Upon reading Revelation 4, we see that a doorway into heaven is opened and a voice tells John, “Come up hither.” Because all who see the Lord in the flesh will die, John was instantly in the throne room of God in the spirit. Incidentally, this is the same voice that will call out to the two witnesses in Revelation 11:12, just before they float up to heaven on a cloud much like what happened when Jesus ascended into heaven.

John describes the twenty-four elders who are sitting on thrones and are wearing crowns of gold. The gold crowns mean that they overcame something during their lives. I’m going to venture a guess here and say that they were either saints of old or prophets who led the children of Israel at one time or another.

Following that, John tells us about the seven blazing lamps that are before the throne of God, which are the seven spirits of God. These seven spirits, which are also mentioned in Revelation 1, 3, and 5, are the different aspects of God. A look at Isaiah 11 will give us some understanding as to what these seven spirits are:

1) The spirit of righteousness

2) The spirit of wisdom

3) The spirit of understanding

4) The spirit of counsel

5) The spirit of might

6) The spirit of knowledge

7) The spirit of fear of the LORD.

A little further down, we read about the sea of glass that is before the throne of God. In the Bible, a sea is commonly referred to as people.

After that, John describes the four beasts that he saw near the throne. The fact that the beasts are covered in eyes means that God sees everything; nothing is hidden from Him. These beasts are spiritual leaders for whenever they give glory to God, the elders follow suit by placing their crowns at the feet of God and worshipping Him. Within these verses, we get a reminder that all things were created for God’s pleasure.

In chapter 5, John tells us that a sealed scroll is presented and when an angel asks who is worthy of opening the scroll, since John assumed that no one in heaven or on earth was worthy of opening it, he began to cry. However, when one of the elders gently reminds him that Jesus is worthy of opening it, his joy returns.

When he looked at the throne again, he saw the Lamb of God standing in the center of it. Because the Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes tell us that He possesses all of the different aspects of God. Giving us another hint that this is Christ Jesus sitting on the throne, the elders and beasts fall down and worship Him.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see Him in all His glory.

Chapter 4…The Seal Judgments

Because God did what He promised to do in Genesis 6 and 7 and then in Exodus 7:1 through 12:36, and did what He promised to do for the Israelites after that, there’s no reason to think that He won’t do what He promised to do in the books of Daniel, Micah, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Revelation. In other words, because the LORD is not slack in fulfilling what He promised, we can trust in the fact that all of the judgments in the book of Revelation will come to pass.

When Christ breaks the seals on the scroll, He will unleash seven terrifying judgments upon the world called the seal judgments.

When the Lord cracks open the first seal, a man riding a white horse will appear. This verse is meant to be a general description of what this man will do and what he will be like. Though the Lord is pictured riding a white horse near the end of Revelation, this horseman is not the Lord. The horseman in the first seal judgment none other than the antichrist.

“Who exactly is the antichrist?” you ask.

He’s the person that will rule the world for the entire tribulation. Now that the Lord has raptured the church, and the restrainer, the church, is out of the way, the beast, or the antichrist, will be in control of the entire world for seven years. If you read Revelation six verse two, you’ll notice that he has no arrow meaning that he will come in peace. In contrast, when Jesus returns, peace will be the last thing on His mind.

The antichrist will come on the scene promising peace and because scripture says that he’s wearing a crown, he will be granted authority. So by promising peace and using his superb diplomatic skills, he’ll gain control of the entire world.

One of the reasons why he’ll come into power so easily is because the world will be in such a sad state that everyone will be looking for a Savior. And when the antichrist comes around, he’ll do everything that he possibly can to mimic Jesus. Because the antichrist will perform the signs that everyone demanded to see Jesus do when He was here (He knew that they wouldn’t have believed in Him anyways) everyone whose name isn’t written in the Book of Life, will worship the antichrist thinking that he’s actually the long awaited Messiah. On top of healing the sick and feeding the hungry, Daniel 9:27 tells us that the antichrist will confirm a covenant of peace with the nation of Israel. Signing the seven-year peace treaty will kick off the beginning of the tribulation.

“What’s so bad about healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and confirming a peace treaty?” you ask.

Boy, you sure do ask a lot of questions! J Since this dude is not the real messiah, everyone who follows him will go straight to hell right behind him.

How do I know that he’ll lead them to destruction? Because at the end of the book of Revelation, it says that after the White Throne Judgment, the devil and anyone else who’s name is not written in the book of life—the people who never believed in Jesus—will be thrown into the lake of fire for eternity.

The real messiah would never murder His followers; however, the antichrist, the future ruler of this world, will insist upon killing Christians for refusing to denounce the Lord. Revelation twenty, verse four, tells us that the antichrist will behead all who will not follow him. Revelation chapter six, verse nine says that people will be killed for the Word of God. Later, in chapter seven, verses nine through fourteen, it says that ‘a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues’ will be killed during that fateful seven years. So, whoever becomes a believer during that seven years will not only be trying to survive the judgments of God, but he or she will be busy trying to avoid capture by the antichrist.

Christ Jesus will send another horseman into the world when He opens the second seal. Because this horse is red and it says that power is given to the horseman to take peace from the earth, wars will be going on everywhere. In addition to that, if you think there is too much murder now, just wait, during that time, there will be so many murderers running amok that an unimaginable amount of people will be slaughtered. I imagine that those who are murderous by nature will mindlessly butcher others like anamatrons.

The third seal unleashes a black horse with a rider that’s holding a pair of scales. Verse six tells us that as a consequence of the wars, and due to inflation being so high, the common man won’t be able to afford to eat much, if at all. When it says, “See though hurt not the oil and the wine”, it means that the rich will only get richer while the poor will become even more destitute. Some writers depict Christians and the impoverished during that time digging through dumps and trashcans for food. I don’t think they’re far off.

The fourth seal brings us to the pale horse. The name of the rider on that horse is Death and hell is right on his heels. God will allow him to kill ¼ of the earth’s population via murder, starvation, and regular death. The scariest of all is that common household pets will suddenly become suspect while this rider does his work.

The souls of those who are slain for the Word of God are highlighted when the Lord opens the fifth seal. However, when they ask the Lord when He will avenge their deaths, He gives them white robes to wear and tells them to wait until all of their number is murdered.

When the Lord cracks open that sixth seal, look out because you know what is going to be hitting the fan, big time. If this particular judgment hits during the day, it will become pitch-black outside when the sun suddenly turns as black as the ace of spades. Not only that, but the moon will look like a huge blood clot that’s stuck to the night sky, giving everything a bloody hue.

Lovely thought huh?

Anyhow, as the earth begins to shake with such violence that the mountains and islands are moved out of place, stars will pummel the earth resulting in worldwide catastrophic damage. Thinking that they’ll be able to escape the wrath of the Lamb if they die, men and women everywhere will be praying that they’ll be crushed to death by boulders. Following that, heaven will literally roll up like a scroll.

And yes, I do believe that it will happen. If God can create the earth, the heavens and everything between just by a mere thought, I should think that causing the sky to roll up like a scroll would be nothing for Him. This judgment will be the most terrifying so far and there are many more to go, which are even more horrendous.

Revelation chapter 7 begins by saying that four angels will be entrusted to stop the wind from blowing upon the earth. It’s going to be very hot during that time. Even on super hot days, God still blesses us with a little breeze that cools our skin, but not during this time. No.

Following that, another angel tells the four angels to hold on before they do anything nasty to the earth until he seals the Jewish remnant. They are the ones who will repent and ask for Christ’s forgiveness just before the war of Armageddon.

After that, in verse nine, John saw a “great multitude” of people standing before the throne of God. Since Jesus has already raptured all of the believers, this chapter tells us that so many people will become saved and killed during the tribulation that it will be impossible to count them all. However, God has wiped away all their tears; they will never hunger nor will they ever thirst again. They will be with Christ Jesus for eternity.

Can you imagine having such a bad storm that you hear voices in the sky? That’s what it says will happen when the Lord opens the seventh seal in the beginning of chapter eight. After the opening of the seventh seal brings about silence in heaven for a short time, an angel will fill his censer with fire from the altar and hurl it at the earth. When he does that, there will be such a terrible storm that as the thunder roars through the heavens and lightning strikes everywhere at once, voices will be heard coming from the sky. To top off this magnificent display of power, God will cause a massive earthquake to strike the entire world.

It is my belief—and you can take it or leave it, it’s up to you—that all of the volcanoes in the world will erupt at the same time leaving the entire world blanketed in thick, grey ash. When this happens, because the sun won’t be seen for quite some time, there will be MAJOR food shortages resulting in mass starvation. Cannibalism will most likely be on the rise as well.

Chapter 5…The Trumpet Judgments

When the first angel blows into his trumpet in verse 7 of chapter eight, there will be a hailstorm that’s certain to make headlines. This storm will be like none other: it will have blood and fire mixed within it. The verses tell us that exactly one third of the trees and all of the grass on the earth will burn up. Since we need trees to breathe, the amount of oxygen will drop by one third.

When the second angel blows his trumpet, a gigantic hunk of burning rock will be cast into the sea. This won’t be just any regular meteor or comet. Not by a long shot! This one in particular will take everyone by surprise because it will come out of nowhere. It says that after it hits the earth, a third of the creatures in the sea will die and a third of the ships will be destroyed.

Yuck! If you can’t imagine the overpowering smell that this judgment will create, just go to the nearest dead animal and take a good, long whiff. That should give you a tiny hint of the stench that will cover the earth at that time.

When the third angel blows into his instrument, seeing massive amounts of dead people lying around certain bodies of water should be a pretty good indication of which bodies of water to avoid. Another ginormous, burning hunk of rock will come from nowhere and will break apart as it hits our atmosphere and land in a third of the water causing the water, even the rivers and the fountains to become poisonous. This one will be Wormwood.

By the way, this judgment will be a stinky one too. I imagine that people will be so into themselves they won’t be bothered during this time to bury their dead.

The fourth trumpet judgment in verse 12 will be interesting, to say the least. It says in the Bible that a third part of the moon, a third part of the sun, and a third part of the stars will be stricken from the sky. I can’t even begin to imagine the noise from all of that happening, but it will probably look like giant, invisible beings are playing a game of pool using the sun, moon and the stars as pool balls. Naturally, some of these loose chunks of rock will strike the earth and when that happens, I’ll be glad not to be here.

One third of the days and nights will be dark. So instead of having 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness, there will be eight hours of daylight followed by four hours of utter darkness. The nights will be the same. Vegetation, animals, and mankind will suffer. Rickets, which is a disease that strikes when one is lacking in vitamin D, which our bodies naturally make when exposed to the sun will be on the rise.

Sometime after that, an angel will fly overhead to pronounce the next three judgments, which are so bad that they are called woes. Three judgments are confirmed when he says “Woe, woe, woe.” I believe that everyone will hear this angel and his proclamation. Indeed, the following three judgments will be even uglier than all the judgments before.

When the fifth angel sounds his trumpet in the beginning of chapter nine, an angel with the keys to the bottomless pit falls from heaven. A parallel can be seen in Luke 10:18 where Jesus told his disciples: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” In verse 11 of Revelation chapter nine, the angel is referred to as Apollyon, which means destroyer. The destroyer is Satan.

Upon opening the pit, there will be so much smoke that whatever’s left of the sunlight will be darkened. Seemingly out of nowhere, scorpion-type creatures will appear and torment mankind. Because it says that the creatures aren’t permitted to harm those who have God’s seal on their foreheads, Christians will be sealed by God just before this judgment begins.

This judgment will be so bad that once stung by these things from the pit of hell, victims—or unbelievers—will be tormented for five straight months. They’ll seek death, but it will elude them. Many will try to kill themselves to end the pain, but they won’t succeed.

The noise that these creatures will make will be tremendous. Not only will these things be shaped like horses, but their wings will sound like horses hooves. Imagine hearing billions upon billions of horses running around your head. That’s what they’ll sound like. These critters will be wearing crowns of gold, signifying power, their faces will be like men, they’ll have long hair and their teeth will be razor sharp. To top it all off, they’ll have breastplates of iron and tales like scorpions. I imagine that each victim will be stung several times and since there’s no telling where they’ll be stung, people will be running around with swollen lips, eyes, bottoms, cheeks, ears and more! What a lovely picture that will be!

Two more woes are coming John tells us in verse 12.

Once the command comes from on high to loose the four angels who are bound in the Euphrates River, one-third of mankind will be killed by two hundred million men on horseback. These aren’t just ordinary men or horses we’re talking about here; these horses will have blue, red and yellow breastplates and heads like lions. They’ll breathe fire and brimstone and smoke from their mouths, and their tails will consist of poisonous snakes. As the snakes are spitting poison in every direction, the mouth of these horses will either vaporize their victim immediately or choke him or her to death with smoke.

Undoubtedly, these things are very real and they’re led by four real-life angels.

Unbelievably, when this judgment ends, those whose names aren’t in the Book of Life won’t repent. They’ll still go about their everyday business of murdering, stealing, worshipping false gods… you name it, they will not stop sinning against the Lord.

Chapter ten describes a mighty angel coming down from heaven. “He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.” (NIV) When this angel shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke; however, when John begins to write what was said, he is told not to write it down. I can’t begin to imagine what will be said, but this prophecy promises to be exciting.

The powerful angel announces that the mystery of God will be accomplished now and then John is ordered to take the scroll and eat it. The angel warns him that though it will taste as sweet as honey, it will be bitter in his stomach. Following after Jesus can be that way too. We take in His Words with gladness, but when it’s time to walk the walk, we tend to become a tad bit bitter.

John is told that he must prophecy about many people, nations, languages, and kings next. Moreover, it’s up to him to ensure that the book of Revelation is given to everyone.

Chapter eleven tells us about the two witnesses who will speak the Word of God for half of the tribulation, 3 ½ years. Because we’re told that they’re in a place “which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” they will be in Jerusalem. My advice: be nice to these guys because they’ll have the power to curse mankind any way they wish, to cause drought, and to turn bodies of water into blood. If anyone tries to harm them, fire will shoot out of their mouths and devour their enemies. I believe that these two men will appear in the beginning of the tribulation and remain where they are until the halfway point.

Because it says in Genesis 5:24 that God raptured Enoch, and the apostle Paul confirms this fact in Hebrews 11:5 and then in 2 Kings 2:11, we can read the exciting account of how the Lord raptured Elijah, some people try to say that they’ll be Enoch and Elijah. However, your guess is as good as mine as to the identity of these two. Since it doesn’t say who these two men will be, I don’t care to speculate.

At the midpoint of the tribulation, God will allow Satan to destroy them. Revelation 11 says that because the world will hate the two witnesses, they’ll leave the two men lying where they dropped dead for three and a half days, all the while, unbelievers the world over will have a gigantic, gift exchanging party. Sort of like a sinister Christmas. At the end of three days, the men will be resurrected and the entire world will be terrified of the men. Following that, a voice will call from heaven: “Come up hither.” And, in front of the entire world, they’ll float up to heaven on a cloud just like Christ Jesus did when He ascended into heaven.

Immediately after that, another earthquake strikes, except this one will only affect the city of Jerusalem. It says in verse 13 that seven thousand people will perish and a tenth part of the city will fall during this earthquake. One good thing that will come of this: the survivors of that city will be so terrified that they’ll give glory to God.

Two woes have passed and another is on the way.

When the seventh seal is opened, John proclaims that there were voices in heaven saying: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (KJV) The elders begin to worship and the temple of God is opened.

I would love to say that the entire world will see and hear what will happen, but I can’t. Verse 19 tells us that another terrible storm will strike.

Chapter 6…About The Woman Clothed With The Sun

Revelation chapter 12 is a highly controversial chapter in the book of Revelation. Whether the woman clothed in the sun signifies the nation of Israel or the Virgin Mary is debatable. However, three things are not up for debate: Revelation 12 pertains to Israel, Christ Jesus and to believers.

Because it’s easiest to break Revelation 12 down and examine the chapter verse by verse in order to understand what each means, that’s what we’ll do here.

In verse 12:1, a woman is depicted wearing a crown of twelve stars. The stars are in reference to the nation of Israel. More specifically, the stars are the twelve tribes of Israel. If we look in Genesis 37, we can read the account of Joseph telling his family about a dream he had involving the sun, the moon and eleven stars, which pertained to the nation of Israel.

The fact that the woman is wearing the sun and standing on the moon, which is only a mere reflection of the sun, means that Jesus will rule from Zion during the Millennial Reign. During this time, the nation of Israel will finally be what they were meant to be from the beginning: glorified. In Jeremiah 3:17, it says that Jerusalem will be “the throne of the Lord”; Jerusalem will be covered with God’s Holy splendor during the thousand years and in the ever after. As it says in Isaiah 2:2-5, Jerusalem will forevermore be above all other nations.

Verses 2-4 tell us that as the woman was prepared to give birth, a great red dragon was waiting to devour the child as soon as it was born. The dragon is none other than Satan himself and Daniel 7:20-21 confirms his identity. Matthew 2 gives the account of how Satan used King Herod to try to kill Christ Jesus when He was born, but upon discovering that his plan was thwarted, the king gave the order to kill all children that were age two and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem. An interesting parallel can be drawn between Revelation 12:4 and Matthew 13 where Jesus describes new believers who are excited upon hearing the Word, but shortly after, their fire is snuffed out by the cares of this world.

In verse 4, when it says that this dragon tail cast a third of the stars down to earth, this gives us further confirmation that the dragon is none other than Satan for when he rebelled, he took a third of the angels with him. The stars in this verse are angels. In Luke 10:18, Jesus said that he saw Satan fall from heaven, and Isaiah 14:12 proclaims that Lucifer was cast down to the earth.

Verse 5 is referring to Jesus. He was caught up to heaven when he was killed on the cross. It has been prophesied that Jesus will rule the nations with an iron rod and Psalm 2 speaks about the Lord breaking the nations with a rod of iron. Read Revelation 2:27 for more.

Verse six means that God will protect Christianity; there will always be believers to spread the truth, it will never die. Another interesting to note is that Jesus’ ministry only lasted three and a half years, which corresponds with the “thousand two hundred and threescore days” mentioned in this verse.

Verses 7-9 are talking about the devil and his followers again. Only this verse describes a war between Michael and his angels against the devil and his cronies and verse 10 tells us that the devil will never be allowed to accuse believers day and night before the throne of God again.

Verses 11-12 are about the believers who defeated the devil by following after Christ. They gave their lives for Him and they will be rewarded with eternal life.

Even Satan knows the scriptures. The next verse says that because Satan knows that after he’s permanently cast out of the presence of God, because he’ll only have three and a half years to do what he can to destroy God’s creation, he’ll really turn the heat up. So many people will be killed during this time that it’s impossible to number them all.

However, God will protect the Jewish remnant—AKA the woman—from the devil for three and a half years as it says in verse 14. It’s commonly believed that the place in the wilderness that God has prepared for the Jewish remnant will be Petra. Also, since the woman who brought for the man child could possibly be referring to Christianity, some people believe that God will also protect Christians from Satan during this time. Either way, the devil will be so angry that he’ll go after the Jews and Christians like never before.

In verses 15-16, the devil will send a flood after the woman, which means that he’ll send a lot of people after her. What happens after that promises to be fascinating: more likely than not, when the earth swallows up an entire contingent from the army of the antichrist, it will make front-page news.

And verse 17 reiterates the fact that the antichrist will go after Christians.

Chapter 7…And It Only Get’s Worse From Here

Now that we’re approaching the mid-point in the tribulation—which is three and a half years, only half of the seven longest, most horrendous years ever where maybe three or four people will still be alive in the end because everyone else has been killed—we come to Revelation 13 where John saw a beast coming out of the sea. Prophetically speaking, the sea refers to people.

Notice that the beast in chapter 13 has seven heads and ten crowns? Quick! Go back and re-read Daniel 7:20 and Revelation 12:3. We’re still talking about the antichrist and his kingdom, by the way. ;)

Yes, I know you already knew that… but just in case, I thought I’d mention it.

Daniel 7 verse 7 tells us about a fourth kingdom, which will ultimately be ruled by the beast that came out of the sea, or the antichrist. Similar to the Roman Empire, this kingdom will come upon the scene and literally take over the entire world. When that happens, the world will be divided up into ten smaller segments or kingdoms ruled by ten kings or presidents.

I’ll be nice this time and tell you what Daniel 7:8 says, "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." The little horn in this verse tells us that the antichrist will be a man who will come from a small country who will become leader of these ten segments or kingdoms. Based upon what we already know about him, he’ll gain power by using his supreme diplomatic skills and by promising peace. This is also the same person who will "confirm the covenant" with many for one week and then renege on the deal halfway through. (Daniel 9:27)

However, because verse eight above says that three of the horns were plucked up by the roots, after the antichrist comes into power, he will knock down three of the kings or kingdoms. Most likely, he will go after the three kings because they oppose either him or his ideas. Either way, these three kings will be completely crushed, never rise again, and the kingdoms will come under the dictatorship of the beast. John confirms this in Revelation 13:1 where he says that he saw a beast with seven heads and ten crowns.

Side note: Because so many people think that Antiochus Epiphanies already fulfilled the prophecy in Daniel 9:27in the year 168 BC, it’s worth mentioning. Antiochus indeed occupied Jerusalem, entered the Holy of Holies within the Temple and desecrated it with filthy animals all before he erected a statue of Jupiter Olympius and dedicated the Jewish temple to that false god, he still never confirmed a seven year treaty with the nation of Israel. Therefore, Antiochus Epiphanies has not fulfilled the prophecy in Daniel 9.

I have to say too that I highly doubt that Antiochus Epiphanies was resurrected after a massive head wound killed him. Further, I have a hard time buying the fact that the entire world saw him resurrected and then followed him, but I could be wrong, mind you.

Which brings us to Revelation 13:2-3 where it says that Satan himself will give this beast power and great authority. After someone, I don’t know who, kills the antichrist via a hard knock on the noggin or some such thing, he will rise again. Since we know that the antichrist loves to mimic Jesus, he will probably arise again on the third day.

Talk about some freaky stuff. After someone bludgeons him to death by bashing in his skull or maybe even slicing his head clean off, this world leader, will probably sit up in his coffin.

Similar to what Dr. Frankenstein said when his creation came to life, people all over the world will be rejoicing because Mr. Wonderful, the man of their dreams, will once again be alive.

“It’s aliiiiive! It’s aliiiiive!” Frankenstein shouted when his monster sat up.

Only it won’t be him; he’ll be indwelt by Satan himself. Oh yeah baby, only now, the antichrist will be out for blood. Remember in the last chapter when we talked about the antichrist being ticked because he’s been booted out of heaven? This will coincide with the antichrist being killed and resurrected.

Due to the fact that the master of trickery and deceit will come back to life, the world will follow after him. They’ll be so convinced that he’s Christ Jesus Himself that they’ll gleefully take to the streets to kill all who oppose him.

On top of that, Satan, er uh, I mean the antichrist, I mean the world leader… whoever he will be, will desecrate the recently rebuilt temple of the Jews and set himself up as God in the Holy of Holies. I don’t know about you, but I’m imagining a few human sacrifices or something just as sick.

Around that time, another beast, A.K.A the false prophet, which will be a religious leader, will appear. Not only will the devil’s sidekick perform miracles and wonders—including making fire rain down from the heavens—for the entire world to see, but he’ll commission a statue or two that resembles the antichrist. The nifty thing about the images is that they’ll be able to speak and kill whoever won’t worship them.

Sounds like a fun party huh?

Doesn’t matter though. Remember that strong delusion mentioned in second Thessalonians 2:6-12? You got it: since it’s still in effect, everyone in the world, who will refuse to repent, will mindlessly worship the statues of the antichrist. If they can’t hide good enough, then the rest of humanity, who will refuse to worship the antichrist and his images, will be killed, plain and simple.

Now here comes the mark of the beast. Many people wonder if their social security number, ID implants and whatnot are the mark of the beast. Let me assure you, they are not.

The people who are here during the tribulation will know that it’s the mark of their leader. On top of that, they won’t be able to buy or sell without that mark and anyone who doesn’t get the mark will be beheaded.

At this point, we’re still free to refuse ID implants and such without being killed… at least I think.

When the mark of the beast is introduced, everyone will be forced to take that mark or die by beheading. Yet I don’t think that will be happening at first: I can just see people lining up for miles to get their mark so they can prove to their (false) messiah how devoted they are. Upon receiving the mark either on their right hand or on their forehead, they’ll unwittingly give their soul to the devil. Once they do this, there’s no turning back. It isn’t like someone can get a divorce from the devil citing irreconcilable differences when he or she changes his or her mind. No. Once he or she pledges his or her soul to Satan by getting his mark, they’re his for eternity. If you’re curious, read Revelation 14:9-11 to get a preview of the punishment for taking that mark.

Not too pretty eh?

A little later, when the government catches up to the people who won’t take the mark, they’ll behead them. That’s right! They’ll slice their noggin’s clean off! At the very least, whomever refuses that mark will most likely starve to death because he or she won’t even be able to buy or sell without it. The only comfort than be taken from all of this is that believers will go to heaven when they die.

Revelation 13:18 is another hotly debated verse in the Bible. In studying the subject of the dreaded three numbers of the beast, it is my understanding that some of the scholars out there can’t agree on what the three numbers really are. Some say it’s 616, others say it’s 888, still others swear the three numbers are something else entirely.

Throughout history, people everywhere have been pointing the finger at one famous person or another, swearing up and down that he or she is the antichrist. But since I have no idea whom God predestined to fill the role of the antichrist, I won’t even venture a guess. Personally, I wonder if the number 666 is in reference to the unholy trinity: Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet, but again, since I really don’t know, I’m not going to say for sure.

Since we trust God to take care of us, let’s just leave the name or number of the dreaded antichrist up to Him, shall we?

Chapter 8…A New Song

In order to understand who the 144,000 are in the beginning of Revelation chapter 14, we’re going to take a trip back in time to Zechariah 13:8-9 and to Revelation chapter 7. The 144,000 men and women have been chosen from the twelve tribes of Israel to be brought through the fire, so to speak. This group of people have the name of the Father on their foreheads, which corresponds to the seal that was placed upon their foreheads back in chapter 7:3. They will be the purest of the pure, the firstfruits of God. An amazing group of people in this day and age, they are virgins who have never lied, stolen or cheated anyone. They follow Jesus even to death.

They are so pleasing to the Lord that they will sing a new song before the throne of God that they alone will learn. Even the elders and the four creatures will be hearing this new song. We can see from chapter seven that only the tribe of Dan is missing.

The Lamb of God is ever present with this group and He leads them wherever they go. They will preach the living Gospel and I believe that they will be the group who will be directly responsible for bringing the Jewish remnant that is mentioned in Zechariah 13 to repentance.

In verses 6 and 7, John sees an angel flying about the world proclaiming the everlasting gospel and warning people to fear God, not man. There is another angel to follow who will pronounce judgment upon Babylon; however, this angel won’t be seen or heard until later, just before the war in Armageddon—we’ll get to that later.

Finally, a third angel is introduced. This one gives the inhabitants of the world a stern warning not to worship the beast or his image or get the mark of the beast and in verses 9 through 11, he paints a very clear portrait of the punishment that those who follow after the antichrist will receive.

A reminder for the saints to remain patient, to keep the commandments of God, and to remain faithful to Jesus follows. Just hang on a little more and you’ll be rewarded, this angel tells the tribulation saints.

We can compare verses 14 through 19 with Matthew 13:30. Nearly all of Matthew 13 is devoted to repentance and the kingdom of heaven. Several times, Jesus repeats what will happen to the unrepentant or unbelievers and then in verse 30, He gives those who will not repent a warning: “At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”

Now we’ve come to the crux of the tribulation where God will separate the wheat from the chaff, call all who will to repentance, and to sift through Israel and separate the remnant, those who will become purified, from the rest of the Jews.

The last half of verse 19 and all of verse 20 are in reference to the battle of Armageddon. At the end of that battle, 180 miles of land will be covered with so much blood that it will reach up to the horse’s bridles.

Chapter 9…Even More Horrific

As we head into Revelation chapter 15, we still have one more woe to go. There are many differing opinions as to what the third woe may be. I think from here until the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ is nothing but one gigantic woe after another.

In verse 1 of chapter 15, John describes another vision. In this one, he sees seven angels who are holding the last seven plagues. These are known as the bowl judgments. In its own way, each is as horrific as the others are, as each will inflict utter torment upon all who do not look to Jesus as his or her savior. These judgments will wrap up the tribulation and usher in the final conflict between Jesus and Satan.

In verse two, John sees a sea of glass mingled with fire. Again, a sea is a multitude of people. In this context, the people have passed through the fire and have been made pure and holy. They have worshipped neither the antichrist nor his image and they have refused to take his mark, even though it cost their lives. Before God, they sing “the song of Moses” and make music to the Lord.

Verse 5 says that the tabernacle was opened and the seven angels came out. All of them are wearing pure, white clothing and they are wearing golden girdles signifying purity and authority.

As it says in verse eight, God is royally ticked by this point and He has every right to be. People everywhere are still refusing to repent. Rather than take responsibility for their sins, they continually cuss at God and blame Him for the horrors that they brought on themselves.

When we read Revelation chapter 16 and the rest of the chapters in the book, we can see that this train of horrors will be making no more stops. Like a snowball only grows larger the farther down the hill it rolls, these judgments will only become more dreadful as each one comes. If the final plagues do not cause mankind to repent, then I don’t know what will. Perhaps that is the reason why they have been doomed to perdition from birth, but that’s another subject for another book or article.

When God orders the first of the angels to pour his or her vial upon the earth, whoever is styling the mark of the beast will be covered with awful sores. These won’t just be simple pimples or boils, these things will be HORRENDOUS. They will be so painful and huge and so full of infection that the people who are afflicted with them will look like monsters.

Surely, you’ve seen someone affected with terrible acne and I’m sure you’ve noticed what their pimples look like with the pus coming out. Imagine something ten times bigger on their upper lip, their eyelid, oozing out of their nose, peeking out at you from underneath the hem on his or her pants, perhaps screaming for attention from just above the neckline of their shirt, maybe from just behind the ear a little…

By the way, if you think I’m overdoing it with the descriptions, just you wait and see! It’ll be even more gruesome than even I could ever envision.

When the second angel pours out his bowl, the seas will become pure blood, killing everything within them. If you thought that any of the other judgments were smelly, wait till this one comes along. Indeed, the entire planet will reek worse than rotten, overripe meat that’s been long since forgotten in the refrigerator.

The third angel dumps the contents of his vial causing the rest of the water to become blood. Even more sea life will die during this judgment. Along with them, people and other mammals will die of thirst because the world’s supply of drinking water will quickly become depleted.

The reason for the remaining waters being turned to blood is given in verse six where the angel of the water says that because the world has killed the saints, the world can have blood to drink.

The next judgment, mentioned in verse eight, is a beaut. On top of having no water to drink, the sun will literally scorch everyone. Because it says that they blasphemed the name of God and refused to repent, I’m relatively certain that this judgment will only pertain to the unsaved.

If the world hasn’t been driven mad by this point, the next plague just might send them over the edge for when their world is plunged into utter blackness, they’ll be in so much pain that they’ll literally be chewing on their tongues. Verse 11 tells us that though they still have the sores and even more pain to boot, they’ll refuse to repent.

The Euphrates River is affected by the next bowl judgment. The reason it will dry up is so that the kings of the east will have a way to meet with the rest of the army of the antichrist.

Chapter 10…The Beginning Of The End

Revelation 16:13-14 describes three “unclean spirits” that will go forth from the mouth of the devil, out of the mouth of the antichrist, and out of the mouth of their helper, the false prophet. The role of these spirits is to convince leaders everywhere that they have a chance at defeating God in battle, which has been the plan of the devil from the beginning as we can see in Isaiah 14:12-21.

Yeah, believe it or not, the devil will have everyone so certain that they can defeat God with their silly weapons, which are useless against the Lord, that everyone in the world will begin to make weapons out of everything imaginable. Washers and dryers, cars, tools, Tonka toys, you name it, if it’s made of metal, they’ll melt it down and turn it into a weapon.

But what they’ll fail to realize is that this is really God’s plan, not their own. Joel 3:9-11 and Revelation chapter 17, verse 17 tell us that God has put His plan on the king’s hearts to achieve His purpose with the intention of using the kings to punish the harlot mentioned in chapter 17 before Christ Jesus defeats them.

During the battles that are to come, whether they wield a weapon against the Jews, assist in the vaporization of Babylon, or pray that the Lord will return, everyone in the world will participate in one way or another.

Revelation 16:16 tells us that the army of the antichrist will be heading toward a place called Armageddon or the Mount of Megiddo. Joel 3 gives us a little more info on this.

While the armies are still marching toward the Jezreel Valley, which is south of Lower Galilee in the North District of Israel, in order to do battle with the Almighty for the battle of Armageddon, several verses in Jeremiah, verses: 50:28, 51:50, 51:45, and finally, Revelation 18:4-5, tell us that God’s people will be warned to flee Babylon.

As soon as God’s people are clear of the city, it says in Revelation 18:1-3 that an angel, who will be heard by everyone, will pronounce God’s judgment upon the city.

Jeremiah 51:45, Revelation 18:1-24, and Isaiah 22-23 tell us that Babylon will be utterly and completely destroyed. Total destruction has never happened to that city, but it will at this time. The destruction will be so complete that not a single living human being will remain alive within and afterward no one will live there, ever again. Revelation 18:10 says that Babylon will be decimated within one hour. Isaiah 13 tells us that God will use the gentile believers to destroy Babylon and Jeremiah agrees.

Revelation 18:9-19 says that three types of people will lament over the destruction over Babylon: The kings or the political rulers of the world, those who shared in her luxury; the merchants who were made rich by trading everything imaginable within that city; and everyone who earned a living transporting cargo to and from her. In contrast, Revelation 18:20 says that three types of people who will rejoice over the destruction of Babylon: the saints, apostles, and the prophets.

After the sudden and total destruction of Babylon, in order to purge the rest of the land of the antichrist and his followers, God will use the armies of the antichrist to fulfill another purpose: to punish the harlot spoken of in Revelation chapter 17. Because Isaiah 1:21-31 specifically mentions that the faithful city—Jerusalem—has become a harlot, the identity of the harlot in Rev. 17, in my opinion, is Jerusalem.

However, take heart because the Lord must do this in order to cleanse Zion and make her ready for His Son to return to her where He will rule the earth with His rod, His staff of righteousness.

Because the antichrist will be so angry that Babylon is in ruins, he’ll order his armies to lay siege upon Jerusalem. But before this happens, several verses in the Bible, including Jeremiah 6:1 and 50:28 tell us that the Lord will use a few people who have escaped Babylon to warn others within Jerusalem to flee, but hardly anyone will listen.

The siege of Jerusalem will be a nasty fight. In Hosea 6:1-2, it says that this battle will last for three days where in the end, not only is the leader of Jerusalem humiliated in front of everyone, but the women will be raped, and half of Jerusalem will be taken captive.

With the plans to kill the rest of the Jews, the army will take their prized captives to Petra, where the remnant of Israel has been kept safe from the enemy for the last three and a half years.

While the army of the antichrist is trying to capture Petra, Ezekiel 39:22-29 says that after the Remnant confesses their sin of rejecting the Holy One of Israel, Jesus will come and destroy the armies of the antichrist. Matthew 24:29, Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4 tell us that tell us that the sun and the moon will become darkened and on the heels of that, the stars will begin to fall from the sky.

What happens next will be nothing short of miraculous. In Matthew 24:30, Jesus told His disciples that after the sky is wiped clean of everything, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Revelation 19 verses 11 through 16 describe the Lord with His army appearing when heaven opens. Trust me, no one will miss these events.

Revelation 19:12 says that the eyes of the Lord will be full of fire and in verse 11, it says that the Lord is not here to promote peace; He’s here to make war. More specifically, He’ll destroy the antichrist and his army. Because everything is under His feet, He’s conquered everything, He’ll be wearing many crowns. On His thigh will be written: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

The army behind Him is holy and pure; they’re all wearing white and all of them are on white horses. Rather than accompany Him to the battlefield, they’ll remain behind.

Revelation chapter 19:17-18 describes an angel standing in the sun ordering all the birds to gather above the army of the antichrist so they can eat them. Ezekiel 39: 4 and 17-22 and back this up. This part will be so gruesome that it’s almost beyond recounting. However, I have told the tale in an upcoming book called: The End Of All Things As Told By Jason Shaw.

Just before the birds chow down on their feast of fresh flesh, Revelation 19 verse 20 says that the Lord will cast the antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire.

Following that, the Lord will kill the army. After the delectable “feast of fowls” an angel will come down from heaven and throw the devil into the abyss and lock him in there for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:1-3)

Now we come back to Revelation 16 verse 17 where it says that after the seventh angel pours out his vial, a voice will sound from the temple in heaven, “It is done.”

Revelation 16:18-21 describes an awesome storm. As the voices are resounding in the heavens, thunder is tearing the universe asunder, and lightning is striking everywhere at once, a powerful and terrible earthquake will not only split Jerusalem into three parts, but it will cause the islands to flee and the mountains to collapse into nothingness. Hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, will begin to fall to the earth and crush mankind.

Believe me, you don’t want to be here when that happens!

As ridiculous as this sounds, after seeing all that the Lord has done thus far, people will cuss at God! They’ll continue to blame Him for their troubles!

Now that the world has been purged of the unrepentant… well mostly, Jesus is ready to separate the goats from the sheep. Matthew 25:31-46 paints a picture of the Lord placing the sheep on His right side and the goats on His left. Upon pronouncing that the goats were so self-centered during their lives that they aren’t worthy of everlasting life, the Lord sends them to everlasting punishment while the sheep are assigned to everlasting life.

Chapter 11…The Millennial Reign of Christ Begins

In Revelation 20 verse 4, John describes the souls of everyone who has been beheaded for the Word of God. These people will be part of the first resurrection. Everyone else won’t be resurrected for a thousand years. Upon coming back to life, the victims of the antichrist, who never gave up hope in the Lord, will rule with Christ for a thousand years.

In the twinkling of an eye, animals, people, and the planet will become what the Lord intended from the beginning: gorgeous, perfect, without flaw or blemish. There will be no sickness.

In Psalm 110:1-3, we can see that the Lord will rule from Zion. 2 Kings 19:30-31 says: “Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.” (NIV) These people are the Jewish remnant who will live in Jerusalem during the millennial reign.

Isaiah 2 tells us that Jerusalem will be exalted above all. The rest of humanity will learn about the Lord from the Jewish remnant. There will be no more wars and no more tears. While Lord Christ Jesus rules the planet for a thousand years, there will be no hunger.

There will be no need for the sun as the light of the Lord will be the light. Because people are people and people will always do what they’ve always done, people will still sin. Most people will live to be a thousand years; the cursed, or the rebellious, will only live for one hundred years. (Isaiah 65:17-25)

Revelation 20:7-10 tell us that at the end of the thousand years, the Gog/Magog war will take place. After Satan is on the loose again, it says that he’ll go around and deceive the nations. Incredibly, multitudes of people, more than the sand on the shore, will go with him to try to defeat God, but God will destroy them for good this time.

The Great White Throne Judgment happens next. This is where the rest of the dead are resurrected and judged according to their works. If anyone isn’t found in the Book of Life, he or she will go to hell for eternity, where there are no second chances.

A new earth and a new heaven come into being now. Everything will be glorious. Think of the Garden of Eden.

The God who made the majestic mountains with their contrasting, snowy peaks, the gorgeous seas (especially under the light of the full moon) adorned the beautiful flowers and dressed the earth an amazing amount of beauty, will be making another Jerusalem and it will be breathtakingly beautiful. (Revelation 21:10-27) None of the unsaved will be permitted entrance into this new city and rightfully so! We don’t want perfection tainted with ugliness, do we?

This city will be a mere reflection of the glory of God. If you love precious, sparkling stones, this place will simply steal your breath away. There will be twelve gates, made of solid pearl, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Remember the woman clothed with the sun back in Revelation 12 and the twelve stars that crowned her head? You got it! This new city will be a crown jewel more spectacular than any of us could ever imagine. The city will have twelve foundations, signifying the twelve apostles. For their undying service to the Lord, the twelve apostles have earned their rightful place as the foundation of the new Jerusalem.

The new Jerusalem will be HUGE!!!! 1400 square miles huge. All of God’s children will reside there, along with His Holy Angels, and Christ Jesus. It says in Rev. 21:3-4: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” God, the maker of all things and His Son, Christ Jesus, will be with us forevermore.

Can you imagine waking up in the morning, looking over and there sits God watching over you? We’ll get to see Him in person! When we worship Him, we’ll get to see His face for all time. I hope to see you there!

Look for my next two books: The End Of All Things As Told By Jason Shaw and The Bossy Church Lady's Official Guide For Today's New Christian: The Ultimate Handbook for New Christians

Following is a short and sweet synopsis of each upcoming book.

THE BOSSY CHURCH LADY’S OFFICIAL GUIDE FOR TODAY’S NEW CHRISTIAN: The Ultimate Handbook for New Christians  will equip new Christians with the necessary armor and weaponry to be an effective warrior for the army of God. Regardless of denomination, it will quickly bring you, the new Christian, up to speed so you can be an effective team member in the Kingdom of God. While the top