The Little Book that John Ate

At this point all seven seals have been opened. The seventh seal joins the seven trumpets and seven seals together. Additionally the first four trumpets have already sounded. The next verse is key:

13) “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”

Praise God! This is one of the most important verses in the book of Revelation. It is a key. Note carefully what it tells us:

There are three angels with trumpets that have not yet sounded. These are numbers 5, 6, and 7. They are also designated as woes. Trumpet five is also woe # 1. Trumpet 6 is woe # 2. Trumpet 7 is woe # 3.

God gave us this key to help us in our understanding of the time when Jesus will ‘come again, and receive you until myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,’ (John 14:3).

We shall quote excerpts from the verses of the fist woe (Revelation 9:1-11). As the holy countdown begins, the last seven years are already in progress.

1) “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”

When the angel opened the pit smoke came out as the smoke darkened a great furnace, the sun and air. This allusion to industrialization and the resulting pollution of the age seem to set the tone of this woe. This part of the vision seems to combine in one image with another before the former is completely aborted. This creates an effect of one image in a state of ever more bewildering change. Each part alludes to another diverse scene on the earth.

5) “And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

10) And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.”

The one thing that comes forth clearly is this evil will last five months as stated in verses 5 and 10. It will be painful to those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. This pestilence will have no effect on the saved people. The countdown in woes has started!

13) “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

14) Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

15) And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.”

There is a surprise at the sound of the sixth trumpet. The four angels that are loosed are not God’s angels! God’s angels are never bound. These are satan’s angels. At this point in time the anti-christ has his full complement of destroyers at this command. However, the 200,000,000 demonic spirits do not yet operate in their full evil strength or power. Their full power will be evident once the anti-christ abomination of desolation is set up half way through the last seven years. Woe to the earth! These angels are prepared for 13 months to slay a third part of men on the earth.

The balance of chapter 9 gives some details of the war to be waged. The number of horsemen is 200,000,000. The satanic angels loosed are demonic spirits. We know that we do not war against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness. God provided His armor to fight against the forces of hell. Our primary weapon is to pray in the Spirit as Ephesians 6:18 instructs.

12) “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

Apparently John also saw many weapons of modern warfare. He describes what he saw with words at his command. Then, in spite of these terrible things men still will not repent of their sins.

The second woe, the sixth angel is not completed in chapter 9. It is continued in chapter 11. The second woe is in progress and continues as we are in the first half of the seventieth week of years, before the ‘midst’ spoken by Jesus in Matthew 24:15.

3) “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

4) These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”

11) “Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?

12) And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?

13) And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

14) Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

According to Zechariah 4:14 these two are anointed by God to prophesy in the last days. We are given a warning not to lay hands on them in violence. For they have full power as did the Old Testament prophets. No man or satanic power can stop them until they have completed their work for God.

They will be calling all men to repentance and salvation in the blood of Jesus. Remember in the earlier part of the sixth trumpet (Revelation 9:20-21), the people would not repent. They were hearing the 11^th hour pleas of the two witnesses. Jesus said that people would refuse to repent. Sexual immorality has infiltrated our contemporary culture so that abortion is considered politically correct.

29) “For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

30) Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

31) For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry”?

So that when the two finish their witnessing the people of the anti-christ kill them. There is great rejoicing over their deaths because they really caused much guilt and torment to those people.

7) “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

8) And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

9) And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

10) And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

This great city or country is a place where sodomy is legal, like it is in parts of the United States. It is a place where the blood of Jesus is mocked and where sorcery and devil worship thrive. It is a place where crime is high because riots, theft and murder are practiced.

While the dead bodies of these two witnesses lie in the street of the great city, people all over the world in every nation will see their dead bodies on the television news reports. The riots or demonstrations that produce this end result will receive thorough media coverage. Many will delight in this event!

To those whose consciences were disturbed by the preaching of these two, this will be an occasion to celebrate and send gifts. However to the Christians it will be a time of watching for Jesus to return immediately.

11) “And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

12) And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

13) And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

This whole event will be a media feature on television and radio. Those in powerful political and religious positions will hate these two as much as John the Baptist was in his day. Now, who are these two witnesses? They are living human beings on this earth today. Some theories state that they are Moses and Elijah. When I posed this question to the Lord, He showed these things. When Jesus lived on this earth His disciples asked Him why the scribes say Elijah should come first. Jesus told them Elijah should come first to restore all things. In Matthew 17:12 we see.

12) “But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

13) Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.”

The disciples understood that Jesus spoke of John the Baptist as we read in verse 13. We also have more insight about John the Baptist.

17) “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Elijah did not die but was taken to heaven. This is a sample of the catching up or rapture of the church that we anticipate when Jesus comes for His church at the sound of the 7^th trumpet.

50) “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

51) Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Just as we shall be changed, Elijah was also changed as he was taken up into heaven. A mortal man cannot behold God face to face. Moses asked to see God’s glory.

19) And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

20) And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

21) And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22) And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23) And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen”.

If Elijah wasn’t changed, he perished in flight and died then. Moses died. We are told in Jude verse 9, the devil tried to get his body. The devil and Michael, the archangel, contended for Moses’ body.

9) “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

Neither Moses nor Elijah could not come to the earth and be killed. For man can only die once. The dead are raised incorruptible. There is no Biblical basis to support the theory of reincarnation. The two witnesses are people alive on the earth today.

27) “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

At the sight of these two rising from the dead and ascending into heaven, many who survive the earthquake turn to God. Their merry making ends abruptly.

12) “And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

15) And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Hallelujah! This is it!!! There is great joy in heaven over this so dearly bought and awaited event. When the seventh trumpet sounds the saved of the earth, dead and alive, shall hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to their spirit-man: ‘come out of her my people’. You must have ears to hear the Holy Spirit. ‘If ye have ears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches’. Each believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Each of us (church or temple of the Holy Spirit) must learn to know, listen and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. If not, instead, you may be an eyewitness, not a participant.

Don’t forget the seventh trumpet is also the third woe. There is so much scripture fulfilled at this moment that we will stay in this moment that is designated as ‘the twinkling of an eye’.

15) “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

The seventh trump is the last trumpet. No longer are there warning trumpets. This one heralds Jesus coming! We shall be changed from mortal flesh to immortality. That change will be something like the transfiguration of Jesus as he met with Elijah and Moses on the mountain to discuss His plans to purchase our salvation. Praise God for giving us all these advance glimpses into His ways.

Or it will be for our bodies like it was when Jesus first arose from the dead. He told Mary as she recognized Him:

17) “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

26) “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

27) Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”

Let us not lose the point that there were two things involved. Jesus arose from death and had His body and He also went to the Father to receive a type of completion. This is important and shall be revisited later.

The coming of Jesus is in the midst of the seventieth week of years (Daniel 9:27).

27) “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

It is also at this moment that Babylon the great falls. God’s judgment begins first where His grace has been most abundantly poured out and rejected by mankind.

4) “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

This golden cup in the Lord’s hand has heard call after call to repent from God’s witnesses. But they cannot be convinced there is any sin, because society states that ‘if it feels good, go ahead and do it’. So God’s people come out as Jesus descends with a shout. The victory march begins. It goes upward to heaven on the highway of holiness.

8) “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

9) No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

10) And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

The following chart is a summary of the scripture references linked to each of the three woes.

1^st Woe	2^nd Woe	3^rd Woe
5^th angel sounds the 5^th trumpet	6^th angel sounds the 6^th trumpet	7^th angel sounds the 7^th trumpet
Related Scriptures and Sequence of Events
Revelation 9:1-11	Revelation 9:13-15	Revelation 10:7
	Revelation 9:20-21	1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
	Revelation 11:3-11	Daniel 12:1
	Revelation 11:12	Daniel 7:13-14
	Revelation 11:14-19	1 Corinthians 15:49-53
	Revelation 10:7	Matthew 24:15
		Daniel 11:31
		Matthew 24:40-41
		Luke 17:34-36
		Revelation 18:2-4
		Jeremiah 51:7-9
		Revelation 17:1-4; 15-17
		Revelation 18:11; 17-18; 23
		Revelation 13:13
		Daniel 7:25-26
		Daniel 9:27
		Daniel 8:11-12
		Daniel 11:45
		Revelation 16:1

23) “But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

24) Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

The order is clear. First, Christ and those who came out of the graves at His resurrection were the first fruits. Secondly, those who are Christ’s at His return (at the 7^th trumpet). This is the time of resurrection and catching up we anticipate. All the rest of will live at the time of judgment of the earth.

51) “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53) And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

No liberties may be taken with the scriptural order of events. It is given for our edification and comfort.

7) “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” All these miraculous things begin to happen at the sound of the last trumpet, in the twinkling of an eye the Son of Man shall appear. The tribulation for practicing Christians is limited to the seven seals and the first six trumpets. At the sound of the seventh trumpet we meet Jesus in the air.

27) “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Now to resume where we were at that instant when the trumpet sounded and the kingdoms became Christ’s and the catching up came. At that instant:

19) “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

18) And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”

God’s temple is open only for that instant while the saved of the earth enter into it. We shall review other scriptures that provide additional details of this same moment in time.

1) “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

2) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”

At the sound of the seventh trumpet heaven is opened for an instant while the victory marchers on the highway of holiness enter in and join the others already there. These have not received the mark of the beast nor the number 666 from the anti-christ. For you see, he wields considerable power over men in the world even before the rapture of the church. But the anti-christ does not have his fullest power at that point. For this is only the midst of the last seven years. The anti-christ’s power will grow rapidly after the church is ‘caught up’ because the Holy Spirit also returns to heaven. He is no longer standing by to assist those who are converted at Jesus’ coming. Daniel 12: 1 tells us that God sends Michael, the archangel, to stand for the Jews.

5) “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

6) And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

7) And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

8) And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”

The sum of these almost instantaneous events follows. After the two witnesses are raised from the dead and called into heave and the earthquake comes, right on the heels of this, the seventh trumpet sounds. Immediately Christ appears in the clouds with Michael the archangel and calls out His church unto Himself, and heaven opens, while the church enters, and the last seven plagues come out. Then heaven is closed for the duration of the battle.

Woe	Trumpet	Angel
First Woe	5^th Trumpet	5^th Angel
Second Woe	6^th Trumpet	6^th Angel
Third Woe	7^th Trumpet	7^th Angel

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