Walking through

the Book of

Revelation
 Quoted
All Scripture quotations herein, unless otherwise indicated, are taken
from the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LITV), Copyright ©
1976-2000 by Jay P. Green, Sr. All rights reserved.
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Copyright© 1993-2016 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR).
Used by Permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked HGM are taken from Hebrew Gospel of
Matthew, Copyright© 1995 by George Howard, Mercer University
Press, Macon, Georgia.
Quotations marked ENO are taken from The Book of Enoch”, A
modern English translation of the Ethiopian Book of Enoch, by Andy
McKracken, who attributes the translation to M. Knibb, found at the
S.O.A.S. Library at the University of London.
Scripture quotations marked AFV are taken from A Faithful Version,
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 Contents
Chapter 1 5
Prologue 5
Letters to the Seven Churches 7
In the Company of Yeshua 16
Chapter 2 28
Ephesus 28
Smyrna 39
Pergamum 45
Thyatira 49
Chapter 3 55
Sardis 55
Philadelphia 61
Laodicea 73
Chapter 4 80
Being Called Up 80
In the Throne Room 82
Chapter 5 88
The Scroll and the Lamb 88
Chapter 6 96
The Seven Seals 96
Chapter 7 104
Sealing of the 144,000 104
Chapter 8 112
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer 112
The Seven Trumpets 114
Chapter 9 119
Chapter 10 127
The Little Scroll 127
Chapter 11 131
The Two Witnesses 131
The Seventh Trumpet 137
Chapter 12 141
The Woman and the Dragon 141
Chapter 13 153
The Beast from the Sea 153
The Beast Out of the Water 159
Seven Angels with Seven Plagues 164
Chapter 16 170
The Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God 170
The Seventh Bowl 177
Chapter 14 181
The 144,000 with the Lamb 181
The Warning of Three Angels 184
Chapter 17 194
The Great Prostitute Sitting on the Beast 194
Babylon Falls 204
Chapter 18 204
The Third Angel (of the last Seven) 214
Chapter 19 216
Heaven Erupts in Jubilation 216
The Bride of the Lamb Presented 218
The Heavenly Cavalry 222
Chapter 21 (shift) 227
All Renewed 227
Chapter 20 238
The Seventh Millennium 238
Satan Defeated 243
The Great White Chair Judgement 245
Chapter 21 (Cont.) 249
Yeshua is Coming Soon 249
Chapter 22 258
The Pure Flowing Water of Life 258
Come Lord Yeshua! 262
 Walking through
The Book of Revelation
Chapter 1
Prologue
“The revelation of Jesus1 Christ, which God gave to Him,
to show to His servants the things
that are ordained to come to pass shortly;
and He made it known,
having sent it by His angel to His servant John;” (Rev 1:1, AFV)
The narrator, who will shortly identify himself as John, opens with
a statement of source, or more properly, possession, as in : Yeshua’s
Revelation.
Which God gave to him. Now this phrase is not a scribal glitch, but
very intentional to this book, to correct certain doctrines, for this
phrase shows distinction in those two heavenly persons. But Yeshua
has also affirmed throughout John’s gospel, that the Father has been
the source of all his words and actions.~
“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?
The words that I speak to you, I do not speak from My own self;
but the Father Himself, Who dwells in Me, does the works.”
(Joh 14:10, AFV)
“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.”
(Joh 10:37, AFV)
Yeshua makes a strong point that he, though in profound unity with,
is distinct from the Father.
To show to his servants…This is the statement of purpose for the

1 Jesus: I prefer to use Yeshua for that is the name given by the Angel
of the Lord for him, to each of his parents; the name changed like
this over the years: Yeshua: to Yesos (for the Greek male suffix),
then after Luther, the J (enunciated Y) became the J sound we have
now, thus Jesus. So why not go back to using his baptismal name?
6 Chapter 1
whole book of Revelation. Note that “Servants” is in plural to bring
all of us who serve Yeshua under that title as joint receivers of what
is to be shown through what is written, even the things that are
ordained to come to pass shortly. “Ordained” implies that what is to
happen has been settled by the immutable Father,
“God is not a man that He should lie,
neither the son of man that He should repent.
Has He said, and shall He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and shall He not fulfill it?” (Num 23:19, AFV)
The Phrase: “to come to pass shortly,” may pertain to the potentially
short span of days for any of us, but in the general sense it says that
the end is truly at hand, especially considering how the signs given
by Yeshua for the birth-pangs leading up to the time of Jacob”s
Trouble are now happening all around us:
““For nation shall rise against nation, and reign against reign.
And there shall be scarcities of food,
and deadly diseases, and earthquakes in places.
“And all these are the beginning of birth pains.” (Mat 24:7-8, TS2009)
And He made it known, having sent it by His angel to His servant
John, where “He” is Yeshua who has made all this known by the an-
gel he sent to explain it. So hereafter, the unknown “he” may be that
angel, as in 19:9 where the antecedent is “a voice from the throne”
yet the subsequent passage proves it to be the angel at his side. Now
who wrote this about “His servant John.”? For it’s put in the third
person! Well, he hasn’t voiced his own name until here, so John is
introducing himself as one of the players involved in this vision.
Who gave witness to the Word of God
and the testimony of Jesus Christ,
and all the things he saw. (Rev 1:2 AFV)
Having received this vision and Word from God by Yeshua through
the angel, John didn’t just keep it in his heart, but gave voice of it
to us, that we also could be participants in this drama, accepting the
Word and imparting it to others—the Word, all of the images, and
the symbols John saw and described to us—as witnesses bearing the
testimony of Yeshua Messiah.
 Chapter 1 7
Blessed is the one who reads,
and those who hear the words of this prophecy
and who keep the things that are written therein;
for the time is at hand. (Rev 1:3 AFV)
“Blessed” means Happy, Well off, and Fortunate, and in Greek, the
extended form of it means “Very Fortunate.” So, fortunate is anyone
who reads, hears, and keeps. That is, she doesn’t only read and put it
down, or he listen and forget, but acts upon what she has seen, keep-
ing the words and the significance of the images in his heart. Further-
more, we are told that this is Prophecy, and that “the time is at hand,”
telling us that this book is of what is to come, and if any part of it is
history, it is used to tell of the future; as the Teacher puts it:
That which has been is that which shall be;
and that which has been done is that which shall be done;
and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc 1:9 AFV)

Letters to the Seven Churches

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace and peace be to you
from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come;
and from the seven spirits that are before His throne;
(Rev 1:4 AFV)
Now we switch from the Forward to the Salutation, where John is
writing a letter to the seven churches, that is, by using the definite
article “the,” he is saying, either that there are only seven churches in
Asia, that they bear traits distinguishing each, or that these are a type
for other churches, individuals, or epochs. Also “Asia” is not the con-
tinent we know by that name, but only its navel called Asia Minor.
John needs no introduction, he was the Shepherd among those Asian
churches and they knew him by his name, as do we who know him
from his Gospel and letters, although this letter is distinguished in
that it was given to him by the Father through the Son by an Angel.
For in studying the book structurally we see it is tightly arranged chi-
astically such that this first chapter has an A-B-C-D-D-C-B-A rela-
tionship with the last chapter, likewise the letters to the seven church-
8 Chapter 1
es pair with the last set of seven angels from ch 17, the Seals with the
Seven Angels of ch 14, the Seven Trumpets to the Seven Bowls, the
Angel having a foot in the water and the other on land, holding the
Little Book, pairs with the Two Beasts, one coming from the Earth
and the other protruding from the Waters, and finally the Two Wit-
nesses pair to the Woman in the Skies. Between these last two sits the
heart and central message of the Book in the form of a hymn from
heaven of praise to the Father for commencing this sweeping, timely,
and impending judgment, which is then followed by symbols of that.
“Grace and Peace be to you” is a common address of blessing
throughout the Epistles but nowhere in the Gospels. Paul and Peter
use it in all their letters—except in that to the Hebrews, but John has
it only in his second Epistle. It means: ‘may His Graciousness be
toward you and his Quietness of Soul and Spirit be upon you.’
From Him Who is—was—is to come, tells that this blessing is from
the Father, whose family name with Yeshua, as we shall see, is Yeho-
vah, whose name prefixes the three tenses (Ye: Future; Ho: present;
and Vah: past) to form the every present I Am, as spoken to Moses:
And God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM.”
And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel,
‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “ (Exo 3:14 AFV)
The seven spirits that are before His throne, are seen here:
These seven are the eyes of the LORD
which run to and fro through the whole earth.” (Zec 4:10c AFV)
These identify Yeshua to Sardis (Rev 3:1), they burn before the
throne (4:5), and are here the seven spirits of God that are sent into
all the earth. The Father is Spirit in reference to us. We think we are
of solid form. But there is no doubt that the Spirit world, not that of
waifs and ghosts, is far more real, for we are a creation in time and
space, where they are eternal and outside of time. Just consider Ye-
shua after his resurrection, visiting the disciples in that closed room,
coming through unhampered, can be touched and pressed, eats the
fish offered to him, and then breathes the Spirit upon them! But have
we seen him in his glory until verses 13-18?
 Chapter 1 9
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness,
the Firstborn from the dead,
and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. (Rev 1:5a AFV)
Yeshua, distinct from the seven spirits before the throne, presented in
his human and resurrected form, now shares in extending that bless-
ing of greeting. He is The faithful witness, in that he never shirked
from obeying his Father’s directions of what to say and do, always
attributing word and action to the Father, so that we can follow in his
footsteps knowing we will not stumble. Now don’t forget his weekly
walk with his parents to synagogue as his Father would have it of us
and on into adulthood, to enter into communal worship on the day he
sanctified and the day of which Yeshua is Prince, that is Saturday, the
seventh day (Lk 4:16). Now we turn to his resurrection:
He as the Firstborn from the dead, gives his loved ones great hope,
for ‘Firstborn’ gives the sense of Firstfruits as by Paul to the Romans,
basing hope on the redemption of our bodies, which means a new
body to replace this version which is unfit for the spiritual realm.
And not only that, but even we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, also groan within ourselves, awaiting the sonship—
the redemption of our bodies. (Rom 8:23 AFV)
Which he further elucidates to the Corinthians:
But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the
Firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep. (1Co 15:20 AFV)
In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. (1Co 15:52 AFV)
He is the Ruler of the kings of the earth, a title, used before Yeshua
descended to earth by Nebuchadnezzar (Eze 26:7; Dan 2:37) and by
Artexerxes (Ezr 7:12); but after his ascension the title always goes
to Yeshua and is augmented by Lord of Lords, even “Lord of lords,
and King of kings” (Rev 17:14) or alternately as “King of kings and
Lord of lords” (1Ti 6:15; Rev 19:16); but of course the Father who
anointed him, even in the presence of his wife-to-be, granted him
those many crowns;
10 Chapter 1
I saw visions in the night and, behold,
One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,
and came to the Ancient of Days,
and they brought Him near before Him.
And dominion and glory was given to Him,
and a kingdom, that all people,
nations and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:13-14 AFV)
But she, his Bride, has been moved aside from before the judgment
seat (Dan 7:9-10)2, having been made innocent by the blood of the
Lamb and by their witness of him, so that He can be “brought near
before Him .” But she is lauded soon after that as the Bride, having
readied herself for her wedding, (Rev 19:7-8); and then, a week of
years later, accompanies her Lord and husband on white horses de-
scending on that Great day (Yom Kipur), (19:14; Deu 33:2; Joe 3:11;
1Th 3:13), Yeshua having been attributed the high titles above:
And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written:
King of kings and Lord of lords. (Rev 19:16 AFV)
Now after exterminating the horde assembled against the Holy City
by only a word (the sword of his mouth), their bodies being con-
sumed by the flock of birds called by the angel to attend the feast
He had prepared for them, He having tossed the Antichrist and False
Prophet into the scalding bath, and incarcerated the Tempter for an
age (20:1-3), turns to the Sheep and Goats (Mat 25), and now is seat-
ed to judge with his Bride:
And I saw thrones; and they that sat upon them,

2 Yeshua came on the clouds, and before the judgement seat is a large
group. Could it not be, that he has come in from calling her up, one
from a mill, one from a field, and one from a bed. But all must go
through judgement. So these are elevated to before the Judge, and each
is acquitted as we would expect from who knew their hearts. This as
prophesied in the story of Joseph where in the day he was presented
before Pharaoh after exactly 2 years in prison, is inaugurated in the
presence of his future wife who was presented to him on that very day.
 Chapter 1 11
and judgment was given to them; (Rev 20:4 AFV)
And so His Bride will rule by his side, signified by the crowns given
them, which is only to Smyrna and Philadelphia (2:10; 3:11), and
sung by those around the throne, concluding with:
And did make us unto our God kings and priests;
and we shall reign on the earth.” (Rev 5:10 AFV)
which is affirmed through Daniel
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom
and possess the kingdom forever,
even forever and ever.’ (Dan 7:18 AFV)
Under their Master: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Now back to John’s letter, where he now bursts into praise of our
Lord, adeptly summarizing all that he has seen:
To Him Who loved us and washed us
from our sins in His own blood,
and has made us kings and priests to God and His Father;
to Him be the glory and the sovereignty
into the ages of eternity. Amen. (Rev 1:5b-6 AFV)
This is foreseen even prior to the presentation of the Wedding Con-
tract on Mt. Sinai, if she would but listen to Him.
And you shall become a kingdom of priests for Me, a holy nation.
These are the words which you shall speak
to the sons of Israel. (Exo 19:6)
And so is the word through Isaiah to those who “mourn in Zion.”
But you shall be called, Priests of Jehovah; it will be said of you,
Ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and you shall revel in their glory. (Isa 61:6)
But this may be his Bride to be, for how does Smyrna mourn in her
persecution, and Philadelphia from abuse? Until he calls them up,
turn their ashes to beauty and their tears to rejoicing:
Rejoicing I will rejoice in Jehovah. My soul shall be joyful in my
God. For He clothed me with garments of salvation; He put on me
the robe of righteousness, even as a bridegroom dons as a priest his
12 Chapter 1
head-dress, and as a bride wears her ornaments. (Isa 61:10)
John, shading his eyes as he looks up, brings us a new vision:
Behold, He is coming with the clouds,
and every eye shall see Him,
and those who pierced Him;
and all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him.
Even so, Amen. (Rev 1:7 AFV)
This whole verse is an echo of what was prophesied by Zechariah:
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the people of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication. And they shall look
upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him,
as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness over Him,
as the bitterness over the firstborn. (Zec 12:10 AFV)
Recall that this is not his coming on the clouds toward the throne of
his Father in Daniel, but in the clouds with his saints, descending to
earth as in Zech 14:1-9, on Yom Kipur (the Day of Covering), when
the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with You.
(Zec 14:5b AFV)
and foreseen by Paul:
That your hearts may be established blameless in holiness
before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
with all His saints. (1Th 3:13 AFV)
and seen in Rev 19:1-21; and so also in the Gospels as that epithet
from Yeshua’s lips gave them grounds to condemn him to death.
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.” (Mar 14:62 AFV)
But as we’ve seen, He shall not come alone but with his Bride—the
Army of Heaven:
Let the saints be joyful in glory;
let them sing aloud upon their beds (Ps 63:5-6).
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth (2Chr 20:22),
and a two-edged sword (1:16; 2:12) in their hand
To execute vengeance upon the nations
 Chapter 1 13
and punishments upon the people,
To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with iron bands,
To carry out upon them the judgment written—
this honor have all His saints.
O praise the LORD! (Psa 149:5-9 AFV)
The tribes wailing at his coming are specifically the sons of Judah for
in Zechariah 12, seen above, we have
And I will pour upon the house of David,
and upon the people of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplication. (Zec 12:10a AFV)
But, as Paul to the Ephesians shows, both Gentiles and the Jewish
people are brought together by the cross, implying that both have had
a share in His crucifixion and suffering, and ample reason to wail
with those others who pierced him.
And that He might reconcile both to God
in one body through the cross,
having slain the enmity by it. (Eph 2:16 AFV)
For Jews, Gentiles and many more will join in Glorifying the Father
on account of Yeshua Messiah their Lord, by this hymn given by Paul
to a young Assembly of Gentiles.
And being found in the manner of man, He humbled Himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him
and bestowed upon Him a name which is above every name;
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father. (Php 2:8-11 AFV)
Even so, Amen “I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the Ending,”
says the Lord, “Who is, and Who was,
and Who is to come—
the Almighty.” (Rev 1:8 AFV)
He is the “Alpha and the Omega,” ET, because prefixed by the defi-
nite article “the,” refers to a particular or a specific noun, and be-
14 Chapter 1
cause it is here in parallel with “the Beginning and the Ending,“ we
have good cause to attribute it to the first ET (Aleph and Tav) in the
Word. That pair of letters that sits in the middle of the first verse of
the first chapter of Genesis, which in English reads: [in the] begin-
ning created God (et) the heavens and the earth. The ET is the middle
word of seven which includes the “and” in the second half. Now ET
as pointer to a direct object, points to the heavens and earth God cre-
ated. But because the letters ET are the first and last of the Alphabet,
the sages say that, as ET encompasses the whole alphabet and every
letter in Torah, so that by the ET, or Torah, was the earth and the
worlds created. Why would we find fault with that, for Yeshua is the
Word of God, by whom he made the universe. Also, by his saying “I
am that ET” we can understand that he is claiming to be the means
by which all was created.
Now to know that He is Wisdom:
But to those who are called—both Jews and Greeks—
Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. (1Co 1:24 AFV)
For Yeshua, God’s Wisdom, has this to say:
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His
works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, be-
fore the earth ever was. (Pro 8:22-23 AFV)
For he did say: “I am … the Beginning..” so that covers eternity past,
now looking forward:
(And the life was manifested, and we have seen, and are bearing
witness, and are reporting to you the eternal life, which was with the
Father, and was manifested to us;) (1Jn 1:2 AFV)
John makes it clear that this “Eternal Life” is Yeshua, who was with
the Father as seen, and was manifest to us (his disciples and many
during his incarnation.} So this covers his eternity future/past. Now,
says the Lord, “Who is, and Who was,
and Who is to come—the Almighty
Where, “the Almighty” in Hebrew should be right after “the Lord,”
as “The Lord Almighty” or El-Shadai, the picture of a shepherd
holding a lamb in his arms where no cat or lion can molest, for he is
Power and Comfort wrapped into One. Now we saw in Daniel how
 Chapter 1 15
Yeshua was given dominion over all creation, and many crowns.
Also, in that the phrase begins with “says,” then this must be Yeshua,
for he is the Word of God, the mouthpiece of his Father. So wherever
Scripture puts it as: “Says the Lord,” we have His Word Speaking,
our Pre-Incarnet Yeshua. Now the past, present, and future, of “Who
is, and Who was, and Who is to come,” is, as we’ve seen, contracted
into the name Yehovah, which pertains to both:
Consider who is the Lord in the following passages?
And the LORD would speak to Moses face to face,
as a man speaks to his friend.
And he returned again to the camp.
But his servant, Joshua the son of Nun, a young man,
did not depart from the tent.
And He said, “You cannot see My face,
for no man can see Me and live.” (Exo 33:11, 20 AFV)
Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way
and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.
Be on guard in His presence and obey His voice.
Do not provoke Him,
for He will not pardon your transgressions;
for My name is in Him. (Exo 23:20-21 AFV)
You see, the LORD or Yehovah, is the “angel of the Lord” in 23:20,
and this special “angel” is truly His Son, but Angel means messenger,
or ‘sent one,’ for that is what he is doing by cloud and by fire, being
constantly available to the sons of Israel through Moses, and also
leading them on the road He selects for them.
Now, in that both were addressed as Yehovah (by the Tetragramma-
ton, the four Hebrew letters) we can deduce that this is the Family
Name of the Father and the son. Even as each of us who speaks Eng-
lish will share the father’s family name. So generally said “Yehovah
says,” is our Preincarnate Lord Yeshua speaking. But, be it of one or
the other, They are so untied that it makes little difference.
 In the Company of Yeshua
I, John, who am also your brother and joint partaker in the
tribulation and in the kingdom
and endurance of Jesus Christ,
was on the island that is called Patmos
because of the Word of God
and the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev 1:9 AFV)
Here John begins a more personal part of the letter, and in so do-
ing, recommences by giving his name, preceded by the pronoun “I”
making it yet more personal than his formal salutation. Then by say-
ing “Who am also your brother,” John includes these churches in
the family of Christ. Which is quite fitting, for
whoever shall do the will of My Father, Who is in heaven,
that one is My brother and sister and mother.” (Mat 12:50 AFV)
So, we are all family who follow the rules of the Head of the Fam-
ily—the Kingdom of Heaven. But here, other factors also come into
play that further weld them together as family : and joint partaker in
the tribulation and in the kingdom and endurance of Yeshua Messiah.
They are suffering together under an oppressive regime and from
those who hate their Lord, but are able to endure because of their
trust in Yeshua Messiah for the power to endure by His Holy Spirit.
I was on the island that is called Patmos because of the Word of God
and the testimony of Yeshua Messiah. We know that John was incar-
cerated on Patmos by the Emperor, because of his witnessing Yeshua
and preaching the Word of God. And we thank God for keeping him
alive, because those witnessing during the Tribulation may not be so
fortunate. (6:9; 20:4) For isn’t that what he has assigned us to do?
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
the whole creation. (Mar 16:15 AFV)
I was in the Spirit on [that “Lordly” day]3;
and I heard a loud voice like a trumpet behind me, (Rev 1:10 AFV)
I was in the Spirit: John is in the Spirit 4 times in this book. Here
he hears, in 4:2 he sees, and in 17:3 and 21:10 he is carried to a site.

3 Soldarnal (cf. Bibliography)

 Chapter 1 17
Now, I believe this was an out of the body experience for John, simi-
lar to that experienced by Ezekiel:
The hand of the LORD was on me,
and brought me by the Spirit of the LORD,
and set me down in the midst of a valley,
and it was full of bones. (Eze 37:1 AFV)
But, as Ezekiel was able to speak, and indeed he was Yehovah’s
mouth piece to those bones, so also John will be conversing with
angels and with the Lord and will be in his bodily form with them,
wherever he is taken.
on a “regal day.” Now most translators take the Greek to mean “the
Lord’s day” but, though the KJV has it that way, the word disagrees
with the grammar which has “Lord” as an adjective, not a noun.
Thus, it tells us what kind of a day this was to John, that it was quite
a “lordly day” or memorable, for in it he received that whole book in
a vision, which would become the concluding book-end to the Bible,
allowing none to append to it, or to remove from it.
And I heard a loud voice like a trumpet behind me. Here the compar-
ison to a trumpet sound will be once again in chapter four when he
calls John upward. The “Loud Voice” will be used another 15 times
in the book, all by angels, multitudes praising, and crowds entreating,
except the loud voice as a lion in 10:3 of an “angel” being Yeshua,
the lion being the sign of Judah and as explained in ch. 5 points to
Yeshua of the house of David. We are also reminded in Mathew and
Mark, how Yeshua, on the cross, calls out twice with a loud voice.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice,
saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” That is,
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
And after crying out again with a loud voice,
Jesus yielded up His spirit. (Mat 27:46, 50 AFV)
Behind me: John hears the voice but does not see from whence it
comes. And so do many hear a voice on Sinai, and from the throne
room, and even individuals, but we also are given ears to hear, and
can act on what is said without having to see who’s speaking. In fact
hearing is important, Yeshua so entreats us eight times in the Synop-
tic Gospels, by the phrase:
18 Chapter 1
If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mar 4:23 AFV)
And in the Revelation He adjures each of the seven churches with
“The one who has an ear, let him hear … .” and again with respect to
the beast which rises out of the sea—for the eighth repetition of that
injunction in John’s revelation. Now through Paul to the Hebrews we
have this strong injunctioni:
For this reason, even as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you will hear His voice, (Heb 3:7 AFV)
Let’s hear what the Spirit is telling us as we read and study his Word
with open eyes and heart.
Saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the First and the Last”; and,
“What you see, write in a book, and send it
to the churches that are in Asia:
to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos,
and to Thyatira, and to Sardis,
and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” (Rev 1:11 AFV)
We have explained the “Alpha and the Omega, and the First and the
Last,” in v.8 above, how it is expressed as “the beginning and the
end.” Certainly, by the word of Wisdom in Prov 8, He was prior to
all creation, indeed the “beginning” of it, and through Daniel
Now in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a king-
dom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Dan 2:44 AFV)
and so he has sworn to David:
“I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant,
‘Your seed will I establish forever,
and build up your throne to all generations.’ “ Selah. (Psa 89:3-4 AFV)
“What you see, write in a book,” carries the weight we see in John’s
Gospel for the importance of what is recorded in writing, that many
would thereby believe and have life through His name:
But these have been written, so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing,
 Chapter 1 19
you may have life through His name. (Joh 20:31 AFV)
Luke also saw how “orderly” writing will confirm instruction:
It seemed good to me also, having accurately understood
everything from the very first,
to write these things in an orderly sequence to you,
most excellent Theophilus,
So that you might know the absolute certainty of the things
in which you have been instructed. (Luk 1:3-4 AFV)
Paul brings in the whole written Bible, by which we have hope:
For all the things that were written before
were written for our instruction,
so that through patient endurance
and encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope. (Rom 15:4 AFV)
So, this book of John’s Revelation, actually Yeshua’s Revelation to
John and to us by him, is written very orderly, of very tight structure
such that any chapter or verse moved can be seen as such and rem-
edied. The same rules of the Chiasmus are followed in his book as in
the Torah and throughout the “OT,”
and send it to the churches that are in Asia:
to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos,
and to Thyatira, and to Sardis,
and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
The book is to be sent to each of the churches, and also to each of us
as we identify with one or the other of those, and even to the epochs
of the church to understand where we are at this time. The names of
these cities are arranged as addressed in the ensuing chapters.
And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me;
and when I turned,
I saw seven golden lampstands; (Rev 1:12 AFV)
John turned to see a voice. Can we see a voice? But this might be as
in other languages where the verb “see” can be used for any of the
senses. Here is another puzzler: “they saw no likeness, only a voice,”
as if modulated rays of light were emanating from the mountain.
And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire.
20 Chapter 1
You heard the voice of the words,
but saw no likeness, only a voice. (Deu 4:12 AFV)
When John turned, he didn’t yet see the source of the voice, but a
group of lamp-stands which he then counted. These lamp stands are
menorah, as that single menorah positioned in the holy place of the
temple, now each menorah has seven tubes terminating with wicks,
which arch upward to form a string of seven lights. So there are re-
ally 48 lights on those seven menorah. And since seven represents
fullness, it points to the members of those congregations, or to indi-
viduals at large that fit in with their image; each congregation being a
single menorah, a set of seven.
And in the midst of the seven lampstands
One like the Son of man,
clothed in a garment reaching to the feet,
and girded about the chest with a golden breastplate.
(Rev 1:13 AFV)
So now his attention turns to the One, identitified as the Messiah by
that title (Dan 7:13). Then he begins to describe this figure by his
clothing. In Exodus we see that the robe was required Priestly wear.
And here in this temple scene we see Yeshua as Priest of a new order.
And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate,
and an ephod, and a robe, and an embroidered coat,
a miter, and a girdle.
And they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother,
and his sons, so that he may minister to Me
in the priest’s office. (Exo 28:4 AFV)
Where Jesus has entered for us as a forerunner, having become a
High Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec.
(Heb 6:20 AFV)

and girded about the chest with a golden breastplate.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins,
and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. (Isa 11:5 AFV)

Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth,

 Chapter 1 21
and wearing the breastplate of righteousness, (Eph 6:14 AFV)
But we who are of the day should be sober,
having put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for a helmet the hope of salvation, (1Th 5:8 AFV)
We see above how righteousness and faithfulness are both repre-
sented by bands around the chest or lower abdomen by Isaiah. Paul
portrays the breastplate to the Ephesians as righteousness, and to the
Thessalonians as Faith and Love, but these are two sides of the same
coin, for without Love of brother and of the Lord active through
Faith one cannot attain righteousness, for it will be self-guided, not
by the Spirit. Righteousness is doing good works by faith in the one
who prepares those works for us to do, as Paul puts it:
For we are His workmanship, being created in Christ Jesus
unto the good works that God ordained beforehand
in order that we might walk in them.(Eph 2:10 AFV)
And His head and hair were like white wool, white as snow;
and His eyes were like a flame of fire; (Rev 1:14 AFV)
Daniel sees two visions of this heavenly figure: here in 7:9 it’s the
Ancient of Days with hair like wool. This is the Father, not the Son,
for the latter will approach him from the clouds in this story. The
second vision is of the Son with eyes like lamps of fire,
I watched until thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days sat,
Whose raiment was white as snow,
and the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was like flames of fire,
and its wheels like burning fire. (Dan 7:9 AFV)
His body also was like beryl, and his face looked like lightning.
And his eyes were like lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet
in color were like polished bronze, and the sound of his words
like the sound of a multitude. (Dan 10:6 AFV)
We will see these eyes like flames of fire serving to identify our Ris-
en Lord in Rev. 2:18 to Thyatira, and again in 19:12 as he leads his
loved ones down to help him judge on Yom Kippur (Mat 25:31-46)
22 Chapter 1
And His feet were like fine brass, as if they glowed in a furnace;
and His voice was like the sound of many waters. (Rev 1:15 AFV)
Here we see his feet as those seen in Dan 10:6 above, which will
again be used as his sign to those in Thyatira (2:18). The voice
sounding of many waters is seen in Revelation in 14:2 and 19:6 is
heavenly, but of multitudes singing. However, Ezekiel hears the
voice of Him coming in glory:
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel
came from the way of the east.
And His voice was like the sound of many waters.
And the earth shined with His glory. (Eze 43:2 AFV)
And in His right hand He had seven stars,
and a sharp two-edged sword went out of His mouth,
and His countenance was as the sun
shining in its full power. (Rev 1:16 AFV)
My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth,
and My right hand has stretched out the heavens.
When I call they stand up together. (Isa 48:13 AFV)
The right hand of the Lord is his source of power, by it, all was cre-
ated, but then it is seen throughout the Psalms and Isaiah to be our
Savior Yeshua, whose name means “to save.”
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with the saving strength of His right hand. (Psa 20:6 AFV)
The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly. (Psa 118:16 AFV)
The following from the Psalms is very Messianic, for dozens of
verses in the Gospels and Epistles place Yeshua at the right hand of
the Father. So in the following we have both “Son of Man,” and “of
your right hand” to point to our Savior. (Psa 80:17 AFV)
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
upon the Son of man Whom You have made strong for Yourself.
Then Yeshua before the Sanhedrin who are seeking accusations of
him, offers them what they seek:
 Chapter 1 23
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.” (Mar 14:62 AFV)
Hereafter shall the Son of man be sitting at the right hand
of the power of God.” (Luk 22:69 AFV)
And so he, Yeshua at the right hand of the Father, is about to descend
as King of the Earth and Universe, but first He will call up his Bride,
who we’ll meet among the Churches.
In his right hand He had seven stars, which are often referred to as
angels, as in :
When the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7 AFV)
See also Isa 14:13, Dan 8:10, but here the Lord will explain to John
in 1:20 that the stars do represent angels. And so they being in his
right hand implies that he has control over them.
A sharp two-edged sword went out of His mouth: A sword?!
For the Word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of both soul and spirit,
and of both the joints and the marrow,
and is able to discern the thoughts
and intents of the heart. (Heb 4:12 AFV)
And put on the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God; (Eph 6:17 AFV)
This sword of the mouth will be used four more times in this Book:
(2:12,16; 19:15,21) in all cases it is to make war, but we perceive by
this word from Isaiah that this Sword is figurative:
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.
And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. (Isa 11:4 AFV)
and similar to that:
So I have cut them down by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of My mouth.
And the judgments against you
24 Chapter 1
are as the light that goes forth, (Hos 6:5 AFV)
So whether rod or sword of his mouth, it is used in aggression, as is
the breath of his lips. So the sword being a lethal weapon, and cou-
pled with the two verses above by Paul indicating that the sword is
the Word of God , we are being told that this sword means that by his
Word he can slay his adversaries. So, by His word he creates, and by
His word he can destroy.
and His countenance (the expression of the face) was as the sun...
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound;
they shall walk, O LORD,
in the light of Your countenance. (Psa 89:15 AFV)
There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?”
LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. (Psa 4:6 AFV)
And as the fierce countenance portends evil so the lighted coun-
tenance carries an approving smile, an assurance of blessing and
protection. But in our verse the countenance shines with full solar
power. Now, Moses face shone after being face to face with Yehovah:
Moses did not know that the skin of his face had become luminous
through His speaking with him. (Exo 34:29b AFV)
So, by this we have it that perhaps Yeshua, in our verse, has been in
close communication with the Father causing his face to shine the
brighter, or else it is as above, giving ultimate favor. But in either
case the brilliant face shows forth His glory.
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead;
but He laid His right hand upon me, saying to me,
“Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, (Rev 1:17 AFV)
And when I saw Him I fell at His feet.. We see the same in Ezekiel,
where in seeing His glory he could do naught but fall on his face,
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
And I saw. And I fell on my face,
and I heard a voice of One speaking. (Eze 1:28b AFV)
but He laid His right hand upon me. Daniel was strengthened by the
touch of the angel, even as John by the touch of the Son of Man.
Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep,
my face toward the ground.
 Chapter 1 25
But he touched me and set me upright. (Dan 8:18 AFV)
saying to me, “Do not be afraid; Again as Daniel fell on his face in
terror, it was the angel’s voice that gave him strength and comfort.
So he came near where I stood. And when he came,
I was terrified and fell upon my face.
But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man,
for the vision is for the time of the end.” (Dan 8:17 AFV)
I am the First and the Last. Even the One Who is living;
for I was dead, and behold,
I am alive into the ages of eternity. Amen.
And I have the keys of the grave and of death.
(Rev 1:17b,18 AFV)
The first phrase above continues, providing the same sequence as in
v 8 earlier, which has: Is, Was, and Is to Come. Now, the First and
the Last above answers to “Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the
End,” for I was dead, answers to “Who Was,” and behold, I am alive,
answers to “Who Is,” and into the ages of eternity answers to “and is
to come.” The three tenses are not in the same order but each con-
tains all three, even as Ye Ho Vah is composed of that eternal pres-
ence using the tense prefixes in the order: Future, Present, Past.
for I was dead, and Behold.. also attests to his crucifixion which by
the Behold, or See! Yeshua is pointing out that he is very much alive.
The phrase alive into the ages of eternity, is repeated verbatim in vs
4:9 and 5:14; and the fact of his eternity is witnessed by Paul in the
Hebrews where Yeshua will be our permanent High Priest :
Who was not invested according to the priestly law
of a fleshly commandment,
but by the power of indestructible life.
Therefore, He has the power throughout all time
to save those who come to God through Him because
He is ever living to intercede for them. (Heb 7:16,25 AFV)
Amen, puts a seal on that phrase, to say that it cannot be otherwise,
he is our eternal Savior, and our everlasting hope.
And I have the keys of the grave and of death. These keys prophesied
by Isaiah are used of Philadelphia (3:7), not for the grave, but for
26 Chapter 1
mission and outreach.
And the key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder;
so he shall open, and none shall shut;
and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Isa 22:22 AFV)
Now, keys are used again to open the nether world in Rev. 9:1 and
20:1, the first to release evil spirits, the second to incarcerate the
prince of evil. But here in v.18 we are assured that Yeshua can release
whoever he wills from the clutches of the evil duo we will meet on
horseback in v. 6:8.
Write the things that you saw, and the things that are,
and the things that shall take place hereafter. (Rev 1:19 AFV)
This verse answers to v.11 which asked John to write these things for
the seven churches. Now, he puts the writing into the three tenses; so
we are told that in this book we will find history, current events, and
prophecy of what’s to come, and so we shall see. Seven times he will
be asked to “write” to each of the churches (chp 2-3), and then three
more times of promises: Blessing the dead who die in the Lord that
they will rest (14:13), blessing those invited to the wedding feast of
the lamb (10:9), and certifying that He will renew all things (21:5).
The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand,
and the seven golden lampstands, is this:
the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches;
and the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven churches.”
Rev 1:20 AFV)
Here is a couplet that goes: stars, lampstands; stars, lampstands. It
was a mystery but here he’s revealing that the seven stars are seven
angels being written to, whether they be elders or angels who will
receive and impart the message each to his/her church. And the seven
lampstands are those seven churches themselves.
The word lampstands is seen twice in this verse, twice before: (v.
12,13), and twice after (2:1; 11:4). In the first two: Yeshua is seen in
the midst of them, and in the last two: it’s used in the introduction
to the letter to Ephesus, and then about the two witnesses who are
likened to those two olive trees of Zecharia (4:3,11,14) who stand by
the Lord of the whole earth.
 Chapter 2 27
That the assemblies are lamp stands is fitting, for they are the carriers
of the lamps which give light, which is the Word of God
“In the same way, let your light shine before people,
so that they may see the good things you do
and praise your Father in heaven.” (Mat 5:16, CJB)
Paul puts this in a practical light:
“through the proof of this service, they glorifying God
by your freely expressed submission to the gospel of Christ,
and the sincerity of the fellowship toward them
and toward all;” (2Co 9:13, )
And by Peter:
“having your behavior good among the nations,
in that which they speak against you as evildoers;
by observing your good works,
they may glorify God in a day of visitation.” (1Pe 2:12, )
To the end that we be apt servants of our Lord and King:
“In this My Father is glorified,
that you should bear much fruit;
and you will be disciples to Me.” (Joh 15:8, )
The first chapter closes while the letters to the seven churches opens.
Chapter 2
Ephesus
“To the messenger of the assembly of Ephesos write,
‘He who is holding the seven stars in His right hand,
who is walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands,
says this: (Rev 2:1 TS2009)
From the TS2009 version we get a clearer definition of “Angel” as
“messenger” and “church” as “assembly.” For these clarifications
are needed in that it isn’t clear in this context whether the Angel is
one of those divine creatures from Heaven, or if he is an elder in the
church. Also assembly is more neutral than synagogue or church,
which terms have been used to denigrate one or the other, such as in
v.9 which actually refers to Gentiles pretending to be Jews.4 To the
angel of the Ephesian church, This address is unique, compare:
Assembly Heading 4 in Thyatira
1 of the Ephesian church 5 in Sardis
2 of the Smyrenians 6 in Philadelphia
3 in Pegasus 7 of the Laodiceans

So Ephesus is used as an adjective, telling what kind of assembly it

is. But of Smyrna and Laodicea it’s possessive, the church that be-
longs to the people in those cities, or of the type referred to. For we
will see that Smyrna points to a kind of martyr and Laodicea to those
in apostasy who are in the great falling away (1Th 2:3). Finally, the
assemblies of the four remaining are described as being “in” those
cities. We can see that there is no particular order to these various
salutations, so we must take each as it is presented.
Now to the Ephesian assembly, as also to the others, is there given a
sign of the speaker: These things says He Who holds the seven stars
in His right hand, in fact, two are given here, the second is: who is
walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, (verses 16 and
13, resp.). Now to compare the signs from ch 1 that John gives to
each assembly:
4 ................................................................................................................................................
CF. JNTC, Rev 2:9
 Chapter 2 29
These things says All seven of the greetings contain this exact
phrase, but after “says” there is variance in how each is addressed:
N Church The Phrase following “Says” in the letters First Occur-
ance
1 Ephesus He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, v16
Who walks in the midst of
the seven golden lampstands v13
2 Smyrna the First and the Last, v17
Who was dead, but is alive. v18
3 Pergamum He Who has the sharp two-edged sword. v16
4 Thyatira the Son of God, Jn 1:34
He Who has eyes like a flame of fire, v14
and His feet are like fine brass. v15
5 Sardis He Who has the seven spirits of God v4
and the seven stars. v16, 20
6 Philadel- the Holy One, the One Who is true; 6:10
phia the One Who has the key of David,
Who opens and no one shuts, and Isa 22:22
Who shuts and no one opens.
7 Laodicea the Amen, v6, 7
the faithful and true Witness, Jer 42:5; 19:11
the Beginner of the creation of God Col 1:15
The salutations of first three assemblies all take phrases from ch.1,
before v12; and so for Thyatira except she must take outside of this
book on “the Son of God.” Now Philadelphia’s uses no phrase from
chp. 1 at all, nor does Laodicea, for though there is the word Amen
in chp. 1 it has no direct object. Thyatira being in the fourth or center
is granted the name “Son of God” and also the most references to
our Lord. But Philadelphia’s identifiers of the Lord in the salutation
are the richest of all, having three of the definite articles “the” in “the
one who” or “holy one”, and three with ‘who...” (has the key, opens,
shuts). We will see later why Philadelphia is so precious to our Lord.
Note also a similarity of the first and the 5th, that is the head of each
group of three, for the first lines of the two signs have “seven stars”
and “seven spirits” respectively. Each uses a symbol having the word
seven. And for the second sign: “seven golden lampstands,” and
“seven stars.” If we take v14 as the median: then Ephesus uses signs
30 Chapter 2
from a verse above that in the first phrase, and below in the second,
while Sardis, reverses that order to take from a verse below on the
first sign and above on the second. Note that the word seven is used
nowhere else among the assemblies as a sign, but to these two, twice,
as first in their groups.
Now even with this careful arrangement of terms there is still a mes-
sage for Ephesus. In the signs of the of the greeting, she, the first of
the assemblies has the two signs that are given at the end of ch.1,
the two mystery signs, revealed, but the second is a portend of her
demise if she doesn’t return to her first love (2:5).
I know your works, and your labor, and your endurance,
and that you cannot bear those who are evil;
and that you did test those who proclaim themselves
to be apostles, but are not, and did find them liars;
(Rev 2:2 AFV)
I know..., this same sequence of qualities is presented twice by Paul:
Without fail, we remember your work of faith, and your labor of love,
and your endurance in the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father; (1Th 1:3 AFV)
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the labor of
love by which you have showed honor to His name, in that you have
served the saints and are continuing to serve them. (Heb 6:10 AFV)
Recall, or understand, that Paul differentiates the work of self-effort,
and the works of faith which look to Yeshua for guidance and are ef-
fected through love. Our Labor of Love focuses on how the works are
done, not by looking down at the laws etched in stone, lest we trip
on those stones, but looking up to the Law of Love by which all are
fulfilled by us through our love of God and thus of our neighbor, and
not through self reliance. Hope is the fuel of endurance and contin-
ued service, and that Hope is also grounded in Faith, for if we don’t
have faith in the Lord who enables, and in his Spirit which guides
and empowers, and in the Father of Love who hears us before we
speak, then our hope is shipwrecked by loss of the rudder, Love.
For those who misinterpret Paul, thinking he put the law aside:
Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands firm, having this seal:
 Chapter 2 31
“The Lord knows those who are His,” and,
“Let everyone who calls upon the name of Christ
depart from unrighteousness.” (2Ti 2:19 AFV)
How does one depart from unrighteousness? Clearly by doing what
is right, as Yeshua says:
Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom
of heaven; but whoever shall practice and teach them,
this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 5:19 AFV)
The Kingdom of Heaven is populated by those who keep His rules.
It’s not hard to find Christ’s commandments, for they fill the pages
He breathed from Genesis to the Book of Revelations. Yeshua, the
Living Word, fleshed those rules out by his walk and by his talk.
and that you cannot bear those who are evil; for Yehovah testifies
against us, that what makes one evil is his/her not keeping his com-
mandments, but following the ways of the world—we are of Israel
who put, or even say we put our faith in Yeshua.
And the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah,
by all the prophets, by all the seers, saying, “Turn from your evil
ways and keep My commandments and My statutes,
according to all the law which I commanded your fathers,
and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” (2Ki 17:13 AFV)
The world cannot hate you; but it hates Me because I testify
concerning it, that its works are evil. (Joh 7:7 AFV)
O Jehovah, do not I hate those hating You?
And am I not detesting those rising against You? (Psa 139:21)
and that you did test those who proclaim themselves to be apostles,
but are not, and did find them liars, By what criteria did they test
these who claimed to be apostles, that is, sent of God? Let’s hear
what Yehovah says about that:
“If a prophet rises among you, or a dreamer of dreams,
and gives you a sign or a wonder,
And the sign or the wonder which he foretold to you comes to pass,
saying, ‘Let us go after other gods, which you have not known,
and let us serve them,’ You shall not hearken
to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams,
32 Chapter 2
for the LORD your God is testing you
to know whether you love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul.
You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him,
and keep His commandments,
and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him
and hold fast to Him. (Deu 13:1-4 AFV)
So, the litmus test provided to counter even the one who attempts to
prove himself by signs and wonders, is: Does he follow the Lord’s
commandments? So when he stands up there in the long hair we’ve
become used to seeing on (fake) pictures of Yeshua and with that
visage that is so common—which is actually too similar to the face
we can see on the coin of Antiochus Epiphanes,the first Antichrist,
he having defiled the holy temple of God by sacrificing swine. So
having prepped christendom with that picture, he will sway many,
but not those who follow the Lord their God and know his command-
ments, for they will know him by his rhetoric—for instance, Will
he laud and encourage all to keep Sunday “holy” amid the cheers of
many (although Yehovah has never changed the day he sanctified,
nor has Yeshua indicated a different day of His Lordship.) 21:8 puts
these “liars” into the lake of fire and brimstone.
And that you have borne much and have endured,
and for My name’s sake
have labored and have not grown weary; (Rev 2:3 AFV)
This is the Lord’s commendation of Ephesus. The condemnation
comes right after, as it does for the other assemblies which are com-
mended. The table below shows the distribution of condemnations
and commendations. Only three have both: the first and third in the
first group of three and the Center; Two have no commendation only
condemnation: the first and third in the second group of three. Fi-
nally, only two have no condemnation, but only commendation: the
second in each group of three.
 Chapter 2 33

Assembly Commendation Condemnation

Ephesus x x
Smyrna x
Pergamum x x
Thyatira x x
Sardis x
Philadelphia x
Laodicea x
Ephesus’ commendation centers on endurance, even through persecu-
tion and has labored in the name of Yeshua without flagging. We see
how important endurance is in:
But the one who endures to the end,
that one will be kept safe. (Mat 24:13)
By your patient endurance you shall gain your lives. (Luk 21:19 AFV)
And Paul explains how endurance in tribulation builds character
which spawns Hope because of the work of God’s Holy Spirit pour-
ing His love into our hearts. Of course endurance is based on faith,
for who can endure without having faith in God, and while Paul has
Hope a result of Faith, there is also a Faith based on Hope,
And not only this, but we also boast in tribulations,
realizing that tribulation brings forth endurance,
And endurance brings forth character,
and character brings forth hope.
And the hope of God never makes us ashamed
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us. (Rom 5:3-5 AFV)
The three Godly attributes are always working together:
And now, these three remain: faith, hope and love;
but the greatest of these is love. (1Co 13:13 AFV)
Nevertheless, I have this against you,
that you have left your first love. (Rev 2:4 AFV)
This is the condemnation of Ephesus,
“Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD,
34 Chapter 2
“I remember you, the kindness of your youth,
the love of your betrothals,
when you went after Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown. (Jer 2:2 AFV)
And because lawlessness shall be multiplied,
the love of many shall grow cold. (Mat 24:12 AFV)
God is Love and those who love are in God, but how do they show it:
By this standard we know that we love the children of God:
when we love God and keep His commandments.
For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments;
and His commandments are not burdensome. (1Jn 5:2-3 AFV)
So John makes it clear that Love is connected to keeping God’s com-
mandments, and certainly that is how the family works, we keep our
father’s rules for love for him. But if keeping the rules becomes hab-
it, the love of our father has faded as the prime mover. Note Yeshua’s
words in Mat 24 above saying the same thing, for lawlessness is not
keeping God’s laws, on account of diminished love for God.
Therefore, remember from where you have fallen,
and repent, and do the first works;
for if you do not, I will come to you quickly;
and I will remove your lampstand out of its place
unless you repent. (Rev 2:5 AFV)
This is a call to repentance. The Table below shows who received
a call to repentance and where the Consequence occurred. Gener-
ally the Consequence follows the Call to Repentance. Now for those
involved with Jezebel in Thyatira who do not repent, there is no call,
only consequence, but for the others in Thyatira, there is no call but
encouragement. Smyrna and Philadelphia, the two in the middle of
their groups, receive no Condemnation so there is no Call to Repen-
tance. Finally, Laodicea, who has moved far from God’s ways, is of-
fered chastisement before the call to repentance, but the call, like the
knocking at the door, carries only small hope that some will respond.
 Chapter 2 35

Assembly Call to Repentance Consequence

Ephesus x follows
Smyrna
Pergamum x follows
x for some some unrepentant
Thyatira
no call for some some, no consequence
Sardis x follows
Philadelphia
Laodicea x precedes
Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, the
prophets continually prodded Israel to repent, and now it’s even more
difficult, for the Laodicean assembly, as we see above, receives chas-
tisement before it is even called to repent because of her hard heart.
O Israel, return to the LORD your God,
for you have fallen because of your iniquity.
Take with you words, and return to the LORD.
Say to Him, “Take away all our iniquity, and receive us graciously,
that we may repay with the sacrifices of our lips. (Hos 14:1-2 AFV)
and repent, and do the first works; and so did the Lord, through Isa-
iah, plead with the people and give them a choice. A choice which is
still in force as we see here in Ephesus:
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
put away the evil of your doings
from before My eyes; cease to do evil;
Learn to do good; seek judgment,
reprove the oppressor. Judge the orphan, plead for the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD.
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson,
they shall be like wool.
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword;”
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it. (Isa 1:16-20 AFV)
I will come to you quickly; and I will remove
your lampstand out of its place unless you repent.
36 Chapter 2
But just as all the good things concerning you which the LORD your
God has spoken to you have been fulfilled, so shall the LORD bring
upon you every evil thing until He has destroyed you from off this
good land which the LORD your God has given you, (Jos 23:15 AFV)
Several times in the Pentateuch are we adjured to make a choice, as:
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.
Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live,
(Deu 30:19 AFV)
For indeed, this choice comes before us in every daily encounter.
The Lord is not slow to judge, many of his judgments happen upon
us promptly to cause us to get back on course, even as:
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psa 23:4b AFV)
But it may be more serious for Ephesus, for the lamp-stand is the
Ephesus Congregation itself, which is thus at risk of being disbanded.
Yes, Love is the key!
But this you have: that you hate the works of the Nicolaitanes,
which I also hate. (Rev 2:6 AFV)
This is the parting encouragement the Lord can offer Ephesus. That
they hate what God hates, and the psalmist so sides with the Lord:
O LORD, do I not hate those who hate You?
And am I not grieved with those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies. (Psa 139:21-22 AFV)
The Nicolaitanes were a sect “which encouraged idolatry and sexual
sin,”1 5 so they are akin to that which Balaam used to entice the sons
of Israel, and both of those vices are active in Pergamom. Exo 31
shows us why Yehovah is concerned with us keeping marriage and
our relationship with the opposite sex holy:
“Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are to observe my Shabbats;
for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations;
so that you will know that I am Adonai, who sets you apart for me.
(Exo 31:13 CJB)

5 JNTC, Rev 2:6

 Chapter 2 37
This is a mini-Marriage Contract, where holding Sabbath, as wear-
ing the ring, is how we are set apart to Yehovah (whom we now call
Yeshua (Exo 23:21)) so that the three death sentences which follow
(31:14,15) for breaking Sabbath make sense, because it is as a fian-
cee running off with another, or as an unfaithful wife.
Now what of the encouragement of the other churches?
Assembly Word of Encouragement before “overcomes”
Ephesus Hates Nicolaitanism
Smyrna Crown of Life
Pergamum -
Thyatira No other burden cast upon her,
Sardis Walk with Him in White
Philadelphia Kept from Testing, hold fast to Crown
Laodicea Sup together
These are the words of encouragement placed just before the phrase:
“the one who overcomes.” Smyrna and Philadelphia have on-going
encouragement, but particular to both is the Crown, for that is like
the king’s ring, it carries authority, for they will rule with Yeshua in
the age to come. (Dan 7:18,27; Rev 5:10, 20:4); Pergamum received
no such word of encouragement; and Laodicea’s is tentative.
The one who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the one who overcomes
I will give the right to eat of the tree of life
that is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev 2:7 AFV)
38 Chapter 2
Now let us see how this is structured for each of the seven assemblies
Overcomes vs
Assembly The one who Reward
has an ear
Ephesus after Will eat of the tree of Live
Smyrna after Is not to be hurt by the second death
Pergamum after May eat the hidden manna,
AND is given a white stone
having a secret name
Thyatira before Authority over the Nations
AND the morning star
Sardis before Shall be clothed in White
AND name is not blotted
from the Book of Life
Philadel- before Made a pillar in the Temple
phia AND she shall not go out any more
AND name of “my” God written upon
AND The name of the New Jerusalem
AND “my” New Name
Laodicea before Will sit on his throne
Only three, Ephesus, Smyrna, and Laodicea—the first two and the
last—have but one reward statement. Thyatira and the assembly on
either side of her, are given two rewards. Those on either side of
Thyatira, the 3rd and 5th each have “white,” where in the 3rd it’s the
white stone as the second reward, in the 5th it’s the white garments as
the first reward. Now Philadelphia is granted the grand Reward for
we can see by the many symbols that she is His Bride, for on her is
bestowed His Father’s name as well as his own name, also her abode
will be with Him in the New Jerusalem, and she is a wife who is the
pillar in His house and will not go out as will a son or a daughter to
make his or her own family. This whole verse is taken to match Isa
56:5 which in context concerns a Eunuch which was made the moth-
er of His children because [she] keeps His Sabbath—which by Exo
31:13 is the Engagement Ring.
Now Ephesus’ reward is the Tree of Life seen in Genesis as well as
later in this book:
 Chapter 2 39
And the LORD God said,
“Behold, the man has become like one of Us,
to decide good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. /
And He drove out the man,
and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden,
and a flaming sword which turned every way
to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen 3:22, 24 AFV)
Blessed are those who keep His commandments,
that they may have the right to eat of the tree of life,
and may enter by the gates into the city. (Rev 22:14 AFV)
Both of the above deal with cleanliness of sin, for they had sinned in
Gen 3 such that they were no longer qualified to partake of the Tree
of Life, and in the last chapter of this book we are again offered it
on the condition of keeping His commandments—which are found
between the covers or our Bibles, also that keeping His House rules,
permits one into His House.
Finally where is the Paradise of God? We know it can’t be up there,
since the new Jerusalem comes down to earth, (3:12; 21:2). Now
wouldn’t it be as if God had failed if he had made a beautiful Earth
that has been ruined over six millennia by satanic influence, and by
carelessness over the creation given to us to manage with wisdom.
But, He won’t let that happen, the Earth will be turned back to its for-
mer beauty, Satan absent, his Loved Ones or Saints will be governing
judging and teaching, such that everyone will be following His rules,

Smyrna
And to the angel of the church of the Smyrneans write:
These things says the First and the Last,
Who was dead but is alive. (Rev 2:8 AFV)
As we’ve seen, the first phrase of the introduction is common to all
messages to the seven assemblies, and then it becomes particular.
Here, Yeshua identifies himself by two phrases found in chapter one
at vs 11 and 17 for the first, and v 18 for the second. We saw above
how these phrases are markers by where they are positioned to help
hold the messages in the order planned. But these phrases also have
40 Chapter 2
particular meaning for each assembly, and for Smyrna we will see
she is persecuted and martyred, and this forward is to encourage her
with hope in the resurrection, strengthened by the fact that Yeshua,
was raised to glory prior to all, who into the eternal future, has the re-
sources to assure her of his oversight and power to raise her.
For even as the Father raises the dead, and gives life,
so also the Son gives life to whomever He wills.
Truly, truly, I say to you that an hour is coming, and now is,
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and the ones hearing will live. (Joh 5:21,25)
I know your works and tribulation and poverty
(but you are rich),
and the blasphemy of those who declare themselves to be Jews
and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. (Rev 2:9 AFV)
Appended to the common phrase “ I know..” is “and tribulation and
poverty,” where we see that she is kin to Philadelphia who “has little
strength,” but Smyrna is definitely the worse off, and though our
perspective is often Topsy-turvy to Yeshua’s —his being correct, in-
forms her that she is really rich in the heavenly point of view.
Jesus said to him, “If you desire to be perfect,
go and sell your property, and give to the poor,
and you shall have treasure in heaven;
and come and follow Me.” (Mat 19:21 AFV)
But to continue her trials we have: “and the blasphemy of those who
declare themselves to be Jews and are not,” This is obviously Gen-
tiles who pretend to be Jews for there is no Jewish person who by
faith, or lack of it, is not a Jew, and for John in this book, the term
Jew takes on a different slant than that used in his Gospel, for in the
Gospel the Jews are the ruling class who though His kin, feared and
hated Yeshua, but the Jews here remaining in John’s circle have come
out of Patmos or are even in Patmos were Christian, while most
non-believing Jews had been massacred, taken into slavery, or ban-
ished from their land in the aftermath of the failed Kokhba Rebellion
against Rome. So the word Jews in this social context may well be
replaced by, “Those who follow Yeshua,” which would fit the tone
of the letter as well, for the implication is that the Jews here worship
 Chapter 2 41
in truth. Then the phrase, “but are a synagogue of Satan,” only as-
sures us that these are a rotten sect and not true worshipers of God
but have turned proper worship into something evil, or don’t follow
the commandments of our Lord.
Do not fear any of the things that you are about to suffer.
Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison,
that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days.
Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.
(Rev 2:10 AFV)
Hearken to Me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is My law;
do not fear the reproach of men,
nor be afraid of their revilings; (Isa 51:7 AFV)
This from Isaiah is apropos to Smyrna for she does have His law in
her heart. There is much in this letter that ties her to Philadelphia
who we see is also linked to his loved one in Isaiah 56, and thus both
accept His proposal in Exo 31:13. Now, for godly encouragement:
Be strong and of a good courage. Do not fear nor be afraid of them,
for the LORD your God is He Who goes with you.
He will not fail you nor forsake you.” (Deu 31:6 AFV)
And Yeshua’s words, which put things in the eternal perspective:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body,
but do not have power to destroy the life;
rather, fear Him Who has the power to destroy both life
and body in Gehenna. (Mat 10:28 AFV)
Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison,
that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days.
Smyrna is going to have her faith tried by the evil one even as Yesh-
ua had for 40 days. But the only Biblical reference to 10 days, having
“trial” or “proving” is where Daniel asks for vegetables instead of the
kings menu, for which they are tried for 10 day, and succeed.
So he hearkened to them in this matter,
and proved them for ten days. (Dan 1:14 AFV)
Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life: shows us
that Smyrna is an assembly of martyrs, and to prepare them for this
42 Chapter 2
Yeshua identifies himself as he does with the hope of the resurrec-
tion. We have seen that only Smyrna and Philadelphia are bestowed
crowns, which imply authority, and that she by her ties to Philadel-
phia which we see here, shares in being His Bride.6
Smyrna (Rev. 2:8–11) Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7–13)
v.9 a Your tribulation v.8 You have little power.
and your poverty
v.9 b and the blasphemy by those v.9 Behold, I will cause those of the
who say they are Jews synagogue of Satan,
and are not, who say that they are Jews
but are a synagogue of Satan and are not, but lie—
v.10 you will be tested; v 10 I also will keep you from
have tribulation ten days the hour of testing...to test those
who dwell on the earth.
v.10 b I will give you the v.11 lest one take your crown.
crown of Life
v.11 you will not be hurt by v.10 I will keep you from the
the second death hour of testing
For both the living and the dead in Christ are mentioned in 1Th 4,
who will be caught up to meet with each other, and then with the
Lord in the air. So Smyrna represents those “asleep” and Philadelphia
“those who are alive and remaining at his shout.
Because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God;
and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds for the meeting
with the Lord in the air;
and so shall we always be with the Lord. (1Th 4:16-17 AFV)
and by John’s first letter we see it’s those who keep his command-
ments who are “in Him” :
And the one who keeps His commandments
is dwelling in Him, and He in him;

6 Table from: The Perdurable Partnership, S. Lellelid, p 60

 Chapter 2 43
and by this we know that He is dwelling in us:
by the Spirit which He has given to us. (1Jn 3:24 AFV)
Not only that, but the keeping of his word, which includes his rules,
gives us access to his kingdom, and those in his kingdom, by even
the verse above, are granted his Holy Spirit. Paul complements
John’s word with a stern conclusion:
However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if the Spirit of God is indeed dwelling within you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Him. (Rom 8:9 AFV)
The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches.
The one who overcomes
shall not be hurt of the second death. (Rev 2:11 AFV)
The first line is common to all seven churches, but here as in a few,
is an encouraging phrase right after the common ending. Here, The
one who overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death, is not to
say they won’t suffer the first death, as that end is already decreed for
her. The definition of the Second Death is :
And death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. (Rev 20:14 AFV)
And among those being chastised within that Lake of Fire includes:
... the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable,
and murderers, and fornicators,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone;
which is the second death.” (Rev 21:8 AFV)
It’s remarkable that the cowardly and unbelieving are classed with
murderers and the rest of the base characters, but both point to lack
of faith, of which we are admonished:
Now without faith it is impossible to please God.
For it is mandatory for the one who comes to God
to believe that He exists,
and that He is a rewarder of those
 who diligently seek Him. (Heb 11:6 AFV)
This word now responds particularly to Smyrna’s case in which she
will be kept from the second death, for here he spells out the rights
of his Bride that we see in Philadelphia and in ch.5. Both will make
up those who were acclaimed in 19:6-8 and mounted on horseback in
19:14, and finally, they, already having crowns per these letters, will
be commencing their assignment as judges later on that day of de-
scent, of Yom Kippur. (ch. 20:4a, Mat 25:31, Zec 14:5b)
Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection;
over these the second death has no power.
But they shall be priests of God and of Christ,
and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev 20:6 AFV)
Now considering how poor and miserable Smyrna is on this earth
and Philadelphia, having little strength, that in 19:14 they are called
the armies of heaven, and through Joel, mighty ones:
Gather yourselves and come, all you nations,
and gather yourselves together all around;
cause Your mighty ones to come down there, O LORD. (Joe 3:11 AFV)
For Yeshua explains:
So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last;
for many are called, but few are chosen.” (Mat 20:16 AFV)
We can be sure that Smyrna is among the chosen.
 Pergamum
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos, write:
These things says He
Who has the sharp two-edged sword. (Rev 2:12 AFV)
Here is where the sword mentioned in v.16 comes into play. It is the
sign of the sender, but the sword will also be used as a retributive
weapon below, and then again at the end of the book in 19:15,21. For
the chiastic layout of the book has the distant answer for each other.
“I know where you are living,
there where the Adversary’s throne is.
Yet you are holding onto my name.
You did not deny trusting me even at the time
when my faithful witness Antipas
was put to death in your town,
there where the Adversary lives. (Rev 2:13 CJB)
Surely there was an occult center in this city, for the evil one is men-
tioned twice in throne and dwell. We see satan mentioned in four of
the seven assemblies, and again at his discharge from heaven, 12:9;
his incarceration, 20:2,7; then his being cast into lake of fire, 20:10.
Assembly Mention of Satan As
2. Smyrna 2:9 Synagogue of S.
Where the throne of S. is
3. Pergamum 2:13
Where S. dwells
4. Thyatira 2:24 Depths of S.
5. Philadelphia 3:9 Synagogue of S.

This adversary who is much mentioned throughout the Bible is sum-

marily dumped in only one verse, we’ll see that the same happens to
the other villains,
but you are holding fast My name, The term My name is found in
that form thrice among the churches, and nowhere else in the book.
It’s only in the odd Assemblies, but not in the seventh as Laodicea
lacks commendation, but the phrase My Name is used where there are
at least some who hold fast to it, for whom it is worth dying:
46 Chapter 2
Then shall they deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you;
and you shall be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
(Mat 24:9 AFV)
It’s not the use of the name, but the witnessing, teaching, doing good
works, and keeping His commandments in His Name, that finds en-
mity in the world.
and everyone will hate you because of me.
But not a hair of your head will be lost.
By standing firm you will save your lives.
(Luk 21:17-19 CJB)
You did not deny trusting me even at the time when my faithful
witness Antipas was put to death in your town,
there where the Adversary lives.
Yeshua is called the Faithful Witness in 1:5 for his witness carried
him to the cross, but, on account of it, to a glorious resurrection. In
light of that Antipas, martyred for his Lord, will certainly be raised
on that first resurrection.
This second reference to the infernal intensifies the message that this
city was rife with the worship of false gods and deities, but to his
chagrin, no martyr dies in vain, but is as a seed sown in fertile soil.
But I have a few things against you
because you have there those
who hold the teaching of Balaam,
who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block
before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed to idols
and to commit fornication. (Rev 2:14 AFV)
This false religion traces back to this event :
And Israel dwelt in Acacia Grove,
and the people began to commit whoredom
with the daughters of Moab.
And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods.
And the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
And Israel joined himself to Baal Peor.
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
 Chapter 2 47
(Num 25:1-3 AFV)
These are among the sins that the Elders in Jerusalem saw fit to
enunciate in their brief letter to the Gentilea:
But that we write to them to abstain from pollutions of idols,
and from sexual immorality,
and from what has been strangled and from blood. (Act 15:20 AFV)
For what could be a bigger sin against Yehovah, in that they are sul-
lying two beds, that of God’s Family and that of their own? Breaking
the 2nd and 7th commandments, for which 24,000 died in the plague
it had caused—A number which has meaning, for 6 is the number of
man, and 4 means testing, where those involved had certainly failed
the test. For when the Father presented Eve to Adam in the garden,
he also began the spiritual engagement between His Son and His
people which culminates as shown to John, as recorded here:
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” (Rev 22:17a AFV)
Moreover, you also have those who hold the doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. (Rev 2:15 AFV)
This doctrine, as mentioned above, is quite like that of Balaam’s de-
sign, involving both idolatry and promiscuity. We saw them in 2:6 on
the letter to the Ephesians, but the latter hated them as does the Lord,
but here some are pricked by it, to their eternal harm,
Repent! For if you do not repent, I will come to you quickly,
and will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
(Rev 2:16 AFV)
The use of two persons here, you and them, implies that the church is
being held responsible for those wayward members. That’s why the
sword is mentioned to the messenger of the Assembly in the intro-
duction to the sender. This reminds us of the feeding of the 5000 :
And when they were filled, He said to His disciples,
“Gather together the fragments that are left over,
so that nothing may be lost.” (Joh 6:12 AFV)
Twelve baskets remained, one for each of his Disciples, so the gath-
ered pieces represent those they will gather into the Lord’s Kingdom,
of which he would have none be lost. The weight is on the shepherds.
On Repent, the table below indicates how many times the word
48 Chapter 2
repent is repeated to each assembly. The two poor assemblies have
nothing of which to repent, Thyatira is longer because it’s the central
panel, and has some serious sins, but it’s only voiced once in Sardis
and Laodicea, the second group.
Assembly Repent
Ephesus 2
Smyrna
Pergamum 2
Thyatira 3
Sardis 1
Philadelphia
Laodicea 1
Could His intensity have dropped due to their lack of response?
The one who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the one who overcomes I will give
the right to eat of the hidden manna;
and I will give him a white stone,
and on the stone a new name written,
which no one knows except the one who receives it. (Rev 2:17 AFV)
To those who overcome of Pergamum He gives two rewards. The
manna, in that it was a staple, may be on account of they being re-
stricted from eating food sacrificed to idols. The only manna remain-
ing after the exodus is in a jar in the Ark of the Covenant, which is
indeed well hidden, but it may show up on the table of the wedding
feast of the Lamb. This, because the white stone with a name on it is
her ticket to getting into the feast. But we don’t know if it’s the car-
rier’s name or that of his Messiah that’s etched on that stone.
And the Gentiles will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory;
and you will be called by a new name,
which the mouth of the LORD shall name. (Isa 62:2 AFV)

Now, Yeshua gave his new name to Philadelphia, but that’s not
surprising, for she and Smyrna are his Bride. But Pergamum, over-
 Chapter 2 49
coming, is invited to the Wedding Feast. In either case the name is
hidden—the holder alone knows it. The manna is also hidden, but
Yeshua has said:
This is the bread which came down from heaven;
not as your fathers ate manna, and died.
The one who eats this bread shall live forever.” (Joh 6:58 AFV)
Thus Yeshua is the new Manna that came down from heaven, and by
it he offers eternal life. Yeshua is the Word of God, so that to eat of
it, we take in the Word in print, putting his words into our heart and
following.
Jesus answered and said to him,
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (Joh 14:23 AFV)

Thyatira
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These things says the Son of God,
He Who has eyes like a flame of fire,
and His feet are like fine brass. (Rev 2:18 AFV)
The first line here is as for the others, only the name of the addressee
changes. The second line gives the identity of the Sender, which for
Thyatira we have two: one related to flaming eyes, and the other
to polished brass feet. These are used first to identify our Lord in
1:14,15, while His eyes of fire are seen again when He is on the back
of a white horse at 19:12.
He is the Son of God, as sung in the Psalms :
I will declare concerning the statute of Jehovah: He said to Me, You
are My Son. Today I have begotten You. (Psa 2:7)
Behold My Servant; I will uphold Him;
My Elect in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit on Him;
He shall bring forth justice to the nations. (Isa 42:1)
We’ve seen these identity markers apply in the message that follows.
Here He who has Eyes like a flame of fire : searches the reins and
50 Chapter 2
heart; and by His feet like fine brass will he come.
I know your works, and love, and service,
and faith, and your endurance, and your works;
and the last are more than the first. (Rev 2:19 AFV)
Here let’s see how the Assemblies are addressed on their works:
Assembly Works
Ephesus and your labor, and your endurance, and
that you cannot bear [false] prophets
Smyrna and tribulation and poverty (but you are
rich), and blasphemy of Assembly of Satan
Pergamum are holding fast My name,
and did not deny My faith
Thyatira and love, service, faith, endurance, and your
works; … more than the first
Sardis that you have a name as if you are alive, but
are dead. ; incomplete before God
Philadelphia have a little strength, have kept My word,
and have not denied My name.
Laodicea neither cold nor hot:
I will spew you out of My mouth
Thyatira, she at Center, has the richest description of works, for to
hers is added Love, which is found in no other. It may be inherent in
Smyrna and Philadelphia but not voiced. There is apparently more
hope for Assemblies 1 and 3—if they would but add love to their ar-
senal—than there is for their counterparts 5 and 7 in group 2.
Of course we are dealing with two different groups in Thyatira, the
first carries the accolades on whom no further burden will be cast,
but the second will be cast down upon a sick bed. The positive one is
doing more now than at first, which is the flip-side of Ephesus who
had more love at first than now.
But I have a few things against you,
because you allow the woman Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce
My servants into committing fornication and eating things sac-
rificed to idols. (Rev 2:20 AFV)
 Chapter 2 51
Jezebel is trying to seduce His servants into the same sin as Balaam’s
and the Nikolaitans’s, and also the same two of the four rules adjured
onto the Gentiles by the Jerusalem elders, for knowingly eating that
which is offered to idols, thus giving deference to an idol.
And as Pergamum, the Lord holds the Assembly at fault for permit-
ting her any sway at all with her people.
And I gave her time to repent of her fornication,
but she did not repent. (Rev 2:21 AFV)
I listened and heard. They did not speak so. No man repented be-
cause of this evil, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned in their
own courses, as a horse rushes into the battle. (Jer 8:6)
This Jezebel is herself guilty of the sins she tries to force on others,
and she has been called to repent and given time, but refuses. This is
the only outright refusal among the Assemblies.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed,
and those who commit adultery with her
into great tribulation,
unless they repent of their works. (Rev 2:22 AFV)
into a bed: is reminiscent of Babylon to Israel in a spiritual bed of
love for fornication, who instead of assuming any responsibility for
this, simply turns tail.
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love,
and they defiled her with their whoredom.
And when she was defiled by them,
she turned herself from them in disgust. (Eze 23:17 AFV)
the bed she is cast into and what those who commit rottenness with
her could expect is any of the lot of STD’s or AIDS that afflicts the
body with suffering. But the Lord in his mercy still holds out his
hand for them to repent.
And I will kill her children with death;
and all the churches shall know
that I am He Who searches the reins and hearts;
and I will give to each of you according to your works.
(Rev 2:23 AFV)
52 Chapter 2
Kill her children: as Jezebel toasted children to Molech and Baal, and
her recent namesake has backed the murder of millions of unborn
children, making the original Jezebel a weasel by comparison. Didn’t
Elijah kill at least 400 of her priests (her children).
Note how the message turns from the third person (her) to the 2nd per-
son plural (all of the assemblies, and we who are reading it as well).
Who doesn’t He search? Whose heart does He not know, and so who
will He not judge according to their works? Those that hide behind
what they think Paul is saying—that he is freeing them from works,
Yeshua counters with:
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father
with His angels;
and then He shall render to everyone
according to his doings. (Mat 16:27 AFV)
The one who understands this, does not look to his navel to do some-
thing good, but looks up in faith to the Father who will do his works
through him, as with Yeshua, so with him:
... the Father Himself, Who dwells in Me,
does the works. (Joh 14:10b AFV)
But the precursor to doing his works is that He by his Spirit is in me,
but how does that happen unless I take Yeshua at his word:
...if you desire to enter into life,
keep the commandments.” (Mat 19:17b AFV)
And the one who keeps His commandments is dwelling in Him,
and He in him; and by this we know that He is dwelling in us:
by the Spirit which He has given to us. (1Jn 3:24 AFV)
And if i don’t have the Spirit?
...But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Him. (Rom 8:9b AFV)
So the works we are judged by are those the Father has us do in faith,
by his Spirit. And the Spirit is granted to those who love their Savior
enough to follow his ways and Word.
But I say to you and to the rest in Thyatira,
as many as do not have this teaching,
 Chapter 2 53
and who did not know the deep things of Satan, as they say:
I am not casting another burden on you; (Rev 2:24 )
Now He turns to the others in Thyatira, the ones who received the
high praise in the beginning, to those who have kept away from
whatever smacks of wrong or dirty, certainly because they fear and
love God and walk in faith, for so were they credited.
The Deep Things:
He’s coming is according to the working of Satan
in all power and miraculous signs
and lying wonders, (2Th 2:9 )
This one will be infested by the Evil one, having a smooth and pro-
vocative tongue as he’d effected in Hitler also, where crowds would
swoon at his words. The little adjective : Lying above clinches it, for
he is the Father of Lies. We are told that it is his not following Torah,
that we can know with whom he is. (Deut 13:1-3)
but what you have, hold until I shall come. (Rev 2:25 )
She has what He attributes to her in the salutation of the letter:
works, and love, and service, and faith, and endurance. As Long as
she has love and faith, her works will be from above and her service
with joy and she won’t know the burden of endurance for works of
love are not a trial.
Only one other of seven, Philadelphia, is told to hold what she has,
for He’s coming quickly.
And the one overcoming,
and the one keeping My works until the end,
“I will give to him authority over the nations,” (Rev 2:26 )
Those overcoming have been compared with each other in the
Ephesus letter above, but here we have the added injunction, and the
one keeping my works ; this is understandable when we consider that
God has prepared works for us to do:
for we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God before prepared that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10 )
And so they are His works, and we are his workmanship! But recall
the sequence: We keep his rules, and then he empowers us by his
54 Chapter 2
Spirit, who prompts us and guides us to do the works prepared for us.
“I will give to him authority over the nations,” This is similar to
what is offered to Laodicea, the last assembly, where he says: I will
give to him to sit with Me in My throne. In either case they will be at
the right hand of Yeshua, sharing in the rule of the earth and cosmos.
This is also what is offered to his loved ones, to Philadelphia and
Smyrna, as we’ve seen, and also generally:
and made us kings and priests to our God;
and we shall reign over the earth. (Rev 5:10 )
This is appropriate, for in overcoming they will be on a par with
those who are following His Spirit.
Now this phrase also assures us that Yeshua will be reigning from
Jerusalem and there will still be nations on this planet that need to be
brought under the control of Love.
And he shall shepherd them with an iron rod,
as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces;
as I have also received from My Father; (Rev 2:27 AFV)
This is taken directly from Messianic Psalm 2:
Ask of Me, and I will give the nations as Your inheritance;
and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. (Psa 2:8-9)
Ruling with an iron rod is of the “man child” in 12:5 and of the
shepherd who treads the wine presses in 19:15. So he is giving to the
over-comer the authority to lead in the same way as He has received
from the Father. This is possible since the Spirit by which Yeshua
acts will be the same which acts through those who have given their
hearts to the Father and love the Son.
And I will give him the morning star. (Rev 2:28 AFV)
through the tender heart of mercy of our God,
in which the Dayspring from on high will visit us, (Luk 1:78)

This dayspring, or morning star is our Lord Yeshua. So offering that

is to offer himself.
 Chapter 3 55
In 22:16 we find the same symbol of Yeshua even as he is the root
and offspring of David. Also his coming is foretold by the prophecy
of Balaam:
There shall come a Star out of Jacob,
and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel. (Num 24.17b)
So, yes, Yeshua is effectively giving himself, for he is the morning
star, to those who give themselves to him.
The one who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 2:29 AFV)
And so this long letter to Thyatira, the central Assembly of Seven,
concludes with the common injunction, which expands the audience
to all and any who would read or hear this message, it doesn’t only
apply to that particular assembly but to any of whom the shoe fits.
Chapter 3
Sardis
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis, write:
These things says He Who has the seven spirits of God
and the seven stars. I know your works,
and that you have a name as if you are alive,
but are dead. (Rev 3:1 AFV)
Sardis is the first assembly of group 2 after Thyatira, it responds
somewhat to Laodicea the 7th and to Ephesus, the first of the first
group. We see the latter in the two identification markers the Lord
gives her, which we’ve seen in each case to also pertain to her mes-
sage. We saw in the table of these that only the first two in each
group was granted seven of something twice, here, spirits and stars.
She has no works to commend herself, for she feigns a name as if
alive, but alas, decaying. It harks back to the high mindedness of
those planning the Tower:
And they said, “Come, let us build us a city and a tower,
with its top reaching into the heavens.
And let us establish a name for ourselves,
56 Chapter 3
lest we be scattered upon the face of the whole earth.” (Gen 11:4 AFV)
But, The memory of the righteous is blessed,
[while] the name of the wicked shall rot. (Pro 10:7 AFV)
We recall Nebuchadnezzar’s boastful attitude toward his own fame in
Dan 4:30 which brought him immediate demise. Yeshua here puts it
in the eternal context:
How are you able to believe, you who receive glory from one another,
and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (Joh 5:44 AFV)
Now James points out two kinds of death,
For as the body without the spirit is dead, in the same way also,
faith without works is dead. (Jas 2:26 AFV)
So for Sardis, who feigns faith, but has no works to show for it. The
same divided the 10 maidens of Mat 25; the five having oil, had the
Spirit, the other five carried their Bibles (Your word is a lamp to my
feet)) but to whom the words: “ I believe,” were empty rote, and they
had not a heart turned to the Lord, and were not obedient, thus had
not the Spirit which empowers and guides one into doing the good
works prepared her. Now we know why Yeshua identified himself as
having the seven-fold Spirit of God with which he could supply this
faithless one, if she would but turn.
Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain,
which are about to die.
For I have not found your works complete before God.
(Rev 3:2 AFV)
We don’t know yet what things are there that remain, but we see later
that there are some in Sardis who are walking justly, and since the
letter is to the whole assembly, including us, there are some posi-
tive ones, but one spoiled apple can affect the whole bunch, so there
needs to be some awakening in the body. The Be watchful here,
pertains to how to help make our works complete,
I will declare your kind of righteousness, and your works;
for they shall not do you any good. (Isa 57:12 AFV)
Paul adds specifics to this watching, for if works aren’t complete be-
fore God then there is more to it than staying on guard, for it’s God’s
work that is sought, not idleness:
 Chapter 3 57
I charge you, therefore, in the sight of God,
even the Lord Jesus Christ,
Who is ready to judge the living and the dead
at His appearing and His kingdom:
Preach the Word!
Be urgent in season and out of season;
convict, rebuke, encourage,
with all patience and doctrine. (2Ti 4:1-2 AFV)
Thus, in speaking to those in assembly, those who are of faith, not
those on the street, the urgency of the Great Commission of Yeshua:
“Go..teach them to observe.” That’s what Paul is urging Timothy.
Therefore, remember what you have received and heard,
and hold on to this, and repent.
Now then, if you will not watch,
I will come upon you as a thief!
Behold, I come as a thief.
Blessed is the one who is watching and is keeping his garments,
so that he may not walk naked and they may not see his shame,
[for] you shall by no means know what hour I will come upon you.
(Rev 3:3 with 16:5)
There are abundant reasons why 16:5 has been moved to 3:3b; it is
moved out of where it has little meaning, and does not fit the context.
Here, not only does it fit the tone of the passage in 3:3, but it enhanc-
es the structure of the chapter, first it makes a chiasmus within the
verse.7 Now. we are responsible for what we receive and hear, for so
also does Paul warn:
For this reason, it is imperative that we give

7 Now the chiasmus: at the center turning point of 3:1b - 3:4 is “thief”
in each of the center lines, then “watch” replies to “watching” on
either side, “hold on” is answered by “keeping,” and “naked” to “that
they may not see his shame” answering to the same in Laodicea, the
7th Assembly. While this is all part of the greater chiasmus indicated
above, but we can see in this small segment how the verse moved
in was required by the heart of this chiasmus and by the letter as a
whole. Could that not be why John was directed to write this in a tight
interlacing structure? Indeed, his keeping the vision as he heard it, also
ensured that the larger structure is directly from the Living Word.
58 Chapter 3
much greater attention to the things which we have heard,
lest at any time we should slip away. (Heb 2:1 AFV)
and as Ephesus is warned to return from whence she has fallen, Eze-
kiel is calling for heartfelt repentance:
And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings
in which you have been defiled. And you shall loathe yourselves
in your own sight for all your evils which you have committed.
(Eze 20:43 AFV)
Now let us watch lest he comes as a thief at a time not expected, as
Paul also says to the Thessalonians:
But you, brethren, are not in darkness that the day of the Lord should
overtake you as a thief. For you are all children of the light
and children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of the darkness.
So then, we should not sleep, as others do; but we should watch,
and we should be sober. (1Th 5:4-6 AFV)
And, of course, the warning of Yeshua:
But concerning that day and the hour, no one knows,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but the Father only. Take heed, be watching and praying.
For you do not know when the time is coming. (Mar 13:32-33 AFV)
But Yeshua also adjures us to watch the signs of the time, how they
correspond with what is written, for we ought to know the century,
year, and even month as the time approaches. To know the day is im-
possible for it’s our hint that the day is the first of the month, which
sliver of a moon, must be witnessed by two people:
Now learn this parable from the fig tree:
When its branches have already become tender,
and it puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
In like manner also, when you see all these things,
know that it is near, even at the doors. (Mat 24:32-33 AFV)
You have a few names even in Sardis
who have not defiled their garments,
and they shall walk with Me in white
because they are worthy. (Rev 3:4 AFV)
There are some names, not many, in Sardis who keep on the straight,
 Chapter 3 59
fearing and loving God in their daily walk, keeping His command-
ments, and by the guidance and power of his Spirit act lovingly. We
see in 19:8 that the blood of the Lamb makes their garments white:
...they have washed their robes, and have made their robes white
in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:14b AFV)
In 19:8 we are told that the fine linen worn by his saints is their righ-
teous deeds, which by Paul to the Hebrews is clearly seen how the
garments might be kept undefiled:
[that] the blood of Christ,
Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
shall purify your conscience from dead works
to serve the living God. (Heb 9:14 AFV)
Yes, only His blood can clean the slate of misdeeds, to set us back on
the path of proper actions which serve our living God.
So we can walk in white—do righteous deeds. The “white” also re-
sponds to what is said to Laodicea:
I counsel you to buy from Me
...white garments that you may be clothed, (Rev 3:18a LSV)
Why would Yeshua counsel us to “buy white garments” unless it
pertains to the high price He has paid for us to wear them, so that we
would respond by doing the good actions he has prepared for us to
do, understanding that, by His Words:
... if you will to enter into life, keep the commands.” (Mat 19:17 LSV)
The [one] thus overcoming
will be clothed in white garments,
and I will not blot out his name from the Scroll of Life,
and I will confess his name before My Father,
and before His messengers. (Rev 3:5 LSV)
The “white” is repeated, in that the overcomer will indeed be in
white by it’s being twice said, and we’ve seen what that means in
terms of our righteous acts.
Now this is the first instance of seven, in this book, where that phrase
“[Book] of Life” is found, here they are:
60 Chapter 3

Verse (the Lamb’s) Book of Life

3:5 His name will not be blotted from it
13:8 She will not worship the Beast
He is not be astonished by the Beast
17:8
that came to life
Opened, with other books,
20:12
at the Last Judgement
She inscribed therein,
20:15
is not cast into the lake of fire
21:27 He has access into the New Jerusalem
Her part from it,
22:19
if he removes aught from this Book
By all of these words and those between Moses and Yehovah follow-
ing, is it not clear that our names are first written in that Book, but
sin can blot it out? For it is sin which separates us from God.
And now if You would only forgive their sin!
And if not, I pray You, blot me out of Your book
which You have written.” And the LORD said to Moses,
“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
(Exo 32:32-33 AFV)
Yehovah holds out salvation to us if we would but heed his word,
Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though
your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they
are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and
obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; (Isa 1:18-19 AFV)
but I will confess his name before My Father
and before His angels. (Rev 3:5 AFV)
which he also affirms in the Gospels:
Now then, whoever shall confess Me before men,
that one will I also confess before My Father
Who is in heaven. (Mat 10:32 AFV)
Indeed, those who serve their Savior will not be confounded:
“And they shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “in the day that I
will make up My own special jewels. And I will spare them as a man
 Chapter 3 61
spares his own son who serves him.” (Mal 3:17 AFV)
The one who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev 3:6 AFV)
And so the word is not only to the “churches,” but to each of us ca-
pable of reading or hearing. Now for a look at his Special Ones,

Philadelphia
“I am the door. If anyone enters through Me,
he shall be saved, and shall go in and out,
and shall find pasture.” (Joh 10:9, AFV)
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write:
These things says the Holy One,
the One Who is true; the One Who has the key of David,
Who opens and no one shuts,
and Who shuts and no one opens.” (Rev 3:7, AFV)
Yeshua’s message to this modest church and type is the most cher-
ished message of all, she and Smyrna being the only two to whom
there is no word of reproach. Now who is the speaker:
The Holy One: “For Jehovah is our shield, yea,
the Holy One of Israel our King.” (Psa 89:18, )
“And you have an anointing from the Holy One,
and you know all things.” (1Jn 2:20, )
“but according to the Holy One who has called you,
you also become holy in all conduct;” (1Pe 1:15, )
The one who is true: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father
except through Me.” (Joh 14:6, AFV)
“For His merciful kindness is great toward us;
and the truth of the LORD
endures forever. Praise the LORD!” (Psa 117:2, AFV)
“Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and Your law is the truth.” (Psa 119:142, AFV)\

“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and
62 Chapter 3
understanding.” (Pro 23:23, AFV)
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is indeed
seeking those who worship Him in this manner. (Joh 4:23 AFV)
We see in the above that the Law is the Truth, and Jesus is the Truth,
which is not cheap, but costs us our selves as it cost him himself, for
it is grouped with wisdom, instruction and understanding. This is all
found from prayerful study of his Word, which the Spirit of Truth
will richly reward.
Who has the key of David, Note that He has no key to the door shut-
ting him out of Laodicea’s door, but here He has control of what is to
be open for Philadelphia and what He’ll shut off from her.
“And the key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder;
so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut,
and none shall open.” (Isa 22:22, AFV)
I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door,
and no one has the power to shut it
because you have a little strength, and have kept My word,
and have not denied My name. (Rev 3:8 AFV)
I know your works. This is said to all of the churches, but we have
those words voiced twice in Thyatira, the central assembly. Here, as
Jacob, admonishes, the working out of faith dove-tails with righteous
acts, you cannot have one without the other.
I am He Who searches the reins and hearts;
and I will give to each of you according to your works. (Rev 2:23b AFV)
Behold I have set before you an open door.
No one has the power to shut it. …
Again, we see a sharp contrast with the closed door of Laodicea, the
church of the present. And we saw this played out in the early days
of Covid-19, when all of the doors of the churches were ordered shut
and they complied. But Philadelphia, who met in homes, or in the
shade of a large tree, or even just out in the open, was not affected,
the door was open to her, and their meetings were blessed, for no
one had the power to close them out. Know for certain that more and
more people will be meeting in their own homes, for church hunting
 Chapter 3 63
has not produced a home, and their words have not found a home in
their hearts. In some countries evil mobs hunt out churches to bomb
or burn, occupied—Egypt is a case in point of whom we oft pray that
the Lord would nudge them, to follow his word closely which reads:
For where two or three are gathered together in My name,
there, I am in the midst of them.” (Mat 18:20 AFV)
Because you have little strength: as mentioned, this assembly does
not have a building set apart for worship, but meets wherever the
Lord has set a place for it. And here is a softer form of what Smyrna
suffers, for though she is poor he asserts that she is rich. For riches to
Jesus are our good actions,
But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust spoils,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also. (Mat 6:20-21 AFV)
and have kept my word; Jesus is the Word of God,
And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us
(and we ourselves beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten with the Father),
full of grace and truth. (Joh 1:14 AFV)
To keep Jesus Word is to keep what’s written in the Bible, all that’s
applicable, for the laws on the two tablets have not changed, nor
are they to be changed for they were inscribed in stone, for it was
for that very purpose made a sign of immutability. As to the Word,
there is probably not a word in Scripture that Jesus by his spirit did
not breath into the spirit of each prophet. So when Jesus says, “My
Word,” they are all his from Gen 1:1 to Rev 22:21. But one doesn’t
have to look even beyond the 10 Words to discern where many fall
short. His first word on keeping is found in the secretarial amend-
ment (Deuteronomy) to the four manuscripts (balance of the Penta-
teuch) of the other six in this betrothal gathering:
You shall not add to the word which I command you;
either shall you take away from it,
so that you may keep the commandments
64 Chapter 3
of the LORD your God which I command you. (Deu 4:2 AFV)
this admonition from the Pentateuch, not to alter that which is com-
manded, is echoed in the last chapter and verses of the Bible.
(Rev 22:18-19) Now we see, that for our own spiritual growth, it
behooves us to follow His Word:
Jesus answered and said to him,
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (Joh 14:23 AFV)
For if we truly love Yeshua we will keep his Word, for which the Fa-
ther will in-turn Love us, And the two as Spirit will make their abode
in us. That is a way of saying we will be filled with the Spirit of God.
Thus this Holy Spirit is not available to those who do not keep his
Word—the whole Bible, as Paul admonishes:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine,
for conviction, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness; (2Ti 3:16 AFV)
And have not denied My name. To deny a name, in this context, is
as a young woman removing the ring that was placed carefully and
lovingly on her 4th finger. For it keeps her for himself, for that ring
represents him and all that is his, it carries authority which will come
to fruition after the marriage, but for now it represents a certain one-
ness between them, and a great hope for what is sure.
“See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan,
who say they are Yehuḏim and are not, but lie.
See, I am making them come and worship before your feet,
and to know that I have loved you. (Rev 3:9 TS2009)
See, He is showing her into a future time, for not in this present age
would an assembly likely be contrite before this impoverished one,
but if we look forward with her, consider her better circumstances:
1) And it was given to her that
she be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright;
for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. (Rev 19:8 )

2) And the armies in Heaven followed Him on white horses, being

 Chapter 3 65
dressed in fine linen, white and pure. (Rev 19:14 )
3) And I saw thrones, and they sat on them.
And judgment was given to them... (Rev 20:4a )
This is the preview, but note the chiastic tie that assures this is an
intended connection: for the two final adjectives of the four match-
ing characteristics of her clothing are switched “pure and bright” to
“white and pure.” We’ll see more of that in this study.
So his bride, straight from having been called up as in Mat 24:40-
42; Luk 17:34-36; 1Th 4:13-18; 1Co 15:51-52; Rev 4:1; is then seen
before the Judgment seat in Dan 7:
A stream of fire went out and came out from before Him.
A thousand thousands served Him,
and a myriad myriads stood before Him.
The judgment was set and the books were opened. (Dan 7:10 )
That multiple myriad has just been called up, that is the first resur-
rection and the first judgment. Then, after a literary forced pause, he
comes from the clouds; then below we see him on the clouds with a
sharp sickle about to do a dry harvest (no blood).
And I saw; and behold, a white cloud
and on the cloud One sitting like the Son of Man,
having on His head a golden crown,
and in His hand a sharp sickle. (Rev 14:14)
and back to Daniel, he arrives to be ushered before the Ancient of
Days who anoints Him with many crowns, as king of kings, before
her, though she has had to have been moved to the side in order to
provide an opening for Him to be ushered toward the Thrown.
I was looking in the night visions.
And behold! One like the Son of Man came
with the clouds of the heavens. And He came to the Ancient of Days.
And they brought Him near before Him.
And dominion was given to Him,
and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations,
and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away,
66 Chapter 3
and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:13-14 )
This scene is foreshadowed by the story of Joseph having been
incarcerated two years to the day (Gen 41:1) being elevated above
all except Pharaoh alone (v40), and given rule over the whole land
(v41), and offered a non-Jewish wife (v45).
And so Yeshua (known also as Jesus), has been absent for 2000
years, not in Daniel’s day but in ours, and the 2000 years date from
Jesus’ death and resurrection, not as our calendar from his supposed
birthday. So there is from 2023 yet some 6 years before this story
sees its glorious (to some) fulfillment. Now, in this scene Jesus is
elevated above all creation, but not over the creator, and so His bride
must be that group who have just “stood before the Throne” before
Him who sat at judgment. So Yeshua had just summoned these as
seen above. Now these, having been moved a bit aside, witness
the coronation of their King. We dare say this because Asenath, the
daughter of Potefera, Priest of On, was presented to Joseph on that
day of his coronation, and that she is “non-Jew” is obvious, fore-
seeing the current state where <1% of Jews are “completed.” But
these 99% will bow on the 10th of Tishrei before He whom they had
pierced (Zec 12:10). Now this story occurs on the first of that month.
See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan,
Giving up is not abandoning, but “offering up,” for it is received
with gratitude that one of those former persecutors is now convinced
of the truth held by his victim, and is now contrite. Now notice the
third step following that “See,” It must be His bride who is seated in
20:4, having come down on horseback. Jesus in Mat 25:31 calls them
Angels, and that is true because Jesus himself said to the Sadducees
that they would be like Angels, and Jesus himself was called an angel
by his Father (Exo 23:20), but Jesus through John the Revelator will
gives us more detail about that host.
Congregation of Satan: This could be a satanic temple, there being
many of these, all rotten. But what fellowship do they have with
Philadelphia? Even Laodicea would shirk from them. I believe, that
because we see the same type of assembly in Smyra this must be one
which persecutes both Smyrna and Philadelphia. We will see pres-
ently that Philadelphia has a strong literary link from 3:12 to Isa 56:5
 Chapter 3 67
to one holding the Sabbath the Lord sanctified. Now Laodicea per-
secutes that type. So it is difficult to believe that her contrition will
happen before Yom Kippur, when Laodicea will have been through
the great Testing, of whom many will be among the new sheep who
have repented during “those trials that came upon the whole world,’
and are brought to Judgment on this day, but happily. Now, in this
sense “congregation of satan,” does not mean that they worship
the fiend, but that he holds sway, by right, as: “the bike of Jane” or
Jane’s bike. For the Evil one did succeed in wresting the kingdom
of the earth from Adam with his six days—but not the seventh, and
soon the Second Adam will retrieve the whole week, having paid the
price, but the time must play out according to God’s Word.
Who say they are Yehuḏim and are not, but lie. Rabbi Eli in “The
Jewish Gospel of John” points out that Ioudaioi, the Greek name,
refers to a class of Jews comprising the ruling powers and authori-
ties, but not the simple Jewish people. Among the Ioudaioi were the
Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and Herodians. These, in general did
not accept Yeshuah. But the Yehudim in the book of Revelation can
not refer to the same class, for when John was freed from Patmos
and even before incarcerated there, the Kokhba rebellion had waged,
and most Jews in the land were killed or deported. The Christian
Jews had moved away eastward or northeastward. So the only Jews
remaining were Christian, and more than those in the west, these
followed Torah, obeying the Laws of Yehovah. Which is also called
the Words of Jesus, in that He has given us the Word, voiced through
the Prophets. So our phrase could be understood better as “Who say
they follow the Word but do not.” Now this can easily be Laodicea
who has drifted far from the New Testament church, having dropped
God’s calendar for their own in every unit of time from hour to year,
which qualifies them for the “falling away” church told by Paul:
Let no one deceive you in any way,
because the falling away is to come first,
and the man of lawlessness is to be revealed,
the son of destruction, (2Th 2:3 TS2009)
See, I am making them come and worship before your feet,
and to know that I have loved you.
68 Chapter 3
This brings to mind a word by Isaiah
Also the sons of your afflicters shall come bowing down to you;
and all your despisers will bow down at the soles of your feet.
And they will call you, ‘The city of the LORD,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’ (Isa 60:14 AFV)
This addressed to Zion is not far fetched, for the Harlot in Rev. 17:5
is called Babylon, which turns out to be that assembly centered in the
city founded upon seven hills (v9)—the Vatican in Rome, according
to its geography; and not only cities, but assemblies are generally re-
ferred to as women, whether good or bad. Babylon, then, is the anti-
type of the Zion situated in Jerusalem. She the Harlot, this the Bride.
Returning to the verse: Those who had been primmed-up, having
looked down their noses at this pitiable Andromeda are shocked to
see that she whom they had mocked is now healthy and adorned as
Cassiopeia, seated to judge, and wearing a crown of authority. What
else can they do now, knowing how mean they’ve been to Yeshua’s
choice ones, but to fall at the feet of Philadelphia or Smyrna in con-
trition. cf: Ps 51:17; Isa 57:15
Many shall be purified and made white and tested.
But the wicked shall do wickedly.
And not one of the wicked shall understand,
but the wise shall understand. (Dan 12:10)
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are of a contrite spirit. (Psa 34:18 AFV);
For all these things My hand has made,
and these things came to be,”
says the LORD. “But to this one I will look,
to him who is of a poor and contrite spirit
and who trembles at My Word. (Isa 66:2 AFV)
So, God’s ways are not our ways and what he sees is hidden to us.
Because you have kept the word of My patience,
I also will keep you from the time of temptation
which is about to come upon the whole world
to try those who dwell on the earth. (Rev 3:10 AFV)
Because you have kept the word of my patience. In context this points
 Chapter 3 69
back to those words of comfort of Yeshua to his disciples, and to us
who take him to heart:
“Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God;
believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;
if it were otherwise, I would have told you.
I am going to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to Myself;
so that where I am, you may be also. (Joh 14:1-3 AFV)
This is a classic Jewish and even present Tandroy betrothal. Once
the formalities have been completed and betrothal ring fitted on the
young woman, and the guests have risen, then the young man turns
and makes said promise. That he will go to build a house fitting for
his wife and practical for his family, before returning to bring her
home to be with him forever.
I also will keep you from the time of temptation which is about to
come upon the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth.
Because this promise differentiates his loved one from those who
dwell on the earth, then his keeping her is not on the earth, but
elsewhere. For Jesus words in Luk 17:35 of the two women grinding
wheat, where one is taken and the other left—in this and in the other
two cases of two in the field or in bed, we are not told where the one
is taken. The word by Paul in 1Th 4:13-18 may help, for it is of Jesus
coming in the clouds, with a shout and trumpet blast calling up those
who are in Him, that is, those who keep his commandments.
Then we who remain alive will be caught up together with them
in the clouds to a meeting with the Lord in the air.
And so we will always be with the Lord. (1Th 4:17 )
We see the link between love and keeping the commandments seven
times in the book of Deuteronomy, and throughout the Bible in some
30 verses. Here is one through John :
He that has My commandments and keeps them,
it is that one who loves Me;
and the one that loves Me shall be loved by My Father,
70 Chapter 3
and I shall love him and will reveal Myself to him. (Joh 14:21 )
Why would he keep some from the time Tribulation? Various books
about the end times ask this question and deny that the Lord would
take some and leave some to go through the tough times. But that
doesn’t jive with Abraham’s intercession to Yehovah over Sodom:
Far be it from You to act in this way,
to put to death the righteous with the wicked.
Far be it from You. The Judge of all the earth,
shall He not do right? (Gen 18:25 )
For if justice treated the guilty and the innocent the same, we would
call it a sham. Now by Isaiah we also get the same distinction be-
tween those behind doors in safety and those dwelling on the earth.
We need not conjecture where these rooms are, but that the Lord does
not deal with the righteous as with the wicked.
Come, My people, go in your rooms and shut your doors behind you.
Hide for a little moment, until the fury passes.
For, behold, Jehovah comes out of His place to visit his iniquity
on those dwelling on the earth.
The earth shall also reveal her blood,
and shall no more cover over her slain ones. (Isa 26:20-21 )
We can also refer to how Noah and his family were spared the inun-
dation, and how Lot and his family were brought out of Sodom to
safety. In like manner the Lord will keep Philadelphia from that hour
of Trial that will come upon the whole earth.
Behold, I am coming quickly.
Hold what you have that no one take your crown. (Rev 3:11 )
Behold, ... is the fourth “Behold” or “See” found in this letter to
Philadelphia. So again he has her look at what’s soon upcoming that
she will be prepared, as Yeshua has warned:
so also you, when you see all these things,
know that it is near at the doors. (Mat 24:33 )
And so we know, how close the words of Jesus, earlier in Mat 24,
correspond with what’s happening right now, that it is “at the doors.”
Hold what you have that no one take your crown.
We know from 3:10 above that she is holding her betrothal ring, that
 Chapter 3 71
and her love of God and of others makes her special. Now she and
Smyrna alone possess or are promised a crown. For on their behalf
do the voices of those around the throne peal out:
... Worthy are You to receive the scroll, and to open its seals,
because You were slain, and by Your blood purchased us to God
out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
and made us kings and priests to our God;
and we shall reign over the earth. (Rev 5:9-10 )
We know that only Philadelphia and Smyrna are having crowns, and
a crown implies authority. And so we know that the above quotation
from 5:9-10 is on their behalf, and we will soon see them in action:
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them.
And judgment was given to them, (Rev 20:4 )
This was after seven years with their Lord and husband-to-be, they
having followed him down to earth on mission (19:14).
The one overcoming, I will make him a pillar
in the temple of My God,
and he shall not go out any more.
And I will write the name of My God on him,
and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which
comes down out of Heaven from My God,
and My new name. (Rev 3:12 )
The one overcoming, is the condition voiced to each of these seven
churches, but in the singular voice, for it is to each individual within
that assembly. In the Psalms we see that to Overcome is to Vanquish.
lest my enemy say, I have overcome him;
and my foes rejoice when I am shaken. (Psa 13:4 )
But we are assured by Yeshua that we don’t go it alone,
I have spoken these things to you that you may have peace in Me.
You have distress in the world;
but be encouraged, I have overcome the world. (Joh 16:33 )
Now to become a Philadelphian, we must meet a particular set of
conditions, for this twelfth verse of the letter is strongly linked to the
fifth verse of Isaiah 56. So Let’s walk through it. The green is our
verse above and that in parentheses is from Is 56:4-5
72 Chapter 3
[Yeshua Says:] (For thus says [Yehovah] ) He (to the eunuchs) who
overcomes (who keep my Sabbaths, choose things that please Me,
and take hold of my covenant)
I will make him (Even to them I will give) a pillar (within my house)
in the temple of My God (and within My walls) the name of the city
of My God, (a place) the New Jerusalem which comes down out of
heaven and he shall go out no more (that shall not be cut off)8.
I will write on him the name of My God (and a name better than that
of sons and of daughters.)9 and I will write on him My new name. (I will
give them an everlasting name.)
The one who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev 3:13 AFV)
This letter, as with all, is not addressed only to the church named, but
to all of us reading or listening to it, so, though the Spirit is saying it
to the churches, he is also saying it to each in the church or listening
outside the window. But “hearing” in Hebrew means to hear and re-
spond, that is. to act on what we hear. And as we have shown, it takes
the Spirit enlightening other parts of Scripture to make out what he is
really saying.
So we see that Philadelphia has no reprimand from the Master only
encouragement, and because of her holding fast to his Word she is
selected as his Bride, who as seen, is linked to Smyrna. This may be
the age of Laodicea, but through this letter, the Spirit is trying to call
some out into Philadelphia before that trumpet of Tishrei-1 sounds.

8 This phrase actually follows the last in parentheses, but is so

placed because of the linking thoughts “shall go out no more” and
“shall not be cut off,” in the context of bride and groom; “shall
not run off,” and “Shall not be divorced.” One of the rules of the
chiasmus is that phrases can be inverted, or if one is early in one
phrase it may be placed toward the end of the linked phrase.
9 This phrase from the suitor, Yeshua, is to a female figure even
though masculine is used throughout, for above “sons and
daughters” is their mother (1Ti 5:14) so the speaker would be
their father and therefor not the object of his statement.
 Laodicea
“And to the angel of the assembly of Laodicea, write:
These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness,
the Head of the creation of God:” (Rev 3:14, )
Why does Yeshua begin his letter to Laodicea with the declaration
that he is “The Amen”? The expression of Amen in Scripture is to
affirm what has been said, as in;
“Cursed is he who does not rise to all the Words of this Law,
to do them! And all the people shall say, Amen!” (Deu 27:26, ) and
“And blessed is His glorious name forever;
and the whole earth is filled with His glory!
Amen and amen!” (Psa 72:19, )
Thus, whether it affirms an oath or resounds with; “may it be,” The
Amen is the Yes of agreement, and the So-Be-It of the oath. So Ye-
shua is saying “I am the affirmation of all that has been written.” As
if saying, “Yes! I have voiced and scribed every word between the
covers of the true Bible,” “True” means “faithful” to the native texts,
for there are numerous versions that drift from the truth. And so he
adds of himself, “the faithful and true Witness,”
Yeshua is saying particularly to Laodicea, the Church of today, that it
value the OT with the NT, understanding the latter by the former. For
the OT is the root of the NT as said through Paul:
“do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast,
it is not you that bears the root,
but the root bears you. You will say then,
The branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.
Well! For unbelief they were broken off. And you stand by faith.
Do not be highminded, but fear.” (Rom 11:18-20, )
That warning is levelled at Laodicea today, for by the root of the
Patriarchs and the Prophets do the branches and the study of the
whole Bible thrive, and no less this book of Revelation.
Now Jesus closes with another smoking gun: the Head of the cre-
ation of God. Which is also in Paul’s letter to the Colosians saying:
“Who is the image of the invisible God,
74 Chapter 3
the firstborn of all creation;” (Col 1:15, AFV)
But, more-so as voiced by Solomon;
“Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of His way, from then,
before His works. I was set up from everlasting,
from that which was before the earth.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth;
when there were no springs heavy with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills,
I was brought forth;” ….
“then I was at His side, like a master workman;
and I was His delights day by day,
rejoicing before Him at every time; rejoicing in the world, His earth;
and my delight was with the sons of men.” (Pro 8:22-25; 30-31, )
Under all of the above, the “Trinity” crumbles, but the Father and
Son remain, and there’s now room for the Bride and Spirit to say:
“Come.” Rev 22:7
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot;
I would that you be either cold or hot.
So then, because you are lukewarm,
and are neither cold nor hot,
I will spew you out of My mouth.” (Rev 3:15-16, AFV)
Paul was cold to a faith in Jesus, but was thus easier to turn to hot
by the words of Christ and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. The same
coldness has the gentile who knows not the faith and yet holds the
precepts of Torah including the love of the stranger, how easily he
turns to trust the Lord when explained in his language.
But how hard it is to reach Laodicea, which is any four-walled place
that worships on Sunday, for the Bible never mentions a desanctify-
ing of the Sabbath, nor any mention of Sunday for regular worship,
where after service, it’s ‘do as you please,’ there is no separating of
that day after the closing bell tolls.
“So then, because you are lukewarm,
and are neither cold nor hot,
I will spew you out of My mouth.” (Rev 3:16, AFV)
Why spew out unless, bitter, rotten or otherwise unpalatability. And
 Chapter 3 75
why thrice curse the fiancé unless she’s defiled the costly ring prof-
fered? Would you be his Fiancée?
““Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are to observe my Shabbats;
for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations;
so that you will know that I am Adonai,
who sets you apart for me.” (Exo 31:13, CJB)
Or rather, thrice cursed ?
“Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat,
because it is set apart for you.
Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death;
for whoever does any work on it is to be cut off from his people.
On six days work will get done; but the seventh day is Shabbat,
for complete rest, set apart for Adonai.
Whoever does any work on the day of Shabbat
must be put to death.” (Exo 31:14-15, CJB)
Those two extremes, from nuptial to decease, for the higher the
stakes the more the stripes.
“For you shall not bow to another god,
for Jehovah whose name is Jealous,
He is a jealous God;” (Exo 34:14, ) And
“For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God.
For I have promised you to one Man,
to present you a pure virgin to Christ.” (2Co 11:2, )
But Laodicea in her disdain will not even open the door to his persis-
tent knock . We’ll see why.
“Because you say, I am rich, and I am made rich,
and I have need of nothing,
and do not know that you are wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked.” (Rev 3:17, )
She believes she is rich, opulent, clothed in white, and has 20/20
vision, but each is opposite in the spiritual realm.10

10 The pastor of a local, well endowed, freshly walled, and painted

Laodicean church was asked permission by some of the Scholastic
Bible Study group permission to take the Gospel unto those in
the sticks who know it not. But, he asked if there were any with
76 Chapter 3
“I advise you to buy from Me gold having been fired by fire,
that you may be rich;
and white garments, that you may be clothed,
and your shame and nakedness may not be revealed.
And anoint your eyes with eye salve,
that you may see.” (Rev 3:18, )
Yeshua tells us how to invest ourselves securely:
“Jesus said to him, “If you desire to be perfect, go and sell your
property, and give to the poor,
and you shall have treasure in heaven;
and come and follow Me.”” (Mat 19:21, AFV)
So, treasure in His secure bank is deposited according to our wisely
disbursing it. Now what are all these white robes of pastor, catechist,
deacon, shepherd, etc.? But, how are His robes to us endowed?
“fine linen, bright and clean has been given her to wear.”
(“Fine linen” means the righteous deeds
of God’s people.)” (Rev 19:8, CJB)
It is also true that dazzling whiteness is worn by Christ and the
angels and then by his Bride above, for holiness and doing righteous
deeds are twins in God’s Book for he expects his set-apart ones to
be doing good works that the world might know we are His. Peter
shows how holiness is expressed through proper actions:
“But according as He Who has called you is holy,
you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct;
For it is written, “You be holy because I am holy.
” And if you call upon the Father,
Who judges according to each man’s work
without respect of persons,
pass the time of your life’s journey
in the fear of God;” (1Pe 1:15-17, AFV)
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
Therefore, be zealous and repent.” (Rev 3:19, AFV)

white robes to accompany them, to which, “No.” So he didn’t

permit them, because only the white robed ones can “see,”
 Chapter 3 77
Compare this with Philadelphia.
“Because you have kept the word of My patience,
I also will keep you from the time of temptation
which is about to come upon the whole world
to try those who dwell on the earth.” (Rev 3:10, AFV)
In contrast to the chastening of Laodicea, is His keeping this loved
one, Philadelphia, out of the way of those trials about to come upon
the world, detailed in the trumpet and bowl series (Rev 8; 16). But all
of these tribulation judgements are to bring His erring children back
into the family.
“And you shall consider in your heart that as a man chastens his son,
so the LORD your God chastens you.” (Deu 8:5, AFV)
He chastens and rebukes so that the sinner reflect and consider that
she might return to Father:
“Because he carefully considers,
and turns away from all his sins that he has committed,
he shall surely live; he shall not die.” (Eze 18:28, AFV)
That’s what it means to repent, it’s that our actions will change to
align with the family rules. For when one realizes that all of these
trials are but facets of the Love of God for his children, that is called
“considering,” and if she will reflect his love by loving actions to
others, that is called “reflection.”
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with Me.” (Rev 3:20, AFV)
On which side of the door is Yeshua? “If anyone hears…” sounds
despairing. In contrast to her control, Philadelphia, his submissive
loved one, has let Him be in charge of opening and closing (3:7,8).   
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands,
as to the Lord;” (Eph 5:22, AFV)
But Laodicea, of high chin, far from being submissive, retorts :
“I have need of nothing.” (v.17)
Now, to come in and sup together is true unity, but his is more than
casual friendship, also the “him” is generic and may be read ““her.”
78 Chapter 3
Our Yeshua in work, word, and relationship has the Father by his
side.
“Jesus answered and said to him,
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him, and We will come to him
and make Our abode with him.” (Joh 14:23, AFV)
So his knocking is at the will of his father, as is his speaking. They
are coming as gentlemen, not to barge in but to permit the family
inside, especially the young woman and her father, decide whether
this nuptial relationship would be to their liking. If so: The door will
be opened, a secretary called along with two witnesses, and a cup of
welcome passed around. The shared ancestry of each side is shared,
then that of each side, and so on through two more cups until all is
set and settled, and he, with his father will depart with the words:
““Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God;
believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;
if it were otherwise, I would have told you.
I am going to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to Myself;
so that where I am, you may be also. .”” (Joh 14:1-4a AFV)
But alas, though His way is worked out to completion with Smyrna
and Philadelphia, not so with Laodicea—who cuts him off by not
even opening the door.
To the one who overcomes will I give authority
to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame,
and sat down with My Father in His throne. (Rev 3:21 AFV)
So, Yeshua is still holding out, that some will come out, looking more
for Him than for riches, status, and the World. For to such he will
give the same he has promised to the overcomers in Thyatira, and the
crowns to Philadelphia and Smyrna. But for sure there will be some
who respond, for who else is described below than those who were
not called aloft at the trumpet, by refusing to listen, but repented dur-
ing the ensuing years of tribulation in order to serve Him,
...And he said to me,
 Chapter 4 79
“They are the ones who have come out
of the great tribulation;
and they have washed their robes,
and have made their robes white
in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:14b AFV)
These will be the sheep in the great trial on Yom Kipur when Yeshua
descends with His saints (Mat 25). Now there will also be martyrs
among these but they will not be made to wait for Yom Kippur:
... and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God,
and those who did not worship the beast, or his image,
and did not receive the mark in their foreheads or in their hands;
and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:4 AFV)
These too are from the Great Depression and are grouped with re-
pentant Laodicea, for these martyrs of Yeshua are resurrected imme-
diately to share with the Bride in her task of judging, reigning, and
especially, living with Him.
Chapter 4
Being Called Up
After these things I looked, and behold,
a door opened in heaven;
and the first voice that I heard was as if
a trumpet were speaking with me, saying,
“Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take
place after these things.” (Rev 4:1 AFV)
A growing number of us, maybe even you who love this Book, see
this verse as a model. For didn’t Yeshua say by Matthew and Luke:
Then two shall be in the field;
one shall be taken, and one shall be left;
Two women shall be grinding at the mill;
one shall be taken, and one shall be left. (Mat 24:40-41 AFV)
I tell you, in that night there shall be two in one bed;
one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. (Luk 17:34 AFV)
Who hasn’t asked the question: “How shall that “taken one” know?
What will she hear? Who will call him? Well John and the Lord just
gave us an answer above. Let’s say John is one of the above, prob-
ably one of those in the field. A trumpet sounds, many look around
in wonder and fear, but he hears a wonderful voice ringing through
that trumpet peal that says to him, “Come up here, and I’ll show you
what’s going to be happening down there from where I’m taking
you.” For the commencement of seven years of Tribulation were also
just announced by that trumpet, more by alarm then in words. We
also know of that trumpet by Paul in a few places:
In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet;
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. (1Co 15:52 AFV)
Because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God;
and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
 Chapter 4 81
Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
for the meeting with the Lord in the air;
and so shall we always be with the Lord. (1Th 4:16-17 AFV)
The burst of praise at this moment by his elect may sound like this:
Your dead ones shall live,
together with my dead body they shall arise.
Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust;
for your dew is as the dew of lights,
and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isa 26:19 AFV)
Both Paul to the Thessalonians and Isaiah, by the Spirit directing
their pens, make it clear that it is “your dead ones” and “the dead in
Christ.” For it won’t be everyone, only the selected by these criteria:
And the one who keeps His commandments
is dwelling in Him, and He in him;
and by this we know that He is dwelling in us:
by the Spirit which He has given to us. (1Jn 3:24 AFV)
So the keeping of His commandments, those found between the cov-
ers of our Bibles, is the minimum entry requirement, of course this
includes his golden commandments :
... you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD. (Lev 19:18b AFV)
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deu 6:5 AFV)
Yeshua quoted these in the reverse, but this is how they fell out here,
either way Love is the king of all commandments, for by keeping
it you keep them, and by so doing, you are IN Messiah. So by their
stripes we know that Smyrna and Philadelphia, as seen, and any of
those churches or types who “overcome” will be those who respond
to that voice within the Trumpet, to be lifted up at His loving call.
Didn’t he promise Philadelphia that he would keep her from all that
testing, (3:10)--Yeshua will simply lift her by that call.
 In the Throne Room
And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold,
a throne was set in heaven,
and One was sitting on the throne. (Rev 4:2 AFV)
Notice the “immediately” for, by Paul:
In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet;
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility,
and this mortal must put on immortality. (1Co 15:52-53 AFV)
For even these clothes we wear will not fit that realm. And then he’s
in the Spirit, perhaps much like Ezekiel:
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, (Eze 3:14a AFV
And in either case he feels he is there in body, fully aware of his
surroundings, but not always able to relate. John sees a throne, set
in heaven, but he’s in heaven. The Throne is probably quite elevated
with respect to him, as Isaiah had perceived it.
... I then saw the LORD sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. (Isa 6:1b AFV)
Also, as here, John always uses a pronoun or the third person when
addressing the One on the throne, as “the One who sits...,” or “He
who sits...” Either because he doesn’t know the name or, more prob-
ably, that it is unutterable. Even the Apostles in their Epistles would
not voice the name of the Ineffable, but used such as “the Father”
and usually, “God,” which is a title and not a proper name. Only in
Hebrew Matthew do we have the Tetragammaton, the four Hebew
letters for God’s name, inscribed.
And He Who was sitting was in appearance
like a jasper stone and a sardius stone;
and a rainbow was around the throne,
like an emerald in its appearance. (Rev 4:3 AFV)
These precious stones answer to those describing the foundation of
the new Jerusalem given at the end:
And the foundations of the wall of the city
 Chapter 4 83
were adorned with every precious stone:
the first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire;
the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; (Rev 21:19 AFV)
Note that sardius is a form of chalcedony, and we’ll see sapphire
in the lake before the throne. Jasper and Sardius are clear forms of
earthen colors of brown/red/yellow, while Emarald is true green. So
the whole scene was bathed in color. The rainbow contains all colors,
and is first seen after the Flood, and used as a sign.
And the rainbow shall be in the cloud.
And I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant
between God and every living creature of all flesh
that is upon the earth.” (Gen 9:16 AFV)
Our God is a Covenant keeping God, even the sign of this eternal
covenant is here around the throne. As if God needs a reminder! The
Davidic Covenant, the sure mercies of David is also eternal:
“I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant, ‘Your seed will I establish forever,
and build up your throne to all generations.’ “ Selah. (Psa 89:3-4 AFV)
This is not only a spiritual kingdom but very much political, being of
the earth, for so will Yeshua of David’s line, begin to rule from Jeru-
salem within a few weeks of years. This week the Birth Pangs, next
Jacob’s Troubles—that seventieth week the angel deferred to these
last days, when the Anti-Christ will be very visible on the scene, who
must be alive right now, for his day is nigh.
And around the throne were twenty-four thrones;
and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting,
clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads
golden crowns. (Rev 4:4 AFV)
Now who are the 24 elders?
And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you who have followed Me:
in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit
upon the throne of His glory,
you also shall sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Mat 19:28 AFV)
84 Chapter 4
and at the end of this Book, a preview of what we will see in time:
And the city also had a great and high wall, with twelve gates,
and at the gates twelve angels;
and inscribed on the gates were the names of the twelve tribes
of the children of Israel.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and written on them were the names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Rev 21:12, 14 AFV)
In Matthew, we are assured that the twelve disciples will be among
those enthroned, but in the above we see both sets of twelve, the
twelve Sons of Jacob, the Gates, for judgement is conducted at the
gates, and the twelve Disciples of Yeshua are the foundation, as is
attested by Paul:
You are being built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone (Eph 2:20 AFV)
So those two groups of elders must make up the twenty-four seated
around the Throne. But note that they will be with the Son of Man
who is sitting on the Throne. Then this One seated, may well be Ye-
shua on the throne of His glory.
The white garments attest to their purity. even as white garments are
promised to those of Sardis (3:5) who, by overcoming are worthy,
and white robes are for the martyrs waiting beneath the altar (6:11).
The crowns always signify authority; recall that Smyrna and Phila-
delphia both have or will have crowns, which puts them in the chorus
of 5:9,10. And here around the throne, it is as Yeshua promised that
they would rule the twelve tribes.
From the throne came forth lightnings,
voices and thunderings;
and before the throne were seven flaming torches,
which are the sevenfold Spirit of God. (Rev 4:5 CJB)
The combination of this trio: lightening, thunder and voices, portend
imminent judgement, as before the trumpets in (8:5) and elsewhere.
I chose the CJB version because of his better rendition of “seven-
fold Spirit” for the Spirit is one but has many facets, as we will see
shortly. That they are flaming torches corresponds to eyes that are
 Chapter 4 85
flames of fire (1:14; 2:18, 19:12).
In front of the throne was what looked like a sea of glass,
clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living beings
covered with eyes in front and behind. (Rev 4:6 CJB)
This sea of glass may be the source of the crystal clear water flowing
from the throne of God to grow into a raging river (22:1; Eze 47:1-
12). We will see some overcomers standing by this sea with harps
and singing praises (15:2-4). On a sea in 17:15 are multitudes of
people, so this clear sea may of be those made righteous.
Now around the throne four living beings covered with eyes. In the
metaphor we will so consider, the eyes maybe thought of as sensory
organs, such as nerves.
The first living being was like a lion,
the second living being was like an ox,
the third living being had a face that looked human,
and the fourth living being was like a flying eagle. (Rev 4:7 CJB)
This reminds of the four creatures Daniel saw emerging from the sea.
and four huge animals came up out of the sea,
each different from the others. (Dan 7:3 CJB)
1) A eagle winged lion which turns into a man with his heart.
2) A bear with three ribs in its mouth, to gorge itself.
3) A leopard of four wings and heads, and power to rule.
4) A dreadful, strong beast of 10 horns.
Those images that match are lion, eagle, and human—all in the first.
The beasts in John’s image are not fierce or out to destroy, as those of
Daniel, who come out of the raging sea, or tumultuous mobs. But for
Daniel: the Lion is king, he rules, the ox has power and serves, the
human has a heart and wisdom, the eagle sees all.
And each of the four living creatures
had six wings respectively;
and around and within they were full of eyes;
and day and night they cease not saying,
86 Chapter 4
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come.” (Rev 4:8 AFV)
These four continually offer praise to their maker, and to the ever
present Lord, Yehovah, which could be Yeshua on account of “Lord,
God of Heaven’s Armies” from
And one cried to another, and said,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa 6:3 AFV)
The Lord Almighty here is actually the Lord of Hosts in Hebrew.
Now Yeshua is the Captain of the Lord’s Armies, whom we saw
meeting with Joshua, and He will be leading his Bride, all on white
horses in (19:11-16) who are called “The Armies of Heaven.” So fi-
nally, does Yeshua have his faithful army with him, made up of those
who chose freely to obey and serve Him to the end.
Now, let’s interject a metaphor. Where is God’s Temple on earth at
this time? It’s bare turf in Jerusalem, but we saw the Spirit descend
on his saints in Acts 2, to dwell in them, And as we’ve seen, to dwell
in us who obey and live by his Word and commandments by love.
So his throne is now dispersed among his saints, in their hearts: Now,
the 24 Elders that bow to the throne, in white robes; are there not
12 white ribs on each side of the rib-cage, bowing toward the heart?
Then the four beasts, with six wings and eyes all around: Our arms
and legs are four, which are encompassed by nerve cells, and if you
count the joints from shoulder to the last finger joint, there are six.
We have also seen the Seven Fold Spirit near the throne: How many
sensory organs can you count that are placed on our face: eyes, two
for sight; ears, two for hearing, nose for smelling, and tongue for
tasting and for speaking. These are our communication network with
which we intercommunicate with the world, and so are the seven
spirits, seven eyes which are again the Sevenfold Spirit of God. So
our members ever praise our God through their service of Him by our
service to mankind, because the Messiah is in our heart, and we use
our seven sensory members to interrelate with others to encourage,
teach, admonish, as the heart directs, as well as to enjoy nature!
So these seven are the eyes of Adonai that range
 Chapter 4 87
about over all the earth.” (Zec 4:10b CJB)
Then I saw standing there with the throne and the four living beings,
in the circle of the elders,
a Lamb that appeared to have been slaughtered.
He had seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the sevenfold Spirit of God
sent out into all the earth. (Rev 5:6 CJB)
And whenever the living beings give glory, honor and thanks
to the One sitting on the throne,
to the One who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down
before the One sitting on the throne,
who lives forever and ever, and worship him.
They throw their crowns in front of the throne and say,
(Rev 4:9-10 CJB)
This prelude, referring to the ONE three times, gives three aspects of
their praise, mention the throne thrice, and “for ever and ever” twice,
sets up a sequence that we will see used twice in this book where the
living beings are said to “worship God.” Now whenever that phrase
is used, it hearkens back to this formula, they will sing and act as
they will at this time, so their liturgy as seen here will not be repeated
again in the book because we already know the sequence that they
will now play out, concluding with:
“You are worthy, Adonai Eloheinu, to have glory,
honor and power, because you created all things—
yes, because of your will they were created
and came into being!” (Rev 4:11 CJB)
This worship liturgy will be assumed in 5:14 and 19:4; it is their
theme of praise, for God as Creator is the highest praise wielded
throughout the Bible:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1 AFV)
For in six days the LORD made the heaven and the earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the
LORD blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it. (Exo 20:11 AFV)
88 Chapter 5
One aspect of keeping Sabbath is to join in praise to our Creator God,
who will also create a new order, and it looks forward to God’s Sab-
bath in the next millennium about to begin.
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, Who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number?
He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might,
for He is strong in power; not one fails. (Isa 40:26 AFV)
“Ah, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your
great power and stretched out arm.
Nothing is too great for You. (Jer 32:17 AFV)
Because by Him were all things created,
the things in heaven and the things on earth,
the visible and the invisible, whether they be thrones,
or lordships, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
Him and for Him. (Col 1:16 AFV)

Chapter 5
The Scroll and the Lamb
And in the right hand of Him Who sits on the throne
I saw a book, written within and on the back,
which had been sealed with seven seals. (Rev 5:1 AFV)
This book or rather scroll—for how can a book have seven seals—is
actually a marriage contract given to be worked out between all par-
ties on the day of betrothal. This can be demonstrated in the context
of the Pentateuch:
The Young Man is with his Father are at the door of the intended.
They knock and when the residents understand the purpose, they, if
like Philadelphia, invite them in, but if like Laodicea, he’ll still be
knocking. When admitted, they enter, and are seated. The girl and her
father are present, two witnesses are called, and the secretary is sum-
moned. Now when all are gathered, a glass of wine will be passed
around, the cup of friendship and welcome, and the two fathers will
begin to relate their ancestry.
Of which we do see a division between the 11 tribes and Levi, so we
 Chapter 5 89
know that Genesis is the shared account of both sides by Jacob.
Now when the two fathers see where the split comes in their tally of
the early fathers, then the girl’s father will begin to relate their side:
which is the book of Exodus where Israel is lead out by Moses, the
go-between, who leads her to Mt. Sinai where the contract is made in
stone, now the contract worked out in this home visit will be execut-
ed at the end of the process.
With her side complete, the Father will now relate his side of the
fathers: this is the tribe of Levi, whom He had pulled aside to be His,
apart from the eleven.
This complete, the two young ones will give an account of how each
attracted the other to him/herself. This is the book of Numbers. The
journey together through the wilderness.
Concluded, now the Secretary will read what he has written and the
participants can each add to or remove from what he has written.
This is the book of Deuteronomy which means ‘studied again,’ which
recounts or summarizes much of what has been said, but there are
some new touches as well. For instance in 5:14 at the end of the Sab-
bath commandment there is an addition:
And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt,
and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty
hand and with an outstretched arm.
Therefore the LORD your God commanded you
to keep the Sabbath day. (Deu 5:15 AFV)
So, this is how Jesus could say :
... “What man is there among you who,
if he has one sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
And how much better is a man than a sheep?
So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbaths.” (Mat 12:11-12 AFV)
Look again at the verse in Deuteronomy, for Yehovah is essentially
saying, “Because I had mercy on you on the Sabbath and brought
you out of bondage, I’m asking you to do the same on the Sabbath:
to bring people (or animals) out of distress on the Sabbath. So Jesus
brought that message to life by doing acts of mercy on the Sabbath,
to teach those who had long been taught otherwise.
90 Chapter 5
Now when the Scribe has completed the reading and editing, the
book is rolled up and each adds his/her seal and signature, the young
man’s is on top for he is the reason for the visit, and he alone has the
right to open the document. So this contract holder is the one sought
here in 5:2 :
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals?”
(Rev 5:2 AFV)
we know the answer to that now, that only the young man for whom
the wedding agreement was made and signed by seven is worthy to
open the book by loosening its seals, one by one.
But no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth
was able to open the book, or to look inside it.
And I was weeping greatly
because no one was found worthy
to open and to read the book, or to look into it. (Rev 5:3-4 AFV)
We don’t know who is seeking it, but certainly not those around the
Throne. But he’s been absent, for even as Joseph was incarcerated for
two years, is Jesus for two millennia at the right hand of the Father.
I will go; I will return to My place
until they confess their guilt and seek My face;
in their affliction they will seek Me earnestly.
“Come and let us return to the LORD,
for He has torn, and He will heal us;
He has smitten, and He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us; in the third day He will raise us up,
and we shall live in His sight. (Hos 5:15; 6:1-2 AFV)
Thus prophecies Hosea, in which the two days are obviously not
earth days, but God’s :
Now, beloved, do not let this one fact be hidden from you:
that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day. (2Pe 3:8 AFV)
On the third day, thus the third millennium from when Jesus ascend-
ed, departing from earth, will he return, setting up his kingdom here
on terra firma, where eyes can see him and we will live in his sight.
 Chapter 5 91
But as we will see here, he comes not as he did the first time.
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.
Behold, the Lion Who is of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, has overcome to open the book,
and to loose its seven seals.” (Rev 5:5 AFV)
So now not with a baaah, but a roar; not as a lamb but a lion, will our
Lord descend with his saints at this side.
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the lawmaker from between his feet, until Shiloh come,
and the obedience of the peoples to him. (Gen 49:10)
His qualifications are given that He is of Judah and David, so comes
as king, and because he overcame, he has paid the high price for His
Bride releasing her from bondage to the evil one.
Then I saw, and behold, before the throne and the four living
creatures, and before the elders,
was standing a Lamb as having been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the seven spirits of God that are sent
into all the earth; (Rev 5:6 AFV)
So the narrator carries out the suspense, before the surprise, that
instead of the Lion he was looking for it turns out to be a lamb, as if
having been mortally wounded. Horns represent strength so seven
is complete power, the seven eyes, are like what we’ve seen we also
possess for intercommunication, and the seven spirits, are but the
Seven-fold Spirit, God’s communicator, working among the hearts of
men on earth, calling!
Now what has happened, that instead of the Lion pointed out, he sees
a lamb of mortal wound. The lesson is for us, the first sign of God’s
year in the sky is of the Ram, the elder of the Lamb, but both with
heads somewhat bowed as if fatally wounded. This is the entry point
into the Kingdom, the next sign is Taurus representing judgement, for
those who do not accept the sacrifice of the Ram, but his own, will
bypass this into Gemini, the twins, where at Pentecost, receive a new
heart of flesh, they will be like onto their Master.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me,
92 Chapter 5
the works that I do shall he do also;
and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father. (Joh 14:12 KJV)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is. (1Jn 3:2 KJV)
So serving under the guidance of his Spirit we are bringing others
into fellowship, that is Cancer the crab who gathers, and the two
sheep pens, where they file from the larger into the smaller.
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:
them also I must bring,
and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold,
and one shepherd. (Joh 10:16 KJV)
Who do these sheep, gathered together by his Spirit, worship? Why,
their Lord the King, of course, as Leo the Lion of Judah, for as seen:
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, (Gen 49:10a KJV)
So there is the word that answers our question, the people will gather
to him who holds the sceptre. May our Shiloh come soon! This verse
also assures us that Judah’s earthly kingdom continues, though cur-
rently in turbulent times, still that throne in London will release the
crown to Him:
I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more,
until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. (Eze 21:27 KJV)
The story goes that the crown was first overturned from the head of
Zedekiah king of Judah, (2Kg 25:7) and then it moved via Jeremiah
and friends to Ireland where it came upon the head of Zedekiah’s
grandson through his daughter who was not among those massacred,
but later, by Jeremiah and the Spirit, became the wife of the King
apparent of Ireland, of Judah through Zerach, and so through her son,
the breach was mended. What breach? That of Tamar’s twins.
And it came to pass, when she travailed,
that the one put out his hand:
and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread,
saying, This came out first.
And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that,
 Chapter 5 93
behold, his brother came out: and she said,
How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee:
therefore his name was called Pharez.
And afterward came out his brother,
that had the scarlet thread upon his hand:
and his name was called Zarah. (Gen 38:28-30 KJV)
That Zarah is the “Zerach” (Scarlet) who’s line held Ireland for cen-
turies before Yeshua was born of a mother. And his son, per history,
was married to the daughter of the deported king Zedekiah a descen-
dant of Pharez (Peretz), and the child of the heir to the Zerach throne
with this daughter of the last king, bridged the breach.
The Second Overturn was the crown moving from Ireland to Scot-
land, the Third Overturn had the crown moving to London, England.
Now that’s the final Overturn, until Yeshua comes, and whoever is on
the Throne will graciously “cast his crown” at His feet.
He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of
the One sitting on the throne. (Rev 5:7 CJB)
That is, the lamb took it out of the right hand of the One sitting.
Recall that Yeshua is the right arm of the Lord. Not that it must be so
here, but the imagery is put forward, because he is sitting at the right
hand of that One, each on His throne. Obviously He was worthy, or
else that right hand would not have handed it to him.
When he took the scroll, the four living beings
and the twenty-four elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each
one held a harp and gold bowls
filled with pieces of incense,
which are the prayers of God’s people;
and they sang a new song,
“You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals;
because you were slaughtered; at the cost of blood
you ransomed for God persons from every tribe,
language, people and nation.
You made them into a kingdom for God to rule,
cohanim to serve him;
and they will rule over the earth.” (Rev 5:8-10 CJB)
94 Chapter 5
Sadness now turns to joy over the sought one coming forward to take
the scroll. and the elders and four, all prostrate themselves before the
Lamb, each one carrying, and offering up the prayers of the saints as
sweet incense to the Lord. Remember that when you pray, you add
fragrance into the throne room.
And they sang a new song; The new song, the right hand—which is
messianic and where Yeshua is enthroned, and He our salvation, are
all lauded here:
Psalm. O sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.
(Psa 98:1 AFV)

and these elders clarify that He has redeemed (some) from every type
of person regardless of skin color, language, or ancestry, and that
“they” will reign over the earth. So the Bride of Yeshua will be one
in him though totally mixed in kind and language, and there will be
universally one tongue. And we know that the overcomers and those
of Philadelphia and Smyrna will make up his Bride, for they keep his
commandments out of love, and also love their neighbors,
And I saw and I heard the voices of many angels
around the throne,
and the voices of the living creatures and the elders,
and thousands of thousands, (Rev 5:11 AFV)
Now the orchestra grows, picking up thousands of thousands more
voices than the starting chorus.
Saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
glory and blessing.” (Rev 5:12 AFV)
Here now they sing a seven-fold blessing on the Lamb who is wor-
thy, and again because he gave himself to be slain. Strength is in the
pivot location for he is omnipotent, and those qualities one can gain
by toil and effort on earth are on the left side of center, for power,
riches and wisdom are by one’s hard work and cognitive power. And
 Chapter 5 95
those on the right of the focal point are bestowed on her by others.
And every creature which is in the heaven
and on the earth and under the earth
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,
I heard saying, “To Him sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb,
be the blessing and the respect and the esteem
and the might, forever and ever!”
(Rev 5:13 TS2009)
Now the whole creation, multiplying the previous choir by myriads
again, praises the two: He sitting on the throne, and the Lamb. We do
have constant indication here that they are two and distinct, Father
and Son, their unity comes by the Spirit, who also unifies us with
them. The huge choir sings out the four qualities from the center to
the right bur in reverse, for might is strength, and blessing, respect,
and esteem, are those qualities bestowed by others.
And the four living creatures said, “Amen!”
And the twenty-four elders fell down
and bowed before Him who lives forever and ever.
(Rev 5:14 TS2009)
Now the Amen is said by the Four, and the Twenty-Four go into their
Worship refrain that we learned in 4:9-11. And now that we know
that our bodies and souls model their arrangement : our four limbs
clap and stomp with one accord, and our ribs are ever bowing to our
heart, where he who lives forever abides.
 Chapter 6
The Seven Seals
“And I looked when the Lamb opened one of the seals;
and I heard one of the four living creatures say,
like the sound of thunder, “Come and see.”” (Rev 6:1, AFV)
Which reminds of what the Lord says to Job:
“And have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with a voice like His?” (Job 40:9, AFV)
But this thunderous voice comes from one of the four creatures,
saying Come and See, which seems to be for John, since he is the
respondent, but I believe the call is to all of us that we pay attention
and learn the secrets of this and each scene.
“And I looked, and behold, there was a white horse;
and the one who was sitting on it had a bow,
and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering,
and to conquer.” (Rev 6:2, AFV)
The use of “Behold” here may be taken as “consider” because he’s
telling us who are not present. And he sees the one mounted being
handed a crown and a bow, with which to go out and conquer. Now
throughout this book our Lord has no other weapon but the two
edged sword of his mouth, and never a bow. Also Yeshua is not com-
ing, nor did he come to conquer, but to save and then to rule—as
Messiah then as King. It can be attested that he does conquer death
and the grave and also the enemy on Yom Kippur when he descends
with His loved ones. But those are means to the end, but this rider is
bent on conquering, and he will.
Note, that the horse is white, and when comparing it with the oth-
ers we can say that this is still not stained nor will it be, in this first
foray. For he descends to attack the woman with his deceitful, lying
logic and defeats her, both she and Adam in one fell swoop. Thus
snatching the scepter from the hand of Adam, who would otherwise
still be ruling us in peace and tranquility, but that’s dreaming. Sa-
tan conquered without a drop of blood, though it would take all of
our Lord’s blood to overturn that curse. The Tempter is wearing the
 Chapter 6 97
crown of authority over the earth for six days a week, and for six
millennia of the seven, but he is barred from the seventh day because
God sanctifies it with His presence with all who meet for true wor-
ship in His name, and he’s barred from the next Millennium because
our Lord King will also be there ruling.
“And when He opened the second seal,
I heard the second living creature say, “Come and see.”
And another horse went out that was red;
and power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace
from the earth, and to cause them to kill one another;
and a great sword was given to him.” (Rev 6:3-4, AFV)
Now the second creature calls out his diabolical trophy. It is a horse
as scarlet as the blood of Abel, his first victim of many, until by his
pollution of the sons of men and those of God (Gen 6:2-5) the whole
creation living in the face of this earth was destroyed by the flood.
But the action of this rider continues unhindered into the present,
causing inter-family, clan, country: strife, hatred, and fighting. That
will not be seen nor remembered in the age afoot.
“And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living
creature say, “Come and see.”
And I looked, and behold, there was a black horse;
and the one sitting on it had a balance in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say,
“A measure of wheat for a silver coin,
and three measures of barley for a silver coin:
and see that you do not damage the oil and the wine.””
(Rev 6:5-6, AFV)
Each of these horrendous fiends is called forth by the breaking of the
seals of this contract, as if they are using all their nefarious meddle
to keep the scroll from achieving its purpose. This one is on a black
horse, having a balance, but not that of judgement—for that does
not fit the character of our heinous clique. What is as dark as money
matters? This speaks of commerce, who is concerned that his wares
or produce might be marred. Wealth has enslaved many including
our kings and presidents in power. For within it is purloin and pilfer,
98 Chapter 6
pillage and plunder. It funds the Deep State and much in the crooked
Left, and is behind the single eye on the dollar bill. It’s the filthy lu-
cre of the miser, and the hoard of the churl. Nations are now swayed
by it. But love will have dominion in Yeshua’s imminent reign. His
statement shows that the two are as incompatible as black to white:
“No one is able to serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will hold to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mat 6:24, AFV)
And you, O house of Israel, so says the Lord Jehovah:
Every man go, serve his idols, even hereafter,
if you will not listen to Me.
But you will not still profane My holy name
with your gifts and with your idols. (Eze 20:39)
Our churches ought take warning, for this lucre should stay out of
our worship areas, as it was on the outside of the entry of the syna-
gogue, or as in messianic assemblies, bills or checks a slipped into a
slot in the wall in the coat room or hallway, for the mention of ac-
counts or the financial status are not to be spoken of in assembly.
“And when He opened the fourth seal,
I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come and
see.” And I looked, and behold, there was a pale horse;
and the name of the one sitting on it was Death,
and the grave followed him;
and authority was given to them over
one fourth of the earth,
to kill with the sword and with famine and with death,
and by the beasts of the earth.” (Rev 6:7-8, AFV)
Here the central of Seven which throughout the book gives indication
of Yeshua, for instance, he is the one sitting on a white cloud holding
a sharp sickle in 14: 14, and because the 7th angel in His group of
seven is trampling on the grapes of wrath, which is actually ascribed
to Yeshua himself, so these angels are then facets of Yeshua’s work.
Likewise the center panel of this seven is our diabolical pair, to
whom we can attribute all the foregoing and even the three remain-
 Chapter 6 99
ing. For their work of killing by weapon, hunger, fatality, and wild
animal is to decimate a quarter of the populace of Earth. And as we
have seen much of this havoc going on from the backs of the three
previous steeds. But whatever they missed, these will accomplish.
Now considering those four means of killing, we might see that they
are indeed responsible for at least a quarter of fatalities world wide.
And he is like death, and is not satisfied, but gathers all the nations
to himself, and collects all the peoples to himself. (Hab 2:5b)
Why two fiends? The extra biblical apocryphal works give a total
of seven Seraphim before the throne. But “The Shining One” was
demoted to “Tempter” and he is the serpent that sweeps a third of the
stars (angels) to earth (12:4) so apparently he snagged a third of the
remaining six leaving four Cherubs there presently, and also took a
third of the Cherubim and others, enticed by his deceit. But are these
two not under the sway of the Almighty, as satan is to God in Job.
So says Jehovah, Those who are for death, go to death; and those for
the sword, to the sword; and those for the famine, to the famine;
and those for the captivity, to the captivity. (Jer 15:2b)
Those are the four tools given to the fiends, but they will serve God
as a retributive tool. For the days are numbered for those who have
heard the truth but choose their own path.
“And when He opened the fifth seal,
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain
for the Word of God, and for the testimony that they held;”
(Rev 6:9, AFV)
Now we begin on the three beyond Center, where the subject differs;
for now it will deal with the spirits of those martyred for preaching
the Word of God, and for their testimony by word and deed.
The altar here in this book is always the golden incense altar set be-
fore the throne on which the prayers of the a saints are offered, to be
a sweet scent to the Lord.
“And they cried out with a loud voice, saying,
“How long, O Lord, holy and true,
do You not judge and avenge our blood
on those who dwell on the earth?”” (Rev 6:10, AFV)
100 Chapter 6
Holy: Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You only are holy;
and all the nations shall come and worship before You,
for Your judgments have been revealed.” (Rev 15:4 AFV)
Holy, and Separate are two facets of the Hebrew word Kodesh, and
by this statement: You only are holy, negates human beings from be-
ing called holy, but they may be termed separate.
For even Moses was warned:
And He said, “You cannot see My face,
for no man can see Me and live.” (Exo 33:20 AFV)
We see the same distinctiveness in His identity of holiness and truth,
to Philadelphia
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write:
These things says the Holy One, the One Who is true; (Rev 3:7a AFV)
These slain are not out off line in their plea to the Father, for the To-
rah affirms that Yehovah does avenge the blood of his saints.
Rejoice, O, nations, with His people;
for He will avenge the blood of His servants,
and will render vengeance to His foes and will be merciful to His
land, to His people.” (Deu 32:43 AFV)
We know by their plea that they realize they are not in the same
sphere of existence with those on the earth at this time. They have
entrusted judgement to the Holy One for He will not delay in aveng-
ing their blood.
And white robes were given to each of them;
and they were told that they should rest a short time yet,
until it be fulfilled that both their fellow servants and their
brethren also would be killed,
just as they had been. (Rev 6:11 AFV)
The white robes denote purity, as the angel will soon informs John:
Then I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me,
“They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation;
and they have washed their robes, and have made their robes white
 Chapter 6 101
in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:14 AFV)
Rest a short time, until.. assures us that the Lord knows the end of
each person, and who will be worthy of being a martyr for Him and
His Word, for precious is their blood to Him, and when it will be.
He shall redeem their life from oppression and violence;
and their blood shall be precious in His sight. (Psa 72:14 AFV)
And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there
was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth,
and the moon became as blood;
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth,
as a fig tree casts its untimely figs
when it is shaken by a mighty wind. (Rev 6:12-13 AFV)
The earthquake often portends judgement even as it does in 8:4 to
precede the Trumpet judgements, and also as an omen in 11:19 to
bring on the war in the heavens over the expected child.
Ominous also are the series of heavenly signs of which two are
as Joel prophesied of Yom Kipur, the 10th of the Seventh Month,
which has a full agenda of judgements. (19:11-21; Zec 14:1-9; Mat
25:31:46)
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
(Joe 2:31 AFV) (& Acts 2:20)
So this series of signs in 6:13-17 foretells of Yom Kippur coming on,
when the earth itself, during the seven testing years leading up to that
great Day, will shift on its axis, during which the calendar is reset to
give 30 days to the month as in the days of the flood. For we know
that the stars, many light years away could not come falling onto
the earth, but if the axis suddenly shifted, people would see the stars
apparently falling toward or away from the equator depending where
positioned. The following signs also betoken that sudden shifting
which could force a topography reform and the islands to reposition.
Then the heaven departed like a scroll
that is being rolled up,
102 Chapter 6
and every mountain and island was moved
out of its place. (Rev 6:14 AFV)
Is God moving the furniture around, to make room for the New Jeru-
salem? For in 21:1 we see these signs and then in 21:2 the New Jeru-
salem comes down and the voice from the throne peals out, saying:
And I heard a great voice from heaven say,
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men;
and He shall dwell with them,
and they shall be His people; and God Himself shall be with them
and be their God. (Rev 21:3 AFV)
And just after this He who is seated on the Throne confirms that he
has been renewing everything.
And He Who sits on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev 21:5a AFV)
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,
and the chief captains,
and the powerful men, and every bondman,
and every free man
hid themselves in the caves
and in the rocks of the mountains; (Rev 6:15 AFV)
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks,
and into the caves of the earth for fear of the LORD
and for the glory of His majesty,
when He arises to shake terribly the earth. (Isa 2:19 AFV)
Isaiah had foreseen virtually the same thing John did in this vision,
even their fear of the One sitting on the throne, but Isaiah mentions
the terrible shaking at the end, while it is at the beginning with John.
This turning around of the order is commonly a way to confirm that
two verses answer each other. We can see an example of that where
the Bride is connected to the Armies in heaven (19:8 to 19:14) in her
“linen pure and bright,” which becomes “linen white and pure,” at-
testing that they are the same group.
And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us,
and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev 6:16 AFV)
 Chapter 6 103
Job sheds light on trusting God, hoping He will put him in the grave
until His wrath is spent and then raise him on appointment. Job has
no fear of the grave, but sees it’s a place of safety until all is clear.
O that You will grant that You would hide me in the grave,
that You would keep me secret, until Your wrath is past,
that You would set me a fixed time and remember me. (Job 14:13 AFV)
For Yehovah encourages hiding, but not to the extreme sought by
Job, for he will provide the means and the place. (12:6)
Come, my people, enter into your rooms
and shut your doors around you;
hide for a little moment, until the fury has passed by, (Isa 26:20 AFV)
Because the great day of His wrath has come,
and who has the power to stand?” (Rev 6:17 AFV)
This is also witnessed by Zephaniah: where “who has the power to
stand,” is answered by “The mighty men shall cry bitterly.”
The great day of the LORD is near; it is near and comes swiftly,
the sound of the day of the LORD.
The mighty man shall cry bitterly there. (Zep 1:14 AFV)
Yet, even in this time of trouble, as the Lord physically provides a
haven above, here he does it spiritually, offering hope and strength in
the midst of this turmoil.
The LORD shall also roar out of Zion
and utter His voice from Jerusalem.
And the heavens and the earth shall shake.
But the LORD will be the hope of His people
and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joe 3:16 AFV)
Chapter 7
Sealing of the 144,000
And after these things I saw four angels
standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding back the four winds of the earth,
so that the wind might not blow on the earth,
or on the sea, or on any tree. (Rev 7:1 AFV)
What would happen were there no wind at all upon the earth?
Consider Yehovah to Ezekiel:
And He said to me, “Prophesy to the wind,
prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind,
‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe on these slain that they may live.” ‘ “ (Eze 37:9 AFV)
The “four winds” in Scripture are either to scatter (Jer 49:36; Dan
11:4; Zec 2:6), or used as directional indicators (Dan 8:8; Mat 24:31,
toward and from, respectively), and this passage from Ezekiel is
similar to the latter, for he speaks of “from.” So it is not the wind
itself which will enliven these bones, but the Breath (or Spirit) which
is breathed upon them from these four corners. Certainly, if involved
in any exertion, our bodies would languish without any wind, and so
much more, our very lives and well-being, if not sustained and nour-
ished by His Holy Spirit. Would this Breath of God not be that which
Paul is warning the Thessalonians:
Do not let anyone deceive you in any way,
because that Day will not come unless first comes the falling away,
and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, (2Th 2:3 )
Now the falling away seen in Laodicea, has so separated from true
worship and service of God, that it warrants the epithet: The Great
Divide. Now the man of sin remains to be revealed11, but we must
suspect he is alive in the background even now, for there is not
enough time for him to spring up and be of age to rule the masses,
though he will indeed be empowered by the serpent himself.

11 We will see in 11:7 that the he emerges at the

midpoint of the seven year Tribulation.
 Chapter 7 105
And I saw another angel coming up from the rising of the sun,
having a seal of the living God.
And he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it
was given to them to harm
the earth and the sea, saying,
Do not harm the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees,
until we seal the slaves of our God
on their foreheads. (Rev 7:2-3 )
Now what is this seal of God? That expression is only found in the
Epistles and here. But here in the Revelation it is not defined, only
used, but again to the Thessalonians:
However, the foundation of God stands firm, having this seal,
“The Lord knew the ones being His;” (Num 16:5)
also, Let everyone naming the name of Christ
depart from unrighteousness. (2Ti 2:19 )
Then we have the Third Word (of ten):
You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain;
for Jehovah will not leave unpunished
the one who takes His name in vain. (Exo 20:7 )
For one naming the name of Christ, is doing so in vain if she doesn’t
follow Him and his ways. In other words, we aught not call ourselves
Christians if we don’t follow his commandments, for that would be
departing from righteousness.
This sign is what the serpent is trying to copy even now, by tech-
nology, for we already know of people taking the mark of the beast
(13:17; 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4), and that it is being injected
between skin layers of the right hand between thumb and forefinger,
And the small and the great, and the rich and the poor,
and the freemen and the slaves,
it causes that they give to them all a mark on their right hand,
or on their foreheads, (Rev 13:16 )
But the Lord has already offered a mark, and indeed those who are
empowered to keep it are His in a most intimate way:
“Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are to observe my Shabbats;
for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations;
106 Chapter 7
so that you will know that I am Adonai,
who sets you apart for me. (Exo 31:13 CJB)
We will see by the first angel in ch. 14, that his cry is for people to
turn to proper worship and uses the climax statement of each of the
Sabbath paragraphs (Gen 2, Ex 20; 31) to give us the key to what that
means. So the call of that first angel is balanced and answered by the
third angel warning about being injected with this sign of the beast,
he refers to this sign twice, and so twice it’s called by link from Exo-
dus 31–and thereby balances. (But that’s getting ahead)
Do not harm: this injunction to the four angels assures us that holding
back that breath indeed harms the environment, both land and sea,
and those who dwell therein. Now to look at who is to be sealed?
I heard how many were sealed—144,000
from every tribe of the people of Isra’el:
From the tribe of Y’hudah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Re’uven 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naftali 12,000,
from the tribe of M’nasheh 12,000,
from the tribe of Shim`on 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Yissakhar 12,000,
from the tribe of Z’vulun 12,000, f
rom the tribe of Yosef 12,000,
from the tribe of Binyamin 12,000. (Rev 7:4-8 CJB)
Why is it said that every tribe of Israel is within this taly? For there
are a few anomalies, but Scripture does not make mistakes—though
people do. First, where is Dan’s name? He is certainly one of the
Twelve Tribes. Second, where is Ephraim? For he also was given full
sonship status by Jacob who placed him with Manasseh in lieu of
Joseph his favorite son, but why then is Ephraim replaced by Joseph?
And now your two sons, those born to you in the land of Egypt before
my coming to you in Egypt, are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh,
 Chapter 7 107
like Reuben and Simeon, even they shall be mine. (Gen 48:5 )
And so we see that those two sons are equal and balanced, replacing
Joseph. Yet in the list above, Joseph appears with Manasseh! So we
know there is no typo, also Levi is put in to replace Dan, yet Levi
was not to be counted with the other brothers for he was to serve God
and not inherit land. Now what sin could those two discarded ones
have committed or harbored that they wouldn’t even here rate to be
called people of Israel?
And the king took counsel and made two calves of gold.
And he said to them,
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.
Behold your gods, O Israel,
which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!
And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.(1Ki 12:28-29 )
Bethel is in Ephraim. You see, they housed the golden calves to serve
as their god’s, as set up by Rehoaboam, and which became the cen-
ters for corrupt worship, playing the harlot with Yehovah.
Recalling that Israel refers to those of faith in Yehovah, it is not sur-
prising that these two who had lost faith, had disqualified themselves
from being in “Israel.” Now what of those churches in which wealth
is paraded in the Assembly, hymns are sung when the take is high,
and offering is collected within the worship area? When Jesus says
that mammon and God cannot both be served. Is their dependence
not higher on the finances than on the God who would otherwise care
for them? Does mammon not then become their golden calf? If so are
they in Israel?
After these things I saw, and behold, a great crowd
which no one was able to number them,
out of every nation, even tribes and peoples and tongues,
standing in front of the throne,
and before the Lamb,
having been clothed with white robes,
and in their hands palm branches. (Rev 7:9 )
This is a far greater number than those who sing the song in 5:9
about being chosen of every “tribe, tongue, people, and nation.” Note
how those four groupings in 5:9 are not quoted in the same order as
108 Chapter 7
those in the third row in 17:9 above. They are also gathered before
the Throne and the Lamb, as a new crop out of the great Tribulation
as we will see. These are not his Bride, for palm branches are tossed
by the wedding guests onto the path of the newly-weds at a Jewish
wedding so that their feet do not touch ground, but a carpet of palm
leaves. And a great crowd also met Jesus coming into Jerusalem for
his last Feast, followed by the Passion.
On the morrow, coming to the Feast,
hearing that Jesus is coming to Jerusalem,
a great crowd took palm branches and went out to a meeting
with Him, and they were crying out,
Hosanna! “Being blessed is the One coming in the name of the Lord,
the King of Israel!” (Joh 12:12-13 )
Now, the only other reference to Palm Branches in Scripture, that we
might know their use, sheds light on the types of trees whose branch-
es are brought to construct the tabernacles in the Seventh Month.
And you shall take to yourselves on the first day
the fruit of majestic trees, palm branches,
and boughs of oak trees, and willows of the valley,
and shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days. (Lev 23:40)
has the seed, a figure of birth,
The fruit of majestic trees
eventually to become great and majestic.
are brought to them in the prime of life,
Palm Branches to the wedding,
and for King Jesus coming into Jerusalem.
The Boughs of Oak trees represents mature strong and stalwart souls.
Willows of the Valley are bowed, and so of the later season of life.

In both cases in 7:9 and Joh 12:13 we have people outside of the
close circle, they are guests at the wedding, for they are the mobs
en-route to the feast. But these have become righteous, they have
turned to God in truth, and follow their savior, for which they have
been given white robes. They are singing Salvation to our God on the
Throne and to the Lamb; for they, those two, have worked a remark-
able Salvation for His people, through the blood of the Lamb,
 Chapter 7 109
And all the angels and of the elders and of the four living crea-
tures stood around the throne.
And they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped
God, saying, Amen.
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength
to our God forever and ever. Amen. (Rev 7:11-12 )
to whom, the elders and four living creatures raise a seven-fold bless-
ing, which is quite like the seven-fold praise of the same but turned
around and replacing Riches with Thanksgiving which is placed in
the center, for that is the grand theme here. Recall that when the el-
ders worship God, bowed to their faces, they, at that point go through
the same liturgy sung in 4:10-11, and here followed by “Amen” be-
fore concluding as here.
And one of the elders answered, saying to me,
These, the ones having been clothed in the white robes,
who are they, and from where did they come?
And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me,
These are those coming out of the great tribulation;
and they washed their robes and whitened them
in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:13-14 )
The term “answered, saying,” can be read, as in others: “Asked me.”
And so he puts the question into the mind of John, who again turns it
onto the Elder, who then clarifies, that these coming out of the Great
Tribulation wearing white robes have washed in the blood of the
Lamb. For certainly only His blood can make a sinner clean.
but with precious blood of Christ,
as a lamb without blemish and without spot, (1Pe 1:19)
He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, but He did not open His
mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a ewe before
her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. (Isa 53:7)
Now we saw white robes offered to Laodicea, for though she has
this world’s robe on her he calls her naked, because that counts for
naught. We also saw white robes promised to those of Sardis who
overcome.
110 Chapter 7
That is why they are before God’s throne.
“Day and night they serve him in his Temple;
and the One who sits on the throne
will put his Sh’khinah upon them. (Rev 7:15 CJB)
They gather here to Serve, which, in Hebrew is also to Worship, the
God who saves them, and the Lord who gave his life-blood to redeem
them. The Father is the “One” on the throne, and the Greek says he
will put his Glory over them, and so we have by various transla-
tions: “dwell among them,” “shelter them,” “dwell over them,” and “
spread his Tabernacle over them” —each coming closer to the truth,
but I believe the CJB has hit on it, for why would he put a Tabernacle
over them in his Temple? do they need other shelter in there? But the
Shekina is the Glory of God, which we here do hope and pray for, as
Paul to Titus:
while continuing to expect the blessed fulfillment of our certain hope,
which is the appearing of the Sh’khinah of our great God
and the appearing of our Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah. (Tit 2:13 CJB)
“They will never again be hungry,
they will never again be thirsty,
the sun will not beat down on them,
nor will any burning heat.
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will shepherd them,
will lead them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 7:16-17 CJB)
What blessings are enumerated here for those who turned to their
Lord even though late. Now by this we see that this covering of the
Lord, whether it be his Glory or other shelter, is keeping the burning
sun off of them, also that they will be fed and watered in this shelter,
which may be kin to how Adam and his people were sheltered by
high water content in the upper atmosphere that kept them from all
of those rays that hasten ageing. He promises the same again, in His
bright future for us, by Isaiah.
And the LORD will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion,
and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day,
 Chapter 8 111
and the shining of a flaming fire by night;
for over all the glory shall be a canopy.
And there shall be a tabernacle for shade
by day from the heat, and for refuge,
and for shelter from storm and rain. (Isa 4:5-6 AFV)
This answers well, of how Yehovah will cover his people, not just
those before the throne, but over all of Mt. Zion where his Bride will
also be housed. The conditions may well be as the pre-flood envi-
ronment considering those who are still flesh and bones may live to
great age, for 100 will be thought young:
I will rejoice in Yerushalayim and take joy in my people.
The sound of weeping will no longer be heard in it,
no longer the sound of crying.
No more will babies die in infancy,
no more will an old man die short of his days—
he who dies at a hundred will be thought young, and at less than a
hundred thought cursed. (Isa 65:19-20 CJB)
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will shepherd them,
will lead them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 7:17 CJB)
What a joyful hope, the Isaiah passage answers to this one also, that
no weeping will again be heard, but in this book he is given the im-
age of the Good Shepherd. (Joh 10:11, 14)
Chapter 8
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
When the Lamb broke the seventh seal,
there was silence in heaven
for what seemed like half an hour. (Rev 8:1 CJB)
The jubilant singing and praising of the sacrifice attenuates to com-
plete silence at the burning of the incense and all are in silent prayer
during that part of the service, for then the prayers of the saints as-
cend as a fragrant offering to the Lord. I believe he has more pleasure
in this sacrifice of prayer, than in the sacrifice of the animal prior to
it, though that translates to a jubilant segment of our worship time,
when hymns may be lustily sung, but we can also see that silence
before our Maker is meet.
To the chief musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
Only to God is my soul silent;
from Him comes my salvation. (Psa 62:1 )
All flesh, be silent before Jehovah.
For He is raised up out of His holy habitation. (Zec 2:13 )
But Jehovah is in His holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before Him. (Hab 2:20 )
And I saw the seven angels who stood before God,
and seven trumpets were given to them. (Rev 8:2 )
This is intended for suspense, to prepare us for what’s coming up, its
action continues in v.6.
And another angel came and stood on the altar,
having a golden censer.
And many incenses were given to him,
that he should give them with the prayers of all the saints
on the golden altar before the throne.
And the smoke of the incenses went up
with the prayers of the saints
out of the hand of the angel before God. (Rev 8:3,4 )
Here we have proof that we, in this silent time, are at the time of the
 Chapter 8 113
offering of incense at the golden alter inside the Holy Place, located
against the wall separating that from the Most Holy Place. Here we
see how important is the prayers of he saints, even life saving:
And he shall put the incense on the fire before Jehovah,
and the cloud of the incense shall cover the mercy-seat
on the testimony; and he shall not die. (Lev 16:13)
We see this applied during a plague :
And Aaron did as Moses had spoken,
and ran into the midst of the assembly.
And, behold, the plague had begun among the people!
And he laid on the incense and atoned for the people, (Num 16:47)
So let’s not let up on our prayers, for they are indeed fragrant incense
offered up to our Creator and Redeemer.
And the angel has taken the censer,
and has filled it from the fire of the altar,
and cast it into the earth;
and sounds and thunders and lightnings
and earthquakes occurred. (Rev 8:5)
As we will see throughout the book, the thunder, lightning, and earth-
quakes with the accompanied sounds portend judgement.
You shall be visited from Jehovah of Hosts;
with thunder and earthquake, and great noise, tempest and storm,
and flame of devouring fire. (Isa 29:6)
This speaks of foreboding judgements in the blowing of the trumpets.
 The Seven Trumpets
And the seven angels having the seven trumpets
prepared themselves that they might trumpet. (Rev 8:6 )
The tension mounts, one of these seven were seen in v.2; we might
also prepare for them, which in preparing, may not to be around
when they blow. For I believe they blow those trumpets during the
first half of the Seven year “testing,” which period commences
with the trumpet (or ram’s horn) calling Yeshua’s elect, or Bride up
to him, to take them out of that suffering, for He will not afflict the
righteous with the wicked. (Gen 18:25)
And the first angel trumpeted.
And hail and fire mixed with blood occurred.
And it was cast onto the earth;
and the third part of the trees was burned down;
and all green grass was burned down. (Rev 8:7 )
This has begun to occur globally, along with the brith pangs of Mat-
thew 24, especially with the fights over elections.12
And the Light of Israel shall be for a fire,
and his Holy One for a flame;
and it shall burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.
And He shall consume the glory of his forest and his fruitful field,
even from soul to flesh;
and it shall be as a sick man melts away.
And the rest of the trees of the forest shall be few,
so that a boy might write them. (Isa 10:17-19 )
Isaiah has given us some more details on how devastating this will
be! Now about the Light of Israel for fire:
For the day of Jehovah of Hosts shall be on all the proud and lofty
ones, and on all that is lifted up;
and it will be abased; and against all Lebanon’s cedars,

12 This environmental damage happened in Androy, Madagascar from

2015-2021, the worst drought to damage the forest so badly that at
least 1/3 burned standing, and not a blade of grass could be found
anywhere, and because it happened with the fight over chairs in all
levels of government we suppose this is the birth pangs (Mt 24).
 Chapter 8 115
high and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; (Isa 2:12-13 )
And then to clarify who these lofty ones are:
And the pride of man shall be humbled;
and the loftiness of men shall be abased;
and Jehovah alone will be exalted in that day. (Isa 2:17 )
And so the high and lofty trees coming down, is referring to those
high in authority, the rich, and those proud ones. So he uses what is
happening to nature to reflect how they also will be culled out. Now
see what kind of pride really irks the Most High:
If there is such a person, when he hears the words of this curse,
he will bless himself secretly, saying to himself, ‘I will be all right,
“Even though I will stubbornly keep doing whatever I feel like doing;
so that I, although “dry,” [sinful,]
will be added to the “watered” [righteous].’
But Adonai will not forgive him.
Rather, the anger and jealousy of Adonai will blaze up
against that person.
Every curse written in this book will be upon him.
Adonai will blot out his name from under heaven. (Deu 29:18-19 CJB)
The worst case, is knowing what’s right and not doing; also by Iesoa:
And that servant, who having known his lord’s will,
and having not prepared, nor having gone according to his will,
will be beaten with many stripes, (Luk 12:47 LSV)
Then the second angel sounded his trumpet;
and there was cast into the sea as it were
a great mountain burning with fire,
and a third of the sea became blood;
And a third of the living creatures that were in the sea died,
and a third of the ships were destroyed. (Rev 8:8,9 AFV)
This harkens to the first general sign by Moses, the turning of water
to blood, and to Jesus first sign, turning the water to wine. (Joh 2:9)
So says Jehovah, By this you shall know that I am Jehovah: Behold,
I am about to strike the water in the river with the staff in My hand,
and it shall be turned to blood. And the fish in the river will die, and
the river will stink, and the Egyptians will become weary of drinking
116 Chapter 8
water from the river. (Exo 7:17-18)
We see here and in the Exodus account how devastating bloody water
can be, but the purpose is equally clear, the whole event is that those
affected shall know that He, Yehovah, is trying to get their attention.
Notice also that in these soundings of the trumpet, or in these trumpet
judgements, the third of the target is affected, but this will change in
the bowl judgements (chp. 16), where it will be 100%. In this Trum-
pet sequence there is surely divine selection in force, because many
will be turning back to the Lord in truth.
And the third angel sounded his trumpet;
and there fell out of heaven a great star,
burning like a lamp;
and it fell on a third of the rivers,
and on the fountains of waters.
Now the name of the star is Wormwood;
and a third of the waters became wormwood;
and many men died from drinking the waters
because they were made bitter. (Rev 8:10,11 AFV)
This, as elsewhere, mentioning stars (9:20), refers to angels, this
one’s actions though not of one lighting down but falling, indicating
a descent out of control, as if a large meteorite, yet is an angel, for in
9:1 the falling star is carrying a key. So this judgement is through the
waters of rivers and springs, of which a third will become deadly bit-
ter. This reflects the curse by Moses pertaining to this “wormwood.”
Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe,
whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God
to go serve the gods of these nations;
lest there should be among you
a root that bears gall and wormwood, (Deu 29:18 AFV)
The wormwood springs from the heart that is set against his God, and
will not listen to His Word, Yeshua. Instead he teaches lies of his own
concoction, according to Hosea:
They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up like hemlock
 Chapter 8 117
in the furrows of the field. (Hos 10:4 AFV)
The Word by Paul to the Hebrews is stronger, :
Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,
without which no one will see the Lord;
Looking diligently, lest anyone fall from the grace of God;
lest any root of bitterness
springing up trouble you,
and through this many be defiled; (Heb 12:14-15 AFV)
For here we are to pursue ‘holiness,’ which as in John, means to be
separate from the World, where in the Gospel of John, the World, is
all that is against God. For Holy pertains to God, and separation to
Him by his people. But this holiness, or distinctiveness pertains to
being righteous, following the ways and commandments of the King-
dom. For these we see are the prerequisites to seeing the Lord,
Who among you fears Jehovah, obeying the voice of His Servant,
who walks in darkness, and no light is in him? Let him trust in the
name of Jehovah, and lean on his God. (Isa 50:10)
And the fourth messenger sounded,
and a third of the sun was struck,
and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars,
so that a third of them were darkened.
And a third of the day did not shine,
and likewise the night. (Rev 8:12 TS2009)
This is the fourth Trumpet. On the fourth day of Creation the Sun,
Moon, and Stars were created. This is the central Sounding which
turns against God’s clock, used not only to light the day and night,
but to give us the dates of His Appointed times, which many have
chosen to worship instead of Yehovah who created them, and the
“Whole World” denies them as a Calendar, to fabricate its own. So
this affliction may be related to the faithlessness of both mentioned,
who rely on other than His, or on gods other than the Ineffable.
We can assert this on account of Yehovah’s curse upon the land of
Egypt, whose chief god is the sun, with the moon second, and the
stars according to their ranking them. The effects of this curse are
the same as above, though no fraction is given, but a darkening, for
118 Chapter 8
“stars dark” doesn’t mean “put out,” as the sun under a cloud is di-
minished but not opaque.
And when I extinguish you, I shall cover the heavens,
and make its stars dark.
I shall cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give her light.
All the bright lights of the heavens I shall make dark over you,
and I shall bring darkness upon your land,’ declares the Master.
(Eze 32:7-8 TS2009)
But this curse on Egypt is not only to put out the Lights, but to extin-
guish Egypt herself, as in:
The light of the righteous rejoices,
but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. (Pro 13:9 AFV)
for the “light of the righteous” beams wisdom abroad through their
righteous walk, and He would not have the wicked be prancing about
on their crooked path to bring others into demise. To put out their
light is to say, “You wouldn’t walk in the light of the Word, and so
your soul is darkened as is your path.”
And I looked; and I heard an angel flying
in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice,
“Woe, woe, woe to those who are dwelling on the earth,
because of the voices of the remaining trumpets
of the three angels
who are about to sound their trumpets.” (Rev 8:13 AFV)
Three woes, like three strikes is serious, and the angel is putting sus-
pense into the warning. For the first four soundings of trumpets had
an effect on the creation, on the environment, and indirectly upon
mankind. And the three ensuing Trumpet judgements are lengthy and
inflict people directly. Now here’s about angels generally:
Bless Jehovah, O angels of His; mighty in strength; doing His Word;
listening to the voice of His Word. (Psa 103:20 )
The angels do, by listening. A good model for us, repeated much in
Scripture, that we listen and act upon it.
Chapter 9
And the fifth angel trumpeted.
And I saw a star out of the heaven falling onto the earth.
And the key to the pit of the abyss was given to it. (Rev 9:1 )
Here is an angel on assignment carrying a key to the pit, which says
that he is about to unlock and release somebody or thing locked-up in
the abyss. We are also assured that God has the keys to Hades, wrest-
ed by Yeshua at his resurrection, because the grave erred by keeping
the Righteous one in the grave, just as the tempter erred by killing the
Innocent, so was the authority seized they had gained in Eden.
Whatever is locked up in the abyss we can be sure is not who we
would enjoy, for even demons begged Yeshua not to be sent there:
And they begged Him that He not order them to go away
into the abyss. (Luk 8:31)
And he opened the bottomless abyss;
and there went up smoke from the pit,
like the smoke of a great furnace;
and the sun and the air were darkened
by the smoke from the pit.
Then locusts came onto the earth from the smoke;
and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have
power. (Rev 9:2-3 AFV)
An image of smoke being locusts is in the curse against Philistia who
wouldn’t care for the poor and needy.
Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! Melt away O Philistia, all of you;
for from the north a smoke comes,
and there is no straggler in his ranks.” (Isa 14:31 AFV)
This end-time prophecy of Joel’s was used by Peter in Acts 2,
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth—
blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (Joe 2:30 AFV)
but these locusts, instead of harming the flora are designed to harm
people with their scorpion’s tails. This is how the second group of
Trumpets differs from the first four, which targeted the earth and
environment, but not directly upon mankind. This one afflicts a body
120 Chapter 9
with pain. The only protection is to have a change of heart, to follow
Yeshua and be a faithful witness, for he promises the 70 witnesses He
sent out, with
Behold, I give you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions,
and upon all the power of the enemy,
and nothing shall injure you in any way. (Luk 10:19 AFV)
And it was said to them that they should not damage the grass
of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree,
but only the men who did not have the seal of God
in their foreheads. (Rev 9:4 AFV)
As we saw above, these are not foraging grasshoppers, but inflicters
of humans, those who do not carry the seal of God on the forehead.
We see Yehovah, on that night of Passover, passing over the houses
that had placed the blood on the lentils.
For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians.
And when He sees the blood upon the lintel,
and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door,
and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses
to strike you. (Exo 12:23 AFV)
For Yehovah has control of Satan however he would inflict, as in Job
And the LORD said to Satan,
“Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” (Job 2:6 AFV)
Ezekiel sees his team of angels placing marks on people who fear
God, and getting rid of the rest. This is parallel to our verse, where
those having the mark are spared.
Fully destroy old men, young men and virgins,
and little children and women.
But do not come near any man on whom is the mark.
And begin at My sanctuary.”
And they began with the old men who were before the temple.
(Eze 9:6 AFV)
We have seen that the 144,000 were marked out of the tribes but that
is a specifically chosen group and number:
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,
till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
 Chapter 9 121
(Rev 7:3 KJV)
But we have seen a sign offered to those who keep his Day holy and
keep his statutes, which is not on their bodies, for they scribe His
Word in their hearts, keeping it in their minds, and controlling their
hands from wrongdoing, but the evil one forces his to have a physical
sign injected into the right hand or onto the forehead (ch. 13). Still,
the Lord knows his own, for his Holy Spirit resides in those who
keep his commandments, which Spirit is His seal on them:
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Eph 4:30 KJV)
And to them it was given that they should not kill them,
but that they should be tormented five months:
and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion,
when he striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death,
and shall not find it;
and shall desire to die,
and death shall flee from them. (Rev 9:5-6 KJV)
It was given: Even as with Job, the sway of the evil one is stayed,
and kept in control. The same is from Yeshua to Pilate:
You would have no authority against Me, not any,
if it were not given to you from above. (Joh 19:11)
He gives them five months, which has no obvious parallel in the Bi-
ble outside of the five months into her pregnancy that Elizabeth hid
herself. We have seen in ch. 5 how, from the Lamb (Aries) that was
slain, until He becomes their King (Leo) is Five months—the time
from repentance, being redeemed by the blood, to maturity in the
Kingdom, but that is the walk of faith, while this period of torment-
ing is but a season of hard-heartedness, where they would choose
death to torment, and at the same time, death instead of repentance,
as those in 4:15-17.
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them
that remain of this evil family,
which remain in all the places whither I have driven them,
122 Chapter 9
saith the Lord of hosts. (Jer 8:3)
And the likenesses of the locusts were like horses
having been prepared for war;
and on their heads as crowns, like gold;
and their faces like the faces of men.
And they had hairs like the hairs of women;
and their teeth were like those of lions. (Rev 9:7-8 )
This series of traits pertains to parts of the body focused on the head:
horse: head, face, hair, teeth, but these, neither or both, female and
male, appear to be evil spirits out of hell, which is from where they
were released. The crown denotes authority, and so does the mention
of the Lion. Overall, fierce. Here is some light shed through Joel,
Their appearance is like horses; and as horsemen, so they run.
They shall leap like the noise of chariots
on the tops of the mountains, like the noise of flames of fire
that devour the chaff, as a strong people
set in order for battle. (Joe 2:4-5)
And they had breastplates like iron breastplates;
and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with
many horses running to war.
And they have tails like scorpions,
and their stings were in their tails;
and their authority is to harm men five months.
And they have a king over them, the angel of the abyss.
In Hebrew his name was Abaddon,
and in Greek he has the name Apollyon. (Rev 9:9-11 )
Now we step back from the facial features to the of the body: breast-
plates, wings, tails, all pertaining to war preparedness. Even the
wings, play back the sound of horse-drawn chariots racing to battle.
And now we return to the authority given to them earlier, to harm for
five months. As expected the Prophets foresaw this:
The chariots run madly in the streets; they shall rush to and fro
in the plazas. Their appearance is like torches;
they dart about like the lightnings. He shall remember its nobles;
they shall stumble in their walking; they shall hurry to its wall,
 Chapter 9 123
and the covering shall be set up. (Nah 2:4-5)
Over these battle horses is a King, Abaddon, an evil angel of the
depths, whose names both mean “destroyer,” but there is an overall
Authority, and that is the hand of the Almighty, keeping the harm
meet to each individual toward nudging him to repent, or her to re-
turn. But no conclusion is given. Paul explains:
... in whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbe-
lieving, so that the brightness of the gospel of the glory of Christ who
is the image of God, should not dawn on them. (2Co 4:4)
...and you being dead in deviations and sins,
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,
according to the ruler of the authority of the air,
the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience, (Eph 2:1-2)
The first woe has departed;
behold, after these things come two woes. (Rev 9:12 )
This is a pause by the narrator, putting an end to that scene and pre-
paring us for the next, as in 11:14
And the sixth angel trumpeted.
And I heard one voice out of the four horns
of the golden altar before God,
saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet,
Release the four angels, those having been bound
at the great river Euphrates.
And the four angels were released,
those having been prepared for the hour and day
and month and year,
that they should kill the third part of men. (Rev 9:13-15 )
The carnage increases, for that just left would not allow any to be
killed, but this one takes out a third of men.
The Euphrates is the northern boundary of the land given to Abraham
and acquired by King David, so we know the location. Babylon was
located on this river, and Jeremiah was bid throw a scroll of damna-
tion into it over Babylon (Jer. 5:63,64), and the same sign shall be
by an angel over the spiritual Babylon (18:21). These armies are also
restrained by God from the throne room—even the length of time
124 Chapter 9
those four angels have been waiting.
And the number of the armies of the horsemen
was two hundred thousand thousand;
and I heard the number of them. (Rev 9:16 AFV)
So the four angels are using a force of 200,000,000 cavalry to do this.
And so I saw the horses in the vision,
and those sitting on them,
who had fiery breastplates, even like jacinth and brimstone.
And the heads of the horses were like heads of lions,
and fire and smoke and brimstone
shoot out of their mouths.
By these three, a third of men were killed:
by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone that
shoot out of their mouths.
For their power is in their mouths;
for their tails are like serpents, and have heads,
and with them they inflict wounds. (Rev 9:17-19 AFV)
This from Isaiah looks to hale from the same period:
whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses’
hooves shall appear as flint, and their wheels like a hurricane.
Their roaring shall be like a lion; they shall roar like young lions.
Yea, they roar and seize the prey and carry it away;
and no one shall deliver.
And in that day they shall roar against them
like the roaring of the sea;
when one looks to the land, and lo, darkness! Distress!
And light shall be darkened by its clouds. (Isa 5:28-30)
All of the colors here described are earthen colors which combined
give black, while the colors around that throne and that of the rain-
bow around it, are all light colors, combining to white. So we know
these are also from the netherworld. They have heads of lions, he
being the fearless king of the forest, who belch smoke and sulfur.
Notice the use of threes: by three means, a third of men killed, a fea-
ture of the Trumpet judgements. The power is in the mouths and the
tails are also of snakes that wound.
 Chapter 9 125
But the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues
still did not repent of the works of their hands,
that they might not worship demons,
and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood,
which do not have the power to see,
nor to hear, nor to walk.
And they did not repent of their murders,
nor of their sorceries,
nor of their fornications,
nor of their thievery. (Rev 9:20-21 AFV)
As Yeshua says:
For out of the heart come forth reasonings, evil things, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, blasphemies. (Mat 15:19)
And through Hebrews we are warned:
For if we are willfully sinning
after receiving the full knowledge of the truth,
there remains no more sacrifice concerning sins, (Heb 10:26)
One wonders where the myriads that evade tallying emerge from this
Tribulation considering, in general, that none would repent of “the
rest of the men.” Four types of sins are distinguished: Murder, Sor-
cery, Sexual, and Thievery—breaking the sixth, second, seventh, and
eighth of the Ten Words, and implicitly, all of the rest, which are also
rooted in idolatry. Neither in 16:9,11 is there any repentance,
but blaspheming God.
So this is one of the great wars of the Tribulation, and should be dur-
ing the first half of the seven years of Tribulation or Jacob’s Trouble
by it’s situation shy of center. But, in general, the book of Revelation
can not be arranged strictly chronologically, as Chp 6 gives a sweep-
ing view of history judgement on Yom Kippur, and the heart of the
book, which gives the goal of the story, is that at the end of Chp 11.
The following verse (10:7) is taken out of ch 10, where it does not fit
structurally nor logically, but answers where much needed after v21
above which is the tail of the sixth trumpet and needs this encourage-
ment that such rottenness is not the end of the story. For in all of the
stories of woe in this Book there follows a message of hope. Now
126 Chapter 10
not only does the structure of chp ten see that 10:7 doesn’t fit, but the
end of nine is tragically missing the encouragement needed after the
hopeless ending at v.21. We can be sure that the Lord was behind the
tight chiastic structure of this Book, so that those verses and chapters
that have been moved will show up, for there are not just a few, and
quite obvious as we will see. (3:3)
Now, the seventh Trump ahead will follow the completion of the
mystery of God . Now could that be, that Gentiles are invited into
fellowship with Jews in Yeshua? (Eph 3:3-9): yet more generally:
[Yeshua] said to them, “According as it is written,
it was necessary for the Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day.
And in His name, repentance and remission of sins should be
reached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luk 24:46-47 AFV),
For in Luke, Yeshua adjures that the preaching of repentance be
preached to all nations. This covers Paul’s mystery of the two becom-
ing one, for here it’s implied, by all being invited into his Kingdom.
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is
about to sound the trumpet,
the mystery of God shall also be completed,
according to the gospel that He declared to His servants
the prophets. (Rev 10:7 AFV)\
and said to them, So it is written, and so the Christ must suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day.
And repentance and remission of sins must be preached on His name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luk 24:46-47)
Chapter 10
The Little Scroll
Then I saw another strong angel coming down
out of heaven, clothed with a cloud,
and with a rainbow on his head; and his face was like the sun,
and his feet were like pillars of fire; (Rev 10:1 AFV)
This angel resembles the Son of Man, clothed with a cloud (12:14;
Dan 7:13); a rainbow on his head (Gen 9:14; Eze 1:28; 4:3); feet that
glow like burnished brass in a furnace (1:15); and a countenance as
the sun shining (1:16). All of the signs of this angel are Messianic,
there are too many to conclude other than that this is Yeshua.
And he had in his hand a little book that was open.
And he placed his right foot on the sea,
and his left foot on the earth,
And cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars.
And when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.
And when the seven thunders spoke with their voices, rea
I was about to write, But I heard a voice from heaven
say to me, “Seal what the seven thunders spoke,
and do not write them.” (Rev 10:2-4 AFV)
This vision is similar in its major elements to that of Ezekiel’s:
But you, son of man, hear what I am saying to you.
Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house.
Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
And I looked, and behold! A hand was extended to me;
and lo, a scroll of a book was in it. And He spread it before me;
and it was written on the front and on the back.
And written on it were lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
(Eze 2:8-10 AFV & 3:1)
A hand was extended: there are several accounts of a hand being ex-
tended in these prophets: Eze 8:3 to carry him, Jer 1:9 to put words in
his mouth, Dan 10:10 for strength, and Dan 10:16 to have him speak.
The foot in the sea and on land is to show authority in both realms,
for in the next chapter we will have two beasts each coming out of
128 Chapter 10
one of those milieu. But God, through his angel, has control over all.
He cries with loud voice as a lion, to show his kingly authority, to
which seven thunders reply, but John, writing, is stopped by the angel
and though one may wonder what was thundered, it is not given.
And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land
lifted his hand to Heaven,
and swore by Him living to the ages of the ages,
“who created the heaven” and the things in it,
“and the earth” and the things in it,
“and the sea and the things in it,”
that time shall no longer be; (Rev 10:5-6 )
And I heard the man clothed in linen,
who was on the waters of the river,
when he held up his right and his left hand to the heavens
and swore by Him who lives forever,
that it shall be for a time, times, and a half.
And when they have made an end of scattering
the power of the holy people,
all these things shall be finished. (Dan 12:7 )
That, through Daniel is a parallel prophecy attested by the raising of
the hands to “Him who lives forever.” There is no other address to-
ward God the Creator using that quoted phrase. So by Daniel we are
told of the 3,5 years or 42 months remaining of the Tribulation, the
limit of time given to the two beasts (13:5,12).
This is a strong oath in the name of the Creator, and so we know of a
certainty there will be no more delay. But what is awaited? We will
see it just as the 7th Trumpet is Sounded, in chp 11; now consider:
Who created ,,, is from Ex 20, the conclusion to the Sabbath Law:
For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth,
the sea, and all which is in them,
and He rested on the seventh day; on account of this
Jehovah blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it. (Exo 20:11 )
The quoting of this Prince of Laws, which guards the sanctity of the
Ring of Betrothal to Yeshua (Ex 31:13), is similar to that called out
by the first of seven angels in chp 14, which is warning us to return
 Chapter 10 129
to proper worship and to wear, but not soil, the Precious Ring.
but there comes an hour, and it now is,
when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,
for the Father also seeks such to worship Him; (Joh 4:23 LSV)
Now on the strength of this oath, and on the fact that 10:7 is a neces-
sary conclusion to 9:21, it has been moved there to where it serves.
Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and
said, “Go, take the little book that is open in the hand of the
angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.”
And I went to the angel, and said to him,
“Give me the little book.”
And he said to me, “Take it and eat it;
and it shall make your belly bitter,
but in your mouth it shall be sweet as honey.”
Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand,
and ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth;
but after I ate it, my belly was bitter. (Rev 10:8-10 AFV)
Here is from Ezekiel on eating the scroll.
And He said to me, “Son of man, cause your belly to eat,
and fill your belly with this scroll that I give you.”
Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was like honey
for sweetness. (Eze 3:3 AFV)
What is on the scroll but words on a two sided scroll, the 10 Words,
which scripture tells us to take in:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Col 3:16 AFV)
Your words were found, and I ate them;
and Your Word was to me the joy and gladness of my heart;
for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jer 15:16 AFV)
But why would the words be bitter in the belly, as in Rev and Eze?
Could it be that the words sound sweet, but the belly is the seat of
sadness and worry, and Ezekiel read warnings, and lamentations and
woe, which then, in the belly, would bring out emotions commensu-
130 Chapter 11
rate to the heaviness of the subject. But when we see that it was the
words of the prophesying he was to be assigned, below, we might
understand the bitterness.
And he said to me,
“You must again prophesy against many people,
and nations, and languages and kings.” (Rev 10:11 AFV)
Then Jehovah put out His hand and touched my mouth.
And Jehovah said to me, Behold, I have put My Words in your mouth.
Behold, I have today appointed you over the nations
and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to tear down, and to destroy,
and to throw down, to build, and to plant. (Jer 1:9-10)
And so, both, and we through that double witness, are bid go into all
the world, to tear down false doctrine, and to build in its place that
which will endure.
Chapter 11
The Two Witnesses
Then the angel gave me a measuring rod like a staff,
saying, “Arise and measure the temple of God,
and the altar, and those who worship in it.
But leave out the court that is within the temple area,
and do not measure it
because it has been given up to the Gentiles;
and they shall trample upon the holy city
for forty-two months. (Rev 11:1-2 AFV)
The Temple of God is holy and divided into the Holy Place and the
Most Holy Place, so there is no place for people to worship in here,
but out in the court of the Men, in the court of the Women, and, os-
tensibly, in the Court of the Gentiles.
for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples,
(Isa 56:7b)
It was from this court of the Gentiles, (Mar 11:17) that Yeshua called
out the same words right as he was cleaning out those desecrators.
The Altar was across the rail in front of the court of the men to the
south of a line going up into the temple proper. The court outside the
Temple was called the Court of the Gentiles, but with them trampling
the city, the area may not have been conducive to worship. But why
42 months? That is half of the 7 year ‘testing’ period, probably the
first half, in that the Anti-Christ will desecrate the Temple during the
second half, as forecast by Daniel and reinforced by Yeshua.
Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation,
which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place (the one who reads, let him understand),
Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains.
(Mat 24:15-16 AFV)
In Zechariah, Jerusalem is measured for habitation and expansion.
Then I said, “Where are you going?”
And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem,
132 Chapter 11
to see what is its breadth and what is its length.” (Zec 2:2 AFV)
And I will give power to My two witnesses,
and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred
and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. (Rev 11:3 AFV)
Yeshua did send his disciples out 2 by 2 and so also the seventy,
thereby teaching that two is the minimum for witnessing. I believe
these witnesses are prophesying, and warning people during the first
3.5 years (42 months or 1260 days) of that seven. They are wearing
sackcloth which is usually worn for fasting or mourning. Would they
not be mourning for the sad state the world has devolved into, they
having so many heckle and spit on them, in hardness of heart?
These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands
that stand before the God of the earth.
And if anyone attempts to harm them,
fire will go out of their mouths and devour their enemies.
For if anyone attempts to harm them,
he must be killed in this manner. (Rev 11:4-5 AFV)
The two olive trees:
And I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees
on the right side of the lampstand and on its left side?”
And I answered again and said to him,
“What are the two olive branches beside the two golden pipes,
emptying the golden oil out of themselves?”
And he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?”
And I said, “No, my lord.”
And he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the
LORD of the whole earth.” (Zec 4:11-14)
Standing before the Lord: Not that these are physically standing be-
fore the Lord in the heavenly Temple, but as in the following verse,
Levi is to stand before the Lord in the earthly Tabernacle ministering.
At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi
to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD,
to stand before the LORD to minister to Him,
and to bless in His name until this day. (Deu 10:8 AFV)
 Chapter 11 133
And also Elijah uses the phrase, “As Yehovah of Hosts Lives, before
whom I stand,” four times in his story:
And Elijah said, As Jehovah of Hosts lives, before whom I stand,
surely today I will be seen by him. (1Ki 18:15 )
Elihah (Yehovah is my Strength) was not a Levite, and yet stands in
spirit before the Lord in his service.
The two candlesticks: This was the second title given of these two
witnesses, and how appropriate, for they were the only shining lights
through that hard time.
So let your light shine before men,
so that they may see your good works,
and may glorify your Father in Heaven. (Mat 5:16 )
Another title given them is found in this verse, for oil is a symbol for
the Holy Spirit, of which these witnesses were daily and newly filled.
And he said, These are the two sons of fresh oil who stand by the
Lord of the whole earth. (Zec 4:14 )
If anyone desires to harm them: Yehovah has given them personal
protection, even as he had his prophets of old, but the fire coming out
of the mouth, is to answer to the horses of the sixth trumpet (9:17)
who used the same weapon for war.
In this verse the Two Witnesses are similar to Moses for the waters
of blood and the plagues, and to Elijah who had called for no rain for
three and a half years (Jam 5:17).
These have the authority to shut up the heaven,
that no rain may rain in the days of their prophecy.
And they have authority over the waters,
to turn them into blood,
and to strike the earth with every plague,
as often as they desire. (Rev 11:6 )
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the sojourners of Gilead, said to Ahab, As
Jehovah the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be
no dew nor rain these years, except according to my word. (1Ki 17:1)
To strike with every plague: this Psalm summarizes them well:
134 Chapter 11
He sent His servant Moses and Aaron whom He had chosen.
They put things of His signs among them;
yea, wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness and made it dark;
and they did not rebel against His Word.
He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish.
Their land swarmed with frogs in the rooms of their kings.
He spoke, and fly swarms came; gnats in all their borders.
He gave hail for their rain, flaming fire in their land.
He struck their vines also, and their fig trees;
and He broke the trees of their borders. He spoke, and locusts came;
and larvae without number;
and they ate up all the plants in the land;
yea, ate the fruit of their ground.
He also struck all the first-born in their land,
the firstfruit of all their vigor. (Psa 105:26-36)
These plagues and drought were not done frivolously, but were used
to startle people into hearing the warnings, to turn again to their
Father and His Son in repentance for renewal. Of course it was not
by his strength, but by the grace and power of Yehovah who instantly
responded to all of his gestures, with what was needed.
And when they complete their witness,
the beast coming up out of the abyss
will make war with them,
and will overcome them, and will kill them. (Rev 11:7 )
Daniel also sees the saints being overcome by evil forces, but that
is only on this earth, for what is death but elevation, and the grave
but a pause before graduation, and these he thought he vanquished,
became rulers in the Heavenly Kingdom.
I was looking, and that horn made war with the saints
and overcame them, until the Ancient of Days came.
And judgment was given to the saints of the Most High,
and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Dan 7:21-22 )
And so these two also are killed, but as we see, they probably turned
more heads upward by their resurrection, which followed their appar-
ent demise, than by their preaching.
 Chapter 11 135
And their bodies will be on the street of the great city,
which spiritually is called Sodom, and Egypt,
where our Lord was crucified.
And some from the peoples and tribes
and tongues and nations
will see their dead bodies three days and a half;
and they do not allow their dead bodies to be put in tombs.
And those living on the earth will rejoice over them,
and will make merry.
And they will send one another gifts,
because these two prophets tormented
those living on the earth.
And after three days and a half,
a spirit of life from God entered into them,
and they stood on their feet.
And great fear fell on the ones beholding them. (Rev 11:8-11 )
It’s amazing that those of hard-heart had such relief from their
plagued consciences that they would hold parties at the death of his
Servants, and even exchange gifts! The Psalmist sees similar cruelty:
They have given the bodies of Your servants
as food for the birds of the heavens;
the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
They have shed their blood like water all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one burying. (Psa 79:2-3)
Now why were they dead three and a half days? Is it that Elijah their
forebear, inflicted the land with 3.5 years of famine? or to inform us
that their work had extended 42 months? or that there are still 1620
days remaining of the Tribulation—assuming that these witnesses are
in the first half, and yet by their singularity, having no friends, one
might consider that perhaps they operated in the second half, where
the Book tells us that none were willing to repent no matter how
tough the infliction. Still, the Beast has come out of the pit, to do his
evil, and that wouldn’t wait until the end, for we saw in chp 10 that
he received 3,5 years. But what a shock, especially after all of the fri-
volity, that they should stand in front of TV cameras with the whole
136 Chapter 11
world as audience, who see these two being called aloft and lifted
bodily, alive, into the clouds:
And they heard a great voice out of Heaven
saying to them, Come up here.
And they went up into the heaven in the cloud.
And their enemies saw them. (Rev 11:12 )
“And those living on the earth,” is a general statement that means
“most everyone,” so we can postulate they had TV coverage all the
way up to the clouds. Come up here, is like that called to John in 4:1;
so there are those who assume this mid-period is the wafting aloft,
which then would put this event concluding in that midterm having
completed the first half of the tribulation. But the mid-term wafting
is hard to hold, knowing that the first half, having all of those Trum-
pet Judgements is certainly a hard spell, and Abraham with Yehovah
provided this principle:
Far be it from You to act in this way,
to put to death the righteous with the wicked.
Far be it from You. The Judge of all the earth,
shall He not do right? (Gen 18:25 )
And since Yehovah did not renege, He drug four out of Sodom, and
also saved eight people in the ark. The Lord’s calling-up is by Trum-
pet or shofar blasts, of which we hear none at this mid-time. And also
this doesn’t fit the pattern voiced by Yeshua, where, “two will be (in
bed, pounding grain, or in the field) and one shall be taken, and the
other will be left.” (Lk 17:34-36) So to trust Yeshua at his Word, I
believe the wafting up is as we have seen in 4:1 on Trumpet day, the
1st of Tishrie, modeled by the upward call to John.
And in that hour a great earthquake occurred,
and the tenth part of the city fell.
And there were killed in the earthquake
seven thousand names of men.
And the rest became terrified,
and gave glory to the God of Heaven. (Rev 11:13 )
An earthquake is everywhere seen accompanying judgement, no less
here, that 10% of the city crumbles, and 7000 of its “notable” men
 Chapter 11 137
die. But this, more than anything, caused many to glorify God. We
know from Scripture that 10% is the tithe, so this city gave its tithe to
the Author of their existence, that he received the Glory he did. There
are four major earthquakes in Revelation (6:12; 11:13; 11:19; 16:18),
all deal with judgement. And that earthquake, here and in the parallel
vision of vials in 16 is mentioned twice in each, and these are found
in the culminating conclusions of each of the Trumpets and Vials.
The second woe departed.
And, behold, the third woe is coming quickly. (Rev 11:14 )
The third woe comes with the 7th Trumpet, which has been promised
by several voices, each hastening it.
But at its sounding we will see rejoicing in heaven to the conclusion
of the chapter, so what is the Woe? Is it the Woman who is chased
by a dragon? For certainly that’s a woe for both the temper who is
eradicated from heaven, for his horde who is swept down by his tail,
and also for the people on earth, who the evil one will now molest in
urgency, knowing his days are short. Now if this isn’t enough Woe,
there are the two beasts that rise out of land and water, respectively,
with which we will contend.

The Seventh Trumpet

And the seventh angel trumpeted.
And there were great voices in Heaven, saying,
The kingdoms of the world became our Lord’s,
even of His Christ;
and He shall reign to the ages of the ages. (Rev 11:15 )
So this is what we’ve been waiting for, that all kingdoms become our
Father’s and of His Son. But isn’t this what we saw in Dan 7 when he
was ushered before the Ancient of days:
And dominion was given to Him, and glory, and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:14 )
And we saw his Bride just before that, all standing before the judge-
ment seat, having just been called by Yeshua from the clouds to
138 Chapter 11
earth, and they were wafted up to their position at judgement, for all
souls must be judged13. After that, they having been judged righteous
and moved aside to make room for his advent, witnessed him in the
same way as Joseph’s bride, she unknown to him, witnessed him
being given all authority save the throne itself, and so Yeshua, on a
grander scale, for the one foreshadows the greater.
We see the Psalms also lauding his eternal reign:
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. (Psa 45:6 )
Your kingdom is a kingdom to all eternities; and Your rule in all,
generation and generation. (Psa 145:13 )
And the twenty four elders sitting before God
on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God,
saying, We thank You, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is, and who was, and who is coming,
because You took Your great power and reigned. (Rev 11:16-17 )
We’ve seen that whenever the twenty-four elders worship in that
manner they also go through the liturgy first showed to us in 4:8-11,
and here they add a lengthy hymn of praise, beginning with the three
tense name of Yehovah, and thanking him for taking the reigns. I
believe he took over when Yeshua died on the cross and was raised,
for then he vanquished the devil, who erred putting him there with no
just reason, and the grave for keeping him in it for no just cause. So
He descended to Hades and seized the keys from the grim keeper.
Now because the Ancient of Days crowned the Son of Man to have
full authority over all creation, then he who ascended takes the throne
to the right of He who presented it to him.
Now in Yeshua’s High Priestly Prayer he says:
As You gave to Him authority over all flesh,
so that to all which You gave to Him,
He may give to them everlasting life. (Joh 17:2 )
I believe that Yeshua is talking about future endowments as if ac-
complished, for his faith, looking forward to the Passion, holds onto
the victory over death he will soon achieve through his suffering and

13 Acts 10:42; Rom 14:10; 2Co 5:10

 Chapter 11 139
death. And then having ascended to the father, he is seating in pa-
tience for the times set by the father, to act.
I will go; I will return to My place
until they confess their guilt and seek My face.
In their affliction they will seek Me diligently. (Hos 5:15 )
Come and let us return to Jehovah.
For He has torn, and He will heal us.
He has stricken, and He will bind us up.
After two days He will bring us to life.
In the third day He will raise us up,
and we shall live before Him. (Hos 6:1-2 )
That, as we’ve seen, concerns the two millennia from Yeshua’s death,
resurrection, and ascension. All in the year 0030 A.D. Which puts the
terminal point of that “two days” less than a decade from us. And so
we who are “in Him” wait eagerly for his Trumpet call, even as he is
waiting to come with the shout and trumpet blast to call his saints.
And the nations were full of wrath; and Your wrath came,
and the time of the judging of the dead,
and to give the reward to Your slaves, to the prophets,
and to the saints, and to the ones fearing Your name,
to the small and to the great,
and to destroy those destroying the earth. (Rev 11:18 )
That the nations are full of wrath, is evident now, and will become
more so, thus his wrath is coming in like measure, which we’ve seen
in the Trumpet Judgements, and will see stepped up in the Vial or
Bowl Judgements, at which it will be satiated. And we will see on
that Judgement day when the goats and sheep are being separated
before his earthly throne, that there will be now more confessions
sought or granted. Opposing forces will be summarily liquidated,
for the time of patience is spent, and nearly quenched are the days
remaining to turn to him.
And the time to reward all categories of those who fear the Lord, will
begin on 15 Tishrei, the 7th month, at the Feast of Tabernacles and
Marriage Supper of the Lamb, this feast goes on for a week.
And to destroy those who corrupt the earth, answers to Dan 8:25;
11:45
140 Chapter 11
But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his rulership,
to cut off and to destroy until the end. (Dan 7:26 )
Now in the context of the flow of that verse, these corrupters are not
so much talking about mining companies, but about moral corruption
as has been happening in the American School system, turning the
hearts of the students into sin, and pulling them far from any faith in
God. The judgement of some of these may be on Yom Kippur but the
majority will be judged at the Great White Chair judgement of Rev
20:11-15, the date on which the Tempter is finally dunked into the
lake of fire with his cronies.
And the temple of God in Heaven was opened,
and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple,
and lightnings, and voices, and thunders,
and an earthquake, and a great hail occurred. (Rev 11:19 )14
Here John sees the ark of the covenant unveiled. What’s in it that
would cause all of those five symbols of judgement? The two stone
Tablets of 10-Words. This, now is told by Paul to the Hebrews:
and to a sound of trumpet, and to a voice of words,
which those hearing begged that not a word be added to them;
for they could not bear the thing enjoined. (Heb 12:19-20a )
Such that the people did not want to hear any more for even the 10
Words were unbearable to them.
It was this verse that brought many in one day to a large outdoor
meeting in the Midwest to their knees, for they now realized that the
stone tablets were only a copy of those in the original ark in Heaven,
and that there was one law of those ten that they had forgotten, the
one that starts with “Remember, ...” The Adventists and Church of

14 Do the words of 11:18 imply the commencement of the new

millennium? This overlooks several important points: 1) The flow
of events in Revelation are not ordered strictly chronological, for the
book is made up of one large chiasmus where this heavenly scene at
the midpoint of the Tribulation is foreseeing future victory. The center
of the chiasmus is often the crux of the story, so here it praises God
for the outcome as if complete. 2) The ark of the covenant being seen
and the symbols of judgement following, implies that the judgement
just spoken of is at hand and all will work out to a just conclusion.
 Chapter 12 141
God and others were born on that day.
So at the mention of the ark, containing the law, all of those symbols
of Judgement are caused to sound, meaning that judgement is nigh,
for the court of law cannot sit without a table of laws. Yehovah says:
But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments. (Mat 19:17b
Chapter 12
The Woman and the Dragon
And a great sign was seen in the heavens, a woman having
been clothed with the sun,
and the moon was underneath her feet;
and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
and having a babe in womb.
She cries, being in labor,
and having been distressed to bear. (Rev 12:1-2 )
By this sign John is using the stellar signs to give us a hint of the
month in which the Child was born. For since he said the sun is
clothing the Woman’s body, that moves our thoughts to the sky. Virgo
is the only woman among the 12 signs on the mazeroth path, and her
month is the 6th from Abib. The position of Virgo in this verse is that
she is head-down and feet-up, setting in the west. The Sun has also
set, they are setting together since she is clothed by it. thus the moon
is above her feet to one looking westward, but close to the horizon,
thus this is the new moon of the 7th month. Now though she is dis-
tressed to bear, there is still a great battle to take place in the heavens,
so she won’t bear right away. And this being the first day of the Sev-
enth month is thus Trumpets, which does not pertain at all to a birth.
But the fifteenth is called “Emmanuel” and also Tabernacles.
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. (Joh 1:14 )
The Twelve Stars must be the son’s of Jacob, for it harkens back to
the dream of Joseph:
And he dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers.
And he said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream:
And, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars
142 Chapter 12
were bowing themselves to me. (Gen 37:9)
So this woman, for want of a proper name may be called Israel, for
When Israel was a child, then I loved him,
and I called My Son out of Egypt. (Hos 11:1)
Now, Israel was carried by wings of eagles to escape Egypt and to
bring them into the presence of their Lord for the Sinai Wedding
Covenant15. And so is this Israel also provided with the wings of the
Great Eagle to escape the dragon, but first let’s get introduced him:
And another sign was seen in the heavens.
And, behold, a great red dragon having
seven heads and ten horns!
And on his heads were seven diadems,
and his tail drew the third part of the stars of the heaven,
and he throws them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman being about to bear,
so that when she bears he might devour her child. (Rev 12:3-4)
We will learn about the seven heads in chp 17, but will also see them
a few times before that, in the next chapter a beast with that same
head and horn count will be seen. The ‘ten horns’ originates in Daniel
7. but may well be related to the ten toes of 2:42, of which giant
no such mention is made of his head. The Seven heads here are all
crowned, but on the beast in chp 13 the crowns are on the ten horns,
and in chp 17 we see that both the seven and the ten are kings.
And after this I was looking in the night visions.
And, behold, the fourth beast was frightening
and terrifying, and very strong!
And to it were great iron teeth. It devoured, and crushed, and
stamped what was left with its feet.
And it was different from all the beasts before it;
and it had ten horns. (Dan 7:7 )
His tail drew: We have seen that the stars represent angels or mes-
sengers from heaven. But here these angels have been enticed by the
Tempter, pictured as being swept to earth by the dragon, to serve as
evil spirits and demons here on earth, and so afflict those who aren’t

15 Jer 31:32 “Although I was a husband to them,” referring to the Covenant

 Chapter 12 143
protected by the blood of the Lamb. Note that satan is not a gentle
ruler even of his horde, for he “throws” them to earth.
And then the dragon turns his attention to the Woman to devour the
child when born. (Wasn’t that like Herod having just heard from that
the Wise men had deceived him, which cause weeping in Ramah?)
So says Jehovah, A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing,
bitter weeping: Rachel weeping for her sons;
she refuses to be comforted for her sons for they are not. (Jer 31:15)
But of course God’s son was not present among the massacred, even
as Joash was spared from Athaliah, another picturing satan.
But Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram,
the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah
and stole him from among the king’s sons
who were put to death,
him and his nurse, in the sleeping room.
And they hid him from the face of Athaliah,
and he was not killed. (2Ki 11:2)
Throughout history has the evil one done what he could to extinguish
the line of David to prove God at fault,
For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the
throne of the house of Israel, (Jer 33:17 AFV)
And as he is working to blot his name from our history, he is also at-
temping to annul the kingship in Great Britain.
And she bore a son, a male, who is going to shepherd
all the nations with an iron staff.
And her child was caught away to God,
and to His throne. (Rev 12:5 )
And she bore: we are given the symbols of our Lord, the Good Shep-
herd (Ps 23) who will rule with iron (Ps 2).
Here history is compressed into one verse, for the child is born and
immediately whisked to the throne of God. And we see throughout
the NT that he is enthroned there at the right hand of the Father.
But He, offering but one sacrifice for sins,
“sat down” in perpetuity “at the right hand” of God, (Heb 10:12 )
from whence:
144 Chapter 12
And Jesus said, I AM! And you will see the Son of Man
sitting off the right hand of power,
and coming with the clouds of the heaven.
Psa. 110:1; Dan. 7:13 (Mar 14:62 )
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus;
Who, although He existed in the form of God,
did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
But emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men,
and took the form of a servant;
And being found in the manner of man,
He humbled Himself,
and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.
Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him
and bestowed upon Him a name
which is above every name;
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father. (Php 2:5-11 AFV)
This seven step ladder downward from God’s presence to the grave,
followed by seven upward to the right hand of God, summarizes
what’s seen in one verse of 11:12. So how does the woman escape?
And the woman fled into the wilderness,
where she had a place,
it having been prepared from God,
that there they might nourish her
a thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Rev 12:6 )
The woman, recall, was first seen in the sky, represented by Virgo the
Virgin, and had the 12 stars for a crown for the 12 tribes of Jacob or
Israel. So we named this woman Israel, the mother of those of Faith.
It’s hard to name this woman as a particular woman for the seed
comes through all of the patriarchs, and even from Eve in Gen 3, thus
Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Ruth, and numerous between and after until
Mary who actually bore the child. It’s more fitting in context to call
her Israel, representing the whole body comprised of those who have
 Chapter 12 145
faith in God, and believe in His Son.
That she flees does not yet tell us by what means, but that’s later,
for now it’s only giving the information of how long she will be in
seclusion, for this 1260 days, which is answered in v.14 by “time and
times and half a time,” which is three and one half years. Note the
forms in which this period of time is given::
City Two Woman Woman Beast’s
Duration
Trampled Witnesses Escape Wings Authority
1260 days 11:3 12:6
42 months 11:2 13:5
times time 1/2t 12:14
So the table shows us where this period of three and a half years is
spoken of. There is also the 3-1/2 days that the corpses of the two
witnesses lay in the street, unburied, but the above are all of 3,5
years—the midpoint of the seven years of increasing tribulation.
And war occurred in Heaven,
Michael and his angels making war against the dragon.
And the dragon and his angels made war,
but they did not have strength,
nor yet was place found for them in Heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out,
the old serpent being called devil, and, Satan;
he deceiving the whole habitable world
was cast out onto the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev 12:7-9 )
This is the war over the man-child, by whom he who had very high
plans to be equal to God must fail:
For you have said In your heart, I will go up to the heavens;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
and I will sit in the mount of meeting, in the sides of the north.
I will rise over the heights of the clouds;
I will be compared to the Most High. (Isa 14:13-14 )
Michael is the great arch-angel angel who stands up for his people :
“And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who
146 Chapter 12
stands for the children of your people.
And there shall be a time of trouble,
such as never was since there was a nation even until that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered—
every one who shall be found written in the book. (Dan 12:1 AFV)
We see that Michael won this round with ha’satan the Tempter and
Deceiver, such that they no longer fit in heaven but are cast out--to
where? To the earth to take out their fury here among us. He was cast
out of the dimension of heaven into that in which we abide, but still
as a lying, deceiving spirit of great cunning. He will be in the Anti-
Christ even as he was in Hitler, and in other great men of ill repute,
that through them he will deceive and sway great multitudes. This is
as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:
Even the one whose coming is according to
the inner working of Satan,
with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness
in those who are perishing
because they did not receive the love of the truth,
so that they might be saved.
And for this cause, God will send upon them a powerful deception
that will cause them to believe the lie,
So that all may be judged who did not believe the truth,
but who took pleasure in unrighteousness. (2Th 2:9-12 AFV)
It is good for us to know that satan is not a proper name, but comes
from the Hebrew ha’satan which means “the deceiver,” which is an
epithet, not even a name to honor with capitalization. Here he is pic-
tured as the dragon and serpent, to remind us of that which success-
fully tempted Eve in the Garden, and so the character of that which
wrested control of this world, until Yeshua purchased it back with his
blood, having deceived the deceiver into putting Him to death so that
He, with his saints might take over the rule of this Universe.
Now his sweeping a third of the stars to earth with his tail in v.4, is
now clear that though he deceived that horde, it was Michael and his
force who cast them out. Now this adds light to what Yeshua says:
and the stars of the heaven will be falling,
 Chapter 12 147
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. (Mar 13:25 )
In that Yeshua is talking of the powers of heaven shaken, could that
not be ha’satan and his horde of deceived angels, they being the stars
which fall, as in our text. This is easier to understand than, that physi-
cal stars would fall to earth for our sun is an averaged size star, we
can’t get any closer to her without frying, so how could something
like that come to earth. But we may have two valid “buts:” a) These
may be meteorites falling in mass. b) Because the months in Revela-
tion are thirty days, as in the days of the flood, the earth will go into
the upheaval told of in 6:14 with mountains and islands shifting, such
that the tilt of the earth may change quite rapidly, and the stars in the
sky would appear to race down, or up, depending on whose percep-
tion, even as lights fly by us when viewed from the window of a
speeding vehicle.
And I heard a great voice in heaven say,
“Now has come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of His Christ
because the accuser of our brethren has been cast down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb,
and through the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto death. (Rev 12:10-11 AFV)
We don’t know who uttered the great voice, but it, coming from
heaven, must be under the authority of the Ancient of Days; He’s
making the great Announcement of the casting down of de’evil one.
Note how he does not call that pest a name, but by his ignoble title,
who daily accuses the brethren as he did Job. But they overcame him
by two mighty weapons: The blood of the Lamb, and The Word of
their Testimony. Now Paul to the Romans teaches the same, that by
witnessing through the mouth he gave us, is salvation. Storing the
confession of Yeshua in the heart does not obey his words of “Go,
and make disciples” for
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,
148 Chapter 12
and one confesses with the mouth, and so is saved. (Rom 10:10 TS2009)
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abides in him, and he in God. (1Jn 4:15 )
Note how “to confess” is “to witness,” so, the word through John
supports that in Paul, where to confess Jesus is the Son of God and
all entailed, is indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit. Which then by Paul:
And you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you;
and if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ—
this one is not His; (Rom 8:9 LSV)
For one can know that the Spirit is in her, or that the power of God’s
breath is in him, in that he freely confesses Yeshua to others, com-
pelled by that Spirit within him/her.
And they loved not their lives: for Yeshua says:
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father, and moth-
er, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and yet even his
own life, he is not able to be My disciple; (Luk 14:26 LSV)
And how can we be His if not His Disciples. Paul makes the same
claim for himself, that testifying the Gospel is paramount:
But I make account of nothing,
nor do I hold my life precious to myself,
so that I might finish my course with joy,
and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
fully to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Act 20:24)
because of this be glad, you heavens,
and those who dwell in them;
woe to those inhabiting the earth and the sea,
because the Devil went down to you,
having great wrath, having known that he has [a] short time.”
(Rev 12:12 LSV)
The heavens might well rejoice for they are rid of the pest who
brought such a blight to the earth which had been such a perfect
creation, but also for his pestering with charges against all of God’s
children down there. We have this from Yesua:
and He said to them, “I was beholding Satan having fallen
 Chapter 12 149
as lightning from Heaven; (Luk 10:18 LSV)
But for each of those statements, we can not be certain of the time
frame. Did Jesus just see it when the 70 evangelists were sent out?
Or was he seeing it in the Future? In Rev 12 also there is war in
heaven over the man-child, but this casting down is later, and when
that serpent chases the woman, but she is saved from him: that is at
the middle of the tribulation, in which she is given asylum until the
remainder of that 7 year dark period be completed. This passage from
Isaiah should be of the same event, where Jehovah will turn up the
heat during that last period of the Tribulation:
Come, My people, go in your rooms and shut your doors behind you.
Hide for a little moment, until the fury passes.
For, behold, Jehovah comes out of His place
to visit his iniquity on those dwelling on the earth.
The earth shall also reveal her blood,
and shall no more cover over her slain ones. (Isa 26:20-21 )
And when the dragon saw
that he was cast out onto the earth,
he pursued the woman who bore the male. (Rev 12:13 )
Again, the woman is Israel, those of Faith in Yesuah. Now it sounds
like the dragon is delirious, as if he didn’t know what had hit him,
but is soon on the attack.
And two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman,
that she might fly into the wilderness, to her place,
where she is nourished there
a time, and times, and half a time,
away from the serpent’s face. (Rev 12:14 )
Will Israel, for she is many, be airlifted? or will the Father just lift
them and place them in a protected spot having been prepared, where
no satellites may spot this settlement? And will he provide for their
sustenance perhaps through their own farming and gardening in the
rich soil and ample water supply He will provide?
These questions cause the wrath of God, for the lack of faith and trust
in that nested in them is doubt. But, let us take our clues from the
symbols: Israel here is given eagles wings, how did He transport that
150 Chapter 12
myriad (over two million people) to Sinai and beyond?
You have seen what I did to Egypt;
and I bore you on wings of eagles and brought you to Me. (Exo 19:4)
Now, having connected the two Israels, those then who came out of
Egypt and we now who have faith in Yeshua. Consider that the Israel
of old, from which we can perceive how God treats his people:
And they spoke against God, saying,
Shall God be able to set a table in the wilderness? (Psa 78:19)
He split the rocks in the wilderness and made them drink, as from
great floods. And He brought streams out of the rock, and caused
waters to go down like rivers. (Psa 78:15-16)
Can He also give bread?
Will He provide flesh for His people? (Psa 78:20)
Here we see again the anger of the Lord over their lack of Trust:
So Jehovah heard and He passed over, and a fire was kindled against
Jacob, and also anger went up against Israel, because they did not
believe in God and trusted not in His salvation. (Psa 78:21-22)
But in His mercy :
Yea, He rained flesh on them like dust,
and winged birds as the sand of the seas. (Ps 78:27)
Now, that the Lord, in his mercy supplied them against their griping,
how much more will Yeshua provide for His who trust him!
And the serpent threw water out of his mouth
like a river after the woman,
that he might cause her to be carried off by the river.
And the earth helped the woman,
and the earth opened its mouth
and swallowed the river which the dragon
threw out of his mouth. (Rev 12:15-16 )
Note how the earth can be used to save, above, and to punish, below,
the difference is in respect to their faith or lack of it.
and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them,
and their houses, and all the men who were for Korah,
and all their possessions. (Num 16:32)
 Chapter 12 151
Consider the river controlled by the dragon, and the sea by Yehovah:
by faith Noah prepared an ark for the salvation of his house;
through which he condemned the world
and became heir of the righteousness according to faith. (Heb 11:7b)
We see in the Psalms, that floods are likened to hordes of people,
The cords of death hemmed me in;
yea, the floods of ungodly men overwhelmed me; (Psa 18:4 )
You still the roaring of the sea, the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the peoples. (Psa 65:7 )
The floods have lifted up; O Jehovah,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods have lifted their roaring waves.
Jehovah on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
than the mighty waves of the sea. (Psa 93:3-4 )
That these are multitudes is seen in Rev. 17:15, that waters are peo-
ples, crowds, nations, and tongues. Now this passage need not refer
to crowds of people, but could be just for illustration of how Yeshua
will even use nature to assist his loved ones, and though that cannot
be discounted, this may also refer to the hordes of this world that the
devil might use, he having cunning deceit to try to turn his people
aside, but a single word from the mouth of He having the sword in
his mouth, turns the mob into carrion bird food (Rev 19).
And the dragon was enraged over the woman,
and went away to make war with the rest of her seed,
those keeping the commandments of God, and having the testi-
mony of Jesus Christ. (Rev 12:17 )
Be sensible, watch, because your adversary the Devil walks about
as a roaring lion seeking someone he may devour;
whom firmly resist in the faith (1Pe 5:8, 9a)
We saw the dragon’s great anger when he was cast down to earth in
v.12, and get the same warning by Peter, but also his counsel to resist
in faith, we will see that faith is the key to pleasing God, without
which we are on His dark side.
Recall that the Woman refers to she who bore the child, which could
be the whole nation of Israel, and this may be the children of Jacob
152 Chapter 13
as opposed to all of those who are in Israel by faith—as held by soe.
For, one might ask: “if it were the ‘by faith’ group, who would be re-
maining of those keeping God’s commandments and bearing witness
to Yeshua, with whom ha’satan would make war? But this starts with
the flaw of confusing the nation of Israel for the Israel of faith, which
later is in keeping with the context, for as is written:
There cannot be Jew nor Greek, there is no slave nor freeman,
there is no male and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
This oneness with all, defeats the argument that this is only the nation
of Israel, which has been named by people, but the Israel of Faith by
the Most High. Furthermore, there is an easy explanation for how
the Serpent could turn his attention on those that carry the same faith
as those wafted off to as secure place; that is that even as earlier in
this chapter the whole life from birth to being raised up to the Father
is completed in one verse. So in this passage, there is plenty of time
for others in the Tribulation after the midpoint to turn to the Lord
in faith, trusting him as they follow and teach Him to others. Some
of these will be martyrs—having been wafted up to join the bride
of Christ before Yom Kipore (Rev. 20:4), others will survive until
that day of judgement and be judged along with the sheep and goats,
but those of faith and works will certainly be among the sheep. In
the meantime, Satan, through his earthly agents, will be seeking out
whom he can to “devour.”
We have also seen how important it is to be a witness while keeping
His commandments, for those two traits go together as they are signs
that a person has the Spirit, that her witness will not be silent, and his
speech carry the salt of the Word.
Chapter 13
The Beast from the Sea
and I saw a beast come up out of the sea,
with ten horns and seven heads.
On its horns were ten royal crowns
and on its heads blasphemous names. (Rev 13:1 CJB)
Recall 10:2,5,8, for He who resembles our Lord, was standing on
the sea and on the earth, in that order, for in that order do we see the
beasts emerging here, to signify that Yeshua has authority over these
two realms of sea and earth and whatever is served to them.
Now compare
Another sign was seen in heaven:
there was a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven royal crowns. (Rev 12:3 CJB)
Note the ten horns and seven heads are switched around from one
to the other, and our text has crowns on the ten horns, while that in
chp 12 has the crowns on the seven heads. So both refer to kings, the
seven and the ten; the ten again in Dan 7:24; and the seven in 17:9.
“The king will do as he pleases.
He will exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god,
and he will utter monstrous blasphemies
against the God of gods. (Dan 11:36a CJB)
And the beast that I saw was like a leopard,
and his feet like the feet of a bear,
and his mouth like the mouth of a lion;
and the dragon gave him his power,
and his throne and great authority. (Rev 13:2 AFV)
and four huge animals came up out of the sea,
each different from the others. (Dan 7:3 CJB)
The beasts of Daniel 7, one which looked like a leopard and another
like a bear, are among the four beasts coming out of the sea, which
appear as a composite of this beast in our text. This one has parts that
remind of several of those, for they are all aspects of the evil one.
The Lion’s mouth is as by Peter, in:
154 Chapter 13
Be sober! Be vigilant! For your adversary the devil is prowl-
ing about as a roaring lion,
seeking anyone he may devour. (1Pe 5:8 AFV)
And here in Proverbs three of the qualities shown in our text:
Like a roaring lion and a ranging bear,
so is a wicked ruler over the helpless people. (Pro 28:15 AFV)
Bear in mind, as nudged above, that these beasts are symbols of
ha’satan’s evil deception:
Even the one whose coming is according to
the inner working of Satan,
with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness
in those who are perishing
because they did not receive the love of the truth,
so that they might be saved. (2Th 2:9-10 AFV)
This beast of 13:3, one of whose heads had been mortally wounded
was healed, also answers to 13:12.
And they worshiped the dragon,
who gave his authority to the beast.
And they worshiped the beast, saying,
“Who is like the beast?
Who has the power to make war against him?” (Rev 13:4 AFV)
Of course this beast is a lie, deceiving those who bow to it:
And for this cause, God will send upon them a powerful deception
that will cause them to believe the lie,
So that all may be judged who did not believe the truth,
but who took pleasure in unrighteousness. (2Th 2:11-12 AFV)
This dragon of assumed authority is He whom was cursed by God in
Isaiah as the one whose pride had put himself in the Father’s place,
ruling the angels of God, and sitting on His throne in Zion (Ps 48:2).
For you have said In your heart, I will go up to the heavens;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
and I will sit in the mount of meeting,
in the sides of the north. (Isa 14:13 )
 Chapter 13 155
Who gave his authority, is a parody on the Father giving all authority
to the Son. (Dan 7:14)
Who is Like: Seven times this phrase : “Who is Like YOU,” referring
to Yehovah is voiced in the Scriptures, and twice He says “Who is
Like Me?” so this beast is the same who would venture to assume the
throne of the Almighty, who alone is worthy of such praise:
Who is like You among the gods, O Jehovah?
Who is like You, glorified in holiness,
fearful in praises, O Worker of wonders? (Exo 15:11 )
And we see that what they praise this Beast for is his ability to make
war. But Yeshua’s Bride and Yehovah’s children look forward to a
peaceful world, and hope to put all war and strife behind them.
And a mouth speaking great things
and blasphemies was given to it.
And authority to act forty two months was given to it.
And it opened its mouth in blasphemy toward God,
to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle,
and those tabernacling in Heaven. (Rev 13:5-6 )
We hear a mouth speaking great things, in Daniel also, which is but
arrogance.
And behold! In this horn were eyes like the eyes of the man,
and a mouth speaking great things. (Dan 7:8b )
Who gave this beast the authority to act at all, and to utter such blas-
phemy? It must be Iehovah himself, for blasphemy cannot hurt him
but boomerangs, and He would test them according to his Word:
You shall not listen to the words of that prophet,
or that dreamer of dreams.
For Jehovah your God is testing you,
to know if you love Jehovah your God
with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deu 13:3 )
And so this is the purpose of the boastful words: that they be tested
against the laws of Yehovah. For those who spurn his Law will be
pulled into belief in his deceitful message.
Forty-Two Months; We’ve seen how the Woman is kept for that
amount of time, though alternatively expressed as 1260 days or
156 Chapter 13
“times, time and half a time.” Now it takes thought to determine
which half of the seven years is being referred to. For instance, be-
cause the Beast or the Anti-Christ first emerges when he puts the two
witnesses to death, he then will take over the Temple. So the measur-
ing of the Temple and those worshipping, fit better at the beginning
of the seven years. But the scene of the woman is at the midpoint,
she being able to fare alright in the first half of the 7 years, since all
of the traumas in that period are rendered in thirds and not fully, but
she will need asylum in the second half of the seven. The witnesses,
who were serving 42 months would probably also have done that in
the first half, because the Beast or Anti-Christ wouldn’t suffer them
to do that when he had taken over at the half. For again, the evil that
animates that beast coming out of the pit kills them.
And it was given to it
“to war with the saints, and to overcome them.”
And authority was given to it
over every tribe and tongue and nation. (Rev 13:7 )
This evil one, as we’ve seen with the two witnesses, will overcome
even the saints. Where is their protection? Even though the twain
were well protected before their time was up! I believe the raising up
of the Two Witnesses from death, by a voice above, is an example of
how many witnesses will be called up, for in 20:4 they are raised up
immediately to be cohen (teachers and judges) with the Bride. But
even more-so, the many whose hearts are turned by their deaths, and
by the death of His martyrs, who are precious in His sight. (Ps 72:14)
I was looking, and that horn made war with the saints
and overcame them, (Dan 7:21 )
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power.
And he shall destroy wondrously, and he shall prosper, and work,
and destroy the mighty, and the holy people. (Dan 8:24 )
But we can’t leave this on a negative note, for:
... until the Ancient of Days came.
And judgment was given to the saints of the Most High,
and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Dan 7:22)
 Chapter 13 157
And all those dwelling in the earth will worship it,
those of whom the names had not been written in the Book of Life
of the Lamb having been slain
from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8 )
Apparently more will worship the beast than those not, for he begins
by saying “all.” But from Exodus, below, we could surmise that per-
haps all are from the beginning written in the Lambs Book of Life,
but it is sin which blots names from the book.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against Me,
I will blot him from My book. (Exo 32:33 )
but we are offered a way to victory by the redemption in the blood of
Yeshua. There is a way to reinstate your name in the Book of Life,
knowing that not with corruptible things, silver or gold,
were you redeemed from your worthless way of life
handed down from your fathers,
but with precious blood of Christ,
as a lamb without blemish and without spot, (1Pe 1:18-19 )
And there is no salvation in any other,
for there is no other name under Heaven
that has been given among men,
in which it is required of us to be saved.” (Act 4:12 LSV)
Slain from the foundation of the world: Because heaven is in a
timeless dimension, where God sees the end from the beginning (Is
46:10). Seen by Him also was the sin of the world and the need for
blood to cover it, and the giving of that blood first in the eternal, and
then in this sphere of time.
according as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
for our being holy and unblemished before Him, in love, (Eph 1:4 LSV)
Certainly he chose us, but we also must chose Him, as says Yeshua:
for many are called, and few chosen.” (Mat 22:14 LSV)
For is it not equally, “many are called, but few so choose?” But, lest
one worry about his calling :
Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me,
158 Chapter 13
and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, (Joh 6:37 LEB)
So, approach Him in faith and in contrition, following his ways and
commandments, which are the conditions of the Kingdom, and then
freely share the key to it.
If anyone has an ear, let him hear! (Rev 13:9 LEB)
Here is our reminder, as to each of the seven churches, saying that all
written here is for us having the ability to read or hear.
If anyone gathers captivity, into captivity he goes.
If anyone will kill by a sword, by a sword he must be killed.
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. (Rev 13:10)
This is as Jesus’ words:
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place;
for all who take up the sword shall die by the sword. (Mat 26:52 AFV)
Which of course agrees with what he had penned in Genesis:
Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man—
for He made man in the image of God. (Gen 9:6 AFV)
This shows how meet the retribution is, for as one does so to him.
Woe to the destroyer, and you who have not been destroyed;
and to the treacherous one,
for they have not dealt treacherously with you.
When you stop destroying, you shall be destroyed.
When you stop dealing treacherously,
they shall deal treacherously with you. (Isa 33:1 AFV)
This principle is also seen in this Revelation;
For they have poured out the blood of saints and of prophets,
and You have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.”
(Rev 16:6 AFV)
 The Beast Out of the Water
And I saw another beast rising out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a lamb,
but spoke like a dragon; (Rev 13:11 AFV)
This half of chp 13 is quite parallel to the account of the first beast,
each from its domain, water and land, respectively, on which, the
great Angel, signified by our Lord’s signs, as Jesus, was standing on
both domains to show that whatever these do are under his control
and limitations. Now, we recognize in this first verse that this must
be the Anti-Christ, called in this book: “The False Prophet,” by him
carrying the look of a lamb but the voice of a dragon (13 times in this
Book, symbolic of the devil) comes from his mouth.
And he took hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is the Devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years. (Rev 20:2 AFV)
And how many kiss the image of Jesus on a cross, or revere his
likeness on his wall or tucked in the pages of her bible? Has anyone
taken a picture of Jesus, or ever dared to paint his image, having the
Second Word in his memory and the Lord in his heart?
You shall not make for yourselves any graven image,
or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above,
or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the waters under the earth. (Exo 20:4 AFV)
Like a lamb: Jesus warns of this as do his followers:
But beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
for within they are ravening wolves. (Mat 7:15 AFV)
Because these are the sort who are not serving
our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies,
and are deceiving the hearts of the innocent
by smooth talking and flattery. (Rom 16:18 AFV)
such that he is permitted to do the unthinkable:
The one who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God,
or that is an object of worship;
so that he comes into the temple of God and sits down as God,
160 Chapter 13
proclaiming that he himself is God. (2Th 2:4 AFV)

And he exercises all the authority

of the first beast before him;
and he causes the earth and those who dwell therein
to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed. (Rev 13:12 AFV)
This goes well with the verse from 2Th 2 above it. He apparently has
great powers of deceitful oration to pull the hearts of people away
from the truth. Again a parody of Yeshua at the right hand of God,
having been given all authority as we see by Daniel and Yeshua here:
And dominion and glory was given to Him, and a kingdom,
that all people, nations and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:14 AFV)
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. (Mat 28:18 AFV)
deadly wound: Even this plays on the parody, by being almost dead
but resurrected, though only a play on the true death of our Savior
who was raised on the third day.
And he performs great wonders, so that he
even causes fire to come down to the earth from heaven
in the sight of men. (Rev 13:13 AFV)
These signs were permitted him by God, as we’ve seen in Deut 13:3;
For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets,
and they shall give signs and wonders, i
n order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Mar 13:22 AFV)
Even the one whose coming is according to the inner working
of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, (2Th 2:9 AFV)
But you, watch out for them!
Behold, I have foretold all these things to you. (Mar 13:23 AFV)
Yeshua is pointing at each of us, to “watch out” for having heard
what he tells us before it befalls, that we are to be on guard.
Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time;
and have declared it? So you are My witnesses.
 Chapter 13 161
Is there a God besides Me? Yea, there is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ “ (Isa 44:8 AFV)
And from Yeshua:
And now I have told you before it happens,
so that when it comes to pass, you may believe. (Joh 14:29 AFV)
And he deceives those who dwell on the earth
by means of the wonders that were given to him to perform
in the sight of the beast,
saying to those who dwell on the earth
that they should make an image for the beast,
which had the wound by the sword, yet was alive. (Rev 13:14 AFV)
We were also warned of this in 2Th 2:9-11, and in the Torah:
“If a prophet rises among you, or a dreamer of dreams,
and gives you a sign or a wonder,
And the sign or the wonder which he foretold to you comes to pass,
saying, ‘Let us go after other gods, which you have not known,
and let us serve them,’
You shall not hearken to the words of that prophet
or that dreamer of dreams,
for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether
you love the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul. (Deu 13:1-3 AFV)
Job puts that in perspective for us:
With Him is strength and sound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are His. (Job 12:16 AFV)
But failing the test above :
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside,
so that he cannot deliver his soul. (Isa 44:20a AFV)
For if one has not been storing up truth in his inner being, she is bait
for deception, and cannot know how to deliver his own soul. This,
again, is similar to the case of the common picture of Yeshua, which
of course is fake, or worse, it pictures the first anti-Christ, Antiochus
IV Epiphanes, who had his mug minted on a coin that circulated
widely and is still found today complete with long hair.
Saying to those: The deception is such that followers of the beast
162 Chapter 13
will, as some, kiss a crucifix made in the image of an imposter.
And he was given power to give life
to the image of the beast,
so that the image of the beast also could speak;
and he causes everyone who will not worship
the image of the beast to be killed. (Rev 13:15 AFV)
Not losing sight of the fact that the ‘deceived and the deceiver are
his,’ we know Who gave him the power to make that picture speak,
for the beast then takes it into his hands to exterminate the one who
does not bow down to the image.
Every man is brutish in knowledge,
every refiner is put to shame by idols.
For his casted image is a lie, and no breath is in them. (Jer 51:17)
Now of our Redeemer:
Who is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation; (Col 1:15 AFV)
So which image is worthy of worship? The refusal of which brings
the more permanent death? Now, by Yeshua:
And do not be afraid of those killing the body,
and are not able to kill the soul,
but rather fear Him who is able to destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna. (Mat 10:28 LSV)
And the small and the great, and the rich and the poor,
and the freemen and the slaves,
it causes that they give to them all
a mark on their right hand, or on their foreheads, (Rev 13:16 )
We will see this again in chp 14, where the mark of each opposing
Power, the Highest and the fake, determines the fate of the bearer.
Word is out, and videos abound, that this technology is being proved,
with a syringe injected micro-cell packed with internet connectivity
to her bank account, gps, and health indicators. For the beast’s mark
is temporal but the Lord’s is spiritual. and while the Lord has said:
And it shall be for a sign to you on your hand,
and a memorial between your eyes,
so that a Law of Jehovah may be in your mouth.
 Chapter 13 163
For with a strong hand Jehovah brought you out from Egypt.(Exo 13:9 )
These are not the marks or signs by which the Lord knows his people
but the devil has borrowed these for his deceitful signs.
even that not any could buy or sell,
except the one having the mark, or the name of the beast,
or the number of its name. (Rev 13:17 )
This is clear enough, the chip contains the debit card of a person,
which goes to a bank which debits or credits just as the card func-
tions today. Not having the chip, is to be out of luck. His children,
however, do not survive on luck, but on their Redeemer who has paid
dearly for the only invoice of importance.
he has now reconciled in the Son’s physical body through his death;
in order to present you holy and without defect
or reproach before himself— (Col 1:22 CJB)
Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help Me;
who is He who will condemn Me?
Behold, like a garment they shall wear out;
the moth shall eat them. (Isa 50:9 )
It is said again by Paul, and in both cases a righteous walk is by the
Spirit, for those in Christ Jesus are those who follow the kingdom
rules and commandments. (1Jn 3:24)
There is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to flesh, but according to Spirit. (Rom 8:1 )
Here is wisdom: Let the one having reason
count the number of the beast,
for it is the number of a man and its number
is six hundred and sixty six. (Rev 13:18 )
Here we have a simple logical expression, the number of the beast =
the number of man = 666. Consider Abraham, who bore 6 more sons
by his new wife who replaced Sarah, above his son Isaac. But Yeho-
vah would not have Isaac’s inheritance divided among these six, so
they were supplied and sent off. You could say the 6 were Abraham’s
attempt to get many offspring, but the Lord didn’t need man’s effort.
He will do better through the one he selected.
Another look at 666: Look at the letter shem ‫ש‬, being somewhat like
the “W” but those two V’s appear as U’s such that there is a horizon-
tal connection below, if this were inverted top to bottom, it would
appear to be three vav’s ‫( ווו‬each being the 6th letter of the Hebrew
alphabet, having a numerical value of six). Now the letter Shem,
meaning “the Name,” is used on door posts to signify the Name of
God. But inverted it represents the number 666. Isn’t that like the
beast, to turn everything upside down that God has set up right. How
about an early Pope who made a statement something like: “God has
set six days of work and one of rest, But I, set one of rest and six of
work.” The gist of it is that he was filled with the wrong spirit, sup-
planting God’s word with his own, putting himself above Him.
You were the anointed cherub that covers,
and I had put you in the holy heights of God, where you were.
You walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
until iniquity was found in you. (Eze 28:14-15 )
And so he was cast out of heaven, from light to dark, from holiness
to filth. And so for any who would exalt themselves above God,
which includes any that have no time for him, for their agenda rules.
Chapter 15
Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
We will see that these seven angels having plagues, answer to the
seven angels blowing the trumpets, but that their plagues are three
times as severe, for the ‘one-third’ of the Trumpets become ‘the
whole’ in the Bowls of Plagues. Below is rough chiastic diagram of
the part of the book from the Trumpets to the Bowls. Note the shift
in the Seventh Angel, and the scene he introduces, back to where it
could well have been at the end of chp 9, where the Scene in Heaven
now answers to the same in chp 15. So the Witnesses (11) and the
Star-Crowned Woman are the center pair. One having toiled for the
first 42 months and the other to be kept safe for the final 42 months.
Now do not look for ch 14 here, for it answers to the Seven Seals,
which are located before the Trumpets, and so Fourteen will follow
the bowls; those lines equally spaced from the left are connected.
 Chapter 13 165
Four Trumpets (chp 8)
Angel calling Three Woes (8:13)
Three Trumpets (moving the 7th and ff back here) (9; 11:15)
Scene in Heaven, Symbols of Judgement: Ark unveiled,
Natural Acts... (11:16-19)
The Angel with a foot in the Sea and one on Land;
a Little Book and the Seven Thunders (chp 10)
Measuring the Temple; The Two Witnesses (chp 11)
The Woman crowned with 12 stars. (chp 12)
The Two Beasts, One out of the Sea, the other out of the
Land. (chp 13)
Scene in Heaven introducing the Seven Plagues
to end all. (chp 15)
Three Bowls (ch 16)
Voice from the Altar (ch 16)
Four Bowls (ch 16)

And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and marvelous:

seven angels having the last seven plagues,
because the anger of God was completed in them. (Rev 15:1 )
Praise God that His Word softens any trauma with a word of hope,
onto which his Loved Ones cleave. These bowls carry the seven final
plagues to complete God’s testing of his people. Any still not willing
to turn, after this hard spanking, are certainly not worthy of Him.
And I saw, as a glassy sea having been mixed with fire.
And the ones overcoming the beast, and its image,
and its mark, of the number of its name,
were standing on the glassy sea,
having harps of God. (Rev 15:2 )
These, who are standing on the glassy sea of 4:6, are surely martyrs,
for they come out of the Great Tribulation or Jacob’s Trouble, as
written, because that is where the beast, image, mark, and the num-
ber are situated in time. Of these, though it is not said that they have
borne witness but have overcome, we do not see in this book any
coming to life except those who have been martyred for witness-
ing Yeshua or the Word (6:9-11; 20:4), but there is the word by John
166 Chapter 13
about the rest who died, and not from witnessing :
But the rest of the dead did not live again
until the thousand years were ended.
This is the first resurrection. (Rev 20:5 )
We see four enemies of our souls in our verse, all centering around
the evil one, with which he forces people to following him. Though
we’ve seen all of these in ch 13, they culminate here.
And now with harps from God they are singing together with skill
and harmony achievable only by his Spirit.
And they sing the song of Moses the slave of God,
and the song of the Lamb, saying,
Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty,
righteous and true are Your ways,
King of the saints. (Rev 15:3 )
There are two songs of Moses, one in Exo 15:1-8 which is all of
praise to the Lord, where his works are detailed, and ways magnified:
Who is like You among the gods, O Jehovah?
Who is like You, glorified in holiness, fearful in praises,
O Worker of wonders? (Exo 15:11 )
and the second one is on the Plains of Moab, but after this introducto-
ry phrase of praise below, is much vengeance over a people that has
erred. On this account I believe they sang Moses’s song of Exo 15.
I will proclaim the name of Jehovah
and ascribe greatness to our God.
He is the Rock; His work is perfect.
For all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness,
and without evil; just and upright is He. (Deu 32:3-4 )
The Song of the Lamb: This must refer to 5:8-14, in the heart of
which is this by those around the throne, who:
[say] with a great voice,
Worthy is the Lamb having been slain to receive the power and riches
and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. (Rev 5:12 )
to which all creatures everywhere add this refrain:
To Him sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb
be the blessing and the honor and the glory
 Chapter 13 167
and the might forever and ever. (Rev 5:13b )
King of the Saints: We’ve seen Him lead his saints to battle on white
horses to set up an eternal kingdom:
And Jehovah my God shall come,
and all the saints with You. (Zec 14:5;
And the armies in Heaven followed Him on white horses,
being dressed in fine linen, white and pure. (Rev 19:14 )
There is no end to the increase of His government
and of peace on the throne of David,
and on His kingdom, to order it, and to sustain it
with justice and with righteousness, from now and forever.
The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this. (Isa 9:7 )
Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You only are holy. For all the nations will come
and will worship before You,
because Your righteousnesses were made known. (Rev 15:4 )
The second verse of their song ought to be asking two rhetorical
questions, but maybe not! They ask each of us if we truly fear the
Lord, for if not, we will not be obeying his commandments, but will
instead make excuses, for we will not Love God with all our heart,
soul, and might. We glorify his name on account of all of his amaz-
ing works! else, we will pay homage to “chance” and laud the false
god of evolution—blaspheming his name.
With my soul I desire You in the night;
yea, with my spirit within me I diligently seek You.
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
those living in the world learn righteousness. (Isa 26:9 )
Yes, it’s by keeping the bar low that people learn righteousness. Lib-
eralism is demeaning of God.
And after these things I saw; and behold,
the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in Heaven
was opened! (Rev 15:5 )
We saw the temple open in 11:19 after the final Trumpet blast, here
we have it right before the Bowls are poured, by the rule of the
chiasmus. So now when the temple is open, we see the Arc of the
168 Chapter 13
Covenant inside, the original from which that on earth is a copy. That
Arc contains the tablets of the 10 Words, of which most of the world
reneges on at least one, and so by Jacob:
For whoever shall keep all the Law, but stumbles in one,
he has become guilty of all. (Jas 2:10 )
This sounds like a curse, dumping on more than we should be guilty
of, but it’s actually a statement of fact, for if one breaks one he will
find it easy to break another, for he has no fear of it nor of its giver;
and so by the faithlessness which she breaks one she will break all.
And the seven angels having the seven plagues
came forth out of the temple,
having been clothed in clean and bright linen,
and golden bands having been girded
around the breasts. (Rev 15:6 )
Now with the Temple open, do our seven Bowl angels exit from it,
having the same golden bands on the chest as did Yeshua in 1:13.
Which identify these as His, their task being moderated by Him.
See now that I, I am He, and there is no other God with Me.
I kill, and I keep alive. I wound and I heal,
and there is no deliverer from My hand. (Deu 32:39 )
So whatever the trauma poured out by those angels we know that
God’s loving arm has control, and that nothing is done above that
which will cause men to turn to him, on this last chance.
And one of the four living creatures
gave to the seven angels
seven golden bowls filled with the anger of God
living to the ages of the ages.
And the temple was filled with the smoke
of the glory of God, and with His power.
And no one was able to enter into the temple
until the seven plagues of the seven angels
should be completed. (Rev 15:7-8 )
The description of these four living creatures is found in 4:6-9; and
“the seven bowls filled...” reflects the first verse of this chapter, tie-
ing it together. That the temple was filled with smoke of His Glory,
 Chapter 13 169
we see at the inauguration of the First Temple in the wilderness:
And the cloud covered the tabernacle of the congregation,
and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter into the tabernacle
of the congregation because the cloud stayed on it,
and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (Exo 40:34-35 AFV)
and in the 2nd Temple at Solomon’s dedication of it:
and the priests were not able to go into the house of Jehovah, be-
cause the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah. (2Ch 7:2)
and in the future temple shown to Ezekiel: (also Eze 10:3,4; 43:5)
And he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house.
And I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD
filled the temple of the LORD. And I fell on my face. (Eze 44:4 AFV)
Now where is the temple at this time? Is it not where His Spirit
dwells? We know that the Spirit indwells the one who keeps the
commandments of the kingdom. And we saw in ch 4 that our bodies
model the Temple of God complete with 24 elders, 4 living creatures,
and the Lamb, all fit for the King in the hearts of his saints.
Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary
of the Holy Spirit in you,
which you have from God, and you are not of yourselves?
You were bought with a price; then glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are of God. (1Co 6:19-20 )
That is where the Temple, served by Melchizedek is now situated.
Not in one place to be destroyed by satan, but spread out upon the
face of the earth among his saints. But in addition to ruling in our
hearts, he will be ruling physically from Jerusalem wherein will also
dwell his saints and from whom they also will rule the universe.
Amen! Come Lord Yeshua!
Chapter 16
The Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God
And I heard a great voice out of the temple
saying to the seven angels:
Go and pour out the bowls of the anger of God
onto the earth. (Rev 16:1 )
Now begins that which was introduced, that Seven Bowls, even as
those Seven Trumpets, will each bring a level of suffering to the
earth, these thrice what was meted out by the Trumpets, because
theirs were generally in thirds, but these are full strength as in Jerusa-
lem long before, but as a warning that one not hold out against God.
And He said to those in my hearing, Pass over in the city after him
and strike. Do not let your eye spare, and do not have pity. (Eze 9:5)
And the first went away
and poured out his bowl onto the earth.
And it came to be a bad and evil sore onto the men,
the ones having the mark of the beast,
and the ones worshiping its image. (Rev 16:2 )
Of each Angel which pours out it’s bowl, the first phrase, “And the
first went away and poured...,” differs from all of the rest, which
have, “the (second) poured,” where “second” is replaced by each suc-
cessive bowl through the seventh. For the second phrase: “... out his
Bowl onto ( ),” all of the seven Angel accounts have the same for-
mula until the seventh in which the “onto” becomes “into.” Also each
bowl has it’s target which is said in place of the parentheses, pre-
ceded by the definite article, as “onto the earth.” Then the outcome of
that poured Bowl is recounted.
This differs from the Trumpets, in that, at the sound of the trumpet
some other object, like a star or a mountain would fall upon the earth
to afflict it, but not the sound alone.
This first Bowl becomes a “bad and evil sore” onto those having ac-
cepted to be “vaccinated” with the mark of the beast, and concurred
with worshiping its image, whether out of fear for her temporal life,
or because of his being terribly duped by this lie, neither of which
 Chapter 16 171
will be eligible for the Kingdom of God. The bad and evil both
imply maliciousness and seriousness, causing great pain--which will
still afflict them through the fifth bowl. This also reflects on the 6th
plague of Moses onto Egypt:
And they took soot of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh.
And Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens,
and it became an inflammation
breaking out into boils on man and on livestock. (Exo 9:10)
And as a curse on Israel, which is us at this time, the Israel of Faith
like unto Abraham’s, speaking specifically of this bowl plague.
Jehovah shall strike you with the boil of Egypt,
and with hemorrhoids, and with the scab, and with itch,
of which you cannot be healed. (Deu 28:27)
Worse than these afflictions is in store for having the mark of the
beast or the worship his image, by the third angel in Chp 14, which
follows this chapter as shown. The table below compares Trumpets
and Bowls on two features,
Target Domain
Trumpets Bowls Trumpets Bowls
First Earth Earth
Unrepentant
Second Sea Sea Terrestrial Persons
Third Rivers Rivers Sphere
Fourth Sun Sun
Throne of
Fifth Pit of Hell Terrestrial
the Beast Unrepentant
Sphere
Sixth Euphrates Euphrates Persons
Seventh Air Air
the first four Trumpet blasts affect nature and the last three inflict
people with pain or death. The first three Bowl plagues afflict people
while the last four are upon nature which indirectly inflicts the people
designated. Note how the Trumpets and Bowls are inverted on both
counts: nature vs people, and three vs four, both features are common
of the chiasmus, which structurally are among the many features that
tie the two sets of afflictions together.
172 Chapter 16
And the second angel poured out his bowl onto the sea.
And it became blood, as of a dead one,
and every soul of life died in the sea. (Rev 16:3 )
This bowl is complete in its destruction of the ocean and all living
things in it, which require oxygen to survive. This includes the Pro-
chlorococcus, an ocean microbe which accounts for about half of the
oceans photosynthesis, thus a good portion of the earth’s oxygen.16
This contrasts with the Trumpet affliction in the same place and
order of this, in which one-third of the ocean turns to blood, this is
catastrophic but not complete, as is this Bowl plague. The two wit-
nesses were able to turn water into blood (11:6) as did Moses in Exo
7:20:21, which is summarized in this Psalm.
He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish. (Psa 105:29 AFV)
Every living soul ... : as this one is complete in the sphere of the
oceans, so was the flood in its way:
And all who breathed the breath of life,
of all that was upon the dry land—died. (Gen 7:22 AFV)
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers,
and into the fountains of waters;
and they became blood. (Rev 16:4 AFV)
The rivers and the natural fountains are all that many parts of the
world have as sources of drinking water. The fountains refer to
hydro-fountains, which once poured out all kinds of soil and rock
on the land just after the flood with some continuing to this day. But
these, especially the dormant ones, can fill with rain water which
may persist for months during a dry season.
He turned their rivers into blood,
so that they could not drink from their streams. (Psa 78:44 AFV)
Then I heard the angel of the waters say,
“You are righteous, O Lord,
Who are, and Who was, even the Holy One,
in that You have executed this judgment.
For they have poured out the blood of saints
and of prophets,
16 UM, p 355,356
 Chapter 16 173
and You have given them blood to drink;
for they are worthy.” (Rev 16:5,6 AFV)
This is at the interlude of the Bowls, after the Third, where it had ear-
lier followed the Fourth Trumpet. The Lord’s appropriate judgements
upon those who shed blood are praised, and enlightened by Paul:
Your faith and endurance are a visible testimony
of the righteous judgment of God,
so that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God,
for which you are suffering. (2Th 1:5 AFV)
Who are and Who was: This is abbreviated from the three-tense
version, which adds: “and who is to come.” (Rev 1:4,8; 4:8; 11:17),
and it may be so to accentuate that the completion of the wrath of the
Holy God will terminate now, not a day later, this is the final inning.
And the fourth angel poured out his bowl onto the sun.
And it was given to him to burn men with fire.
And men were burned with great heat.
And they blasphemed the name of God,
the One having authority over these plagues
and they did not repent to give Him glory. (Rev 16:8-9 )
The sun, in the blast of the fourth Trumpet is dimmed, but here it is
intensified to scorching heat. Note that both are in the fourth posi-
tion of the seven, just as the heavenly lights were set in place on the
fourth day of the first week. Here we see a fitting example in Jonah
who is scorched, but like these, he did not repent of his sour attitude,
nor did he give glory to God for saving a whole nation that repented.
The Lord is separating the chaff from the wheat, these hard hearts
were first seen in the Sixth Seal (6:16,17). Yeshua repeats this fol-
lowing formula several times for those “who practice lawlessness.”
And they will throw them into the furnace of fire;
there will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth. (Mat 13:42 )
But of these blasphemers, is sung:
So pride enchains them; violence covers them like a robe.
Their eyes go out with fatness;
they have passed the imaginations of the heart.
They scoff and speak in evil; from on high they speak oppression.
174 Chapter 16
They set their mouth in the heavens;
and their tongues walk through the earth. (Psa 73:6-9)
for there rests a deep curse on any who blaspheme the Name:
And he who blasphemes the name of Jehovah dying shall die.
All the congregation shall certainly cast stones at him.
As to the alien, so to a native, when he blasphemes the Name,
he shall die. (Lev 24:16)
To which Yeshua adds:
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no remission
unto the age, but is liable to eternal judgment (Mar 3:29)
And the fifth angel poured out his bowl
onto the throne of the beast.
And its kingdom became darkened;
and they gnawed their tongues from the pain.
And they blasphemed the God of Heaven,
from their pains and from their sores.
And they did not repent of their works. (Rev 16:10,11 )
This darkness was foreshadowed in Exodus when thick darkness
spread over the land for three days, this darkness was immediately
before the final plague of the Passover:
And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out your hand to the heavens
so that darkness may be on the land of Egypt,
and one may feel darkness.
And Moses stretched out his hand to the heavens,
and darkness of gloom was in all the land of Egypt three days.
They did not see each one his brother, and they did not rise up,
each one from his place for three days.
Yet to all the sons of Israel
there was light in their dwellings. (Exo 10:21-23 )
And Yeshua again on the plight of the evil amid the righteous:
and will throw them into the furnace of fire;
there will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth. (Mat 13:50 )
Now we see, no matter how hard the spanking, the child is very stub-
born, as leather-necked as a pastor steeped in a false system of theol-
ogy that has pulled him miles from true worship, but he has no cares
 Chapter 16 175
because the church is “strong” (financially). God help Laodicea!
And the sixth angel poured out his bowl
onto the great river Euphrates,
and its water was dried up so that the way of the kings from the
rising of the sun might be prepared. (Rev 16:12 )
This plague, is poured out on the Euphrates to dry it, such that it be-
comes a wide pathway for the armies of the east to get to Armaged-
don. Now of this River:
On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, I have
given this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river,
the river Euphrates, (Gen 15:18)

The river, the northern boundary of Israel, is mentioned at the Sixth

trumpet where “a third of men are killed.” Well what will this one
portend, considering the carnage from these bowls has been thrice
the Trumpets at every step? Could it be as Yeshua foretold:
And if the Lord had not shortened the days,
not any flesh would be saved; but because of the elect
whom He chose, He has shortened the days. (Mar 13:20)
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
come out of the mouth of the dragon,
and out of the mouth of the beast,
and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (Rev 16:13 )
Their land swarmed with frogs
in the rooms of their kings. (Psa 105:30 )
But these are evil spirits, coming from whom we’ve seen in chp
11 chasing the woman, and in chp 13, the anti-Christ and the False
Prophet, whose end will be in 20:10 and 19:20 respectively, the latter
for the pair. Consider how Paul shows it:
His coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and
miraculous signs and lying wonders,
and in all deceit of unrighteousness in those being lost,
because they did not receive the love of the truth
in order for them to be saved.
And because of this, God will send to them a working of error,
176 Chapter 16
for them to believe the lie, (2Th 2:9-11 )
So God is directing these evils spirits, as “workings of error,” so they
who would not take hold on the truth, would instead believe a lie.
For they are spirits of demons doing signs,
which go forth to the kings of the earth,
even of the whole habitable world
to assemble them to the war of that day,
the great day of God Almighty. (Rev 16:14 )
The range of these evil spirits is not limited, but will cover the earth,
For false christs and false prophets will rise up.
And they will give great signs and wonders,
so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (Mat 24:24 )
and show signs and wonders that would even tempt the elect, but
that they know the Word, use it as their Sword of defense, hold onto
Christ’s Words, and wear the breastplate of faith and love. (1Th 5:8)
All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me,
and the one coming to Me I will in no way cast out. (Joh 6:37 )
This verse is held in faith, even as we keep his word in faith, for
John connects love with faith:
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments;
and His commandments are not heavy.
Because everything having been born of God overcomes the world,
and this is the victory overcoming the world, our faith. (1Jn 5:3-4 )
To receive the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us in these troubled
times, is founded on this word of Christ:
If you love Me, keep My commandments. (Joh 14:15 )
The same thing He put in the books of the Law repeatedly:
and doing kindness to thousands, to those loving Me,
and to those keeping My commandments. (Exo 20:6 )
The Great Day of God Almighty:
Blow a ram’s horn in Zion, and shout an alarm in My holy mountain.
Let all those living in the land tremble.
 Chapter 16 177
For the day of Jehovah approaches; it is near, (Joe 2:1 )
Multitudes, multitudes in valley of decision!
For the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. (Joe 3:14 )
And He assembled them in the place having been called
in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Rev 16:16 )
This Armageddon is Mount Meggido in which, down in the valley,
is where Jehosaphat witnessed the carnage made by the Lord while
they sang praises up out of trouble’s way. And so his Loved Ones
also will not be in that fray on that day, but on their knees, or raising
praise to their Lord. In the context of the two passages of Joel above
and that below as well as in Zechariah below, we know this refers to
the armies of the whole inhabited world. It is not a local battle, but
international, for it is directed by those evil spirits, in which all those
who had a vendetta against Israel, both the country by that name, and
His people of faith, will have a part.
I will also gather all nations and will bring them down
into the valley of Jehoshaphat.
And I will fight with them there for My people
and for My inheritance Israel,
whom they have scattered among the nations,
and divided My land. (Joe 3:2 AFV)
In that day shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem,
like the mourning of Hadad Rimmon
in the valley of Megiddo. (Zec 12:11 AFV)

The Seventh Bowl

And the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a
great voice came from the throne from the temple of Heaven,
saying, It has happened! (Rev 16:17 )
It has happened: or “ is Finished” is what the Angel also called out at
the end of chp 9 and in chp 10, just prior to the Seventh Trumpet:
but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,
whenever he is about to trumpet, [is] even ended the mystery of God,
as He preached to His slaves, the prophets. [Rev 9:22]
178 Chapter 16
and swore by the one 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, “There will be no more delay! (Rev 10:6 LEB)
And so that which was earlier prophesied is here fulfilled, culminat-
ing the testing of our Loving God to get the attention of the hard
hearted, and so their end is deserved.
And there were lightnings and sounds and thunders,
and there was a great earthquake,
as has not happened from the time humanity
has been on the earth—
so great in this way was the earthquake. (Rev 16:18 LEB)
This sounds like that forewarned through Daniel:
And at that time, Michael shall stand up,
the great ruler who stands for the sons of your people.
And there shall be a time of distress,
such as has not been from the being of a nation until that time.
And at that time, your people shall be delivered,
everyone that shall be found written in the Book. (Dan 12:1)
Two earthquakes are behind us (8:5; 11:18), but this is the third and
most destructive, those signs (lightning, thunder) portend judgment,
as does this mammoth earthquake.
And the great city came to be into three parts,
and the cities of the nations fell.
And Babylon the great was remembered before God,
to give to her the cup of the wine
of the anger of His wrath. (Rev 16:19 )
The great city is Jerusalem, which answers to 11:8 where also, the
“great city fell” by the wrath of God.
Awake! Awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem,
who drank the cup of His fury from the hand of Jehovah;
you drank the bowl of the cup of reeling;
you fully drained it. (Isa 51:17)
Babylon is not yet destroyed here but remembered. The effect of His
Cup of Wrath comes in chp 14—detailed in chp 18.
 Chapter 16 179
And every island fled away,
and mountains were not found. (Rev 16:20 )
This verse hearkens to 6:12-14 where an earthquake preceded the
same upheaval of islands and mountains. Since this is at the conclu-
sion of the afflictions, that gives credence to chp 6 being the story
beginning at the wresting of authority from Adam and Eve and termi-
nating at the end of the Tribulation period, which ends that evil rule.
This from Jeremiah may be speaking of this very bowl judgement;
I looked on the earth, and, behold! It was without form and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
I looked on the mountains, and, behold! They quaked,
and all the hills were shaken.
I looked, and, behold! There was no man,
and all the birds of the skies had fled. (Jer 4:23-25)
Notice the effect of the three “I looked” prefixes? They bring a sense
of mounting woe, which describes from a different perspective that
which causes men to reel in our verse.
and against all the high mountains; and against all the lifted up hills;
and against every tall tower; and against every fortified wall;
and against all the ships of Tarshish; and on all desirable craft.
And the pride of man shall be humbled;
and the loftiness of men shall be abased;
and Jehovah alone will be exalted in that day. (Isa 2:14-17 )
The Isaiah passage tells us that 16:20 is not only temporal in extent,
but spiritual. For mountains refer to men of stature, and the islands to
their resorts and pleasures, referred to as ships and desirable craft.
And a great hail, as the size of a talent,
came down out of the heaven upon men.
And men blasphemed God from the plague of the hail,
because its plague is exceedingly great. (Rev 16:21 )
We see that hail is a serious weapon to whom wields it:
even Jehovah cast great hail stones on them out of the heavens,
to Azekah; and they died.
The many who died by the hail stones were more
180 Chapter 16
than the sons of Israel had killed by the sword. (Jos 10:11 )
Hail is seen in several places of Ezekiel, which is here personified,
put in the first person “you, O hailstones,”
Say to those daubing with lime, Yea, it will fall.
There will be a flooding rain; and you, O hailstones, shall fall,
and a tempestuous wind shall break. (Eze 13:11
So the hailstones may also refer to the armies that came against Jeru-
salem and toppled those walls, on account of one overriding sin
And I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them,
What is this evil thing that you do, defiling the Sabbath day?
Did not your fathers do this,
and did not our God bring all this evil on us and on this city?
Yet you bring more wrath on Israel
by defiling the Sabbath. (Neh 13:17-18 )
This was all caused by Jerusalem carrying on commerce through
those gates on the Sabbath day:
But if you will not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy,
and to not carry a burden and enter at the gates of Jerusalem
on the sabbath day,
then I will kindle a fire in her gates.
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem;
yea, it shall not be put out. Jer 17:27 )
And thus Jerusalem had been sacked and burned including its wall,
but 70 years later Nehemiah had to contend with the same lack of
Love for the Creator who had separated that day, and for His Son
who gave it as a sign of betrothal to him. Yes, as a ring worn by the
fiancee, do his loved ones cherish his Holy day.
“Blasphemed God,” appears three times in this chapter, and four
times in the rest of Scripture
Location Cause
16:9 scorched by great heat
16:11 pains and sores
16:21 plague of hail
Eze 20:27 sin against God
 Chapter 14 181
Location Cause
Rom 2:24 Others, by self breaking the Law
1Ti 6:1 not honoring earthly masters
Tit 2:5 disorder in the home

The four outside of this book regard causing others to blaspheme

God by sin, while those in ch.16 are reactions to God’s Testing.

Chapter 14
The 144,000 with the Lamb
And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion!
And with Him were a hundred and forty four thousands,
with the name of His Father
having been written on their foreheads. (Rev 14:1 )
On Mount Zion, for the Lion will yet rule from there, according to
the prophets:
And I will set the lame in place into a remnant,
and her who was cast off into a strong nation.
And Jehovah shall reign over them in Mount Zion
from now on, and to forever. (Mic 4:7)
This is the same select team we saw inaugurated after the Seven
Seals, therefor, by the rule of the chiasmus, it would be placed before
of these Seven Angels. In the Seals we had 4 on horseback with the
devil, their kingpin, in center, then three seals after. This set will thus
have the three angels as one unit before center, then those with field
sickles with their King in Center, the first of the four with sickles. So
the Seals and Angels balance each other, in reverse.
This Mount Zion is a physical location in Jerusalem and the scenes
in this chapter are during the tribulation. But there must be a real Mt.
Zion above, for in the next verse we hear from heaven, and a few
more verses down we are before the Throne.
These 144000 we saw ordained with the name of the Father back
in chp 7, are either evangelists as some say, and/or they may be the
Groomsmen of the Lamb, who serve at his side. This would fit, for
they would help him prepare for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, five
182 Chapter 14
days after Yom Kippur on the 10th of the seventh month, when, oc-
curs the big judgement day that sees the two fiends fed to the fire, the
judging of those who saw him pierced, the sheep and the goats, and
the chaining of the devil for a time, but not necessarily in that order.
And I heard a sound out of Heaven, as a sound of many waters,
and as a sound of great thunder.
Also I heard a sound of harpers harping on their harps.
And they sing as a new song before the throne, and before the
four living creatures and the elders.
And no one was able to learn the song
except the hundred and forty four thousands,
those having been redeemed from the earth. (Rev 14:2-3 )
Yesuah’s voice (1:15) is as many waters, and in 19:6 it’s a multitude
of people and thunders praising God Almighty because he reigns. To
the Psalmist they are shown to be subordinate to Jehovah.
Jehovah on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
than the mighty waves of the sea. (Psa 93:4 )
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel
came from the way of the east.
And His voice was like the voice of many waters.
And the earth shone from His glory. (Eze 43:2 )
In the end we hear that Yeshua’s voice can drown out the crowds!
Now a new song is being sung, with the accompaniment of harps, be-
fore the throne and the four living creatures. Throughout the Psalms
we hear the harp and lyre used to praise God.
Give thanks to Jehovah with the lyre;
sing to Him with a harp of ten strings. (Psa 33:2)
And these having been redeemed from the earth, tells that they are no
longer on the earth, but as his Bride they may also descend with their
Lord, to be with him in an any sphere he enters.
These are the ones who were not defiled with women,
for they are virgins.
These are the ones following the Lamb
wherever He may go.
 Chapter 14 183
These were redeemed from among men
as a first-fruit to God and to the Lamb.
And no guile was found in their mouth,
for they are without blemish before the throne of God.
(Rev 14:4-5 )
These are the ones: does not restrict these men to bachelorhood, but
that they are chaste in their marriages, for that relationship in its pu-
rity does not defile. So they [being] virgins does not change that,
... lying speakers in hypocrisy, being seared in their own conscience,
forbidding to marry, saying to abstain from foods,
which God created for partaking with thanksgiving by the believers
and those knowing the truth. (1Ti 4:2-3 )
by the words of Paul, for we know Yeshua guided Paul, and did not
take all that he’d written (Col 4:16).
These are the ones following ... There is another group, those com-
ing out of the Great Tribulation who will also follow the Lamb who
shepherds them:
They will not be hungry any longer or be thirsty any longer,
nor will the sun ever beat down on them,
nor any heat, because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne
will shepherd them
and will lead them to springs of living waters,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 7:16-17 LEB)
It would do us good to also listen, in order to follow Him:
My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me. (Joh 10:27 LEB)
These were bought: And so they may be joining in the chorus below:
And they were singing a new song, saying,
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
because you were slaughtered,
and bought people for God by your blood
from every tribe and language and people and nation, (Rev 5:9 LEB)
as first fruits to God:
But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
184 Chapter 14
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1Co 15:20 LEB)
and also we of others:
Having purposed, He brought us forth by the Word of truth,
for us to be a certain firstfruit of His creatures. (Jas 1:18)
And no guile was found in their mouths;
for they are blameless before the throne of God. (Rev 14:5 AFV)
James warns that guile of the mouth is foreign to righteousness:
But the tongue no human being is able to tame;
it is an unrestrainable evil, full of death-dealing poison. (Jas 3:8 AFV)
And by Peter we are given a choice, where the tongue is the key:
For the one who desires to love life, and to see good days,
let him restrain his own tongue from evil,
and not allow his lips to speak deceit. (1Pe 3:10 AFV)

The Warning of Three Angels

And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven,
having an everlasting gospel to proclaim
to those dwelling on the earth, even to every nation
and tribe and tongue and people, (Rev 14:6 )
Another Angel: We have seen numerous angels including the seven
trumpets, all being messengers of our Lord Yeshua. This Angel flying
in the midst of heaven must mean ‘up in the visible sky,‘ because it’s
message is to all people below, as the narrator tells us.
An Everlasting Gospel: Given that the central message in the whole
Bible is that God is head of a Family and Kingdom, for that’s what
Yeshua, John the Baptist, and the Disciples teach. The first letter in
Genesis is Bete: which means house and by extension: “household,”
and the first social arrangement the Father made with Adam was to
escort Eve to him in marriage, as a symbol of the Heavenly Fam-
ily which has a Son and his Bride to be, but she is still at large, for
she’s a mammoth challenge, in that He had to shed his life blood to
purchase her as we’ve just seen, and then He sent his Holy Spirit
to strengthen and guide us into a righteous walk with him that we
might be his Bride who thrice invites us with the Spirit: Come! So
from the first verse of structure to the last chapter of the Bible in
 Chapter 14 185
victory, it deals with His drawing his Bride to himself. Here is his
Proposal:
“Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are to observe my Shabbats;
for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations;
so that you will know that I am [Yehovah],
who sets you apart for me. (Exo 31:13 CJB)
Where Israel is the people of Faith in God and in His Son Yeshua,
and Yehovah is their family name. Where the Son, the Word of God,
is offering the Ring that separates us apart to Him.
And we know that this is the ultimate, everlasting Good News by a
verse in that same paragraph, where we see that He’s not just offer-
ing a casual setting apartness to Himself, but a serious one based on a
covenant, as that in marriage which is modeled from it :
The people of Isra’el are to keep the Shabbat,
to observe Shabbat through all their generations
as a perpetual covenant. (Exo 31:16 CJB)
and “perpetual,” according to their vows to each other, in the wed-
ding ceremony. That covenant is Everlasting—perpetual, and there
is no higher Gospel in the whole Word than that we, by this covenant
can be wedded to our Lord and Savior, for the closest relationship in
heaven throughout the ages to come!
Now back to the Herald:
In a loud voice he said, “Fear God, give him glory,
for the hour has come when he will pass judgment!
Worship the One who made heaven and earth,
the sea and the springs of water!” (Rev 14:7 CJB)
In a loud voice: for he is urgently calling to all people on the face of
this earth, for judgment is immanent, and what is the basis of judge-
ment without Law? and what is the Law that pertains to God but the
Ten Words? So the Angel is pointing to the one that is most forgotten.
Worship the One who made: The last two lines are taken from the
crowning Day of Creation (Gen 2:1) and from the fourth of the Ten
Words. Note how close to the call of the Heralding Angel this is :
For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea,
and all which is in them, and He rested on the seventh day;
186 Chapter 14
on account of this Jehovah blessed the sabbath day
and sanctified it. (Exo 20:11 )
And when all of the major and sundry laws and directions are com-
pleted, Yehovah is seen holding the two stones against his chest, yes,
against his heart, saying, effectively, “Moses, I’m interposing a word
on one I’ve scribed on these stone tablets, for it is very important that
you convey it and that it is kept, for it is the one the Adversary will
try to wrest from my people, seeing it is very important, dealing with
relationship, that of, and for my Son and his Chosen.
It is a sign forever between Me and the sons of Israel;
for in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth,
and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. (Exo 31:17 )
Here, the center line repeats the code of the Sabbath, common to
these two conclusive statements in each Sabbath directive, which
follows the Supreme promise that his creatures can be married to
Him by whom all the worlds were created, by their keeping the Ring,
in Love of the Suitor and for his people. The Angel is calling us to
align our worship with Yeshua’s (Lk 4:16) even as Yeshua voiced to
the Samaritan woman:
You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know,
for salvation is of the Jews.
But an hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeks such,
[in] the ones worshiping Him.
God is a spirit, and the ones worshiping Him
must worship in spirit and truth. (Joh 4:22-24 )
Most congregations today worship what they do not know, and have
lost view of how to worship aright, for they have spurned the Jews,
those brothers and sisters of Yeshua who know better! For the Jews
were made Stewards of the Word, and their traditions are modeled
from Scripture. Yeshua is calling on us to worship in spirit and truth.
For truth implies that we live in accord with the rules and by-lines set
out in the Bible, on how to conduct proper worship. This is spelled
out throughout the Pentateuch (the Torah), only that reference to
blood sacrifice can be translated into spiritual worship, for the Blood
 Chapter 14 187
of the Messiah has completed, once and for all, the work of Forgive-
ness, Redemption, and Atonement. For by Peter we are told:
you also as living stones are being built a spiritual house,
a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1Pe 2:5 )
And another angel followed, saying,
The great city, Babylon, has fallen,
has fallen because of the wine of the anger
of her fornication she made all nations to drink. (Rev 14:8 )
Now here calls the second angel from the sky, announcing that the
great city of Babylon has fallen. She is the parody of the New Jeru-
saalem which another angel calls the Bride of Christ coming down.
Well, he has promised his Bride, Philadelphia, and by extension,
Smyrna, congregations or types for which the New Jerusalem is com-
ing down from heaven to be their dwelling place. So Babylon is the
devil’s alternative. It’s not the city but the people in it. Churches, as
seen in the Seven are symbolized as women; and so throughout the
Prophets, even from Sinai, has Israel been offered the covenant of
marriage:
not according to the covenant that I cut with their fathers
in the day I took them by the hand
to bring them out of the land of Egypt
(which covenant of Mine they broke,
although I was a husband to them, says Jehovah). (Jer 31:32 )
and so Paul also uses a virgin as a metaphor for a Godly Assembly:
For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God.
For I have promised you to one Man,
to present you a pure virgin to Christ. (2Co 11:2 )
Now we are told by John, in passages we will study shortly, where
this Harlot is situated:
Here is the mind having wisdom:
the seven heads are seven mountains,
where the woman sits on them. (Rev 17:9 )
Now even a cursory look on the subject of a city founded upon seven
hills, on the internet, will reveal that Rome carries the title, it has
188 Chapter 14
even been called septimontium (seven mountains), but the verse tells
us that the harlot sits upon these hills. Now if the Sabbath is likened
to the Ring of his Bride, what would make her a harlot? if not that
she removed his Ring for some other affair. This is exactly what
Israel, his Bride frequently did throughout the Bible, when it reverted
to the Baals and other gods, and when she relied on other countries
like Assyria and Babylon in place of their immovable Rock.
But projecting John’s image of the Harlot to this day, though applica-
ble centuries back, for both John and Paul saw the pending splitting
of the church in the days ahead, which today is quite complete. So
what church is situated in Rome? even in the Vatican?
So, is the city of Rome or she who is situated in it, to be put down?
The city is like any other, but the spiritual city is the Harlot dwelling
therein, for she has spurned the Ring, and has sought to exterminate
any who would try to wear it faithfully. True history tells. Now, we’ll
see how the marks or signs compare:
And a third angel followed them, saying in a great voice,
If anyone worships the beast and its image,
and receives a mark on his forehead, or in his hand,
he also shall drink of the wine of the anger of God
having been mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath.
And he will be tormented by fire and brimstone
before the holy angels and before the Lamb. (Rev 14:9-10 )
Now the third angel, has a “great voice,“ just as the first one which it
balances. The second one speaks of a “great city.” Both the first and
third use “worship,” but for “sign,” “hand,” and “forehead,” we see
Yehovah using the same parts for a sign to keep His Law; this is in
contrast to those using the sign here to follow the rule of the Beast.
And it shall be for a sign to you on your hand,
and a memorial between your eyes,
so that a Law of Jehovah may be in your mouth.
For with a strong hand Jehovah brought you out from Egypt. (Exo 13:9)
But because of the code phrase about Him who made the Heaven and
the Earth and the Sea, by the first angel, and how we saw above that
this phrase is reflected, not only as the forward to the first paragraph
in Gen 2 about separating out the Seventh Day, but in the conclusion
 Chapter 14 189
of both great Sabbath Laws, and in this case the second lengthy refer-
ence to the Sabbath, it being the last before God hands over the Stone
Tablets of the Law. For in those six verses we have Yehovah’s sign
mentioned twice (Ex 31:13,17) but there it is used as a spiritual Ring,
binding us in a nuptial covenant with our Lord. This third angel uses
the word “mark” twice (v 9, 11). So the two “signs” referred to by
the first Angel balance the two “marks” of the Beast. The implication
is that we have a choice, even as Yehovah has set before us, to either
choose to honor Yehovah’s laws and sign, for a wonderful life, or to
receive the marks of the beast for ignominy, suffering, and death.
I call Heaven and earth to witness against you today
that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.
Therefore, choose life, that you may live,
you and your seed, (Deu 30:19)
Now is torment through “ages of ages” more limited than “for ever
and ever?”
and the smoke of their torment goes up
through ages of ages; and they have no rest day and night,
who are worshiping the beast and his image,
also if any receive the mark of his name. (Rev 14:11 LSV)
It may be, for though a long time it is limited. This because as fire
and brimstone are used to make gold shine, so the lake of fire and
brimstone is likely, for some, a refining fire, for
He will not always chasten,
nor will He keep His anger forever. (Psa 103:9)
For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry,
for the spirit would faint before Me,
even the breaths I have made. (Isa 57:16)
That those who worship the Beast “have no rest day and night,” so
the four living creatures around the throne “have not rest day and
night” worshiping Yehovah God Almighty. Those are the only two
incidences of that phrase in the Bible.
That is the second use of the word “mark” mentioned above to bal-
ance the two “signs” buried in the code of the first angel.
190 Chapter 14
Here is the patience of the saints;
here are the ones keeping the commands of God,
and the faith of Jesus. (Rev 14:12)
Here is/are: or, Here is where the saints need patience and those
keeping God’s commands and rely on the faithfulness of Yeshua. For
he has warned them in 13:7 that the Beast will wear out and over-
come the saints, kills those who don’t bow down to the beast, and
won’t be able to buy anything, without having the mark.
And I heard a voice out of Heaven saying to me,
Write: Blessed are the dead,
the ones dying in the Lord from now.
Yes, says the Spirit, they shall rest from their labors,
and their works follow with them. (Rev 14:13 )
That disciple and two others, also heard a voice out of heaven on the
mount of transfiguration:
And behold! A voice out of the heaven saying, This is My Son,
the Beloved, in whom I have been delighting. (Mat 3:17)
Write: While John was told to write what he saw, there are several
incidences where the request for him to write concerns those nuggets
at hand. Here he blesses those who have died in the Lord, as in 1Th
4:14 about those dying in Yeshua, where 1Jn 3:24, classifies those
who keep God’s commandments as being in Him.
The Spirit agrees with a “Yes” and promises rest and that their works
follow them. Paul refers to this same
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.
For whatever a man may sow, that he also will reap.
For the one sowing to his flesh will reap corruption of the flesh.
But the one sowing to the Spirit will reap everlasting life
from the Spirit. (Gal 6:7-8 )
The Earth is Harvested
And I saw; and behold, a white cloud and on the cloud
One sitting like the Son of Man,
having on His head a golden crown,
and in His hand a sharp sickle. (Rev 14:14)
 Chapter 14 191
This one, at Center position of the seven angels, is obviously Yeshua
the Son of Man, who has been crowned by the Father (Dan 7:14); He
answers positively to the center position of the Seals, which has two
forms of the devil, or two high devils, he of land and he of the abyss.
And while in the Seals they are on horses, here they carry sickles,
both groups come or go out on mission. Further in contrast, is that
the pair were out of the dark netherworld while the Son is on a white
cloud, up and not down, bright and not gloomy, prepared to harvest.
The burden of Egypt: Behold! Jehovah rides on a light cloud
and comes into Egypt. And the idols of Egypt shall tremble from be-
fore Him; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in its midst. (Isa 19:1)
This cloud into Egypt can also be taken figuratively, for even as Isra-
el was led out of Egypt into freedom, so are we of faith, each led out
of our Egypt, the land of sin and oppression, in which we had been.
On his head is a golden crown even as foreseen:
For You will precede him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold on his head. (Psa 21:3)
And another angel went forth out of the temple,
crying in a great voice to the One sitting on the cloud,
Send Your sickle and reap,
because Your hour to reap came,
because the harvest of the earth was dried. (Rev 14:15 )
This is a dry harvest, the Son has received the high sign to begin,
from one with a Great voice, as do the two angels on the extremes of
the first three. And the hour to reap is the “hour of His judgement,” in
the first of the latter. And we know these are equivalent in that even
the reaping is a form of judgement as we will see, for there is a selec-
tion process, and there is difference between the dry and wet.
Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed to you,
when I return the captivity of My people. (Hos 6:11)
Now the action comes, but is stated in one simple sentence.
And the One sitting on the cloud thrust His sickle
onto the earth, and the earth was reaped. (Rev 14:16)
But note that there is a difference between this harvest and the
bloody one following, here is no blood, no retribution—they are the
192 Chapter 14
righteous. Now some say this proves the harvest, or rapture, is in
Pentecost, but only the first fruits are in Pentecost (the third month)
and the harvest goes on into October. Jesus was walking through the
fields with his disciples in the seventh month (Sep/Oct).
And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went
through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn,
and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. (Luk 6:1 KJV)
The courses of priests was laid out by David et. al. (1Chr 24:1-18) to
be 24, serving half a year from the first of the month of Abib (Nis-
san), extending to the 22nd of Tishrei, (Sept/Oct). Now, in this text
the second sabbath after the first, means the second Sabbath into the
new cycle after the first cycle. Therefor Yeshua is walking through
the grain fields, not corn but late wheat, for wheat, not corn, is
rubbed in the hands, in Oct/Nov.
And another angel went forth out of the temple in Heaven, he
also having a sharp sickle.
And another angel went forth
from the altar having authority over the fire.
And he spoke with a great cry
to the one having the sharp sickle, saying,
Send your sharp sickle
and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth,
because its grapes are ripened. (Rev 14:17-18)
An angel comes out of the temple with a sharp sickle, and is met
by an angel out of the alter. Isn’t fire associated with the altar, so he
who is in charge of the fire, calls with a great cry to the one with the
sickle, to do his gathering of grapes for they are ripe, but this will be
a bloody harvest, for many die during the tribulation.
And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth
and gathered the vine of the earth,
and threw [it] into the winepress of the great anger of God.
And the winepress was trodden outside the city,
and blood went out of the winepress
as far as the bridles of the horses,
from a thousand six hundred stadia. (Rev 14:19-20)
 Chapter 14 193
Finally, this angel thrusts and gathers, throws into the winepress of
God’s anger. Then it says ‘the winepress was trodden,’ but not in the
action of the angel.
Why is Your clothing red, and Your garments
like one who treads in the winepress?
I have trodden the winepress, I alone,
and no man of the peoples was with Me.
And I will tread them in My anger, and trample them in My fury;
and their juice shall be spattered on My garments;
and I will pollute all My clothes. (Isa 63:2-3)
Now we’ve heard from the Messiah himself, that it is He who treads,
as seen in 19:15. The trauma seen in that is described by Jeremiah:
The Lord has trampled all my mighty ones in my midst.
He called a gathering against me to crush my young men.
As a winepress, the Lord trod the virgin daughter of Judah. (Lam 1:15)
Why the holy anger, why the trampling? Well how many times must
the prophet prophecy, or how many times do we hear the warning to
turn our worship back to true form, and do what please God and not
our flesh, for the latter becomes our god, and it competes with Yeho-
vah which he will not take. Listen to Yehovah’s statement:
Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver;
I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
For My sake, for My sake, I will act; for how is it defiled?
And I will not give My glory to another. (Isa 48:10-11)
It was trodden outside the city, why?
For of the animals whose “blood is brought” by the high priest
“into the Holy of Holies” concerning sins,
of these the bodies “are burned outside the camp.”
Indeed, because of this,
in order that He might sanctify the people by His own blood,
Jesus suffered outside the gate. (Heb 13:11-12)
So the Lord, to fulfill the symbols put forth in the sacrificial sys-
tem—to renew them by his blood given for many, he himself took
the bulk of the suffering for many, but as we’ve read, not for all, for
some don’t accept it, and won’t repent to live. (Eze 39:17-21)
Chapter 17
The Great Prostitute Sitting on the Beast
And one of the seven angels having the seven bowls
came and spoke with me, saying to me,
Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot
sitting on the many waters, (Rev 17:1)
The verses below are parallel—the underlined phrases and words
are all found in the above, they are both of the seven bowl angels,
which bookend the five other angels and together answer to the seven
assemblies. Every phrase or word underlined below is found in the
verse above. And each has a woman to “show:“ the first, the great
Harlot, and the last, the Bride, Wife of the Lamb—truly opposites.
And one of the seven angels came to me,
he having the seven bowls being filled with the seven last plagues,
and spoke with me, saying,
Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. (Rev 21:9)
And so she was judged, and all heaven rejoices:
For true and righteous are His judgments,
because He judged the great harlot
who defiled the earth with her fornication.
And He avenged the blood of His slaves out of her hand. (Rev 19:2)
Sitting on many waters: His voice in 1:15 sounds as many waters;
and so the 144000 together in 14:2; and finally the large crowd sing-
ing hallelujah in 19:6.
“with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication,
and the ones inhabiting the earth became drunk from the wine
of her fornication.” (Rev 17:2,)
Kings of the earth : In 1.6 we see that Christ is their ruler; in 6:15
they are hiding in caves, in 6:14 assembled for war; in 17:18 are in
the kingdom of the woman with whom they fornicate in 18:3. and as-
semble for war with the beast 19:9; but finally under Yeshua again in
21:24, they bring their glory into the new Jerusalem.
“And he carried me away into a desert, by the Spirit.
And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast,
 Chapter 17 195
filled with names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns.” (Rev 17:3,)
Note the similarity here but reversed: above is the domain of the evil
Babylon, and below the realm of the Bride with the new and holy
Jerusalem descending to be her abode.
“And he carried me in spirit onto a great and high mountain,
and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem,
coming down out of Heaven from God,” (Rev 21:10,)
Now looking at Names: there are the names of the 12 tribes, and of
as many apostles in 21:12,14 in the gates and foundation of the new
Jerusalem, respectively, and all of those named praise God.
The Seven heads and ten horns: of the dragon in 12:3, in the first
beast of 13:1; and in v3 and 17:7) as ten horns which matches Dan
7:7 where it is explained below:
“And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings;
they shall rise, and another shall rise after them.
And he shall be different from the first,
and he shall humble three kings.” (Dan 7:24,) cf 7:20
“And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet,
and being gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls,
having a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominations
and unclean things of her fornication.” (Rev 17:4,)
“of whom we hear, said:
and saying, Woe! Woe to the great city having been clothed
in linen and purple and scarlet, and having been gilded with gold
and precious stone, and pearls!” (Rev 18:16,)
But of our Lord:
“and having been clothed in a garment
which had been dipped in blood.
And His name is called The Word of God.” (Rev 19:13,)
Now, more about Babylon, the Harlot:
“Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of Jehovah,
making all the earth drunk.
The nations have drunk of her wine,
196 Chapter 17
therefore the nations rage.” (Jer 51:7)
“And on her forehead was a name having been written:
Mystery, Babylon the Great,
the Mother of the Harlots
and of the Abominations of the Earth.” (Rev 17:5,)
on her forehead: on hers is her abominable name, and on His loved
ones, it’s the Word of God that’s kept inside the forehead, that is in
mind, and heart.
And these Words which I am commanding you today
shall be on your heart.
And you shall teach them to your sons,
and shall speak of them as you sit in your house,
and as you walk in the way, and as you are lying down,
and as you are rising up.
And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand;
and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. (Deu 6:6-8)
and again “Therefore, you are to store up these words of mine
in your heart and in all your being;
tie them on your hand as a sign;
put them at the front of a headband
around your forehead;” (Deu 11:18, CJB)
In contrast to this Harlot is the Bride:
Let us be glad and shout with joy; and let us give glory to Him;
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His wife has made herself ready.” And it was granted to her
that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright;
for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. (Rev 19:7-8 AFV)
and answering to Babylon, the abominable city:
And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Rev 21:2 AFV)
And as said by the last angel in the final group of seven:
“One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last
plagues approached me and said, “Come! I will show you the Bride,
 Chapter 17 197
the Wife of the Lamb.”” (Rev 21:9, CJB)
“And I saw the woman being drunk
from the blood of the saints,
and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.
And I marveled, seeing her,
with a little great marveling.” (Rev 17:6,)
Drunk with the blood:
I watched, and that same horn made war with the saints
and overcame them, (Dan 7:21 AFV)
“And it was given to it “to war with the saints,
and to overcome them.”
And authority was given to it
over every tribe and tongue and nation.” (Rev 13:7,)
To which the saints might pray:
“You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
and You are not able to look upon vexation.
Why do you look on those who deal deceitfully?
Will You be silent when the wicked swallows
one more righteous than he?” (Hab 1:13,)
“And the angel said to me, Why did you marvel?
I will tell you the mystery of the woman,
and of the beast supporting her,
the one having the seven heads and the ten horns.” (Rev 17:7,)
“The beast which you saw was, and is not, and is about to come
up out of the abyss, and goes to perdition. And those dwelling
on the earth will marvel,
the ones whose names have not been written
on the Book of Life from the foundation of the world,
seeing the beast, that it was a thing, and is not,
yet now is.” (Rev 17:8,)
Here is a table about these seven heads and ten horns for their func-
tions vary from beast to beast.
198 Chapter 17
Seven Heads About the Heads and More about
and Ten Horns Horns
Dan 7:7, 23-25
10 horns 10 kings, +1, -3
Fourth Beast
12:3 : Dragon 7 heads Crowned Delegates
13:1 : First Beast One head wounded
10 horns crowned
from the Water but revived
7 heads are Kings in
Beast was, is not,
17:9-12 : Beast process;
and is about to
ridden by Harlot 10 horns are kings who
come.
have not yet been posted
This (v8) is the beast similar to that which rose out of the sea in 13:1,
which some see as the Roman Empire in its early day, which cer-
tainly may fit, but also consider how in both Germany and Italy there
are presently arising those who would reinstate that “Holy Roman
Empire” begun by Charlemagne (742-814). for :
That which has been is that which shall be;
and that which has been done is that which shall be done;
and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc 1:9 AFV)
So, these seven heads and ten horns may be the calling card of the
dragon, for these sporting those heads and horns are delegates of the
devil, and we know from 13:2 that he was given full authority by
the dragon, but we must add that the Son of Man has authority over
all, for he was stepping on the water and the dry land (10:2,5,8), the
domains of each of those two fiends, and He also limits their time of
action and their disposal.
The ten horns minus three, with one added, of Daniel, may, as in v8
here, describe the seven large kings of the “Holy Roman Empire,”
(HRE) each in turn, responsible for a larger expansion throughout
Europe, where the most recent included the orient, and the upcoming
to engulf the earth. This empire has had the “was, is, and is coming,”
aspect repeatedly, as each fades and is then replaced by the next. But
the common element in all is that the beast is behind them.
The Book of Life is first mentioned by Moses where he would offer
the deletion of his name for theirs.
 Chapter 17 199
And now if You will, lift up their sin. And if not,
I pray, blot me out from Your book
which You have written. (Exo 32:32)
And then in the Psalms: is the contrary sense of cursing his enemies.
Blot them out from the Book of Life;
yea, let them not be written with the righteous. (Psa 69:28)
The previous, from the Psalms, notes that it is one’s righteousness
that affixes his name therein. And so below Paul asserts that his fel-
low evangelists are there inscribed.
And I also ask you, true yoke-fellow,
help those who struggled along with me
and with Clement in the gospel,
and the rest, fellow-workers with me,
whose names are in the Book of Life. (Php 4:3)
This in, 17:8, as with that in 13:8 and 20:15, refers to those NOT
written in the Book of Life, for being inscribed protects one from the
lies of the Beast coming out of the abyss, and grants release in judge-
ment from being heaved into a lake of fire. In 21:27, which links
17:8, the First Angel of these final Seven, to the 7th angel, also denies
profaners and liars a place in the Book, and enforces righteousness as
the criteria for entry.
Again 13:8 alone of those references to the Book of Life has, with
17:8, the phrase: “from the foundation of the world,” the earlier tells
us that it refers to the Lamb having been slain from the foundation
of the world, which verse, though not being of the sense as 17:8, yet
supports it, for it is the blood of the Lamb that cleanses from sin,
onto righteousness.
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of His Son Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all sin. (1Jn 1:7)
Here is the mind having wisdom:
the seven heads are seven mountains,
where the woman sits on them.
And the kings are seven. The five fell,
200 Chapter 17
and the one is, and the other has not yet come.
And when he does come, he must remain a little. (Rev 17:9-10)
The mind having wisdom: by which 13:8 admonishes us to discern
the number of the beast. Hosea cautions us to follow Yehovah.
Who is wise and discerns these things? Who is discerning and knows
them? For the ways of Jehovah are right, and the righteous shall
walk in them; but transgressors shall stumble in them. (Hos 14:9)
And also in Mat 24:15, Jesus advises us to understand about the anti-
Christ standing in the holy place. The latter is certainly a geographi-
cal location, but it also warns us not to let the beast have a place to
stand in our hearts which have been sanctified by the blood to admit
His Holy Spirit, making it a holy place.
The seven heads : We’ve seen that the city on earth known widely
to have been founded on seven hills is Rome. So the woman, is a
type of the fallen church, in opposition to the Bride who holds onto
what the Spirit shows her in the word, for conduct and worship. And
mountains refer to high authority, and so here they are seven kings.
The five fell: So if this reference is to the time of John the Revela-
tor, then we have Babylon, The Medes and the Persians, Alexander
the Great, His four Generals, and Rome the fifth, which had not yet
fallen in John’s time, but another angle for his time would be the em-
perors of Rome: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, after
which there were four fly-by-night emperors until Vespasian came
to power. But he was followed by some giants like Trajanus and
Hadrianus, so it would be difficult to fit these into John’s Seven. But
more apropos are the Seven beginning with Justinian the Restorer;
Charlemagne, Father of Europe; Otto the Great, of German Imperial-
sim; the Hapsburg Dynasty, being Global; Napoleon, “Son of Rome;”
Hitler; and finally, the Anti-Christ, here and soon to be revealed.
And the beast which was, and is not, even he is the eighth,
and is of the seven, and goes to perdition. (Rev 17:11)
This cryptic line, of the Anti-Christ just mentioned who is about to be
on the scene, is much like that given to Daniel:
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings;
they shall rise, and another shall rise after them.
And he shall be different from the first,
 Chapter 17 201
and he shall humble three kings.
And he shall speak words against the Most High,
and he shall wear out the saints of the Most High.
And he intends to change times and law.
And they shall be given into his hand until
a time and times and one half time. (Dan 7:24,25)
This beast of seven heads, is himself the eighth, but of the seven, in
that they are rooted in him. This sketch of the beast is cursory, for it
takes the beast to perdition immediately, though certainly he is given
some days to function. The ‘eighth’ in Scripture means ‘beyond,’ we
will see it also in chp 20, of the twenty-second day of the seventh
month, or the eighth from the fifteenth of that month of Tishrei.
And the ten horns you saw are ten kings
who have not yet received a kingdom,
but will receive authority as kings one hour
with the beast. (Rev 17:12)
These ten kings may be the fifth of Daniel 2, where the toes contrib-
ute to the imagery of ten on the foot of the Church or Rome. This one
hour may be literally sixty minutes, or it could be a fraction of God’s
time of a thousand years to a day, which would stretch the hour to 41
years and 8 months, but this is out of range, for the beast is only al-
lotted 42 months, and so we’re back to the literal hour.
And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay,
so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. (Dan 2:42)
These have one mind, and their power and authority
they shall give up to the beast. (Rev 17:13)
This may be at a meeting with the beast, where the powerful evil
spirit from him unites to put them in league together to release their
authority to him. But in the events that follow, these kings may still
be ruling their constituencies, but under the sway of the beast.
These will make war with the Lamb,
and the Lamb will overcome them,
because He is Lord of lords and King of kings,
and the ones with Him are the called
and elect and faithful ones. (Rev 17:14)
202 Chapter 17
This war may be that in 19:19-21 where the beast and those kings
under him, face off with Yeshua and his bride, His heavenly host.
We can be assured that this is the scene, in that the adjective phrase
“Lord of lords and King of kings, describing Yeshua, is here, in his
resume in 19:16, and is lauded by the Great king of Babylon,
The king answered Daniel and said,
Your God truly is a God of gods and a Lord of kings,
and a Revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret. (Dan 2:47)
His Bride is lauded in the third line of 17:14 above, and Paul tells
of the elect, as having been called, and made right with God to be
esteemed by Him.
And whom He ordained beforehand, these He also called, and whom
He called, these He also declared right. And whom He declared
right, these He also esteemed. (Rom 8:30 TS2009)
And he says to me, The waters which you saw,
where the harlot sits,
are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. (Rev 17:15)
Not of the city of Rome, but of him who rules the Vatican, wherein
the Roman Church holds sway of multitudes in every nation, people,
and tongue. She who is nestled within those seven hills.
Of the Waters, the Psalmist has sung of the simile in roaring waves to
the tumult of crowds:
You still the roaring of the sea, the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the peoples. (Psa 65:7)
And then he foretells Yeshua’s quieting of the storm, which now we
can understand in the light of tumults, or of the storm in our hearts.
He settles the storm to a whisper,
so that its waves are still; (Psa 107:29)
And being awakened, He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
Silence! Be still!
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm, (Mar 4:39)
And the ten horns which you saw on the beast,
these will hate the harlot,
and will make her desolated and naked.
 Chapter 17 203
And they will eat her flesh,
and will burn her down with fire. (Rev 17:16)
That the beast will somehow have had enough of this Harlot is puz-
zling, for isn’t the False Prophet from her? Isn’t she the accomplice,
described as the second beast in chp 13, wearing sheep’s clothing but
having the voice of the dragon. Thus speaking abominable things,
though frocked. It may be that the beast sees her as too powerful, but
I’d rather believe that repentance came to that Babylon—probably
after her demise in chp 18, for how, if she were still controlled by the
Beast would he have his kings destroy her.
And if Satan rises upon himself, and has been divided,
he is not able to stand, but he has an end. (Mar 3:26)
For God gave into their hearts to do His mind,
and to act in one mind,
and to give their kingdom to the beast,
until the Words of God shall be fulfilled. (Rev 17:17)
This is to assure us that God’s Word must be fulfilled, and supports
our conclusion above that those kings, falling in under the Beast, is
by the will of the Father, for hasn’t He said through Baalam:
God is not a man that He should lie,
or a son of man that He should repent.
Has He said, and shall He not do it?
And has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num 23:19)
As streams of waters, the king’s heart is in the hand of Jehovah;
He turns it wherever He desires. (Pro 21:1)
And the woman whom you saw is the great city,
having a kingdom over the kings of the earth. (Rev 17:18)
And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron.
Inasmuch as iron crushes and smashes all things,
and as the iron that shatters all these,
it will crush and shatter. And as to that you saw,
the feet and the toes were partly of potters’ clay and partly of iron,
the kingdom shall be divided.
But there shall be in it the strength of iron, because
204 Chapter 18
you saw the iron mixed with clay of the potter. (Dan 2:40-41)
This from Daniel, agrees with our text, understanding that the ten
toes are the ten kings. The foot controls the toes, as does the Anti-
Christ those ten.
I cannot think of any city having any influence like that of the Pope,
no mater where he goes, gathering millions to see and hear his
smooth words, unless it be the city in the city of Rome, the Vatican.

Babylon Falls
Chapter 18
And after these things I saw another angel
coming down out of Heaven having great authority,
and the earth was lighted up from his glory. (Rev 18:1)
This second angel “coming down out of Heaven,” having “great”
authority, connects to the second-to-the-last with the same words
in quotes, but the second has a “great” chain on his hand. But their
domains could not be more different: the one lights up the earth with
glory, the other is concerned with the abyss. We see in the following
that this angel has the glory of our Lord about him.
For as the lightning lighting up out of one part under heaven
to one part under heaven shines,
so also will the Son of Man be in His day. (Luk 17:24)
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of Jehovah has risen on you!
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
and gross darkness the peoples.
But Jehovah shall rise on you, and His glory shall be seen on you.
And nations shall walk to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning. (Isa 60:1-3)
And he cried in a strong, great voice, saying,
Babylon the great has fallen!
It has fallen, and it has become a dwelling-place
of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit,
and a prison of every unclean bird,
even having been hated, (Rev 18:2)
 Chapter 18 205
Here we have an angel of great voice and Babylon the great, both
answered by “great” city, in v18,19. And the demise of Babylon is as
foretold by Jeremiah (ch. 25, 50, 51) and Isaiah (ch. 13, 14, 34) as :
And Babylon shall become heaps, a home for jackals,
a horror and a hissing, without a dweller. (Jer 51:37)
Because all nations have drunk
of the wine of the fury of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth
have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have become rich
through the power of her luxury.” (Rev 18:3 AFV)
We’ve seen the prophecy in 14:8 of the Demise of Babylon, and ear-
lier in 17 that she is nestled onto the seven hills of Rome. But in 14:8
she is located between the evil signs following hers, and the sign of
Sabbath inferred in 14:6,7 can only lead us to conclude she is called
the Harlot between these signs, and is smitten thereby, in that she
abandoned the Ring, the sign of the Sabbath of Ex 31:13, and suffers
the consequences (Ex 31:14,15), for Yehovah is a Jealous God.
For you shall not bow to another god, for Jehovah whose name is
Jealous, He is a jealous God; (Exo 34:14)
So, again, what entity has had more clout among all classes, coun-
tries, the simple and the leader, than the Pope, and the Catholic
church that raised and sustains him? Beware that you be not among
her daughters (17:5) :
And I heard another voice out of Heaven saying,
My people, come out of her,
that you may not share in her sins,
and that you may not receive of her plagues; (Rev 18:4)
The Prophets have warned the same:
Flee from the midst of Babylon;
yea, each man deliver his soul.
Do not be silenced in her iniquity.
For it is the time of the vengeance of Jehovah.
He will give her a just recompense.
206 Chapter 18
He will repay her. (Jer 51:6)
Go out of Babylon; flee from the Chaldeans.
Tell this with the voice of rejoicing;
let this be heard, let it go out to the end of the earth; say,
Jehovah has redeemed His servant Jacob. (Isa 48:20)
Yeshua also voices this warning for a tangible event, with spiritual
undertones:
Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation,
which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place (the one who reads, let him understand),
Then let those who are in Judea
flee into the mountains. (Mat 24:15-16 AFV)
And so also, if fear begins to strangle and that evil spirit takes hold
of the heart, then turn in flight toward the Mountain of our Faith, and
cry to him whose name is Salvation.
For “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
(Rom 10:13 LEB)

For her sins have reached as far as heaven,

and God has remembered her iniquities. (Rev 18:5 AFV)
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed.
Forsake her, and let us go, each one into his own country.
For her judgment reaches to the heavens
and is lifted up to the skies. (Jer 51:9)
Rise up, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it;
for their evil has come up before Me. (Jon 1:2)
This last verse can give us hope, for the whole town of Nineveh did
repent from the simpleton to the king, So there was no cry to “come
out of her” for she repented. And our Lord is a perfect judge, when
one relies on the Lord asking for forgiveness for that wrong which he
fell into, and when received, the Lord no longer sees her sin but her
cleanness. And so Nineveh was saved at that time.
That God has remembered her iniquities, was forewarned in 16:19.
Of course God does not forget, any more than he would have forgot-
ten Noah and the Ark being tossed about.
And God remembered Noah and every living thing,
 Chapter 18 207
and all the cattle which were with him in the ark.
And God made a wind to pass over the earth,
and the waters subsided. (Gen 8:1)
It’s not that God forgets, but he does things on the right time.
And He looked on their affliction when He heard their shout;
He remembered His covenant for them, and breathed a sigh,
according to His many mercies. (Psa 106:44-45)
And I will return to save them, for I have pity on them.
And they shall be as though I had not cast them off,
for I am Jehovah their God, and I will answer them. (Zec 10:6b)
Yehovah had cast them off for a time, as chastisement, but returned
to them when they turned to him. Even as He had Hosea write:
I will go; I will return to My place until
they confess their guilt and seek My face.
In their affliction they will seek Me diligently. (Hos 5:15)
Give back to her as also she gave back to you,
and double to her double, according to her works.
In the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. (Rev 18:6
When they repent the Lord will turn the double around, for in Zecha-
riah we see the Salvation of those who in hope returned, and as they
had been inflicted doubly, so He will return double blessing to them,
having purged them with the blood of His Covenant.
He shall speak peace to the nations.
And His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Also you, by the blood of your covenant
I have sent out your prisoners from the pit;
no water is in it. Turn to the stronghold, O prisoners of hope!
Even today I declare I will return double to you. (Zec 9:10-12)
By what things she glorified herself, and luxuriated,
by so much give back to her torment and mourning.
Because she says in her heart,
I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow;
and I do not see mourning at all. (Rev 18:7)
The above and below refer to the same called Babylon, having the
208 Chapter 18
same brazenness.
And you said, I shall be a mistress forever,
until you did not set these things on your heart,
and did not remember its end.
Now, then, hear this, O pleasure seeker, who lives carelessly;
who says in her heart, I am, and none else is;
I shall not sit as a widow,
nor shall I know the loss of children. (Isa 47:7-8)
Because of this, in one day her plagues shall come:
death, and mourning, and famine;
and she will be consumed with fire,
for the Lord God judging her is strong. (Rev 18:8)
Contrast Babylon, with the Bride:
And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of
Heaven from God, having been prepared as a bride, having been
adorned for her Husband. (Rev 21:2)
Again this was known ages ago, and it did befall, but that which
befalls, will yet again befall.
But these two things shall suddenly come to you,
in one day: loss of children, and widowhood;
according to completeness they come on you,
for your many sorceries, for the multitude of your great spells.
For you trusted in your evil; you said, No one sees me.
Your wisdom and your knowledge; it is turning you back,
and you said in your heart, I am and none else is. (Isa 47:9-10)
Yehovah sees the evil of pride in her, the same as in Satan :
Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.
I have cast you to the ground.
I will put you before kings,
that they may see you. (Eze 28:17)
Yehovah is mighty and will mightily destroy:
In that day Jehovah shall visit the sea monster, the darting serpent,
with His great and fierce and strong sword;
even on the sea monster, the twisting serpent;
 Chapter 18 209
and He shall slay the monster that is in the sea. (Isa 27:1)
And the kings of the earth will weep for her,
and will wail over her,
those having fornicated and having luxuriated with her,
when they see the smoke of her burning;
standing from afar because of the fear of her torment,
saying, Woe! Woe to the great city, Babylon,
the strong city! For in one hour your judgment came.
(Rev 18:9-10)
Notice how fast comes destruction, what could destroy in only an
hour unless a barrage of missiles, or worse, an atomic bomb which is
now owned by more than don’t. Now, the above as by the prophets:
At the sound of Babylon’s capture, the earth shall tremoble,
and a cry is heard among the nations. (Jer 50:46)
And I will make many people appalled at you,
and their kings will be horribly afraid at you,
when I make My sword fly before their faces.
And they shall quake at every moment,
each man for his own life, in the day of your fall. (Eze 32:10)
but there will be those celebrating this demise, nature not least.
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees vengeance;
he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
And man will say, Truly, a fruit is to the righteous;
truly, there is a God judging in the earth. (Psa 58:10-11)
In one hour: We see this cried out by the seamen three times in this
chapter: 18:10, 17, 19 as they pour dirt on their heads in mourning,
because their wealth fried with her.
cargo of gold, and silver, and of precious stone,
and of pearls, and of fine linen, and of purple, and of silk, and
of scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every ivory vessel,
and every vessel of very precious wood, and of bronze,
and of iron, and of marble, (Rev 18:12)
The Lord has a different and more healthy angle:
Receive my instruction, and not silver;
210 Chapter 18
and knowledge, rather than choice gold. (Pro 8:10)
and cinnamon, and incenses, and ointment,
and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine meal,
and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses,
and chariots, and of bodies and souls of men. (Rev 18:13)
This verse, especially at the end, forms the center of a chiasmus that
begins in v.18. For here it terminates with the selling of bodies and
souls of people.
Peter warns of false prophets and teachers coming in, who
... by covetousness, with well-turned words,
they will use you for gain,
for whom judgment of old does not linger,
and their destruction does not slumber. (2Pe 2:3)
It’s not just indulgences and absolutions, for we don’t have to crane
our necks in the big churches toward another, for the offering boxes
and plates passed, figure as rather forced gain, better are those which
have a slot in the wall near the coat rack out in the entry, but they tell
me the plate is necessary for they have not the faith to place collec-
tion out of sight.
And the ripe fruits of the lust of your soul
went away from you, and all the fat things,
and the bright things went away from you,
and you will find them no more, not at all. (Rev 18:14)
Because all that which is in the world: the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1Jn 2:16)
and oft wealth is not a neutral thing with the Lord, else he wouldn’t
have given us this word:
But Abraham said, Child, remember that you fully received your
good things in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise the bad things.
But now he is comforted, and you are suffering. (Luk 16:25)
There Is who does not forget,
in order to buy the helpless with silver, and the poor for a pair of
sandals, and sell the chaff of the wheat? Jehovah has sworn by the
 Chapter 18 211
Pride of Jacob, Surely I will not ever forget all their
works. (Amo 8:6-7)
The merchants of these things,
the ones being enriched from her,
will stand from afar because of the fear of her torment,
weeping and mourning; (Rev 18:15)
Notice how this v15 answers to v11 with “messengers” and “weep
and mourn,” but v11 is brief and this v15 expounds on it, but “stands
afar” answers to v10, of the kings. Here we see that they are standing
afar because of their fear that they be caught into the conflagration.
But if they had really feared torment, why wait until the last hour, for
Yeshua warns that we must make amends while on the way, for when
before the judge, it’s too late.
Be well intentioned toward your opponent quickly,
while you are in the way with him,
that the opponent not deliver you to the judge,
and the judge deliver you to the officer,
and you be thrown into prison. (Mat 5:25)
and saying, Woe! Woe to the great city having been clothed in
linen and purple and scarlet,
and having been gilded with gold
and precious stone, and pearls!
For in one hour such great wealth was desolated.
And every ship-pilot and all company on the ships,
and sailors, and as many as work the sea,
stood from afar, (Rev 18:16-17)
This verse answers to v10 with the double “Woe,” “the great city,”
and “for in one hour.” But by her clothing, this refers to the woman
sitting on the Beast (17:4), affirming that we are talking of the same.
Now to ponder which city this may be that shares the fate with that
perched within Rome, for present day Rome does not fit, but many
large metropolises do, and this could refer to the whole economic
system, of which no city is aloof. Tyre could have fit this, but it was
destroyed completely through the forecasting of the Psalms, (83:7),
Isaiah (23), Jeremiah (25), and Ezekiel (26).
212 Chapter 18

We have discussed the “hour” of destruction and know that the atom-
ic bombs owned by numerous countries could decimate the gamut in
less time than that.
and cried out, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying,
What is like the great city? (Rev 18:18)
While this answers to v9 in “seeing the smoke of her burning,” But
Ezekiel shows us how this is described in Tyre, but as seen above,
Tyre must be a type of those massive metropolitan seaports around
the earth. Now, note the seafarers in each and how the last line here:
“who is like Tyre,” is asked above about “the great city.”
And all who handle the oar shall come down from their ships,
the seamen, all the sailors of the sea.
They shall stand on the land,
and will make heard their voice against you, and will cry bitterly,
and will cause dust to go up on their heads;
they will wallow in the ashes.
And they shall be bald for you and gird with sackcloth;
and they shall weep for you with bitterness of soul, a bitter wailing.
And in their wailing they shall lift up a lamentation
and lament over you, saying,
Who is like Tyre, as one silenced in the midst of the sea? (Eze 27:29-32)
And they threw dust on their heads,
and cried out, weeping and mourning,
saying, Woe! Woe to the great city,
by which all those having ships in the sea were rich,
from her costliness, because in one hour she was ruined.
(Rev 18:19)
Here is the third pair of “Woes” (v.10, 16) and this verse bookends all
of those mourning laments.
They threw dust on their heads: This is common throughout Scripture
for moments of great sorrow, like Joshua after the Ai defeat (Jos 7:6),
Tamar abased by her brother, a large group of the Sons of Israel with
Nehemiah on the sin of the community, and Job’s three friends seeing
him from the distance.
 Chapter 18 213

We’re rich: connects with Sardis which though poor is called rich by
Yeshua (2:9), and to Laodicea who considers herself rich, but Yeshua
calls her poor. It also answers to v.3 for the merchants.
Great city: is sprinkled throughout this chapter (vss. 10, 16, this, and
21), always referring to Babylon being thrown down, both church
and city. Two kinds of sin:
City: You shall not have any other gods before Me. (Exo 20:3)
Church: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy; (Exo 20:8)
The City, for wealth is its god, and the Church for contriving her
own worship day, in opposition of the Lord’s, She moved the Ring to
another finger, which voids the wedding pledge.
Rejoice over her, Heaven, and the holy apostles,
and the prophets,
because God judged your judgment on her. (Rev 18:20)
Isaiah also voices praise for Babylon’s downfall:
So behold, the days come that I will punish on the idols of Babylon.
And all her land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in her midst.
Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them,
shall shout for Babylon. (Jer 51:47-48a)
All of nature will rejoice, flora, fauna, and humanity for just is the
Lord in his judgements.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and the fullness of it.
Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it;
then the trees of the forest shall rejoice before Jehovah;
for He comes; for He comes to judge the earth;
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
and the people with His faithfulness. (Psa 96:11-13)
Note that this v20 responds to v8 for therein it lauds “the Lord God
Judging her is strong,” which focuses on His judging which reflects
on his righteousness, that the Lord is always just.
 The Third Angel (of the last Seven)
And one strong angel lifted a stone like a great millstone, and
threw it into the sea, saying,
This way, on a violent impulse,
Babylon the great city will be thrown down,
and it will never more still be found. (Rev 18:21)
And thus it was historically, and so it will be again whether City
or Church. Jeremiah was lead to prophecy this also. Now Babylon
was near the Euphrates, but not the sea, so the above angel must have
flown up and looked out over the Deep, but either way it shows final-
ity. So that the angel threw the millstone down with violence, that is
how Babylon will fall.
And then when you finish reading aloud this scroll,
you must tie a stone on it,
and you must throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.
And you must say, ‘Babylon will sink, and she will not rise,
because of the face of the disasters that I am bringing on her,
and they will grow weary.’” (Jer 51:63-64a LEB)
And the sound of harpers, and of musicians, and flutists,
and of trumpeters will not still be heard in you, never!
And every craftsman of every craft
will not still be found in you, never!
And the sound of a mill will not still be heard in you,
never! (Rev 18:22)
Here we will never again hear the various instruments that used to
flood the streets with music, or the trumpet which called from the
citadel. Each line of sounds or crafts and back to sounds, all end with
never. The last word is a curse, to the effect that this city/church will
never rise again, to pull the world into vice.
And the light of a lamp will not still shine in you, never!
And the voice of the bridegroom and bride
will not be heard in you, never!
 Chapter 18 215

For your merchants were the great ones of the earth,

for by your sorcery all the nations were led astray. (Rev 18:23)
See how Jeremiah’s prophecy dovetails with that for Babylon above,
both speak of desolation, and as Babylon, so was Jerusalem before
it, but the latter wasn’t permanent, because it is still there, and a New
Jerusalem is expected.
And I will take from them the voice of rejoicing,
and the voice of gladness,
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride,
the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. (Jer 25:10)
And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints,
and of all the ones having been slain on the earth. (Rev 18:24)
For who was Hitler’s mentor but the Pope? Through the same, though
earlier, were the Saxons massacred by Charlemagne in the service of
that evil one. Even the last phrase of v18: “all the slain of the earth”
for the one behind their deaths is behind all of them, through any
agency he has his claws in. But Yeshua has the same curse on the
lawyers of his day:
that the blood of all the prophets which has been shed
from the foundation of the world
may be required from this generation,
from the blood of Abel until the blood of Zechariah
who perished between the altar and the House.
Yea, I say to you, It will be required from this generation. (Luk 11:50-51)
This blanket statement of Yeshua’s tells us that he is aiming it at the
same nefarious spirit that targets the saints and those who follow
Yeshua in truth, and in love.
Chapter 19
Heaven Erupts in Jubilation
And after these things, I heard a great voice
of a large multitude in Heaven, saying, Hallelujah!
The salvation and the glory and the honor
and the power of the Lord our God!
because true and righteous [are] His judgments,
because He judged the great whore
who corrupted the earth in her whoredom,
and He avenged the blood of His servants at her hand”;
(Rev 19:1,2 LSV,)
And after these things, refers to chp 18 with the destruction of Baby-
lon and the associated laments which show God’s vengeance.
David bursts into similar praise of Yehovah:
To You, O YHWH, [is] the greatness, and the might,
and the beauty, and the victory, and the splendor,
because of all in the heavens and in the earth;
to You, O YHWH, [is] the kingdom,
and He who is lifting up Himself over all for head;
and the riches, and the honor [are] from before You,
and You are ruling over all, and in Your hand [is] power and might,
and [it is] in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all.
(1Ch 29:11-12 LSV)
In the heavenly praise, Salvation is what as been achieved for those
that were oppressed by that evil system; Glory is what the Lord
receives by achieving that victory over the reigning evil and for his
righteous judgement; Honor is granted to the Most High by his saints
for his just judgment upon this wicked system; and Power is proved
by how he succeeded in executing just vengeance.
One wonders who the large multitude is in Heaven, is it just angelic
beings, or are there some or many from earth? Is the Bride in that ju-
bilation? For she may well have been at large just before her wedding
that takes place very soon in this chapter.
 Chapter 19 217

and a second time they said, “Hallelujah”;

and her smoke comes up through the ages of the ages!
(Rev 19:3 LSV)
The heavenly chorus chimes in another hallelujah (Laud Yehovah),
while the smoke of Babylon continues to rise perpetually, reminding
us of Sodom and Gomorrah :
and he looks on the face of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and on all the face of the land of the circuit,
and sees, and behold, the smoke of the land
went up as smoke of the furnace. (Gen 19:28 LSV)
And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures
fell down and they worshiped God
who is sitting on the throne,
saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!” (Rev 19:4 LSV)
Here again are our flesh and bones, our limbs and indeed our heart
they all serve, which serves them all, worshiping God, for that is
meet. Now when those twenty-four elders fall down and worship He
who sits on the throne, they go through the liturgy of 4:9-11, for there
it was prescribed by the words: “and whenever the living creatures
shall give glory...” v.9, then the twenty-four elders fall down to wor-
ship, throwing their crowns before He who lives through the Ages,
and culminate in this hymn of praise:
Lord, You are worthy to receive the glory and the honor
and the power, because You created all things,
and through Your will they exist and were created. (Rev 4:11)
for as we are taught, God’s creative power and wisdom are worthy of
the highest praise, for no other has the ability to create;
(Rev 10:6; Gen 1:1; Exo 20:11, 31:17; Isa 40:26,28; Jer 32:17; Joh 1:3; Eph 3:9)
So you shall say to them,
The gods who have NOT made the heavens and the earth,
they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.
It is He who made the earth by His power,
who established the world by His wisdom,
218 Chapter 19

and who stretched out the heavens by His understanding. (Jer 10:11-12)
Who is chief among those gods, who have never created? If not he
who rules all science at this time, namely “Evolution.” He’ll surely
perish from under the heavens to no longer cripple minds on earth.
Amen, Hallelujah: “So be it,” and “Lift High Yehovah,” rings the
concluding chorus of praise which follows their liturgy of worship.
And a voice came forth from the throne, saying,
“Praise our God, all His servants, and all who fear Him,
both small and great.” (Rev 19:5 AFV)
And a voice: This verse concludes this section with a refrain of praise
by all how fear God.
all His servants:
Bless Jehovah, O angels of His; mighty in strength; doing His Word;
listening to the voice of His Word.
Bless Jehovah, all His hosts, ministers of His, doing His will.
Bless Jehovah, all His works in all the places of His dominion;
bless Jehovah, O my soul. (Psa 103:20-22)
Thus, among his servants are the angels, all people here below, all of
his works, and you too, my soul!

The Bride of the Lamb Presented

And I heard as a sound of a numerous crowd,
and as a sound of many waters,
and as a sound of strong thunders, saying, Hallelujah! Because
the Lord God Almighty reigned.
Let us rejoice and let us exult,
and we will give glory to Him,
because the marriage of the Lamb came,
and His wife prepared herself. And it was given to her
that she be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright;
for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.
(Rev 19:6-8)
We have seen the “many waters” in 1:15 as the voice of Yeshua, in
 Chapter 19 219

14:2 as a heavenly choir, in 17:1 as the Harlot sitting on many wa-

ters—hordes of people from every walk of life, and finally here a
large crowd in heaven praising God Almighty in harmony, with the
thunders adding their base voices, praising the Father that he has
taken the reigns, and glorifying Him because of the immanent mar-
riage supper of the Lamb. Many of old have looked forward to this.
For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you.
And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so your God shall rejoice over you. (Isa 62:5)
And I will betroth you to Me forever.
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness,
and in judgment, and in mercy, and in compassions.
I will even betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
And you shall know Jehovah. (Hos 2:19-20)
The kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man, a king,
who made a wedding feast for his son. (Mat 22:2)
The covenant of marriage to Israel dates back to Mt. Sinai, (Jer
31:32) where the Ten Words became the writ of marriage, of which
the Fourth became the Ring proffered. But even in that message
through Jeremiah in v33, He, having attested that they broke the cov-
enant etched in Stone, is now providing a new way of holding those
same words, for the stone tablets are hidden in the Ark, and the Ark
is now hidden from people, so from Pentecost the Lord provided his
Holy Spirit to burn a new heart into his followers, a heart that would
know His Law and follow it, for it is the Spirit given to dwell in those
who in good-will, endeavor to keep his rules, and laws (1Jn 3:24). It
is this Bride of which the verses above speak, for even though some
refer to Jerusalem as the Bride, we know that it is not the City, but
those who dwell therein, (Rev 3:12; 21:2).
As a second witness to the poverty of his Chosen (2:9, poor; 3:8, little
power) are the like in Yeshua’s parable of the wedding feast referred
to in 22:2 above, for though not the bride they are kin in spirit.
And having come up, that slave reported these things to his lord.
Then being angry, the house-master said to his slave,
Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city,
220 Chapter 19

and bring in here the poor and maimed and lame and blind ones.
(Luk 14:21)
We know His bride follows the rules and commands of His Kingdom,
for she is in the inner core of that Kingdom. Now she is clothed in
fine, bright linen representing her righteousness, which means all she
does is “right and proper” in His eyes, according to all that he has
prescribed and set down, which she keeps for Love of Him.
Now, does the Wedding Feast take place here in the story? That’s
very doubtful, for John, Jesus beloved, is not included, he is outside
with the angel, also this is a heavenly scene, where there are no mor-
tals. For the mortals (sheep and goats) are yet to be judged on Yom
Kipure (on the 10th, seven years later). And we will see presently that
the angel is saying “Write: Blessed of those who are invited,” which
written by John, is tantamount to being the invitation to us, thus this
whole book is an invitation to us, concluding with the final plea of
the Bride with the Spirit calling: “Come...take of the Water of Life
freely.” That water is the Holy Spirit which guides into righteous-
ness, and gives us the power to obey. But now the Bride has made
herself ready, will her robes get soiled between this presentation and
the journey on horseback, being seated to help judge between the
sheep and the goats, witnessing and comforting the many weeping
on seeing Him, whom they had pierced, and then being presented to
the mortals (the sheep) and all the rest who will share in the marriage
feast of the Lamb five days later (15th of seventh month). For it as
this feast that He will lift the Cup of the Kingdom which he deferred
at the Last Supper to this First Supper in the New Kingdom.
I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will call on the name of Jehovah. (Psa 116:13)
That “cup of Salvation” is literally “the Cup of Yeshua,” which he
will share at that Wedding Feast, even as he did the loves and fish.
And he says to me, Write: Blessed are the ones having
been called to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb.
And he says to me, These Words of God are true. (Rev 19:9)
So here is the announcement mentioned, the invitation John is writ-
ing but why would he say: These words of God are true,”? For God’s
 Chapter 19 221

words are never not True. But I think the intent is that the angel is
relaying the words of God to him, so he can attest that they are true;
his statement is like an encouragement, that he isn’t joking, and there
will be a wedding of the Messiah to His Bride.
The kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man, a king,
who made a wedding feast for his son. (Mat 22:2)
She shall be led to the King in embroidered work; her companions,
the virgins, shall be brought to You after her. (Psa 45:14)
And I fell before his feet to worship him, but he said to me,
Behold! Stop! I am a fellow-slave of yours,
and of your brothers, having the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus
is the spirit of prophecy. (Rev 19:10)
And as we hear through Paul to the Hebrews, angels are ministering
spirits helping out His Loved Ones.
Are they not all ministering spirits for service, being sent out because
of the ones being about to inherit salvation? (Heb 1:14)
These ministering spirits, as seen throughout the Bible, ministered to
Mary and to Joseph, bringing the word they needed to hear, to reas-
sure and direct; and they gather the elect in Mat 24:31 as they are
positioned, each doing his task throughout this book of Revelation.
The Angel of Jehovah camps around those who fear Him,
and He sets them free. (Psa 34:7)
He also attests that we are not to worship angels but only God, we do
not bow to them, but only to the Father, and His Son.
This angel serves John and his brethren who have the testimony of
Jesus. Which means that they testify of Jesus to others. God’s word
swells in their hearts and they are always prepared with a word of
comfort, admonition, or warning as we learn also through Paul.
preach the Word, be urgent in season, out of season, convict,
warn, encourage with all long-suffering and teaching. (2Ti 4:2)
in fact Jesus last words while standing on terra firma, directed to
them and to us:
222 Chapter 19

teaching them to observe all, whatever I commanded you,

and behold, I am with you all the days—
until the full end of the age.” (Mat 28:20 LSV)
and Paul explains how important it is that we tell others of Yeshua
for the salvation of their souls and of one’s own soul; note the two
criteria, confess or preach, believe and trust:
Because if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. (Rom 10:9)
The Spirit of Prophecy is the Holy Spirit dwelling in his loved ones
“driving” them into a wilderness of people to impart the Gospel.
(Mar 1:12,14)
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of him proclaiming good news,
making peace heard, bearing tidings of good,
making heard salvation,
saying to Zion, Your God reigns. (Isa 52:7)

The Heavenly Cavalry

And I saw Heaven being opened. And, behold! A white horse, and He sitting on it
having been called Faithful and True. (Rev 19:11-16)
And He judges and wars in righteousness.
And His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on His head many diadems,
having a name that had been written, which no one knows except Himself;
and having been clothed in a garment which had been dipped in blood.
And His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies in Heaven followed Him on white horses, being dressed in
fine linen, white and pure.
And out of His mouth goes forth a sharp sword, that with it He might smite
the nations.
And He will shepherd them with an iron rod.
And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of God
Almighty.
And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name having been written: KING
OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.17
This is a beautiful chiasmus which demonstrates the literary structure
17 Lund, Nils, W. p 350
 Chapter 19 223

quite well. The first and last lines give the names of the Captain, the
second and second to last, his judgement and wars, and so on to the
center which has his robe dipped in blood. The “garment” there and
in the lower extreme demonstrates a rule of the chiasmus that the
center may connect to the extremes.
Heaven opened: In 4:1 John was called up to model for us how his
saints will be called up to “keep them from the hour of trial (3:10).
That is the only other opening of heaven itself in the Book, but while
that first was calling her aloft, this one has her descending to follow
and serve her husband and Lord!
A white horse: The first in 6:2 was the devil on his way to deceive.
This one is Yeshua who, by contrast, is Faithful and True. And His
train of servants are all on white horses, whom know that’s his bride,
for she, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, has the same attire in v6
of fine linen, pure and bright; having the last two adjectives flipped,
showing that the connection is affirmed by the same rule.
Eyes as a flame of fire: v12 This striking image is found first in 1:14
in the vision John saw of him among the candlesticks, and then in
2:18 where it is his identity mark for Thyatira. It is the latter which is
answered by the same in this chapter. A thorough picture of Yeshua
was seen by Daniel which says;
His body was also like the beryl, and his face looked like lightning.
And his eyes were like torches of fire;
and his arms and his feet in color like polished bronze;
and the sound of his words were as the noise of a multitude. (Dan 10:6)
Out of His mouth a sharp sword: In 34 verses of the Bible outside of
this Book, we have men conquering by the “mouth of the sword” in
this Book of Revelation alone do we have four verses of the “sword
of [my] mouth” (my or his). He is first revealed with that sword from
the mouth in 1:16; then to threaten Pergamum in 2:16, to whom this
utterance of it connects; then to this in v15 and again to employ it in
19:21. But wouldn’t that image of command be a way of saying that
Yeshua has the power of his word, and that any word he utters has the
power to achieve, even as it was his voice, informed by the Father’s
Spirit, that formed the heavens and earth and all therein?
224 Chapter 19

The “many diadems on his head” are placed by the Ancient of Days:
And dominion was given to Him, and glory, and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:14)
having a name that had been written, which no one knows: This
answers to what Yeshua had written to the church of Pergamum in the
final promise to her, it refers to a unique name, unknown but by the
receiver written on a white stone.
To the one overcoming ... I will give to him a white stone, and on the
stone a new name having been written,
which no one knows except the one receiving it. (Rev 2:17b)
And had been clothed in a garment that had been dipped in blood:
Here at the core of the Chiasmus, attesting to it’s over-riding weight,
is a more detailed conversation about that between our Lord and a
voice like ours:
Why is Your clothing red,
and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?
I have trodden the winepress, I alone,
and no man of the peoples was with Me.
And I will tread them in My anger, and trample them in My fury;
and their juice shall be spattered on My garments;
and I will pollute all My clothes. (Isa 63:2-3)
So the garment wasn’t just dipped, the Lord has had enough of so
called Christians who don’t take the time to read his Word or don’t
trust that he will indeed take vengeance on those who spurn it.
And I tread down peoples in My anger,
and made them drunk in My fury.
And I poured their juice to the earth. (Isa 63:6)
For we see: His name is called The Word of God, in the first chapter
of John’s Gospel :
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. (Joh 1:1)
 Chapter 19 225

Taking note of His current vengeance : People say they love Jesus,
but He is the Word of God, every word in the Bible is breathed by
him and worth studying, for the Lord will not hold one guiltless who
has access but does not peruse the most important book ever written.
We saw above how his saints were following on white horses, for
they will descend with him and take part in the judging, to separate
the sheep from the goats (Mat 25: 31-46), they have been given
crowns (2:10b; 3:11), and thrones to sit on with authority to judge
(20:4). On the chiasmus above we see this phrase balances that of
Him wearing many diadems, he being their leader, and Husband!
Again looking at “the sword in His mouth:”
For the Word of God is living, and powerfully working,
and sharper than every two-edged sword,
and piercing as far as the division of both soul and spirit,
of both joints and marrow,
and able to judge of the thoughts and intentions of the heart; (Heb 4:12)
Now, this refers to a spiritual sword, used to pry into the inner soul
and spirit, but is not less powerful when spoken to that mountain to
be thrown into the sea, or to that opposing army to lie down dead, to
be consumed by carrion birds. The latter by the Person of Yeshua,
the Word of God, the former by those reading from His word to the
conviction of their hearts. And we will see him “smite the nations”
with it in v21.
That he will shepherd them with an iron rod, is linked to Psalm 2:
Ask of Me, and I will give the nations as Your inheritance;
and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. (Psa 2:8-9)
Surely, this refers to an earthly kingdom, not that heavenly one
dreamed up by Plato and Origen based on Greek philosophy. For in
heaven there would be no other kingdom that needed chastisement,
that is an earthly phenomenon—and God’s heaven is not seen in star
wars. Our text also links to 2:27 which has to do with “authority over
the nations,” and it identifies the son born to the woman in 12:5.
Now that He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger, is referred
226 Chapter 21 (shift)

to in 14:17-20, and we can see more of the Isaiah passaged sited

there, where we don’t find a lamb, but the Lion of Judah.
For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
and the year of My redemption has come.
And I looked, and there was none to help;
and I was astonished that there was no one to uphold;
therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me;
and My fury upheld Me.
And I will tread down the people in My anger,
and make them drunk in My fury,
and I will pour their lifeblood down to the earth.” (Isa 63:4-6 AFV)
The word “garment” here at the extreme answers to the “garment” in
the center of this chiasmus in v12,13 which is dipped in blood; but
here and on his thigh is his grand title “King of Kings and Lord of
Lords.” Why thigh? Because of it’s near horizontal position on him
who is mounted on a horse, answering to the opposite extreme of the
chiasmus on that note: thigh to horse (rider). The title is also found
in 17:14, and attested to by the king of Babylon
The king answered Daniel and said, “It is true that your God is
the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
since you could reveal this secret.” (Dan 2:47 AFV)
and the psalmist demonstrates it:
Yea, all kings shall prostrate themselves before Him;
all nations shall serve Him, (Psa 72:11 AFV)
also Paul to the Philippians includes it in an anthem of praise, ex-
panding the sense from kings to individuals;
Because of this also God highly exalted Him
and gave Him a name above every name,
that at the name of Jesus “every knee should bow,”
of heavenly ones, and earthly ones, and ones under the earth,
and “every tongue should confess” that Jesus Christ is “Lord,”
to the glory of God the Father. (Php 2:9-11)
Chapter 21 (shift)18
All Renewed
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea did not exist any longer. (Rev 21:1 LEB)
Isaiah relates this from Yehovah’s perspective:
For look! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered,
and they shall not come to mind.
But rejoice and shout in exultation forever and ever
over what I am about to create!
For look! I am about to create Jerusalem as a source of rejoicing,
and her people as a source of joy. (Isa 65:17-18 LEB)
for which Peter is praying:
But according to his promise,
we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness resides. (2Pe 3:13 LEB)
And why not a sea? Could it be its symbolic weight, from out of it
Leviathan (Is 27:1), from it the four beasts of Dan 7:3, and out of it
the Antichrist (13:1). Also we know that the sea represents multitudes
of unruly ones.
But the wicked are like the churning sea,
that is not able to keep quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and mud. (Isa 57:20 LEB)
And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out
of Heaven from God, having been prepared as a bride,
having been adorned for her Husband. (Rev 21:2)
That’s fitting of the New Jerusalem for we see in Philadelphia that

18 21: 1-8 is moved to this position to keep the structure of the

book intact, also with this transposition, the new Jerusalem is on
earth before it can be attacked it in 20:7, and the Second Death
is defined here before it is referred to in 20:6 where it is said the
Second Death has no authority, yet it is otherwise undefined.
228 Chapter 21 (shift)

she is to dwell in that New Jerusalem coming down from the Father,
which they have been preparing as voiced to His beloved Disciples:
Do not let your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places.
But if it were not so, I would have told you.
I am going to prepare a place for you!
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I am coming again and will receive you to Myself,
that where I am you may be also. (Joh 14:1-3)
The word “prepare” is seen twice here in John, which is modeled on
a Jewish wedding, where the betrothal ring is given, it having been
procured and the contract read, finalized, and signed by all seven;
then those parting words of the Suitor are directed to the bride-to-be.
And so the City (their nuptial and permanent abode) is prepared to
be as a bride adorned for her Husband, even as she is doing in 19:7-8.
And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God with men!
And He will tabernacle with them,
and they will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them as their God. (Rev 21:3)
Now there are three occasions of this “Great Voice” in this book, and
all three are “from Heaven.”
11:12: the Great Voice from Heaven summons the two witnesses
upward.
12:10 It Praises God that the accuser has been cast down, he who
incessantly accused the brethren.
21:3 The verse being studied, where God has come down to reside
with his people.
Here by Yehovah, He having set the criteria that the people have no
other gods, honor his sanctuary, and keep his holy Sabbath.
And I will set My tabernacle in your midst,
and My soul shall not loathe you;
and I shall walk always in your midst, and shall be God to you,
 Chapter21(shift) 229

and you, you shall be people to Me; (Lev 26:11-12)

That “he will tabernacle with them,” could be saying that he will
have a body with which to relate to flesh and blood people, even as
Jesus has tabernacled with us (Jn 1.14). And he will covenant with
the people to put His Law in their hearts—that which is on a con-
cealed stone, so that we can know how to follow his ways.
But this shall be the covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel:
After those days, declares Jehovah,
I will put My Law in their inward parts,
and I will write it on their hearts;
and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jer 31:33)
Zechariah adds, that this relationship be in truth and in keeping his
laws, for the tempter is opposite in that he is a liar and lawless.
And I will bring them, and they shall live in the midst of Jerusalem.
And they shall be for a people to Me, and I will be their God,
in truth and in righteousness. (Zec 8:8)
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
And death shall be no longer, nor mourning,
nor outcry, nor will there be pain any more;
for the first things passed away. (Rev 21:4)
Yehovah our God will do a major Reset, for wonderful Love will re-
place the pervading hate and strife we have gotten ourselves into, and
surround us with Peace as our faith shifts from self to who Created us
and has been drawing us to be closer to Him all these years. Death
will have been vanquished, pain will be history. The “First Things”
that will have passed away, is our attempt at self governance, to do
things our own way, putting our trust in our own contrivances, like
money that inflates, and weapons that kill. But in that day we will
trust the Father for our sustenance and follow Him with good will.
Since, then, the children have partaken of flesh and blood,
in like manner He Himself also shared the same things,
that through death He might cause to cease
the one having the power of death,
that is, the devil; and might set these free,
as many as by fear of death were subject to slavery
230 Chapter 21 (shift)

through all the lifetime to live. (Heb 2:14-15)

And He will destroy in this mountain the face
of the covering which covers all people,
and the veil that is woven over all nations.
He will swallow up death in victory!
And the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from all faces.
And He shall reprove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
for Jehovah has spoken. And one shall say in that day,
Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him,
and He will save us.
This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him;
we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. (Isa 25:7-9)
We have seen the devil cast out, Death and Hades vanquished, and
the Kingdom of God come in, for where God is sin cannot be, nor
anything out of place, nor pain nor hurt, for those are all traits of a
godless world, but even now when, by trust, we follow His rules,
and His way of Love, we are in His Kingdom, and are thereby under
protection with peace of heart.
And the One sitting on the throne said,
Behold! I make all things new.
And He says to me,
Write, because these Words are faithful and true. (Rev 21:5)
Now this is where some ambivalence may enter. Verse one sees
a new heaven and a new earth, for the old had passed away. That
implies that the old were not renewed, but replaced, and this phrase
“I make all things new” ought be understood the same way, not that
of renewing, but of replacing with absolutely new. That “heaven”
includes the farthest reaches of distant galaxies, depends on what
heaven here means. For consider this:
For thus says Yahweh,
who created the heavens, he is God,
(who formed the earth and who made it.
He himself established it;)
he did not create it as emptiness, He formed it for inhabiting.
“I am Yahweh and there is none besides me. (Isa 45:18 LEB)
 Chapter21(shift) 231

The first and last lines of this seven step chiasm contain the Divine
name (Yehovah), the second and sixth about the heavens, the latter
that God formed (the heavens) for inhabitation. Why are they not
inhabited now? This earth is boot camp, and from us he will draw out
those who can follow him though tempted and persecuted. For we are
being chiseled by the master craftsman. But here it implies that he
has a job for us: those billions of planets out there just like ours need
to be populated beginning with the microbe, even as he did with our
Lord at his side. (Prov. 8:22-31)
Now the New Heavens could well refer to our atmosphere, or our
solar system, but either way we need not be troubled, lest we worry
that God can’t do it all over again as He had done with Yeshua at his
side, for certainly He can, and vastly more besides.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and I declare new things before they happen,
I cause you to hear. (Isa 42:9)
We have that added assurance that our God can and will, by having it
written, and adding that His words are faithful and true. And though
man may fall back from his word, God cannot. Yehovah is outside of
time, thus he can see the end from the beginning.
And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the Ending. To the one thirsting,
I will freely give of the fountain of the Water of Life. (Rev 21:6)
It is done: For the last bowl has been poured, and all evil has been
put away, the Great Day of Yom Kippur, the day of judgement on the
10th of the 7th, but also of redemption and covering. His righteous
followers will have been separated from those who lacked love, like
sheep from goats, his people Judah will have wept and repented. The
only thing on the near horizon is the Wedding Feast of the Lamb on
the 15th, five days later, but certainly by then He will be the Lion.
We don’t really know who said to him: for it could equally be Father
or Son, but 1:18 using the same words, is undoubtedly the Son. And
this is meet, for the Aleph Tav (Greek: Alpha and Omega) spell the
word ET which is in the midst of the seven words of the first verse
in Genesis, which means that the heavens and the earth were created
232 Chapter 21 (shift)

through Yeshua, for the thought from the Father passed as words
through the Word and became. That it is repeated four times in this
Book of Revelation, four being the number of testing, and I believe
it is our faith which is at the stand, particularly that we trust all that
is between the covers of the Bible as emanating from the mouth of
Yeshua, the Word made flesh, and stop dividing the “old” from the
“new” for all are in the eternal present of God.
To the one thirsting: The Lord wants us to thirst for righteousness,
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness!
For they shall be filled. (Mat 5:6)
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the water;
and he who has no silver, come buy grain and eat.
Yes, come buy grain, wine and milk without silver
and with no price. (Isa 55:1 )
And in the last day of the great feast,
Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
The one believing into Me, as the Scripture said,
Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.
But He said this concerning the Spirit,
whom the ones believing into Him were about to receive;
for the Holy Spirit was not yet given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified. (Joh 7:37-39)
All of those passages invite the thirsty, we have to want it with soul
and spirit, for we see in John that Yeshua is speaking of the Holy
Spirit for which He also said:
Then if you being evil know to give good gifts to your children,
how much more the Father out of Heaven will give the Holy Spirit
to those asking Him. (Luk 11:13)
Again the condition is that one “ask Him.” There is no greater gift
offered, but the thirst must be there, and prayer sincere. For the fruit
of the Spirit flows out of those so filled, such that they become the
fount of Living Water as Yeshua’s Spirit being spread abroad. Again
the litmus test of having the Spirit is that one is eager to speak of
Yeshua to whomever she meets, and his thoughts are always on how
 Chapter21(shift) 233

he can give God the glory.

The one overcoming will inherit all things,
and I will be God to him,
and he will be the son to Me. (Rev 21:7)
“The one overcoming” must be referring to the presence of the Holy
Spirit within that soul, for as Paul says
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
this person does not belong to him. (Rom 8:9 LEB)
So Paul says graphically what the Lord here put obliquely, and both
agree, the one overcoming has received the Spirit, and by that sign,
“belongs” to Yeshua. The one walking in the Spirit sees the world in
a new light, and the Lord works through situations to prove that He
is very near and his child feels the warmth of that as if her hand is in
her Fathers’s.
Now the next verse is by contrast, to the same degree that Babylon is
to the New Jerusalem. For this verse, as presently placed requires this
to balance the same reference to evil that is in that scene of Hallelu-
jahs in 19:2,3 which mentions Babylon and her harlotry, and talks of
her smoke going up forever.
But as for the cowards and unbelievers
and detestable persons and murderers
and sexually immoral people and sorcerers
and idolaters and all liars,
their share is in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur,
which is the second death. (Rev 21:8 LEB)
so this puts a book-end on the section from 19:1, and defines the sec-
ond death before it is needed in 20:6.
And I saw one angel standing in the sun.
And he cried with a great voice,
saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven,
Come and gather together to the supper of the great God,
(Rev 19:17)
234 Chapter 21 (shift)

Certainly the scavengers and carrion have a place in this creation on

the clean-up team. But for another cause of His anger the Lord sends
the beasts upon the shepherds (pastors):
All beasts of the field come to devour, all beasts in the forest!
His watchmen are blind; they all do not know;
they are all dumb dogs;
they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber; yea, dogs greedy of soul;
they do not know satisfaction.
And they are shepherds; they do not know to discern;
they all look to their own way, each one for his own gain,
from his own end, saying: (Isa 56:9-11)
For they do not warn those in the pew of what’s coming within the
decade, or how to prepare, and how to repent, for how many keep the
Ten Words, especially the fourth? And yet they all hold Bibles, but
pay little heed to his Word.
But the birds called out by the angel will have a smorgasbord:
that you may eat the flesh of kings,
and the flesh of chiliarchs,
and the flesh of strong ones, and the flesh of horses,
and of the ones sitting on them,
and the flesh of all, both freemen and slaves,
even of the small and great. (Rev 19:18)
This flock has also been used on his people who do not follow His
ways, for this is among the curses:
And your body shall be food to all the birds of the heavens,
and to the beasts of the earth;
and there shall be none to cause them to tremble. (Deu 28:26)
This same flock is used as a threat five times in Jeremiah alone, this
is one example:
And the bodies of this people shall be food
for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth;
and no one shall frighten them away. (Jer 7:33)
but this in Ezekiel is the Lord’s Table for the birds akin to those here
 Chapter21(shift) 235

And you, son of man, So says the Lord Jehovah:

Say to the bird of every wing, and to every beast of the field:
Gather yourselves and come, collect yourselves from all around
to My sacrifice which I sacrifice for you,
a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel,
so that you may eat flesh and drink blood.
You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
and drink the blood of the rulers of the earth,
of rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
And you shall eat fat until satiated,
and drink blood until drunkenness,
of My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
And you shall be satiated at My table with horses and chariots,
and mighty men, all the men of war,
declares the Lord Jehovah. (Eze 39:17-20)
The invitation of these birds of carrion to their feast are on account of
the ensuing battle:
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth,
and their armies being assembled
to make war with the One sitting on the horse,
and with His army. (Rev 19:19)
So the anti-Christ, the kings of the earth, and all their armies are pit-
ted against our Lord and his Bride, all on horseback. This could well
be that large army assembled at Armageddon.
For they are spirits of demons doing signs,
which go forth to the kings of the earth,
even of the whole habitable world to assemble them
to the war of that day, the great day of God Almighty.
And He assembled them in the place
having been called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Rev 16:14,16)
Now this Great Day of God Almighty is Yom Kippur, the Day of
Covering, which is also the Day of Judgement, even the day that
Christ descends with his Bride, all on white horses, and faces off with
these gathered against the Holy City, which shows the precise timing
of our Lord. This battle is also voiced through Joel:
236 Chapter 21 (shift)

Proclaim this among the nations: Sanctify a war;

awaken the mighty men;
let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.
Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weak say, I am strong.
Gather yourselves and come, all you nations;
and gather yourselves together all around.
O Jehovah, bring down Your mighty ones.
Let the nations be awakened
and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
For there I will sit to judge all the nations all around.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down, for the press is full, the vats overflow,
for their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes in valley of decision!
For the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. (Joe 3:9-14)
And the same is prophesied through Zechariah that He will descend
on the Day of Jehovah.
Behold, the day of Jehovah comes,
and your spoil shall be divided among you.
For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem.
And Jehovah shall go out and fight against those nations,
like the day He fought in the day of battle.
And Jehovah my God shall come,
and all the saints with You. (Zec 14:1,2a,3,5b)
Note, this is another perspective on the Lord descending with his
Bride in our text, as in Matthew:
But when the Son of Man comes in His glory,
and all the holy angels with Him,
then He will sit on the throne of His glory. (Mat 25:31)
And while he comes here to separate the sheep from the goats by
judgement, that will not precede dealing with the horde voiced above,
in fact this being seated to judge will not happen until 20:4a.
The Beast facing off with our Lord is that first one in chp 13, the anti-
christ, pictured by Paul as:
the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, the one opposing and
exalting himself over everything being called God, or object of wor-
ship, so for him “to sit in the temple of God” as God, setting himself,
up to be God. (Eze. 28:2 of Tyre but the same fiend) (2Th 2:3a, 4)
and as seen in Daniel,
And the king shall do according to his will.
And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god;
he shall even speak marvelous things against the God of gods
and shall prosper until the fury is completed.
For that which is decreed shall be done. (Dan 11:36)
But our Lord summarily dispatches of these, and reintroduces the
False Prophet just before their demise:
And the beast was seized, and with this one
the false prophet doing signs before it,
by which he led astray those having received
the mark of the beast,
and those worshiping its image.
The two were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire
burning with brimstone.
And the rest were killed with the sword
of the One sitting on the horse,
the sword having gone forth from His mouth.
And all the birds were filled from their flesh.(Rev 19:20,21)
...who is elucidated for us by Paul including how the Lord consumes
him by the spirit of his mouth:
And then “the Lawless One” will be revealed,
“whom” “the Lord” “will consume”
“by the spirit of His mouth,” and will bring to nought
by the brightness of His presence. (2Th 2:8)
By Isaiah also we are assured that is not by a sword, which is the
symbol of His power, but by the breath or spirit of His mouth, by
which he created the Worlds alongside His Father.
But He shall judge the poor in righteousness,
238 Chapter 20

and shall decide rightly for the meek of the earth. (Isa 11:4)
And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth.
and He shall cause the wicked to die with the breath of His lip.
And, now do the birds get their feast.
See how quickly, and in what order these fiends are dispatched;
Enters the
Fiend Dispatched
Scene
Death and Hades 1:18 20:14
the devil 2:10 20:10
the Beast 11:7; 13:2 19:20
the False Prophet 13:11 19:20
Babylon the great 14:8 18:2-21

Note that, in the reverse order of introduction, is their demise.

Chapter 20
The Seventh Millennium
And I saw an angel coming down out of Heaven,
having the key of the abyss,
and a great chain on his hand. (Rev 20:1)
Who made this chain? We might ask Enoch:
And there my eyes saw how they made instruments for them
- iron chains of immeasurable weight.
And I asked the Angel of Peace, who went with me, saying:
“These chain instruments - for whom are they being prepared?”
And he said to me: “These are being prepared for the hosts of Azazel,
so that they may take them,
and throw them into the lowest part of hell;
and they will cover their jaws with rough stones,
as the Lord of Spirits commanded. (ENO 54:3-5)
as attested by Peter:
For if God did not spare sinning angels,
but delivered them to chains of darkness,
 Chapter 20 239

thrust down into Tartarus, having been kept to judgment; (2Pe 2:4)
And he laid hold of the dragon,
the old serpent who is the Devil, and Satan,
and bound him a thousand years, (Rev 20:2)
Devil and satan: neither warrants capitalization, for ha-satane is He-
brew for “the tempter” and devil carries a similar nefarious meaning.
Yehovah describes him as the dragon and old serpent. So from the
garden of Eden in Gen 3 to Isa 17:1 when he is slain.
In that day Jehovah shall visit the sea monster, the darting serpent,
with His great and fierce and strong sword;
even on the sea monster, the twisting serpent;
and He shall slay the monster that is in the sea.(Isa 27:1)
Yeshua looks forward to his judgement:
Now is the judgment of this world;
now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. (Joh 12:31)
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan
under your feet shortly. (Rom 16:20a)
Paul now says the time is near, and here in Hebrews we see how it
was by His Death that Death is conquered:
Since, then, the children have partaken of flesh and blood,
in like manner He Himself also shared the same things,
that through death He might cause to cease
the one having the power of death,
that is, the devil; (Heb 2:14)
That he is bound for a thousand years, leaves the world free from his
influence, for the prophets point to this as a wonderful Sabbath con-
clusion to the Week19 of God since the sin of Adam.
and threw him into the abyss, and shut him up,
and sealed over him,
that he should not still lead astray the nations,
until the thousand years are fulfilled.

19 Warner, pp 73-100
 And after these things,
he must be set loose a little time. (Rev 20:3)
The casting away of this beast was foretold most recently in 17:8, and
sealed him in as was Daniel in the Lions den (Dan 6:17) and Yeshua
in his tomb (Mat 27:66), and the day to a thousand years is in Psa
90:4; 2Pe 3:8. Also Luke 28 talks of 8 days later to the Transfigura-
tion while Matthew (7:1) and Mark (9:2) say “after Six days. The
latter two take it from the day after the Sabbath, while Luke from the
day before the Sabbath, but in both cases the vision of the Day of his
Coming in Power and majesty (2Pe 1:16) happened on the Sabbath,
even as his Coming in Power (19:11-16) will be on the commence-
ment of the seventh millennium. Hebrews four alludes to both the
millennial Sabbath and the weekly.
For if Y’hoshua had given them rest,
God would not have spoken later of another “day.”
So there remains a Shabbat-keeping for God’s people. (Heb 4:8,9 CJB)
So, “another day” refers to Yehovah’s Sabbath day of 1000 years,
while Sabbath keeping20 is weekly.
Why would the tempter be loosed for “a little time?” Were those
separated by judgement as sheep and goats not people living on
this earth? The scene is on earth and not in heaven. So these sheep,
are welcome to live on the earth and have children. But unlike their
parents, these progeny of theirs have no tempter, for all will know
the Lord and his Laws, and the devil and his are not around. So he
must be released to test their children even as he has us for 6 millen-
nia. Will they, loving God, not see through his ruse, but, if some have
failed in loving God, they may be pulled away. The tempter will draw
these insincere ones for his force, but all will be judged at the white
chair judgement (20:11-15)
No more will babies die in infancy,
no more will an old man die short of his days—
he who dies at a hundred will be thought young,

20 “Sabbath Keeping,” is the proper translation here

for sabatismos is a verbal, not a noun.
 Chapter 20 241

and at less than a hundred thought cursed. (Isa 65:20 CJB)

So people will be able to live to great age in that Promised Land
where Yeshua will rule together with his Wife who will be scattered
among the peoples as teachers and judges, for the tempter and his,
will be incarcerated below with no access to molest people, for this is
the Lord’s Sabbath.
Then I saw thrones,
and those seated on them received authority to judge.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
for testifying about Yeshua
and proclaiming the Word of God,
also those who had not worshipped the beast
or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads
and on their hands.
They came to life and ruled with the Messiah
for a thousand years. (Rev 20:4 CJB)
And the kingdom and rulership, and the greatness of the kingdom
under all the heavens shall be given
to the people of the saints of the Most High,
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
And all kingdoms shall serve and obey Him. (Dan 7:27)
Those thrones are for those who followed the Lord on white horses.
Even as he takes His seat (Mat 25:31), so now do his aids—His
Bride, and we know that they have come out of Smyrna and Philadel-
phia, who were the only two granted crowns—authority. Now their
authority is defined, for they will be judging those coming out of the
tribulation, separating them to the left and to the right.
But these are joined by a third group, by those who had been mar-
tyred for preaching Yeshua and His Word during the Tribulation.
They have refused the beast’s mark, and would not bow to his im-
age. These are already with the Bride, and would have also been on
those white horses, for these were martyred during the tribulation
and would have ascended to heaven to be with the Bride and descend
together with her on this day, for both will rule with Messiah.
242 Chapter 20

And in the days of these kings,

the God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed.
And the kingdom shall not be left to other people.
It shall break in pieces and destroy all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand forever. (Dan 2:44)
if we endure, we shall also reign with Him;
if we deny Him, that One will deny us; (2Ti 2:12)
The Scriptures are replete with references to the reign of his saints,
and we’ve followed through how these Overcomers will rule with the
Bride who was first called up by their Lord.
(and the rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were ended)—
this is the first resurrection. (Rev 20:5 TS2009)
What is being said is, that those martyrs being transferred immediate-
ly here, along with the Bride who was brought up earlier (Dan 7:10,
1Th 4:13-18, 2Th 2:1), constitute the first resurrection; but all who
died naturally during that tribulation, with all of those previously in
the grave who were not called aloft will be judged at the white-chair
judgement at the end of the millennium.
Blessed and holy is the one
who has part in the first resurrection;
over these the second death has no power.
But they shall be priests of God and of Christ,
and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev 20:6 AFV)
This clarifies the previous verse, for these were either raised up per
1Th 4:13-18, or were resurrected as martyrs for Christ. Both have
been keeping all of his rules, especially those of Love. And we now
know that it is on behalf of these that the elders are singing praises :
And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy are You
to receive the scroll, and to open its seals, because You were slain,
and by Your blood purchased us to God out of every tribe and tongue
and people and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God;
 Chapter 20 243

and we shall reign over the earth. (Rev 5:9-10)

Daniel attests to this in several places, 7:9, and in 22 and 27;
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom
and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. (Dan 7:18)
In fact, this is what had been planned for Israel, but they had broken
faith, not trusting that the Lord would guide, and so we received the
Priesthood instead, after Pentecost, when we, having trust :
...as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house—a holy
priesthood—to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. (1Pe 2:5 AFV)

Satan Defeated
Now when the thousand years have been completed,
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison;
And he shall go out to deceive the nations
that are in the four corners of the earth,
Gog and Magog, of whom the number
is as the sand of the sea,
to gather them together for war. (Rev 20:7-8 AFV)
This horde is likely that spoken of in Ezekiel 38,39, in that both of
those chapters refer to Gog and Magog, but to look first at other
great armies: The great battle of the Sixth Trumpet in 9:14-19 of
200 million could be a candidate, but it is not mentioned from where
that horde issues. And the great horde awakened by the Sixth Bowl
of 9:12-16 is not that here spoken of, for it is comprised of Kings
and their armies from the “whole world.” So considering the corre-
spondence of names of ancestors, we are safe in saying that this third
great battle is that referred to in Ezekiel. There are thus three great
battles in the Book.
Then I saw them go up upon the breadth of the earth and en-
circle the camp of the saints,
and the beloved city;
and fire came down from God out of heaven
and consumed them; (Rev 20:9 AFV)
244 Chapter 20

And so this huge horde is summarily dispatched by the God of

Heaven. Note that in all cases of these people or powers being put
away, there is much to-do about them when alive and active, but then
they are dispatched with one phrase. Now the following talks of this
invasion, but Assyria? Well, Assyria or Ashur, in Hebrew, are the
Germanic peoples today. We need not press that Germany will invade
here, for this river, the Euphrates would likely bring in the hordes of
the east. Yet the imagery of the attack fits.
therefore look! The Lord is bringing up the waters of the great
and mighty river against them, the king of Assyria and all his glory.
And he will rise above all his channels,
and he will flow over all his banks. (Isa 8:7 LEB)
And the Devil, who deceived them,
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet had been cast;
and they, Satan and the demons, shall be tormented
day and night into the ages of eternity. (Rev 20:10 AFV)
Finally, his job of tempting accomplished, the devil and his demons
are dunked into the firey lake to join the evil duo of the anti-christ
and the false prophet. Is there hope for the two mortals who were cast
in? Arguably so, for the grammar only attributes the eternal sentence
to satan and his demons. Also, when the two persons were cast in
(19:20) there was a clause of burning with brimstone, but no dura-
tion. Now brimstone is sulfur which is used in purifying gold, copper,
and brass, burning off all of the dross to make them glow. So if the
intent is not to purify these souls with a good dose of brimstone, then
the latter would not need mentioning, but every Word in Scripture has
weight and must be considered.
 The Great White Chair Judgement
Then I saw a great white throne
and the one Who was sitting on it,
from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away;
and no place was found for them. (Rev 20:11 AFV)
The “Who” that is seated, is never mentioned by name, for the name
is too holy, and this is tenable considering the power of His face that
the earth and heaven would flee it, and find no place in the cosmos to
settle. Peter gives a similar image of conflagration:
However, the day of the Lord shall come as a thief
in the night in which the heaven itself
shall disappear with a mighty roar,
and the elements shall pass away,
burning with intense heat,
and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up. (2Pe 3:10 AFV)
Jeremiah saw a like scene, and we have Iehova’s response:
I looked on the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void;
and the heavens, they had no light.
I looked on the mountains, and, lo, they quaked;
and all the hills were shaken.
I looked, and, lo, there was no man,
and all the birds of the heavens had fled.
I looked, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
and all its cities were broken down before the face of the LORD,
by His fierce anger. For thus has the LORD said,
“The whole land shall be desolate, yet I will not make a full end.
The earth shall mourn for this,
and the heavens above shall be black because I have spoken,
I have purposed it, and will not repent,
nor will I turn back from it. (Jer 4:23-28 AFV)
Now, in the same way that satan is banished from heaven, and there
is no longer found a place for him, 12:8, so this world, whatever has
been tainted by the evil one is not fit to be before the face of the Fa-
ther. For even of man, does Yehovah, Sr. say:
246 Chapter 20

... You are not able to see My face;

for no man can see Me and live. (Exo 33:20)
It’s a matter of holiness, how can sinful man/woman face up to Per-
fection, as Job says:
If I justify myself, my mouth will condemn me;
though I am perfect, He shall declare me perverse; (Job 9:20)
but, the Lord counters with:
‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. (Lev 19:2 AFV)
Now “holy” in humankind is better expressed as “set apart” or being
“separate from” as in ‘separate from the wold and its ways,’ and in-
deed I believe that is what Yehovah our God desires, that we separate
ourselves to Him and be different in that we keep his laws of Love,
and love him with our whole beings, such that we desire to keep all
of his commandments out of our Love for Him and His Son.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God;
and the books were opened;
and another book was opened, which is the book of life.
And the dead were judged out of the things
written in the books,
according to their works. (Rev 20:12 AFV)
We don’t see any present here who were living, for he only sees the
spirits of the dead from all time, and from all circumstance, standing
in the billions before that great white throne, where the judged do not
sit, but stand. And there are two kinds of books, one records the acts
of the individual—who could stand? The other is the Book of Life,
which, if not by the Blood of the Lamb, our submissive Lord, who
could be inscribed? We have seen another court scene in Daniel, but
not of the same group, and certainly not as many, for these in Daniel
are those called aloft and present when Yeshua arrives from calling
them upward (his Bride), and is coronated King over Creation.
A stream of fire issued and came out from before Him.
A thousand thousands ministered unto Him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
 Chapter 20 247

The court sat and the books were opened. (Dan 7:10 AFV)
And now the judgement scene here before the Great White Chair
ought make one shudder who thinks we live in an Age of Grace
where our actions are of no account. Is not that an example of the
deceit of the tempter, for rather we have the Word:
“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wrong?”
declares the Master [Yehovah].
“Is it not that he should turn from his ways, and live? (Eze 18:23 TS2009)
The Other Book–the Book of Life, has been mentioned thrice before
this, for those inscribed 3:5 (will not be blotted out), 13:8 (who will
not worship the beast (or Anti-Christ); 17:8 (who will not marvel at
the beast from the pit); 21:27 (who do not lie, but are admitted to the
Holy City). Else all were judged by what is written in the books,
For you say, Behold, we did not know this.
Does not He who weighs the heart consider it?
And the One who keeps your soul, does He not know?
Yea, He repays to a man according to his work. (Pro 24:12)
For the Son of Man is going to come
in the glory of his Father with his angels,
and at that time he will reward each one
according to what he has done. (Mat 16:27 LEB)
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,
and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them,
and each one was judged
according to their deeds. (Rev 20:13 LEB)
This is the final judgement, and none are left out, no matter how or
where one died, great or small, or from where hailed. There have
been two judgements prior to this, but here is the culmination for all
time, for it is celebrated on the eighth day after the Emmanuel Day,
thus a new beginning is in store.
And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death—the lake of fire. (Rev 20:14 LEB)
Now Death and Hades are mentioned in 1:18, with Yeshua holding
the keys, and then their gory selves in 6:8 on horseback to cause a
248 Chapter 21 (Cont.)

quarter of the population to die by their plagues. Note that this lake of
fire has no brimstone, there is no purification possible for these two.
But when people are involved, even on this second death (21:8) there
is a brimstone purifier.
The last enemy to be abolished is death. (1Co 15:26 LEB)
And if anyone was not found written in the book of life,
he was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev 20:15 LEB)
Yeshua concurs with this judgement to those culled out as goats on
his left—those who showed no love or mercy to others :
Then He will also say to those on His left,
Go away from Me, cursed ones,
into the everlasting fire having been prepared
for the Devil and his angels. (Mat 25:41)
We see that the judgment by the books, by what one has done, can-
not save a soul, but it’s our loving trust in the Father, by whose Spirit,
that true good works can be done; not to be saved, but because one
is written in the Book of Life, in which the blood of Yeshua is the
key; and our active, loving trust in its efficacy is the lock. Consider
Yeshua’s words:
Whoever trusts in the Son has eternal life.
But whoever disobeys the Son will not see that life
but remains subject to God’s wrath.” (Joh 3:36 CJB)
An equation is seen here: trusting in the Son, is to be obedient to the
Son, or else we don’t trust him. What commandment in the whole of
Scripture did not come from the Son, the Word of God, and which
one of those inscribed on stone tablets was not authored by Him?
Chapter 21 (Cont.)
Yeshua is Coming Soon
One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full
of the seven last plagues approached me and said,
“Come! I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.”
(Rev 21:9 CJB)
This is the final angel of this group of seven. It responds as a book-
end with the angel in 17:1, for both are from the “seven bowls,” and
are the only ones from those bowls. Now we will see the Bride, in
this case as the New Jerusalem, coming out of heaven “prepared as a
Bride” per 21:1, but here Jerusalem herself is the Bride! but consider
another personalization:
“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all who love her.
Rejoice for joy with her, all who mourn for her;
That you may suck and be satisfied with her breasts of consolations;
that you may milk out and be delighted
with the fullness of her glory.” (Isa 66:10-11 AFV)
And likewise of Israel:
And I will betroth you to Me forever.
Yea, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, and in judgment,
and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
I will even betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
And you shall know the LORD. (Hos 2:19-20 AFV)
But in each case above is it not the people of Jerusalem and Israel?
And so is the bride that is coming down, it’s not the City itself that
is the Bride, but those who populate it, for in Rev 3:12 he promises
that the New Jerusalem descending from the Father is for his Bride
Philadelphia and Smyrna, by their literary interconnection.
And he carried me away in the Spirit
to a great and high mountain,
and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God, (Rev 21:10 AFV)
But we saw the same City descending in 21:2 and which was proph-
250 Chapter 21 (Cont.)

esied as descending in 3:12. It must be that in both this and in 21:2

the city descending has not fully descended, or is floating up there, at
attention, prepared to land when all is ready. For in neither verse are
we assured that the city has landed.
Having the glory of God. And her radiance
was like a most precious stone,
as crystal-clear as jasper stone. (Rev 21:11 AFV)
It cannot be valued against the gold of Ophir,
or against precious onyx, or sapphire;
Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for the jewels of fine gold. (Job 28:16-17 AFV)
Note the verse in the midst of Job pertains to Wisdom, which in Prov-
erbs 8:23-31, is our Lord who is now, as then, at the right hand of the
Loving Father. And so the crystal clarity of the New Jerusalem may
also symbolize the purity and holiness of those who dwell therein.
For the Lord and His Bride will both be there, and the latter has been
sanctified, and given a new body fitting to her heavenly situation.
Isaiah also saw the glory of the City, on account of the Occupants:
The sun will no more be your light by day;
nor the brightness of the moon give light to you;
but the LORD will be to you for an everlasting light,
and your God your glory. (Isa 60:19 AFV)
And the city also had a great and high wall,
with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels;
and inscribed on the gates were the names of the twelve tribes
of the children of Israel.
On the east were three gates;
on the north were three gates;
on the south were three gates;
on the west were three gates. (Rev 21:12-13 AFV)
The wall symbolizes the protection of those within, for no sinner
will be allowed entry, as we will see. The organization of the twelve
names of the Sons of Israel on those Gates is not mentioned, but it re-
minds of the arrangement of the twelve tribes, three on a side, around
 Chapter21(Cont.) 251

the tabernacle in the wilderness, where Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon

camped in the east quadrant. But we know. that inside it must be well
organized also, for we have a God of order.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and written on them were the names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Rev 21:14 AFV)
Abraham, by Paul, is looking forward to this City.
for he looked forward to a city having the foundations of which the
builder and maker is God. (Heb 11:10)
We see the foundations inscribed with the names of our twelve Apos-
tles, most of who gave their lives for their Lord. This also assures us
that the twenty four elders around the throne are these twelve sons of
Israel, and the twelve apostles.
And the one who was speaking with me
had a golden measuring rod,
so that he might measure the city,
and its gates and its wall. (Rev 21:15 AFV)
I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold!
A man with a measuring line in his hand. (Zec 2:1 AFV)
Zechariah saw the man commencing to measure this City, and here
also is Ezekiel, at the commencement of measuring the new Temple :
And behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around,
and in the man’s hand was a measuring reed,
six cubits long, with a cubit and a span.
And he measured the building’s breadth, one reed;
and the height, one reed. (Eze 40:5 AFV)
We also had John given the task of measuring the Temple in 11:1-2,
this ties these two events together, the one at the extreme of the book
with that in center—a key feature of the chiasumus of the whole.
And the city lies foursquare,
for its length is as long as its breadth.
And he measured the city with the rod,
twelve thousand furlongs;
252 Chapter 21 (Cont.)

the length and the breadth and the height

of it are equal. (Rev 21:16 AFV)
This city is immensely huge over a thousand miles per side, and is
not approached by any city on earth, so we might take this as symbol-
ic of ample space, and utmost stability. Or else the unit of measure-
ment is not as we suppose, for compare the wall below:
And he measured its wall,
one hundred and forty-four cubits;
the angel’s measure was according to a man’s. (Rev 21:17 AFV)
If the measure is according to a man’s then the cubit is about half
a meter, and the height 72 meters. But the “144” reminds us of the
144,000 persons given a protective sign in 7:4 and 14:3, for in both
cases the sum is 12 x 12 x 1000 which represents the two twelves of
the Sons and Apostles above, and the thousand could be to round out
the number just as Hosea 6:2 speaks of three days, but because of the
implausibility of the day time scale the thousand year scale is used
to make it viable. The thousand, being 10 cubed, may also indicate a
much larger number in that the three is a mini-completion number.
And the structure of its wall was jasper;
and the city was pure gold, like pure glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city
were adorned with every precious stone:
the first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire;
the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius;
the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the
tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth;
the twelfth, amethyst. (Rev 21:18-20 AFV)
“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, I will lay your stones among colorful gems,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
And I will make your high towers of ruby,
and your gates of carbuncles,
 Chapter21(Cont.) 253

and all your borders of pleasant stones. (Isa 54:11-12 AFV)

Isaiah hears and writes of Jerusalem’s renovation by our Lord, to add
more color and detail to the above. These stones also remind us of
those on the breast plate of Aaron, in four rows of three, with names:
And the stones shall be with the names of the sons of Israel, twelve,
according to their names, like the engravings of a signet.
They shall be each one with his name according to the twelve tribes.
(Exo 28:21 AFV)

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each of the gates re-
spectively was a single pearl;
and the street of the city was pure gold,
as transparent as glass. (Rev 21:21 AFV)
I’m sure the Lord did not harvest those pearls from oysters, not
only that oysters are “unclean”, but because of the massive size! So
everything about the gates and street are custom built by the Greatest
Craftsman, that all try to emulate, would they also His love.
And I saw no temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the temple of it. (Rev 21:22 AFV)
Solomon knew that God doesn’t fit in our Universe he Created!
But truly, will God in deed dwell with men on the earth?
Behold, heaven and the heaven of the heavens cannot contain You!
How much less this house which I have built? (2Ch 6:18 AFV)
The comparison is again wrought through Isaiah:
Thus says the LORD, “The heaven is My throne,
and the earth is My footstool.
Where, then, is the house that you build for Me?
And where is the place of My rest? (Isa 66:1 AFV)
We could well ask where He can then rest! He has a chair and a foot-
stool, but, where is his cot upon which he can rest? Being that heaven
and earth are already in use?
But, even now there is no Temple in Jerusalem, so where has worship
gone? Has the time with Him, the songs of praise, the study of His
Word, the prayers and supplications gone under-cover? Truly, how-
ever not in one location, but in millions. In each of those in whom he
254 Chapter 21 (Cont.)

has chosen to dwell, according to their choosing to follow the com-

mandments and rules of his Kingdom:
Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary
of the Holy Spirit in you, which you have from God,
and you are not of yourselves? (1Co 6:19)
But who then is the Priest that offers sacrifices pleasing to God:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for God’s possession,
so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you
out of darkness into is marvelous light, (1Pe 2:9 LEB)
But you shall be called, Priests of Jehovah; it will be said of you,
Ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and you shall revel in their glory. (Isa 61:6)
There are even words in this book which enforce that:
And made us kings and priests to God, even His Father.
To Him is the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen. (Rev 1:6)
And they sing a new song, saying,
Worthy are You to receive the scroll, and to open its seals,
because You were slain,
and by Your blood purchased us to God out of every tribe
and tongue and people and nation,
and made us kings and priests to our God;
and we shall reign over the earth. (Rev 5:9-10)
This is speaking of His Bride which keeps his Word and follows him.
And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon,
that they might shine in it,
for the glory of God illuminated it,
even its lamp is the Lamb. (Rev 21:23)
Then the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be ashamed,
when Jehovah of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem;
and before His elders is His glory. (Isa 24:23)
In Isaiah we see how bright the Light is from the throne room, con-
sidering the sun will hide its face in shame. And John tells us why:
 Chapter21(Cont.) 255

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; (Joh 1:4)
He was the true Light;
He enlightens every man coming into the world. (Joh 1:9)
For he is the Living Word: Your Word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path. (Psa 119:105)
So to His Throne in Jerusalem, many will approach to hear what they
have longed to know and understand.
And many nations shall come and say,
Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah,
and to the house of the God of Jacob.
And He will teach us from His ways, and we will walk in His paths.
For the Law shall go forth out of Zion,
and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. (Mic 4:2)
And the nations of the ones saved will walk in its light;
and the kings of the earth
bring their glory and honor into it. (Rev 21:24)
Will any king of the earth, be able to bring any honor or glory that
would add to that of our Lord on His Throne? But certainly they will
bask in His Light, learning of what she’s been yearning.
Notice, it concerns the “nations of the ones saved,” for this millen-
nium is populated totally by the redeemed—those who were culled
out of the goats.
And it shall be in the last days,
the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills;
and all nations shall flow into it. (Isa 2:2)
And many peoples and strong nations
shall come to seek Jehovah of Hosts in Jerusalem,
and to seek the favor of the face of Jehovah. (Zec 8:22)
Yes the whole world will be bowing to the One enthroned in Jerusa-
lem (now within only a score of years!)
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents;
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him;
256 Chapter 21 (Cont.)

all nations shall serve Him. (Psa 72:10-11)

For so says Jehovah: Behold, I stretch out peace to her like a river,
and glory of nations like an overflowing torrent. (Isa 66:12a)
Indeed, there will be glory in the nations that know Yeshua as their
King, and honor His Father as God.
And its gates may not at all be shut by day,
for no night will be there. (Rev 21:25)
So your gates shall be always open;
they shall not be shut day or night,
so that men may bring to you the force of nations,
and that their kings may be led. (Isa 60:11)
Thy sun shall no more go down;
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself:
for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light,
and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. (Isa 60:20 KJV)
The sun and moon, representing the brightness of the Lord will no
longer set, to leave the world in darkness, for what does darkness rep-
resent but death and mourning, whose days, the verse informs, will
have ended, and we saw Death, in 20:14, hurled into flames.
And they shall bring the glory and honour
of the nations into it. (Rev 21:26 KJV)
We saw this in Isa 66:12 above which responded to 21:4, but the fol-
lowing from Isaiah targets the same rule of our Lord, for no king until
Him would have so glorified Israel.
Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not,
and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee
because of the LORD thy God,
and for the Holy One of Israel;
for he hath glorified thee. (Isa 55:5 KJV)
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before You,
For the kingdom is the LORD’S
and He rules over the nations. (Psa 22:27-28 AFV)
Again by contrast, and exclusion:
 Chapter 22 257

And nothing that defiles shall ever enter into it,

nor shall anyone who practices an abomination
or devises a lie;
but only those who are written
in the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev 21:27 AFV)
For all that pertains to falsehood and lying is of the devil, or less him,
of self, while those who live in the truth and follow the Lord with
a will are found written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, which we
have seen in 13:8, and without mention of the Lamb, 3:5, 20:12,15.
But we see in Philippi that they are known:
And I ask you, my true yokefellow, to assist these women,
who labored with me in the gospel,
and with Clement, and the rest of my fellow workers,
whose names are in the book of life. (Php 4:3 AFV)
And he tells his “yokefellow to assist all of these “whose names are
in the book of life,” as if that is the best criteria for selection of those
he spoke of. So being inscribed in that book ought to be obvious
In the same way also, you are to let your light shine before men, so
that they may see your good works,
and may glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Mat 5:16 AFV)
Chapter 22
The Pure Flowing Water of Life
Then he showed me a pure river of the water of life,
clear as crystal,
flowing out from the throne of God
and of the Lamb. (Rev 22:1 AFV)
Ezekiel was shown two rivers emanating from Jerusalem, one to the
west and one to the east.
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out
from Jerusalem; half of them shall go toward the eastern sea,
and half of them toward the western sea.
In summer and in winter it shall be. (Zec 14:8 AFV)
The one who believes in Me, as the scripture has said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (Joh 7:38 AFV)
So we have it that there will be that river enlivening the Dead Sea,
in which fish will then be available, but at the same time the vision
speaks of the Holy Spirit which will be richly sourced at the Throne,
that is by Yeshua. For he who supplies that Living water causes his
saints to emit the same Living Water towards others.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the richness of Your house;
and You shall make them drink of the river of Your pleasures,
For with You is the fountain of life;
in Your light we shall see light. (Psa 36:8-9 AFV)
This Psalm ties together the fountain and the light, for the fountain
is the Spirit by which we have and give life, and the Light is its fruit
that shines out, that others may glorify God.
In the midst of its street and of the river,
from here and from there,
was a tree of life producing twelve fruits:
according to one month each yielding its fruit.
And the leaves of the tree
were for healing of the nations. (Rev 22:2)
And all trees for food shall go up by the torrent,
 Chapter 22 259

on its lip on this side and on that.

Its leaf shall not fade, and its fruit shall not fail;
it will bear by its months,
because its waters come out from the sanctuary.
And its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing. (Eze 47:12)
It is clear that the two verses correspond well, and that they must,
coming from the same Word. In Revelation the trees are all the Tree
of Life, that which gives eternal life, and was kept from Adam and
Eve once they had sinned.
And Jehovah God said, Behold!
The man has become as one of Us, to know good and evil.
And now, lest he put forth his hand
and also take from the Tree of Life,
and eat, and live forever, (Gen 3:22)
That tree and all of those of its kind, give a different fruit every sea-
son, thus twelve types of fruit, and all giving Life. Note that the defi-
nite article is not in our verse, but “a tree...,” because there are those
in the midst of the street and those on either side of the river. And it
appears from the grammar, that each tree produces a different fruit
each month, not some one kind, and others, another. Now through
Ezekiel we see that the waters are indeed healing that big salt sea.
And he said to me, These waters go out toward the eastern circuit,
and go down into the Arabah, and enter the sea.
They are brought out into the sea,
and the waters shall be healed. (Eze 47:8)
The Ransomed will find more than healed waters but also of the land:
The wilderness and dry land shall rejoice for them;
and the desert shall exult and bloom like the crocus. (Isa 35:1)
The leaves of the tree are healing21, and this must be different from
what is found now in nature, where each plant has it’s own specialty,
but these leaves of the tree of life, may cover the widest or ultimate
set of symptoms, whatever ails! Note synthetic drugs are not men-
21 For we have not found a single species in the Androy forest of the
1063 tested for health effects that do not have healing powers,
each according to its kind, heals a unique set of symptoms.
260 Chapter 22

tioned, and why would they be called for, when that which is created
is made to synchronize with our bodies.
and there will no longer be any curse,
and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and His servants will serve Him, (Rev 22:3 LSV)
The curse of sin—that curse of the ground and difficulty of childbirth
of Gen 3:16-19, will be overturned by the New Adam.
You cause me to know the path of life;
In Your presence [is] fullness of joys,
Pleasant things by Your right hand forever! (Psa 16:11 LSV)
If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My
servant will also be.
And if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. (Joh 12:26)
Specifically there is a group just out of the Great Tribulation who
have come clean with the Lord, by the blood of the Lamb.
Because of this they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day
and night in His sanctuary.
And He sitting on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
(Rev 7:15)
This may be a separate group of servants, not of His Bride who is
specifically given to be a judge and priest dealing with the people
who are yet flesh and blood, the sheep of Mat 25:34, who he has in-
herit the land he has prepared for them to dwell in. But these of 7:15
are specifically to serve around the Lord himself, though they are a
countless number; but in 22:3 are his general servants, which encom-
pass all.
And they will see His face;
and His name will be on their foreheads. (Rev 22:4)
We see the 144,000 having His name placed on their foreheads, how-
ever, this has increased to a huge multitude, but we know his Wife
has been identified to their Lord as well, having the Father’s name
and His own new name on Her 3:12. But we will all be changed:
Beloved, now we are the children of God,
and it was not yet revealed what we shall be.
 Chapter 22 261

But we know that if He is revealed, we shall be like Him,

because we shall see Him as He is. (1Jn 3:2)
Eagerly pursue peace and holiness with all,
without which no one will see the Lord, (Heb 12:14)
Yeshua says it again through Matthew and Paul,
Blessed are the pure in heart! For they shall see God. (Mat 5:8)
Then having these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves
from all defilements of flesh and of spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2Co 7:1)
And night will not be there;
and they have no need of a lamp or a light of the sun,
because the Lord God will illumine them.
And they shall reign to the ages of the ages. (Rev 22:5)
We have seen that they will be the source of Light for Jerusalem
(21:22) and in Spirit, for all of his children.
For Jehovah God is a sun and shield;
Jehovah will give grace and glory;
He will withhold nothing good from those
who walk in integrity. (Psa 84:11)
Now the first “they” in our verse points to the Redeemed, as is the
“them” in the second phrase, finally the final “they” must be them as
well, who will reign to the ages of ages.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess
the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. (Dan 7:18)
But we know also that we will reign with Yeshua as our Leader. As
he promises to Laodicea:
The one overcoming, I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne,
as I also overcame and sat with My Father in His throne. (Rev 3:21)
And as through Paul to the Corinthians:
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
And if the world is judged by you,
262 Chapter 22

are you unworthy of small judgments? (1Co 6:2)

He would have us practice in His Kingdom on earth that which will
be our place in the Heavenly Kingdom.

Come Lord Yeshua!

And he said to me, These Words are faithful and true.
And the Lord God of the holy prophets
sent His angel to show His slaves
what must happen quickly. (Rev 22:6)
Those Words re necessarily faithful and true for that is our God and
our Lord Yesuah, the Living Word, of whom the same was said of
Him on the White Horse; and on God’s assertion that all things are
being renewed.
And to the angel of the assembly of Laodicea, write:
These things says the Amen,
the faithful and true Witness,
the Head of the creation of God: (Rev 3:14)
In 1:1, having the only repetition of this phrase in this Book, is noted
what must happen quickly by Yeshua from the Father, but here by the
Lord God of the holy prophets.
even as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets
from the age before: (Luk 1:70)
And they are also said to be Yeshua’s angels, but they are a family,
and what’s the Father’s is the Son’s. :
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in clouds with much power and glory.
And then He will send His angels
and will gather His elect from the four winds,
from the end of earth to the end of heaven. (Mar 13:26-27)
Behold, I am coming quickly.
Blessed is the one keeping the Words
of the prophecy of this Book. (Rev 22:7)
The caution of Yeshua saying, “I am coming quickly” is repeated five
more times in this book, all averting to this imminent expectation.
 Chapter 22 263

And the injunction to keep the Words.., answers to 1:3 and is also
found again in v9, just ahead. Now most of the words of prophecy
in this book are warnings and not direct commandments, unless it is
the first angel of three in 14:6-7, who is calling us to return to proper
worship, and remember the Sabbath though he communicates that
through verbal verse interconnections to Exo 31.13.
And I, John, was the one seeing and hearing these things.
And when I heard and saw,22
I fell down to worship before the feet
of the angel showing me these things. (Rev 22:8)
John intones his own name thrice in the first chapter (1:1,4,9) and
then again when he sees the New Jerusalem descending. In the table
below we’ll see how John often both heard and saw:
Verse Heard and Saw
4:1 A door open in heaven / Voice like a Trumpet
5:11 myriads around the throne
6:1 lamb opening seal / voice of thunder
6:5 voice of third living creature / black horse and rider
8;13 angel flying / great voice “Woe! Woe! Woe!
11:12 calling up the two witnesses / enemies saw
22:8 John sees and hears “these things.”
John also falls at the feet of the angel in 19:10, in the interlude
between the arrival of the Bride and she accompanying their Lord
on white horses on Yom Kippur. In falling down to worship He who
Lives Forever, only the 24 elders do that in 4:10, else, throughout
scripture it is never to God, except in a song of praise :
O come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker. (Psa 95:6)
But, these seven disqualify:
Verse Occasions that disqualify
Isa 46:6 to an idol just made

22 note the chiasmus in the verse: seeing and hearing: heard

and saw; a frequent occurrence in this book.
264 Chapter 22

Verse Occasions that disqualify

Dan 3:5,6,10,11,15 to an image of the king, else be toasted
Mat 4:9 Demanded of Yeshua by the devil.
And he said to me, Behold! Stop!
For I am your fellow-slave,
and of your brothers the prophets,
and of the ones keeping the Words of this Book.
Do worship to God. (Rev 22:9)
God repeats His 2nd Word (of Ten), explaining,
For you shall not bow to another god,
for Jehovah whose name is Jealous,
He is a jealous God; (Exo 34:14)
He is Jealous as a husband for his bride, for this is the Second Word
on the first Stone Tablet which is answered by the Second of the sec-
ond Stone Tablet.
You shall not commit adultery. (Exo 20:14)
Which the second to the end of each Tablet answers to the other in a
related commandment, in
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy; (Exo 20:8) (cf. 31:13) and
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exo 20:16 AFV)
The key to those two being related, is in Ex 31:13ff where the Sab-
bath is as the ring fit onto the fourth finger of the betrothed that she
should wear in blissful patience (Rev 3:10a).
But, “keeping the Word of this Book,” considering that the Father is
speaking through Yeshua and John, would pertain to the Whole Book
of which this book of Revelation is the bookend, and all the more,
in that we have seen hardly a verse in this book that did not come
from the Law, the Prophets, or the Writings, for this fits well with the
whole of Scripture:
Therefore, keep the words of this covenant and do them
so that you may prosper in all that you do. (Deu 29:9 AFV)

And He said, “Yes, rather, blessed are those

 Chapter 22 265

who hear the Word of God and keep it.” (Luk 11:28 AFV)
Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My words,
he shall not see death forever.” (Joh 8:51 AFV)
To that last word from Yeshua, “if anyone Keeps my words,” one
must be cautioned that the Whole of Scripture is the Word of God
which was breathed to the prophets, being He who came down to
tabernacle among us. In fact by our keeping His Word does he offer
his Holy Spirit, which is the seal to his Kingdom.
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me,
he will keep My word; and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (Joh 14:23 AFV)
And he said to me, Do not seal the Words
of the prophecy of this Book,
because the time is near. (Rev 22:10)
This is in contrast to 10:4 which directs John to seal the words of
the seven thunders, but this time, it is made clear that this book of
Prophecy through John is not to be sealed. For, this may be the final
word of prophecy allowed by the Father, and because of its later date
than the works of the other Apostles, it needed this affirmation from
Above that this be included.
Seventy weeks are decreed as to your people, and as to your holy city,
to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins,
and to make atonement for iniquity,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness,
and to seal up the vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the Most Holy. (Dan 9:24)
The time is near answers to 1:3 (for this Conclusion from 22:6 an-
swers well to the Introduction).
Howl! For the day of Jehovah is at hand.
It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. (Isa 13:6)
The one acting unjustly, let him still act unjustly;
and the filthy, let him still be filthy;
and the righteous, let him still do righteousness;
and the holy, let him still be holy. (Rev 22:11)
266 Chapter 22

But My people would not listen to My voice,

and Israel did not consent to Me.
So I gave them up to the stubbornness of their own hearts;
they walked in their own conceits.
Oh if My people had listened to me!
If Israel had walked in My ways, (Psa 81:11-13)
For God’s Word changes not, for that through Moses is also through
Paul and the Apostles.
Would that this heart of theirs would be like this always,
to fear Me, and to keep all My commandments,
that it might be well with them, and with their sons forever. (Deu 5:29)
And to whom did “He swear” “they would not enter into His rest,”
except to those not obeying? (Heb 3:18)
And with such warnings not to throw out the commandments on
account of some new system of theology that promises whatever
rewards for picking and choosing what to follow, or just following
those who have drifted astray for generations. Yeshua won’t look
favorably on any excuses:
And He said to them,
Well do you to set aside the commandment of God
so that you may keep your tradition? (Mar 7:9)
And there is a day, indeed on Yom Kippur, the day of redemption, of
covering, and Judgement as well, that we are warned by Yeshua, that
once before the judge, that is on the Great Day which culminates the
seven years of tribulation.
For as you go with your adversary to a judge,
give pains in the way to be set free from him,
that he not drag you to the judge,
and the judge deliver you to the officer,
and the officer throw you into prison. (Luk 12:58)
And, behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me,
to give to each as his work is. (Rev 22:12)
Again, the admonishment, time is running our for each of us. And
there is no time to scoff at good works, for if we are to follow Yesh-
 Chapter 22 267

ua; in his steps we will know what good works are, furthermore it is
not a question of salvation, but one of following the Lord’s precepts
because we are his loving servants. Another way to look at it is that
God is Love, and as promised, He is not far from anyone who shows
genuine love for others.
The great day of Jehovah is near; it is near and rushing greatly,
the sound of the day of Jehovah.
The mighty man shall cry out bitterly there. (Zep 1:14)
And Jehovah shall give His voice before His army,
for His camp is very great. For he who does His Word is strong.
For the day of Jehovah is very great and terrifying,
and who can endure it? (Joe 2:11)
Now, his rewards are with him, means we are not going up to heaven
to receive anything, but he will distribute rewards down here, prob-
ably on the 15th of the 7th month during the wedding banquet, which
will foster the commencement of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth
with our Savior as King.
For the Son of Man is about to come with His angels
in the glory of His Father.
And then “He will give reward to each
according to his practice.” (Mat 16:27)
For you say, Behold, we did not know this.
Does not He who weighs the heart consider it?
And the One who keeps your soul, does He not know?
Yea, He repays to a man according to his work. (Pro 24:12)
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the Ending,
the First and the Last. (Rev 22:13)
This is another affirmation of the timelessness of our Lord, as he
again gives the assurance that he is above our worries of tomorrow.
And as seen earlier, (1:8, 11; 21:6) this is a stamp of their ascendancy,
greatness, and worthiness to be our Lord. By Him was all creation,
speaking into existence all that the Father indicated.
Who has planned and done it,
268 Chapter 22

calling forth the generations from the beginning?

I Jehovah am the first and the last; I am He. (Isa 41:4)
So says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer,
Jehovah of Hosts: I am the First, and I am the Last;
and there is no God except Me. (Isa 44:6)
This, as many verses besides, affirm that there are two Jehovah’s,
the Father, and the Son. Here the King of Israel, and also Jehovah of
Hosts. Together God.
Be on guard before Him, and listen to His voice.
Do not be rebellious against Him,
for He will not forgive your transgressions;
for My name is in Him. (Exo 23:21)
So the one who Moses saw face to face is the “Him” who his Father,
also named, Jehovah (Yehovah in Hebrew) says above: “I have put
my name in Him.”
Blessed are the ones doing His commands,
that their authority will be over the Tree of Life,
and by the gates they may enter into the city. (Rev 22:14)
If you love Me, keep My commandments. (Joh 14:15)
That is the condition for having a right to eat of the Tree of Life. So
again don’t try to get out of following his commandments, but try to
get in by that means, into eternal life, and into the Holy City.
Jesus said to him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me. (Joh 14:6)
So the gates are each under the name of one of the Sons of Jakob, so
which gate would you enter? Perhaps by the Gate of Judah opening
center east, for he is the Ancestor of Yeshua our Way to wherever He
would have us serve Him, our source of Truth for all that we couldn’t
figure on our own, and our Life together forever.
But outside are the dogs and the sorcerers,
and the fornicators, and the murderers,
and the idolaters, and everyone loving a lie,
and making it. (Rev 22:15)
By contrast, those who chose to make their own laws, and concen-
 Chapter 22 269

trate on their own navels. Now we know what are sorcerers, fornica-
tors (sex out of wedding), murderers and idolaters (each with their
own gods), all loving to lie and making them, but for the dogs:
You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute,
or the price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah your God
for any vow; for even both of these
are an abomination to Jehovah your God. (Deu 23:18)
Here from Deuteronomy, the prostitute is a female, the dog is a male
prostitute—or a homosexual male. Now turn the page.
I, Jesus, sent My angel to testify these
things to you over the assemblies.
I am the Root and Offspring of David,
the bright and morning Star. (Rev 22:16)
This testifying to the Assemblies, reflects on the first chapter again:
in 1:4,11,20; but John in 1:4 addresses the whole book, all that he
would see, to the Assemblies, thus to our assembly, and our persons
that fit as well. Yeshua to John in 1:11 assigns to John to put it all in
writing, that which he would see and send it to the Assemblies. So the
1:11 is history, happening before 1:4 where it is, actuality.
The Root and offspring of David, is encountered in (3:7), of His dear
Philadelphia, for he is fully her Lord. Then we see the root of Da-
vid again in 5:6 when an Elder points out the Lion of Judah to John,
instead he sees the lamb who’s been slain, and the Elders sing a new
song on behalf of the Bride who will be taken out of every tribe, lan-
guage, people nation.
This verse also clarifies what was offered, by Peter,
and we have the more established prophetic Word,
in which you do well to take heed,
as to a lamp shining in a murky place,
until day dawns and the Light-bearing One
rises in your hearts; (2Pe 1:19)
For the Light Bearing One, “that Bright and Morning Star, is our
Lord Yeshua, for that star, was first born, then grew to be that Light
Bearing One, but the prophecy of his birth is given by the words the
270 Chapter 22

Lord placed in the mouth of Balaam:

I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not near.
A star marches out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel
and shall dash the corners of Moab,
and break down all the sons of tumult. (Num 24:17)
Which is affirmed through Luke,
through the tender heart of mercy of our God,
in which the Dayspring from on high will visit us, (Luk 1:78)
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come!
And the one hearing, let him say, Come!
And the one thirsting, let him come; and the one desiring,
let him take of the water of life freely. (Rev 22:17)
Finally, the culmination of the ages, the bride offered to Adam in
Gen 2, is now become a Bride made up of many, scoured clean in
the blood of the Lamb, who takes up her Man’s Word by the Spirit
which unites them, calling, “Come!” And he gives two qualifications,
that they hear, which entreaty was given to each of the Churches in
the conclusion of each letter, even as this is at the conclusion of the
Book, and is among the final words to us, that we listen to what the
Spirit will teach us as we study His Word and prepare to set aside any
teaching given by self-seeking shepherds. Next, is the one Thirsting,
for until we thirst for the Word and for Righteousness how can we be
blessed.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness!
For they shall be filled. (Mat 5:6)
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the water;
and he who has no silver, come buy grain and eat.
Yes, come buy grain, wine and milk
without silver and with no price. (Isa 55:1)
And, of course, is it liquid water offered, or what it symbolizes?
And in the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood and cried out,
saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
The one believing into Me, as the Scripture said,
 Chapter 22 271

Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. (Joh 7:37-38)
Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God,
and who is the One saying to you,
Give Me to drink, you would have asked Him,
and He would give you living water.
but whoever may drink of the water which I will give him
will not thirst, never!
But the water which I will give to him
will become a fountain of water in him,
springing up into everlasting life. (Joh 4:10,14)
But have we taken a deep draft of that Spirit which enlivens us? Lest
we are still outside, as Paul says:
But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, this one is not His. (Rom 8:9b)
But of those who truly thirst, and partake, they will be filled from the
“wells of salvation.”
And you shall draw waters
out of the wells of salvation with joy. (Isa 12:3)
For I jointly testify to everyone who hears the words
of the prophecy of this book,
that if anyone adds to these things,
God shall add to him the plagues
that are written in this book. (Rev 22:18 AFV)
That he Jointly testifies, attests to the Spirit and the Bride, for they
would both have new bodies as John tells:
Beloved, now we are the children of God,
and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be;
but we know that when He is manifested,
we shall be like Him,
because we shall see Him exactly as He is. (1Jn 3:2 AFV)
So to guard the blessings in this book, a curse is inserted against any
who would extract from it. Now a study of the general chiastic struc-
ture tells us two things pertaining to this, the first is that there are
segments, some short some long which are moved from one place to
another, and the second, there does not appear to be anything wanting
272 Chapter 22

in the book, for when the pieces are reassembled the whole meshes
well together.
The Torah in Deut 4:2 and again below are the same injunctions from
Yehovah himself concerning the Word.
Whatsoever thing that I command you, be careful to do it.
You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.” (Deu 12:32 AFV)
Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Do not add to His words,
lest He correct you and you be found a liar. (Pro 30:5-6 AFV)
Yes, and to be found a liar, says that one is in the wrong camp, for
Satan is the father of lies. And about the accouterments added by
theologians onto the pure Word, how is it that some new versions of
the Bible replace the Seventh day Sabbath with the weekday Sunday
in the Fourth Word, but even prior to that did lip-service help to cre-
ate the Great Divide or Apostasy?
Do not let anyone deceive you by any means
because that day will not come
unless the apostasy shall come first,
and the man of sin shall be revealed—
the son of perdition, (2Th 2:3 AFV)
Of which Yeshua counsels:
For they worship Me in vain,
teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.’ “ (Mat 15:9 AFV)
And if anyone takes away from the words
of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part from the book of life,
and from the holy city,
and from the things that are written
in this book. (Rev 22:19 AFV)
Here is the flip side of 22:18, that of taking away from the words,
that the same will not reap the blessings offered in this book, which
certainly outweigh the curses.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against Me,
 Chapter 22 273

I will blot him from My book. (Exo 32:33)

But taken out of the Book of Life is very serious (20:15), and from
the Holy City, puts one with the worst kinds of sinners outside, not
least the liar. for the sin of extracting from the Word is of the same
fabricating spirit as seen in the one who adds to it. And kin to taking
out, is the use of the Pericope as if it were the whole Gospel, Sunday
after Sunday to differ with God’s, of which one major substitution is :
And this shall happen: From new moon to new moon
and from Sabbath to Sabbath
all flesh shall come to bow in worship before me,”
says Yahweh. (Isa 66:23 LEB)
And in an epithet of Yeshua’s that could equally be applied to
crooked theologians,
Woe to you, legal experts,
because you have taken away the key to knowledge!
You did not enter yourselves,
and you hindered those who were entering!” (Luk 11:52 LEB)
For to meddle with the Word is maligning his Body; consider how the
following might as easily be of the Holy Word Yeshua has given us as
to His own persecuted form at the Passion.
You have known My reproach, and My shame, and My dishonor;
those vexing Me are all before You.
Blot them out from the Book of Life;
yea, let them not be written with the righteous. (Psa 69:19, 28)
Another stern word from Yehovah, (Yeshua’s proper name) to those
writing books now with falsity, and turning the words of Scripture to
their own agenda :
And My hand shall be against the prophets who see vanity,
and who divine a lie.
They shall not be in the assembly of My people,
and they shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel,
and they shall not enter into the land of Israel.
And you shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah. (Eze 13:9)
274 Chapter 22

The One testifying these things says,

Yes, I am coming quickly. Amen. Yes, come,
Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20)
This One testifying corresponds to the joint testimony in 22:18,
above, affirming that Yeshua with His Bride are testifying, for even
as he is ONE in Spirit with His Father so is He with his Bride.
Finally, the oft repeated counsel of this book is: He is coming soon
or quickly, which He here affirms with an Amen: So be it. And John
answers that promise with the prayer: Yes, come Lord Jesus, and so
should we pray to hasten the coming of our Lord; offering our ser-
vices to help that day along by advising and teaching people to turn.
Per Yeshua’s final Command to his disciples, and through them to us:
Jesus drew near to them and said to them:
“To me has been given all power in Heaven and Earth.
Go, and teach them to carry out all the things
which I have commanded you forever. (Mat 28:18-20 HGM)
For there still remain those who haven’t heard, as attested by Isaiah:
He shall not fail nor be crushed until He has set justice in the earth;
and the coasts shall wait for His Law. (Isa 42:4)
Until the day dawns in which we can lift praise as this:
The coasts have seen and fear; the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near; yea, they come. (Isa 41:5)
for we see that Yehovah truly favors those who obey that command:
And those who act wisely
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament,
and those turning many to righteousness
as the stars forever and ever. (Dan 12:3)
and by Isaiah:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet
of him proclaiming good news,
making peace heard, bearing tidings of good,
making heard salvation,
saying to Zion, Your God reigns. (Isa 52:7)
 275
End Notes
Bieke, Mahieu, Between Romne and Jerusalem, OLA
208, Leuven, Peters, pp. 147–165
Banks, William D., The Heavens Declare, Impact
Christian Books, Inc., Kirkwood, Mo, 2013;
Cahn, Jonathan, The Mystery of the Shemittah, Front Line - Charisma
Media, Charisma House Book Group, Fla 2014, ISBN 978–1-62998–
193–2, e-Book 978–62998–223–6,
www.charismahouse.com; author: www.johnathancahn.com
Gruber, Daniel, The Separation of Church & Faith, Vol 1: Copernicus
and the Jews, Elijah Publishing, Hanover, NH, 2005
Howard, George, Professor of Religion, University of
Georgia, Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, Mercer University
Press, 1995, (coded in this text as HGM)
Howard, Kevin; Rosenthal, Marvin, The Feasts of the Lord,
Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee, 1997 ISBN
10:0–7852–7518–5 ; 13978–0-7852–7518–3:
Johnson, Keith E., His Holy Name, Minneapolis, Mn, A
Biblical Foundations Academy Book, Foundations Academy,
Epub ed. 2011, ISBN 978–0-615–33323–6
Jones, E. Stanley, In Christ, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 1961
Klein, John; Spears, Adam; with Christopher Michael ; Lost in
Translation, Vol 1 : Redisovering the Hebrew Roots of our Faith,
Covenant Research Institute, Bend, Or. 97708, 2007; www.
lostintranslation.org ISBN 978–1-58930–199–3
Lewis, C.S., The Collected Works of C. S. Lewis, The Pilgrims Regress,
Inspirational Press, New York, by agreement with Wm. B. Erdmans
Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI 49603; ISBN 0–88486 -151–1
Lund, Nils W., Chiasmus in the New Testament, Hendrikson
Publishers, 1942, 1970 ISBN 0–943575–9203
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sermons), 2734 Rhode Island Ave S. St. Luis Park, rabbiyeshua.com
Runyan, Damon, “Doc Brackett”, Of Places Literature, A Beka Book,
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Schneider, K.A. Rabbi, The Book of Revelation DECODED, “Your
guide to understandng the End Times Through the Eyes of the
Hebrew Prophets,” Copyright 2017, by Charisma House, Lake
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AnQuest, LLC, 2017, ISBN 978–1-944200–91–6
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