[Steve Myers] We are going to go ahead and begin; we are waiting for the web trying to get things hooked up there, even though it looks like we are having technical glitches or something.  They will have to try to catch up with us.

[Peter Eddington] As long as we can archive it for later.

[Steve Myers] Yes, we will try to make sure we do that.  Hopefully people will keep trying to tune in.  Anyway, welcome, good evening, I hope you are doing very well on this little bit of a chilly night, thanks for coming out. Welcome to those on the website, but they aren’t there, we will just pretend they are.  Welcome to our continuing series on the book of Revelation. For those that might listen down the line, I am Steve Myers and this is Peter Eddington.  We are going to be handling the next couple chapters in the book of Revelation, if we get that far, so we’ll see if we do.  So welcome to all of you.  To begin with, Mr. Eddington will go ahead and ask a blessing to begin with.

[Peter Eddington] “Our Father, and great God in heaven, Father, we come very thankfully before Your throne of grace here this evening and thank You for this opportunity you have given us to understand your word to be called at this time and be led by your holy spirit.  Thank you very much for the study we’ve been having in this book of Revelation.  We look forward to covering to hopefully, a couple more chapters tonight.  We pray Father, for your inspiration.  Your blessing and your Holy Spirit will be with us, for your words will come alive before us.  Bless the discussion, the commentary that Mr. Myers and I have will be helpful, profitable and inspiring.  Please guide us with your Holy Spirit and we thank you for the opportunity and we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

[Steve Myers] Of course we left off in chapter 19, and just beginning there.  If you would help remind me, once we get the web up online, we want to remind everybody if you have a question, that you have, be sure to send that on the web page, you can see right where you can send us your question.  If you have a question in the room here, you can write it down, or you can raise your hand.  I don’t mind that sort of thing.  We tend to try to save them towards the end of the Bible Study unless it has something to do with the area we are covering right at that time.  If you have a question, please feel free to go ahead ask and we will try to answer that as quickly as we can. 

We are going to pick this up at chapter 19, I am going to try to talk about some of  these things and Mr. Eddington will jump in. and make some helpful comments along the way as well, we will try to share things back and forth a little bit.  So picking up in chapter 19 - we finished last time talking about Babylon the Great, it’s fallen, the destruction of Babylon is there.  Part of the reasoning this has had to have happened is because Satan has been behind that power.  And not only through the global economy itself, the political system is part of the issue there as well. 
Including religion.  So for that and all the impact he has had.  SO we read in chapter 19.

In Revelation 19:1 where John records for us, reads verse…  This seems to have a connection back in Revelation 5:11.  If you hold your place here and just kind of flip back, you can see who are singing and praising God at this particular point seems to point back to what it says in Revelation 5:11. Reads verse… So here is this great multitude no wonder it is described like that. And they are saying “Hallelujah”, which is literally “Praise the Lord” or “Praise Yah.” Which is of course one of God’s names.  So they are praising Yah or Yahweh, they are praising and honoring and worshiping Him.  You hear some of these kinds of things in commercials today and it kind of really irritates me when I see this.  People really blaspheme God’s name when they are talking about Hallelujah and they don’t even know what they are saying.  It literally means to worship and praise God.  Over and over again throughout the Bible, in fact right here in this chapter you will see this come up over and over again where God is worshipped.  In fact, throughout the Psalms you will find that phrase- Praise the Lord.  This is that same word, Hallelujah which is a transliteration from the Hebrew.  That is directly untranslated here for Hallelujah.  Often times it is Alleluia, standing for that praising God.  There is this massive multitude that is bringing honor and praise to God.  The scenario then is because Babylon has been destroyed.  If we just look back a little bit to Revelation 18:20.  Reads verse…So because of the destruction of Babylon, it’s another reason to give God the gratitude and revere Him and praise Him.

[Peter Eddington] I was just going to add that in Chapters 17 and 18 were inset chapters. The actual story of all the seals and trumpets and last plagues ended in chapter 16.  And in 17 and 18 they are going through more details about end time events and Babylon and that type of thing that type of thing. I noticed in verse 1 if you have the King James Version.  In the King James it says there are “much people in heaven.”  The New King James Version is a much better translation because it says there is a “great multitude”.  We will read a “great multitude” later.  There aren’t people in heaven, per say, even though the King James Version reads it that way.  There is a great multitude in heaven; they are spirit beings, and not people.

[Steve Myers] That is always one of the difficulties of Revelation, what is following the timeline and what isn’t.  Often times you have to pull something from a previous chapter in order to find that in a chronological order. So that can be a real challenge as you go through.  We will try to point that out as we go along. 

Now in Revelation 19:2, reads verse… of course as we pointed out in the past, this great harlot, that rogue of a beast is the false religious system that had taken in people, had counterfeited God’s true way and ultimately God judges her. She has corrupted the entire earth because of the false religious system that is led by the false prophet as well. And here we have God’s perfect judgment that is poured out.

He is righteous and He is good. And He can give perfect judgment.  And so does He avenge His people? There is no doubt that is a theme that runs throughout scripture. He has judged the evil and false religious system and has avenged His people.  Which kind of harkens back to, I think of Hebrews chapter 10 where it paints a similar type of scenario; when it comes to God’s judgment and His vengeance.  Over in Hebrews 10:29 it talks about God’s vengeance. Reads Hebrews 10:29… Of course those are all the things that the harlot has done, this false religious system, has counterfeited the true God and the true way.  It has counterfeited the sacrifice of Christ.  And so Hebrews 10:30, reads verse...  Here is God not being vengeful as we kind of think of it on a human level, but taking vengeance. Righteous judgment, looking at the situation in a perfect way,  Where there is no prejudice no human reasoning that is involved in this, but God’s way which is true and righteous.  And God can see things the way they are and has the wisdom and authority and can execute the right judgment but also the power to apply it.  So all those things fit as He judges this false religious system.

Then in Revelation 19:3 we see praising God comes back again, reads verse… now as we see this, the harlot and her whole system, the Babylonian system that has been destroyed, it says the smoke is rising ever and ever.  This doesn’t mean this is somehow eternal smoke that is going to continue to rise and will be here for all eternity. Literally, if you were to look up the Greek in this section it means “into the ages”.  And of course until the age where God will establish His kingdom, the New Jerusalem, it’s saying, okay, this is the end of Babylon.  The false system, the false way is over and the ongoing, oh, how would you say it?  The Reality of her destruction is going to be evident.  This city and its destruction are permanent.  There is no coming back from that, it will never be found again.  Of course that goes against all of man’s history because it seems like kingdom after kingdom you have a new version in a different package.  Whether it was Babylon or whether it was the Greeks, the Persians, you name it the system of man kept coming back in different forms.  And yet, here we are, this is going to be it, over, done.  Smoke is going to be until the next age, until it’s over.  It also seems to point back to this idea that it will continue to smoke until that new heaven and new earth.  And often times you see some of the passages that are connected in the Old Testament.  There is a portion that talks about the vengeance and burning and day of destruction.  Isaiah has a several passages like that.  In fact, maybe I’ll take a stab at it, I didn’t write it in my notes, (someone from audience mentions verse.) I think it is Isaiah 34:8, that’s where I was heading.  Isaiah 34:8 thank you.  Reads verse…So this Babylonian system is never coming back again, no one shall pass through it forever and ever.  Because that system has come to an end God is going to establish His system and is going to establish the Kingdom of God. So it points to the fulfillment of that.  It makes it a pretty vivid description there.

Let’s flip back to Revelation hopefully you held your place there in Revelation 19, coming back to verse 4.  Revelation 19:4 reads verse… so once again praising God, worshiping Him.  His awesome plan is coming that much closer to being fulfilled. So you can imagine the praises that are given to God, recognizing the fantastic triumph of His coming Kingdom that will be established on earth, just the praise that goes up.  Often times people will look at the two examples of the 24 elders and 4 living creatures.  Now we talked about those in past chapters and of course with the 24 elders.  Some scholars will look at that and say 12 and 12 is 24 and often times they will divide it up and say that the 12 patriarchs of the Old Testament as well as the 12 apostles are representative perhaps of this 24 which is an overall representation of the Church.  I’m not sure if that necessarily applies directly.  But it is interesting if you think about it in those terms because you also have these four living creatures. If you remember these living creatures, there was one that is described like a lion, one was described as having the face of an ox, another one that had the face of a man, and then another one had the face of an eagle.  You have all of these representations in those as well.  The cherubim also have four faces that were represented like that as well.   Which seem to kind of point back to the creation.  You have all creation in that sense.  You have the church on one hand and perhaps also recognized in these four living creatures the idea of all of creation coming together so that everything overall comes together to praise and to worship and honor God.  Now I think this is probably a literal thing as well that the 24 elders are worshipping God.  And the living creatures are worshipping God.  But maybe there is even more meaning behind it as well that we can kind of glean from that as well.

[Peter Eddington] Here in verse 4 it is similar to Revelation 11:15-16 where we have the story of the two witnesses and after the two witnesses had finished their work we read about the 24 elders again in Revelation 11:15.   It’s when the seventh angel sounded and of course we are past the seventh trumpet, the seven last plagues and now Christ has returned as we are getting to the story now.  Reads Revelation 11:15…so this has been a transition from Satan’s rule to Christ’s rule.  Reads verse 16…It’s the same 24 elders and it’s a parallel verse in many respects.

[Steve Myers] Back to chapter 19 praise and worship continues.  As we see in Revelation 19:5, reads verse…so God is worthy of praise, those are servants who serve Him.  There are so many of the Psalms that reflect this same sentiment over and over again.  One of the ones I wrote down in my notes is Psalm 135 you might write that down and check it out later where it talks about His servants praising and worshipping and honoring Him.  So that continues on here at God’s throne.  And he goes on reads Revelation 19:6…we have once again this great multitude these angelic hosts that is worshipping and praising God.  Here is John trying to describe what that would sound like to him. It is just an overwhelming sound that is happening.  If you’ve ever been to, like it describes this as “many waters”, if you’ve ever been to a giant waterfall and what that sounds like.  Has anyone been to Niagara Falls or something like that?  Wow, if you get right up next to that or get in one of those, maiden of the mist boats and just the sound is just, phenomenal.  Can you imagine that kind of impact, all bringing praise and all bringing honor to God?  It’s also described as the sound of thundering that can just shake the whole house.  He’s describing that and saying, reads second half of verse 6… God is “almighty”.  “Almighty God” is the way some translations will record that.  It kind of points to the one who is controlling everything, the one who is in charge. The omnipotent one, the all-powerful in other words.  The ruler of all. That “Lord almighty”, the Lord God omnipotent is used nine times throughout the book of Revelation.  In fact, that phrase is only found one time outside of Revelation. So really stressing who really does rule, who really does have authority.  Of course that is the lesson in Revelation because we’ve seen the beast and the false prophet and harlot have power and authority over men but you know when you get right down to it, who really is in charge?  Who is the King?  Ultimately God is going to reign.  He is omnipotent; He is the one that controls everything. 

Okay Revelation 19:7, reads verse…So here, we have a connection then to the Church.  He brings the church into this scenario because often times throughout scripture the church is recognized as the bride of Christ.  So when He talks about the marriage of the lamb literally it’s talking about the marriage feast. The feast of the lamb, some translations will render that particular passage.  As we look at that many passages in the Old Testament refer to the marriage same in the New Testament as well, Christ mentioned a few parables about that and there are some really interesting connections when you see how the church and Christ really have a very special relationship.  Here we see, as he points to that, he says the wife is ready to the marriage of the lamb.  Some of those things Christ pointed to in His parables as well.

[Peter Eddington] A couple of interesting parallels on marriage.  I might just mention the wife has made herself ready, there is a little meaning behind that too.  The New Testament church must prove herself and be prepared and be ready for the marriage before Christ will marry her.  The Old Testament church married the Rock that they followed and the Rock became Jesus Christ but back then they failed to be faithful to God and He had to divorce the Old Testament church.  The end result was divorce back then.  Today, we prove our faithfulness to Christ ahead of time. So that there will be no divorce in this wedding.  So there is no chance of a future divorce.  So the wife makes herself ready, she’s proved herself and then guaranteed eternal life in with God in heaven after that.  There will be no future divorce like there was in the Old Testament.  There are many parables and examples throughout the Old and New Testament that picture the marriage of the lamb.  If you want to jot a couple of them down in the notes or margin of your Bible;  you don’t have to turn to them in your Bible, in Matthew 22:1-14 we read the parable of the king who arranged the marriage for his son.   We know who the king is and the son is in that parable.  In Psalm 45:1-17 we read the story of the king’s honorable virgin daughters.  And those virgin daughters came to picture the saints and the church.  Psalms 50:3-5 pictures the saints being gathered before God.  Matthew 24, remember, in verses 30-31 we see the gathering of the saints to join the Son of Man at the sound of the trumpet.  Luke 14:7-11 is the parable of the wedding feast.  So you can see the heavenly parallel in that parable. Don’t forget that John the Baptist made a statement in John 3:28-36 where John said that Christ, or he made a statement about Christ being the bridegroom.  Reads John 3:28-36…Then of course Genesis 2:24 the original marriage covenant was established for human beings.  Without taking a lot of time and reading through them all, but you can make a note and look at them.  They are all parallels about marriage and the bridegroom and the marriage feast and there is more than that.

[Steve Myers] Yeah, it is interesting how the old covenant was a marriage covenant and the marriage had to be dissolved because the people didn’t uphold to their part of the agreement.  The New Covenant is also a marriage Covenant.  We have spiritual terms to that, the bride has to be ready for that and we are preparing now.  In a sense we are already married to Christ.  If you can just take a minute, if you hold your place here we can go over to Ephesians chapter 5, he is talking about marriage.  He gives instructions to wives in verse 22, verse 23 he gives instructions to husbands. And it says in verse 24 of Ephesians 5 it just says, reads Ephesians 5:24…so he begins to connect the idea of a marriage with Christ and the church.  And then in verse 25 he talks about how Christ loves the church so he is making a greater point here in this whole scenario.  And then in verse 31, he quotes Genesis.   Reads Ephesians 5:31…and so we are a part of the body of Christ.  We are in that sense married to Christ.  We are looking forward to the ultimate fulfillment because Christ intends to marry spiritual Israel under this New Covenant, and we are already in a sense married to Christ in this relationship between Christ and the church. We have His spirit; we have part of the some of the connections that Christ was pointing to in those parables as well.  That like a father and a mother might arrange a marriage for their son or daughter has God arranged a marriage for us.  He called us, He has opened our minds to His truth, that is kind of like the payment, the dowry.  He has given us His spirit we have a down payment that this marriage is going to take place.  So He has called us in that sense.  So the time is going come that we are going to have our part in the Kingdom of God itself where we will actually like, one of the parables talks about, where the bridegroom comes to get his bride and takes her home he takes her to his house. So Christ is going to return and take His bride to the kingdom.  So all of those things kind of mirror some of the imagery that we find here in Revelation.  Some of it we can’t take it too literally in some respects as well. The bible also talks about Christ marrying Jerusalem and He also talks about the New Jerusalem is the bride as well.  The representation there still points to the spiritual truth that He is going marry His people and they will become one, maybe that’s a different way to think about it.  They will become one as a husband and wife are to be one flesh, we are to be one flesh With God the Father and Jesus Christ. 
                    
[Peter Eddington] The analogy does break down from time to time – for example, Christ is our elder brother, too.

[Steve Myers] That’s right!  (laughs) So it can get weird there if you are not careful.

[Peter Eddington] These are just pictures, word pictures, of what the relationship was like as being one in God’s family

[Steve Myers] That is part of the challenges in Revelation as well.  Some things are strictly figurative, some things are very literal and other things are a little bit of both.  So it can be kind of challenging as you think about that.  It’s also interesting that the church itself is called the dwelling place for God as well.  So we have Christ in us, we have God’s spirit and so that is part of one of the
analogies that he is drawing here as well. 

All right back to chapter 19 then once again.  In verse 8 as Mr. Eddington pointed about the wife making herself ready, the church making themselves ready, we as individuals need to be ready, in verse 18 it says the church needs to be ready.  Reads Revelation 19:8…so this connection between fine linen and righteousness, fine linen and obedience, the right kind of clothing and the mind of Christ, or putting on the character of Christ, all of those things how the church becomes ready and it’s evident in the things we do, in our obedience to God.  It says God has granted us. We have to put on those clothes and we have to have that righteousness.   Of course what is it, Psalm 119?

[Peter Eddington] Yes, I had it in my notes, Psalm 119:172.  Reads verse…so that’s the righteousness of the saints is just keeping His commandments.

[Steve Myers] We have to put it into practice we have to do it.  We have to be doers of the word, not hearers only as James talked about.  That is evidence we are ready so we do have a part to play in all these things.  And then he goes on in verse 9.  Reads Revelation 19:9…and so comparing this marriage feast, there was certainly a meal they partook in.  A great example of that is when Christ was attending the marriage feast and turned water into wine.  There is interesting connections here when you think about this supper.  Think about the last Passover that Christ celebrated with His disciples.  They sat down.  There is a connection between sitting down and participating with a meal.  Maybe we should look at the Passover in Matthew 26:29, I think there is a little bit of a connection here with the Passover and this concept of fellowshipping together, sitting down together, taking time and enjoying the opportunity to be together.  In Matthew 26, I think I wrote down verse 29 in my notes, there is a little bit of connection here.  Yes, as He institutes the symbols of the bread and the wine representing His body and His blood.  Reads Matthew 26:29 verse…of course if you remember the scene, one of the disciples was reclining, was resting on Christ and they didn’t eat meals like we do today.  They sat down together and reclined as they ate.  It’s not like today where they sit at a dining room table and chair like we do so the image is just a little bit different there. And this concept think does tie into what Christ’s referring to at the Passover there as well, to sit down together and enjoy that time together like a real feast.  And we realize God’s feast, His holy days certainly has some connection to what is represented here as well.

Okay, back to Revelation 19:10, reads verse…and it says specifically, “Worship God”, that’s who we are supposed to worship.  Continues reading verse…So, test the Spirit, we are not to worship angels and this makes it very clear the angel is the one bringing the message and not the one to be worshipped.

[Peter Eddington] This is one of those passages that reminds us that angels are not to be worshipped.  Even in popular television programs and evening television shows there are programs about angels and angels in some of these shows, they are seen as an intermediatary between you and Jesus Christ.  Some people even talk about their guardian angle which has no basis in scripture.  That everyone has one angel assigned to them.  It more shows there are many angels that assist us in our lives for God.  But they are not to be worshipped; they are not a stepping stone between us and Jesus Christ.   Many people today believe that and it’s not correct.  We go straight to Jesus Christ and God the Father.

[Steve Myers] Absolutely, no doubt about that.  As he ends that little section there, he talks about the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy when we direct our worship right.  When you think of the spirit of prophesy some of the scholars say there might be a double meaning in the Greek here.  When you talk about the testimony of Christ, the witness, literally the witness of Christ, what did Christ reveal?   He revealed His word, He revealed His plan and His word is prophetic.  And that may be part of it. But I think the other part that some point to and it definitely can be part of the importance of this passage is the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy.  Are we representing His way, so that as we see our lives, is our life a testimony of the word of Jesus Christ?  Of course, it should be.  It should be.  We have been given God’s spirit and we should have a witness in our life.  People should be able to recognize we are Christ’s disciples we are followers of Christ and Christ revealed that.  And we live by it.  So I think both of those things can tie in there.

[Peter Eddington] We are brethren who have the testimony of Jesus, and that reminds me of Revelation 12 verse 17.  Revelation 12:17 is back where the church is being persecuted by the dragon.  Reads verse…throughout the New Testament you will see many instances where righteousness, commandments, and having a testimony of Jesus Christ are mentioned. We mentioned back in verse 8 about Psalm 119:72 that “Your commandments are righteousness,” so there is something to be said for keeping the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus Christ.  Some translations say having the witness of Jesus Christ. So you are living your life as a witness of His way of life.

[Steve Myers] One of the interesting things is so much of Revelation, especially since we got to the two witnesses, the two testifiers they could be called too. It is almost set up like a court scene in a lot of ways.  There is evidence that is brought against the beast, and against the false prophet and against the harlot.    Are we witnesses for the truth, are we witnesses for the prosecution?  And in a way, we are because we have the witness of Jesus Christ.  That is evidenced in our life.  We see that play out that finally we are getting to the sentence that had come down against Babylon and it’s going to come down against the beast and the false prophet here in just a couple of verses as well.   And you kind of see that kind of court room scenario play out through these few chapters of Revelation as well. 

So then going on, reads Revelation 19:11…from here on out, the end of the chapter is going to describe much of what’s happening at the returning of Christ.  The second coming.  Suddenly we have heaven open, not that it wasn’t there before, but suddenly it’s easily seen.  And here comes Christ, He is coming on a white horse.  “He is faithful, He is true.” A lot of the translations will capitalize those words because they are describing our Savior, they are describing the one who will come and establish His kingdom.  so we see that He is riding a white horse and some of the situations where people would ride white horses, especially in the Roman empire, the conquering general when they would honor him and have parades, guess what color horse they would ride.  Yeah, they are riding a white horse.  In this victory parade, the conquering hero would ride a white horse.  So no wonder Christ is seen to be riding a white horse.  He is the conquering hero, He is faithful. We can absolutely trust and believe in Christ.  He is true, He is the one that brings truth, and He brings justice.  That word can also mean genuine.  He is not a fake, He is not a phony, and He is not a counterfeit.  He is not like the harlot.  He is not like the false prophet, He is the real thing.  He is not a tyrant, but he is going to take care of those who have polluted the world, not only physically but more importantly by their power and authority and abused people, and their system. He is going to bring justice, finally, to this earth.  So He judges and makes war. 

Reads Revelation 19:12, here we see this powerful figure, all consuming with brilliant eyes that see through everything.  The eyes are something that have come up several times throughout the book of Revelation.  I wrote down Revelation 1:14, Revelation 2:18, where these all-consuming flaming eyes which are piercing right down to the truth.

Of course He is wearing many crowns.  It’s an interesting word there, diadems.  Diadems which are not the victor’s crown, but the crown of royalty.  These are royal crowns, ruling crowns that He is wearing.  Not a victorious crown like the stephanos we will wear but these are diadema.  And so He is going to have crowns, not only because he is going to, as we will see in a moment, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, He is ruling over the ten kings that were part of the beast power.  Not only that but he is ruling over everything.  He is wearing multiple crowns.  He is Lord of all kingdoms of the earth, and has all power over heaven and the earth. So all of those things are probably represented by the multiple crowns He is wearing there.

[Peter Eddington] I was going to comment on the eyes of the flame of fire there.  If you compare that description with the description in Matthew 17:1 which is a transfiguration as it’s commonly called, reads verse…there is another description of the spiritual Christ.  His face shone like the sun.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, His clothes were so bright, they were like light.  So that is a very powerful being. 

[Steve Myers] Yeah, once again John is trying to describe these things and it’s almost beyond his ability.  It’s amazing some of the words that he used to describe what he saw.  It says in verse Revelation 19:13, reads verse…  Some relate Isaiah 63 to this section.  Dipped in blood, is he talking about the enemies’ blood?  Or is it His own blood?  It is one of those symbolic kinds of things overall.  We recognize that Christ’s blood covers our sin certainly and there is no doubt he is coming to wipe out the enemies and that is going to take place as well.  His word is the means by which He does this.  His word is life.  John 6 talks about that.  James talks about how His word reflects.  Which kind of fits in with the flames and the brilliant clothing He has on as well. It’s kind of interesting all those things are tied together because then in verse Revelation 19:14, reads verse… and so we find these individuals dressed in white, they are clean, they are wearing linen.   And of course we just got done talking about the linen the Saints are wearing. So are these talking about angelic beings that are following in white horses, or are they talking about the saints?  Are they talking about converted individuals now that have been resurrected that are coming with Him?

[Peter Eddington] It certainly could be because the saints have been resurrected at this point. (Someone asks a question from the audience.) Why would spirit beings need horses?  It’s a picture of grandeur and royalty, and not pomp, but a proper representation of God.  And even the image of a righteous army that is coming to set things straight.  I might point out that when He’s called the Word of God, the Greek for “Word” there is “logos”.  When you go back to John 1:1; reads verse…the Word there is “logos” also.  We are talking about “logos” here which is the God of the Old Testament, the Word of God.

[Steve Myers] Yes and you have Christ then and we see, He is going to use that Word.  It’s really the conquering power that is going to offset the true, the righteous, the faithful, the Word, from everything that has been happening on the earth up to this point. This is an interesting connection here because when you look at these things, we are looking into the spiritual realm.  Often times in the Bible, It doesn’t give us every little element of the who, what, where, why, when and describing every little detail of what this is all about.  You have something that is represented as spiritual horses here, we have spiritual chariots that is described.

[Peter Eddington] The Old Testament has a description of God’s throne it has all these wheels and chariots and animals and heads.  Yes, it’s not that He needs wheels to move His throne.  And plus if you can imagine, how can I put this down into plain Greek, you know for everyone to understand? It’s a tough image to try and represent even in plain English for us.

[Steve Myers] It’s Greek to me right?  (laughs.) It is a challenge in that way, and I think even in this particular passage, it says there are those that are with Him.  They followed Him on white horses.  Could that be the resurrected saints?  It fits with the linens it fits with all of those kinds of things.  There are that would argue against that, that this is happening before the resurrection, so that these are angels, but there are instances where angels wear white linens as well.  So there are a number of passages that relate to that.  It does kind of fit the fact that if Christ is the victor He is riding a white horse like those Roman generals would have, that the saints seem to fit that imagery as well that we are victorious.   If you could imagine if the timeline fits, it’s after the twinkling of an eye in Thessalonians.

[Peter Eddington] And after the marriage supper.

[Steve Myers] And after that, all of that is happening in a very short time span it could fit as well.  If we get caught up too much in that this has to be this and that has to be that it becomes very difficult to map things out and exactly where these fall in the timeline of things.  There is no doubt we can figure out the four horsemen you can figure out the seven seals and the seven trumpets.  You can figure those things out, but we get to the very end and you have the seven plagues and you have the seventh trumpet, how do you know exactly how that is supposed to happen, exactly when?  It can be a little vague.  It can be a little difficult   because some might happen just a little bit before the other.  And how it actually fits, I don’t know if we want to get too caught up in being perfectly precise.  Because sometimes the way the book itself is laid out it can be hard to tell.  We will think about that in just a moment as well.  I will put that on hold for just a second.

So here we are, Revelation 19:15, reads verse…and so out of his mouth is a sharp sword, well what is the sharp sword that would be coming?  Is that a literal thing?

[Peter Eddington] Hebrews 4:12, reads verse…so it’s the Truth.  It’s the way of life that is being wielded here.

[Steve Myers] It’s interesting to know He is not holding the sword in His hand; it is coming out of His mouth. And so that’s obviously not a literal thing but the Word is proceeding from Him.

[Peter Eddington] It’s judgment as well.

[Steve Myers] That’s right.  So, how does He win?  Well he is going to rule them; He is going to rule over them.  There is going to be this winepress of fierceness that’s described here. I think it connects back, you might write down Isaiah 11, describes that scene.  He conquers literally through the power of His Word.  Because how did the universe come into being?  God spoke, and it existed.  Is a little army down here going to withhold Him or can He just going speak a word and that’s it? I think so, I think so.  There is an amazing description of what happens in Zechariah 14:1-14, it kind of paints a picture like in an Indiana Jones movie where people just melt away.  (Someone asks a question in the audience.)  Yes, Out of the two witnesses mouth was what the comment in the room was here as well.

So you see the power of the word.  There is power in what God has to say.  Then it says, as He is returning in Revelation 19:16, reads verse…that is a pretty disgusting kind of scene if you can imagine; you have people that are being killed. Almost the exact opposite of the marriage supper, we have the opposite, this supper for the birds.  It seems to be an exact contrast to what God is doing and what Satan had been responsible for.

[Peter Eddington] Yes the fouls, the birds get to eat their meal.  A similar end time prophesy about the horses and those that sit on them in Zechariah 12:3-5, reads verse…and so He has got the horses and the people, being destroyed. And then later the birds of the air will eat the remains.  Kind of like vultures almost.

[Steve Myers] Yeah, and then he describes the beasts.  In Revelation 19:19, reads verse…So there is the opposing force of Satan’s battalion.  Reads Revelation 19:20…we are not told about a big conflict here, it’s just, that’s it (when the beast was captured).  Of course here they are gathered together, where did they gather together?  They gathered together at Armageddon.  Chapter 16 talks about that the kings of the earth, probably again pointing to the ten kings that were under the authority of the beast.  And what happens to them?  They are thrown into the lake of fire.  Cast alive it says.  And it also concludes that chapter by saying, Reads Revelation 19:21…By the mouth, by the Word.  So it’s an interesting scenario here that as Christ is returning it seems that these plagues are being poured out.  The seven last plagues don’t seem to be lasting for a very long time because they are so powerful and so complete.  The Bible talks about the complete wrath of God being poured out.  So when you talk about those various things that happen to the earth and the sea and to the rivers, if those things were allowed to continue, what would happen to mankind?  They would all die, but we know Matthew 24 tells us all flesh will not perish, right?  It would if it went on, so it’s got to be for a very short time.  Some would argue that it is may be just a day.  They kind of tie in this concept of Armageddon and that great battle, if you look back to chapter 16, it’s a little description here it says they are gathered to a place called, in Hebrew, Armageddon.  And in verse 14, what were they gathered to? Reads Revelation 16:14… Is it possible that those last plagues are poured out as Christ is returning, that God’s full judgment is poured out on mankind?  Because if it was over a longer period of time all the plants, all the animals, all of human life would be erased.  So they receive the full measure of god’s wrath and yet just not long enough so that some life might be preserved.

[Peter Eddington] So what we see here is Satan has gathered his best armies from around the world to fight Christ. And at this point, God has given Satan the freedom to instigate the ultimate rebellion.  Even in this rebellion that we are reading about here that ends up with the beast and the false prophet being cast into the lake of fire, Satan is carrying out god’s purpose.  There is a plan unfolding here. because God wants to make it clear, that all of the armies of the earth, as many soldiers as you can muster, nothing compares to the power of this returning King on His white horse with his white army.  He is the conquering messiah who is returning now to the holy city of Jerusalem, which after all is His city.  Did you ever wonder why so many nations fight over the city of Jerusalem?  The Christians want it, the Jews want it, the Muslims want it, and it’s none of theirs.  Jesus Christ is returning to His city to claim it for Himself and to set up God’s kingdom. 

I have a couple of comments about the beast and the false prophet that are used to ferment this final rebellion.  This appears to be the final death of the beast and the false prophet when they go into the lake of fire.  But compare this with 2 Thessalonians chapter two and those first 12 verses of 2 Thessalonians 2, talk about the coming of Jesus Christ and our gathering together with Him but then there is this lawless one that puts himself up as God.  Reads verses 2 Thessalonians 2:1-9…very much a picture of the false prophet and the beast which has to be destroyed as picturing the ultimate in lawlessness, there in 2 Thessalonians.   Reads 2 Thessalonians 2:10…so the lawless one and the false prophet seem to be related.  And we see in Thessalonians, in the end times when Christ returns, verse 1 there, that they will have to be destroyed for setting themselves up as God.

[Steve Myers] Yeah, and it seems like they have willfully and fully rejected God.  Sometimes it might be tied into this concept that, what were they doing at this time?   They were in ultimate authority over the earth and over its people. If you remember how Satan tempted Christ, remember what he told Him? He said if you fall down and worship me, I will give you all of the kingdoms of the earth.  Well, these guys end up with that.  And so, did they know what they were getting into?  It seems to kind of indicate that in 2 Thessalonians 2.  They knew they were being God in place of god so it seems like there maybe was this knowledge so being thrown into the lake of fire seems a natural consequence for their actions.  It’s also interesting you’ve got that connection where Mr. Eddington talked about destroying, verse 8, with the breath of His mouth.  There is this concept of this great battle going on between Satan and Christ, and somehow it’s a contest?  It’s just not right, it’s just not right.  When God is going to intervene, He’s going to intervene, all He has to do is say a word and it’s done, it’s over.  It’s not a contest.   We are not given a big description of somehow a great battle takes place and then Satan is thrown into the lake of fire.  Or the beast or false prophet, they just happen and we see the same thing happen in the next chapter as well.

[Peter Eddington] Yes, Revelation 19:21, reads verse…And in Thessalonians also you see the fire goes out of His mouth and destroys it.

Revelation 20, did you say?

[Steve Myers] Yeah, I guess we are.

[Peter Eddington] We won’t get through Revelation 20, but we will see how far we get in the next 20 minutes.  But this chapter predominately covers the time-frame of the 1000 year, millennial rule of Jesus Christ, and then it talks about the resurrections.  Some are to eternal life and one is to eternal death.  And the chapter ends with judgment upon those who ultimately refuse to follow Jesus Christ.  
So chapter 20:1; reads verse…so as the kingdom of the beast is dismantled and destroyed and the beast and false prophet are now in the lake of fire.  Satan and his demons must now be stopped from the deceiving and manipulating.  Satan’s control over this world, Satan is in control of this present evil age, as we read in Galations 1:4, this present evil age, is then terminated for 1000 years.  The battle for control of the world is finished. Satan is bound for 1000 years and his spiritual influence on mankind is halted.  God’s Holy Day plan that we follow throughout the year pictures this event, the binding of Satan, through the Feast Day, the Day of Atonement.  It is usually around September or October of each year.  The reference here of course is Leviticus chapter 16 verses 21 and 22.  You will remember that the ceremony took place in the Old Testament actually pictured this New Testament prophesy of Satan being bound.  Reads Leviticus 16:21-22… here actually took place, reads verse…so what we see is the devil is responsible for bringing sin into the world.  Human beings then unfortunately though, have followed suit and listened to him, which began back in the Garden of Eden.  But that ceremony back in Leviticus is pictured on the Day of Atonement, which then as you study other scriptures you see, that it pictures the binding of Satan.  And we find that in Revelation that that’s for 1000 years. Reads Revelation 20:3…probably won’t get into it tonight, but it is an interesting scenario, when he is released for just a little while into the millennium.  I have a very interesting commentary on it, but we may not get to it.  You can imagine what a different place this world will be when the influence of the devil is removed from people’s minds.  Isaiah 11:9 talks about it, and shows what a different world this will be when the nations are deceived no more.  Reads Isaiah 11:9…so this earth will be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and all of mankind will be offered the opportunity for salvation.  And Just like the waters cover the sea perfectly, there is no air down there at the bottom, there is no spot where the water is not touching under the sea.  It’s perfectly covered.

Reads Revelation 20:4…so these are the saints that are living and reigning with Christ for 1000 years and judgment which committed to these saints.  This verse is talking about the resurrected saints of God.  The peaceful 1000 year rule of Christ now begins and John, here in the prophesy immediately sees Jesus rewarding of the saints of the suffering they had endured over the millennia and over the centuries at the hand of Satan and his Babylonian system.  So as His faithful servants receive eternal life at the time of this resurrection, Jesus begins to fulfill His promise that they will be co-rulers with Him.  Daniel long ago observed this occasion in a vision in Daniel 7:27.  In Daniel 7:27 he talks about the saints being given this opportunity to rule with Christ.  Reads Daniel 7:27… so this is the beginning of the wonderful era often referred to by students of the bible as the Millennium.  You don’t find Millennium anywhere in the Bible, that word, but it just means 1000.  It comes to picture the 1000 year reign of Christ.  But this has been promised to the saints.  Back in Revelation 2:26, reads verse…so the saints that are in this resurrection, which we will come to see in a moment is the first of several resurrections; have been given authority over the nations.  You will also notice in Revelation 3:21, reads verse… now the parallel verse, 1 Corinthians 6:2, reads verse…that is mentioned here in Revelation, verse 4, the judgment being committed to them.  The saints will judge the world.  So it makes us think, makes you and I think, that if the world is going to be judged by me, am I up to the task?  A lesson for us today, because in 1 Corinthians 6:2 if you continue, reads verse…see there was a contention going on in the church of Corinth.  And Paul said, “Listen, if you are going to be judging the world one day, can’t you get over your petty problems now?  You guys better get on the ball.”

The world will see Jesus Christ return, the saints will be gathered together to meet Him.  He will gather His elect from the four winds of the earth.  That’s in Matthew chapter 24.  Then we read about the resurrection more specifically in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, reads verse…So Paul to the letter to the Thessalonians, was talking about this resurrection of the saints.  Now verse 4 here shows that the mark of the beast has been in existence for a long time.  For as Pretty much as long as saints have been around in New Testament times.  The beast has been in existence for as long as the false church has ridden the beast.  This could go back as early as 500 a.d.  You have Justinian, you have the Catholic Church forming, and you have the Holy Roman Empire.  And the whole false worship system of the false church.  And the saints that are resurrected here are those throughout the centuries, who have refused to have the mark of the beast placed on them.  Which is representing a false worship system.   So judgment is committed to these people who have not worshipped the beast.  But this is not just an end time thing with the mark of the beast in many respects.   There has been a false worship system for centuries, and all those who died for their faith, the true faith, will be part of this resurrection.

[Steve Myers] Yeah, and I think that it’s so important there because some would take just that passage in Revelation 24 and try to relegate that to only those who were beheaded or martyred during that very end time.  But when you put together the fact that Satan has been influencing this world throughout time and the false religious system, you can’t help but put 1 Thessalonians 4 and many other passages together to realize who he is talking about here, that this would be the saints.  And of course this isn’t to a physical resurrection, it is a spirit resurrection.  Because it says they lived with Christ.    How do you live with Christ who is spirit, if you are not spirit?  You have to remember what’s going on here that they will reign and rule over a physical people, physical earth, and they will be spirit as Christ is because they are sitting on thrones.  And they have judgment committed to them that they have been given to them by Christ, because they will be living and reigning and ruling with Him as well.

[Peter Eddington] The mark of the beast is of course discussed in detail in Revelation 13 and in Revelation 14.  A lot of members of God’s church have died over the centuries for refusing the mark of the beast. And it will happen again in the last days, in the end times perhaps in an even greater way.   In god’s holy day plan, and we talked about the Day of Atonement this 1000 year reign is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles, which follows right after the Day of Atonement.  It’s interesting to speculate about this time when Jesus Christ is ruling from Jerusalem and how the spirit of God will fill the earth like the waters cover the sea.  In just one little side note, the Bible talks about even a pure language around the planet.  It’s in Zephaniah 3:9, reads verse…so the millennium is going to be a fascinating time to be with Christ and help to bring His truth to others as they come to know Him. 

Now in Revelation 20:5, reads verse…this is what we have just been talking about here is the first resurrection, if there is a first that means you at least have to have a second one.  And we speculate there is probably a third one as well is the way it seems as we go through here.  It’s pretty much the way we believe it.  So there is more than on e resurrection and the second resurrection does not occur for 1000 years after the beginning of the first resurrection.  I might mention Romans 8:11 to you, talking about the resurrection, reads verse…by the way, the interesting word there, mortal, just a reminder that we are not immortal human beings.  We will die, never to live again unless God resurrects us.  But He will give life just like He gave life to Jesus Christ.

Reads Revelation 20:6…so once you are resurrected this time you will become immortal.  The mortal body will become immortal.  Continues reading Revelation 20:6…Now, I will probably going to end here in verse 6 because I have a few notes here on verse 6.  It’s probably as far as we will get but verse 6 tells us the first resurrection is a better resurrection to be a part of.  You ask why, is this some elitist thing?  Hebrews 11:35, reads verse…this is talking about saints who were martyred in the past.  Why? To them it meant they might obtain a better resurrection.  They stayed faithful to the word of God because they had this resurrection in mind and were more willing to die, knowing they will be resurrected in the first resurrection.  Paul was inspired in Hebrews to show there were two resurrections to life.  But the first resurrection to life is a better resurrection than the second resurrection to life.  If there is no second resurrection, why would Paul talk about a better resurrection to aim for?  There has to be an alternative as well.  And the English word, “better” in Hebrews 35 is the original Greek word, “kreitton” meaning better, stronger, or noble.  It’s a more noble resurrection.  And what this first resurrection does is offer the opportunity to reign with Christ for 1000 years.  It’s a wonderful opportunity to help teach and lead others into God’s way.  I’ve heard people sell themselves short, and they say, “Well why would I want to be in the first resurrection?  Why can’t I wait until the second resurrection when it’s a whole lot easier when Satan’s not around?”  But there are reasons why the first resurrection is a better resurrection.  In this life, we do have to overcome Satan the devil, he is not bound right now.  And we are proving our commitment to Christ as the bride and being able to sit with Him on His throne and teach others in the future of God’s way.  So you say, “why not wait until the second resurrection?”  Just imagine in your mind that we will be there with all of the great men and women of the Bible.  To serve Jesus Christ as He establishes His kingdom on the earth for the first 1000 years.  So you can imagine what kind of exciting time that will be to be there with the heroes of the Bible and all of the saints of old that died for the truth and help serve Jesus Christ.  And then we will have 1000 years to help transform this planet and its people and prepare it for what will become the second resurrection, that will probably have billions and billions of people in it; all those who have ever lived and died not knowing the truth.  So you can sense the vision and imagine the immense personal and collective satisfaction of being a part of this job.  It’s a privilege to be a part of that job.  Not only that, we will have the blessing of being there when our friends and relatives who never knew the truth come up in the second resurrection to have their first opportunity to know the truth of God.  We will be able to love them, care for them, help encourage them and show them how to follow Jesus Christ and God’s right way of life.  It’s a motivating thing to contemplate, and we will not be subject to the second death, which is part of a third resurrection that comes later in the chapter.  It’s estimated there are 240 generations of humans that have ever lived in the past 6000 years.  The second resurrection will be a family reunion on an unparalleled scale for the entire family of man, billions and billions of people.  I might quote 1 Corinthians 15:23 talking about the resurrection and resurrections, reads verse…And in 1 Corinthians 15:52, reads verse…so this passage in Corinthians shows too, that we do not have an immortal soul.  We need the resurrection.  We want to be part of the first resurrection and have the opportunity to be with Christ and bring His truth to the rest of the world.  The resurrection is necessary for us to avoid the second death, for us to die and never be resurrected again.  So Mr. Myers might have a few comments on that.  I’m going to stop here because then we get into verse 7 because Satan is then released from his prison for a short time and there is quite a different scenario now than this first resurrection which is proceeded by a second resurrection and now at the end of the 1000 years.

[Steve Myers] I think it’s important as we look at this.  It is described, like in verse 6, it says “blessed and holy is he who is part of the first resurrection.”  Just being with Christ and with God for all that time, of course. time will be irrelevant for us as spirit beings, but what an honor and blessing that would be.  To be able to reign and rule with Christ, and talk about a better resurrection and having that opportunity, why not go for the best?  Why not go for the best?  And so there are so many ways why that it is better in the opportunity, especially in the way the Bible describes individuals at this time are described as servants of God.  And an opportunity to serve God and be His servants and get a head start on that?  It’s always nice to get a head start isn’t it?  Especially if you are running a race and you’re slow.  It’s nice to have a head start and here we have an opportunity to have a head start and to help others and serve them.  It seems like there is no greater reward in many ways to be a part of people’s lives when they grow and they learn and they understand things.  That is one of the blessings of being a minister I think, is you get to be a part of people’s lives in some of the most important parts of their life.  When people begin to understand the truth it’s such an amazing blessing to be a part of that.   And as you begin to see the light come on and God grant understanding that is such a fantastic blessing.  And we will be able to have a part of that and do that, it seems like multiple times over.  To help those who are physical beings at that time to really gain an in-depth understanding of who God is, what is His plan, and how they can be a part of it too.  So, what an awesome blessing!

[Peter Eddington] And it says, about the first resurrection in Revelation 20:6, they can be priests of God.  And that sounds very Levitical or something, but what the priests did was teach the word of God to the people.  So we will simply be teachers and leaders showing God’s way to all those who have lived during the millennium.  And then, as we see, then there will be a second resurrection, and the rest of the dead will live at the end of the 1000 years.  And that will be their first opportunity to know the truth.  It will be all those who died.  Those who were deceived by false Christianity, those who are in China, or are Hindus or Buddhists, God wants all to be saved and everybody to have the opportunity to know the truth.  Some criticize the Church of God, for saying people will get a second chance by being resurrected at the end of the millennium.  But it’s their first chance; they have not known the truth yet.  Anybody who did know the truth and rejected it and blasphemed God even though they knew the truth, now that is a different story.  But those who never knew the truth, were not called or converted or baptized and accepted Jesus Christ and were filled with God’s Holy Spirit will have a chance for that.  It’s not a second chance, it’s their first chance.

[Steve Myers] One aspect about the priests as well, rather than thinking about it in an overly religious kind of way, the priests offered sacrifices of course in the Old Testament.  You fast forward to the New Testament and Romans 12 tells us we are to be a living sacrifice.  And so the ultimate fulfillment of Romans 12:1, as “present ourselves as a living sacrifice”, we will be that living sacrifice to the perfect degree in the Kingdom of God.  That we will be sacrificing all to our great God and serving the people that are alive at that time as well.  So we can see that fulfillment to the greatest extent in the kingdom.  Which it’s acceptable to God and is our reasonable service, what an honorable service that will continue to be in the kingdom.

All right, I think we better hold up there.  I didn’t receive any questions.  I’m not sure if we ever got the web going, did we get it going Tom?  There are no smiling faces in the back.

[Peter Eddington] I will post a file for everybody that will probably be sending you messages now, so hopefully we can archive, Clay is videoing now, we will get it up for everybody.

[Steve Myers] All right we will pick it up next time which is two Wednesdays from today.  We will pick it up in Revelation 20:7 and we will see how far we get from there.  So thanks a lot for coming out tonight and have an enjoyable evening, be safe driving back home.