Armageddon For Beginners - Dave Mckay (10 best books of all time .TXT) 📗

It is similar to another phrase which is often used in reference to prophecy, which is "the end of the world". There are different levels of "end". It would appear that the world itself does not cease to exist at the sound of the seventh trumpet, but rather Christ returns and takes his true followers away with him before the really violent stuff begins. At this point, God seems to be saying, "Time's up!" No further opportunity exists for people to repent (if, indeed, they would even consider it at this stage). God's wrath is about to be meted out on a rebellious planet, and it will culminate in the Battle of Armageddon. Time as we know it continues after this for yet another thousand years at least.

Appendix, Chapter 15

Revelation 8:7-12. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth, and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. The second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood. The third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters. The name of the star is Wormwood. The third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. The fourth angel sounded and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars.

Revelation 9:1-10. The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven to earth. To him was given the key of the bottomless pit. He opened the bottomless pit… and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. To them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. It was commanded that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. It was given to them that they should not kill people, but that they should be tormented five months. Their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days will people seek death and not find it… The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. They had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. They had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of many horses running to battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails …

Revelation 9:13-21. The sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice… saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, "Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates." And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour and a day and a month and a year, to slay the third part of men. The number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand, and I heard the number of them. Thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire and of jacinth and brimstone. The heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths; for their power is in their mouth and in their tails, for their tails were like serpents and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the people which were not killed by these plagues yet did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and of wood, which neither can see nor hear nor walk. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Revelation 10:1-7. I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was upon his head. His face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. He had in his hand a little book open. He set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. When the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not." The angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven and swore by him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, and the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be time no longer. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets.

(Back to Table of Contents)

 

16. The Two Witnesses

One problem people have with reading The Revelation is that, because they are so intent on working out the exact order of events, they assume, falsely, that the book moves step by step through events, so that something mentioned in chapter ten must, of necessity, come after something mentioned in chapter nine, and something mentioned in verse five must, of necessity, come after something mentioned in verse four. The book does not jump around arbitrarily, but it does employ a technique used by many authors, and especially by movie producers. It focuses on one scene for a while, then changes to another scene to observe what was happening there during the same period of time. Chapters 11, 12, and 13 of The Revelation appear to do this.

Reference is made in all three chapters to the period of three and a half years, indicating that each chapter is talking about the same period of time, i.e. the time of the Great Tribulation, which was described in Revelation 8, 9, and 10. But chapters 11, 12, and 13 each focus on a different aspect of what will be happening during that period of time. Chapter 11 deals with a spiritual stand-off between the masses of the world and two individuals with special powers from God. Chapter 12 deals with persecution of all Christians, as well as supernatural protection. And chapter 13 deals with the spiritual implications behind the world's political and economic forces.

There is a reference at the start of Chapter 11 to John "measuring the Temple of God". This concern with the Temple seems to accompany a number of prophecies about the end of the world. Ezekiel (another Old Testament prophet), gives a detailed description in chapters 38-39, of a battle which sounds like the Battle of Armageddon (although it may also be referring to another battle, which occurs at the end of Christ's rule over the world for a thousand years). At the end of the description, in chapter 40, Ezekiel, like John, was instructed to measure the Temple in great detail. A blueprint for the Temple seems to be a key feature of prophecy... one of the "code words" that line up with an important message that God wants to communicate.

We have already mentioned that the contrast between a spiritual Temple and city and the material Temple and city are fundamental differences between the Old Testament/Jewish idea of God's plan for the world and the New Testament/Christian idea of God's plan for the world. In Revelation 11:2 it says, "The holy city shall they tread under foot forty-two months." Once again, this appears to be a prophecy with a double meaning. Literally, the Temple in Jerusalem will be desecrated by the Abomination of Desolation during the final three and a half years. (See pages 94-96.) However, the real "holy city" is made up of followers of the Lamb, servants of God, or the twelve tribes who have been sealed. So these sincere Christians will be "trod under foot" for three and a half years as well.

Nevertheless, there will be two Christians who will have supernatural power and protection for the same period of time. (Revelation 11:3) They will prophesy to the world, trying to get the public to see that what is happening on earth has spiritual significance. Like most true prophets, they will not be well received. But if anyone tries to hurt them, these prophets will be able to just open their mouths and declare judgment on such people and the people will be destroyed. They will also be able to execute judgment on various nations, by invoking droughts, plagues, and similar curses.

All of this will continue for three and a half years; but in the end these "Two Witnesses" will still be taken prisoner by the system, and executed.

The angel has another shot at the earthly Jerusalem in verse 8, by saying that spiritually it is Sodom (an ancient city that was destroyed for its sinfulness), because of its rejection of the Messiah.

The dead bodies of the two witnesses will be displayed in Jerusalem for three and a half days, while the world celebrates their death, assuming that the Antichrist has finally conquered the force that had been causing so much suffering on the earth over the previous three and a half years. (Revelation 11:9-10)

But at the end of three and a half days, just like their Messiah, the Two Witnesses will come back to life, and they will ascend into the air just as a great earthquake hits Jerusalem, killing seven thousand people there. (Revelation 11:11-13)

This coincides with the return of Christ, when the choirs of heaven start to sing Handel's Messiah (Well, perhaps something similar): "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15) Very inspiring stuff!

The chapter concludes with John seeing that the real covenant (or Testament) and the real Temple are in heaven. He is told that it is now time for God's Wrath to begin, in which God will "destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18-19)

At this point, I would like to make some general comments about the Two Witnesses: People like John the Baptist, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Christ himself were real people like you and me. In one way or another they each came to understand that they had very important roles to play in their day. They had each been specifically predicted in the Jewish scriptures.

The same is true of two people who are very likely alive in the world today. People can miss out on God's call for their lives by settling for something less than his best. It is easy to believe that the great saints of the past were bigger than life, that they did things that none of us could do today. But this is not true. God desperately needs more candidates for such positions as that of