Interpreting the book of Revelation certainly isn’t getting any easier with this chapter. Yet if we remain content understanding general themes, it isn’t so bad. God is holy. He offers mercy. When His mercy ends, His judgment begins.

At first it seems as if Jesus, the Lamb of 14:1, and the 144,000, are on the earth, standing on Mt. Zion in Israel. But as we continue reading, we discover that the scene is actually in heaven (14:2-3). Is there a Mt. Zion in heaven? According to the author of the book of Hebrews, it seems there is. In Hebrews 12, he contrasts the ancient Israelites standing before Mt. Sinai at the giving of the Mosaic Law with the church of the redeemed, standing before a heavenly Mt. Zion:

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect (Heb. 12:22-23).

So it seems that chapter 14 begins with the 144,000 worshipping in heaven, but we are not told how they got there!

Next, we encounter three angels flying through mid-heaven. The first preaches the gospel and admonishes the earth-dwellers to worship God (14:6-7). I wonder if his ministry to earth’s inhabitants is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that in the end times: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

The second angel announces the fall of “Babylon the great,” which “has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality” (14:8). This is the first mention of Babylon in Revelation, and we will read more about it in chapters 16, 17 and 18. Babylon is an ancient empire and an ancient city, located in modern Iraq, which has been in ruins since before John’s time. Unless that city (or empire) will be re-established and once again rise to world-wide prominence, then Revelation’s Babylon must be symbolic of a very wicked city that likely exists now, or a future evil empire. In chapter 17 Babylon is referred to as being “the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth” and in 18:10 and 21 it is called a city. We’ll consider this more when we read about Babylon in those chapters.

The third angel who flies through mid-heaven warns the earth’s people of the consequences that will befall those who worship the beast or his image, or take his mark: They will be tormented with fire and brimstone, and as much as we may not want to accept it, it appears to be a punishment that will last forever (14:11). Thus it is important that the saints persevere in faith and obedience, as John declares in 14:12, lest they suffer that awful fate (John did not believe in “once-saved-always-saved”). It is better to die than to take the beast’s mark, which is likely why a voice then told John to write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!” (14:13).

The reaping and pressing of the grapes, depicted in 14:18-20, is obviously symbolic for God’s gathering of the wicked and their subsequent judgment. I suspect it’s a description of the battle of Armageddon, when Jesus returns to wage war with the armies of the antichrist. The carnage will apparently be immense, described by John as being so great that blood will flow for 200 miles to the depth of horses’ bridles (14:20). This is hard to imagine, making me suspect that John’s description is part of the overall symbolism of the passage. But who knows?

The prophet Zechariah described God’s future destruction of a great horde of the wicked, perhaps seeing what John also foresaw. Zechariah wrote, “Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth” (Zech. 14:12). Yikes!

After reading about the seven “seal judgments” and then the seven “trumpet judgments,” this chapter prepares us for the “bowl judgments.” John does give us some hint of their chronological sequence, informing us that these are the final plagues. We will discover in the next chapter that those seven plagues culminate with the battle of Armageddon.

By this time, those who refused to worship the antichrist or his image, and who refused to take his mark, are found worshipping in heaven (15:2-4). Whether they are there as a result of martyrdom or a rapture, we are not told. In any case, no one can argue against the fact that they were on the earth during the rise of the antichrist and his persecution of believers. And nothing is said about them being Jews who were born again during the tribulation, as some who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church like to think. For this and other reasons, I think believers are much safer if they don’t count on being raptured before the antichrist “wages war against the saints,” something which God foretold Daniel (Dan. 7:21; 13:7). Better to be prepared for the worst.

Will there be any believers still on the earth during the final seven plagues of the bowl judgments? We will read in chapter 16 that when the first bowl is poured out, the result will be “loathsome and malignant” sores “on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image” (16:2), perhaps indicating that some on the earth at that time will not have the antichrist’s mark or have worshipped his image. Moreover, after the sixth bowl judgment, which results in the gathering of kings for the battle of Armageddon, Jesus is then quoted as saying, “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame” (16:15). If every believer was in heaven by this time, there would seem to be no need for such admonitions for people to remain ready for Jesus’ coming.

On the other hand, as we read through the seven bowl judgments, it is difficult to understand how some of them will not affect everyone who is still alive on planet earth. So, once again, we’re left scratching our heads!

A few chapters from now, we’ll read an angel’s explanation to John of what this first beast, to whom we are introduced today, represents. His seven heads represent seven mountains and seven kings (17:9-10), and his ten horns also represent ten kings “who give their power and authority to the beast” (17:12-13). John is also told that the beast himself is an eighth king and is “one of the seven” (17:11). Although this is not as clear as we might desire, it is clear enough for us to be certain that the first beast is no less than the antichrist—who will one day captivate and dominate the world—through his ten-nation confederacy. Note that he has the same number of heads (seven) and horns (ten) as the dragon (Satan) whom we met in the previous chapter (12:3). Indeed, it is Satan who gives the beast his “power and his throne and great authority” (13:2).

John also notes that the first beast has characteristics of a leopard, bear and lion. The prophet Daniel also had a vision in which he saw four beasts come out of the sea, the first three of which successively looked like a lion, bear and leopard. The fourth beast Daniel saw also had ten horns, and he was told that each one represented a king who would come under the domination of the future antichrist (Dan. 7:1-28).

John saw one of the heads of the first beast receive a fatal wound that was then healed, causing the world to be amazed and worship both Satan and the beast (13:3-4). The antichrist may well use his miraculous resurrection to validate his messiahship. He will truly be a false messiah, an impostor of Christ.

John also describes the beast as “speaking arrogant words and blasphemies” (13:5) just as did the “little horn” in Daniel’s vision which I previously mentioned, a horn which clearly represented the antichrist (Dan. 7:8, 19-26). Also, the little horn in Daniel’s vision “makes war with the saints” (Dan. 7:21) just as does John’s first beast (13:7). John wrote that he will have authority to act for forty-two months—exactly three-and-a-half years (13:5), a number with which you should be quite familiar by now.

The second beast to whom we are introduced today is called “the false prophet” in 16:13 and 19:20. Aided by miraculous signs, he will be the leader of the new religion of beast worshippers. Jesus, of course, foretold that “false christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).

That false prophet will tell “those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the [first] beast” (13:14), which he will somehow animate so that it speaks and even kills those that don’t worship it. Obviously, some will not worship it. Could John have seen some kind of interactive television? Can you imagine having a TV set that has a tiny camera on it, that when an image of the antichrist is broadcast, it monitors who is and is not bowing before it? I’m writing this right now on a laptop that has a tiny built-in camera, so the scenario I’ve just described is not so far-fetched!

The false prophet will force everyone to take a mark on their hands or foreheads, without which they will not be able to buy or sell. Some speculate that the mark will be an implanted microchip that contains individual data, something already being done in both animals and humans. There would be no need for cash and no worry about stolen credit cards, because everyone’s financial information would be contained within his implanted chip, and his bank account could be automatically adjusted at each transaction. This interpretation, however, has its opponents, because John said that the mark would be the name or number of the beast, indicating the mark would perhaps only symbolize allegiance to the beast. Whatever it is, that is a mark you don’t want to take if you’re ever given the opportunity.

Regarding the number 666, many speculate, but I don’t have a clue!

This chapter could be called “a short history of the devil in relationship to Israel.” What we’ve just read certainly doesn’t fit well into any assumed chronological order within the book of Revelation, as it begins with a vision of the birth of Jesus.

The unnamed woman to whom we are first introduced, and from whom Christ comes, can only represent Israel, and the 12 stars on her head must represent Israel’s 12 tribes. Her child is portrayed in 12:5 as the One who will “rule all the nations with a rod of iron,” who is unquestionably Christ (Ps. 2:9; Rev. 2:27; 19:15). He is also seen as being caught up to the throne of God, which is what happened at Christ’s ascension. Satan is unquestionably portrayed as a dragon, who attempts to kill Jesus at His birth, which we know he attempted through Herod’s slaughter of the Bethlehem babes. Satan is also portrayed as “the accuser of the brethren” (12:10) and as a persecutor of Israel (12:13, 17).

The dragon’s seven heads and ten horns must represent end-times governments and political leaders over whom he will hold sway. His tail sweeping away a third of the stars in heaven and throwing them to earth may represent a third of the angels joining Satan’s original rebellion against God. This is, however, speculative.

We also read today of Satan being expelled from heaven and cast down to earth, and it can’t be a reference to his original expulsion because he is spoken of being cast down as “the accuser of the brethren.” There were no brethren to accuse when he was originally expelled. Additionally, when Satan finds himself on the earth, he persecutes the descendants of Israel, which also didn’t exist when he was originally cast out of heaven. Also take note that when Satan is cast down to the earth, we are told that he has “great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time” (12:12), one more indication that we are reading about a future expulsion. It seems safe to conclude that Satan has had some access to heaven even after his pre-Adamic rebellion and expulsion according to certain scriptures (Job 1:6, 2:2; Zech. 3:1-2; Luke 22:31-32). Satan’s accusing of the brethren before God “night and day” (12:10) also points to his current access to heaven.

The devil has certainly persecuted the descendants of Israel down through the centuries, and after his future expulsion from heaven he will apparently specifically target them again (12:13). However, twice in this chapter we learn that at least some of Israel’s descendants will be given divine assistance to “flee to the wilderness,” where they will find safe haven for 1,260 days, a span of time that is also described by John in today’s reading as “a time and times and half a time” (12:6, 14). That identical expression is found in Daniel 7:25 and 12:7, and Daniel was told that it was the length of time that the saints would be given into the hands of the antichrist. So we can say with certainty that “a time and times and half a time” is one year, two years, and half a year, or a total of three-and-a-half years, which is the identical length of time that Jerusalem will be trodden underfoot by the nations (11:2) and the length of the two witnesses’ prophetic ministry in Jerusalem (11:3). Interesting stuff!

Perhaps Israel’s fleeing to the wilderness corresponds to Jesus’ warning to His followers that they should “flee to the mountains” when they see the “abomination of desolation” standing in the holy place, that is, when the antichrist sets himself up in the temple as being God (Matt. 24:15-18). Jesus said that event would mark the beginning of a “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21).

Will there be believers on the earth during Satan’s end times persecution of Israel? There will definitely be believing Jews then, as some are spoken of as “the rest of [the woman’s] children, who keep the commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (12:17).

During the final days of the final days, Jerusalem, referenced in this chapter as “the holy city” and “Sodom and Egypt” (11:2, 8), will be trodden underfoot by the nations for forty-two months, or exactly three-and-a-half years (11:2). Due to a prophecy in the ninth chapter of Daniel that leads many to believe that the end times’ tribulation lasts seven years, the three-and-a-half years mentioned by John is often thought to be the last half of seven years of tribulation. But no one really knows for sure.

We are introduced today to “two witnesses,” prophets whom John wrote will prophesy for exactly 1,260 days in Jerusalem, clothed in sackcloth (11:3). If we divide 1,260 by the number of days in a Jewish year—360—we discover that 1,260 days is exactly 3 1/2 years also. We don’t know, however, if the 3 1/2 years in which Jerusalem is trodden underfoot by the nations is the same 3 1/2 years that the two witnesses prophesy there.

We are also not told the identities of those two prophets. Some speculate that they are Enoch and Elijah, two Old Testament prophets who never died. Yet nothing is said about the two reincarnated witnesses being Old Testament men. I happen to be flying home from Texas as I write these words, and while I was there I met a man who believes that he is Elijah and that he is one of those two witnesses. I was not convinced, however.

God refers to those witnesses as the “two olive trees and two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth” (11:4). That doesn’t help us much! We find something similar in the fourth chapter of the Old Testament book written by the prophet Zechariah, who saw (about six-hundred and fifty years before John’s vision) his own vision of two olive trees and a lampstand (Zech. 4:1-4, 11-14). Zechariah was told that the two “olive branches” were “two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth” (Zech. 4:14).

Regardless of what we don’t understand about them, it is quite clear that God will grant those prophets incredible powers by which they will be able to kill those who oppose them and make life even more miserable for everyone on the earth. They will surely call the world to repentance, but their preaching will apparently be fruitless. After three-and-a-half years of ministry, they will be slain by a “beast that comes up out of the abyss” (11:7), who will later be revealed to us as the antichrist.

The demise of those two prophets will make world headlines, and everyone will celebrate, thinking that their problems are finally over. The party, however, will last for just three-and-a-half days, because the dead bodies of those two prophets will be resurrected as they lie on Jerusalem streets and then be taken up to heaven. That event will doubtlessly be broadcast around the globe as well. Yet there will be no revival. Rather, there will be an earthquake in Jerusalem that will kill 7,000 people.

When God removes those two prophets, it would seem that all hope of mercy on the earth departs with them. The seventh angel sounds his ominous trumpet, over which there is reason to rejoice in heaven, for the inhabitants there know that God will soon judge the dead, rewarding the righteous and destroying the unrighteous (11:18). And then He will reign over all the earth.

These future events are sure to come, and they could occur within your lifetime if you eat healthy!

I have more questions than answers regarding the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments. But rather than be frustrated over what is a mystery, let us be glad that the general themes are crystal clear. No one who reads this chapter debates the fact that God’s ever-increasing end-time judgments will result in much misery for the earth’s inhabitants, and when the sixth trumpet judgment is completed, the world’s population will have decreased by a third. Still, those who survive will not fear God, as evidenced by the fact that they don’t repent of their idolatry, murder, sorcery, immorality and thievery (9:20-21).

Regarding the stinging locusts who are released to torment earth’s inhabitants for five months, it seems reasonable to believe that they are demonic spirits rather than a new species of physical insects. They are released by an angel from the “bottomless pit,” and their leader is a fallen angel named Abaddon/Apollyon. The fact that John describes them as resembling war horses with crowned human faces that have women’s hair, lions’ teeth, locusts’ wings, and the tail of a scorpion, seems to also support the idea that they are demonic spirits. I suppose that if they are invisible that will make their stinging torment all the worse. John writes that people will wish for death then. Pharmaceutical companies will be working overtime to come up with a pill for those afflicted with “sudden sting syndrome.”

Take note that the stinging locusts are not permitted to harm those “who have the seal of God on their foreheads” (9:4), a reference to those in chapter seven who were specially marked, which included 144,000 descendants of Israel (and perhaps others). So God will differentiate between the righteous and the wicked, a comforting thought. And if only 144,000 descendants of Israel do possess the seal of God on their foreheads, then this passage seems to strongly suggest that all other believers will have been martyred or raptured by the time of the fifth trumpet judgment.

The sixth trumpet judgment also seems to be a release of demonic spirits—200 million of them—by means of the release of four fallen angels who for some unexplained reason are bound “at the great river Euphrates” (9:14). The Euphrates begins in Turkey, and flows across Syria and through Iraq, emptying into the Persian Gulf, so it is not too difficult to imagine a few demons in that region of the world!

Some commentators suggest that John was not describing demons, but an army of 200 million men accompanied by tanks and artillery, something John had never seen in his day, and thus he described as having “mouths” from which “proceed fire and smoke and brimstone” (9:17). I wonder, however, why John would describe tanks and artillery as having horses with heads like lions, and why he would refer to gun barrels as the mouths of those “horses,” which, incidentally, had riders whose breastplates were “the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone” (9:17). I also wonder about those horses’ tails which “are like serpents and have heads” and which also do harm (9:19). That hardly sounds like a description of army tanks to me. I am more inclined to think that John witnessed yet another release of tormenting demonic spirits.

Obviously, God will hope that the two-thirds of the earth’s inhabitants who survived the sixth trumpet judgment will be motivated to repent; otherwise He would have had no mercy on them and killed them all. His mercy will be spurned, however. Take note that God foreknows that His mercy will be spurned by the survivors, but He only foreknows it because He allows them to survive and He observes their reaction, a reaction which can then be known as well as foreknown! God cannot foreknow the reactions of free moral agents unless those free moral agents are tested in the realm of time. So foreknowledge is not quite all it is cracked up to be!

The eleven short verses of chapter ten are parenthetical between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. It begins with an angel who is apparently quite large, as he places “his right foot on the sea and his left on the land” (10:2), who cries out with a loud voice. At the same time, John hears “seven peals of thunder” (10:4) which communicate something that John is forbidden to record. So there is a sure example of something God does not want us to understand.

Apparently, however, that particular event signals the end of a long delay to the finishing of the “mystery of God…as He preached to His servants the prophets” (10:6-7). That must be reference to all that was foretold in the Old Testament about “the day of the Lord.” Although the final pouring out of God’s wrath upon the earth had been delayed for a long time, nothing will be able to stop it when the seventh angel sounds. This is the beginning of the end.

The book that John then ate was symbolic of the words he would prophesy concerning all that would occur after the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, what we will be reading in the remainder of Revelation. Although that book was sweet in his mouth, it was bitter in his stomach, perhaps symbolizing the bittersweet quality of the message. We’re all looking forward to the inevitable end of things, but who is looking forward to the final judgments that precede Jesus’ wonderful return? And once He has returned, there will never be another opportunity for mercy and repentance, which is why, according to Peter, Jesus has delayed His return for so long:

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up (2 Pet. 3:9-10).

I’m glad the Lord was patient with me!

Today’s reading reminds me of an old joke about a Presbyterian and a Baptist. The Presbyterian makes the claim that Presbyterians will be the first to be taken up in the rapture. “Does not Scripture say, ‘There was silence in heaven for about a half an hour’? (8:1). That must be when God’s frozen people, the Presbyterians, arrive!” His Baptist friend counters, “Oh no, Baptists will be in heaven first. The Bible says, ‘The dead in Christ will rise first’!” (1 Thes. 4:16).

I suspect, contrary to that joke, that the reason for the half-hour of silence in heaven is not due to the arrival of the Presbyterians, but because of the solemnity of the judgments that are about to occur on earth at the breaking of the seventh seal. This begins the seven “trumpet judgments,” the first four of which all affect one-third of the earth in various catastrophic ways.

You probably noticed that the seven trumpet judgments are preceded by mention of “the prayers of all the saints” (8:3), symbolized by the smoke of incense that arises from an angel’s golden censer before God’s throne (8:4). The judgments that follow are clearly related to those prayers, as we read that the angel fills the censer with fire from the altar and then throws it to the earth, which results in thunder, lightning and an earthquake. It seems that the martyrs’ prayers for vengeance, of which we read in 6:9-10, are finally being answered after an initial delay. Remember that the Lord initially promised that He would avenge their deaths once additional martyrs suffered their fates. If the multitude before God’s throne of whom we read in the final part of chapter 7—who came “out of the great tribulation”—were those additional martyrs, then perhaps chapter 8 begins to describe the answers to the prayers of the initial martyrs.

Surely, if any followers of Christ remain on the earth during those first four trumpet judgments, they will be protected from God’s wrath. Some speculate that the repeated mentioning of the afflictions that plague one-third of the earth indicate a geographical third of the earth. That is, when we read that “a third of the trees were burned up,” John doesn’t mean that one-third of all the trees across the entire planet will be burned, but that in one geographical third of the earth, all the trees will be burned. This principle would seem to be true regarding the second trumpet judgment when “a third of the sea became blood” (8:8). Still, it isn’t clear enough to make a confident assertion either way.

To those who are inclined to believe that the trumpet judgments should not be taken literally, it is helpful to remember that much of what John describes of earth’s future judgment is similar to the judgments that the Egyptians experienced prior to Israel’s exodus. Moreover, Jesus spoke of similar future judgments in literal terms: “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26).

Revelation offers a true revelation of God’s holy wrath, and those who say that the God of the New Testament is different from the God of the Old haven’t read Revelation too closely. Aren’t you glad that you’ve been saved from the wrath of God through Jesus?

This seventh-chapter interlude in the “seal judgments” is a prelude to chapter eight, in which the seventh and final seal of the sacred scroll is broken by Christ, which introduces seven successive “trumpet judgments.” Prior to those judgments, it is apparently important to mark “the bond-servants of God” on their foreheads so that they will not suffer the judgments that are about to fall upon the world. In chapter nine, for example, we will read about stinging locusts that will torment only those who do not have “the seal of God on their foreheads” (9:4).

We are later told in Revelation that the mark on the foreheads of these 144,000 bond-servants is the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father (14:1). We are also later told that all of the bond-servants of God will have His name on their foreheads (22:3-4). For that reason, we may be jumping to a wrong conclusion if we think that only 144,000 descendants of Israel receive that mark at the time it is mentioned in this chapter. It is certainly possible that there will be more than 144,000 bond-servants of God on the earth then, and if so, it is certainly possible that all of them will be marked, but that 144,000 who are descended from Israel among them are specifically mentioned for some reason. Some theorize that they are called as evangelists, but that is speculation. They are mentioned again in 14:1-5, but by that time they are found in heaven worshipping before God’s throne, either by virtue of martyrdom or rapture. So many mysteries!

How will it be possible to single out 12,000 descendants from each of the 12 tribes of Israel when there has been so much inter-mixing of those tribes over the past 2,000 years? Obviously, if we are to take the twelve-thousand number literally, then those who are marked won’t necessarily possess a pure lineage from just one tribe, but each could have a dominant lineage from one tribe. God knows everyone’s genetics. It has also been suggested that the 144,000, unlike other bond-servants who are sealed on their foreheads at that time, are ancient believing Jews who are already in heaven, and who thus may all possess pure lineages. On the other hand, there would seem to be no reason to mark those who are already in heaven. Again, we have more questions than answers.

Some suggest that it is during this interlude between the sixth and seventh seal judgments that believers will be raptured from the earth due to the fact that, in this chapter, John sees a multitude of redeemed people in heaven who are described as “the ones who have come out of the great tribulation” (7:14). Yet we will read in chapter nine, as I have already mentioned, of the release of stinging locusts that will torment only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads, implying that there will be people on earth at that time who do possess God’s mark. On the other hand, we may be wrong to assume that what we read in chapter nine follows chronologically what we’re reading today in chapter seven! It is also possible that the great multitude whom John saw is a multitude of martyrs rather than of “rapturees!” I don’t know!

In any case, we can be certain that, although believers who are alive during the tribulation may not be spared from suffering under the antichrist’s political system, they will certainly not be the objects of God’s wrath as He pours it out upon the earth. There are only three possibilities. They will either be martyred, raptured or protected. God has not destined us for wrath (1 Thes. 5:9).

Rather than worry ourselves with what might lie ahead in our temporary future, let’s rejoice in what lies ahead in our eternal future. As the angel told John, God will “spread His tabernacle” over us (7:15) and “wipe every tear” from our eyes (7:17). In the “ages to come,” He will be showing us “the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). Praise God!

Although this chapter is full of mystery regarding the specific details, the overriding message is clear: perilous days precede the time of Christ’s return. It seems this chapter contains a general overview of those times, and as each seal of the scroll is broken by Jesus, a divine judgment is revealed that afflicts the earth.

If there is any chronological order implied in today’s reading, then the earth’s major woes begin with the revelation of the antichrist. He is symbolized by the first of four “horsemen of the apocalypse.” Note that he rides a white horse, just as Jesus does when He returns (see 19:11-14). He thus portrays himself not only as a “good guy,” but as the Messiah. The world will be deceived by him, ultimately believing he is God.

We are told that the antichrist will go “out conquering, and to conquer” (6:2). According to the prophet Daniel, the antichrist is a man of war who will rise from a ten-nation confederacy and subdue three of those nations (Dan. 7:8, 20-24). Take note that his rising is by divine decree, a sovereign judgment from God. You may remember that we read in 2 Thessalonians:

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness (2 Thes. 2:8-12).

The earth will be plagued by war during the antichrist’s time (also symbolized by the second horseman of the apocalypse), and famine with its accompanying skyrocketing food costs (6:6), as well as widespread death and disease, respectively symbolized by the third and forth horsemen. Apparently, one-fourth of the world’s inhabitants will either live in regions that will suffer these judgments, or one-fourth of the world’s inhabitants will perish in these judgments (6:8).

Remember that Jesus also foretold of false messiahs, wars and famines that will plague the world during the end times. He warned, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars…for nation will rise against nation…and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes” (Matt. 24:5-7).

The end times will also mean martyrdom for many believers, as revealed by the breaking of the fifth seal. Note that those martyrs have a complaint that they make before God: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (6:10). They are told to wait until after even more martyrs are made. Note that they had not forgiven those who murdered them; nor were they told to forgive them. As we have learned repeatedly on our journey through the New Testament, we are obligated to love our enemies, but that doesn’t mean we are obligated to forgive them. God loves the wicked but He doesn’t forgive them—unless they repent.

This chapter’s overview of the final days ends with a description of what Jesus said would occur just before His return (Matt. 24:29-30). There will be a great earthquake, the sun will be darkened, the moon will become blood red, and the stars will fall from the sky (meteorites?). Every mountain and island will be moved from its place (6:14). All the earth will cower in terror from the wrath of the Lamb and Him who sits on the throne (6:15-16).

Where will believers be then? They will be either protected on earth, or safe in heaven by virtue of martyrdom or the rapture. “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:9). Praise God!