demonstrated in the 'rest'?

Possibly in the fact that their persecution of the saints had ceased since they now had their own miseries to face.

Possibly, the recognition that this destruction was actually from God, just as the two witnesses had prophesied.

For certain, the glorification of God lay in the very nature of the calamity itself that was brought upon them. God is always glorified in his judgment of the wicked. Jesus, whom they crucified in the “great city” is the judge of all the earth, and he is clearly demonstrating in all of this that he is indeed Lord of lords and King of kings. This is the fulfilment of the Jesus' words to Caiaphas in Mark 14:62, “And Jesus said, I am; and you shall see The Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven."

C. “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”
God's death knell is about to descend upon Jerusalem and the sounding of the seventh trumpet will complete this series of scenes that began in chapter eight as part of the breaking of the seventh seal. In relation to the second woe, the third woe would be immediate. There would be no rest between the terror of the second woe and the final destruction of the third woe. In 8:13, the three woes were pronounced upon Jerusalem. Each of these three woes were to be heralded by the fifth, sixth, and seventh angels who were then about to sound.

1. The speaker is Jesus, the strong angel of chapter ten. “I will grant authority....” Whatever authority these two witnesses have, is from the Lord. The first woe was announced by the fifth angel in 9:1-12.

2. The second woe was announced by the sixth angel in 9:13-11:13.

3. The beginning of the third woe is never announced, but we are told when the seventh angel sounded. According to 8:13, the sounding of each of these three angels was to bring with it a woe. We can also see when this woe was finished in 14:8 because we are told that “Babylon has fallen.”

 

[oldhermit]

II. The Seventh Trumpet, 15-19
The sounding of the seventh angel is the completion of the “Mystery of God” that was introduced in 10:7, “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.” This mystery involved the fulfilling of the prophets who prophesied concerning the Kingdom of God. This fulfillment was realized in the fall of Judaism and the birth of Christianity. In chapter twelve, we will see this “Mystery of God” unfolded.

A. The Kingdom of promise has become reality.

1. Its subjects – “The kingdom of the world.” = The kingdom of heaven.
This kingdom is comprised of those “OUT OF every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.” These are those who have been “rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” Colossians 1:13. These are the one whose voices are being heard and whose voices were heard in 5:11-13, “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’”

2. Realization of fulfilment – “has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ;”

This “Mystery of God” is the work that began in the preaching of the prophets, and which was then completed by the preaching of the apostles. This is the work that had succeeded over all the opposition of man. The gospel had claimed its possession out of all the earth, and the martyrs of the faith had overcome. This is the fulfilment of the words of Christ in Matthew 24: 31, “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

Also, in Mark 13:27, “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.”

a. The Davidic promise is fulfilled. “He will reign forever and ever. We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were,” In Psalms 132:11 God had sworn to David saying, “The Lord has sworn to David a truth from which He will not turn back: Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.”

The gathering of his elect is not some future resurrection; this is talking about the conversion of souls from out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. They are assembled as the Body of Christ, the Kingdom of our Lord. Jesus is the Almighty who lives for ever and ever who had begun to reign on the throne of his father David. Peter confirmed the fulfillment of this promise in Acts 2:29-36,

“Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay. This Jesus, God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.

This reign is an exercise of his own power. “You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.” This is not delegated power or authority. This is power that is intrinsically his own. In chapter 20, we will see that we have joined with him is this reign.

B. “And the nations were enraged,”
This is the fulfillment of Psalms 2, “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.”

C. “And Your wrath came….” Woes are now being poured out upon the rebellious people.

D. “And the time came....”

1. “For the dead to be judged.” Dead does not mean those who have died in the flesh. These are those who are spiritually dead who stand in the path of the three woes. Their time of judgment has come.

2. “Time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great,” What is the reward? They are at rest in the presence of the Lord.

3. “And to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Time had come for Jerusalem to fall.

E. “The ark of His covenant appeared in His temple.”
This is the scene of the most holy place. What is unique about this scene is that this temple scene with the ark of the covenant does not include the veil which had separated the ark from the people. Now, full and unrestricted access into the holy of holies has been granted to the people of God. God has fulfilled his promises to Israel. He has kept his covenant.

F. “And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” Preludes of final destruction.

 

[101G]

B . Two Witnesses

John the Baptist, and the Lord Jesus the Christ.

PICJAG, 101G.

 

[TheDivineWatermark]

Acts 3:21 -
"21 whom indeed it behooves heaven to receive until the times of restoration OF ALL THINGS OF WHICH GOD SPOKE BY the mouth of His holy prophets from the age."




[bear in mind also the TWO distinct "RAISE" aspects in Acts 3 - ONE "RAISE" being "to a position of prominence" BEFORE His DEATH; the OTHER "RAISE" aspect being "raised from the dead" AFTER His death, obviously; distinguishing these two in this text is paramount to grasping Peter's point here]

 

[oldhermit]

Chapter Twelve

I. The Divisions of the Book of Revelation

A. The first series of visions in chapters 1-11

1. Chapters 1-3 centers around God's judgment of his people – the Church.

2. Chapter 4 portrays the majesty of Jesus on the throne of heaven. This is the position of judgment.

3. Chapters 5-11 center around the Jewish persecution of the saints and God's judgment of Israel represented in the destruction of the temple, the city, and the end of the Jewish state.

B. The second set of visions in chapters 12-18

1. Chapters 12-13 will represent a new series of symbols.
Chapter 12 is the unfolding of the “Mystery of God.” This chapter is a microcosm of the entire redemptive plan of God from the nation of Israel to the victory of the saints. This chapter is really nothing that has not already been seen in Revelation. It is really nothing more than a condensed version of the entire book of Revelation. It is merely an overview of the same things set forth is new symbols.

2. Chapter 14 is the celebration of the saints over the destruction of their persecutor – Israel – “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.”

3. In chapters 15-16 the judgment of God is poured out on the nation of Rome who has emerged as the chief persecuting power.

4. Chapters 17-18 portray the sins of the nation of Israel in its alliance with Rome.

C. The third set of visions in chapters 19-22.

1. Chapter 19 envisions the victory of the Lamb over his enemies.

2. Chapter 20 depicts the victorious Church and the destruction of all her enemies.

3. Chapters 21-22 is a picture of the Glory of the Church.

II. The “Mystery of God” in Microcosm

A. The woman with child, 1-2 – Israel as an appointed nation.

1. “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet.”
This is the nation of Israel who has always been portrayed as the bride of Jehovah clothed in splendor.

“’Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so, I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,’ declares the Lord God. ‘Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus, you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so, you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,’ declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 16:8-14.

2. “And on her head a crown of twelve stars;” The nation was comprised of the 12 tribes represented here by 12 stars.

3. Israel's struggle to bring forth her Messiah, “And she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.”

 

[oldhermit]

B. The attempt by Satan to destroy the child, 3-4

1. “Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.”

We are told in verse nine that the dragon is Satan, but the seven heads and seven diadems are representative of the nation of Rome. So, it is through Rome that Satan exercised his power against the woman. This beast is the fourth beast mentioned in Daniel's vision in Daniel 7:7-8. “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”

“While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”

Daniel does not mention the seven heads but focuses rather on the ten horns which were ten kings.

a. Seven heads
“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while,” 17:9-10. Thus, the seven heads are the seven hills of Rome which had become the symbol of the imperial city. The woman is Jerusalem.

b. The ten horns
“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast,” 17:12-13.

 These ten horns are Roman kings who derive their authority from the beast.

 The time of their power is limited as they receive authority “for one hour.” In other words, for a short period of time.

 These kings serve Rome for they “give their power and authority to the beast,”

2. “And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.”
Their power has been taken away. This suggests the power of the Roman empire over the nations.

3. “And the dragon stood before the woman (Israel) who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth, he might devour her child.”

Satan attempted to kill Jesus at his birth. This was a prophesied event. “Thus, says the Lord, "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Jeremiah 32:15.

Matthew records in Matthew 2:16-18 that Jeremiah's words were fulfilled in the attempt to kill Jesus after his birth. “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.”

In Daniel 7:24 we are also told that these ten horns are ten kings of the sea beast. “As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.”

C. The birth of Messiah, 5-6

1. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, (Not the Church which is always represented in the feminine) who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; This can only be Jesus. He is the one who was to rule with the nations with the rod of iron.

a. Psalms 2:9, “You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware.”

b. Revelation 2:27, “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father.”

c. Revelation 19:15, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”

2. “And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.”
This is the resurrection and ascension of Jesus which was seen by Daniel 7:13-14, “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”

Persecution was the method by which Satan attempted to destroy this kingdom.

3. “Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”

The Christians fled to the mountains of Pela as the Lord had warned them to do during the persecution of Jewish Christians in the time of Israel's judgment, Matthew 24:16 and Luke 21:21.

 

[oldhermit]

D. The defeat of Satan, 7-12

1. “And there was war in heaven”
This is not necessarily speaking of the unseen celestial world, nor is this war necessarily one that was waged in the unseen world. As a symbol, heaven is used in Revelation to represent governments and authorities.

2. Two opposing forces of good and evil – Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels.

a. Michael and Satan are historic enemies. Jude 9 tells us of the dispute between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses.

b. Michael is the defender of the saints while Satan is the power behind the enemies of Christianity. This war was the fulfillment of Daniel 12:1, “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.” Notice, Michael is the guardian of the people of God. He was to arise in the time of great distress to rescue the saints out of that time of distress.

3. The war
“Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war.” Angels represent confederate forces. The angels with Michael were the saints. The angels who were with the Dragon were the powers of Rome.

4. The power of the dragon is defeated. This is not talking about Satan's expulsion from heaven. This is talking about his defeat in his war against the saints. He could not overcome them.

“And there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”

The power of this government has collapsed. Hence the expression “thrown down to the earth.” This is the same imagery we saw in 9:1 with the star in heaven that had fallen to the earth representing a removal of authority or a fall of power. Not only is Satan a defeated power, but his angels (the powers of Rome) are a defeated power. This does not necessarily suggest a destruction of the nation of Rome or its armies. This is not what the scene is about. This is revealing the fact that Satan and the persecuting powers of Rome have been defeated by the saints. The saints could not be overcome by the powers of persecution. Rather, they had overcome the persecutors, even in their deaths.

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death (Victorious martyrs). For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth (Israel) and the sea (Rome) because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time,” 11-12.

The antecedent of “they” is Michael and his angels. They were able to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. Testimony – preaching of the gospel, is their angelic function. The saints are the messengers of the gospel. Their physical fate was their confrontation with death. The length of time allotted to the Devil is the 1260 days, the 42 months, the 3 and one-half years.

E. The remnant is preserved from the judgment of Israel, 13-17.
The war against the nation of Israel is represented on two fronts; the war against unbelieving Israel, and the war against the faithful remnant. “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, (The destruction of Satan's power, Hebrews 2:14) he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (Delivered from the destruction of Jerusalem). And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. (Flood of persecution by Rome). But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So, the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (Christians)

 

[oldhermit]

Chapter Thirteen

I. Who is the Sea Beast, 1-10?
There is no break in the closing thought of chapter twelve and the opening verse of chapter thirteen. These two chapters must be read as if the chapter break does not exist. In keeping with the theme of the dragon waging war with those “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus,” the beast rises up out of the sea.

A. Is it the Dragon on the seashore; or is it John? – a textual variant.
“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.” This textual variant is really of little consequence. In most English translations, chapter thirteen opens with “And I stood on the sand of the seashore,” rather than “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.” The NIV and the NASB prefer the latter rendering while translations such as the ASV, the Douay-Rheims Bible, the ERV, and the Weymouth New Testament translate it as “he stood upon the sand of the sea.” The antecedent of “he” would of course be the dragon of 12:17.

The reason for the variant translation rests upon the omission of a single letter. Should it be ἐστάθη – first person accusative – ‘I stood’, or should it be ἐστάθην – 3 person active indicative – ‘He stood’? If the use of ἐστάθην is correct, this would suggest that the dragon stood as the one who seemed to summon the beast out of the sea. If ἐστάθη is correct, then John is simply acknowledging himself as the on-the-scene witness of this rising of the beast out of the sea. The opinion among scholars is fairly split on this issue, but from the continuing context of the chapter, it would seem to me to be in favor of John as a witness to the scene rather than the dragon.

B. Who is the beast rising up out of the sea?

1. “Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.”

We have already established from chapter twelve that the Sea Beast is the Roman Empire.
a. The then horns are still the ten kings of Rome; this is why they are wearing crowns.

b. The seven heads are still the seven hills of Rome which had become the symbol of the imperial city; “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while,” 17:9-10.

2. The appearance of the beast is presented as that of a composite predator.

a. “Like a leopard, his feet were like those of a bear, his mouth like the mouth of a lion;” This beast is a devourer of nations.

b. “And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.” Satan is the power behind the throne, and his prey would be the Christian and Jewish communities.

3. The wounding of the beast, “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound (no hope for survival) was healed.”
a. Which head was wounded?
The wound is seen on only one of the heads of the beast, not one of the horns. Since, according to chapter seventeen the seven heads were the first seven emperors, this wound was received during the reign of one of these seven rulers. Since five of them had already come and gone, and one had not yet come, this only leaves the one who was reigning at the time – the sixth who was Galba. This means that the Empire of Rome suffered a fatal wound during the time of its sixth emperor, and had God not healed the wound, Rome would have destroyed itself. From the time of Galba to Vespasian the empire was in a state of political chaos with three consecutive emperors within the space of eighteen months. During this time, Rome was also plagued with civil war and bankruptcy. It looked as though Rome was beyond recovery. It was not until Vespasian came to power in AD 69 that Rome began to recover from the brink of collapse. From this sprang a resurgence of emperor worship that was enforced under penalty of death.

b. What was the 'fatal' wound?

 As verse fourteen tells us, the wound was the result of warfare, “the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.” The fact that he came to life simply means that the Empire regained its stability and position of world dominance and power under Vespasian.
 The wound was “healed”.

This has to be the result of divine intervention. The head did not simply recover from the wound over time. Action was taken in response to the wound. The fact that it was healed speaks of divide intervention on the part of God. Without an act of God, the wound would have been fatal. Rome still had a role to play in its global spread of the gospel. The Roman persecution was largely responsible for the spread of Christianity.

 The seeming indestructible nature of Rome drew a response from the nations. “And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?’”
They praise the strength and power of the beast rather than God who healed the beast.

4. The blasphemy of the beast

a. “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies.” Should it be ‘him’ or ‘it’?

 Αὐτῷ is dative case and both masculine and neuter gender. Since the antecedent of αὐτῷ is the beast representing not a person but a nation, it would seem to be more appropriately rendered in the neuter rather than the masculine. In fact, it is so rendered in a number of English translations. Thus, “There was given to it....” Since however, the “head” is referring to a specific ruling person, for “the seven heads are kings,” it would certainly seem appropriate to use “he”.

 The source of this arrogance and blasphemy is the dragon. He is the one who empowered the beast in verse two. Satan is the one who influences the minds of the emperors.

 The arrogant words and blasphemies
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Paul writes, “...that son of perdition an adversary who exalts himself above every so-called god proposed for worship, he who seats himself in God's temple and even declares himself to be God.” This is blaspheming the name of God. It would seem that this is directed at this particular persecutor.

b. “And authority to act for forty-two months was given to him (it).” The authority is to execute destruction against Jerusalem.

c. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.” How does he blaspheme the name of God? He assigns the title of God to himself.

 The church is here intended as the co-recipient of this king's blasphemies. He blasphemes God “and his tabernacle, those who dwell in heaven.” The tabernacle or house of God is “those who....” The Church is the tabernacle of God whose dwelling place and place of origin is heaven. We will see this more clearly when we get to chapter twenty-one. “Those who dwell in heaven” stands in contrast to the beast that rises out of the sea – Rome, and the best in verse eleven that came “out of the earth” (the place of the nations). This is Jerusalem. Those who dwell in heaven represent the saints.

 The blasphemies are associated with persecution. The persecution of the saints is an affront to God himself.

 

[oldhermit]

5. “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”

Nero persecuted Christians irrespective of nationality. Jerusalem is no longer Nero's only object of assault. Late in AD 64, Nero began his persecution of Christians. This persecution was not limited to Jewish Christians, but encompassed Christians of every ethnic group – those of “every tribe and people and tongue and nation.”

6. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

a. This is directed toward Jerusalem who were the subjects of the three woes, because it speaks of those destined for captivity and those killed by the sword. When Titus sieged the city in AD 66, it was on the Sabbath day during the Passover. This means the city would have been crowded with people. Josephus estimated the population of Jerusalem to be about 2,500,000 at the time the siege. When the city eventually fell, the accounts of the dead were estimated to be between 600,000 to over 1,000,000, thousands of which were crucified. Josephus placed the number at 1,100,000, but the conqueror Titus believed it to be around 600,000. 95,000 captives were taken as prisoners and sold into slavery or killed in gladiatorial games. The rest died of starvation and disease durring the siege.

b. These are those whose names are not written in the book of life. These are said to worship the beast – Rome.
Jerusalem despised Roman rule and fought against Roman domination, yet they are said to worship the beast. This seems paradoxical, but the fact is, that prior to the Roman Jewish war, Jerusalem was in league with Rome. Palestine was one of the tributary provinces and was ruled by king Herod Agrippa who who's allegiance was to Rome. If you do not worship the Lamb, you worship the beast. There are no other options.

II. Who is the Beast from the Earth, 11-18?

A. “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth (Palestine); And he had two horns like a lamb...”

1. The first beast is depicted as a composite predator while the second beast is depicted as a lamb, an animal of prey.

2. “And he spoke as a dragon.”
He spoke like the dragon rather than the Lamb; This makes him a false prophet as he is called in 19:20. Jesus had warned of false prophets during this time in Matthew 24:11. The fact that he “spoke as a dragon,” represents an agreement of mind between Rome and Palestine who was nothing more than an instrument of Rome through which Rome exercised its power over the Jews. This is portrayed in the comparison of horns which represent power. Rome has ten and Palestine (the subordinate power) has two. The lesser served the greater.

B. “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.”

The object of this power was the Jews. The only power Palestine possessed came from Rome and the Jews were required to give their allegiance to Rome. “If you give it to the Lamb, we will kill you.”

C. “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth (Jews, specifically the province of Palestine) because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

These “signs” do not suggest miracles or even pseudo miracles. These signs were demonstrations of power and authority exercised on the citizenry. Fire is a judgment figure used here to represent the power of the Jewish persecutors against those who refuse to worship the Beast or bow to his image. This is very suggestive of 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all (unrepentant Israel) maybe judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” This judgment was executed in the three woes.

D. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free-men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (god, Caesar???) or the number of his name.”

The mark of the beast is nothing more than one's willingness to offer its worship to the first beast. In other words, if you did not acknowledge Caesar as god, you were not allowed to buy and sell in the marketplace. If you were a fisherman, a shepherd, a farmer, a craftsman, a herdsman, or any other type of merchant, you were not permitted to conduct business or ply your trade if you were a Christian. Being a Christian was economically disastrous.

1. The symbolism of the forehead can be used to indicate the stubborn mind, Ezekiel 3:8-9. This stubbornness can be either for or against God.

2. This symbolism, as it was introduced to us in Exodus 13:9, was one's consecration of the heart and mind to God. In Revelation, this symbolism is used of those who have consecrated themselves to the beast.

E. “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

Galba is the sixth emperor. Six is the number for man and the three-fold use of the number six simply exaggerates the fact that he was a man and not God. Those who worship him worship man.

 

[Absolutely]

""“It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”

Nero persecuted Christians irrespective of nationality. Jerusalem is no longer Nero's only object of assault. Late in AD 64, Nero began his persecution of Christians. This persecution was not limited to Jewish Christians, but encompassed Christians of every ethnic group – those of “every tribe and people and tongue and nation.”""

Nope.
That is not what it says.
You intentionally rephrased that.
You made a worldwide event local.

 

[Absolutely]

6. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

That is NOT LOCAL.
IT IS clearly, clearly worldwide.

 

[Absolutely]

C. “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth (Jews, specifically the province of Palestine) because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”
Worldwide.
You again say no it is local.

Historicist view is dishonest.

 

[Absolutely]

D. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free-men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (god, Caesar???) or the number of his name.”

The mark of the beast is nothing more than one's willingness to offer its worship to the first beast. In other words, if you did not acknowledge Caesar as god, you were not allowed to buy and sell in the marketplace...."""

You are misrepresenting the mark.
It is literal, not figurative.

You should skip over those verses.
They destroy historicist view.

 

[iamsoandso]

5. “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”

Nero persecuted Christians irrespective of nationality. Jerusalem is no longer Nero's only object of assault. Late in AD 64, Nero began his persecution of Christians. This persecution was not limited to Jewish Christians, but encompassed Christians of every ethnic group – those of “every tribe and people and tongue and nation.”

6. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

a. This is directed toward Jerusalem who were the subjects of the three woes, because it speaks of those destined for captivity and those killed by the sword. When Titus sieged the city in AD 66, it was on the Sabbath day during the Passover. This means the city would have been crowded with people. Josephus estimated the population of Jerusalem to be about 2,500,000 at the time the siege. When the city eventually fell, the accounts of the dead were estimated to be between 600,000 to over 1,000,000, thousands of which were crucified. Josephus placed the number at 1,100,000, but the conqueror Titus believed it to be around 600,000. 95,000 captives were taken as prisoners and sold into slavery or killed in gladiatorial games. The rest died of starvation and disease durring the siege.

b. These are those whose names are not written in the book of life. These are said to worship the beast – Rome.
Jerusalem despised Roman rule and fought against Roman domination, yet they are said to worship the beast. This seems paradoxical, but the fact is, that prior to the Roman Jewish war, Jerusalem was in league with Rome. Palestine was one of the tributary provinces and was ruled by king Herod Agrippa who who's allegiance was to Rome. If you do not worship the Lamb, you worship the beast. There are no other options.

II. Who is the Beast from the Earth, 11-18?

A. “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth (Palestine); And he had two horns like a lamb...”

1. The first beast is depicted as a composite predator while the second beast is depicted as a lamb, an animal of prey.

2. “And he spoke as a dragon.”
He spoke like the dragon rather than the Lamb; This makes him a false prophet as he is called in 19:20. Jesus had warned of false prophets during this time in Matthew 24:11. The fact that he “spoke as a dragon,” represents an agreement of mind between Rome and Palestine who was nothing more than an instrument of Rome through which Rome exercised its power over the Jews. This is portrayed in the comparison of horns which represent power. Rome has ten and Palestine (the subordinate power) has two. The lesser served the greater.

B. “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.”

The object of this power was the Jews. The only power Palestine possessed came from Rome and the Jews were required to give their allegiance to Rome. “If you give it to the Lamb, we will kill you.”

C. “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth (Jews, specifically the province of Palestine) because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

These “signs” do not suggest miracles or even pseudo miracles. These signs were demonstrations of power and authority exercised on the citizenry. Fire is a judgment figure used here to represent the power of the Jewish persecutors against those who refuse to worship the Beast or bow to his image. This is very suggestive of 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all (unrepentant Israel) maybe judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” This judgment was executed in the three woes.

D. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free-men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (god, Caesar???) or the number of his name.”

The mark of the beast is nothing more than one's willingness to offer its worship to the first beast. In other words, if you did not acknowledge Caesar as god, you were not allowed to buy and sell in the marketplace. If you were a fisherman, a shepherd, a farmer, a craftsman, a herdsman, or any other type of merchant, you were not permitted to conduct business or ply your trade if you were a Christian. Being a Christian was economically disastrous.

1. The symbolism of the forehead can be used to indicate the stubborn mind, Ezekiel 3:8-9. This stubbornness can be either for or against God.

2. This symbolism, as it was introduced to us in Exodus 13:9, was one's consecration of the heart and mind to God. In Revelation, this symbolism is used of those who have consecrated themselves to the beast.

E. “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

Galba is the sixth emperor. Six is the number for man and the three-fold use of the number six simply exaggerates the fact that he was a man and not God. Those who worship him worship man.

If you are asserting that in any manner the Jews who lived in this timeline worshiped Caesar as God then the actual history recorded by Josephus would disagree with you. Here is the actual history of this timeline http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/war-2.html In it you will find that the Jews refused to worship Caesar as God,they also refused to sacrifice to/for him and "revolted" against Rome/Caesar also known as the "first,second and third revolt" If you read "wars 2" them you will see the different times the Jews were accused of their lack of pious(not seeing him as God) towards Caesar. Their is no way to link the Jews in this time-fame with worship of any Caesar of Rome nor did they use Romes money(mark) after ad66 they minted their own https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Jewish_Revolt_coinage

If the Caesars you list were the beast spoken of in Revelation 13b then the Apostles were telling them at that time it would be okay if they see them as ordained by God and that they should pay tribute/dues which would mean that they were giving the Christians the okay to buy and sell with Romes money(mark). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans 13&version=KJV

If in Revelation 13:15 the ones who refuse to worship the image are killed then this can only be literal(not symbolic) because if they did then they would be deceived(spiritually dead) and the beast only kills those who refuse to worship (not spiritually dead) and not those who do worship the image. https://biblehub.com/text/revelation/13-15.htm

 

[iamsoandso]

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/piety piety,pious