Book of Revelation Chapter 21

A New Heaven and a New Earth
21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. 21:2 And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.

In this same story we just saw the dragon, the chief indicator of the presence of symbolism. Now we see an entire city falling out of heaven. How often does that happen in real life? Clearly this is also symbolism.  To a Jew in AD 60, the holy city was something to be loved. What God is telling us here is that God’s presence will now be with man verses before when there used to be a layer between heaven and earth where Satan roamed. This again points to the restructuring of the heavens. God’s presence is no closer than it was before. We have more direct access to him.

21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”

No where does it say that we’re all in spirit form. No where does it say that God is in human form. Therefore what we know today about us being in human form and God being in spirit form is still the system in place. When it says that God will be with them, it doesn’t say how he will be with them. Most people suspect that angels are among us and that Jesus lives in us. That’s a direct presence of heavenly beings. Therefore since the restructuring of the heavens has already happened and there are no layers between us and God, we literally walk and live in or very near the first layer of heaven now.

“death will not exist anymore” – What death? The second death is in the lake of fire where nothing seems to vanish. It’s just a holding ground for eternal separation of beings. The first death is for humans. It is the entry point into the spirit world, a necessary event to see God. If the first death is necessary still for humans who still walk the face of the earth, and the second one still exists some place else, what death is no more? When we started this book there were great battles going on. There were bowls of wrath, trumpets of judgments, opening of scrolls, 1/3 of humans died, 1/3 of the land was destroyed etc… War brings death. Jesus brought the wrath, and here he is saying that the wrath is complete and sufferings from his hands are no more. The Jews who rejected and crucified Christ, who had the law as their god, that entire system and agreement have been destroyed and are no more. They have ceased to exist.

21:5 And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.” 21:6 He also said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water free of charge from the spring of the water of life. 21:7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.”

All things new. This is not a reference to a world that was destroyed by fire. It’s not even a reference to a world devastated by plagues, earthquakes or wrath. It is a reference to what matters. What matters in the end is the world that God lives in, the spirit world. Yes, this is another reference to the restructuring of the heavens. The cowards who took the mark of Caesar and worshiped him instead, those that did not believe and the rest of them were thrown into the lake of fire. Here the second death is still in play. It was not removed by the previous paragraph where it was stated that there was no more death. This gives my theory more weight that is was the death that came from the wrath that is no more.

The New Jerusalem Descends
21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride (the church), the wife of the Lamb!” 21:10 So he took me away in the Spirit to a huge, majestic mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 21:11 The city possesses the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 21:12 It has a massive, high wall with twelve gates, with twelve angels at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel are written on the gates. 21:13 There are three gates on the east side, three gates on the north side, three gates on the south side and three gates on the west side. 21:14 The wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 21:15 The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. 21:16 Now the city is laid out as a square, its length and width the same. He measured the city with the measuring rod at fourteen hundred miles (its length and width and height are equal). 21:17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s. 21:18 The city’s wall is made of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. 21:19 The foundations of the city’s wall are decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 21:20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21:21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls – each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.

This long and detailed description is meant to mean something more to the Jews. They loved their temple. They believed that the only place God would be would be in a temple. Here God is telling them that this new city is better than the temple because man has greater access to God and both God and man will live in the city together. The extreme detail God goes into about how it is built is meant to appeal to them because of how much the temple meant to them. However there is no actual city to look forward to. This story was told to the Jews in the same way that Jesus told parables. He wanted them to look beyond the imagery to learn a better way was coming. The symbolic imagery is meant to make the Jews feel that this new place was going to be perfect.

21:22 Now I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God – the All-Powerful – and the Lamb are its temple.

He dwells among us in spirit form.

21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb. 21:24 The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their grandeur into it. 21:25 Its gates will never be closed during the day (and there will be no night there). 21:26 They will bring the grandeur and the wealth of the nations into it, 21:27 but nothing ritually unclean will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or practices falsehood, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

More references to Jewish life and customs. ‘nothing ritually unclean will enter into it’. Nothing unclean can enter into it because you have to die to get there and non-believers will not dwell there.

Revelation Chapter 14

An Interlude: The Song of the 144,000

14:1 Then I looked, and here was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 14:2 I also heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. 14:4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, 14:5 and no lie was found on their lips; they are blameless.

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Book of Revelation Chapter 13

The Two Beasts

13:1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, and on its heads a blasphemous name. 13:2 Now the beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority to rule.

This is the first of the 2 beasts. This one comes out of the sea. Remember this is a play being acted out for John in heaven, so the characters and scenery mean something other than how they appear. Just like a dream. As we have seen before, the sea represents a multitude of peoples and nations, therefore this beast comes from the world and takes up a vast amount of territory. This is the Romans who during this time controlled most of the world. This beast is the system of government setup to rule over all the people. Who gave this beast power? It was the Dragon, or Satan who was given the earth to rule.

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Book of Revelation Chapter 11

The Fate of the Two Witnesses
11:1 Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, and I was told, “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there. 11:2 But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.

Gentile unbelievers that is.

11:3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth. 11:4 (These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.)

1260 days, 3.5 years, 42 months. They’re all similar yet different. There was a point for them being listed differently.  Not always is a day equal to a year. Sometimes a day is a day. Here, 1260 days is 3.5 years.

There’s principal in the bible where anything being true in Jewish custom has to come from 2 witnesses. This is a play on that concept. God’s witness here is his church and the fact that Revelation says there are two denotes the truth of their work. These are not 2 actual people.

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Book of Revelation Chapter 9

9:1 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a an angel descend from the sky to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. 9:2 He opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it like smoke from a giant furnace. The sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft. 9:3 Then out of the smoke came locusts onto the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. 9:4 They were told not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their forehead. 9:5 The locusts were not given permission to kill them, but only to torture them for five months, and their torture was like that of a scorpion when it stings a person. 9:6 In those days people will seek death, but will not be able to find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.

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Book of Revelation Chapter 8

Up to now, with all that has gone on, we still haven’t even opened the document of wrath! The seals have allowed Satan to run a muck on earth creating wars, causing famines, diseases and death. Now the final seal will be removed and the document will be opened. But before all of that, silence in heaven. The fear of the coming pronouncements must have been great.

The Seventh Seal
8:1 Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 8:2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 8:3 Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. 8:4 The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

This is a good spot to show you that what happens in heaven, isn’t exactly what gets played out on earth. Here the angel threw fire from the alter on the earth. That was done in the spiritual realm. How it played out on earth was the sound of a great thunder, lightning and an earthquake. John is watching them in heaven create conditions upon the earth.

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This series of articles is a summary of events that come from Josephus writings. His writings were translated into today’s English by Penguin Classics and is a fascinating read. It’s nearly all military in focus, so if you’re a fan of history and war in general, you’ll like this book.

The thoughts and opinions here were taken from the writings of Josephus. Instead of wading through the volumes of war books, I will summarize them for you here. You can read a wikipedia on Josephus by clicking here.

Josephus is a name you hear about often when topic of end times or Roman history come up. You may have heard his name given like this: “Josephus was a traitor to the Jews who surrendered himself to the Romans to save his own skin. He somehow convinced them to let him write history books for them.” Yet there’s so much more to the story. Read about him here, and I think you’ll have a new appreciation for the war of AD 70 and this man Josephus.

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This series of articles is a summary of events that come from Josephus writings. His writings were translated into today’s English by Penguin Classics and is a fascinating read. It’s nearly all military in focus, so if you’re a fan of history and war in general, you’ll like this book.

Josephus begins by discussing Antiochus Epiphanes who lived some 200 years before the war of AD 70. It is during this time that the a cycle of treatment would begin towards the Jews. It was a cycle of racism and abuse projected at the Jews where ever they lived and by whomever the reigning people were at the time. There were ongoing cycles of wars and battles (Mat 24:6)  being fought as many different peoples and races would take over control of the areas that the Jews lived in. As one group would take over, Jews would debate among themselves if they were going to be loyal followers or angry protesters of the new leadership. These debates turned into arguments. These arguments among Jews produced factions bent on overthrowing whomever was reigning over them at the time. As more and more factions emerged, each faction would throw their allegiance to whomever they believed deserved to be treated as King over them. With multiple factions of Jews living in multiple cities, throwing their support towards any hostile group that suited them at the time, arguments gave way to fights which turned into armed conflicts in and among the Jewish towns. (Matt 24:12) Each family was commonly divided into supporters of gangs and those that sought peace. Generations of Jews grew up in this environment. Factions eventually turned into mobs and mobs and gangs turned into small armies. These factions grew thirsty for power and as they grew in size, they began to steal and kill fellow Jews to support their causes. (Matt 24:12) They needed supplies to arm their gangs and they stopped at nothing to get it.

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Through one of the rival gangs taking refuge in one of the last cities not conquered by Romans or Zealots, rose to power a man named Simon. He’s described as a young hothead, lacking in craftiness but making up for it with anger, physical presence and a thirst for war. Simon’s gang would grow into an army made up of bandits, slaves and respectable citizens who considered him king. They raided all the villages they could find and those around the countryside began to fear him based on simply rumor alone. They would establish their own walled fortress and they made preparations to attack Jerusalem and the Zealots.

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Another faction from the Zealots would divide them from the other Zealots. This group would be led by Priest Eleazer who grew angry at the outrages of John and was jealous of having him as a leader. Eleazer (Matt 24:15) would eventually gain control of the Inner Court (who had earlier murdered a Roman Garrison of guards on the Sabbath) which was at an elevated position over John, who had greater numbers, but was positioned outside the Inner Court’s gates and at a military disadvantage by being at a lower elevation. He however was positioned on a higher elevation than Simon who could move about the city more freely. So while Simon launched attacks on John, John fought both Simon below and Eleazor above. John, having more numbers and weapons that Eleazor assaulted the Inner Court continuously with his big weapons and used his smaller weapons and higher position to fend off Simon.

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