The End Of Days

The End Of Days

Revelation 10-20

The End of Days Revelation starts in Revelation chapter 10, everything in the rest of Revelation is about the very end of time, the one thousand year reign of JESUS CHRIST in the earth from Jerusalem, the final conflict with satan and those who follow him in rebellion against JESUS, the Great White Throne judgment; then the New!

Revelation Chapters 1-3 are to the Church of that day which have applications to the Church of today. In chapter 4 the Heavens are open to John and the revelation of the End of Days begins. Chapters 5-9 are the first three and one half years of the Great Tribulation; that period comes to an end in chapter 11:14. Finally chapters 21 & 22:1-5 are about the New Earth, New Heaven, and New Jerusalem. Chapter 22:6-21 is a reminder and warning to be ready and obedient till the end.

“Next I saw another mighty angel coming down from Heaven. He was dressed in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, his legs like columns of fire, and he had a little scroll lying open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and shouted in a voice as loud as the roar of a lion; and when he shouted, seven thunderclaps sounded with voices that spoke. I was about to write; but I heard a voice from Heaven say,

‘Seal up the things the seven thunders said,

do not write them down!’

Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand toward Heaven and swore by the One who lives forever and ever, who created Heaven and what is in it, earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it.

‘There will be no more delay; on the contrary,

in the days of the sound from the seventh angel

when he sounds his shofar,

the hidden plan of GOD

will be brought to completion,

the Good News as He proclaimed it

to His servants the prophets.’”

Revelation 10:1-7 CJB

“The seventh angel sounded his shofar; and there were loud voices in Heaven, saying,

‘The Kingdom of the world

has become the Kingdom

of our LORD and His Messiah,

 and He will rule forever!’”

Revelation 11:15 CJB

Then:

“Everyone living on the earth will worship it (the anti-Christ) except those whose names are written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was founded. Those who have ears, let them hear!

‘If anyone is meant for captivity, into captivity he goes!

If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he is to be killed!’

This is when GOD’s holy people must persevere and trust!...Also it forces everyone – great and small, rich and poor, free and slave – to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead preventing anyone from buying or selling unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This is where wisdom is needed; those who understand should count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person, and its number is 666.” Revelation 13:8-18 CJB (emphasis mine)

Verse 10 is a quote from Jeremiah.

“Then ADONAI said to me, ‘Even if Moshe (Moses) and Sh’mu’el (Samuel) were standing in front of Me, My Heart would not turn towards this people! Drive them out of My sight, get them out of here! And when they ask you where they should go, tell them this is what ADONAI says:

“Those destined for death – to death!

Those destined for the sword – to the sword!

Those destined to famine – to famine!

Those destined to captivity – to captivity!”

I will assign them four kinds [of scourges],’” says ADONAI, “the sword to kill, dogs to drag away, birds in the air and wild animals to devour and destroy. I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of M’nasheh (Manasseh) son of Hizkiyahu (Hezekiah) king of Y’hudah (Judah), because of what he did in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).” Jeremiah 15:1-4 CJB (emphasis mine)

“Then this Word of ADONAI came to Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) in Tachpanches (Tahapanes, Egypt): ‘With the men of Y’hudah watching, take some big stones, and set them with mortar in the pavement at the entry to Pharaoh’s palace in Tachpanches. Tell them, “This is what ADONAI-Tzva’ot (LORD of Hosts), the GOD of Isra’el, says: I will summon N’vukhadretzar (Nebuchadnezzar) the king of Bavel (Babylon), My servant, take him and set his throne on these stones I laid here; he will come and spread his royal canopy over them. He will come and attack the land of Egypt.

                        Those destined for death – to death!

                        Those destined for captivity – to captivity!

                        Those destined for the sword – to the sword!’”

Jeremiah 47:8-11 CJB (emphasis mine)

The key thought from above is, “This is when GOD’s holy people must persevere and trust!” from Revelation 13:10b. Why? Because The LORD is telling John that some Christians will experience GOD’s Will for their life as difficult and even deadly. In Jeremiah 15 GOD is talking to Israel, in Jeremiah 47 GOD is talking to Egypt where some Israelites have taken refuge. There is a great misconception in the Western Church today – that GOD will keep us from persecution and hard times. That He is going to rescue the Church from the earth before the great tribulation or last seven years before He establishes His one thousand year reign on the earth from Jerusalem.*

I believe that every person conceived is destined to be redeemed because of John 1 and 3, but not every person accepts that salvation based on Mark 16:14-18 and Romans 1:16-2:29. GOD counseled Cain not to be jealous of Able, but to serve GOD. Cain did not want to serve GOD GOD’s way so he killed his brother, Genesis 4:1-8. In Genesis 6&7 GOD saw the wickedness of humanity and destroyed all but 8 people.  In Malachi 1:2-3 GOD reminds the Israelites that He loved Jacob and hated Esau, why? Because He knew that Esau would reject Him, even from his youth.

GOD uses people according to His Will whether they purposely serve Him or not. That is why JESUS taught us to pray,

“Your Kingdom come,

Your Will be done on the earth

as it is in Heaven.”

Matthew 6:10.

In Exodus 9:13-16 GOD tells Pharaoh that He has kept him alive so He could show His Power and declare His Name to the world. GOD gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream (Daniel 2) and Daniel interpreted it that Nebuchadnezzar was a king of kings and GOD used him to judge Israel and other nations. In Revelation 17 GOD uses those opposed to Him for His own purpose.

There are those who say that some are destined to be saved and some are destined to be condemned, how is that fair or just? Some say that Romans 9 and Ephesians 1 say that some people are born to be saved and some are not. But what Romans 9 says is that some are born for honor and some for dishonor; that is not talking about salvation but purpose (GOD’s Will). Ephesians 1:3-14 with Revelation 13:8 show that GOD ordained that all men could be saved before He even made the earth or gave us life. We know that GOD is omniscient – that is that He know all things and He sees all things; there is nothing hidden from Him, He knows the beginning from the end; even the darkness is as light to Him; He knows our thoughts and what we will say before we say it; He knows the heart of mankind. Therefore He knows who will believe and serve Him and who will believe but not serve Him; who will reject Him and who will fight against Him.

Jeremiah 32:17-20 shows that GOD judges each person according to how they live, Revelation 20:11-15 show that everyone will be judged according to how they live. So every person is born with the opportunity to know GOD and believe in Him and serve Him with their life no matter when or where they live and we will all be judged by GOD for how we lived no matter when or where!

*1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 with 2 Thessalonians 1 and 2 clearly teach that Christians will be persecuted with trials and tribulations but that our eternal hope is in JESUS CHRIST who died for us and is coming back to take us to Himself.

In Revelation 2 and 3 are the letters to the seven Churches in Asia at the time of JESUS’ Revelation. Each letter ends with the phrase, “He who overcomes… and he who has an ear, let him hear what the SPIRIT says to the Churches.” We can’t overcome unless we are being tried and tested through tribulation and persecution. In chapters 5 through 8 there is a scroll with seven seals and only JESUS is able to open the seals which He does. Then in chapter 8 there begin seven trumpet blasts which are described through chapter eleven.

The scripture in Revelation 3:10-11 in the letter to the Church at Philadelphia JESUS says to them and thus us, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which will come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

Some use it to say the rapture is before the tribulation! But, to persevere means to get through the trial, to last to the end. His coming quickly is not fast but as a surprise to those not ready.

As a young Christian I believed what people told me, in Bible College I got a larger perspective about end time teaching. For the last three decades as I read and studied and listened to teachings I believed that the rapture was at the return of CHRIST, that the Church would go through the tribulation; then the one thousand year reign of CHRIST in Jerusalem.

In Revelation 11:14-19 is the third woe when the seventh trumpet is sounded, this seems to go with chapter 14:9-20 the reaping of the saints and the sinners and 16:17-21 the seventh bowl of GOD’s fury. In chapter 14 the saints are reaped first and there is no reference to the time between the two reaping events. We know that the Church will be raptured or taken out at the last trumpet when Christ returns to establish His thousand year reign on the earth – before the final battle and judgment of all humanity.

Revelation 19:9-20:6 chronicles the defeat of the anti-Christ and the false prophet and their human army. Christ and His angelic host defeat them and the anti-Christ and false prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternal punishment. But, satan was only chained up for one thousand years in the Abyss; this is during the thousand years of Christ’s reign on the earth.

In 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 Paul tells us that at the Last Trumpet sound the dead in Christ will be raised and those who serve GOD and are alive will be caught up and transformed in the air. Then there will be no more death for the saints. This seems in conflict with Revelation 20:4-6 “And I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to JESUS and for the Word of GOD,…and they lived and reigned with CHRIST for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and Holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of GOD and of CHRIST, and shall reign with Him for a thousand years.” (emphasis mine)

This comes after the thousand year reign of CHRIST on the earth where there are saved and unsaved people living. We know this because Revelation 20:7-15 tells us that at the end of the thousand years satan will be released and over an unknown period of time he will raise up an army of humans to revolt against CHRIST’s reign and attack Jerusalem. This is the final battle of satan and his followers, satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternal judgment and all humanity is brought before GOD for judgment out of the books and The Lamb’s Book of Life; and everyone whose name was not written in The Lamb’s Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second (eternal) death.

The opening scripture, Revelation 13:8 says it all, “Everyone living on the earth will worship it (the anti-Christ) except those whose names are written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was founded. Those who have ears, let them hear!”  (emphasis mine) If everyone on earth will worship the anti-Christ who will rule over the earth during the Great Tribulation except those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life; that means that there will be Christians during the tribulation. Where do they come from? Some believe they are those who knew but never really gave their life to JESUS who will repent when they realize they have been left behind. There will be one hundred and forty four thousand virgin Hebrew young men who are sealed with the Seal (Name) of GOD on their foreheads by The HOLY SPIRIT, Revelation 7:1-8, 14:1-5. Those are with CHRIST on Mount Zion not scattered throughout the earth. Revelation 14:6 says, “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth–to every nation, tribe, tongue and people.” So people will be getting saved. JESUS said in Mark 13:20 when talking about the End of the Age and the Great Tribulation, “And unless the LORD had shortened those days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.”

JESUS taught us to know the signs of the times and be ready for His return. Every parable He taught about the return of the master resulted in reward or punishment – that is judgment. He never taught about a catching away or a rescue of His servants from tribulation. In fact from the Sermon on the Mount until His teaching on the End of Days He taught that we would be persecuted and killed for our faith in Him and our obedience to the works of His Kingdom.

Time:

There are six times in Revelation that time as we experience it is mentioned, I am not questioning the events as described but the time frame of some. Are they literal or symbolic?

(1) In 2:10, to the Church at Smyrna, “Do not fear any of those things that you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life.” I do not know if that was for ten days literally or symbolically for a different time period.

(2) In 8:1, “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven for about half an hour.” Literal or symbolic? In 17:12 it speaks of the ten kings (rulers) who will receive authority with the beast (anti-Christ) for one hour, “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.” Literal or symbolic? This takes place in the first 3 ½ weeks (years as described in Daniel) of the tribulation. In 3:10 when JESUS says to the Church at Philadelphia, “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world.” This is symbolic of an extended time event.

(3) In 9:1-12 the fifth trumpet sounds and locusts with power to hurt men for five months, vss. 5&10, “And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man…They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt man five months” Literal or symbolic?

(4) Three and one half years is mentioned several times in different formats: 11:3, “And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” (1260 / 365 = 3.45 years) In 12:6&14 speaking of Israel who gives rise to the Messiah, “Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by GOD, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days…But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time, times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”(time = 1 year, times = 2 years, half a time = half a year) In 13:5 speaking of the anti-Christ, “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and he was given authority to make war for forty-two months.” (42 / 12 = 3.5 years)

(5) In 11:9&11, “Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues and nations will see their dead bodies (the two witnesses) three-and-a-half-days, and not allow their bodies to be put into graves…Now after the three-and-a-half-days the breath of life from GOD entered them , and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.” This seems to be literal.

(6) One thousand years, 20:2-3&7, “He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while…Now when the thousand years have expired, satan will be released from his prison.” Most importantly of all, CHRIST’s millennial (one thousand year) reign, 20:4-6, “…And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to JESUS and for the Word of GOD, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with CHRIST for the thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of GOD and of CHRIST, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” This is literal!

Is CHRIST’s thousand year reign the seventh day – the Sabbath day of the dominion of man on the earth?