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Scripture Reading: Luke 3:15; John 1:19-25, 45-46; 7:40-42; Matt. 2:1-12, 19-23; Luke 2:39; Matt. 3:13; Dan. 9:24-27; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 11:2; 13:1-8; 2 Thes. 2:3-10; Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:4, 6, 11-15; 1 Cor. 15:20-23, 52; Matt. 24:39-42; Luke 21:36; Rev. 3:10; 12:5; 14:1-5; 1 Thes. 4:15-17; Rev. 14:14-16; 15:2; Dan. 7:7-8; Rev. 17:8, 10-11; 16:16; Judg. 5:19; 2 Kings 23:29; Zech. 12:11; Rev. 14:18-20; 19:13-15; Isa. 63:1-6; Rev. 1:7; Matt. 24:26-28; Rev. 19:19-20; 2 Pet. 1:19; Luke 21:34; Rev. 2:26, 28
In the previous chapter we saw the last three and a half years of the present age and the great tribulation of the three and a half years. These three and a half years are for the Lord to clear away all the negative persons and things, leaving only the dead unbelievers and the demons to be judged at the great white throne after the millennium. On the positive side, these three and a half years are to bring in Christ’s eternal kingdom and the eternal righteousness.
We also need to see that the last three and a half years of the present age are for the purpose of putting the Christians, the Jews, and the Gentiles into their proper posts. In the three and a half years of the great tribulation, God will deal with the Gentiles. First, they will be dealt with by the seven trumpets of the seventh seal. The first four trumpets are supernatural calamities on the earth and the heavens. The last three trumpets, the three woes, will touch man directly. The third woe is composed of the seven bowls as God’s most severe judgment on men.
There will also be the war at Armageddon, waged by Antichrist, his false prophet, the ten kings, and their armies. They will be defeated by Christ and His overcomers in the treading of the great winepress of the fury of God. Revelation 14:20 says, “The winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the bridles of the horses for a thousand six hundred stadia.” The city here is Jerusalem. A thousand six hundred stadia is the distance of one hundred eighty-two miles from Bozrah (Isa. 63:1) to Armageddon (Rev. 16:16). Many will be killed in this war.
When Christ returns, He will set up His throne of glory to judge the nations who remain (Matt. 25:31-46). Those who are the goats will be cast into the lake of fire. Those who are the sheep will enter into the millennial kingdom to be the citizens. This is the way in which God will deal with the living Gentiles. The dead unbelievers will be judged at the great white throne after the millennium and will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).
The faithful Israelites who keep the commandments of God during the great tribulation will be transferred into the millennium as the priests on this earth (Zech. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-3). The overcoming Christians will be raptured before the three and a half years of the great tribulation, being kept out of the hour of trial. The majority of the saints who remain will be raptured at the end of the three and a half years. Then all the Christians will appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). Some will be rewarded to share in the reign in the kingdom of a thousand years as the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens (Rev. 20:6), whereas others will be disciplined to be matured during the thousand years (Matt. 25:30).
Eventually, in the millennial kingdom the overcoming Christians will be in the New Jerusalem as the kings, the saved Jews will be the priests, and the righteous Gentiles who are the sheep will be on the earth as the citizens. Then there will be a new universe—the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem as the eternal kingdom of God.
In this chapter we want to go on to see the shining of the prophetic word in the Scriptures made more firm. Second Peter 1:19 says, “We have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” The Old Testament prophecies were made firm by Jesus Christ the Lord and by some of the apostles in the prophecies of the New Testament. The New Testament prophecies confirm the prophecies of the Old Testament. In other words, the New Testament prophecies make the Old Testament prophecies firm. What we have today is the prophecies made more firm to us. In the New Testament age the shining of the prophetic word is stronger, and the warning is also stronger.
At the time of Christ’s first coming, the people of Israel were expecting the coming of their God-promised Messiah (Luke 3:15; John 1:19-25, 45-46). Before the Lord Jesus was born, a number of the children of Israel were expecting to meet their Messiah because they came to know, at least partially, the prophecies of the Old Testament, which spoke of God giving His people a Messiah, the anointed One.
After Israel was taken over by the Romans, the Israelites were eagerly expecting their Messiah to come and rescue them out of the hands of the Roman imperialists. Yet many of them missed the coming of their Messiah in their time because of Christ’s appearing from Galilee instead of from Bethlehem (John 7:40-42; cf. Matt. 2:1-12, 19-23; Luke 2:39; Matt. 3:13). They did not know the Old Testament so finely or accurately. Some of them knew that according to Micah 5:2, the Messiah would come from the city of David, Bethlehem. But Jesus, the Messiah, was born in Bethlehem in a somewhat hidden way that did not attract people’s attention. Both His mother and her husband were poor. They lived in Galilee, a despised region. When the time came for Christ to be born, the Roman Empire decreed that the first census be taken. All the citizens were required to go to their own country and city. Thus, Mary and Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem, their fathers’ city, that the Savior might be born there for the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the place of His birth.
After Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had to take Him and flee to Egypt because of the persecution of Herod (Matt. 2:13-18). This was the fulfillment of a prophecy concerning Christ in Hosea 11:1 (cf. Matt. 2:15). After Herod died, they returned to Nazareth, “that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene” (v. 23). Apparently, Jesus came from Nazareth, but actually, He was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2. The chief priests and the scribes missed His coming, but magi from the east saw His star and came to worship Him. Also, the elderly Simeon and Anna, who were in real fellowship with God, received the revelation that Mary’s child was the Messiah (Luke 2:25-38), but most of the waiting ones did not recognize Him as God’s anointed One.
Today we have to learn the lesson of knowing the prophecies in a proper way. We may know them in a general way, but we may not know them so finely or accurately. Today we have the prophetic word made more firm than the prophecies in the Old Testament. I am doing my best to help us know these prophecies in a fine way, not just in a general way.
The second half of the last of the seventy weeks, prophesied in Daniel 9:24-27, has been made more firm by the Lord’s words in Matthew 24:15 and Revelation 11:2 and 13:1-8 and by the apostle’s word in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10. The three and a half years of the great tribulation, the second half of the last of the seventy weeks, is very much defined, made more firm to us, in the New Testament. Today I have the boldness to say that the majority of the saints will be raptured on the last day of the three and a half years because Revelation 12:6 says that they will be nourished for a thousand two hundred sixty days, which is three and a half years. They will have to pass through the entire three and a half years. Then their nourishing will be finished, and they will be raptured. I also have the boldness to say that the last trumpet will be trumpeted on the last day of the great tribulation. According to 1 Corinthians 15:52, the saints will be resurrected at the last trumpet. The last trumpet will be the seventh trumpet. This understanding makes the prophecy of the consummation of the age more firm to me. I also have seen that the two witnesses will be raptured on the same day as the majority of the saints because they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days. After these days are completed, they will be raptured to the air into Christ’s parousia, presence.
The resurrection of the dead, prophesied in Daniel 12:2, has been made more firm by the Lord’s words in John 5:28-29 and Revelation 20:4, 6, 11-15 and by the apostle’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16. All these Scripture references show how fine the New Testament prophecy is concerning the resurrection of the dead.
The rapture of the overcomers, prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 24:39-42 and Luke 21:36, has been made more firm by the Lord’s words in Revelation 3:10; 12:5; and 14:1-5. In Revelation 3:10 the Lord says, “Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth.” The hour of trial is the three and a half years of the great tribulation, including its initiation with the shaking of the earth and heaven in the sixth seal, which will be the beginning of the supernatural calamities. Revelation 12:5 speaks of the man-child being raptured to the throne before the three and a half years of the tribulation. After this rapture, the woman, signifying the majority of the remaining saints, will be nourished for a thousand two hundred sixty days, or three and a half years. Then Revelation 14:1-5 reveals that the firstfruits, the living overcomers, will be standing on Mount Zion in the heavens, having been raptured to the heavens before the great tribulation (vv. 6-13) and the harvest of the majority of the saints (vv. 14-16).
The rapture of the majority of the saints, prophesied by the apostle in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, has been made more firm by the Lord’s words in Revelation 14:14-16; 15:2; and 20:4, 6. Revelation 14:14-16 speaks of the harvest of God’s crop on this earth, that is, the rapture of the majority of the saints living on earth. Then Revelation 15:2 depicts the overcomers who have passed through the tribulation and the persecution of Antichrist. These ones have been raptured and are standing on the glassy sea. The glassy sea mingled with fire is a miniature of the lake of fire and eventually becomes the lake of fire. The late overcomers’ standing on the glassy sea indicates that they have overcome the lake of fire.
Revelation 13:1 says, “I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and on his heads names of blasphemy.” The beast, which is the fourth beast mentioned in Daniel 7:7, is Antichrist. The sea is the Mediterranean Sea, out of which Antichrist will come. The territory of the Roman Empire in ancient times surrounded the Mediterranean Sea. Antichrist will be a Caesar of the restored Roman Empire.
Antichrist is a little horn coming up among the ten horns of the beast (vv. 7-8). The ten horns signify the ten kings of the restored Roman Empire (Rev. 17:12). These ten kings, ten horns, are also likened to the ten toes of the great image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream (Dan. 2:42). They will submit themselves and their kingdom to Antichrist.
Antichrist comes up out of the abyss underneath the sea (Rev. 17:8a). On the one hand, Revelation tells us that Antichrist will come up out of the abyss (9:11; 11:7; 17:8). On the other hand, it tells us that he comes up out of the sea (13:1). This indicates that Antichrist will come from two sources. His spirit, which has been existing in the abyss before he is born, will come up out of the abyss. His body will come from one of the Gentile nations around the Mediterranean Sea.
Antichrist, as the seventh Caesar of the Roman Empire, will be killed and resurrected with the spirit (from the abyss) of Nero, the fifth Caesar of the Roman Empire, to be the eighth Caesar of the Roman Empire (17:8, 10-11; 13:3). Revelation 17:8a says, “The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into perdition.” The beast, who is Antichrist, “was” in the person of Caesar Nero before John wrote Revelation. He “is not” at the time of John’s writing, because Nero died by that time. He “is about to come up out of the abyss.” This implies that Nero’s spirit is now in the abyss and is about to emerge from it to take possession of the body of the slain and resurrected Antichrist, as indicated in Revelation 13:3.
Revelation 17:10 says, “And are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a short time.” The seven kings are the seven Caesars of the Roman Empire. The first five have fallen; that is, they have died unnaturally (Judg. 3:25; 2 Sam. 1:10, 25, 27). They are Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, all of whom either were murdered or committed suicide before John wrote Revelation. The sixth one, Domitian, who was also murdered, was living when Revelation was written; therefore, it was said of him that he “is.” The “other,” the seventh, who will be Antichrist, had “not yet come” at that time. “When he comes, he must remain only a short time,” and he will be slain and resurrected with the spirit of the fifth, who is Nero, to be the eighth.
Revelation 17:11 says, “The beast who was and is not, he himself is also the eighth and is out of the seven and goes into perdition.” Antichrist will be the coming seventh Caesar. But he “is also the eighth.” According to Revelation 13:3, Antichrist will be slain and resurrected. In that resurrection the spirit of Nero (the fifth Caesar), which comes up out of the abyss, will animate the dead body of the seventh Caesar, Antichrist. This one, composed of the fifth and seventh Caesars, is the eighth. Hence, he “is out of the seven.” It is no wonder that people will marvel at the sight of such an extraordinary being (17:8). Revelation 13:3 says that when Antichrist is resurrected from death, the whole earth marvels after him.
We know that the spirit of the coming Antichrist is the spirit of Caesar Nero because of Revelation 13:18: “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.” The number represented by the letters of the name Caesar Nero in Hebrew is six hundred sixty-six. By this we know that the eighth Caesar, the coming Antichrist, the beast, will have the spirit of Caesar Nero.
Another item that has been made more firm by the New Testament prophecies is the location of Armageddon (16:16).
Armageddon, in Hebrew, means “Mount Megiddo,” which means “the mountain of slaughter.”
Megiddo is located west of the river Jordan, close to the Mediterranean Sea, between Samaria and Galilee (Judg. 5:19; 2 Kings 23:29; Zech. 12:11).
The war at Armageddon is Christ’s treading of the great winepress of the fury of God (Rev. 14:18-20; 19:13-15), which will begin from Bozrah (the royal city) of Edom (Isa. 63:1-6) and extend to Megiddo, a distance of one thousand six hundred stadia, that is, one hundred eighty-two miles, the city of Jerusalem being in the middle of this distance (Rev. 14:20). Revelation 19:13 says that the returning Christ is “clothed with a garment dipped in blood.” The garment of Christ is dipped in blood and becomes red by His treading of the winepress of the fury of God at Bozrah, where the blood will rise “up to the bridles of the horses for a thousand six hundred stadia” (14:20).
Christ will come with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the land will mourn over Him (1:7). The tribes of the land are the twelve tribes of the Holy Land. Christ will come at the end of His parousia (presence). His parousia first was secret in the heavens and then in the air. At that time He is clothed with a cloud (10:1). When His parousia appears on earth, He will be on the cloud (14:14; Matt. 24:30; 26:64), and every eye will see Him.
Matthew 24:26-28 says, “Therefore if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness, do not go forth...For just as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there will the vultures be gathered together.” Lightning is concealed in a cloud, waiting for an opportunity to flash forth. Christ also will be clothed with a cloud in the air for a time and then will suddenly appear like a flash to the earth. Hence, the lightning will be a sign of the end of the Lord’s parousia.
Antichrist as the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him by the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of His coming (2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 19:19-20). Manifestation implies the thought of shining or brightness. The shining of the Lord’s coming will bring Antichrist to nothing, destroying him.
The appearing of the Lord’s coming, His parousia, will be at the end of the three and a half years of the great tribulation.
Peter likens the word of prophecy in the Scripture to a lamp shining in a dark place (2 Pet. 1:19).
This age is a dark place in the dark night (Rom. 13:12), and all the people of the world are moving and acting in darkness. The shining of the prophetic word is in the dark age of today.
The prophetic word of the Scripture, as the shining lamp to the believers, conveys spiritual light to shine in their darkness (not merely knowledge in letters for mental apprehension), guiding them to enter into a bright day, even to pass through the dark night until the day of the Lord’s appearing dawns and the morning star rises in their hearts.
Because of the prophetic word, the Lord warned us to watch. In Matthew 24:42 the Lord said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes.”
In Luke 21:34 the Lord warned us to take heed to ourselves lest perhaps our hearts be weighed down with debauchery and drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day come upon us suddenly as a snare.
We also need to be watchful at every time, beseeching that we would prevail to escape all the things which are about to happen and stand before Christ (v. 36). To escape all the things which are about to happen is to be raptured to the heavens before the great tribulation to meet Christ at the beginning of His parousia.
We also need to keep the word of Christ’s endurance (Rev. 3:10). Every word that the Lord has spoken in the Bible is a word of endurance (cf. Rom. 15:4). If we keep what the Lord says, we will suffer. The Lord today is still suffering rejection and persecution with His endurance. We are the fellow partakers, not only of His kingdom but also of His endurance (Rev. 1:9). Hence, His word to us today is the word of endurance. To keep the word of His endurance, we must suffer His rejection and persecution.
We also need to overcome and keep the Lord’s works until the end (2:26). The Lord’s works are the things the Lord has accomplished and is doing. These works include all His doings to accomplish a full redemption for us. He died and resurrected to redeem us. He is still doing something today to sanctify us, transform us, and conform us to His image. These are the Lord’s works that we have to keep. Many Christians have been enlightened to realize something of the Lord’s works, but because of the world’s attraction, they would not keep His works. Instead, they would deny and forget about what Christ has accomplished for them. If we are the overcomers, we will not neglect the Lord’s works. We will keep the Lord’s redemption, telling people that Christ died and resurrected for us and that today He is still working within us to sanctify us, to transform us, to renew us, and to conform us to His glorious image. If we keep the Lord’s works until the end, He will be the morning star to us at His appearing (v. 28).
Our study of the prophecy of the four “sevens” in the Bible is timely, especially because of the world situation today. The world situation is under the Lord’s sovereign arrangement. He is working to arrange the world situation for the fulfillment of His prophetic word.
Question: Are the overcomers who have already been raptured to the throne included in the judgment in the air at the judgment seat of Christ?
Answer: All the believers have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). All the overcomers and all the defeated believers have to pass this “exam.” The Lord Jesus was appointed to judge the living and the dead (2 Tim. 4:1). He will judge the living on His throne of glory at His second appearing (Matt. 25:31-46). This will be the judgment of the nations, the sheep and the goats, before the millennium. Then He will judge the dead on the great white throne after the millennium (Rev. 20:11-15). In addition to these judgments, there will be the judgment at Christ’s judgment seat to judge the believers, not for eternal salvation or eternal perdition but for reward or punishment. In the last three and a half years of this age, the Lord will clear away all the dirt from the universe. Then He will bring all the nations and the believers into their proper posts for a new start in the kingdom of a thousand years.
Question: We have seen that the temple will be rebuilt and the priestly service will begin again with the offering of sacrifices. Then during the tribulation, Antichrist will defile the temple. When the Lord returns at the end of the twelve hundred sixty days of the great tribulation, He will destroy Antichrist. Then it will take an additional thirty days to cleanse the temple (Dan. 12:11) and another forty-five days to set up the priestly service again with the offerings (v. 12). How do these offerings relate to the Lord’s death on the cross?
Answer: In the Old Testament the offerings were types of Christ, pointing to the Lord’s coming to die for us. After the cross, in the millennium and even in eternity, the offerings will be a memorial, pointing back to what Christ did on the cross. Before the cross, the offerings are a type. After the cross, they will be a memorial. Isaiah 66 tells us that even in the new heaven and new earth, there will still be offerings in remembrance of what the Lord did for us in the age of grace (vv. 20-22).
Question: We have seen that the remaining believers during the three and a half years of the great tribulation, typified by the woman in Revelation 12:6, are taken to the wilderness where they will bear the Lord’s testimony. Does that mean that some during the great tribulation will receive their testimony and receive salvation by grace?
Answer: It is likely that this will happen. We should not forget that these three and a half years will be a transitory period of time. On the one hand, the believers who remain on this earth during that time will surely be preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus. While they are being nourished in the wilderness, they will surely preach Jesus. On the other hand, an angel will be announcing the eternal gospel from the air (14:6-7), warning those who are under Antichrist’s persecution not to worship him.
Question: You mentioned that the two witnesses would be raptured on the same day as the majority of the saints, which will be the last day of the twelve hundred sixty days of the great tribulation. Revelation 11 says that the two witnesses prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days (v. 3). It also says that they are killed, that their corpses lie in the street of Jerusalem, and that after three and a half days they are raptured. Are the two witnesses raptured after twelve hundred sixty days or after twelve hundred sixty-three and a half days?
Answer: They will be raptured after twelve hundred sixty days. The three and a half days that their corpses lie on the street are included in these twelve hundred sixty days. Their being killed, their corpses’ lying on the street, and their resurrection should be also considered as a part of their prophesying, a witnessing.
