Revelation 11:15-19

15 The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)!

We are shown that Jesus has returned and taken control of the earth here. The Truth is that He has always had control of it, He just returns to be here physically to control it, Colossians 1:16. The nations under the anti-christ and false prophet who have taken the mark of the beast have been gathered together to try and defeat Jesus. But they fail miserably because with His Word, Jesus consumes them as with fire! And as the angel proclaimed, it happens quickly!  

16 Then the twenty-four elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin], who sit on their thrones before God, prostrated themselves before Him and worshiped, 

17 Exclaiming, To You we give thanks, Lord God Omnipotent, [the One] Who is and [ever] was, for assuming the high sovereignty and the great power that are Yours and for beginning to reign. 

18 And the heathen (the nations) raged, but Your wrath (retribution, indignation) came, the time when the dead will be judged and Your servants the prophets and saints rewarded--and those who revere (fear) Your name, both low and high and small and great--and [the time] for destroying the corrupters of the earth.

The last trumpet has blown, and when it does immediately the two witnesses are raised up from the dead along with all who have died and all who are alive in Christ. We may not know the exact moment of Jesus’ return now, but when we see the two witnesses killed, the earth only has 3 1/2 days left. 

After the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, blows our Father rewards His children. If there had been a time of reward for us before this time, a pre-tribulation rapture, when some teach is the time of the Marriage Supper of Lamb, then this verse would be absolutely false. This is the time of the Marriage Supper, after the last Trumpet, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. This is the time of our reward, not before. Think of it, why would people be rewarded when the race had not yet been finished? The final woe came and passed quickly, and now the Bride is joined with the Groom and we rule and reign with Jesus for all of eternity. 

19 Then the sanctuary of God in heaven was thrown open, and the ark of His covenant was seen standing inside in His sanctuary; and there were flashes of lightning, loud rumblings (blasts, mutterings), peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a terrific hailstorm. [I Kings 8:1-6.]

These events are showing us the end of times. The Truth of our Father is seen and experienced by all. Remember that as the lost saw all of this happening, they glorified God. The lost do not glorify our Father before the end of times. This is when every knee has bowed and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord. The saved and the unsaved, both at one time, proclaim the Truth that Jesus is Lord!

Revelation 11:11-14

11 But after three and a half days, by God's gift the breath of life again entered into them, and they rose up on their feet, and great dread and terror fell on those who watched them. 

For those who believe that the two witnesses are symbolic, and that they represent the Word of God, let me ask you this question, our Father has to breathe life back into His eternal Word? And as soon as our Father revives His eternal Word, He lifts it up to Heaven? Also, would people really be aware and celebrate the death of the Word after just 3 1/2 days of it not being around. Think of what is going on here at this time: death, war, diseases, inflation, and complete misery. Would the wicked be able to see or even recognize the Word was resurrected to fear?

But if these two are men, men who had spoken about the misery and it came to pass, and the world had seen them actually die and celebrated their death, think of how they will fear when these two are raised up. I just can not believe that our Father’s Word can ever be dead.

12 Then [the two witnesses] heard a strong voice from heaven calling to them, Come up here! And before the very eyes of their enemies they ascended into heaven in a cloud. [II Kings 2:11.] 

People will use this as a verse in an attempt to confirm that there are many raptures during the Great Tribulation. But this represents the only rapture, because as we are going to read in verse 15, right when these two are raised, the rule of the earth will be given to Jesus. This is when all of the dead in Christ will be raised up with all of those who are alive in Him. Both groups of saints will be caught up with the two witnesses to be transformed to be like Jesus. These two are raised up from the dead right along with everyone else who has ever died and who was saved. 

13 And at that [very] hour there was a tremendous earthquake and one tenth of the city was destroyed (fell); seven thousand people perished in the earthquake, and those who remained were filled with dread and terror and were awe-struck, and they glorified the God of heaven. 

Jerusalem is rocked by a great earthquake right before Jesus returns, just as it was when Jesus was crucified. The people left on the earth have seen these two witnesses lying dead for 3 1/2 days; they celebrated their killing and now they see them raised up. They also see the graves busting open and they see the alive in Christ being raised up to their glorified state. And when they see this, they see Jesus coming in the Sky. As Jesus left, He is returning, and all men see Him. Of course they will glorify God! They will glorify our Father with their amazement and wonder. They will have to confess that Jesus is right there and look at all of the people with Him. 

14 The second woe (calamity) has passed; now the third woe is speedily to come. 

Remember that the angel, who proclaimed that the three woes were coming, stated that the woes will effect the entire earth. The first woe was the Abyss being opened and allowing men to be tormented and vexed for five months. We were shown that the unsealed would seek death, but they would not find it. The second woe was the four angels being released from their holding place along the Euphrates River to kill a third of all of mankind. And the third woe is Jesus returning to the earth and the great battle of Armageddon, a battle that will kill off millions of people who are gathered together by our Father at Jerusalem to rage war against Him. The Blood of the dead will flow as high as a horses bridle at Armageddon, and for hundreds of square miles. It will be the final battle and it will happen with lightning speed!

Revelation 11:7-10

7 But when they have finished their testimony and their evidence is all in, the beast (monster) that comes up out of the Abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war on them, and conquer them and kill them.

Jesus shows us that when the witnesses message is finished they are permitted to be killed. Our Father’s message will be proclaimed to the world and nothing is permitted to stop it, or those who are chosen to proclaim it, until our Father decides. Only Jesus holds the keys to death, Revelation 1:18. 

8 And their dead bodies [will lie exposed] in the open street (a public square) of the great city which is in a spiritual sense called [by the mystical and allegorical names of] Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

9 For three and a half days men from the races and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and will not allow them to be put in a tomb. 

10 And those who dwell on the earth will gloat and exult over them and rejoice exceedingly, taking their ease and sending presents [in congratulation] to one another, because these two prophets had been such a vexation and trouble and torment to all the dwellers on the earth. 

Think of how the anti-christ and the false prophet will have been preaching against the two witnesses of our Father. They have cursed these two witnesses for 3 1/2 years. Through the news and spin doctors the anti-christ and false prophet have tried to preach to people that their false religion is right, not what the two witnesses have been preaching. The anti-christ and false prophet will have been telling people to pray to graven images, and those images are probably those of Bible figures: Mary, John, Peter, Paul, and others. They have been preaching that the works that the witnesses do is of the devil, just like the Pharisees and Sadducees did to Jesus. So of course when they are killed the wicked will rejoice, thinking their false doctrine of man was right and that they are the ones who are truly are of God. 

Satan is a deceiver and so are the anti-christ and false prophet. Their followers will actually believe they are doing God’s work. Many will be celebrating what they believe is the defeat of the devil when they see these two witnesses killed. They will look at what God had done through these two: plagues, droughts, and famine. The wicked will believe that God would never do works like these. To the lost these works of wrath will definitely seem like the works of satan. Think of how things are now portrayed by the church. If things are good, they are of God. If things are bad, they are of satan. This doctrine is not at all true. Our Father can very well use what the world calls a bad thing as a tool of righteousness. That is exactly what we have been shown here in Jesus’ Revelation of the end times. 

Revelation 11:6

6 These [two witnesses] have power to shut up the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying (their prediction of events relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph); and they also have power to turn the waters into blood and to smite and scourge the earth with all manner of plagues as often as they choose. 

We have seen the Four Horseman be empowered to kill off a fourth of the earth. We have seen that natural disasters are affecting a third of the earth. We have seen that a spiritual war will kill off a third of all mankind, and now we see that plagues are being spoken out by God’s two witnesses. These two first speak and the things that we have read about happen. They clearly tell the world that the wars are coming and they do. They tell the world that the natural disasters are coming and they do. Can you imagine how these two will be hated by the world for being used in this way? And we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to agree with them, so imagine how we will be hated as well! The anti-christ and false prophet will be trying to grab all of the worlds power during this time. At every turn these two witnesses will be used by the Holy Spirit to proclaim an event of wrath is coming from our Father and what they are used to proclaim will happen and it will hinder every effort of the anti-christ. These two will proclaim it, we will agree with it, and the world will hate us for it. 

The thing to remember here is that our Father released the Four Horseman. God released the seals, the Angel of the Abyss, the Four Angels at the Euphrates River, and now we are shown that our Father is controlling, through the Holy Spirit, these two witnesses. This is our Father’s wrath and He is in control and His wrath is not against His own body. We are fed by Jesus, covered by Jesus, and find clean water by Jesus. Our sins, sicknesses, and diseases are borne now by our Lord and Savior, and they will be borne during the Great Tribulation by Him as well. Even during the Great Tribulation, Jesus is greater within us then he that is in the world! Also remember that John was told of the speedy victory of Jesus. For the wicked this will be a long 3 1/2 years, but for the Body of Christ it is speedy!

Revelation 11:3-4

3 And I will grant the power of prophecy to My two witnesses for 1,260 (42 months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth. 

Once again this is a sweet thing! John is shown our Father empowering His two witnesses for the same 3 ½ years. John sees the power and glory of Jesus flowing, even during these turbulent times. The message of the witnesses is great, yet these two are extremely humble with what they have been empowered by our Father to do. This is why we are shown that they are dressed in sackcloth. 

4 These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth.

The two olive trees are Zerubbabel and Joshua, Zechariah 4:14. These two men led the captives out of Babylon, Zechariah 4:7 and the two olive trees continuously provide oil, which is the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, not by physical might, Zechariah 4:6.

These are literally two witnesses who will be used by our Father to deliver many people out of Babylon. We will see later in Revelation that Babylon is the worlds system of government and economics. So for 3 ½ years we will see the power of our Father flowing miraculously through these two witnesses. Didn’t Jesus preach for 3 ½ years as well? Some teach that these two witnesses are only symbolic and that they represent the Word of our Father. But we will study later that these two witnesses are killed and allowed to lay dead in the streets. Can the Word of our Father be killed by man? Can the Word of God lay dead or inactive? Absolutely not, the Word is alive, it is quick, and it is sharper than any two edged sword! So these two have to be real men and not a symbolic representation of the Word.  

5 And if anyone attempts to injure them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their enemies; if anyone should attempt to harm them, thus he is doomed to be slain. [II Kings 1:10; Jer. 5:14.] 

Just like with Jesus, these two have a time to serve and a time to die. Our Father is in control and they do not die until their time is finished, or pre-planned by our Father. And just as with Jesus, they use the Word of God as their sword. This means that Grace will abound as well through them, just as it did with Jesus. Jesus healed those who hated Him. He fed those who would later call for His death. He forgave sinners and He even served the Gentiles, Who He was not called to serve. Our Father is Love and His love will always be shown, even during His wrath. 

Revelation 11:1-2

1 A REED [as a measuring rod] was then given to me, [shaped] like a staff, and I was told: Rise up and measure the sanctuary of God and the altar [of incense], and [number] those who worship there. 

Chapter 11 begins John’s new prophesy. John is shown just how great the number of the Church will be. John is shown how we measure up, the measuring reed is shaped like a staff and we measure up because Jesus is our Shepherd. Jesus is our Head, our Lord, Our Vine, our Groom, and our Master. We are only because He is. He is greater within us then anything that is in this world. We are strong in the power of His might. This has to be sweet to John; Jesus shows His beloved just how many will be saved throughout the ages. John has been shown so much devastation in this vision of the end times and now he is shown how great the number of the saved will be. He is shown how the Bride of Christ will be used by our Father to proclaim the Truth. John sees the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit working through us. It has to be marvelous and refreshing after all of the devastation that he has been shown. 

2 But leave out of your measuring the court outside the sanctuary of God; omit that, for it is given over to the Gentiles (the nations), and they will trample the holy city underfoot for 42 months (three and one-half years).

Notice here that John is to only measure the Temple, the saved, and not Jerusalem, the Holy City, which is given to the Gentiles, the unsaved. Now the prophecy becomes bitter for John, because Jerusalem will be trampled under foot for 3 ½ years and John is shown the lost and how wicked and tormented they will be during the Great Tribulation. 

Revelation 10:8-11

8 Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke again to me, saying, Go and take the little book (scroll) which is open on the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land. 

9 So I went up to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. And he said to me, Take it and eat it. It will embitter your stomach, though in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.

10 So I took the little book from the angel's hand and ate and swallowed it; it was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but once I had swallowed it, my stomach was embittered. 

11 Then they said to me, You are to make a fresh prophecy concerning many peoples and races and nations and languages and kings.

The scroll is a fresh prophecy that the Holy Spirit is going to have John preach, we will read about it in Revelation 11. The Word of our Father is sweet in John’s mouth, yet His stomach is sickened by it. How many times have you read the Word and when you read it is refreshing and sweet, and you love it? But then the reality of what it means to the guests sinks in and it makes you sick to think of what is going to happen to those whose hearts are not right. We see that our sins, sicknesses, and diseases have been born by Jesus and how sweet that Truth is, yet we see people who reject it and whose hearts are wrong with our Father, and we see them sick and dying and it makes us upset.

This is how I see this chapter regarding John receiving a new prophecy, because it will involve his beloved Jerusalem. Ezekiel was given a scroll, a prophesy, about Israel and told to eat it, and it made his stomach bitter as well, even though it was sweet as honey at first, Ezekiel 3:1-3. The scroll given to Ezekiel was filled with woes, lamentations, and mourning for Israel. This is also why the Book is small. The Great Message covers the whole earth, it is huge and powerful. But the Book is small, because it only deals with Jerusalem.   

Yet what I love about Chapter 10 is just how powerful the message of the Kingdom will be during this time in history. Our Father is going to anoint us with power like we never have had before. Miracles will abound during this time. We will have no fear, our faith will be as our Father’s is, absolute and eternal. We will be glorious, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish and our service to the Kingdom and the world will show this plainly and openly. Our Father will use us to do the works that He did through Jesus and He will use us to do even greater works. The entire world will see this power at one time. For those who have been called and chosen to be the Bride, it will be glorious and for those who have not been chosen to be the Bride, it will be clouded over. The guests will see, yet they will not believe. They will hear and yet they will deny. 

Revelation 10:5-7

5 Then the [mighty] angel whom I had seen stationed on sea and land raised his right hand to heaven (the sky),

6 And swore in the name of (by) Him Who lives forever and ever, Who created the heavens (sky) and all they contain, and the earth and all that it contains, and the sea and all that it contains. [He swore] that no more time should intervene and there should be no more waiting or delay, 

   

7 But that when the days come when the trumpet call of the seventh angel is about to be sounded, then God's mystery (His secret design, His hidden purpose), as He had announced the glad tidings to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled (accomplished, completed).

We see here that the angel is shouting out that the end is near. We know this because the angel proclaims that this is the days when the seventh trumpet is about to be sounded, not the day when it is sounded. We were just shown that the message of the Seven Thunders, or our Father's voice, was hidden, so it goes right along with His message could easily be the specifics of the timing of all of this. But once again, I am only speculating here, I am not adding to or taking away from the Revelation of our Lord. The only thing we know is that the message of the Seven Thunders is hidden from us.
 

We are shown here though, just how powerful the message of the Gospel will be during the end times. I was always taught that as Christians we want to be out of here, or raptured, from all of this. But the Truth is that it is the time in this earth’s history when the body of Christ will be used the greatest by our Father. 

Have you ever asked our Father why there is so little power in the body today? Most of my life I was told that we don’t possess great power because we weren’t doing something right. But the Truth is our sanctification is up to Jesus and not us, Hebrews 2:11. The body can only do what the Head empowers and directs it to do. So the reason that there is so little power in the body of Christ is because there is an appointed time for such great power and that time is for the last three and a half years of this earth, right before Jesus personally returns to rule it. This is why it will be such a great sin to follow the anti-christ and not Christ, because it will be so plain to see. The end time message is glorious and powerful and it covers the entire world. 

Revelation 10:3-4

3 And he shouted with a loud voice like the roaring of a lion; and when he had shouted, the seven thunders gave voice and uttered their message in distinct words. 

4 And when the seven thunders had spoken (sounded), I was going to write [it down], but I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up what the seven thunders have said! Do not write it down! 

So far Jesus in Revelation has shown John just how terrible it will be for the unsaved during this time of our Father’s wrath, or all of the unsealed. Jesus has shown John that millions upon millions of people will have been killed. He has shown John that much of the world’s water will be useless and even deadly to drink. He has shown John that the Abyss has been opened. And He has shown John, and us, that the world will suffer extreme natural disasters that will block out a third of all of the earths light. So I really don’t think that these seven thunders are telling John anything worse than what he has already been shown.

In prophesy the word "thunder" is used to describe our Father's voice. Remember this is another angel, or another message of the end times. The Seven Thunders are our Father's perfect voice. The Bride of Christ will hear our Father as we never have before. The Thunder sounds like a Lion to John, Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. We are shown that Jesus will be using us as never before. Jesus is returning for a glorious Church without spot, wrinkle, or blemish, Ephesians 5. So we will have to be hearing our Father just as Jesus hears Him.

I think that these seven thunders showed John the specific time that these things were going to occur, because no man can now the exact time of the return of Jesus, Matthew 24:36. We are permitted to know the seasons, but not the exact time. We will hear our Father's voice and we will not be overtaken as a thief by the end times. These thunders could also reveal the specifics of the anti-christ and the false prophet. I could be wrong here, but after what we have seen in Revelation, what really could be worse that would have to be hidden from us. This is just me speculating on the specifics that John heard and it is just that.

What we do know about these Seven Thunders is that the message of our Father will be loud and clear. There will be no doubt that what our Father is saying will be released. The message will be distinct and our Father's words will be clear. This gives me great hope. Personally I long for clarity and to experience the full power of our salvation. I believe that the fulness of our salvation will not be shown through us by our Father until the end of this world. Jesus said that we would be used to do greater works then He was used for, John 14:12. So there is an appointed time for this power to be shown through us and in Ephesians 5:27 we are told that Jesus is returning for a glorious and spotless church. During the end times, when we can’t trust in a job, or the government, or the weather, or money, and definetly not in ourselves. We will trust only in the power of our Father and that will make us glorious and more powerful then ever before. When we are at our weakest, our Father will be at His strongest through us, 2 Corinthians 12:10. 

Revelation 10:1-2

1 THEN I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, robed in a cloud, with a [halo like a] rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his feet (legs) were like columns of fire. 

2 He had a little book (scroll) open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 

John is taken back here to the beginning of the prophecy, the beginning of the end times. Remember that the Book of Revelation is not written chronologically. John is shown the events of the end times in their entirety and so he is repeatedly taken back to be shown another aspect of the events of the last three and a half years of this earth’s history. Once again John is shown by Jesus that this angel, or powerful message, comes from Heaven. John is repeatedly shown that every aspect of the Great Tribulation is being orchestrated by our Father. This Truth should bring us great peace, because we are not appointed to our Father’s wrath, but to His righteousness, 1 Thessalonians 5:9. We have been sealed and empowered for this time with all of the faith, hope, love, wisdom, and power of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Notice here too, that the angel has a halo, which appears to be like a rainbow over his head. This is a sign that is understood by the Bride of Christ, that we are not under any condemnation from our Father. The rainbow is also over the message, it is not clouded, it is plain to see. Romans 8:1 is eternal, there is now therefore no condemnation and there never will be any condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. So there is no condemnation for us during the Great Tribulation. Just as the rainbow was a sign to the world after the flood, this is a sign to the Bride of Christ who will be here during this time in History. 

It also shows us that the Great Message of the end times is full of Grace. Sin will be abounding, but where sin abounds, Grace much more abounds, Romans 5:20. Our Father will be disciplining our disobedient brothers and sisters. Think of children and how they react when one of them is punished, they bond together with their siblings and it strengthens them as a family. We will intercede for the lost as we never have before. We will love them regardless of what they are saying or doing. Even if they kill us, our love will abound for them as we intercede for them in the full power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit. 

The scroll, or the great and powerful message, that the angel has effects the entire earth, this is why his right foot is on the sea, the populated regions of the world, and his left foot is on the land, the wildernesses of the world. The angel is clothed in a cloud, because His message is glorious, it is from our Father and the world has no ability to see the glory of our Father. They have not yet been empowered to understand that the Blood of Jesus has been applied to their lives, so they are unable to understand or see the Truth that will set them free! Just as a cloud would cover the glory of our Father in the Old Testament, it covers Him now from the guests. The message that the scroll contains is also powerful, it’s filled with the power of our Father. This is why the angels face shines like the sun, just as Stephen’s face shined as the Sun’s. The angels leg’s are like a column of fire, the power of the Holy Spirit is what this angel stands on. 

This message is glorious and it is powerful and it will fill the entire earth. Jesus told the disciples that the one sign of His return was going to be that the Gospel of the Kingdom was going to be preached to every nation, tongue, and tribe, Matthew 24:14. John is being shown this Truth here in his vision, the message is powerful and full of glory and it covers the entire world. This part of John’s vision ties right in with Revelation 8:2-4, when the angel of our Father pours fire, which is the power of the Holy Spirit, out upon the believers in the world. Repeatedly John is shown how powerfully the body of Christ will be used by our Father to preach the Gospel during these three and a half years.   

The Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached during this time with power and demonstration of the Spirit and our Father will preach it through His children as it has never been preached before. The entire world will hear and see the power of our Father flowing through His chosen ones. There will be no denying that the glory and power is from the Holy Spirit operating in the children of God. 

And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:31 People will be doing horrendous things during these times, but their evil will be forgiven them. Our Father’s Grace and our Lord’s sacrifice will far exceed the evil of the world. Our Father would that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth and through Christ they will! 

Remember this wonderful Truth: Jesus forgave those who cried out for Him to be killed. They did not ask for forgiveness, they did not believe that it was needed, and they did not accept it. Yet they still benefited from it. This is the Great Message, surrounded by a cloud, standing on the Holy Spirit, and crowned with the rainbow!  

 

Revelation 9:20-21

 20 And the rest of humanity who were not killed by these plagues even then did not repent of [the worship of] the works of their [own] hands, so as to cease paying homage to the demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor move.

Today people pray to statues of Mary, other saints, and even jewelry. They worship the building that they have erected in the name of God. There are gold domes, images of wood and silver that we wear and hold. There are beads, carpets, and so many other worldly things that religion holds so valuable. These things will be used by the anti-christ and the false prophet, all to keep the focus on themselves and man, not on our Father and Jesus. 

21 And they did not repent of their murders or their practice of magic (sorceries) or their sexual vice or their thefts.

Remember that during the great Tribulation there will be great anger at the true Christians, millions upon millions of us will be slain for the testimony of Jesus. But that is alright, remember how our Father will empower us, just as He did with Stephen, John, Paul, Peter, James when they were persecuted for their testimony. They rejoiced that they were able to suffer for Jesus, that is the power of our Father that will be flowing through us that are required to partake in such things. 

During these days people will still not run to God for comfort. They won’t because they will not have the Holy Spirit causing them to run to God. They only have fear because they will be killed if they do. So if they are not empowered with the Holy Spirit, they will definitely not seek God for comfort. But amen, there will be those who do and we are being empowered by the Holy Spirit to be there for them. During the Great Tribulation we will be serving our Father day and night in His Temple, 1 Corinthians 6:19, which is our flesh, and the fire from His throne will be poured out upon us, so that we can serve as never before, Revelation 8:5. Jesus will be feeding us, we will not thirst, and we will have the power of the Holy Spirit. A 1,000 will have fallen at our side and 10,000 at our right hand but it has not come nigh us, ! 

Those who have not been sealed during the Great Tribulation, the lost, will be running to church though, the anti-christ’s church. A church that has a form of godliness, but one that denies our Father’s true power 2 Timothy 3:5. A church that encourages murder in the name of religion and peace. A church full of immorality and a church that steals what little wealth the world has left for its own consumption. This church is in charge, the world has given it and its leaders, the anti-christ and the false prophet, the authority and these two are completely motivated by greed and power. Think of every bad aspect of religion today, and then magnify it a thousand times, this is the church of the anti-christ. People will absolutely flood this church just as false christians do today when things are bad. They will hear a flattering message of hope based on human effort and abilities. They will hear what it is that they have to do with their own free wills. They will believe that they are doing God’s work, but the glory will always be directed to themselves. They will praise what they are doing, how they believe, and how they serve. They will praise the name of the anti-christ and how righteous he is. Jesus and our Father will be mentioned, but they will actually be blaspheming our Father by taking the credit for what He is doing. Men will always be the center of the anti-christ message, that is what anti-christ means, the power of man, not the power of our Father. 

Revelation 9:19

19 For the power of the horses to do harm is in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails are like serpents, for they have heads, and it is by means of them that they wound people. 

These demon possessed warriors power is felt as they come and they go, it is absolute. This is why we are told that their power is in their mouths and in their tails. Their power moves fast and in all directions, just like a snake. They destroy society first and then they kill the inhabitants. Their words will influence hate and their words will influence men to kill. Sulfur, poison, these are weapons of mass destruction that can easily be used by muslim extremist. The Middle East will be filled with millions of people filled with hate and rage, all sowing the seeds of destruction, and all influenced by the Four Angels who were liberated to influence such things. This is what we are shown is happening here: 200,000,000 people possessed with the very instruments of our Father’s wrath, unleashed as never before. 

Because of these demon possessed people the world will herald in the anti-christ and the false prophet to save them. If you think government is growing now, just wait. These two guys will talk so elegantly and beautifully during these times of hardship, that they will be worshiped. Look at politicians now, they are judged far more by how they say things than by what they do. These two will offer hope and the lost of this world will welcome and demand that they act. The lost will give their freedoms up so quickly, and allow and participate in the killing of the Christians, and it will just keep getting worse and worse. The seeds that they will sow will mature quickly and they will reap what they are sowing, Galatians 6:7! 

Keep in mind that we, the Body of Christ, will be miraculously giving food and supplies during these 3 1/2 years. Our Father will be using us to bless those who curse us, feed those who kill us, and forgive those who hate us, Luke 6:28. Grace will abound far more then evil will during these times, Romans 5:20. Our Father will use us to do the works that Jesus did and He will use us to do even greater works and we will be hated for it, John 14:12. The anti-christ and false prophet will despise us for not following what they tell people to do. They will hate us because we will not acknowledge and praise the works of men. We will not glorify governments. We will give all of the glory to our Father and we will be hated and even killed for it. But Grace will never stop flowing from us Just like River’s of Living Water, John 7:38. 

Revelation 9:17-18

17 And in [my] vision the horses and their riders appeared to me like this: the riders wore breastplates the color of fiery red and sapphire blue and sulphur (brimstone) yellow. The heads of the horses looked like lions' heads, and from their mouths there poured fire and smoke and sulphur (brimstone). 

Notice John does not write about arrows, or projectiles, or explosions, but fire, smoke, and sulphur. Here again if the horses were mechanical to hold a soldier, they are extremely non-aero dynamic. Today’s weapons are sleek, but yet these are broad like a lion. And there is no way that the riders are actually riding 200,000,000 horses. A country could hardly feed and supply the men, let alone the animals. And think about supplying 200,000,000 mechanical devices. The weapons for today that are bulky are ones that carry several troops, but these warriors all have their own transportation. 

These demonic warriors power, their horses, is to speak fire, which is destruction, smoke, which is deception, and sulfur, which is poison. Demon possession is nothing new and the results of these possessions are magnified here. The demons power is as a lions, strong, powerful, and deadly. These spiritual powers influence men to act to carry out our Father’s will of wrath. Their breastplates are also colorful, they will be very easy to see and loud, just like a lion. Think of extremist today, they are loud and arrogant about their killing and it is always proclaimed that it is for God. During these times they will be even louder and more dramatic. 

18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues--by the fire and the smoke and the sulphur (brimstone) that poured from the mouths of the horses. 

John tells us that a third of mankind will be killed by these plagues. Try and imagine what the world would be like right now, today, if a third of the worlds people were killed. Jesus shows John that a third of mankind will be destroyed and killed by these three plagues. Society will have absolutely fallen apart along the Euphrates River. They will have fallen apart because the Truth is whatsoever thing a man soweth, that shall he reap, Galatians 6:7. Think of the seeds that have been sown in this region of the world for thousands of years: terrorism, war, hate, un-forgiveness, the ill treatment of women, children, false religion, and the exploitation of the poor. Think of the trillions of dollars that have been made in the Middle East through oil and yet the extreme poverty that exists there. When you hear of giving, do you ever hear that it came from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, or one of the other oil producing countries in the region? When there is an earthquake or famine, is the Middle East with all of its wealth ever mentioned as the resource of relief? The Truth is that there has been some pretty bad seed sown in the Middle East over the years. Many of the people strap bombs to their children and praise God for it. They behead people on TV and celebrate the killing in the streets. Just think of the seed that has been sown towards Israel by the Muslim world throughout the centuries. This region of the world will reap exactly what they have sown. They will be destroyed and millions upon millions of them will be killed and they will kill millions of their brothers and sisters who have been born again. But not one single one, who has been sealed with the Holy Spirit, will be lost. They may be martyred, but never lost!

Also, remember here that the Angel cried out that the three woes would come on the whole world. Well, the oil fields will be consumed in these battles, and the woes will be felt throughout the entire world. The creatures from the Abyss attack all who are not sealed by our Father, so the woes are world wide. There are extremist in every country now, so they will be worldwide during the Tribulation as well.         

Revelation 9:16

16 The number of their troops of cavalry was twice ten thousand times ten thousand (200,000,000); I heard what their number was. 

In today’s battles, with all of the high tech weaponry, troop numbers are becoming less, because the weapons that they possess are becoming greater. Think of it, with today’s weapons, you send 200 million people into battle and they would easily be killed by far less bombs and other weapons. 200 million soldiers would be so tightly packed together in this small area, one bomb would take out thousands and the world has tens of thousands of bombs, which can be fired from great distances. Also keeping supply lines open to feed these troops would be extremely difficult. You couldn’t feed these warriors, especially when a third of the light of the earth has been removed by the natural disasters and a third of the water destroyed as well. But to have 200 million demon possessed extremist, who are just part of the population is another thing. The Four Angels could easily influence 200 million muslims to go and destroy society and men. 

These 200 million extremist could easily destroy the millions of muslims who had been born again during the Great Tribulation. Remember Jesus told us that from every tongue, tribe, and nation an uncountable number of people would be saved during the last three and a half years of this earth age. This holds true for the Middle East as well. The woe here isn’t death, it is the destroying of the message of salvation that the children of God give. The Truth that these Christians were giving, will be allowed to end and the Truth that would set the wicked free is gone. The solitary eagle told the people of the world to fear the last woes, the first woe was a spiritual attack and the second one is as well, and the woe is that there will be a severe decrease in the message of hope being preached in the Middle East. 

Jesus shows John that the Four Angels are loosed from their captivity bound by the Euphrates River. I have always heard this preached that this is China and their massive armies. But China is not near the Euphrates River. Also there are 200 million troops all riding on 200 million horses? The horses could represent worldly weapons of power, but as we will read, the horses look like something, and the description isn’t anything like a weapon of today. Even if the horses that we read about were mechanical and the riders human, 200 million of them would be highly unlikely with the technology of today. China has a highly technologically advanced army. Keeping 200 million warriors fed, fueled, and loaded for battle during these times of great lack would be miraculous. But to have entire populations of people, in an extremely fragile area of the world, unite under demonic influence, now that is far more reasonable. 

The population of the world today is approximately 6,602,224,175, so a third of the population today would be 2,178,000,000. But we have been shown that a war engulfed a fourth of the earth and natural disasters have killed millions of people on a third part of the earth, so these numbers will be far less when these Four Angels are released. So it is not a reach at all to have 200 million muslim extremist all possessed to kill born again muslims, especially when today Islam is the fastest growing population in the world. The exciting thing here is that a 1/3rd of mankind, the 1/3rd that are killed could actually be saved. This shows us that there will be a massive move of the Holy Spirit in the Middle East. Remember we are told that these final three woes are especially tormenting. People have been dying and being killed by the millions before these woes. The life’s of the wicked have been nothing but torment and yet we are told that these last woes are even worse. So they have to go past physical torment to spiritual torment and having no messengers of Truth is a terrible woe.  

Revelation 9:13-15

13 Then the sixth angel blew [his] trumpet, and from the four horns of the golden altar which stands before God I heard a solitary voice, 

14 Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Liberate the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. 

15 So the four angels who had been in readiness for that hour in the appointed day, month, and year were liberated to destroy a third of mankind. 

The spiritual powers from the Abyss were not allowed to kill men. They were only permitted to vex men. Here we see something different with these four angels. These Four Angels, who were appointed by our Father for this specific day, month, and year, were liberated to destroy a third of mankind. Jesus did not show John that they were liberated to kill a third of mankind, but to destroy a third of mankind. These people are destroyed by being overtaken with such a great weight of war, terrorism, and the depression of it all. The evil spiritual possession of the beings of the Abyss, recession, inflation, and a far over reaching government, a government that allows nothing to happen that does not first go through it, these things will destroy men from being able to do anything. 

Think of the Middle East today and the message that is coming from it. People are told that killing others will lead them to Heaven. They are told to kill their children if they do not like what they are doing. They are told to hate all who are not like them. Many of the governments of the Middle East are dictators and tyrants. They wish to control every aspect of peoples lives. The foundation of the message of these four angels is already being laid. The Truth is that all men, wether bond or free, will reap what they sow. Our Father is having the leaders of the Middle East sow a message of hate and un-forgiveness and that is what they will reap. But remember this Truth, Grace much more abounds where sin abounds.The flesh of these people is not our Father‘s ultimate end goal, it is these peoples spirit’s. Their flesh will suffer, but their spirits will be set free and they will be united with eternal flesh that will never die. Many may not be the Bride of Christ, but that in no way means that they cannot and will not be the guests of the Bride!

These Four Angels are released; they are liberated by the power of our Father, from the area of the Euphrates River, the Middle East. Once again, we can see that Jesus shows John that these angels are liberated, our Father is in total control, and this is the time of His wrath. Our Father is the Gardener, He is the Potter, He is in control today and He is in control during this time. He created good and evil, and all things exist by Him and for Him and through Him, Colossians 1:16. Our Father is in total control of His body, His flesh, His Temple, which we are, and there is not one of us who will be asked to go through or do anything that our Father has not empowered us to do with faith, hope, and love.

Revelation 9:10-12

10 They have tails like scorpions, and they have stings, and in their tails lies their ability to hurt men for [the] five months.

I have heard these verses preached that these are men who are attacking and that this must have been John seeing today’s helicopters. But these events are spiritual, and these are spiritual beings released from the Abyss, given power by our Father to possess and vex the unsaved. Think of a scorpion’s tail, it strikes fast and delivers the pain instantly! These beings come from nowhere and cause fast and furious pain to those affected by their attacks. If these were men in helicopters, people would die, death would be found and death would be dealt.

11 Over them as king they have the angel of the Abyss (of the bottomless pit). In Hebrew his name is Abaddon [destruction], but in Greek he is called Apollyon [destroyer]. 

The king of these beings is the destroyer, this angel was created to destroy and only to destroy, and he was created by our Father. The fallen angels have been under lock and key of this destroyer and the demons on the earth fear the daylights out of being around him and now he is loosed. Abaddon may be their king, but our Father is their controller! Jesus is the King of Kings!They will only do what our Father allows them to do and not one little thing more. 

So far we have seen that our Father releases forces that cause a war that devastates a fourth part of the earth. We have seen that He releases natural disasters that affect a third of the earth. Now we see that our Father releases a being that He created only to destroy. And we have heard it proclaimed that all of the unsaved inhabitants of the earth will be affected by these spiritual attacks. 

Think about a natural disaster that happens today and how the world reacts to it. Then think of a war as small as the Iraq war and how the world reacts, can you imagine the evil that will arise from a war that encompasses a fourth part of the earth? Add to that war the natural disasters that affect a third of the earth and then consider how people will react. Fear, dread, hopelessness, anger, and bitterness will be magnified a million times by the children of the devil when the wrath of our Father is released upon them. The actions of the lost and the fear that comes will far surpass anything that we have ever seen. 

The Truth is still the Truth and whatsoever thing a man soweth that shall he reap. What has been sown by the wicked as they see the war and disasters allows these evils to be released by our Father from the Abyss. The fear that will be sown by the wicked will be massive, even from people who have not been directly affected by these events. Just like today, how many people protest things and try to spread fear when they have never experienced the thing they are protesting. 

This is the first woe that the eagle cried out about and He cried three times.

12 The first woe (calamity) has passed; behold, two others are yet to follow. 

Revelation 9:7-9

7 The locusts resembled horses equipped for battle. On their heads was something like golden crowns. Their faces resembled the faces of people.

Horses often represent power in Biblical prophecies, so we are shown that these beings are very powerful. Even though they have great power, they do not have crowns, they only have something like crowns, so their dominion is not their own. This is because they are being controlled by our Father, they are His tools of wrath. They may believe that they are in control or that they are answering to satan or another evil force, but our Father is in complete control of everything, every creature, every war, and every natural disaster. 

These beings have faces like men, they are not men though. Think of what we have been shown here in Chapter 9, people are possessed by these beings; they believe that they are being tormented with such great fierceness that they want to die, but yet they won’t kill themselves. These beings have influence only on people; they are not allowed to harm anything but people, so their faces reflect what it is that they are created to do.  

8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.

These creatures have hair like a woman, so they may at first seem gentle and kind, but they have teeth that will absolutely tear you up! They control people, torment them, and yet the people can’t find death. Kind of like a very bad marriage, a marriage with a deceiving and wicked, and yet beautiful woman.  

9 Their breastplates (scales) resembled breastplates made of iron, and the [whirring] noise made by their wings was like the roar of a vast number of horse-drawn chariots going at full speed into battle.

Their authority to harm men who have not been sealed is absolute; it is directed from God Himself. This is why they have breastplates that resemble iron. Nothing can stop what they were created to do, Their vexing affects millions of people and it happens fast. Just as locusts fly around really fast and come out of nowhere fast, these beings are empowered to vex the people as soon as they are loosed. The effects of their power is seen and heard immediately. Just think of the news casts at this time, they will blame all of this on mental illness caused by the great war and the great natural disasters that have befallen the earth. They will say that we need money to help the tormented, because to man, money is always the answer! The governments will take over all commerce and free trade to try to support the millions of demon possessed people. Taxes will skyrocket and inflation will be devaluing all of the currencies of the earth. Money, the thing that people place so much faith in, will become useless. Governments will become useless, the second thing that people place so much faith in. But Grace will be abounding through the sealed saints. Grace will abound as we are used to provide food and water, to those in need as we await the return of our Lord, Matthew 24:45-46.