January 30, 2007
Ç Bible Study: Revelation Chapter 11:13-19
Ô To receive the greatest possible blessing from this Bible study, please take a moment to read the passage.
Ç Prayer:
Lord God, thank you for imparting the Revelation of Jesus Christ to me. Because my finite mind has difficulty grasping everything, I need to take time to review. Help me with this endeavor to understand and to apply Your word to my life. Ignite in me the burning desire to share Your Lamb with someone today. In Jesus’ name, I ask it. Amen
Ô Introduction:
If you ever receive an e-mail from me that says, “see attachment” and you can’t find it, just smile and say, “the six-letter F word strikes again.” Then send me an e-mail to remind me to send you the attachment.
One of my friends and I don’t even like to pronounce the word “forgot.” It’s a dirty, nasty, six-letter word that should be banished—well—from our memories.
They say it goes with old age. However, I’ve heard very young people say this bad word for every kind of excuse. It is the plight of humanity. I believe that the first thing Adam and Eve lost when they fell from grace was their short-term memory.
What does all this have to do with today’s Bible study? I forget! Just kidding. But how many of us can recall the previous six trumpets, the seven seals, or even the first woe? Uh-hah, me either.
We are at the halfway point of the book of Revelation. When I read the second woe is past and the third woe comes quickly, I thought, what was the first woe? Then, I read the next verse. It says that the seventh angel sounded. Uh-oh. What were the other six? Time for a review.
Ç The Lesson:
Chapter 1:
e Introduces the object of the Revelation—Jesus Christ
e Guarantees those who read it a three-fold blessing—the knowledge of what is to come, assurance of victory, and a perfect vision of Jesus Christ
e And gives a beautiful description of Jesus.
Chapter 2 and 3:
e Addresses the seven churches of the apocalypse: their attributes, Jesus’ criticisms, His instructions, and His promises if the churches repent.
Chapter 4:
e Introduces the 24 elders who represent the true believers, both Jew and Gentile
e Establishes their function and their appearance before the throne of God
e Four creatures are revealed, which never rest
e They offer the sacrifice of praise to Almighty God night and day
e Each creature has a significant characteristic
The first creature resembles a lion—courage and strength
The second creature resembles an ox—labor and diligence
The third creature resembles a man—prudence and discretion
The fourth creature resembles an eagle—swiftness and zeal.
Chapter 5:
e Reveals the Lamb of God
e His worthiness to be praised
e His worthiness to open the sealed book.
Chapter 6:
e The first seal: the white horse—his rider who carries a bow and sets out to conquer.
e The second seal: the fiery red horse of war—his rider is given a sword and takes peace from the earth
e The third seal: the black horse is released bringing famine and poverty to the inhabitants of the earth
e The fourth seal: the pale (greenish-yellow) horse is freed and kills ¼ of the world’s population through war, famine disease, wild beasts, and “the death”
e The fifth seal: the martyrs throughout history long for vengeance. This seal promises more martyrs will follow, but God will avenge their blood
e The sixth seal: darkness overtakes the world (probably spiritual, although a physical darkness seems to accompany it) these events precede the second coming of Jesus as the conquering King.
Chapter 7:
e Four angels are given permission to do vast destruction to the earth through natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados
e 144,000 witnesses from the tribes of Israel will be sealed and protected from the coming disasters to serve as God’s witnesses
e A multitude clothed in white garments too numerous to count appear before the throne of God praising and worshipping Him
e All creatures in heaven join the celebration.
Chapter 8:
e The Lamb of God opens the seventh seal and brief hush falls on the worshippers
e Seven angels are given seven trumpets
e The first trumpet blast: hail and fire mingled with blood destroys 1/3 of all vegetation causing a shortage of food—compare with the third horse of chapter six
e The second trumpet blast: a great mountain burning with fire is cast into the sea and the sea becomes blood killing 1/3 of all creatures within the sea and destroying 1/3 of all ships
e The third trumpet blast: a star falls from heaven by the name of Wormwood, the bitterest herb known, wormwood paralyzes and kills
e The fourth trumpet blast: one third of the sun, stars, and moon cease to shed their light upon the earth
e An eagle flies through heaven shouting the warning, “Woe, Woe, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth.” The coming three trumpets will bring even more horrific calamity upon the earth.
Chapter 9:
e The fifth trumpet blast (the first woe): a star falls from heaven to earth representing Satan who is given the key to the bottomless pit
e When Satan opens the pit, creatures materialize out of the smoke John describes as locusts, which symbolizes demons. (Smoke symbolizes evil)
e These locusts receive power as scorpions and permission to torment, but not to kill. (Although not fatal to humans, a scorpion’s sting disables, causes convulsions, and renders excruciating pain)
e The sixth trumpet blast (the second woe): the answer to the martyrs’ request—“when will You, Oh God, avenge our blood.” (see chapter 6:9-10 the opening of the fifth seal). Four angels emerge out of the Euphrates River followed by 200,000,000 horsemen. One third of the world’s population will be destroyed by this war. Unfortunately, the remaining inhabitants curse God.
Chapter 10:
e Another beautiful picture of Christ as a Mighty Angel
e Seven thunders roar like a mighty lion, but God commands John to seal the thunders
e The Mighty Angel takes an oath—there shall be no more delay in the accomplishment of God’s salvation plan. When the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, God will complete all His promises for judgments and rewards
e God instructs John to take the book from the Mighty Angel and eat it. John must consume God’s word and present it to many people.
Chapter 11:
e The Lord commands John to measure the temple, the altar, and to count the worshippers
e The courtyard outside the temple is not included in the process because it belongs to the pagan Gentiles
e God sends two men to Jerusalem as His witnesses for 1260 days
e After completing their duty, the beast wages war against them and slaughters them
e No one buries them
e All the people on earth celebrate the death of the two witnesses
e After they lay dead on the street for 3 ½ days, God breathes life back into the witnesses in clear view of their enemies
e A voice from heaven is heard calling the witnesses to heaven
e At the same time, a great earthquake shakes the city—1/10 of the city falls and 7000 people die. This may not be an exact number, a figurative number signifying a vast amount and complete in God’s sight.
e Great fear cascades over the inhabitants of the earth and they gave glory to God. However, the glory stemmed from fear and not reverence.
e The second woe it past and a promise that the third woe comes quickly
e The sound of the seventh trumpet (the third woe): Jesus sets up His earthly kingdom
e The 24 elders introduced in Chapter 4 fall on their faces and worship God
e They thank Him for His coming judgment on those who reject His Lamb and for His rewards to those who receive Him
e The temple of heaven opens revealing the ark of His covenant
e Lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail follow
Ô Conclusion and Challenge:
The events recorded in book of Revelation overlap making it difficult to understand. However, looking at this outline clarifies many of the major occurrences. It appears to take on the earmark of a three-dimensional puzzle.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ begins with creation. The Revelation written by John seems to describe how the curse of humanity unfolded from the fall through Adam and Eve to the present day with each seal, trumpet, and bowl adding to the revolution. The climax is the seventh trumpet—Jesus will appear as the conquering King of kings.
Ç Prayer Requests:
Rachel, Nancy, Gloria, Glen, Trista, Pastor Maloney, Ken, Bud, Shelia, Amber, Shirley & Ryan, Gary, Jo, Barb, Bob, Melinda & Barry and family, Phyllis and husband, Don, John, Ray, Conner, Elizabeth, Mary, Irene, salvation for unsaved, April, Tony and Kathy, Carl and Thelma, Ann, Pauline, revival—In our hearts, in our churches, and in our communities, cancer victims, our Bible Study, special unspoken needs, and remember me, Brenda Hendricks.
Ô Praise Report:
Wayne and April are expecting their first baby April 2007. Congratulations.
Shirley’s surgery went well and the doctors believe they got all the cancer cells.
Jace came through his surgery with positive results again.
Ruth is mending from her surgery and everything looks good for her.
I had the great pleasure of hearing the testimony of one of my loved ones who is now saved. WOO HOO!! God is so good—always, all ways.
We are looking forward to your praise reports. Please keep us informed so we can share the wonderful grace of Jesus.
Ç Next Weeks Study:
Our next Bible Study is February 6, 2007. Read Chapter 12, The Woman and the Dragon.
Ô Invitation:
Although we have not chosen to be, we are all born into sin because of the fall of man. It sounds hopeless and unfair. Nevertheless, in His infinite wisdom and abundant love, God has provided a choice for us. We can choose to repent of our sinful nature and believe in Jesus Christ. He is faithful and will cleanse us from sin and give us His Holy Spirit to equip us to live for Him. If you’ve made your choice to repent and believe in Jesus, we’d like to hear about it.
If you are free in Christ Jesus, pray for those who remain captive. Tell others, Christians as well as non-believers, what Jesus has done for you. Your testimony will benefit them and help you to strengthen your confidence in Christ’s work in your life and in the future.
If you’d like to participate in our Bible Study, please contact us with your comments, questions, and prayer requests at twosmallfish@verizon.net. Be sure to put today’s Bible study in the subject line or I may delete it unopened.
Ç A special reminder: to find out what other readers have to say check out the comment page. To view the previous chapters of our study on the book of Revelation, follow this link: http://www.twosmallfish.org/revelation_bible_study.htm
Ç To view our previous Bible studies, follow this link: http://www.twosmallfish.org/Archives/index.html
May God grant you safety, reassurance of His love, and the revelation of Jesus Christ,
See you in a twinkling,
Ô Brenda Hendricks.
You turned
my mourning into dancing
You stripped me of my sorrow and clothed me with your joy
I cannot be silent, I will sing Your praises forever. Psalms 30:11&12
(paraphrased by me)
