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Overview of Revelation’s Seven Parts

Reading guide to Revelation

After an introduction, the first part of Revelation contains letters to seven assemblies. The end of each letter reminds the hearers/readers of the end of their lives, with the promise that victors will receive eternal life.


Then come parts 2 to 5,  each of which moves over and over again to the end of the world.


The sixth part shows the end of Satan’s helpers and followers, with Satan being the last to be destroyed.


The seventh part shows a new heaven and a new earth.


In this way, salvation history is shown from different points of view.
God shows how the work of Jesus Christ, his Son, is always central to this.
Seven stands for perfection and appears fifty-one times in Revelation.

Introduction

1:1a Revelation of Jesus Christ. God shows his servants the glory of his Son and what must be done with haste under his guidance.

1:1b-8 John has to write down what he sees, it is mainly about visual language.
God, seven archangels and Jesus Christ greetings.
The Spirit does not greet because He is on earth with the assemblies!1,2.

1:9-11 On the day of the resurrection, Sunday, John is enraptured in spirit and hears a voice like a trumpet.
In Revelation, hearing something is often followed by seeing the same thing, here for the first time.

1:12-13 He sees Jesus Christ in glory, shining like the sun.
It shows that Jesus is present in the assemblies as High Priest and…

1:14-16 as Prophet and Judge. Out of his mouth goes the Word like a sharp two-edged sword. The gospel is preached3.

1:17-18 John falls down dead at his feet, but Jesus lays his hand on him and says, “Do not be afraid.” He is the Risen One and He rules over Hades and over death. 

1:19-20 John is instructed to forward letters from Jesus to seven assemblies in Asia. These represent the assemblies of all places and times, note that the Spirit speaks to all the assemblies. Every assembly can take a lesson from all the others. It does not mean that there are seven successive different appearances of the assemblies over time 4.

I Letters to seven assemblies

2:1-7 1st letter: Ephesians perseveres in doctrine. But the first works of love are missed, repent and receive eternal life!

2:8-11 2nd letter: Smyrna is greatly oppressed, yet is rich! Be faithful to death and receive the crown of life!

2:12-17 3rd letter: In Pergamos, where Satan is enthroned, they remained faithful professors. But reject all idolatry! Repent and conquer! 

2:18-29 4th letter: In Thyatira works of love and faithfulness. But turn away from Jezebel, the false prophetess! No mixing. Persevere!

3:1-6 5th letter: Sardis is like death! Only a remnant is alive. Convert! Wake! Conquer, lest you be struck out of the book of life.

3:7-13 6th letter5 : Philadelphia is faithful, not by his own strength. You’ve been crowned! Overcomers receive a place of honor in the New Jerusalem.

3:14-22 seventh letter Laodicea: lukewarm, you live by compromise. I’ll spit you out! Poor, blind, naked! Still loved. Do live from Me! Conquer and share in My throne.

All letters end with: “He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies6!” The call to conquer is always heard so that at the end of this life there may be eternal salvation.

II John is taken up in the spirit into heaven,
scroll with seven seals

4:1-7 The throne of God sparkles with orange-red gemstones, symbolizing fire. Above it stretches an emerald green arch enhancing the majesty of Who is ‘sitting’ at the the throne.
Around the throne are 24 elders. They symbolize elders of the assemblies of all times (12+12), from the Old and New Testaments.
Furthermore, impressive lightning bolts, voices and thunderclaps emanate from the throne.
In front of the throne are seven fiery torches/spirits/archangels7 and the floor is like a sea of crystal. The throne is ‘guarded’ by four powerful beings full of eyes, who surround the throne. Nothing escapes them.

4:8-11 Day and night, without changing watches, the four “guards at regular intervals” say: Holy, holy, holy. They also praise on special occasions. The elders, when they hear this, will throw off their crowns and fall down in worship8. The enthronement is reminiscent of the revelation of God to Moses on Sinai. The message is similar, who will be able to approach the mountain and this throne? 

5:1-2 In God’s right hand is a scroll sealed with seven seals. Who can and may receive and open that scroll?

5:3-4 Nowhere is a creature found to open the scroll. So no hope for the future? Never a change for the better? Johannes cries a lot.
But, after hearing comes seeing:

5:5-14 Don’t weep! Then a Lamb approaches as slain, the Lion of Judah, and He may break the seals9.
And all the heavens and the earth agree with the praise of the elders!

The Lamb will break the first six seals, but the complete roll is not yet opened.
In all times there have been and will be deceivers, wars, famines and pestilences until the end,
believers will be afflicted, but certainly saved10. When the seventh seal is opened, the end comes.

6:1-2 1st seal: Come! Possibly followed by ‘and see’11. Nothing that happens goes beyond heaven.
The crowned rider, the first, on a white horse is a deceiver12 he will yet drive saints to death13,14. But this rider must now present himself to Jesus who is enthroned next to God. This way the rider knows that his days are numbered.

6:3-4 2nd Seal: Come (and see!) A red horse. A horseman who brings war must show himself to Jesus who is enthroned next to God.

6:5-6 3rd Seal: Come (and see!) A black horse, the rider brings famine and has to show himself to Jesus who is enthroned next to God. His power is limited.

6:7-8 4th seal: Come (and see!) A pale horse brings death. It must show itself to Jesus who is enthroned next to God. His power is limited, the horses and riders kill a quarter of the earth’s inhabitants.

6:9-11 5th seal: Martyrs, at the foot of the cross, cry out “until when before justice is done to us?” All who die in faith before Jesus returns are in heaven. This also applies to believers and martyrs from the OT. They receive a white robe, and hear “rest until your number is full”15, 16.

6:12-17 6th seal 17: the earth is tottering, the heavens are darkened, earthly minded people are very afraid now that the great day of the wrath of God and of the Lamb is announcing itself.

7:1-17 But before this great day continues,  John hears that Israel (that is all believers, 12 Jewish x 12 non-Jewish x very very many) is being sealed. Subsequently he sees them as an innumerable multitude that is saved during the tribulation of the end times. John18 and the assemblies in Asia knew tribulation19,20 believers in e.g. North Korea are experiencing it now. All the sealed come to heaven as victors, clothed in white, made clean in the blood of the Lamb.

It is important to realize that so far when the first six seals are opened, only things that are already happening are shown. It has always been this way since the creation of the world, and it will be so until the end. Only when the seventh seal is opened will the scroll really be opened and a new time can begin.

8:1-4 Seventh seal, silence. Horrifying when heaven no longer makes itself heard for the better. The seven angels who stood before God (4:5) receive trumpets, prayers of the saints go up to God like incense.

8:5 A censer with glowing coals taken from the altar of incense. On it incense that takes all the prayers ever offered and brings them to God like a delicious fragrance. God is now going to do justice. As an announcement of this, fire from the incense altar is thrown to the earth: thunders, lightnings, earthquakes follow, the end is now coming.

III The end in two phases: trumpets announce it,
the pouring out of bowls of wrath (see V) brings the completion

8:6-7 1st trumpet: fire, hail, blood, all the grass and a third of the trees burned21.

8:8-9 2nd trumpet: mountain of fire in the sea, a third of the ships and a third of the life in the sea perish22.

8:10-11 3rd trumpet: a flaming torch falls on the rivers and the water sources 23.

8:12-13 4th trumpet: sun, moon and stars darkened 24, three more Woes will follow!

9:1-12 5th trumpet: 1st woe, terror among men, earthlings in pain and fear, but none of the sealed are affected (verse 4).

9:13-21 6th25 trumpet: 2nd woe, the last ground war, a third of the people die, but earthly minded people do not repent.

Before the seventh trumpet announces the end, there is still a time of grace.

10:1-11 Before completing the end, an angel cries out very loudly. He has an open book in his hand: everyone on earth and sea needs to hear this! Thunderclaps confirm “No more delays.” John receives the booklet from the angel’s hand, he has to prophesy. It concerns the proclamation of ‘the mystery‘ (verse 7), meaning  that the non-Jews, ‘Gentiles’, may also join God’s people in Jesus26. The proclamation stops when the seventh trumpet sounds. Being able to be a prophet is nice, but it also brings pain.

11:1-6 Throughout the end times, believers worship Jesus the Christ/Messiah at the altar, at the cross. Moses (Torah) and Elijah (prophets), i.e. the Scriptures, the OT, speak and testify of this Messiah, day after day, for 1260 days27,28. Those who are not of God’s people trample on the Temple Mount throughout the end time, 42 months29,30. In the year 70 the Jews were scattered all over the earth. Since then, non-believers have been trampling on the Temple Mount. In our time great changes are going on, almost the whole world has been reached with the Gospel and Israel is back in their home country. The question is whether those who live ‘from month to month’ (42 months, those maintaining a month calendar?) will still respond to the daily call to conversion. The indication of the end time with 42 months, 1260 days, is explained after this chapter.

When the testimony stops, the end comes.

11:7-14 When Satan is released31 the testimony stops, that brings the end, the last witnesses are killed, but they rise and are taken up into heaven. A few last ones, probably from Israel (verse 13) who heard the Gospel, humble themselves.

11:15-19 Seventh trumpet, 3rd woe, the end is final. Song of thanks from the elders in the name of all believers. God shows that He was and is faithful by showing the ark of His covenant in heaven. He is now going to do justice, there will be reward and punishment.

In accordance with what Jesus said about his return32 Revelation describes the same course of events so far. Deception comes first, wars, famines, pestilences, always happen, but these do not mean the end. When the Gospel is preached everywhere and Satan is released33, then witnessing is no longer possible, then the end comes. Believers are saved34. There is testimony to the untying of the beast that comes up out of the abyss35. This is where the first main section of Revelation ends. A deepening and repetition follows in the following parts. The final execution of the end is also shown, on the one hand an eternal downfall and on the other hand eternal life. Not a new message, but more insight into the spiritual backgrounds of the final battle. For the explanation of the continuation of Revelation, this first section chapters 1-11 is leading. The end time, from Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to his return, lasts ‘1260 days’, in other words ’42 months’ (Rev. 11:1-2) and in other words ’three and a half years’ as stated later. This time corresponds to what in Daniel 7:2536  and Daniel 12:737 is called a time, times and half a time.

IV Background of all misery: from creation to the end,
Satan fights against Christ and his bride

12:1-6 A woman38, Eve39, Israel40,  Mary41 is in travail. That this woman is still alive and pregnant is a miracle in itself, work of God Who cares about his people and will fulfill what He promised to Abraham42. The serpent, now a fiery red dragon43, is ready to kill the Child as soon as it is born. But the Child44 will be safe in heaven. Then the woman (Israel/assembly) is persecuted, but day after day, 1260 days (end times) is daily fed ‘with manna in the wilderness’45 (she is not dependent on the world around her, she does not have to live on it).

12:7-12 With the coming of the Child, the Lamb, as Victorious in heaven (ascension), the dragon and its demons must be removed. Michael46 and his angels conquer them. The dragon / old serpent / devil / Satan is cast down to the earth with his angels. No more accuser in heaven like told in the story of Job47.

12:13-18 The dragon persecutes the woman (the assembly, the people of God, Israel), but cannot harm her, nor can the nations that are added to her in Jesus Christ. Reliable manuscripts have for verse 18 that not John, but the dragon is standing on the beach48. It is important how ‘standing’  should be understood. It seems to be better to translate passively in the sense that the dragon was placed49 on the beach or came to a standstill50. The dragon has no choice.

“Bound” on the sand by the sea (Revelation 20:1-3), the dragon can only fight the people of God, the assembly, through two henchmen who appear next. He still has only 3 and 1/2 years (the end time). Remember that Satan, a fallen angel, as a creature, can only be in one place and is also bound by time. Furthermore, the sand by the sea had a radically different connotation then than it does now! No people live on barren sand, by the sea, close to the underworld, a nobody’s world.

The sea as an underworld occurs, for example, when the demons are sent away from the possessed person at Gadara. When they were allowed to go into a herd of pigs at their wish, they ended up in the underworld when the pigs plunged into the sea from a steep slope51. Revelation 21:1 shows that later the sea will be no more.

13:1-10 The dragon, the devil, continues his war by raising up a many-headed beast52 from the sea, so head after head, tyrant after tyrant, world rulers of successive empires, appear and the assembly is oppressed. But there are still saints who persevere and are killed are taken up and come to stand with Jesus (Rev. 14).

13:11-18 The dragon (a copycat) also begets a ‘lamb’ on earth, it is a false prophet53 who seduces people to serve all those earthly tyrants. Whoever wants to participate in the world, in buying and selling, is forced to serve and honor the beast from the sea and to bear its mark. The beast is characterized by the number 666, and indicates a human being. Remember that this dragon is also number 6 in the series of 1 to 7. Those who do not participate in 666 will be killed. Gematria can be used to calculate who that might be. In gematria, letters have a numerical value. At that time, Nero was calculated very artificially, via a Hebrew detour. Or is it just 666, the man at the top of his game, who does never reach 777. The Name of Jesus (iesous in Greek) 888 goes beyond that, He has all power in heaven and on earth54.

14:1-5 Despite the efforts of the beast and his prophet, throughout the end time all the sealed believers (Rev. 7, this is also the multitude that cannot be counted) are gathered by the Lamb on ‘Mount Zion’55. They are one with heaven and sing together to the glory of God. All are washed clean56,57 in the blood of the Lamb, they are spotless before the throne of God. All follow the Lamb wherever it goes. They will be all in heaven before the final judgment takes place 58.

14:6-13 Throughout the end times it is proclaimed, “Babylon is falling.” That is unshakable. Therefore, fear God, give Him glory, keep His commandments, believe Jesus, do not be tempted and receive eternal life. He who perseveres and dies in this time is blessed and enters into eternal rest.

14:14-20 And then comes the end of the beast and his followers. The Son of man, (Daniel 7), commands the harvesting of the earth. We don’t read anything about a good harvest, it becomes a massacre of only followers of the beast, because all believers are already in heaven.

V The Final End, The Aftermath of the Trumpet Judgments

15:1-8 All believers stand before God’s throne, they sing the song of Moses59. After the desert journey through the world, they have arrived safely in heaven. Now seven angels with the last plagues leave the temple, the place from which God has warned people and called them to repentance with endless patience until the very end. Their rejection of his love has hurt him so much that now, without pausing (!), bowls full of his wrath will be poured out.

16:1-2 1st bowl: all earthlings (all marked by the beast) get malignant growths60.

16:3 2nd scale: all life in the sea dies61.

16:4-7 3rd scale: all life in the rivers and water sources dies61.

16:8-9 4th scale: the sun becomes a scorching fire, pain unbearable62.

16:10-11 5th Bowl: The kingdom of the (last) beast and its center of power are going down.

16:12-14 6th25 scale, what remains of the world conspires against God one last time, a furious act of desperation, the decisive final battle.

16:15 Reader/hearer of this prophesy be watchful! For who is still on earth then, it would be too late for salvation!

16:16-21 Seventh Bowl: It has come to pass, the final end. Mountains and islands disappear, people die slanderously. The victory of God and of the Lamb has been won.

This is where the second section of Revelation ends, showing the demise of the earth.

The third section, with no new events, shows how Satan, his helpers and his followers are conquered.

VIa Christ Conquers the Beast and the False Prophet

17:1-6 A harlot is shown in the wilderness, and there she seeks out the assembly. She sits on a scarlet beast; She is a false prophetess, the false prophet in female form. She seduces the earth’s inhabitants and wages war against the Saints in vain (see IV). 

17:7-18 The woman symbolizes the capital Babylon of the “last” all-encompassing world empire, which is always in rebellion against God. It is a divided empire and it will destroy itself one day (nuclear war?). Only the Kingdom of God exists eternally.

18:1-3 An angel proclaims the fall of this Babylon, this great temptress.

18:4-8 Reader/Hearer of this prophesy: Get out of Babylon My people, do it now, do not share in her sins and plagues that are coming. Live on the daily manna “in the wilderness” (Rev. 12:1-6). The assembly lives in the world, but is not of the world.  

18:9-20 Merchants, kings, tyrants, all who benefited from their treaty with the rulers of the world will mourn the loss of Babylon. But in heaven all are called to rejoice in this. All injustice and persecution has come to an end.

18:21-24 Symbolically, a very strong angel shows how Babylon will sink into the depths forever, eternal deathly silence and darkness will follow.

19:1-10 But John then hears Hallelujah said 3 times in heaven by a great crowd63. The bride of the Lamb is ready, dressed in immaculate fine linen64. The wedding has come.

19:11-16 Then John sees a Conqueror on a white horse: it is a triumphal procession after the battle. His robe is red with his own blood. His Name: “Word of God”. He, the King of kings, fights with the sword of his mouth. His bride follows Him in the same garment as described in 19:865. All are victors on white horses that have followed the Lamb wherever it goes. Thus they share in his victory (Rev. 14:4).

19:17-21 Again the end is described. John sees how Christ with the sword, the Word of his mouth, has conquered his enemies in the last battle. The beast from the sea and the false prophet from the earth are seized and go into unquenchable fire, all people who follow them are killed and not buried, their flesh is carrion for the birds. They will still be resurrected on the last day (Rev. 20:5).

VIb Christ Conquers Satan

20:1-3 To the end, the beast and the false prophet appeared under the inspiration of Satan/ dragon/ serpent/ devil, “the bound one by the sea” (Rev. 12:18). Thanks to his bondage, the ‘mystery’ (Re 10:7) is accomplished in the end times, which means that non-Jews, ‘Gentiles’ can also join God’s people66. John now sees in a different perspective how the binding of Satan has taken place. This does not take place after the marriage of the Lamb has come (Rev. 19:7), not after God has become King (Rev. 19:6), not after the victory march into heaven has been shown (Rev. 19:11-16) etc. When he is released, the end will come as it says in Rev. 11:7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss,  make war with them and it will conquer them and kill them. The time of being bound, the end-time, is now called a thousand years, for God has much patience67. When John sees  this, it is more than sixty years ago that the Lord Jesus went to heaven. So those three and a half years and those thousand years are not meant literally. Remember, too, that Jesus already had power over demons on earth because He had already bound Satan68.

20:4-6 John sees that overcomers who died in the end times have gone to heaven, it is their first resurrection, there they continue to reign with Christ69 in heaven the same 1000 years. They no longer die. Non-believers who die enter the realm of death. They will rise on the last day to be judged, possibly with a second death.

20:7-9a When Satan is released (just before the 7th trumpet) he blinds Gentiles and incites them to a last senseless attack against the assembly that is already safe in the heavenly Jerusalem.

20:9b-10 Fire from heaven devours all adversaries, and finally Satan is thrown into the lake of unquenchable fire.

20:11-15 The dead (who died in unbelief) are raised and stand before God, for them this is the last judgment70 this means they go either into the fire or into heaven (the elected ones are already in heaven).

VII The eternal Sabbath!
The people of God and of the Lamb live under a new heaven
on a new earth

21:1 No more Satan, no more death or Hades, but no more the old heavens and the earth, and the sea, with all its unpredictable threats, they are no more.

21:2 The bride of Christ, she is the antitype of the harlot Babylon, is shown as the ‘new Jerusalem’. The chosen assembly descends from its temporary sojourn in heaven to the new earth.

21:3-5 God will dwell with his people, making all things new, no more death, no more trouble or sorrow.

21:6-8 (Hearer, reader) It has come to pass. Are you thirsty? Drink of the living water, conquer, do not be cowardly, disbeliever, unclean, idolater, etc., or you will enter the lake of fire.

21:8-26 The beauty of the bride of Christ is shown with the image of a city, the new Jerusalem, antitype of the city of Babylon, the harlot. The bride is perfect and of the supreme beauty. All Israel, the assembly, is saved. Whoever enters through one of the four gates, coming from east, north, south or west, from anywhere, will have to bear the name of ‘Zion’s children’. That is to say, incorporated into Israel71,72. Note the repetition of 144 in the size of the wall, together with the 12 foundations and 12 gates all pointing to the complete assembly of God’s elected and called out people, see also Revelation 7.

21:27 In it (the chosen assembly) there is nothing unclean, no one who does abomination, etc., only those that are written in the book of the Lamb. In this way the assembly remains clean forever.

22:1 The assembly lives by the stream of living water that springs from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

22:2 The tree of life in Greek stands for the wood of life (xulon – wood and not dendron – tree). That is the cross. This brings eternal life, also for the believing non-Jews.

22:3-5 There everything is perfect.

Epilogue

22:6-16 Final warnings, promises and exhortations: “Behold, I am coming quickly”.

22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

22:18-20 Leave this book intact. Jesus concludes with: Yes, I am coming soon.

John concludes:

Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!

contact: kees@simpelkees.nl

  1. Re 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! [↩]
  2. Nowhere in the NT does the Holy Spirit greet an assembly. Once He is mentioned as a wish in the final greeting in 2 Corinthians 13:13. Paul prays to the assembly the fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Paul is concerned about this assembly whether they still obey the Holy Spirit. See e.g. 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith, test yourselves. Or do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you? Or it must be that you are reprehensible in any way.” [↩]
  3. 2 Cor 2:14 And thanks be to God, who always makes us triumphant in Christ, and through us reveals the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God a sweet odor of Christ, among those who are saved and among those who perish; 16 to the latter a fragrance of death,  it leads to death, but for the first a fragrance of life, which leads to life. [↩]
  4. the New Testament uses ekklesia for the community of believers, which means “called-out ones” or assembly of people. The word church stems from the Greek word kuriakè which is never used in the Bible. Etymologically, church refers to the building rather than the community of believers, although in modern English it has both meanings. [↩]
  5. the basic structure of Revelation shows that in the sixth there is always talk of the end of the world [↩]
  6. note the plural, all assemblies must hear and think about this, even today! The assemblies do not represent ages. [↩]
  7. Rev. 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and to them seven trumpets were given [↩]
  8. never pin Revelation on one text, for the elders, as will be seen, will do more than this [↩]
  9. The elders sing: You have been slain and have bought us for God with Your blood, from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. And you have made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign as kings over the earth [↩]
  10. Luke 21:8 And He said, Take heed that you are not deceived, for many will come in My name and say, I am the Christ, and, The time is at hand. Then don’t go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and all kinds of riots, do not be afraid. For these things must come to pass first, but that does not mean the end. 10 Then he said to them, “One nation will rise against another nation, and one kingdom against another kingdom; 11 And there will be great earthquakes in different places, famines, and contagious diseases. There will also be terrible things and great signs from heaven [↩]
  11. For further explanation, see Rev 6:1, of all the books of the Bible, Revelation has the most variations in the original text. Texts that are difficult to understand are often ‘improved’ by copyists. [↩]
  12. Luke 21:8 And He said, Take heed that you are not deceived, for many will come in My Name and say, I am the Christ, and, The time is near. Then don’t go after them. [↩]
  13. Re 13:7 And power was given unto the beast to make war with the saints and to conquer them, and power was given to him over every tribe, tongue, and people. [↩]
  14. Re 13:15 And to him the false prophet power was given to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak, and cause all who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. [↩]
  15. 2 Pet. 3:9 The Lord does not delay the promise (as some consider it slowness), but He is patient with us, and does not want any to perish, but all to repent. [↩]
  16. Matt. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a testimony to all nations; and then shall the end come. [↩]
  17. the basic structure of Revelation shows that in the sixth there is always reference to the coming end of the world [↩]
  18. Re 1:9 John is a party in the tribulation [↩]
  19. John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good courage: I have overcome the world. [↩]
  20. 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not let the heat of tribulation among you, which serves for your trial, surprise you, as if something strange had happened to you. [↩]
  21. nuclear bombs on earth?? Bernhard-Philberth 1st edition: 1963 [↩]
  22. Bernhard-Philberth nuclear bombs at sea? [↩]
  23. Bernhard-Philberth nuclear bombs? [↩]
  24. Bernhard-Philberth because of all the dust? [↩]
  25. the basic structure of Revelation shows that at the sixth there is always talk of the coming end of the world [↩] [↩]
  26. see also Revelation 20:3 He threw Satan into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore [↩]
  27. John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for you think you have eternal life by them, and they are the ones who bear witness of Me. [↩]
  28. Luke 16:29 Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. [↩]
  29. Luke 21:24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken captive among all the Gentiles. And Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. [↩]
  30. So it seems that after this comes the end, i.e. no new temple, no new Jerusalem on earth [↩]
  31. Revelation 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth [↩]
  32. e.g. Matthew 24:4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me [↩]
  33. Matthew 24:11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. [↩]
  34. Rev. 7:9 After this I saw this: an immense multitude, which no man could number, from all nations and peoples, from every tribe and tongue. Dressed in white and with palm branches in their hands, they stood before the throne and before the lamb. 10 They cried out loudly, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne, and from the lamb!” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne, and the elders and the four creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne and worshiped God 12 saying, “Amen! Praise, majesty and wisdom, thanks and honor and power and power are ours, forever. Amen.’ 13 One of the elders said to me, “Who are these in white, and where do they come from? 14 I answered, “You know it yourself, sir.” He said to me, “These are the ones who endured the great tribulation. They have laundered their clothes with the blood of the lamb. 15 So they stand before God’s throne and are in his temple day and night to worship him. And He who sits on the throne will dwell with them. 16 Then they will no longer be hungry or thirsty, the sun will no longer sting them, and the heat will not overtake them. 17 For the lamb in the midst of the throne will shepherd them, will lead them to the fountains of life. And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes [↩]
  35. Rev 11:1 Then I was given a reed as a measuring stick, with the command: ‘Take the measurements of God’s temple and of the altar, and count those who worship God there. 2 You must skip the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, for it is intended for the Gentiles, who will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 I will commission my two witnesses to prophesy. For twelve hundred and sixty days they will do so, wrapped in a penitential garment.’ …. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and it will conquer them and kill them! [↩]
  36. Daniel 7:25 He will speak words against the Most High, and destroy the saints of the Most High; he will seek to change his times and law, and they will be given into his power for a time and times and half a time; [↩]
  37. 7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen and above the waters of the river swear by Him who lives forever, lifting up his right hand and his left hand to heaven: A time, times, and half a time; and when the crushing of the power of the holy people comes to an end,  then all these things will be finished. [↩]
  38. the woman is number 1 in a series from 1 to 7 [↩]
  39. Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; That shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.), Sarah ((Genesis 12:14 And it came to pass, as soon as Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her, and they commended her to Pharaoh. Therefore, the woman was taken to the pharaoh’s house. Genesis 17:21 But I will make my covenant with Isaac, the son whom Sarah will bear to you next year at this appointed time. [↩]
  40. Exodus 1:22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All the sons that are born you must throw into the Nile, but all the daughters you may live.” [↩]
  41. Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, seeing that he had been deceived by the wise men, became terribly angry. He sent soldiers out and killed all the children who were in Bethlehem and throughout that area, two years old and below, according to the time he had carefully inquired of the wise men. [↩]
  42. Genesis 19:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him [↩]
  43. the dragon is number 2 in the sequence from 1 to 7 [↩]
  44. the Child is number 3 in the series of 1 to 7 [↩]
  45. John 6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna and died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. [↩]
  46. Michael is number 4 in the series of 1 to 7 [↩]
  47. Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land 11. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”! [↩]
  48. A copyist has changed the Greek estathē to estathēn. For example, he has made it ‘I stood on the sand of the sea’, but the most reliable manuscripts have estathē, he ‘stood’, see KJV 51 [↩]
  49. same root word in: Mark 13:9b and you will be placed before governors and kings (estathē) for My sake, as a testimony to them. [↩]
  50. same root in: Matt 2: 9b And behold, the star which they had seen in the east preceded them, until it came to stand over the place (estathē) where the Child was. [↩]
  51. Luke 8:30 Jesus asked him, What is your name? He said, “Legion; for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him not to command them to go into the abyss (Greek: abussos). [↩]
  52. this beast is number 5 in the series of 1 to 7 [↩]
  53. his prophet is number 6 in a series of 1 to 7 [↩]
  54. The desire to know the meaning of 666 exactly may be motivated to get a better grip on the time in which one lives. It is known from psychology that people need control and predictability in times of crisis. This includes wanting to know more precisely when Jesus will return. In that sense, it is a tempting number. But Jesus comes back like a thief in the night, and only by living in full trust with Him will a believer never be surprised by his return. If God finds it necessary for His children to recognize the beast, He will certainly take care of it. 666 can become an idol, you then draw attention to a seducer and not to the Leader of life.. [↩]
  55. the Lamb is number 7 in the series from 1 to 7, He is the conqueror [↩]
  56. 1 Corinthians 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption [↩]
  57. Ephesians 5:27, that He might set her before Him in glory, an assembly without blemish, or wrinkle, or anything like that. [↩]
  58. Matthew 24:30 Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.. [↩]
  59. Deuteronomy 31:30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel, until they were completed… [↩]
  60. radiation after the nuclear war? Bernhard-Philberth [↩]
  61. fallout? Bernhard-Philberth [↩] [↩]
  62. atmosphere completely disturbed? Bernhard-Philberth [↩]
  63. it is the first time in the NT that Hallelujah occurs at a similar occasion (!) as in Psalm 104:35 May sinners vanish from the world. May there no longer be any wicked people. Praise the Lord, my soul! Hallelujah! (GOD’S WORD Translation) [↩]
  64. in Greek bussinos, it is the finest linen growing in Egypt [↩]
  65. it is not a host of angels [↩]
  66. Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus to you who are Gentiles, 2 if you have heard of the distribution of the grace of God that has been given to me on your behalf,  3 that he has made known to me by revelation this mystery (as I have written briefly before; 4 by which, if you read this, you may perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other times was not made known to the children of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit,  6 namely, that the Gentiles are joint heirs, and belong to the same body, and are partakers of his promise in Christ, through the gospel, 7 of which I have become a minister, by virtue of the gift of the grace of God which has been given me, according to the operation of his power. 8 Me, the least of all saints, have been given this grace, to proclaim among the Gentiles through the gospel the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to enlighten all, that they may understand the communion of the mystery which has been hidden throughout the ages in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ,  10 Now that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the assembly to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which he has made in Christ Jesus our Lord. [↩]
  67. 2 Pet. 3:8 But above all, let not this escape you, beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord does not delay the promise (as some consider it to be inertia),  but he is patient with us, and does not want any to perish, but all to be converted. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Then the heavens will pass away with a noise and the elements will be burning, and the earth and the works in it will be burned. [↩]
  68. Mark 3:27 No one can enter the house of a strong man and rob his household goods, unless he first binds the strong one (Satan), and then he can plunder his house. [↩]
  69. Re 3:21 He who overcomes will sit with me on my throne, just as I myself overcame and sit with my Father on his throne. [↩]
  70. Matthew 25:31-46 [↩]
  71. Isaiah 56:6 And the strangers who join the LORD to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants; all who keep the Sabbath, so that they do not profane it, and who hold fast to My covenant:  7 I will also bring them to My holy mountain, and I will make them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be pleasing on My altar. For My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. 8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts from Israel, says, “I will gather more to him besides those who have already been gathered to him.” [↩]
  72. Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. [↩]