Jehoshua is on the throne of David in New Jerusalem and He is the King of a New Israel
My continued study on the book of Revelation (part 3)
Let's look at verses 9-17 of Revelation chapter 7 9After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;10And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.11And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,12Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.13And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. The scene is obviously taking place in heaven not earthly Jerusalem. The concept of Christians not going to heaven subsequent to the rapture and resurrection is unbiblical. Also, the event of the rapture and resurrection take place before the seventh seal opens and likely before the sixth seal. Chapter 6 ends at the sixth seal and chapter 8 opens at the seventh seal with chapter 7 in between them, showing that the events of chapter 7 precede that of the seventh seal being opened. Also, as I stated the first few verses in chapter 7 indicate a liklihood that chapter seven takes place right before the opening of the sixth seal as there seems to be a backtracking when reading the first few verses of chapter 7. Angels, the elders and four beasts are seen here in the throne room worshipping Jehovah God before His throne where the Lamb is in the midst thereof. Do we really want to believe that this is in earthly Jerusalem? Revelation 4 and 5 describe the throne of Jehovah with the lamb in the midst thereof as being in heaven as it is stated in the first two verses of chapter 4: 1After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.2And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. John clearly says that this is heaven where God has His throne set. The description of Revelation 7:9-17 fits exactly with the description of the the throne room in Revelation 4 and 5. Again, John states in Revelation 4:1 that a door was opened in heaven and in verse 2 that he saw a throne set in heaven and that God sat on that throne. Back to the tribulation 13And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The elder identifies all these who have white robes as coming out of the great tribulation. While futurists posit the great tribulation as a short 3 1/2 year or 7 year period the context of the elders statement is identifying that all the great multitude came out of this great tribulation since they all are described as being in white robes (verse 9). If the great multitude constitutes the whole of God's people throughout time, then this means that they all came out of great tribulation which shows that the great tribulation is not limited to a brief future 7 year period. Verses 15-17 are also very revealing in terms of when the millennium takes place and whether we enter a earthly millennium after the second advent or do we inherit the new heavens and new earth. Revelation 7:15-17 (KJV) 15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. This passage obviously is taking place right after the second advent of Jehoshua and is taking place in New Jerusalem in heaven not on earth. What's significant about these verses is that almost verbatim they are repeated in Revelation 21 which is about the new heavens and new earth which follows right after the millennium. Let's go to Revelation 21 and look at these verses: 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21 follows right after the millennium and is about the new heavens and new earth which then has the holy city New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. In Revelation 7:15, it is said that God who sits on the throne will dwell among the great multitude and in Revelation 21:3 the same thing is said as God will dwell among men and they will be His people. These people are the great multitude that are seen before the throne in Revelation 7. Verses 2 and 3 of Revelation 21 describe the holy city New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven and that it is the tabernacle of Jehovah God that will dwell among men. This is the promise Jehoshua gives the overcomers of the Philadelphia Church in Revelation 3:12: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." Jehoshua's promise reward to the overcoming Church is not an earthly millennium centered in earthly Jerusalem but rather New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven to inaugurate the new heavens and new earth. Both in Revelation 7:15 and Revelation 21:2-3 say that God will be with us and dwell among us and that God's throne in New Jerusalem will be among us. In verse 17 of Revelation 7 it says that God will wipe all tears from our eyes and that the Lamb will lead us to fountains of living waters. In verse 4 of Revelation 21 it says also that God will wipe all tears from our eyes and that there will be no more death, sorrow or pain. 3 verses later it says that God will give us who thirst the fountains of waters of life. Do you see how the last few verses of Revelation 7 are parallel to the first few verses or Revelation 21? In Revelation 7, the verses come right after the second advent, in Revelation 21 the parallel events come right after the millennium. What does this show us? That the age preceding the second advent is equivalent to the millennium because both Revelation 7:15-17 and Revelation 21:1-6 are talking about the same thing. Let's now look at Revelation 8: Revelation 8:1-6 (KJV) 1And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.2And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.3And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.4And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.5And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.6And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. It we take Revelation 7 and 8 to be chronological, then the seventh seal is not opened until the saints are resurrected and translated to heaven. Within the seventh seal are the seven trumpet judgments each carried out by an angel. Verses 3-5 refer to the golden altar and the incense that rises up out of the altar are the prayers of the saints. This alludes to the 5th seal in which the prayers of the saints, who are under the altar of incense, cry out for God to avenge their blood. The prayers of the saints move God to pour out His wrath on mankind in the form of seven trumpet judgments. Verse 5 could possibly allude to the sixth seal which describes a great earthqauke. The earthqauke precedes the opening of the seventh seal. If the seven trumpets represent a cyclical type judgment on the earth in parallel to the seven seals then these judgments are historical mostly and not future. However, it is the opening of the seventh seal that brings about the trumpet judgments so I take these judgments to be future. 7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.8And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;9And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.10And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;11And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.12And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.13And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! While certainly a case can be made that these judgments can represent historical events but that leads to much speculation and over spiritualization. I believe much of the judgments described above are literal. Let's go to chapter 9 and see the continuation of these judgments: Revelation Chapter 9 1And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.2And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.3And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.4And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.5And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.6And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. Again, these events could be historical but the fact that they are a result of the opening of the seventh seal tells me that they likely are future. Chapter 9 ends with the opening and events of the sixth trumpet. Now on to chapter 10: Revelation Chapter 10 1And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:2And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,3And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.4And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.5And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:7But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.8And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.9And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.10And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.11And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. The mighty angel likely is the Son of God Jehoshua as the description of the angel is the same as how Messiah is described. "His face as it were the sun and his feet as pillars of fire" (Rev 1:15-16). This angel (Messiah) possesses God's covenantal glory (Rainbow). This mighty angel roars like a Lion which alludes to Him being from the tribe of Judah. Standing upon the sea and earth swearing to God is likely a reference to Psalm 89:25-26: 25I will set his hand also on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers.26He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation. Jehoshua as the Davidic King is the mighty angel (Messenger) of God who is showm here in all His glory. Verse 6 of Revelation 10 says that there will be time no longer meaning at the seventh trumpet Messiah's Kingdom will be consummated on the earth. Verse 7, the Mystery of God should be finished is a reference to the day of salvation being completed with the final bringing in of the Gentiles into the Commonwealth of Israel. The temple of Jehovah God is completed when the last stone is made lively by faith and added to the Church which is the temple. It appears as though the resurrection and rapture of the Church takes place after the sixth trumpet and right at the seventh trumpet. In verse 11, John is told that he must propeshy before peoples, nations, tongues and kings. He is given the little book which reveals God's purposes for redemption and destruction as this book contains the seven seals. Now on to Revelation 11 where it is said that the two witnesses propeshy for 1,260 days. Revelation 11:1-2 (KJV) 1And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.2But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. Remember, that in the new covenant the Church is the temple of Jehovah and the angel is measuring the Church and the altar which represents the Lord's communion table. True worshippers take the bread and the wine of the Lord Jehoshua's communion which represents the new covenant. The angel measuring the temple symbolizes God's protection, presence, and purifying of His people. The court without the temple represents the unbelieving world, those who are not part of the true Church. The world is given unto the Gentiles. Remember, that Gentiles who are converted are now part of the Commonwealth of Israel and are no longer Gentiles but rather are part of the 12 tribes of Israel and with believing Jews are the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). The angel is not called to measure the court without (world) because they are not part of God's covenant people, hence they are not part of the Church (temple). The holy city is the Church which represents New Jerusalem on earth. The Church on earth is a type of New Jerusalem as the city of the living God is the Headqaurters of the Church and the mother of all believers in Messiah (Heb 12; Galatians 4). In verse 2 of Revelation 11 it says that the Gentiles (unbelievers) will tread the holy city (New Jerusalem i.e. the Church) for 42 months. 42 months eqauls 3 and a half years or 1260 days. Like many of the numbers in the book of Revelation, this is likely symbolic. As we will see in Revelation 12, the persecution of the Church begins immediately after the ascension of the Messiah into heaven and here in Revelation 11 it is said that the Gentiles will tread (persecute) the holy city (the Church) for 42 months which eqauls the 1,260 days of Revelation 12. This shows that these two time periods (42 months and 1,260 days) begin right after the Messiah's ascension into heaven. We also know that these can't be a literal 1,260 days because the Gentiles persecute the church throughout the whole new covenant until the second advent of Jehoshua. This is clearly shown in Revelation 11 in particular and in the whole book of Revelation in general as well as the new testament. Basically the Gentiles persecute the holy city throughout the whole new covenant Church age as the 42 months represents that time span from Jehoshua's ascension into heaven until His second advent. Revelation 11:3-4 (KJV) 3And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. This passage is very important to understand as we see a reference to the 1,260 days which is the same as the 42 months mentioned in verse 2. So during the persecution of the holy city (the Church) for 42 months (1,260 days) the two witnesses will prophesy clothed in sackcloth. Without going into too much detail, the two witnesses are the two olive trees and two candlesticks that stand before Jehovah God. A study of Zechariah 3 and 4 show that the two witnesses are the office of King and Priest which in the new covenant is fulfilled by one Man who is Jehoshua Messiah. The Son of God operates His priesthood in the order of Melchizedek and His Kingship is of the Davidic covenant. So who are these two witnesses? Obviously it can't specifically refer to Jehoshua as He is in heaven at the right hand of God. 1 Peter 2:9, Rev 1:5-6 and Rev 5:9-10 gives us the answer as we are called kings and priests because of what Jehoshua accomplished on the cross. We operate as priests under the headship of Jehoshua's Melchizedek order. We operate as kings and queens under the headship of Jehoshua's Davidic Kingship. The church is the two olive trees that prophesy during the span of the new covenant Church age. What does it mean that they propeshy? There is nothing mystical with this, prophesy is simply proclaiming the testimony of Jehoshua Messiah (Rev 19:10). It is proclaiming the spirit of prophecy given to the prophets of the old testament who prophesied of the Messiah's arrival onto the scene of history to establish His Kingdom. It is also proclaiming the doctrine of the Messiah (sermon on the mount) and proclaiming the eschatological prophetic events of the day of Jehovah as they lead up to the Messiah's second advent and consummation of His Kingdom. In short, prophesying is proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom i.e. the gospel of our Lord Jehoshua Messiah. This clearly is the mandate given to the Church which is a Kingdom of kings, queens and priests (Matthew 28:19). Revelation 11:5-6 5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. Those who persecute the Church and harm them will in the same way be dealt with by Jehovah God on judgment day. The reference to fire proceeding out of their mouth is likely a reference to the lake of fire the second death. Revelation 11:7 (KJV) 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. This verse seems to speaking of a latter day persecution by the beast that comes out of the bottomless pit. I believe this beast to be Satan as the beasts of Revelation 13 come up out of the sea and earth. Satan inspires both governments and false religion to kill God's people. There appears that there will be one final intense persecution of God's people before the second advent of Jehoshua. We already see evidence of this today as Christians all over the world are dying for their faith. Here in America, we don't suffer violent persecution generally, however anti-Christian sentiment is on the rise in a big way which could eventually lead to physical persecution. In this final war between Satan and the Church the saints are overcome and killed. Let's now go to verses 8 and 9 of Revelation 11: 8And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. I believe Sodom and Egypt represent the unbelieving world in which the dead bodies of the two witnesses (the church) lie dead after the final persecution. Sodom represents the unbelieving world's glorification of sodomy and filth including material wealth. Egypt represents false religion. The three and a half days represent a short time of persecution at the very end of days, whereas the 1260 days (3 and a half years) represent the whole new covenant Church age. The general persecution of the saints last the entire church age which is symbolically described as 3 and a half years, whereas the final intensified persecution lasts a shorter 3 and a half days. The hatred of Messianic/Christian believers will be so great that the world will not even bury their bodies. Revelation 11:10 (KJV) 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. The world, tired of hearing the church preach a message that convicts them of their sin, will celebrate their death and rejoice that those they considered as hate mongers are no longer around to torment them with the word of God. Revelation 11:11 11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. After the brief, compared to the 1260 days, final persecution of the saints Jehovah God's Spirit will enter into them and resurrect them from the dead. This is an obvious allusion to the last day resurrection and rapture. If the two witnesses are the church which I believe is the biblical understanding of Rev 11 then this raising of them to their feet is indeed the last day resurrection. The resurrection leads to the rapture as we see in verse 12: 12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. Notice where the two witnesses go after they are raised to life, they go to heaven not remain on the earth. There is a false teaching in many of the Hebrew roots, Messianic and Unitarian churches that we as the saints will never go to heaven but only stay on earth after we are resurrected and translated. This is not a secret resurrection or rapture as the world beholds them being taken up to heaven in a cloud. This being taken up to heaven in a cloud mirrors the Son of God going up to heaven in a cloud upon His ascension from the mount of olives. We will now look at verses 13 and 14 as they give us some key information as to the timeline of the saints resurrection and translation. Revelation 11:13-14 13And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.14The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. Its unclear whether this great earthqauke is the same as the one that is part of the opening of the sixth seal. It likely isn't because it appears that the events following are part of the seventh trumpet which is within the seventh seal. The third woe is the seventh trumpet judgment and it appears that the saints get translated to heaven right after the second woe (sixth trumpet) passes and right before the seventh trumpet (third woe) sounds. Remember, we are not appointed to wrath as the apostle Paul says. The seventh trumpet brings God's wrath on the world so it makes sense that we get translated priorto the seventh trumpet being unleashed.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2021
Categories |