CHRIST AND THE DRAGON. CHAPTER S 12-14. (Genesis 3:15) _This is the fourth parallel section, and we again return to the First Coming of Christ._ "And I will place hostility between you and the woman and between your children [IDARO] and her children [IDARO]; he will crush your head, and you will st... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAMB STANDING ON MOUNT ZION. _"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion"_ (Psalms 125:1) Compare Hebrews 12:22; and see note on Revelation 7:9. 144,Revelation 7. This is clearly a symbolic number. Note that they are all: men (males); unmarried; virgins; faultless. The voice John hears sin... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN I SAW ANOTHER ANGEL. The three angels of this section belong together. Their mission is to _warn_ of impending doom, and to _call_ mankind to "fear God and praise his greatness!" This is _one mission,_ because the warning is also a call. God wants all mankind to turn to him! FEAR GOD. All manki... [ Continue Reading ]
A SECOND ANGEL. The angel identifies Babylon, the third of Satan's agents. Babylon symbolizes the world as a center of anti-christian seduction [the glamour, glitter, romance, etc., which leads many to _"sell their soul"_ because they are _in love_ with this present world (2 Timothy 4:10)]. Babylon... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOEVER WORSHIPS THE BEAST AND ITS IMAGE. _"If your choice is to worship Satan, you must expect to share his doom."_ Since hell is a place of spirits, symbolic language is used to _describe_ the TORMENT that is really _indescribable!_ The fact that never-ending punishment will be the fate of those w... [ Continue Reading ]
HAPPY ARE THE DEAD! One of the "beatitudes" of Revelation. [See note on Revelation 19:9.] Those who endure are HAPPY! [_Happy:_ no word exactly translates MAKARIOS. It shows _extreme happiness!_] "Suffering Christian, you may have it hard now, but don't let it discourage you!" _"And this small and t... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN I LOOKED. We come again to the Final Judgment. We see a two-part harvest. WHO LOOKED LIKE A MAN. This is Jesus. Compare note on Revelation 1:13. He wears a crown of gold, not thorns. The cloud symbolizes _judgment._ The sharp sickle in his hand symbolizes _harvest._... [ Continue Reading ]
USE YOUR SICKLE. This is Christ's harvest. Those symbolized by this are the first-fruits [the 144,000 mentioned in the first section of this chapter] of earth. Swung his sickle on the earth. The first harvest is all the redeemed, that is, all who have reached out through faith to seize the sacrifice... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN I SAW ANOTHER ANGEL. This, angel destroys all the unbelievers of earth. [This does not mean _annihilation._] HE SHOUTED IN A LOUD VOICE. Still another angel shouts to the destroying angel. These are God's orders: "Use your sickle." CUT THE GRAPES FROM THE VINE. The vine symbolizes the great cro... [ Continue Reading ]