Revelation - The Age of the Apocalypse

The Age of the Apocalypse

“The World Ruled by Satan!”
Revelation 8:1-12:17

 “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (the Day of the Lord – the time of Tribulation) will not come unless the falling away comes first, (apostasy) and the man of sin (the Antichrist) is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he (the Antichrist) may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He (the Holy Spirit) who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one (the Antichrist) will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8)

   When the Holy Spirit ceases to restrain the rise of evil, the antichrist will take control of most of the world, be killed, Satan will inhabit his body, and for the last 1260 days of this age, i.e., until Jesus returns to the earth and destroys him, he will rule the whole world.

• WWI during the Tribulation is the final phase of what will begin as WWIII at least three years before the tribulation begins.
• Ezekiel 39:9 says the Jews will spend seven years burning the weapons of war, yet the Book of Revelation says the Antichrist will run the Jews out of Israel midway of the Tribulation, so the wars must begin at least 3 ½ years before the Tribulation begins.
• Part of that first war may be described in Psalm 83 as Israel’s Arab neighbors will unite to destroy her. However, God will intervene and all but destroy those nations.

• This may allow Israel to believe they are at peace, which will lead to the Gog Magog war described in Ezekiel 38-39.
• Those same Arab nations will ask Russia for help, and since Russia wants Israel’s oil, they will be happy to oblige.
• However, God will again intervene in a miraculous way, and not only will the invading armies be destroyed, but the nations from which the armies came will also be destroyed.
• The WWI of the Tribulation is the war that John described in Revelation 6 with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

1. The Silence in Heaven Respected — Revelation 8:1-5 – “When He opened the seventh seal, there was a silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.”

• When the Living Creatures in heaven see what God is about to do on the earth, John said all creation will stand in silence because nothing like this has ever happened before.
• Human leaders will rise and fall within each generation, but this one will dare to wage war against God Himself, and the heavenly host will stand aghast.
• See Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 8:3

2. The Seven Trumpets Recorded — Revelation 8:6-11:19

As each angel blew his trumpet, John saw terrifying plagues unfold, and he used powerful symbolic language to try to describe what he was witnessing.

• First Trumpet: Hail and fire mingled with blood will cause all the grass on earth and a third of the trees to be burned up (Revelation 8:7).
• Second Trumpet: A great mountainous burning object will be thrown into the earth’s oceans, causing one-third of them to become blood, one-third of sea life to die and one-third of the ships to be destroyed (verses 8-9).
• Third Trumpet: John saw a burning star fall from heaven on sources of fresh water, causing the water to become bitter and kill many (verses 10-11).
• Fourth Trumpet: The light of the sun, moon, and stars upon the earth will be diminished by a third (verse 12).
• Fifth Trumpet (also called the first woe): What John described as an unusual type of locust was, most likely, a type of military aircraft that will inflict intensely painful stings upon humans for five months (Revelation 9:1-12).
• Sixth Trumpet (also called the second woe): Four angels will be released to kill one-third of the earth’s remaining population via an army of 200 million (verses 13-19).

   John took another parenthesis in the last part of chapter 10 and the first part of chapter 11 as he saw another mighty Angel coming down out of heaven, and looking at John’s seven-fold description of this angel’s appearance, we can only conclude that it was the Lord Jesus.

• John was told to take the book that was in the hand of the angel and to eat it – that while it would be sweet to taste, it would be bitter in his stomach.
• What John consumed was the rest of God’s judgment upon the earth – sweet, in that it was about over, bitter, in that His judgment would now turn to the Jews.
• John was told to survey the temple and those who worshipped in it, and neither measured up to God’s standards.
• John was told of the two witnesses that will prophecy for 1,260 days, during which time there will be no rain.
• After they finish their work, they will be killed, and their bodies will lay in the street for 3 ½ days, but then, they will be resurrected from the dead and ascend into the heavens.

• Seventh Trumpet (also called the third woe): As this trumpet is sounding, voices in heaven will say, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15). This seventh trumpet also includes the seven last plagues.
• There is great rejoicing in heaven, for they know the end is near. Very soon:
• Evil will be destroyed forever, the curse of sin will be removed, and there will be peace on earth for a while.
• The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of the Lord.
• The universal reign of Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords will begin.
• The nations will rise in anger because of the destruction that has come upon the earth to destroy their way of life.
• They will see the resurrection of the wicked and the rewards given to the saints,
• They will see the temple of God and the ark of the covenant for the last time, as it will not be visible during the millennium, for Jesus will be on His throne.
• They will see the lightning and the earthquakes and hear the final claps of thunder as the Lord Jesus sets His feet on the Mount of Olives from which He ascended 2000 years ago.

3. The Satanic Passion Revealed — Revelation 12:1-17 –

• • God’s glorious plans for our redemption have been revealed.
  • Satan’s evil plan to eradicate all who remind him of God has been revealed.
  • Verse 1-4 – “Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.”
  • The sign of the woman is symbolic of the nation of Israel from whom Christ came according to the flesh.
  • The sign of the dragon is symbolic of Satan, who has tried to destroy the Jewish people.
  • The child refers to Jesus, the God-sent Messiah.
  • Satan knows the promised seed of the woman who will crush his head will come through the nation of Israel.
  • This is why he tried to destroy Jesus at His birth, during His time in the wilderness, at various times during His ministry, and just before He went to the cross,
  • This is why he has continually tried to destroy the nation of Israel and why he continues to attack Israel today, for he knows that is where Jesus will soon return to establish His kingdom, and then destroy him forever.
  • Verse 7-8 – “War broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.”
  • Before the Lord returns to the earth, Michael the Archangel and Satan, the fallen angel, will enter into battle in heaven.
  • Michael will lead God’s angels to victory, and Satan will lead his followers in rebellion and defeat.
  • Verse 9 – “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
  • Verse 12 – “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them,” – believers standing at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
  • Verse 12-14 – “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”
  • Satan’ final assault against the throne of God is to persecute the Jewish remnant, but God has prepared a place (Petra) where the Jews can go to escape Satan’s wrath, where He will protect them and provide for them for the last 1,260 days of this age, and where He will present Himself to them.