The End…the Beginning

We have reached the final chapter of Revelation. I will break it down into sections.

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

At the beginning of this chapter, we are still with John as the angel is showing him the New Jerusalem. John sees a river of the water of life flowing from God’s throne. This is eternal life that comes from knowing God. There will be a tree of Life on each side of this river bearing twelve crops of fruit. Since we will no longer rely on the sun in the sky to show us the changing months of the year. The crops of the tree will designate the months. The leaves of the tree will be for the healing of nations, unlike the leaves Adam used to cover himself after eating from the original tree. No longer will there be any curse, the curse that Adam brought down on mankind is gone. All those in the city will serve God and reign forever.

John and the Angel

⁶ The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”   ⁷ “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. ⁹ But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
¹⁰ Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

The angel speaks to John and tells him that these words are true and he has been tasked with showing John the events that would transpire soon. “Look, I am coming soon” Jesus will return. “Blessed is the one that keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll” this is a call to faithfulness. John, feeling overwhelmed, falls at the feet of the angel to worship him, but the angel stops him and directs him to worship only God. Unlike earlier, John is told not to seal up the words of prophecy written on the scroll. He is told that the time is near when the prophecies in the scroll will come to pass. He is also told that sinners will continue to sin and believers will continue to believe, even with the words of this prophecy available.

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.   ¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you^[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Now we see the words of Jesus saying that He is coming soon. He will come in a blink of an eye
⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed 1Corinthians 15:51-52
He will bring to each believer their reward, their crowns according to what they have done.
Crown of Righteousness
⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Incorruptible Crown (Victor’s Crown)
²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Crown of Life (Martyr’s Crown)
¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Revelation 2:10
Crown of Rejoicing (Soul Winner’s Crown)
¹⁹ For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? ²⁰ Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
Crown of Glory (Shepherd’s Crown)
¹ To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:1-4
Jesus then reiterates that He is the first and last, the Alpha and Omega, He is sovereign.
Those that wish to enter the Holy city and have eternal life must wash their robes. They must become followers of Jesus and be made pure. Jesus tells John that He has sent the angel to give John this revelation. Jesus names Himself as the Jewish Messiah.
Now the reader is beckoned to become a believer and accept the gift of eternal life that has been paid for by the blood of Jesus for you.
Now there is a warning not to add or take away from the words written in this prophecy. Those who preach it or write commentaries or the readers themselves have a responsibility to keep the words of this prophecy whole. They are not to add things to it and they are not to take parts out.
As a final exhortation to the reader, Jesus reminds them that He is coming soon. Amen or so be it. The writer ends with a plea to Jesus to return…”Come Lord Jesus” the Aramaic word is Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with us all. Amen.

Maranatha!

A New Heaven and a New Earth

The final judgment is over. Those that did not trust God for their salvation have been thrown into the Lake of Fire.
¹ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

John now sees a new heaven and a new earth. The old earth is gone. You can tell that the new earth is not the same as the old earth because the new earth has no sea. The new Jerusalem descends from heaven and a loud voice proclaims that God’s will now dwell among his people. There will be no more death or suffering. God says that He is making everything new and tells John to write down what He is about to say. God proclaims that “it is done” which inidicates that something has reached completion. Whether it is the events from the creation of Adam until now or whether He means the completion of the new heaven and earth. God proclaims that He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, which testifies to the sovereignty of God. He will give the thristy water from the spring of life. God will give those who follow Him eternal life. Those that followed Him will receive eternal life and be eternally children of God. Those that chose not to believe, and here is listed some things that would comprise the wicked of the earth, they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, the second death.

The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb
⁹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶ The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia^[c] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ¹⁷ The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits^[d] thick.^[e] 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.^[f] 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Now one of the angels that had been in charge of one of the seven bowl judgments tells John to come with him and he will be shown the New Jerusalem; the bride of the Lamb. John is taken away in spirit to see the Holy City descending. His first impression is that it shines with the glory of God and it was brilliant like jasper but clear as crystal.  The city has twelve gates and there are twelve angels guarding the twelve gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on each side of the city.The walls of the city had twelve foundations and on these were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Now the angel brings out a measuring rod and gives John the measurements of the city. John describes the city, the walls are made of jasper and the city made of gold, the foundations of the city walls were decorated with precious stones; jasper, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, ruby, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, turquoise, jacinth and amethyst. The twelve gates were created out of a single pearl for each gate and the streets were made of gold.
John says that he did not see a temple in the city because God and Jesus are its temple. The sun and moon do not need to shine on the city because the glory of God and the Lamb is its light.  The gates will never close indicates that the time will be of complete safety. No one that is wicked will ever enter it.

The Millenium and Judgment

As we continue our study of Revelation we continue where we left off. The armies of the world are defeated and the Beast and False Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire.

¹ And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
⁴ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They^[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

An angel descends from heaven with the key to the abyss and a huge chain. The angel binds Satan with the chain and imprisons him in the abyss for one thousand years. The purpose of this binding is so that he can’t deceive the nations for the period of his binding. After the binding time is completed, he is let loose for a short time.
Now John sees thrones and those that were seated on them given authority to judge.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
we will also reign with him. 2 Timothy 2:11-12
All those that did not receive the mark of the Beast and died or were raptured will reign over the survivors of the Tribulation that came to believe in Christ. Those that came through the Tribulation will live their lives under the rule of Christ from the New Jerusalem. They will marry and have children, but those that put their trust in Christ will live throughout the entire millenium period. Even living under the rule of the living God many people will still choose not to follow him. I believe Isaiah alludes to this
²⁰ “Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach^[a] a hundred    will be considered accursed. Isaiah 65:20
I believe that the people living during this time will have until the age of 100 to make the decision to follow Christ. Those that choose not to follow him will die before 100 and will await the final judgment at the end of the millenium.
Those that died from the beginning of time will not be resurrected until after this millenial period is over. They will be raised at that time to face their final judgment.

The Judgment of Satan

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

After the thousand years, Satan is released to once more go throughout the earth and try to raise up the nations against God. Many that had not chosen to follow Christ will follow Satan at this time and attempt to battle God. Fire comes down from Heaven and destroys them. Satan is finally judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire forever.

The Judgment of the Dead

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The millenium is over, Satan has been judged and thrown into Hell. Now comes the final resurrection. All those that died without believing in Jesus are now raised to face their judgement. Since they did not accept the free gift of salvation that was offered to all with Christ’s death on the cross they were judged according to their deeds.
¹⁰ As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;  Romans 3:10
Since they had not believed in Christ, their names had been blotted out from the book of life. Anyone who’s name was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i]through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26

Celebration of the Fall of Babylon

Chapter 19 continues the chapters about Babylon. She has been defeated and we now see Heaven celebrating her fall.

¹ After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
² for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
³ And again they shouted:
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
⁴ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both great and small!”
⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
⁸ Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
¹⁰ At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

There is a celebration in heaven at the fall of Babylon. Those in heaven praise God for His judgment of Babylon. Her sins are announced and her judgment pronounced. All those in heaven praise God, calling out Hallelujah! for they know that the wedding of the lamb is about to happen and the bride is ready. She is dressed in fine linen, she has been made righteous. The bride is the church. The angel tells John to write that Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb. All those who have become believers since the rapture are invited to the celebration. They have been made righteous and are blessed. John is overwhelmed and falls at the angels feet to worship him, the angel admonished him and tells him to worship only God.

The Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”^[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:   KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”
¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

Now heaven is opened, the final battle is about to begin. We see a white horse similar to Revelation 6:2 ( I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.) The previous horse represented the Beast, this horse stands in contrast to the first horse, the rider of this horse comes to fight the Beast. The name of the rider is Faithful and True, which identifies Him as Jesus. (¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. Revelation 3:14) He judges and wages war with justice, He is the judge of all the earth. 
His eyes are like blazing fire (⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  Revelation 1:14)
On His head are many crowns, signifying that He is the King of Kings.
There is a name written on Him that no one knows but Himself.
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood ( ¹ Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?   “It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”
² Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
³ “I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.  Isaiah 63:1-3)
This signifies that the rider is no stranger to battle.
His name is the Word of God, referring to the revealed will of God. Christ returning to fight the enemies of God will now be fulfilling the gospel.
Behind this rider are the armies of heaven, clothed in linen on white horses. The plural being used for armies would indicate that there is more than one army following Jesus at this time. The first army would be the raptured believers. (14 They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings–and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Revelation 17:14)
The second army will be God’s angels ( ⁶ God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)
Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword (¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12) so He may strike down nations and rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the wrath of God. (
¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ²⁰ They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.^{[c] Revelation 14:17-20)
On His robe and thigh are written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is another title that is given to the rider. 
Now an angel standing in the sun calls the birds of the earth to gather to eat the flesh of men and horses. The birds are told they will eat the flesh of kings, commanders, mighty men, horses, riders  and all men. This signifies that no one will be left out. When the nations gather for the final battle, all will be there and will be defeated. 
Then John sees the Beast and the armies of the earth ready to make war against Jesus.
The Beast and his false prophet are seized and thrown alive into the lake of fire. The rest of the armies are killed by the sword, the Word of God, that comes from the rider. Those that are killed must await their judgment at a later time. And we see the birds of the earth feasting on the remains of the battle.} 

Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast

In chapter Seventeen, we get a more in depth description on Babylon. We know it will be utterly destroyed as we saw in chapter fourteen, but we never received a full description of what Babylon is and why she must be destroyed.

¹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ²With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
³ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵ The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. ⁷ Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
⁹ “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ¹¹The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³ They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

One of the angels that was in charge of one of the seven bowls of judgment comes to John and tells him to come with him and see the punishment of Babylon. John is taken to the wilderness where he sees a woman sitting on a scarlet Beast, covered in blasphemous names with seven heads and ten horns. We know that this is the Antichrist because he is described in this way in Revelation 13:1. Now the woman is described as being dressed in purple and scarlet with gold, precious stones and pearls. Purple and scarlet are colors that only the extremely wealthy can afford and is usually associated with kings or rulers. The gold and gems and pearls signify extreme luxury and wealth. She is identified by the name written on her forehead, Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. He calls her Babylon, but makes clear that this is not the original city of Babylon, but a new version. Calling her the mother of prostitutes means that she leads other cities to prostitute themselves to the Beast and worship him. Her adultery with the Beast is compared to wine with which she has made the inhabitants of the earth intoxicated. Her own drunkenness comes from the blood of the saints, those that worshiped
Jesus.
John appears astonished, but the angel tells John that he will explain the mystery. He describes the Beast as one who once was, now is not, and yet will come. He describes the Beasts seven heads as seven hills on which the woman sits. The city on seven hills is well known to represent Rome. The Beast is described as being the eighth king, someone in the line of Roman emperors, possibly a second Nero, since he will be like Nero in character. We can take from this that the Antichrist is the seven headed Beast, but he is also the eighth king. The ten horns are ten kings who currently do not have a kingdom, but will be given one to rule for a short time under the Beast. Their purpose is to hand over their power to the Beast. Together with the Beast they will wage war against the Lamb. These kings are probably the Kings of the East from chapter 16:12, or the Kings of the whole world, chapter 16:14-16, who gather for battle at Armageddon. They will be defeated by the Lamb and His faithful followers.
Then the angel interrupts the scene of battle to describe the water where the prostitute sits. The waters are the peoples, multitudes, nations and languages, which represents her control over the whole world. Now we see dissension, the Beast and the ten horns hate the prostitute and will destroy her. We had earlier seen that the ten kings had one purpose, now the angel tells us that God is using them for His own purpose, to hand over their authority to the Beast until God’s words are fulfilled. God uses their evil purposes to ultimately defeat them.

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

The interlude is over, and now the stage is set for the final judgments on the earth. In chapter 16 we will see God’s final judgments poured out on the earth.
²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.  Matthew 24:22
The final judgments will be for a short time because they are so terrible, no one would survive if they went on for too long.

¹ Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
² The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
³ The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵ Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
you who are and who were;
⁶ for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
⁷ And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.”
⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. ⁹ They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony ¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. ¹³ Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
¹⁵ “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
¹⁶ Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸ Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. ¹⁹ The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰ Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. ²¹ From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,^[a] fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

The time has now come for the angels to pour out the seven bowls of God’s judgment. In the last chapter, we see that all is prepared and the angels are given the bowls of wrath. Now we hear a voice tell the angels to go and pour out the bowls on the earth. These bowl judgments are referred to as plagues, and they seem to parallel the plagues of Moses on Egypt.
The first bowl is poured out and all those that have the mark of the Beast break out in festering sores.
⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. ⁹ It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.” Exodus 9:8

The second bowl is poured out onto the sea, the sea turns to blood and everything in the sea dies.
The third bowl is poured out on the rivers and streams and they too turn to blood.
¹⁹ The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels^[a] of wood and stone.” Exodus 7:19

The fourth bowl is then poured out on the sun. The sun scorches people, but they still refuse to repent and turn to God.
¹⁸ Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. ¹⁹Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’” Exodus 9:18
This plague seems to be on the forces of nature which are turned against man.

The fifth bowl is poured out on the throne of the Beast and brings darkness. This seems to indicate that Babylon, the throne of the Beast will be plunged into an unnatural darkness, that was so pervasive that people went crazy with fear. The darkness is like being in a sensory deprivation chamber, you can almost feel the darkness pressing down on you.
²¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.”  Exodus 10:21

The sixth bowl is poured out on the Euphrates river and it dries up in preparation for the final battle of Armageddon. The kings of the east, representing all the kings of the world; will be able to march their troops to the plains of Megiddo for the final battle. We also see evil spirits, represented as frogs that come from the mouth of the Dragon (Satan), the Beast (Antichrist) and the False Prophet. These evil spirits will go throughout the world and gather the kings of the world for the final battle.
⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” Exodus 8:5

Now we hear the voice of Jesus. ¹⁵ “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. I Thessalonians 5:2
Jesus is urging the reader to repent and to turn to Jesus before it is too late.

Now the final bowl of God’s judgment is poured out into the air. A loud voice from heaven says “it is done”. There is incredible thunder and lightning and the largest earthquake ever in mankind’s history rips Babylon into three parts. All the other great cities of the world are destroyed. Every mountain and every island is destroyed. Giant hailstones fall to the earth and the people cursed God instead of repenting.

The Seven Bowl Judgments

In chapter 15, we reach the prelude to the final series of judgments, the bowl judgments. After these judgments are carried out, the pouring out of God’s wrath on the earth will be complete. These are the final judgments on the earth before the return of Jesus.

 ¹ I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. ² And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God ³and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
   “Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.^[a]
4 Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”^[b]
 5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. ⁶ Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. ⁷ Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. ⁸ And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.


John is still writing from his vantage point in heaven. John first sees seven angels with the final plagues for the earth standing in God’s throne room. John then sees the sea of glass that he had described seeing in God’s throne room in Revelation chapter 4. The glowing fire is the final wrath of God against the earth. Standing on or besides the sea (depending on which translation you read) are those that are victorious over the Beast. These represent the church that had been raptured before the tribulation, and the dead in Christ that have risen at this point, also all those that had been martyred for believing in Christ during the tribulation period. They have been given harps, and sing the song of Moses and the lamb. Worshiping God and Jesus.
 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
   “I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea. Exodus 15:1
This is a song of joyful deliverance. Moses sang this song when Israel was delivered from Pharoah’s armies, and the saints will be singing it at this point because we are delivered from Satan and his Beast. 


Now we return out of the interlude to the moment when the seven trumpet judgments have ended. 
¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm. Revelation 11:19
Now the final judgments are ready to be carried out on the earth. The seven angels that are in charge of the bowl judgments come out of the temple of God. They receive their bowls from one of the four living creatures that are around the throne of God. The final judgment of God is now ready to be poured out on the earth. 

The Lamb and the 144,000

In chapter 14, John describes the end of the vision, and gives an explanation of why it is necessary. This vision has four parts.

¹ Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. ³ And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. ⁵ No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.


In the first part of the vision John sees the end result of the conflict between God and Satan. Jesus is victorious, standing on Mount Zion. Zion was the name of the mountain on which David built the earthly Jerusalem centuries before. With Him are the 144,000. This includes the 144,000 Israelites from chapter 7:1-8 and the great multitude that no one could count from chapter 7:9-17. They are identified as those redeemed from the earth. There is a sound like harps and John hears the 144,000 singing a song that only they can sing. They are described as virgins, because they did not commit adultery by worshiping other gods. They are described as firstfruits of the harvest. 
¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:18


The Three Angels
 ⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
 ⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’^[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
 ⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
 ¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
   “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”


In the second part of the vision, John sees three angels flying through the air. These angels are messengers of the arrival of judgment to the earth. The first angel proclaims that all should fear God and give Him glory because the hour of judgment has come. The peoples on earth had been worshiping the Beast up until this point. They had refused to acknowledge Christ as their redeemer, but now they would have to bow down to God, the creator of all things. 
The second angel announces the final fall of Babylon, who is likened to a prostitute. We will discuss more about Babylon in chapter 17-18.
The third angel pronounces the punishment that awaits anyone that received the mark of the Beast on their hand or forehead. Anyone that received the mark has given their allegiance to the Beast. They will receive the punishment of God’s anger and they will be punished with burning sulfur forever. 


The third part of the vision is an appeal to all people to stay faithful to Jesus. All those who die from John’s time until the end are blessed and will rest.


Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress
 ¹⁴ I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man^[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. ¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ²⁰ They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.^[c]




Now the final part of the vision plays out. This is a vision in two parts. In the first part John sees one like the son of man seated on a cloud with a crown on His head and a sickle in His hand. An angels comes out of the temple and announces that the time to reap has come. The angel swings His sickle and harvests the earth. This angel could be Jesus and this scene could be describing the rapture. Jesus is waiting for the time decided upon by God. 
³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f] but only the Father. Matthew 24:36
This could also be an angel with a special mission. The 24 elders described earlier also wore gold crowns. This harvest could describe the final judgment of God on the earth. We are not told what the first harvest is.
In the second part of the vision another angel emerges from the temple with a sickle. An angel that is in charge of the fire tells him to harvest the grapes. This is the harvesting of the wicked, since we are told that the grapes were thrown into the wine press of God’s wrath. We are told that they were  trampled in the winepress outside the city, which correlates to the final battle on the plains of Armageddon, or Har Megiddo. Megiddo is located in the plain of  Jezreel, a valley southwest of Nazareth. Here, it is thought by many, that the great final battle of Armageddon will be fought at the end of time. The final description is of the valley flowing with blood to the height of a horse’s bridle for about 200 miles. This depicts the magnitude of the final battle. 

The Beast

In chapter thirteen we are introduced to the Beast. The Beast is the Antichrist. This is the most widely known aspect of the end times and is featured in books and movies and music. Popular movies include the Omen series of movies and the Iron Maiden song, the Number of the Beast. The Antichrist has been made a horror story villain and most people relegate him to fiction along with Michael Myers and Freddie Krueger. Unfortunately, unlike these villains the Antichrist is real and will one day rise to power. Let’s look at chapter thirteen and see how the Bible describes the Antichrist.

¹ The dragon^[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ² The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. ⁴ People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. ⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. ⁸ All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.^[b]
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
¹⁰ “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed^[c] with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”^[d]
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

Let’s take a look at the first half of chapter thirteen. A Beast arises out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on each head. The sea described here represents the gentile nations of the world, and the fact that the Beast rises out of the sea means that he will come to power politically. The heads represent dominion and the ten horns are a world government, the blasphemous names mean that these governments deny the true God. We have seen these horns mentioned in Daniel.

⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. Daniel 7:7-8
²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^{[b] Daniel 7:23-25}

Now the Beast is described as resembling a leopard with feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. These represent the first three world powers that ruled before the fourth, which is the Beast. These powers were represented in Daniel.

⁴ “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and a human mind was given to it.
⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. Daniel 7:4-6

We can take this to mean that the fourth kingdom will be represented by these three powers combined. These powers were Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece.

In verse 2 we see that the dragon, which is Satan, gives the Beast dominion over the earth. When God created the earth, He gave dominion over the earth to Adam. When Adam sinned, dominion was given over to Satan. In his final bid to wage war against God, Satan gives dominion to the Antichrist. So now we know that the Antichrist will become the ruler of the world. In verse 3, the Beast is wounded in his head and is healed miraculously. The world is amazed that the Antichrist has risen from the dead, and worship him and through him they worship Satan. At this point, the tribulation period is half over, but the worst is still to come. The last three and a half years will be more difficult and is known as the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist will now be waging full on war with the believers left on earth. Many will be slain by the Antichrist at this time, but the believers will be faithful until the end and their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The Beast out of the Earth
¹¹ Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. ¹² It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. ¹⁶ It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. ¹⁸ This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.^[e] That number is 666.

In the second half of the chapter we are introduced to another Beast that will rise up out of the earth. Rising up out of the earth, this Beast may be an apostate Jew. He may initiate the peace treaty with the Antichrist at the beginning of the tribulation period. He is described as a lamb with two horns. Lambs don’t have horns, so we can surmise that he is a false prophet.

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Matthew 7:15


Then we see that the lamb speaks like a dragon, this suggests that he will be speaking for Satan. The Antichrist will give him power to direct the world to worship him. The second beast, or false prophet will do miracles on behalf of the Antichrist and will cause the people of the world to worship the Beast as god. After the Antichrist rises from the dead, the False Prophet has an image of the Antichrist created. He gives the image the ability to speak, and all those that refuse to worship this image are killed. He will also institute the mark, which represents the name or number of the Beast, and everyone that wants to be able to buy or sell anything must have the mark. The number of the mark is 666. A custom in the ancient times was to mark a slave with a brand of ownership, so this is similar in that if you take this mark, you are being branded as being owned by Satan. Now the number 666 is always depicted as representing evil. We do not know how this number will relate to the Antichrist, some people think his name will have 6 letters for first, middle and last, others have different theories. No one really knows, but when the time comes, God will give believers discernment to understand what this means. It will be a horrible time for a believer to be alive during this part of the tribulation. They need only stand firm in their beliefs, for the Antichrist and Satan can only harm their bodies….their souls belong to God. 

The Woman and the Dragon

At this point John’s view is once more from the heavens. He will now see the background story to explain why these judgments will happen.

¹ A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”^[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
¹¹ They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
¹² Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
¹³ When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. ¹⁵ Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

In the first verse, we see a woman clothed with the sun and moon with twelve stars on her head. This woman represents Israel, with the twelve stars representing the twelve tribes.

⁹ Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” ¹¹ His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Genesis 37:9-11

Joseph had a dream where the sun and moon represented his Mother and Father and the eleven stars were his brothers.
The woman was pregnant and about to give birth, this would represent the birth of Jesus from the nation of Israel.
We are now introduced to the enemy, who is described as the red dragon. This dragon represents Satan who tried to stop God’s plan for redemption by stopping the Messiah. The heads, horns and crowns represent his rule of the revived Roman Empire.

⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. Daniel 7:7-8
When the dragon sweeps one-third of the stars from the sky represents the time when Satan rebelled against God, and one-third of the angels followed him.
The woman gave birth to a son, which represents Jesus being born through Israel. We know it is Jesus, because the verse says He “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” The child is snatched up to God and to His throne.

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11
The woman flees to the wilderness to a place where God will care for her for 1260 days. This is three and a half years, which is one half of the Tribulation period.
¹⁴ “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’^[a]standing where it^[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Mark 13:14
Satan lost the war to take over Heaven, and is thrown down to the earth. He knows that he has only a short time to war with God’s people. He enters the temple and declares himself to be god.
²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’^[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’^[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple^[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.^[k]”^{[l]  Daniel 9:27}
He then tries to destroy Israel, but she flees into the wilderness to Petra (many people think this is the place), where God will protect her for three and a half years. The water that spews from Satan’s mouth represents Satan’s fury directed at Israel, and God will supernaturally protect her against Satan’s fury.
Since Satan can’t harm those people, he continues to persecute and martyr those followers of God that are not supernaturally protected in the wilderness.