Revelation

One of my favorite books in the Bible is undoubtedly amongst the hardest to understand. The seven spirits of God, seven stars, seven candles sticks, seven churches, seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven thunders, and the seven bowls of judgment: Revelation is expertly built on imagery. As I did this Bible study, I understood that it would be impossible to unpack this book in this article. But still, I believe the Spirit of the Lord has ministered enough to enable me to write something informative about it. So let us delve into the book.

The Big Picture

One of my favorite preachers once taught about the signs of a season of transition in the realm of the spirit. As a Kairos moment approaches, Satan always rises mightily. But after a while, the hand of God dwarfs all the advances of the devil as He shows Himself supreme. We see this repeatedly in the Bible; the death of firstborn males during the time of the birth of Moses and the liberation of Israel that followed after; and the death of all male children during the birth of Jesus shortly before the liberation of humankind. Even from a historical perspective, before the reformation of the nation of Israel in 1948 as prophesied in the Bible, Satan rose mightily in the Second World War and Jewish Holocaust.

Revelation is a book about perhaps the greatest season of transition; a transition from the earthly rulership of the devil, to the rulership of God. And because the enemy knows His time is short, he will rise mightiest during this time. The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of what will be taking place in the spirit realm and on the earth shortly before the birth of the glorious church and the return of Jesus as a King. Chapters such as 7, 12, and 14 focus on what is God is doing leading to the return of Christ, while chapters such as 6, 7, 13, and 17 explain the systems placed by the enemy to counter it. Revelation is all about the Man-child versus the Beast. We tend to focus too much on the rise of the antichrist as we read this book, but the true spectacle of the book is the rise of the church that will fully resemble Jesus; without any spot or wrinkle. The tribulation brought on earth by the beast will purify and birth her into her true destiny. It is the emergence of this Church which will hand the Kingdoms of this world which, since the fall of man have belonged to the devil, back to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, giving Him the legal right to return to the earth as its King. The following verse thus summarizes the whole narrative of the book of revelation.

Revelations 11:15 
Then the Seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices shouting in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. 

Timings in the book of Revelation are extremely delicate. Events in different chapters overlap and so the book cannot be analyzed in chronological order. For instance, Chapter 7 is a twin Chapter to 14. The symbols used in the book are in flashes rather than continuity. It is thus impossible to predict the timings of events written in the book. As we continue to pray, the Lord will undoubtedly uncover more concerning the timelines.Let us now focus on doing a more detailed study of the Book.

The Churches

Whether the seven churches are symbolic for the seven church ages, or seven states of the church at the time of the end, this much is clear; every Christian can learn from the message to the churches.

a) Ephesus represents a Church that was born in truth and worked faithfully for Christ but has over time fallen out of love and into religion and busyness. This message reminds us of the importance of prioritizing our love for Jesus above everything. Rev 2:4

b) The message to the church of Smyrna reminds us that we have to endure hardships and persecutions, and even unto death, our faithfulness will be rewarded. Rev 2:9

c) The Churches in Pergamum and Thyatira, though loyal to Jesus even in the face of martyrdom, have compromised by tolerating teachings of Balaam, Jezebel, and the Nicolaitans; teachings which have led them to compromise. Rev 2.14, 20. Similarly, we as Christians are reminded of the need to keep the doctrine pure. We often tolerate unbiblical teachings that are self-centered which ultimately pull us away from Christ.

d) The church in Sardis, like many churches globally, has a reputation of being alive, and yet it is dead. This cautions us on how easy it is to move away from Christ into religion without the people around us realizing it. It takes effort and commitment to remain connected to Christ. When we lose prayer power and the scriptural foundations of our faith, it is easy to end up like this church. Rev 3.2

e) The Philadelphia church represents a church that is oppressed and seems to have little power and yet in all this tribulation, it is the most grounded of the seven. This Church has prioritized obedience and loyalty to Jesus. Because of this, Jesus promises to keep the Philadelphia church from the tests that are coming to the earth Rev 3:10.

f) The message to Laodicea Church reminds us that the Lord wants us to the entirely dedicated to Him alone. He calls us to a place of consecration rather than lukewarmness. In the passage, the source of this lukewarmness is clear, the church's judgment and discernment have dampened and so they are unable to gauge where they are spiritually Rev 3:17. The Lord reminds us that His love leads Him to correct us when we err.

From all the messages to the churches, we are reminded that despite the condition of any church, the Lord always has a remnant that is on fire and loyal to Him. The promises He gives to all these churches are dedicated to this remnant. Also, He gives everyone who has fallen away the grace to repent and be a part of His remnant. He is not a respecter of persons. He is a gracious God who judges righteously.

The Seals

The seals are a reminder that God has the ultimate authority over the earth. Until He allows something to happen from heaven, it will not manifest on earth. Jesus is the Lamb who has authority over the end time prophetic timeline Rev 5:9. When a seal is broken and even is allowed to take place in the realm of the spirit. From my study, I deduced some of the events that are associated with these seals.

a) The first seal allows a white horse with a ruler as his rider to begin to rise on the earth Rev 6.2. This most likely illustrates the rise of the antichrist at the beginning of the tribulation time. This is also illustrated in the 13th Chapter of the Book.

b) The second seal allows a red horse. Rev 6.4. This horse represents bloodshed, suggesting serious wars that will be allowed to take place on earth.

c) The third seal allows a black horse whose rider has a pair of scales on his hand Rev 6:5. This represents an economic collapse that will be on earth during the days of the tribulation. This will be used by the beast to introduce his mark which will be used in trade as illustrated in the 13th Chapter.

d) The fourth seal allows the pale horse to be released upon the earth. Rev 6:8. This represents a rapid reduction in the global population due to pandemics, wars, and famines.

e) The fifth seal will allow the martyrdom of Christians in the end time to begin. When the seal is broken, the Lord tells past martyrs that their number has to be complete for Him to avenge their blood.

f) The sixth seal will allow days of complete darkness to come to the earth. This event triggers fear and panic across the earth, but in the spirit, it represents much more Rev 6.14. As darkness intensifies upon the earth, so does the light. In Chapter 7, we see the first illustration of the formation of the Man-child in sealing of God's end-time army at this time Rev 7.4. From the ministry of the sealed servants, billions of people are saved upon the earth during this time of tribulation Rev 7.14. It is in this chapter that God's true plan for the tribulation comes into the picture.

g) The seventh seal allows the angels with the trumpets to come forth. Spiritually, trumpets represent announcements.

The Trumpets

The culmination of these announcements happens with the seventh trumpet, which announces the change in ownership of the Kingdoms of the world from the devil to God. From scripture, we also understand that the rapture of the church will happen after this last (seventh) trumpet is blown.

1 Corinthians 15:52 NLT
It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

Revelations 11:15 KJV
Then the Seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices shouting in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. 

As expected, as the trumpet blows progress, the Devil becomes even more vengeful because His time becomes shorter and shorter. And so with each proceeding trumpet blast, things become more unbearable on earth. We see the mass destruction of at least a third of every section on earth. For me, the 5th trumpet blast is the most notable Rev 9:2. It allows strange creatures led by the demon of destruction, Apollyon to invade the earth. These creatures are described as locusts with human faces and woman-like hair. I remember in 2019 when I prayed about the meaning of this Chapter and later that night, I had a night vision of alien spaceships invading the earth. This chapter most probably describes an alien invasion that will occur in the last days. When it does occur, Christians should not be afraid but rather they should remember that it is just an announcement of what is about to happen- victory. They will have no power over those with God’s seal Rev 9:4. As the darkness intensifies on earth, so does the glorious church rise. It is when the church fully matures that the seventh angel blows his trumpet that fulfilling God's mysterious plan aforementioned.

Rev 10:7
“When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

When John swallows the scroll held by the angels, it is sweet in the mouth but bitter after it is swallowed, suggesting that this will be a bittersweet moment on the earth Rev 10.10. As much as it will allow Jesus to have His spotless bride and gain control of the earth, it will mark a period of bitter judgment for all on the earth who rejected the Lord. These will be unparalleled times on the earth.

2nd half of the Book to be continued.