Date of this lecture: Fall, 1993. Kay discusses the book "88 Reasons Why Christ Has to Return in 1988''.  It's 1993 and Jesus still hasn't returned. Did the author miss what the word of God has to say about the return of Christ. He was manipulating the scriptures and numbers, tickling ears, and not teaching the ''givens'' in the Word of God that we can all agree on. Those ''Givens'' will make us ''...steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.'' (1Cor 15:58) and not ''... tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.'' (Eph 4:14)

There are however indications that we may be on the very precipice of Christ's Return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
 

Oct 16, 1989: Jews to lay cornerstone for 3rd Temple in Jerusalem: These orthodox Jews tried to lay the cornerstone but were denied permission, saying "It's not time''. They are however making the instruments for the Temple services.
 

Oct, 1992: "Jesus will return: The Biblical prophecy is to be fulfilled. The rapture, United Europe (EEC), Anti-Christ revealed and years of great tribulation, Jesus coming to earth with saints, 1000 years of Jesus reign on earth, Great White Throne judgment, eternal heaven and hell. Why the rapture is going to occur in 1992.'' This was also in October.
 

            What is the association with the Fall and the return of Christ? These prophets'' are studying the feasts of Israel and feel like His return lines up with the Fall feasts

Another magazine: ''Imminent: Does the Bible Teach an Any Moment Rapture?''

            So we need to know not the specific time or the hour but what God wants us to know: THE GIVENS. The goal of this study of PROPHECY is simply observe the text, building one observation upon another.

Another publication: Discussed the Jerusalem Covenant, made in May, 1993, and stating that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews and they are going to maintain their hold on the holy city. The publication went on to state that this covenant would be ratified by Juan Carlos of Spain, who they believed would be the anti-Christ and when he ratified the covenant other events would be set in motion culminating in the return of Christ. In reading this publication there are some aspects that are very logical...so the question is how will we be able to discern truth from error so that we are not shaken when deception increases?

 THE GIVENS IN REVELATION

(Click here for another summary of "Givens")

Try to set aside what you have been told by even well known prophecy teachers and come with an open mind and a teachable spirit.

The 7 Seals, Trumpets & Bowls seem to be laid out chronologically but not every one believes this. Study it for yourself. Kay makes reference to one teacher who believes the 6th seal is the end and the 7th seal brings Jesus!

Seals: 6 seals in Chap 6, the 7th Seal (in Ch 8) bringing forth the 7 Trumpets.
 

Trumpets: Last 3 trumpets = 3 Woes (the first 4 trumpets are in Rev 8).
 

Rev 8:13  And I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe, to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"

So the Trumpets are laid out chronologically..."remaining blasts...about to sound'' are phrases that indicate time and progression of events. The 5th Trumpet (1st Woe) is the locusts that sting men for 5 months and men try to kill themselves bc severity of the torment  but are unable to die. This section shows that Jesus has the keys to death & Hades (Rev 1:18). The 6th Trumpet (2nd Woe) brings a 200 million army of weird horsemen from whose mouth come fire, smoke and brimstone, killing 1/3 of mankind.

 The 7th Trumpet

Rev 11:14 The second woe is past; behold, the 3rd woe is coming quickly. (again this phrase showing us a PROGRESSION of events)15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." 16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, "We give Thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign.
 

(This does not say that He is ruling physically on earth.) 7 Bowls follow out of this 7th Trumpet.
 

Rev 11:18 "And the nations were enraged, (Why? Bc He has taken His power & begun to reign) and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." (Keep in mind that this destruction is not necessarily happening all at once at this time but from the context of the rest of Revelation appears to be describing a process) 19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

Rev 12: Signs of Woman & Dragon

Rev 13: The 2 Beasts.

Rev 14:  We see 6 Angels: This chapter seems to be describing a ''view from heaven" of the things that are going to take place on earth. First angel has an eternal gospel. Next angel says fallen is Babylon. Third angel warns those who take the mark of the Beast that they will suffer the Lake of Fire. Then there is an admonition regarding the perseverance of the saints and a blessing that those who die in the Lord will rest from their labors. Another angel saying it is time to reap the earth. A 5th angel who is told by a 6th angel to reap the clusters of the earth
 

Rev 14:18 ..."Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe." 19 And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

In summary, it appears that God is giving us a heavenly view through this angelic perspective of what is about to transpire.

Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
 

FINISHED: TELEO: To make an end or to accomplish, to complete something, not merely to end it, but to bring it to perfection or its destined goal. So here we know that THE WRATH OF GOD IS FINISHED. The same word Jesus used in John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.

The 7 Bowls:

(1) Sore on those who take Mark of Beast. So by this time we know 666 has been given.

(2) Sea turns to blood (in 2nd Trumpet 1/3) and everything living dies.

(3) Rivers and springs turn to blood.

Rev 16:4 And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, "Righteous art Thou, who art and who wast, O Holy One, because Thou didst judge these things; 6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink. They deserve it. " 7 And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments."

Unrighteous men WILL BE JUDGED and will not get away with their ungodliness.
 

Ro 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

(4) Sun: Scorched w/ fierce heat.

(5) Kingdom of beast darkened. (Cp John 3:19 "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.).

(6) Euphrates dried: Kings of earth gathered for war. How are they gathered?

Rev 16:2 And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; (the ''unholy trinity'': dragon ~ God the Father, beast ~ Christ, false prophet ~ Holy Spirit) 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, (so they have demonic powers to perform signs) which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame.")

We are ''keeping our garments'' by studying the Word of God. We are cleansing ourselves with the washing of the water with the Word. The coming of Jesus Christ is a PURIFYING HOPE...even the ''88 Reasons'' book cause many Christians to get their lives together bc of the possibility that they might soon see Him face to face. Cp 1John 3:3  And everyone who has this hope [fixed] on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
 

Rev 16:  And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done." (Write Rev 15:1: The 7 Bowls are THE LAST...the Wrath of God is finished.) 18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. (So with the 7th Seal, 7th Trumpet, 7th Bowl there is Lightning, Thunder, Earthquake.).19 And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 16 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And huge hailstones, about 100 pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.

Rev 19: Jesus' Return to Earth

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True;...13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. (We saw this in Rev 14:19-20)16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; 18 in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great. " 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. (So in the 6th Bowl we see the Kings of the earth coming together for a war and here we see a war. In essence then Kay reminds us that this is a process and all these things don't happen instantly.) 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
 

CHRIST RETURNS & SATAN IS BOUND FOR 1000 YEARS

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1000 years

Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; & all the tribes of the earth will mourn (bc He is coming in judgment) over Him. Even so. Amen.

Rev 20:3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the 1000 years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

1000 REIGN OF CHRIST ON EARTH

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
 

So we know that there will be people who did not receive the mark of the beast who will be beheaded.

GOG & MAGOG: SATAN'S DEMISE

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog & Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, (Jerusalem) and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10  And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment

Rev 20:11-14 All the dead who have never believed stand at this judgment and are cast into the Lake of fire, the second death
 

New Heaven & New Earth

 Rev 21-22

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Time Indicators:

· 6th Seal: Their Wrath has come: Rev 6:17 "...for the great day of their wrath has come.'' It may have come before but we know for certain it has now come.

· Rev 7:3: The 144,000 had to be sealed before the earth could be harmed. So we know that this sealing that occurs after the 6th seal had to occur before the 7 Trumpets because they affect the earth & the sea.
 

 There is a TEMPLE

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. 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 42 months.

· The Holy City trodden for 42 months = 3 1/2 years. We don't know for certain when it begins.

  2 Witnesses Prophesy for 1260 days = 3 1/2 years

Rev 11:3 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

Rev 11:7  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.

· So we learn that the BEAST kills them so that when the witnesses are alive the Beast is also alive. After being killed they lie dead 3 1/2 days and then are resurrected producing fear on all the people.

Rev 11:13 And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and 1/10 of the city (cp to 11:8 so it must be Jerusalem, at that time full of Sodom & Egypt, full of iniquity and the world) fell; 7000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe is past; (the 6th Trumpet) behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

· We know that between the 6th and 7th trumpet that 2 witnesses were active for 3 1/2 years.

· We also know that the Beast is on the scene.

 The Kingdom of the World =>Kingdom of our Lord

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."

Rev 12: Sign of Woman (Israel) pregnant who in the fullness of time brought forth a Son, from the tribe of Judah and of the family of David. When she gave birth to Jesus, King Herod tried to put Him to death. Joseph took his family into Egypt until Herod died. Jesus was to rule the nations with a rod of iron but that did not happen. He was caught up to the Throne. What happens in the 7th Trumpet? The Ruler begins to rule the nations with a rod of iron.
 

Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for 1260 days.

· So this is our next time phrase: Woman (Israel) nourished 1260 days

 War in Heaven

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. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now (when Satan was thrown down) the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night....13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, (in Jewish reckoning is 3 1/2 years) from the presence of the serpent.

So what God is doing in Rev 12 is showing us the birth of Jesus Christ and His resurrection & ascension, in essence giving us a panoramic overview. When Satan is cast down and the KINGDOM OF GOD comes this parallels with the 7th Trumpet. Now we know that the Beast is on the scene from Rev 11:7. When Satan is cast down the woman is nourished in the wilderness for 3 1/2 years. In Rev 13 there is a beast that is similar to the description of the beast in Daniel 7 (we will study later).

 THE BEAST RULES FOR 3 1/2 YEARS

Rev 13:5 And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for 42 months was given to him...7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

When is the Beast destroyed? At the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.

How long is the time period from the 7th Trumpet to the Coming of Jesus Christ? 3 1/2 years because the beast's authority is only for that period of time. When the beast puts the 2 witnesses to death, the world is most impressed. When in the seals and trumpets the 2 witnesses began their prophesying we can't tell. We just know that it is 3 1/2 years before the 7th Trumpet that they were witnessing. We know that Israel flees into the wilderness for 3 1/2 years.

Next week as you study the ''Abomination of Desolation'' keep all of these facts in mind. Remember that these ''Years'' are all LITERAL, including the 1000 years when Jesus reigns and rules on this earth.

We are learning what the Bible says about these final events in Revelation.

Stick with the GIVENS in the Word
You will be unshakable

and

Not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine

or