Steps to Life

Prophecy Seminar

Session 11: Two Women and the Tribulation

Revelation 12:1 "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."

A woman in prophecy represents a church. In the Old Testament God said of Israel: "I have likened. . . Zion (the church) to a lovely and delicate woman" (Jeremiah 6:2). Paul also likened the church to a woman (see Ephesians 5:25-28). Revelation itself makes it clear that the church is the bride of Christ:

Revelation 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’ "

A harlot woman represents a church that professes to be God’s people but who has committed idolatry with the world, and a pure woman represents a pure church.

Here in Revelation 12 we see pictured God’s pure church on earth. In the accounts that follow in Revelation is brought to view the great controversy between Christ and Satan, and between their human agents on earth. For the most part, it will appear that Satan’s agents have the upper hand. God’s church is persecuted and decimated, while the apostate church is decked out in human glory and splendor, and drunk with the blood of her enemies.

Revelation 17:1 "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement."

Two churches are pictured: One is clothed with "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). The other is clothed with the garments of human pomp and ceremony and kingly power. One is crowned with a garland of stars, which Revelation 1:20 says are the angels or messengers of God, while the other is crowned with expensive jewels and ornaments of self–esteem. One has the moon under its feet. Paul says that the Old Testament ceremonies were "a shadow of the good things to come" (Hebrews 10:1). So this woman has her feet planted upon "the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20). The other sits on "many waters," which represent "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues" (Revelation 17:1, 15). Its foundation is not the Bible, but human support and tradition.

It will also be noticed that both of these women give birth to children. The woman of Revelation 17 became the mother of harlots. She is a mother church. Her traditions have been perpetuated within other bodies. What child did the woman of Revelation 12 bear?

Revelation 12:2 "Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 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. 5 And she bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and to His throne."

Who was this manchild "who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron?" According to Revelation 19:15, it is Jesus Christ. Jesus was the promised child of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as soon as He was born, a dragon stood ready to devour Him.

Now the dragon stands for two entities in prophecy. First, it symbolizes Satan himself.

Revelation 12:9 "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."

Satan is the "great dragon." Just as Satan is the "great Antichrist" and there are also "human antichrists" through whom he works (1 John 2:18), so he is the "great dragon" and there is also a human power on earth through which he works that is called a dragon. The earthly dragon is the "red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads."

What was the earthly power in control of earthly affairs when Jesus was born? What power did Satan work through to destroy the children of Bethlehem, hoping to kill Jesus? Through what power was Jesus eventually killed? It was the pagan Roman power that we looked at in Daniel 7. In Daniel 7, Rome was described as the beast that had the ten horns—although, as explained in that prophecy, the horns really did not come into existence until pagan Rome was taken out of the way. They represented "ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom" (Daniel 7:24). Now the seven heads have two very interesting meanings. Let us look at one of the meanings at this time.

Revelation 17:9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits."

The seven heads represent the seven hills on which the apostate woman of Revelation 17 sits. Verse 18 of this chapter tells us that this woman, in addition to being an apostate religious power, is also a city. So this woman is a city sitting on seven hills. Does anyone know of a city of seven hills? From ancient times, the city of seven hills has always been the city of Rome. (Classical writers often refer to Rome as the city of seven hills—examples include Virgil in Aeneid vi. 782-784, and Cicero Letters to Atticus vi. 5.) And so the harlot of Revelation 17 is the church located in Rome.

In Revelation 12 we see an earlier Roman power. This was the Roman power in force in Jesus’ day, through whose power He was killed.

After Jesus was killed, He "was caught up to God and to His throne" (verse 5). Jesus said, "I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Revelation 3:21). After Jesus was caught up to His Father’s throne, there was nothing else the dragon (Satan or his Roman power on earth) could do to Him, so they turned their venom upon the followers of Jesus, the Christian church.

Revelation 12:6 "Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days."

A lot of people are looking forward to this three and one-half year period of tribulation as being in the future, but the Bible pictures it as occurring sometime soon after Jesus was taken to heaven.

The next few verses go over the history of the fall of Satan. We have already covered these verses in a previous lesson when discussing the "Occult Explosion," so we won’t re-examine them here, except to note this: Satan was cast out of heaven sometime before the fall of Adam and Eve, for it was he who tempted them through the serpent. He is thus called the serpent in verse 9 of Revelation 12. Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 both describe his fall. Revelation here gives a flashback to this event in order to show that this controversy between Christ and Satan was but a continuation of a controversy that dated back to the beginning of the earth, or even before.

Satan was defeated in heaven through the power of Michael. Michael, which means "One like God," was the Archangel (Jude 9), the one over the angels. Jesus was the head of the legions of angels (Revelation 19:14). At the Second Coming, it will be the "voice of an archangel" that raises the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16) and the voice that raises the dead is none other than Jesus (John 5:28, 29) so Michael is Jesus Christ.

When Jesus was here, Satan’s whole fury was poured out upon Him. Jesus was persecuted, reviled, spit upon, derided, and finally nailed to the cross. When Jesus triumphed over Satan on the cross, and then was taken to heaven beyond his reach, Satan’s fury was turned upon the followers of Jesus. Satan bent all of his power to destroy the infant church.

Revelation 12:13 "Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 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."

Again we find this same period of time mentioned. It was mentioned in Daniel 7 in connection with how long the "little-horn" power would be allowed to persecute the saints of God.

Daniel 7:25 "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time."

A "time" was an ancient way of saying a "year." Here we are told that the little horn would persecute the saints of the Most High for "a time (one year) and times (two years) and half a time (half a year)." That is three and one-half years. The Jewish calendar had 360 days in a year. Three hundred and sixty times three and one-half equals 1260 days. This is the same length of time found in Revelation 12, which is called by many, the tribulation.

Revelation 12:6 "Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days."

Revelation 12:14 "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."

Many people consider this to be a time of persecution which takes place for three and one-half literal years by some antichrist power that will arise after the Christians have been raptured out of the world. But the Scriptures give no support for this. In the first place, it is the "woman" who is persecuted during this time. The woman is the true church—the followers of Jesus. Notice that this persecution took place shortly after Jesus went to heaven.

We need to remember one of the principles of prophecy that we learned during our very first seminar: prophecy is given in symbols. When we studied Daniel 9 about the seventy weeks, we learned that in prophecy a prophetic day equals a literal year (Ezekiel 4:6). The Bible is not talking about some short period of persecution; it is referring to the centuries of persecution that took place after Jesus went to heaven. The Bible pictures 1260 years of intense persecution upon the Christian church, which comes sometime after Jesus’ death.

That is a long period of persecution. No wonder the Bible spends so much time talking about it! This period of persecution is mentioned no fewer than six times in the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Jesus refers to it, though not giving the time period, in Matthew 24.

In the prophecy of Daniel 9, the seventieth week was divided. In the midst of the week, Jesus, the one who confirmed the covenant with God’s people, caused the sacrifices to cease. The seventieth week started when Jesus was baptized. Three and one-half years later, in the middle of the week, Jesus died. His death did away with the animal sacrifices.

This prophecy of the seventieth week has nothing to do with the 1260 year prophecy. The seventieth week is past. That prophecy is never repeated in Revelation, or anywhere in the New Testament. Some have tried to say that this seventieth week is still future, and that the 1260 days of persecution come within this week. I have never been able to figure out how a person can get 1260 days within 7 days, or 1260 years within 7 years. Of course, what people do who teach this philosophy, is to make the seven days into prophetic days, meaning that each one represents a literal year. Then they make the 1260 days into literal days. However, these are both prophetic times in prophecy, and therefore they both have to be literal, or they both have to be prophetic. These are prophetic days, and as we will see shortly, were strikingly fulfilled in history.

But before studying the fulfillment of this 1260 year prediction of persecution, let us go on to the next chapter, for we find this same time period repeated there.

Revelation 13:1 "Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name."

Here we see a new beast arising up out of the sea, yet it has an appearance similar to the dragon. It also has seven heads and ten horns. This is another Roman power, established upon the city of seven hills, but this time you will notice one slight difference from the dragon of Revelation 12. Upon this beast the horns have crowns. This is the power that correlates with the little horn of Daniel 7 which was identified as the Roman Catholic Church. You remember that in Daniel 7 we saw that the little horn arose after the other ten horns had already arisen to power.

Daniel 7:24 "The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them."

This little horn came up after the other ten horns had arisen to power. And in Revelation 13, when this beast arises to power, there are already crowns upon the horns, they had already begun to reign when this new power arose. We noted in our lesson on the Antichrist that pagan Rome was divided into exactly ten kingdoms between A.D. 351 and A.D. 476. Thus, this beast power, or kingly power, would arise sometime after A.D. 476.

Revelation 13:2 "Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority."

This beast power was an amalgamated beast. It had a mouth like Babylon (the lion power). You will remember that Nebuchadnezzar boasted against God and said, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built?" Nebuchadnezzar assumed the prerogative of God by trying to force men to worship his image. We studied about this in our lesson "An Image to the Beast." So much does this power resemble Babylon, that it is often called Babylon.

Revelation 17:5 "And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

In addition to having a mouth like the lion of Babylon, it also had some of the attributes of Greece and Medo-Persia. But his "power, his throne, and great authority" came from the pagan Roman power, the dragon.

Revelation 13:2 "Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon (pagan Rome) gave him (papal Rome) his power, his throne, and great authority."

The very title of Caesar, "Pontifex Maximus," was adopted by the bishop of Rome soon after the Emperor had left the city. In pagan Rome, the emperor was worshipped as the representative of the sun, was the infallible head of the pagan church, and was officially called "Pontifex Maximus." In papal Rome, the pope is worshipped as the representative of the Son of God, is considered the infallible head of the papal church, and is officially called "Pontifex Maximus." Thus the pope assumed the authority of the Emperor.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the popes claimed temporal power, insisting that it had been bestowed upon the church by the Roman Emperor.

The "Donation of Constantine" was a "forged document which appeared in the Frankish Empire in the mid-8th century. It purported to be a grant made by the Emperor Constantine to Pope Sylvester I (pope from A.D. 314 to A.D. 330), which conferred upon the pope and his successors spiritual primacy over all other patriarchs and bishops of the world. It granted him imperial honors and gave to the chief Roman clergy senatorial distinctions and honors. To supremacy in spiritual matters was added temporal dominion over Rome, Italy, and the provinces, districts, and cities of the western regions. It was definitely established as a forgery in the 15th century." Grolier Universal Encyclopedia, 1968, Vol. 6, p. 242.

Though this document was a forgery, it was used by every pope for almost 700 years to establish and enforce his claim to the throne of Rome. Moreover, it does appear that Constantine did turn over some power to the pope. It is recognized by practically all historians that when Constantine left Rome for Constantinople, the pope assumed Constantine’s place as ruler of Rome.

"The removal of the capital of the (pagan Roman) Empire from Rome to Constantinople in A.D. 330, left. . . the bishop of Rome, in the seat of the Caesars, (who) was now the greatest man in the West, and was soon forced to become the political as well as the spiritual head. . . Again and again. . . he was compelled to actually assume military leadership." Alexander Clarence Flick, The Rise of the Medieval Church, (Reprint, New York: Burt Franklin, 1959), pp. 168, 169.

As Professor Labanca of the University of Rome stated: "To the succession of the Caesars came the succession of the pontiffs in Rome. When Constantine left Rome he gave his seat to the pontiff."

"The Roman bishop was the only surviving heir of the (pagan Roman) imperial post, or, in the well-known dictum of Hobbs, ‘The ghost of the deceased Roman empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.’ " Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3 (5th Ed.; New York: Scribner, 1902), p. 287.

Thus we find another evidence that this prophecy is dealing with the Roman Catholic Church. Certainly, there is no other power that can lay claim to inheriting the seat of the Caesars, except the pope.

Revelation 13:5 "And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation."

In our last lesson we read from various Catholic authorities that the pope claims the prerogative and titles of God, even claiming to be able to change or modify God’s laws. The priests of the Catholic Church claim to be able to forgive sins, but the Bible teaches that God alone can forgive sins.

This power would also persecute the saints. We saw this in our last lesson, noting that the Papacy has sacrificed by torture over 50,000,000 people because their religious convictions were different from those of the Church. Some might claim that this was only the result of the times, but it was the Catholic Church that created the times, and demanded the deaths.

The prophecy states that the papal power would continue its work of persecution for 1260 years. When did this period of persecution begin and end?

Daniel 7:20 "And about the ten horns that were on its head, and about the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows."

The prophecy states that before the Papacy could become a temporal, persecuting power, three of the ten kingdoms into which the Roman Empire had been divided would have to be destroyed.

Three of these ten kingdoms—the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Vandals—were Arian in power and rejected the Papacy. The real problem was that these powers controlled Rome, Italy, and the surrounding areas. As long as they existed, Rome was not allowed to exercise temporal authority. The Roman pontiff claimed temporal power, but he could not exercise it. When these three powers were destroyed, the pope began his temporal reign. These were all destroyed in the following years: the Heruli in A.D. 493, the Vandals in A.D. 534, and the Ostrogoths, who ruled Rome, were first driven out (and subsequently annihilated) in A.D. 538. When the last of these three powers were uprooted, the pope became the temporal ruler of Rome.

How long did this temporal rulership of the Papacy last? Until Berthier, the French general under Napoleon, took Pope Pius VI captive to Valance, France, and thus subjected Rome to French control. That control later shifted to the Italian government. From then until 1929, when Mussolini gave the pope a small parcel of ground, called the Vatican, the Papacy had no temporal authority.

Thus the Papacy ruled, not only as a religious power, but also as a temporal power, from A.D. 538 until A.D. 1798. How many years is that? Exactly 1260 years!

Paul stated that the antichrist power was already on the earth in his day, but that it could not assume its full power until another power was first taken out of the way (the pagan Roman power who was still sitting on the throne). Paul also goes on to say that this power will exist until Jesus should destroy it at His second coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. . . . 6 And now you know what is restraining (the pagan power), that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is ALREADY AT WORK; only he (Caesar) who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming."

Thus the Beast power: 1) existed in Paul’s day; 2) would become a temporal, persecuting power for 1260 years after the pagan Roman power was taken out of the way; and 3) would exist until it would be destroyed when Jesus comes. Surely, there is only one such power.

During the 1260 years of papal persecution, over 50,000,000 Christians were martyred by being burned at the stake, stretched on the rack, or by some other method. Surely these are enough people to warrant the term "tribulation." Let us review some of the history of this period.

"In the year 1208, a crusade was proclaimed by Pope Innocent III against the Waldenses and Albigenses, in which a million of men perished. From the beginning of the order of Jesuits, in the year 1540, to 1580, nine hundred thousand were destroyed." Albert Barnes, Notes on Daniel, (New York Cleavett and Allen, 1859), p. 328. Their crime? They would not recognize the sovereignty of the pope by worshipping him, and they translated and taught the Scriptures in the vernacular language of the people.

W.E.H. Lecky, in his work, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, Vol. 2, p. 40 (Reprint, New York (Braziller), 1955), states: "That the church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history."

In D. Juan Antonio Llorente’s, History of the Inquisition in Spain, pp. 575-583 (London (George B. Whittaker), 1827), he documented 31,912 persons that were burned at the stake during the 300 years of the inquisition in Spain. This is only the number of those burned at the stake, for which there are records as found in the archives of the Spanish Inquisition. It does not include the thousands who were killed by other means.

The Bible pictures the cries of these dying victims of persecution:

Revelation 6:9 "When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ "

God will answer that cry at Jesus’ second coming.

Thus we have described the harlot woman of prophecy, sitting on the city of seven hills, and reigning as a religious, political, persecuting power for 1260 years. It was Satan, of course, who was seeking to destroy God’s people and God’s truth from off the earth, as the Bible had predicted:

Revelation 12:13 "Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child."

The persecution was relentless in its fury, and it bore sway for over a thousand years. The apostate church seemed to have won the battle completely. Would it be able to completely destroy God’s church? Where was God’s church during this time? Did it have an empire of its own? Let us look at the prophecy again for the answer:

Revelation 12:14 "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. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth."

Throughout the Middle Ages, small groups of Christians made their homes in the rugged mountains of Northern Italy and Southern France. These mountains seemed to afford natural defenses for these scattered colonies. For hundreds of years, from these mountain fortresses the Waldenses and Albigenses sent missionaries throughout Europe. On the islands between Scotland and Ireland men like Columba taught young men the gospel and also sent them as missionaries throughout Europe. From these seeds that were sown, such men as Wycliffe eventually heard the gospel. Wycliffe’s works were read and adopted by John Huss, and Huss’ works were read and adopted by Martin Luther. In humble, mountain retreats, the truth was kept alive and Bibles were circulated. The church was in hiding—it was in the wilderness.

It must not be overlooked that many of God’s faithful children were living up to all the light they had within the Catholic Church. God has faithful followers within every group of people. His church was hidden during the Dark Ages.

At the end of the papal period, God’s people were to again emerge as an open movement to spread the gospel to the world, as Peter and Paul did in the apostolic times. In the last days, God’s message is to go to all the world with boldness and power.

Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people — 7 saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

The Devil does not succeed in destroying God’s church any more than he succeeded in destroying Christ. Though the church is in persecutions often, as was Paul, God’s hand is over it to protect it. When the long years of persecution were over, and God’s people emerged from the wilderness, how would they be identified?

Revelation 12:17 "And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Just two identifying marks: They are obedient to God’s commandments and they love Jesus. They have His testimony. They are overcomers, for they love the Lord more than anything else in the world, even more than their own lives.

Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Dear friends, there is a great controversy going on between Christ and Satan. It dates back to before this world began. The devil has always claimed the most followers, the most worldly honors, the most pomp. God’s people have always been few in number. Jesus Himself was slain on a cross. But in the end, God is going to be victorious. He was victorious in the war in heaven, He was victorious on the cross, and He is going to be victorious at the Second Coming.

Revelation 19:11 "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Al- mighty God. . . . 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse."

Dear friend, God’s victory comes at the end. I can afford to wait for that victory. That is an eternal victory. If God’s truth isn’t popular today, that is all right. My great concern is to be right with Him, whatever the cost.

Dear friend, I am not interested in some theology. God has given us some important messages in Revelation so that we will understand the meaning of history and know how to prepare for the future. Unless these lessons lead us into a relationship with Him, what good are they?

During the Dark Ages, people were willing to die for the Lord. Do we love the Lord that much? That is the kind of faith the Lord is looking for today.

Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Following Jesus may bring some hardships, but the rewards are eternal. How can you measure that? Even now, He promises inner peace and happiness. I believe the martyrs had more peace within while they were burning at the stake, looking forward to their eternal reward soon to be realized, than those who lighted their fires and then went home to a comfortable bed.

Romans 8:35 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Tomorrow night we will study about the church that lives just before the second coming of Christ or what Revelation prophesies about Christians living today, one of the most revealing prophecies in Revelation. Next week-end we will be looking at the question, Why would a God of love burn sinners? What and where is hell-fire? Where do people go when they die? and also, When does the judgment take place?

Return to the Blessed Hope Home Page
Last Updated: 06/18/03