Revelation 12:7-14:5

The Four Beasts of Revelation
#1. The Great Red Dragon
(Continued)

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The testimony of Jesus will be heard during the Great Tribulation. The words of Jesus will be spoken through 144,000 mouthpieces. The words people will hear will actually be the words (or testimony) coming from Jesus. This rare phenomenon has occurred a few times in past history, but it will be prevalent and awesome during the Great Tribulation. The testimony of Jesus is also called the Spirit of prophecy.

 

Revelation 19:10   “…. For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.”

 

The testimony of Jesus is called “the Spirit of prophecy” because those who are selected to speak the words of Jesus areprophets of God, that is, they are qualified by the Holy Spirit to prophesy. The gift of prophecy rests upon them.

 

Let’s go back to A.D. 95.

 

Why is the prophet John on the island of Patmos?

 

Revelation 1:9   I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

 

John was punished with exile on Patmos for obeying the Word of God and for speaking the words that Jesus gave him utterance to speak. John was a prophet. When a person is given the gift of prophecy, a very solemn responsibility rests upon that person. That person must speak the truth regardless of the consequences. This requirement explains why the life span of prophets is very short.

Matthew 23:37   “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”

 

The 144,000 will deliver the testimony of Jesus without any deviation (no weasel words). Wow.

 

Revelation 14:5   No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. [When we behold their suffering for faithfully speaking the testimony of Jesus, these words will become profound.] The 144,000 will be Earth’s final prophets.

 

This is why the Bible says:

 

Revelation 10:7   But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God [the sealing]will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

 

Most, if not all of the 144,000, will die during the war against the saints that takes place during the Great Tribulation.

 

Revelation 18:24   In her [the great whore – the one world church/state which is established after the devil arrives] was found the blood ofprophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth.”

 

Look at this:

 

Revelation 16:4   The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

 

Revelation 16:5   Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged;

 

Revelation 16:6   for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

 

Ok, let’s summarize Revelation 12:7-17:

 

1.   The devil was cast out of Heaven on Resurrection Sunday.

2.   When he saw that he had been cast out, he preyed upon the church of Christ.

3.   He then infiltrated the church of Christ and used demon-possessed men to persecute God’s saints for 1,260 years.

4.   Then he spewed a great torrent (a flood of persecution) out of his mouth to destroy the woman.  (Biblical language uses the metaphor of a flood in various places to describe total and complete destruction…)

5.   But, the Earth helped the woman. God opened up a new world in 1776. This event would enable Protestants to capitalize on the fall of the Roman Catholic Church in 1798.

The United States was a Protestant nation for a while. During its early history, it propelled the Bible and the gospel of Jesus throughout the Earth – which ironically, sets the stage for the Great Tribulation.

6.   When the devil saw the Catholic church brought down in 1798, he angrily summoned a council of demons to lay plans for the final destruction of the saints during the Great Tribulation – “Their plan is all out war.”

7.   The saints will be easily identified during the Great Tribulation: They will uphold the Ten Commandments and obey the words of Jesus, spoken through the 144,000.

 

Now hear this: verse 17 is the last verse in chapter 12, but verse 17 is not the end of the sixth prophecy in Revelation. The sixth prophecy continues throughout interruption. Revelation 13:1 is the next verse. This prophecy is quite interesting because we are now living between verses 12:17 and 13:1. 

 

A new beast is introduced in Revelation 13:

 

Revelation 13:1   And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea [the idea here is that Lucifer is seen waiting for this beast to rise. The first four trumpets will enable this beast to come to life.]

And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

 

Revelation 13:2   The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gavethe beast his power and his throne and great authority.

 

Revelation 13:3   One of the heads of the beast seemed to have a fatal wound, but the fatal woundhad been healed. [this forces the beast to rise after 1798] The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.

 

Revelation 13:4   Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” [the word worship means to obey, an act of submission]

 

Revelation 13:5   The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.[the composite beast has zero authority other than these 42 months]

 

Revelation 13:6   He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.

 

Revelation 13:7   He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

 

Revelation 13:8   All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all who names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”

 

It only takes 8 verses to describe the war that Lucifer will conduct against the saints during the Great Tribulation.  

 

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