READ THE FIG LEAVES
Signs of the Times
STUDY 4
TOPIC 24—PREVIEW of END-TIME BEASTS
Beasts—Heads—Horns—Diadems
End-time peoples, things, and events that are prophesied about in Revelation and other books of the Bible often are shrouded in much symbolism; but it should be remembered that not all things in prophecy are symbolic. Although prophecy writers in scripture often use comparisons that are unfamiliar to us, many times they are simply used to complete their descriptions. However, that is not to say that descriptions cannot be symbolic also. For a better understanding of these scriptures it is necessary to differentiate between symbolism and comparisons. Further, most things in prophecy can be both spiritual and literal. For the hard to understand, we simply need revelation from God.
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. REVELATION 12:1
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. REVELATION 12:3
These two scriptures in Revelation chapter twelve are great examples of symbolism in scripture. They need scripture witness to understand what these symbols mean. In the following scripture from Revelation chapter nine John uses the word ‘like’ eight times in his ‘comparative ’ description of the locusts. These are not necessarily symbols; but rather they are comparisons used to paint a picture of the appearance of each locust. While those listed in chapter nine are things that can be easily pictured in one’s mind, it is good to remember that writers of prophesy can only use things that are familiar to them and in their era for their comparisons.
In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. REVELATION 9:7-10 [emphasis added]
However, this preview is not about locusts. It concerns the four beasts of Revelation and some symbolism from Daniel’s fourth beast. We look at a total of five beasts. Daniel’s fourth beast has an anomaly that is believed by many to play an important role in the end time. And the beasts in Revelation have horns, heads, and diadems that also are a part of vital part of end-time prophecy. The four beasts of Revelation seem to belong in the timeline in the order they are seen by John. While we will look at each of these beasts as they appear in our timeline in later chapters, a viewing of them together will help us to know them better—their essence and some of the meanings of their symbolism. While those chapters will contain some repetition, these subjects are worthy of repetition. For me, repetition was necessary in helping me to arrive at some understanding of these beasts.
One commonality all these beasts share is that they are all demonic. There are many demonic spirits in the world along with the devil; for it is believed that one-third of the angels in heaven fell with him—an innumerable number. They too are demonic. These beasts, we find, are Satan himself or his incarnate. The “little horn’’ on Daniel’s fourth beast and the head that had the mortal wound, on John’s beast rising out of the sea, are the same demon—the Antichrist. The Antichrist, a man incarnated by the devil, now becomes a devil himself. The second beast rising out of the earth becomes the false prophet. These demons represent the darkness of the devil’s final earthly kingdom and will be among those who help provide that evil darkness.
Important to identifying the beasts—what they symbolize and their roles in the end-times are their horns, heads and diadems. All of the beasts have multiple horns but not all have multiple heads; and not all beasts have diadems. The two beasts that have diadems—have them in differing places. One has them on his horns—the other has them on his heads. In this chapter most of our focus will be on the some meanings of their horns, heads and diadems. Since all are symbolic, and with so many variables, it is no surprise that the interpretations of these beasts vary so greatly among Bible scholars and commentators; but there are few things in Revelation that do not have a lot of differing views.
The Beasts
The first beast is the great red dragon of Revelation chapter twelve.. His tail sweeps down a third of the stars. REVELATION 12:3-4 And he shows that he has great powers even in his unsuccessful battle with the woman in chapter twelve. REVELATION 12:15-16 In the war that will arise in heaven, [the second heaven] he is defeated and he will be thrown down to the earth [again]—he is identified as “that ancient serpent,” the devil and Satan. He tried to destroy the woman’s child. When he could not destroy him, he pursued the woman and tried to destroy her. When he failed to destroy her, [He failed to destroy her even in the Holocaust.] he makes war with her offspring. REVELATION 12:7-17
The great red dragon has seven heads and ten horns and on his heads seven diadems. REVELATION 12:3 There is no other scripture that specifically references the red dragon’s seven heads; but the scarlet beast’s seven heads are defined. “they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.” REVELATION 17:10 This scripture says that they “are” seven kings—to me that takes away some of the mystery about the seven heads.
The great red dragon has ten horns. “…the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.” REVELATION 17:12 [That beast is the Antichrist.] Again, that the ten horns “are” ten kings also takes away some of the mystery about those ten horns.
And the great red dragon has seven diadems on his seven heads. Since diadems are normally worn by kings, this symbolizes the fact that the great red dragon, the devil, has been ruler or king over six empires and will be ruler or king over the final kingdom or empire—seven empires. These diadems were his to give to each ruler of an empire; for he is the ruler of the kingdoms of this world. These are the same kingdoms that he showed Jesus. “‘And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’” LUKE 4:5-7 Jesus did not accept the devil’s offer; for He knew that there are no shortcuts to the kingdom of God. And that one day they would all be His. After the seventh trumpet sounds these kingdoms of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.
One really interesting note about the great red dragon is he chased the woman in Revelation chapter twelve into the wilderness. REVELATION 12:6 That is where we find the scarlet beast in Revelation chapter seventeen. REVELATION 17:3 But this time a great prostitute is riding him. She is not the woman he chased into the wilderness.
The second beast is seen rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. REVELATION 13:1 This beast was like a leopard with feet like a bear and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. These are characteristics from each of Daniel’s first three beasts. However, this beast rising out of the sea is different, at the beginning, from the great red dragon; for scripture says the dragon gives “it” his power and his throne and great authority. REVELATION 13:2 So obviously John’s first beast did not have satan’s power and authority from the start. [before his rise out of the sea—at least one of his heads, the Antichrist does not]
The ten horns on the beast rising out the sea are also ten kings of the seventh and last kingdom; but this beast has his diadems on his horns. These are the diadems of those kings of this seventh kingdom—the last earthly kingdom. Remember, the great red dragon has his diadems on his heads—one of each of the emperors of the seven empires of the world.
This beast rising out the sea has seven heads. Scripture says, this beast has a head with a mortal wound that is healed—this wounded head is worshiped by all whose names are not in the book of life—he is given a haughty mouth speaking blasphemous words and authority to rule for forty-two months—he blasphemes God, his name, his dwelling and all those in heaven—he makes war on the saints and has authority over all nations. REVELATION 13:3-8 The head with the mortal wound that was healed is the Antichrist’s. The devil by giving him his power, his throne, and his authority, incarnates the wounded head that was “healed,”the Antichrist. This head is still a beast. He will be the ruler of the last one-half of Tribulation.
This wounded head still belongs to the seven heads or empires. It will be the last part of the seventh kingdom. It is the Antichrist’s kingdom that is destroyed after the second coming of Jesus Christ. “As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.” REVELATION 17:11 It is this seventh and final kingdom that is taken over by the Antichrist at mid-Tribulation that becomes “an eighth but it belongs to the seven.” Since the wording of this scripture says it belongs to “the seven” and not the seventh, it is reiterating that all of the seven empires of the world belonged to the devil and he belonged to them. Again, the reference to the eighth is to a totally demonic empire—the last part of this seventh and last empire of this world—the empire of the Antichrist. It is that “divided empire” that Daniel speaks about.
With the incarnation of the Antichrist, he and the devil are now one; but in the end of times the Antichrist, the flesh, will be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The devil will be bound for a thousand years before he is cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever with his partners—the Antichrist and the False Prophet.
The other six heads on the beast rising out of the sea are six kingdoms or empires that are in our past. Five of those kingdoms or empires were before John penned Revelation. He lived in the time of the sixth empire—the Roman Empire.
John sees another beast rising out of the earth—the people. Earth is often representative of Israel. This beast has two horns like a lamb and speaks like a dragon. He will exercise all the authority of John’s beast rising out of the sea. This beast from the earth will make the inhabitants of the earth worship this [seventh and wounded] head of the beast from the sea. He will perform great signs, even making fire come down from heaven. He will be allowed [by God] to work signs in the presence of the beast that deceives those who dwell on earth. He will tell them to make an image of the beast, then he is allowed to give breath to the image so that the image speaks and cause those who do not worship the beast to be slain. He causes all to be marked in their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell.
Further on in scripture we learn he is the false prophet—the lackey of the Antichrist. REVELATION 16:13 He wants to appear to be a lamb. Revelation does not say he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing as recounted in Matthew; but then he is a the false prophet. He does have horns like a lamb; but the demonic voice of the dragon defines his character for he is a demon.
The last beast mentioned in Revelation is the scarlet beast. This is the third appearance of a beast in Revelation with ten horns and seven heads; but this beast has no diadems. He does have a rider—the great prostitute. REVELATION 17:3 This particular beast with his rider is representative of the seventh kingdom while the apostate church still has some control of this kingdom. Much of Revelation chapter seventeen is devoted to the great prostitute, her sins and her destruction—her judgment. “‘Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters.’” REVELATION 17:1 She will lose her ride at or near the mid-point of the Tribulation when she is destroyed by the ten ‘horn’ kings and the Antichrist. There is no scripture that explains why the scarlet beast—the devil has no diadems.
Although we look at four beasts in Revelation it is obvious the great red dragon and the scarlet beast are the same—both are the same in color—both are the same devil. The beast rising from the sea did not have all of the devil’s power and authority until it was given to him; but I see all three beasts with ten horns in Revelation as the devil or devil incarnate. The beast rising from the earth had neither ten horns nor seven heads. He is different; but he, like the Antichrist, is a man that the devil incarnates who becomes totally demonic. Again, the great red dragon and the scarlet beast are both authentic devil. An angel identifies this scarlet beast, to John, as the devil in a unique way.
The angel told John, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” REVELATION 17:8 One common explanation of the last part of this verse, because it was and is not and is to come, is that it is a mockery of the phrase, “who is and who was and who is to come.” REVELATION 1:8 This may be; but there are a lot of interpretations of this verse. However, there is a reasonable explanation. The devil was and now is on the earth from its foundation until he is bound at the end of Tribulation— and is not on earth during the Millennium but is about to rise from the bottomless pit and lead a rebellion that leads to his final destruction! From this we see the devil’s past, present, future—his end!
No book of the end-times would be complete without looking into Daniel’s prophecies. The final beast we will view is the fourth beast of Daniel. We look at its ten horns and its characteristics for they seem to closely parallel John’s beast rising out of the sea. Daniel’s beast also comes out of the sea. DANIEL 7:3 This fourth beast was terrifying, dreadful and exceedingly strong—it had great iron teeth and claws of bronze—it devoured and broke in pieces—it stamped what was left with its feet and it had ten horns. DANIEL 7:3-7, 19 This fourth beast [the Roman Empire] caused Daniel to be anxious and greatly alarmed. Remember this is the Daniel who faced the lion’s den without fear. DANIEL 7:15, 28
This fourth beast in Daniel is demonic and has the same number of horns [ten] as the great red dragon, the beast rising out of the sea and the scarlet beast. It has no additional heads and no diadems. Daniel’s fourth beasts rising out of the sea is [many believe] a representation of the Roman Empire—with ten horns representative of the ten kings and their kingdoms of the end-time. [A Revived Roman Empire] It has a little horn that plucks up three of the original ten horns. DANIEL 7:8 Satan has been antichrist since his first thought of ascending above God. He now incarnates this “little horn,” a charismatic statesman who will rise in the end-time to become the Antichrist. He displaces three kings before he takes full control. The first part of this seventh kingdom will be ruled by the ten ‘horn’ kings. The second part will be the empire of the Antichrist. It will be in existence when Jesus comes again.
An end-time ten nation coalition, that the Antichrist eventually completely controls, could be a Revived Roman Empire. There has already been a revival of a sort—the Holy Roman Empire. Many of the things [The Crusades, the control of government by the Catholic Church] about the Holy Roman Empire are a shadow of the end-times kingdom; but the intensity in the end-times requires a multiplier!
Horns—Ten
The great red dragon and the first beast rising out of the sea, have ten horns as does the scarlet beast and Daniel’s fourth beast. The great red dragon and the scarlet beast can be none other than the devil himself—for he, the great dragon, is identified in scripture as such. REVELATION 12:9 The beast rising out of the sea is demonic but not identified as the devil in scripture and Daniel’s fourth beast represents the ancient Roman Empire; but the ten horns on all of them represent the same thing—ten kings; but only the scarlet beast and Daniel’s fourth beast have scripture defining their horns. “… the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power; but they are to receive authority as kings for one-hour together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.” REVELATION 17:12-13
We see from this scripture these ten kings have not yet received royal power but rather are given authority for a short time which they share with the beast, the Antichrist. Later being of one mind they hand over all of their power and authority to the Antichrist. These ten kings and the beast will hate the great prostitute and will bring about her desolation and destruction. REVELATION 17:16 “For God has put it into their hearts of the kings and the beast to carry out his purpose… until the words of God are fulfilled.” REVELATION 17:17 These ten horns on Daniel’s fourth beast are the same ten kings as the Revelation beasts with ten horns; but Daniel says his fourth beast has another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up.
Daniel says about his beast, “I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.” DANIEL 7:8 And this little horn seemed greater than his companions, the other kings. He made war with the saints and prevailed over them—until the Ancient of Days came! DANIEL 7:20-22 “As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.” DANIEL 7:24 This is the Antichrist that arises and plucks up three kingdoms. Daniel’s “little horn” and the wounded head of the first beast rising out of the sea are the same—the Antichrist.
First, it is clear from scripture the ten horns—before any are displaced—are ten kings. They arise from a kingdom—or become a kingdom—that many refer to as the Revived Roman Empire. After the Antichrist and the ten kings destroy the great prostitute—the apostate church—it will become a totally demonic empire—nothing good is left; for then the ten ‘horn’ kings hand over their kingdoms to the Antichrist. They will become subservient kings under the him, if kings at all. It is he who will take over the revived Roman Empire and will rule it with a fist of iron.
Heads—Seven
The great red dragon of Revelation chapter twelve that appeared in heaven has seven heads as does the first beast rising out of the sea and the scarlet beast in a wilderness. There is no mention of multiple heads on the other beasts that we have looked into. So a total of three beasts have seven heads!
“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.” REVELATION 12:3 There is no other scripture that specifically references the red dragon’s seven heads; but the scarlet beast’s heads are defined.
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. REVELATION 13:1
One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and the worshiped the beast, saying ‘who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? REVELATION 13:3-4
The head that had a mortal wound is now referred to as a beast—he is now the devil incarnate—the Antichrist. The Antichrist is now a beast—devil! Nothing is said about the other six heads in chapter thirteen; but they are six empires of the past.
“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.” REVELATION 17:3 “This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.” REVELATION 17:9-11 Here it says the heads are both mountains and kings. There is some disagreement over the meaning of the seven mountains; but most agree the heads represent seven empires.
In a strictly spiritual sense I see that the seven heads could be Satan’s attempt to again deify himself; for the Bible speaks of the seven spirits of God; REVELATION 3:1 & 4:5 & 5:6 but it was predetermined by God to have seven major world empires; for seven is His number of completion.
All scripture about horns and heads and diadems on beasts is symbolic with both spiritual and literal connotations. While I deeply desire to understand the spiritual things of God and the symbolic, these beasts with their horns and heads have many deep meanings. This book on Revelation is to differentiate between the literal, the seen—the physical, and the symbolic and spiritual. I want to know all I can about what is going to literally happen.
So in future chapters, the focus will be on those meanings with the most scripture witnesses and on the literal context—with horns being kings and heads being empires. Again, every scripture has its own spiritual and symbolic meaning or meanings or is a witness to confirm other scripture. Confirmation can sometimes be in two different forms. Pharaoh’s dreams about famine were in differing versions; yet they both told him famine was coming. Again, the horns are kings of the end-time—the seventh empire. The heads are seven empires. The scarlet beast’s heads are mountains and kings that also represent those seven empires. So Revelation, too, has differing versions of the seven heads in differing scriptures—all meaning the same thing—scripture witness.
Diadems
Only two of the five beasts in our study have diadems. The great red dragon has seven diadems on its seven heads. REVELATION 12:3 The reason the diadems are on the heads of the great red dragon is that his heads represent the empires or kingdoms that have oppressed Israel in the past and the one kingdom that will oppress them in the future—the kingdom of the ten ‘horn’ kings and The Antichrist. The dragon has been and will be present for all of these empires or kingdoms; for they are his kingdoms. Six of those kingdoms have already come and are now gone. Only the revived Roman Empire is yet to rule. The Antichrist will usurp rule of that empire at the mid-point of Tribulation. The world will be ruled by the devil for the last three and one-half years of Tribulation. The Antichrist’s kingdom “…is an eighth but it belongs to the seven…” REVELATION 17:11
Again, the great red dragon has diadems on it seven heads. They represent the six kingdoms that have ended and the future kingdom, the revived Roman Empire. The beast rising out of the sea with the diadems on its ten horns represent the ten rulers or nations of the revived Roman Empire that is in the world when this beast rises out of the sea—masses of people.
The first beast rising out of the sea has ten diadems on its ten horns. REVELATION 13:3 The beast has their diadems on his horns. There is a diadem for each king. The Antichrist will be present for all of these ten end-time kings. So one beast has diadems on its heads and the other has diadems on its horns. And the scarlet beast has no diadems on its seven heads or its ten horns.
I do not know why the scarlet beast has no diadems on its horns or its heads. There is no plausible explanation for this—certainly there is no scripture witness. The ten horn kings have already given their diadems to the Antichrist and since the devil gave the Antichrist his authority, then one of the seven diadems on his heads was also given to the Antichrist. The devil will have all the kingdoms of the world—past and present and the last earthly kingdom.
TOPIC 25—THE WOMAN and THE GREAT RED DRAGON
The Woman
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. REVELATION 12:1-6
“…a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” is a reference to Joseph’s dreams in Genesis and the beginnings of the nation of Israel. The woman that “…fled into the wilderness…” in verse six is a reference to modern Israel and a time after the abomination of desolation! This scripture covers from Joseph’s dreams in Genesis to Israel’s exodus to the wilderness in Revelation. That is an inordinate amount of time.
The woman can be identified from the symbols. In verse one the symbols used to describe her are symbols from Joseph’s dreams. REVELATION 12:1 Joseph dreamed his father and mother, the sun and the moon, and his brothers, the stars, were bowing down to him GENESIS 37:9 The story of when this actually happened is in Genesis. GENESIS 42— GENESIS 50 The descendants of Jacob, Joseph and his eleven brothers, are the patriarchs of the nation of Israel. There is little doubt that the woman who appeared in heaven is Israel. That she “was crying out in birth pains” in verse two, REVELATION 12:2 I believe, has multiple meanings—the birth of the Messiah and the birth of the end-time kingdom that will become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ!
The woman was about to give birth to “to a male child.” REVELATION 12:4-5 With the persecution that Israel was enduring under Roman rule, they were hoping for a military Messiah and were crying out in agony; but instead of a military general, they got the Savior of the world whom the devil was waiting to devour. Herod tried to kill him before he was two years old. MATTHEW 2:16 Later, after preaching in his hometown, those who heard him drove him out of town and tried to throw him down a cliff. LUKE 4:29 And on at least two occasions those who did not like his teaching tried to stone him. JOHN 8:59 & JOHN 10:31
The dragon wanted to destroy him; so he kept plotting against him until the Romans crucified him. Jesus could not be killed until it was time for the sacrificial Lamb of God to be offered; but in spite of the attempts on his life, after he finished his ministry of the gospel and after he had paid for our redemption with his death, “her child was caught up to God and to his throne.” REVELATION 12:5
Jesus said many would come in His name and claim to be Christ, there would be wars with nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and earthquakes and famine in the first part of the tribulation. “All of these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” MATTHEW 24:4-8 Unlike the woman in Isaiah who gave “birth to wind [And] … accomplished no deliverance in the earth…”ISAIAH 26:17-18 These birth pains lead to a Messiah who delivers His people from their sins and will lead to a an end-time kingdom that He will rule for a thousand years.
And her child is the “…one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron…” REVELATION 12:5 Notice verse five says, “one who is to rule.” It is happening in the future after the end of tribulation. “From his mouth comes a sharp sword [this is how he defeats the armies at Armageddon.] with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron…” REVELATION 19:15 “‘Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.’” REVELATION 11:15 The end has come!
While there is some controversy over what Jesus says in Matthew Twenty-four about birth pains most feel He is referring to the end-times. Israel had already given birth to the Messiah and about two thousand years later the nation of Israel would be born in a day; ISAIAH 66:7-8 and after he pours out his judgments and wrath on the earth, his kingdom that will never end will also be “born” in a day!
The Great Red Dragon—Who He Is
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. REVELATION 12:3-4
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. REVELATION 12:9
“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth…” REVELATION 12:3-4 This great red dragon is the first of the beasts mentioned in Revelation with seven heads and ten horns. John leaves little doubt as to the identity of this dragon. He is “…that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world…” REVELATION 12:9 All the other beasts that follow him are a differing manifestation of him or a man who has been incarnated with his evil spirit. He may present himself in many ways for he is the master of deception; but he is still the fallen Satan.
War in Heaven—Satan Thrown Down to Earth
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. REVELATION 12:7-13
“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. …the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” REVELATION 12:7-10 This is the final expulsion of the devil from heaven. He will no longer have any access to heaven or the outer courts to accuse the brethren.
The war in heaven ends with Satan and his angels permanently barred from all heavens except earth’s atmosphere! Now the battle against evil will be physical and on the earth and its atmosphere—the first heaven! The devil is already the prince of the air.
We have looked at Satan’s and his angels’ first fall from heaven and we have seen his presence in the Garden of Eden. Further, we saw how hell was stirred up to meet him and we saw some of the evil things he has done and is still doing—he makes the earth tremble, shakes kingdoms, makes the world like a desert and overthrows its cities and does not let his prisoners go home. His first expulsion was from the third heaven that Paul speaks about. II CORINTHIANS 12:2-4 After his first “fall” Satan no longer has access to the Throne Room of God. He still has access to the second heaven where he accuses the brethren. He will accuse them day and night before God until he has been thrown down by Michael and his angels. REVELATION 12:10
It is clear to me that God created heavens, more than one; for there is some Scriptural support for three levels of heaven. I will make no suppositions based on the wording of one scripture; but a careful reading of many scriptures show that distinction is made between heaven and the heavens. God created heavens. GENESIS 1:1 The heavens declare God’s glory; and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. PSALM 19:1 King Solomon in his temple prayer makes the distinction between heaven and the “highest” heaven. I KINGS 8:27 Again, a careful reading of many scriptures show that the writers often differentiate between heaven and the heavens.
Some Bible Scholars believe the devil still occupies heaven and has all his heavenly privileges based on a verse in Job chapter one. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” JOB 1:6 The Bible does not state where the sons of God presented themselves or why; but Satan did not come from the assembly of Angels nor from a suite in heaven; but he came “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” JOB 1:7 After his final expulsion from heaven, he will be a homeless man on earth; but Sheol—his eternal home beneath is stirred up to meet him!
The last supernatural end-time war to occur in the heavens will happen in the middle of the Tribulation. Satan and his angels are opposed in this war by Michael and his angels. Michael and his angels prevail in this war, and Satan is cast down to earth and his place in the heavens is cut off. REVELATION 12:8-9 Michael is an archangel who in Hebrew scripture is proclaimed to be Israel’s prince and defender. DANIEL 10:13, 21
After he is thrown down, all war will then be on earth. That war will be so intense that Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” MATTHEW 24:21 “And if those days had not been cut short, no human being [KJV says “no flesh.”] would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” MATTHEW 24:22 Now the spiritual wars in heaven will become real physical wars on earth!
The devil, after losing his place in the heavens, still controls the whole world: for the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. I JOHN 5:19 The devil is enraged over losing the war in the heavens. When this happens, Satan realizes his time is short. REVELATION 12:12 It is now a literal war on earth with the those who will become martyrs and some in Israel against all evil; for God fights this war through them and by His divine intervention!
This is the time of great trouble prophesied by Daniel. DANIEL 12:1 Since he has already failed in his attempt to destroy Jesus Christ, in his rage, from being cast down, Satan pursues the woman. [Israel] He will try to destroy the Jewish people and the saints. Further, he will try to setup a kingdom that emulates the kingdom of God. These decisions lead to wars that cause Israel to flee from their own country; but the end is not yet!
Reiterating, Satan’s first fall was from the presence of God, the third heaven. ISAIAH 14:12 He no longer appears in the throne room of God nor does he have access to the throne room. Spiritual battles with angels are still being fought today on a cosmic level, in the second heaven. JUDE 1:9 & ZECHARIAH 3:1 And the devil is still the prince of the power of the air, the first heaven. EPHESIANS 2:2 When he is cast down the last time there will be no more wars in the heavenly realm—and no more Satan in them.
War on Israel
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus… REVELATION 12:17
War on Israel, those who keep God’s commandments, and those who hold to the testimony of Jesus, is the devil’s occupation. Even after losing his ability to make war from the heavens, he will continue to make war on Israel until he is destroyed! The assembling at Armageddon is Satan’s plan for the final destruction of Israel and Jesus Christ. It will be a loss for him!
TOPIC 26—THE SEVENTH SEAL
Seventh Seal—Silence in Heaven
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. REVELATION 8:1-5
This reintroduces a Temple liturgy with the offering of incense to God with the prayers of the saints. “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.” REVELATION 8:3-4 Cornelius, the centurion, was told by an angel that his prayers and alms had ascended as a memorial before God. ACTS 10:3-4 King David asked God to let his prayer be counted as incense before God. PSALM 141:2 And in Revelation it says, “… the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” REVELATION 5:8 In this passage it says the incense is the prayers of the saints! Let us give God a lot of incense!
With the opening of the first six seals unprecedented judgment will be released on the earth. “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” REVELATION 8:1 I have no explanation and can find no scripture that gives a clue as to why a heaven that is normally filled with praise and worship suddenly goes silent for about half an hour; but many believe once the scroll is fully opened and the judgments and wrath to come are seen that this causes a solemn silence to fall on all of heaven. Or the silence could be respect to the one who is about to judge the earth and sentence it to even greater judgments and to God and the Lamb’s wrath.
I have sought to refrain from suppositions, opinions, transference, and from using scripture ‘out of context;’ but I feel that it is important to point out this fact—after this scripture we have not further scripture that references Temple liturgy. This silence could be because this liturgy—the offering of prayers to God is ending. He will not hear any prayers ever again. Although “…God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple…” REVELATION 11:19 And “…the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened…” REVELATION 15:5 And “…I heard a loud voice from the temple…” REVELATION 16:1 All of these things are mentioned after the silence in heaven. Yet there is no mention of Temple liturgy; and we are told there is no temple in the New Jerusalem for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. REVELATION 21:22 By this time all need for Temples and liturgy, except for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, has been fulfilled; for all judgments and wrath are over before John sees that the temple is missing in the new Jerusalem. This seventh seal also introduces the trumpet judgments.
“Then I saw seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given them.” REVELATION 8:2 It is not clear if these are angels who normally stand before God to do his bidding or if they are angels chosen for trumpet duty; but before the angels prepare to blow their trumpets, John sees one more thing.
“Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.” REVELATION 8:5 Without controversy, altars in the Bible were used for sacrifices; but they needed fire for the burnt offerings. Fire in the Bible has many meanings and usages; Burning bushes in EXODUS 3:2-3 pillars of fire in EXODUS 13:21 tongues like fire in ACTS 2:3 refining in fire ZECHARIAH 13:9 and for judgment in II PETER 3:7 When the angel threw the censer to earth this signaled the ending of God’s seal judgments and the beginning Trumpet judgments and bowls of his dreadful wrath that will end with the devil, his angels and all unbelievers cast into the lake of fire; REVELATION 20:10, 15 And with the heavens and earth destroyed—burned with fire!
TOPIC 27—THE SEVEN TRUMPETS
The Trumpets—Prepare to Sound
Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. REVELATION 8:2
Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. REVELATION 8:6
Some believe the seven trumpets and the seven bowls parallel each other and are simultaneously sounded and poured out. Although some are similar, [the second and third trumpets and the second and third bowls affect the same things] they are neither parallel nor simultaneous. I am convinced that with each judgment or plague intensity increases. Further, all judgments—the seals—the trumpets—and the wrath of God—the plagues—the bowls—are literally going to happen. Others believe all are symbolic. As I stated in the introduction at the beginning of this book, every scripture has great depth. Great sermons based on their spiritual meaning can be preached and great stories can be told from their literal meaning. So to say a passage is literal and has no symbolic or spiritual meaning or to say a passage is symbolic or spiritual and has not literal meaning is to limit the scope of God’s Word. And no one can fathom the depth of His Word!
Trumpets are used to annunciate important events. God is using them to announce his last judgments. This soundings of the trumpets are the beginning of God’s more serious judgments. All of the God’s judgments are meant as punishment—to bring people to repentance. When this time of trumpet judgments is finished, then he will pour out his wrath. The wrath of God will separate people from God. Cast away from God is an eternal death sentence! After the angels pour out the Bowls of His wrath, then all evil will be physically destroyed by Jesus Christ at His second coming!
It is hard to determine from scripture the extent of destruction of the whole world; for it is hard to determine if “upon the earth” means all of the earth or a certain portion of the earth. Even a careful study cannot always distinguish between a portion of the earth or the whole world. A scripture in John makes it clear that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one; I JOHN 5:19 but other scriptures, on the judgments and on His wrath, do not make it so clear. It is possible “the earth” means the whole world; but again, there are differing beliefs. One this is certain. God uses the natural things he has created for destroying his creation—the earth; for it has become the habitation of evil; and after the sounding of each of the first four trumpets the destruction is catastrophic.
It is amazing that God asked Job, “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?” JOB 38:22-23 Some people think God “needs” man-made things to accomplish His judgments and wrath on this earth and that he needs nuclear weapons to cause a humans’ flesh to rot while they are standing on their feet and their eyes to rot in their sockets and tongues rot in their mouth. He does not! All of this makes it even more amazing that God’s storage of war materials is snow balls and hail stones! You may think this is strange; but I do not!
The effectiveness of some of the weapons of God’s arsenal of weapons is without precedent. Although He used some of the hail from his storehouses against Egypt, He chooses to use His one-hundred pound hailstones in the end-time! In the battle to end the Tribulation, when all the demons and kings and many of the people left on earth assemble at Armageddon, and after the blood of the grapes from his winepress of wrath is bridle deep, he captures the Antichrist and the false prophet and throws them alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. He does this with angels, or maybe just one angel. He only needed one angel to handle the devil—he binds him and throws him into the bottomless pit. The rest of the assembly he slays by the sword that came from his mouth while he is sitting on his horse, no fighting—no battle! No other weapon is used. Before Armageddon He first, calls for the birds of the air to feast on their flesh. He does not need man’s weapons of mass destruction; for He has many weapons of mass destruction. What ever weapon he choses can be a weapon of mass destruction. Allow me to tell you about one of God’s weapons of mass destruction. Most people are familiar with this weapon and it is a cause of study and concern by some scientists.
First, we need a back story. Gene Shoemaker, a man who lived until the late 1990s, pioneered a new scientific discipline that is now called Astro-geology. He was looking into some of the craters [for uranium] that most thought were ancient volcanoes. He discovered a mineral in one of those craters—coesite [shocked quartz]. Coesite can only be formed from an impact that generates extremely high temperatures and pressures. Gene concluded these were not ancient volcanoes but were in fact meteorite craters. This was also the conclusion of Daniel Barringer some fifty years earlier.
It took Gene Shoemaker some years to prove that hypothesis; but now it is commonly accepted that there are one-hundred and ninety craters in the world are from meteorites or asteroids—these are God’s big bombs! Some have hit the earth at more than twenty-five thousand miles per hour. The Vredefort Crater made a dent in the earth forty kilometers [24.8548 miles] deep and one-hundred kilometers [62.1371 miles] wide, others have been wider. [1, 2, 3] Nothing that man has created can do this. So why anyone would think God needs man’s weapons of mass destruction, when all he has to do is put His GPS on a big asteroid with any spot he choses to destroy as the target, is a mystery to me. Now watch for the “weapons” God uses after the sounding of each trumpet! Note, I am not discounting man’s ability to use his weapons of destruction—they are very destructive; nor am I discounting the fact God can use man and his weapons to accomplish His purpose—only that God does not need them!
Written by Mallard E. Guy Jr.
Over a Period of Two + Years
Finished October 28, 2023
Edited November 8, 2023
Last Edited May 31, 2024