Revelation is certainly God's
message to the church. It's the unveiling of things which must shortly
take place. It is also a prophecy regarding Israel. It's like the end of
the end or the beginning of the end.
In Genesis we see a number of
beginnings: man, sin, nations, prophecy of promise to land to
Abraham and his descendents forever.
When we go to Revelation we see the
end of this creation and the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth. In
Genesis we see the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. In Revelation we
see the Tree of Life in the Holy City, Jerusalem coming down out of heaven
as a bride adorned for her husband.
In Genesis we see the beginning of the
nation of Israel and in Revelation we see the culmination of those
promises and that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable as they
relate to Israel. In Genesis there is a promise to the Church that in
Abraham all the nations will be blessed. Paul teaches that "the
Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS SHALL
BE BLESSED IN YOU." (Gal 3:8)
So God
preached the GOSPEL to Abraham and gave us the promise of Jew and Gentile
coming together.
We see the fulfillment of Jew
and Gentile in Revelation where the BRIDE,
the CHURCH is told to make herself ready because He is coming and His
reward is with Him. In Genesis God lays out the seeds of all the major
truths of His Word and in Revelation we see it all unveiled.
What is
started in Genesis is finished (completed, brought to fulfillment) in
Revelation.
When you look at the Bible, you see that the OT centers
around THE NATION OF ISRAEL, THE JEWS. But don't think that if the OT
centers on Israel it has no significance for you. If you are going to know
God, to understand His ways, to understand prophecy, to be prepared for
the future, the OLD TESTAMENT is absolutely crucial.
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Ro15:4 For
whatever was written in earlier times (the OT) was written
for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of
the Scriptures we might have hope. |
The OT is the ''Bible'' of the
Jews for the most part because they have rejected Jesus Christ. The OT is
filled with PROPHECIES: about the first coming of Jesus Christ,
about the second coming of Jesus Christ (although most Jews do not believe
in a first coming), about the nations that have ''touched'' the nation of
Israel, & about Israel's birth and future. There are very few prophecies
about the church in the OT, a mystery which Paul reveals as
Jew and Gentile in one body. So as you read the OT prophecies like
Jer 31:31 (see
Scripture below. This passage is also quoted in
Heb 9 &10), remember that this prophecy was
primarily given to Israel and has a still to come fulfillment (refer to
last week's lecture).
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Jer 31:31 "Behold, days are
coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the
covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which
they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33
"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel
after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within
them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God,
and they shall be My people. 34 "And they shall not teach again,
each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the
LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their
iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." |
The
promise to the church is hidden in Genesis
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Genesis 12: 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses
you I will curse.
And in you all
the families of the earth shall be blessed." |
When you come to the NT the
focus is JESUS CHRIST, with great detail of His FIRST coming in addition
to prophecies regarding His SECOND coming.
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John 1:11 He came to His own,
(JEWS) and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many
as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even
to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word
became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the
only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. |
So except for a REMNANT
(see more detail on
"Remnant" in Ezekiel 6 notes) most of
Israel did not RECEIVE the MESSIAH at His first coming. Then in Acts we
see the GOSPEL being proclaiming to the Jews in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria
(half Jew and half Gentile) and then to the uttermost parts of the world.
So in Acts 2 it begins with Pentecost, the coming of the Holy
Spirit to indwell the Jews and about 8 years later the Holy Spirit
indwelling the Gentiles and thus you have the CHURCH. So in the NT you
think more of Jesus and the Church. The prophecies in the NT then have to
do with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and also the relationship of the
Church to His Second Coming.
1Cor 15 and
1 Thes 4:13-17 (v17 says "we who are
alive and remain shall be caught up...to meet the Lord in the air" where
"caught up" is Greek word for "snatched away". Our English "rapture" comes
from "raptus" meaning "seized") describe a
''Rapture'' or
catching up of the church. These saints won't die but will be caught up to
meet the Lord in the air along with those who are resurrected to be with
Him forever. You also see prophesy regarding Israel in the NT. Remember
that most Jews will not read the NT but God has it all present in the
OT...including the GOSPEL and everything they need to know for salvation
is in the OT. The NT is the fulfillment of these prophecies.
THE PURPOSE OF
REVELATION IN THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD'S WORD
What is the specific role and purpose of Revelation in
the NT and in the whole counsel of God's Word? The prophecies
regarding Israel are not only in Revelation but also in Romans, this
latter giving an explanation of the gospel, the most complete
explanation of the gospel in the word of God. You need to get Romans under
your belt (Marty wants us to begin Romans, part 1 of 4, in the Spring of
1998).
Romans 9-11 explains why Israel has refused the Gospel and
what God is going to do in regard to Israel in the future. Now Israel's
rejection has been our (Gentile's) salvation, but God is going to save
Israel when a Deliverer comes from Zion and then all Israel will be saved.
This is God's covenant with them when He takes away their sins as Paul
taught in Romans "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of
this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial
hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has
come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE
DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."
"AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS." (Ro
11:25-27 quoting Jer 31:31-34). Why? "for the
gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Ro
11:29) And those gifts and callings are explained
in the OT.
REVELATION
WAS WRITTEN TO THE CHURCH
Revelation was written
specifically to the CHURCH...to show the things which must shortly take
place...those things which lead up to the coming of Jesus Christ to the
earth. John is told to write and send to the 7 churches in Asia.
Revelation opens with a word to the church and
closes with a word to
the church.
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Rev 22:6 And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the
Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to
His bond-servants the things
which must shortly take place....16 "I, Jesus, have sent My
angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and
the offspring of David, the bright morning star." 17 And the Spirit and
the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the
one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life
without cost. |
So as the BRIDE OF JESUS CHRIST you are to take
these truths of things that will shortly come to pass and to offer them to
JEW & to GENTILE (the gospel is to the Jew first and then to the Gentile).
We are still in the times of the fulness of the Gentiles and there
is still only a remnant of Jews who will believe in Messiah. The
Church is the Bride of Christ and Israel is the Wife of God.
See Jeremiah, Hosea, Ezekiel for a description of the WIFE of God
(esp. Ezek 16). God's "Wife" played the HARLOT, so He sold her into
CAPTIVITY in Hosea. But Hosea redeemed his wife Gomer from the
auction block of slavery, brought her home, shut her up for a while and
then went back into her, re-consummating their marriage. Revelation is the
message to the Bride of Christ, the Church and the OT is the message to
Israel, the Wife of God. Where did Jesus Christ come from? From Israel. So
Jesus was born from the woman Israel so to speak.
Rev 12 teaches
that from a woman would come a Male Child Who is to rule all the nations
with a rod of iron.
REVELATION
TEACHES ABOUT ISRAEL, THE WIFE OF GOD
Revelation also teaches much
regarding God's Wife Israel. Why? Because the OT prophecies have
not been fulfilled. So when you study Revelation you have to carefully
study to determine whether the text is talking about Israel or the Church.
You may say for example that any time ''saints'' is referred
to is about the Church but that is not true because in the OT ‘saints’
refers to Israel. Revelation has more OT prophecies (~300-350) than
any other NT book and many are almost straight quotes from the OT.
Revelation is in fact a ‘Jewish’ Book.
THE HEAVENLY CONFLICT FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION
In the OT & the NT we also see a HEAVENLY CONFLICT
that begins in
Genesis 3 when the Serpent comes into the garden
and tempts Eve. In
Rev 12 God identifies the Serpent as Satan. In
Isaiah 14 there is a prophecy about the king of Babylon but that
prophecy goes beyond the king of Babylon to speak about a power who is
ruling through the king of Babylon. In
Ezekiel 28 there is another
section that gives us clues as to how Satan came into being. In
Ezek 28
the prophecy about the king of Tyre shows us a glimpse of Satan acting
through this leader.
HEAVENLY CONFLICT IN DANIEL
Daniel 10:
Daniel is praying and an angel shows up:
Da 10:12 Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the
first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling
yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in
response to your words. 13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia
(There is an angelic being behind the prince) was withstanding me for
twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, (from
Da 10:21 and
12:1 we know that Michael is the angel that watches over Israel)
one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with
the kings of Persia.14 "Now I have come to give you an understanding of
what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision
pertains to the days yet future."…20 Then he said, "Do you understand why
I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of
Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to
come.
HEAVENLY CONFLICT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
So there is a HEAVENLY CONFLICT
in the OT and it is directed specifically against the NATION OF ISRAEL.
When you come to the NT what is the conflict that you see? You see Jesus
being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness and then all through the
gospels you see Jesus confronting demons and the disciples confronting
people who are demon possessed. In the Epistles you see constant warnings
about our ADVERSARY. In Revelation you see the HEAVENLY CONFLICT once
again, especially in Revelation 13.
Revelation 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were
like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the
dragon gave him
his power and his throne and great authority.
Just as in the OT the kings of
Tyre and Babylon got their power from Satan, we see a similar power behind
the Beast.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the
serpent of old who is called
the devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the
earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
So as you study Revelation remember that we are seeing a CULMINATION
OF THIS HEAVENLY CONFLICT as the Devil is first bound for 1000 years and
then cast into the Lake of fire in Rev 20.
THE CHURCH & ISRAEL IN THE REVELATION
Rev 1:19
Write the things which he saw: Jesus Christ in His power and glory
Rev 2 & 3: The
things that are: To the church
Rev 4-22: The
things that must take place after these things. The
church is not mentioned from Chapter 4-19,
where the BRIDE is mentioned
Rev 19:7
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of
the Lamb has come and His
bride has made
herself ready."
Rev 21:2
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, made ready as a bride
adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:10
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me the holy city,
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
So in
Rev 2&3 the CHURCH is
mentioned and then again in
Rev 19 &
21, but at that time the CHURCH is in
HEAVEN not on earth.
When is the first time Israel is mentioned in Revelation?
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Rev 7:2
And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the
seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four
angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we
have sealed the bond-servants
(so immediately you tend to think about the Church because Rev 1:1
is to bondservants and refers to the Church. But here the bond-servants
clearly refers to Israel.) of our God on their foreheads."4 And I heard
the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand
sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: |
The next mention of ISRAEL in
Revelation is
Rev 11:1-2ff (the Temple). Just remember that
Revelation as the last book of the Bible is summing up everything. It is
the culmination, the fulfillment, the finishing of everything that God
began in Genesis. When Israel appears on the scene you have had a
description of the 7 seals but just before the 7th Seal is
broken we are told that God says to hold back the winds until the 144,000
are sealed on their forehead. Then with the 7th Seal broken we
have 144,000 of Israel sealed and after that we see the 7 Trumpets come
forth. We see 1/3 of the earth burned, all of the green grass burned, 1/3
of the waters being polluted…so you see that the earth is being harmed.
But you know that before the earth is harmed 144,000 Jews are sealed.
THE PIVOTAL POINT IN THE REVELATION
When you get to the
6th Trumpet
(2nd Woe) you see some significant things happening. The
2nd Woe in
Rev 11 is
the
7th Trumpet and Kay believes that this is the
pivotal point in the
Revelation. You may not agree but before you go read what other
commentators say, go to the word of God yourself. What is
happening is that as we read commentaries, some of the things they say
make sense but they don't present the whole picture. At the 7th
Trumpet God takes Israel ‘by the hand’ and brings her center stage.
As the 7th Trumpet is blown you see a fulfillment of much OT
prophecy that has to do with this critical period in Israel’s history, the
time of Jacob’s distress (Jer 30:7).
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Rev 11:1
And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said,
"Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship
in it. (The Jewish Temple with Jewish worshippers…so Israel is now ‘center
stage’) 2 "And leave out the court which is outside the temple,
and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will
tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. |
This
42 months
either has to
go back somewhere into the seals and trumpets or forward. Kay feels that
at this point in the study it seems that this speaks to a future time when
the Holy City will be given to the Gentiles. The 3 ˝ years is a crucial
time period in the history of Israel.
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Rev 11:3
"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy
for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."4 These are the
two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the
earth. |
WHO ARE THE 2 WITNESSES?
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Zech 4:2 (An angel is talking to Zerubbabel the high priest and the angel
speaks to him…) And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I
see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it,
and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps
which are on the top of it;3 also
two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl
and the other on its left side."4 Then I answered and said to
the angel who was speaking with me saying, "What are these, my
lord?"5 So the angel who was speaking with me answered and
said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my
lord."6 Then he answered and said to me, "This is the word of
the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My
Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts…
Zech 4:11 Then I answered and said to him, "What are these two
olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?"12 And I
answered the second time and said to him, "What are the two olive branches
which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from
themselves?"13 So he answered me saying, "Do you not know what these
are?" And I said, "No, my lord. "Then he said, "These are the
two anointed ones, who
are standing by the Lord of the whole earth."
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands
that stand before the Lord of the earth.
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Who are they?
We know they have been prophesying for 3 ˝ years. Kay believes that up
until the 6th Trumpet the TWO WITNESSES have been prophesying
for 3 ˝ years. How far back she cannot say.
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Rev 11:6
These have the power to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not fall
during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters
to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as
often as they desire.
(Elijah according to
Malachi has to come before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Also
Elijah never died so he has been before the throne.) 7 And when they
have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss
will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.8 And their dead
bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called
Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.9 And those from the
peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies
for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be
laid in a tomb. |
So again we see the FOCUS IS
ON ISRAEL. And Kay feels that since Elijah never died one of
these prophets could be Elijah and the other might be Enoch. But she
admits that this is just speculation.
Rev 11:14
The second woe is past.
Behold, the third woe is
coming quickly
Here is
the pivotal point in
Revelation for the nation of Israel and it is at this time that
Israel steps on
the scene as a MAIN CHARACTER. In the 7th Trumpet the kingdom
of the World becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Then in
Rev 12 we see a SIGN of a Woman, pregnant with a CHILD, God’s Child
through Israel, God’s only begotten Son. What was God’s Son to do? The OT
said that He was to rule and reign with a rod of iron. So He was caught up
to heaven. Satan was cast down and when he is cast down he persecutes the
WOMAN and she flees into the wilderness for
3 ˝ years
. If the city of Jerusalem was
not being trodden down at this time by the Gentiles, they would feel as if
they were politically and militarily secure. But they are not, for the
Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, the Little Horn, the first Beast,
breaks his covenant in the middle of the Seven Year period, and the woman,
Israel, flees into the wilderness for
3 ˝ years.
In
Matthew 24:15 Jesus taught that when
the Jews saw the Abomination of Desolation standing in
the Holy Place they were to flee. So
Matthew 24 fits into this time from
the 7th Trumpet on.
Luke
21:20-24 is a
prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD but it also jumps to the
time of the end (eg,
Luke 21:25ff).
Mt 25:31-46 describes the Messiah coming to judge all the
nations based on how they treated the Jews. As you think of Revelation,
remember to think of the events in terms of when God is dealing with the Church and when He is
dealing with Israel.
You have seen precious truths that you would not
have seen if you had just listened to Kay teach or just read someone
else’s commentaries. As you read the OT try to decide what period God is
talking about.
Blow Holy Breath
upon us and open the eyes of our understanding
so that
we might see and
understand what the Spirit is saying to us
about the things
which must shortly take place
so that
we will live
accordingly,
knowing that He Who
is coming will come quickly
and
His reward is with
Him to give to every man according to his deeds.
What will your reward be?
Walk in the light of what you are hearing.
Heed the words of this prophecy.
