Explain This!
Explain This! A Verse-by-Verse Explanation of the Book of Revelation Christine Weick
Copyright 2010 by Christine Weick Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-1-934668-32-0 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.
Contents Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 9 1. Ezekiel s War 11 2. The Rapture 23 3. Introduction to the Book of Revelation 33 4. Letters to the Churches 38 5. The Throne in Heaven 59 6. The Scroll and the Lamb 63 7. The Seals 68 8. The 144,000 74 9. The Seven Trumpets 78 10. The Angel and the Little Scroll 90 11. The Two Witnesses 94 12. The Woman and the Dragon 100 13. The Woman on the Beast 108 14. The Identity of the 666 117 5
15. The Beast from out of the Sea 122 16. The False Prophet 128 17. Introduction to the End 131 18. The Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God 138 19. The Fall of Babylon/Rome 147 20. The Wedding in Heaven 154 21. The Victor on the White Horse 158 22. The Next Thousand Years 163 23. The New Jerusalem 166 24. Life During the Thousand Years 172 25. The Prophecy of Satan s Doom 180 26. The King is Coming! 184 6
Acknowledgements Knowing myself and all my limitations, I first need to give thanks to my Lord, Jesus Christ. For it is only through the Holy Spirit that I have been able to write down what has been revealed to me. I realize the simple and clear understanding I have of this complex book called Revelation is not given to everyone. For this opportunity to explain it to others, I give the thanks to God who created me I believe for this purpose. Along the way, there have been those who have encouraged me. My husband, Tom, who never said it couldn t be done. To my awesome son, Brent, who assisted me with the technology to make this happen. The friends at Monterey Center United Methodist Church, who encouraged me to lead my first Bible study on the end times, as well as those who attended the study at Wayland United Methodist Church. For there it was mentioned that I should write what I was teaching in a book. Thanks also to my friends on Facebook. They are the ones who commented on my thoughts and critiqued my interpretations. As iron sharpens iron, this has been a learning experience for me and all who have come into contact with me as I wrote this book. May the experience continue on from here. 7
Introduction Explain this! How many times have I heard and have even said these two words myself. The book of Revelation can be both intriguing and frustrating or just plain frustrating to try and understand. For even a longtime Christian, the book is rarely read and in most churches today completely ignored. For some, the reasoning is there are so many different interpretations that could be right. Look at all the books already on the subject. But for many others it s the confusion of what Revelation is trying to reveal. Why didn t God make plain the book of Revelation even for a casual reader? A person can be brought to salvation for reading other parts of the New Testament, even someone who had no knowledge whatsoever of what the Bible contained. I believe the answer lies in study. God wanted us to study His last book; to take the time to understand it, and to ask for His help in understanding it. I have the prayer and the hope that this book will help you to do just that. In writing this book, I wanted to explain Revelation as simply and easily as God led me to understand it. You will not find long drawn-out theories or doctrines that can confuse and complicate what is written for us in Revelation. Instead I will approach explaining this last book of the Bible with a more literal light which allows for common sense. The time is getting ever closer when all the things prophesied will come true. May the Lord bless you in your search for truth and wisdom in these last days. 9
1 Ezekiel s War To begin this book, we need to know that all prophecy is not located in Revelation, but is scattered throughout the Old Testament. I decided to start in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, because in it contains a prophecy that is significant and important because it relates to the beginning of the Tribulation period, which is what Revelation is all about, and also gives us some information on the New Millennium. In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, the prophet Ezekiel has a vision of what occurs in the future. I start with this vision because of a little clue in chapter 39 that shows us this event, I call Ezekiel s War, will happen sometime before the Tribulation or will be the event that brings on the Tribulation. Already, current events in the world and especially in the Middle East have brought this prophecy to closer fulfillment. Even as you are reading, the events in the world probably have changed from when I wrote this. Using the New International Version of the Bible: Ezekiel 38:1-3 The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophecy against him and say: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against 11
E x p l a i n T h i s! you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Whom is God talking about? Gog and all these strange names? Magog, Meshech, Tubal and some of the other names mentioned later on are the grandsons and great grandsons of Noah. Ezekiel knew these names because they were also regions of the world where these people had settled and created their own civilizations. We also can know them by way of world historians who have studied ancient peoples. Magog could be known as the area of Russia today. Meshech is changed like this: Meshech to Mushki to Muskov to Moscow. As time moves on, the people s language will change and names along with it. Many historians and Bible scholars alike will dispute that Magog was the region we know today as Russia. Arguments can be made for or against this idea since ancient records are not exactly clear on this. It is a fact, however, that the capital of Russia, Moscow, is located directly to the north of Jerusalem.The country of Turkey also lies to the north, which allows for the option that this could be the Magog mentioned. To add to the list of possibilities, jump ahead to verse 6. Beth Togarmah is named as the country to the far north. Could this be Russia then? Regardless of who is who, let us conclude that in our near future, a nation will rise and take many other nations along with it to create an enormous offensive front for war. I believe Russia will play a major role in this, whether it is Magog or not. Ezekiel 38:4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. God forces Gog and its allies to come out and fight. If God were putting a hook in the jaw, Gog seems reluctant to lead a war. However, it feels compelled to come out with all of its military might threatening and warning its enemy of doom. Again, many speculate what could be the hook in the jaw. The list is endless when considering the possibilities of 12
C h r i s t i n e W e i c k why world governments need to crush another. The Bible also is not direct in answering this question. A few clues present themselves later on. For now, we assume the reason is very apparent at the time war is declared. Ezekiel 38:5-6 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops the many nations with you. Persia here is indeed Iran. Cush could be Ethiopia. Put is Egypt or an area close to it, which could be Libya. Gomer could be Turkey as could Beth Togarmah or the area of Armenia and Russia. Some of these names are obvious as to whom they are today, but most of them are not. There are just too many variables to accurately name them. One thing is for certain: this seems to be a large, international movement and will be unmistakable when it comes together. Notice also most of these nations are Muslim; this plays an important role at the end of the war. Ezekiel 38:8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations and now all of them live in safety. Who is being invaded? Israel! The Jews have been gathered from around the world and have created their own nation. This is the one big purpose the Holocaust had in God s plan. If the Holocaust had not been as severe, the Jews would have had no push to migrate to a strange, small place. Jews always have been a scapegoat in countries they settled in, but they also survived and most of them did quite well. However, the Holocaust was the turning point, and after WWII had ended, the Jews fled to Israel by the thousands. In 1948, they were declared a nation. 13
E x p l a i n T h i s! Not once in all of human history has a people whose nation was destroyed and its citizens scattered to the four corners of the world been able to regroup nearly two thousand years later, with not only its original language but also its religion. Truly, you can see God s hand here. Ezekiel 38:9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. This will be an invasion like no other, like a huge storm approaching. I do not think this could be a sneak attack, since Israel is too prepared for that. The invading army is showing its sword in warning, and Israel is alert to what is happening. I wonder what causes the anger against Israel. I do not believe that takes too long to figure out. Many nations are already hostile against Israel, especially the Muslim ones. Russia has never been a friend either. The U.S. really has been their only support so far. However, that support has started to waver with the Obama administration. Ezekiel 38:10-12 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. You will say, I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods. Living at the center of the land. This attack from Gog is a personal one. It does not seem that Israel is the aggressor here or has provoked the action against her. What is interesting is the use of language in these verses that suggest something has happened prior to this attack. Israel has never lived in peace. In May of 1948, when Israel declared itself a nation, the very next day it was attacked by the neighboring countries. It has not stopped since. Here, in Eze- 14
C h r i s t i n e W e i c k kiel s vision, Israel is at peace. The fact is mentioned more than once. Also, Israel is without protection, which is made clear by the un-walled villages, without gates and bars. Some have interpreted this to mean that Ezekiel is seeing into the future, when in his time, all cities had walls to protect. In today s culture, they are no longer used. However, I don t think that is correct here. Gog is the one who makes the statement in the future so Ezekiel is just the messenger of the word. What is unbelievable is that Israel is unprotected! It would be impossible, since Israel has the best military training, and no one knows how many nukes are in her arsenal. The fact Israel has them is what keeps nations like Iran from pushing the Jews into the sea. And what about her strongest ally, the United States? Would the U.S. at this point have come to Israel s aid? Maybe not. Here are some thoughts. If Israel stands alone as the text suggests, is the U.S. out of the picture? Maybe the administration decides to stay neutral or completely out of this conflict. Maybe something catastrophic has occurred on U.S. soil that makes it unable to help. Concerning the nuclear weapons, that everyone knows Israel has, we can also assume Israel will use them if necessary. I would think that at this moment, when a large military movement is moving towards her, she would use them. Look again at the wording in the verse. The word unsuspecting is used. Some Bible versions use the word confidence. I think the feeling in Israel is one of security: the idea that all is well. Could that actually happen? Listen to this! The International Atomic Energy Agency is part of the United Nations Security Council, which was created to monitor nuclear testing and development. The IAEA held a conference September 18, 2009. The objective of the conference was to discuss and vote on the establishment of a Mideast nuclear weapons free zone. This zone would require all Middle East countries to not develop, test, or to acquire nuclear weapons, 15
E x p l a i n T h i s! and it urges other outside countries to refrain from any action hindering the establishment of such a zone. Any country already in possession of such weapons, such as Israel, would have to comply as well. For eighteen years, the Arab countries have tried to get the vote passed to begin work on adopting a resolution that would eliminate all nuclear arms in the region. This vote finally got them somewhere! The vote narrowly passed in their favor, with Israel being the only no vote. The U.S. and a few other nations abstained, hoping to block the measure altogether. On May 5, 2010, a meeting in Washington, D.C. took a different path that was not expected by Israel or the U.S. With the intention of focusing on sanctions for Iran s nuclear capabilities, the Arab states managed to divert the talks to once again bring to the table this option of a nuclear-free Middle East. The Obama administration hinted it would now support action to bring this about. The neighbors of Israel finally got a foot in the door, hoping to rid the Zionists of their nuclear arsenal. The rest of the world would see it as a bonus should Israel go nuke-free as a result of the Iranian quest for nuclear status. Furthermore, in July of 2009, a new leader for the IAEA was voted in. By a very slim margin, Japan s Yukiya Amano was elected to be the new chief. Although born after WWII, Amano strongly supports eliminating all nuclear weapons. That should come as no surprise. I am sure he had plenty of influence in his ideas after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So, the possibility is very real. Israel will be forced or may even give up willingly her best defense, all in the name of peace. What about Russia? That country has nukes too. Why make all the effort of raising such a large army with all the equipment, when a nuke dropped on Israel would have saved the time and expense? If the resolution would go through, it would be a violation of international law to do so. The verse also indicates that Israel is in possession of things valuable. Gog s invasion is also to claim vast bounty. Using a nuke would 16
C h r i s t i n e W e i c k destroy any of that bounty. If there be any doubt that Israel is the target of Gog, the last sentence of verse 12 would clear that away. Take a map of the world and place a finger in the middle. There will be a good chance that your finger is on the tiny nation of Israel, the one in the center of the land. Ezekiel 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder? Sheba here is Yemen today. Dedan is Saudi Arabia, and Tarshish is Portugal or Spain. These countries do not side with Gog and even show some sympathy towards Israel. But they do not stop the invasion either. They are obviously trading partners with Israel and probably have a good relationship with her. This invasion by Gog is twofold: one, to get rid of Israel; and two, to take things for themselves. A perfect reason to make war. But Gog forgot something important. Israel is still God s people and He has not forgotten them. Ezekiel 38:18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. Nothing is said in this entire vision that Israel fights back or that she gets outside help from another nation. It seems that Israel looks very, very small and helpless at this point. Will Israel turn to God in prayer as a nation? Now it is time for God to show His people that He still cares for them. His anger begins to boil, and that is not a good thing for those whom it is against. Ezekiel 38:19-22 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Is- 17
E x p l a i n T h i s! rael. The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. Every natural disaster is going to occur, probably one right after the other. I don t think it is a long drawn-out ordeal. It will start off with an earthquake and then the soldiers will turn on each other. Plagues will probably be a swift moving disease and those infected will be killed to prevent its spread. Incredible thunderstorms, hail, and the burning sulfur would indicate a possible volcano eruption. Acts of God, people will say. The King James translation for Ezekiel 39:2 states: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee. Why the New International Version leaves this out intrigues me, I feel it is important to reveal that 85 percent of this army is destroyed on the mountains of Israel. The Living Bible paraphrase also mentions this fact. The few soldiers that are spared are sent back as witnesses to the fury of God s protection of His people. These witnesses are the people of Gog and Magog later mentioned in Revelation 20:8. Whether these individuals will be the nation in the next Millennium is uncertain. However, it will be this nationality of people who will begin the generations of those living outside the New Jerusalem. We will study this in greater detail with chapter 25. Ezekiel 38:23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 18
C h r i s t i n e W e i c k God Almighty gets the recognition. The world, at this point, sees that God is on the side of Israel. But God is not done yet destroying those who came against His people. Ezekiel 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord. Not only does God punish the army of Gog, He punishes the region of Magog too. Those in the coastlands are not directly named, but I am sure they are the countries allied with Gog as a result of going along with the invasion. What a double blow! Not only are the troops punished, the civilians and countryside back at home are too! Ezekiel 39:7-8 I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel. It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of. This will happen! It cannot be any clearer! And what a day to be a Jew in Israel. God, at this point, will start to be worshiped. I feel this will be the push the Jews need to begin the rebuilding of the third temple. What about the rest of the non-jewish world? God is going to be known across the globe as the God of the Jews. This is when I see the downfall of Islam and the rise of Christianity. Muslims share the seed of Abraham with the Jews, but Allah is only about Islam. The Koran teaches that the Jews are infidels, and this will be frustrating trying to explain why the Zionists were spared so heroically by acts of God. God shows the Muslims who He is, and this may explain why so many Islamic nations were brought along with Gog to fight against His people. We can assume that the Tribulation period can begin at this point. But let s get a little background of this first: Daniel chapter 9 reveals a time period called the Seventy 19
E x p l a i n T h i s! Weeks. Sixty-nine weeks ended with Christ s death on the cross. The last week is also known as the Tribulation period and a week translates into seven years. In addition, the reign of the Antichrist lasts exactly seven years as is mentioned in Daniel: Daniel 9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven he will put an end to the sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. The he is the Antichrist. He makes a treaty or an alliance with Israel, and maybe others too, for seven years. Halfway through, he breaks the treaty and trashes the temple. This proves that a temple is built and the Jews renew all the old customs regarding sacrifices, feasts, etc. I believe this treaty of some kind, originates with the defeat of Gog. Israel is also seen as a victor, and the Antichrist is one to realize that. The man that draws up this treaty is the Antichrist! That ought to be a clue to anyone who witnesses this signing! Why is this seven years so significant now? A clue rests in the next verse. Ezekiel 39:9-10 Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up - the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel (italics author s). The nation of Israel will use the abandoned equipment and artillery as a means of energy. The seven years is important because that is exactly the length of years in the Tribulation period. This verse shows us that Ezekiel s War occurs before the 20