The Trumpet Speaks

The A and the Z

   Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen. 
   I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 1:7-8

   

   We have been taught that this refers to Christ, but actually, it is not so.  In verse 7 the word is, He, and it refers to Christ: He comes with the clouds. However, in verse 8 the speaker has changed to first person, saying I as in I am the Alpha and the Omega.  It is Jehovah who is speaking.

   In 21:1-6 the words Alpha and Omega are distinctly ascribed to the Lord God.    Jehovah says, I am the A and the Z; I am the first and the last, I am the Beginning and the End.  I am the Almighty.  He also says I am in the present, I was in the past, and I will be coming back to earth in the future.   Yes, Christ is coming back to earth for His Bride, but Jehovah is also coming back.  

   The words the Beginning and the End are omitted in the oldest manuscripts, though found in Vulgate and Coptic. Transcribers probably inserted the clause from Rev_21:6. JFB

   The term, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last was discussed concerning 1:8.  The same phrase shows up again in 1:11 and with it comes this argument.  

   Alpha and Omega: The description that was applied to God the "Almighty" in verse 8 is here applied to Christ, showing that Christ is God. The King James Version Bible Study.  What that Bible study does not mention is that only very few translations, mostly the variety of King James versions of the Bible, include these words I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last in verse 11.  

   Some of those that do include it have it in italics which tells us that it should not be included in verse 11.  

   I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and — The oldest manuscripts, omit all this clause. JFB.  

  I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and - This whole clause is wanting in ABC, thirty-one others; some editions; the Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, Arethas, Andreas, and Primasius. Griesbach has left it out of the text. Clarke

  So, again, the argument for the trinity falls by the wayside.

The Trumpet Speaks

    I came to be in the Spirit in the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”  Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands. 1:9-12.

   Both Dr. McGee* and The King James Version Bible Study state that the Lord's Day refers to Sunday. 

  However, Mr. Jerome Smith in, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge makes a long, believable, argument, based on Greek grammar, why, the Lord's Day cannot refer to Sunday, as we use the term, "the Lord's day".   He says that since that was the day in which the Lord chose to speak to John --- that was the Lord's Day.

   the seven churches which are in Asia - That is the area that is now Western Turkey.

Knowing that trumpets do not speak with a voice, this phrase, a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, forces a question. 

   Was John hearing a loudspeaker, something that physically resembles a trumpet, as a bullhorn does?  The trumpet did not play notes, it talked, it was saying.  Again, in 1:12, John speaks of the voice that spoke to him through the trumpet.  Strong's definition of the word totally dispels the idea that the trumpet was playing musical notes - through the idea of disclosure; a tone (articulate, bestial or artificial); ... saying or language: - noise, sound, voice. Strong 5456.  

   It is not too far-fetched to believe that Jehovah would use an electronic, physical device to speak to his servant.  After all, He uses physical, mechanically printed pages (the Bible) to speak to his servants.  He also uses loudspeakers in radios and TVs to call sinners to repentance.  There is only a technical difference between a radio and the trumpet that John heard.  We will come back to this topic again in chapter four.

I turned to see the voice...and having turned I saw seven golden lamp stands.  John turned to see the origin of the voice, but having turned, he forgot all about the loudspeaker, because, by now, he had become transfixed on the seven golden lamp stands.

   He said I saw seven golden lamp stands.  What are they?  There is no reason for confusion here, because, like, in much of The Revelation, if symbolism is used, the meanings of the symbols are also given. 

   To find out what the seven golden lamp stands represent we go to 1:20, where we read that, the seven lamp stands which you saw are the seven churches.  Truly, church buildings are to be light holders, but Christians are the lights.  

   Christ said You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Mat.5:14-16

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* Through the Bible with Dr. J Vernon McGee.

He is Coming in the Clouds

   Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming; and from the seven spirits which are before His throne; 
   even from Jesus Christ the faithful Witness, the First-born from the dead and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 
   and made us kings and priests to God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.   
    Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him. Rev 1:4-7 


The Sequence of Events

 In verses 4-7 we have, in a very concise form, the history of the earth.  

1. First, we are introduced to Him who is and who was and who is coming.  Then we learn that God the Father sits on a throne.

   2. Next, John extends grace and peace ... from Jesus Christ the faithful Witness.  

         a. Christ was a faithful witness, during His earthly ministry, and

      b. He is the First-born from the dead and He also ascended to heaven to be the Ruler of the kings of the earth.  He will take His kingdom when He comes back to earth.

   3. Then the scene changes and we meet The Church; those people whose robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. 7:14

   a. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.  There are numerous facets involved in being cleansed by the blood of Christ.  First of all,

• as in Adam all die. 1 Cor. 15:22.   All humans inherited death and a sinful nature because all of us are the offspring of Adam.  This problem must be taken care of by His own blood before we can move on.

• For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Rom 3:23.    Here we are speaking of our negative actions (sins); those things that we do even though we know we shouldn't.

• Going to church or mass or even to confession is not going to mitigate those sins by even one iota.  We cannot do anything right which will subtract from the sins we have done.  The only thing that washes away our sins is His own blood.  This can only be done by sincerely confessing our sins and asking Jehovah to forgive us.  This step is often called "regeneration".

• His own blood also provides sanctification for us.  Sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration. Easton.  To sanctify means commonly to make holy, that is, to separate from the world and consecrate to God. ISBE.  In a normal situation this means that the longer a person is a Christian the more Christ-like that person becomes.

  b. He made us kings and priests.  Some translate this as "a kingdom of priests".

   to God and his Father — There is but one article to both in the Greek, therefore it means, “Unto Him who is at once God and His Father.”  In English, we would understand it more accurately if the word and would be replaced with a comma.

   C. and to Christ's Father be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1:4-6

   4. Last, we read of the next great event in the history of the world.  That is when He comes with clouds and every human will see him.  Some already pray, Even so, come, Lord Jesus, 22:20, and others, those who blaspheme Him or ignore Him now at that time will cry to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 6:16

   We recall from Acts 1, that when Christ ascended into heaven, while they watched, ... a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. Rev. 1:7.

When He comes back, the Roman soldiers who drove the nails into His hands and feet; the soldier who pierced Jesus' side with a sword; the pious Jews who condemned Jesus, all the self-righteous hypocrites since then and all those who are part of The Church of Christ, those who are washed ... His own blood will see Him.  Every eye in every tribe of the earth will see Him and they will mourn. 

   The Living Bible writes, And the nations will weep in sorrow and in terror when he comes.  When Christ returns He is not coming as a "pussy cat".  Later, in chapter one, a description of Christ is given; his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass (in the Bible, brass speaks of judgment).  

   Paul wrote of the return of Christ in these words, at the revealing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with the angels of His power, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thes. 1:7-8.  That is the Christ we will all see, and yes, all of us will fall on our knees in obeisance.

   Life is short; Death is sure; Sin the cause; Christ the cure.

A Letter To the Seven Churches

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.  
even from Jesus Christ the faithful Witness, the First-born from the dead and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 
and made us kings and priests to God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Rev 1:4-6 

Grace and Peace From God 

John starts his letter in 1:4, in the same manner as other Bible writers started their letters, as, indeed, was the custom of the day.  The writer's name first; John, the recipients of the letter next; the seven churches which are in Asia, and then the body of the letter.  

Although the Gospel is universal, and although the blessings of studying this book are for every Christian, yet, the destination of these letters to Asia signifies that, for the most part, the prophecies of The Apocalypse are for the Near East and the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

   Grace be unto you, and peace from Him (The Father). 1:4.  We know this refers to The Father because in verse 5, specific, distinct, reference is made to Jesus Christ.

  Oh That we might learn to revel in the truth that it is Jehovah who is interested in us having peace; the peace that He gives.  Of course, His peace would not be available to us without His grace.

A blessing from God, being invoked, at the beginning of a letter, is also found in First Peter 1:2. Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

   John also wishes that his fellow Christians will have peace from the seven spirits and from Jesus Christ.

   According to Foster,*** the seven Spirits refers to the holy spirit in its seven-fold mode of operation.  The reference he uses is The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2.   

   His position seems untenable since John specifically says seven spirits, which would indicate that they are not one holy spirit.  We also note that in 3:1 it is Christ who has the seven Spirits of God.  So if the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, how could Christ, the second person of the trinity "have Him"? 

   Furthermore, before we claim that the seven Spirits refers to the Holy Spirit, we must note that the seven spirits are before the throne of God, and therefore, not one of the persons of the alleged triune God.

  and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. 1:5

Christ is the Final Victor

Jesus Christ is The ruler over the kings of the earth, whether or not the rulers want it that way.  We need to rid ourselves of the idea that this is true only in some mystical, spiritual sense.  When Paul wrote, that every knee will bow to Christ, Phil. 2:10, he was speaking in a very literal, physical sense that every king, and by inference, certainly every commoner, will bow to a very real, physical Christ.  

   At the last judgment, everyone will bow to Him, however, some not willingly; The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever.  Psalm 81:15 

     Washed, in this reference, means set us free, or, as The American Standard has it, loosed us from our sins in his own blood.  In the Greek text, it reads like this, having loosed us out of the sins of us.  It bears repeating that the only way to have victory over sins that tempt us is through the blood of our Savior, our King.

   and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1:6.  Therefore, now, the Church is a nation (a kingdom) of Priests (intercessors) unto the God of Jesus because of what Jesus has done.  We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.  1 Peter 2:9

    Him who is and who was and who is to come.   The description Him who is and who was and who is to come applies to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as much as it does to God the Father. Guzik.  What a wild claim!  There is absolutely nothing in these words that even makes a person think such a thought.  It is not even fathomable that a first century Jew would be writing about a God who is three persons.   Anyone who makes that claim is standing on "very thin ice" and is "grasping at straws" to keep from sinking when the ice breaks.

His God and Father. 1:6  Repeatedly throughout the New Testament, the teaching of the trinity is proven to be wrong.  Even here, in verse 6, we see that Jesus cannot be an equal person with God the Father since John writes that Jehovah is also the God and Father of Jesus?

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*** Shadow of the Antichrist by Ivan Foster, Free Presbyterian

Worthy is the Lamb

The underlying theme of The Revelation is:

   Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Rev. 5:12

   
   The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 

   who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 
   Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 1:1-3

A.  The introduction to the Revelation:

   Verses 1-3 are written in the third person, therefore the writer of these 3 verses speaks of John as him.  John's starts writing in verse 4.  Of course, there are Bible students who do not believe that Saint John was the author, but that is an issue for another person, place and time.

   The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him.  It is not a revelation by Jesus Christ, as The New World Translation has it.  Neither is Jesus Christ the Revelator, as Uriah Smith** has it.  The revelation given to John, by Jehovah, is a revelation of Christ.  

   This revelation was given To show His servants -- things which must shortly take place.  John was a servant only; the servant who was chosen to write this oracle or at least part of it.  In the sentence, He sent and signified it, the word He must be understood as referring to Jehovah.  The Father sent the revelation of Jesus Christ ... by His angel to His servant John.

   John bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.   Let it be stated that in The Revelation, John witnessed much to the Word of God (the Old Testament).  Dr. J. Vernon McGee* writes It is calculated that there are over five hundred references or allusions to the Old Testament in (The) Revelation and that, of its 404 verses, 278 contain references to the Old Testament.

      Some Bible commentators say that the words, John bore witness to the word of God means that John spoke of Christ because "Christ is the Word of God".  It is not at all likely that that is the meaning because in the very next sentence Christ is mentioned separately; also because the two thoughts are separated by the word and.  Notice: to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ. So let's not find the doctrine of the trinity where it is not even hinted at.

   The words in 1:2, all things that he saw, cause an interesting disagreement among Bible students.  The phrase, being in the past tense, influence some to believe that John was later released from Patmos, where he had been a prisner, and went to Ephesus, where he became the pastor.  They say this is a sound argument that John wrote The Apocalypse a long time after he saw the revelation.  This could explain why the events in the book are not recorded in chronological order.   

  However, Wuest# says that Greek grammar does not allow that interpretation, and that, came to be, is the proper translation of the word, was and it is not in the past tense.  Therefore there is no argument in these verses that John was ever released from Patmos because the phrase is not at all related to time.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy.  The word, this, needs to be emphasized, thereby stressing the idea that the study of The Apocalypse is not to be ignored, or even avoided because it is difficult or terrifying.  Rather, the reading of it and hearing it will lead to blessings if one also keeps those things which are written in it.  The Living Bible translates the word, keeps, as, do what it says.

The fact that "reader" is in the singular and “hearer” is in the plural, indicates that the preacher of the church would read the book; the hearers would be his congregation.  In John's era, the average person did not have access to books and the best they could hope for would be to hear that which was being read.

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** A Commentary of Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith, Seventh Day Adventist.
* Through the Bible with Dr. J Vernon McGee.

# An Expanded Translation, K.W. Wuest.

Introduction to The Revelation

   Though he wrote a commentary on the rest of the Bible, Mr. John Calvin, a noted Bible teacher, and originator of the Calvinistic branch of theology felt too inadequate to do a commentary on The Revelation.  

   According to the common consensus, The Revelation is the hardest book in the Bible to explain, and yet there are more commentaries on The Revelation than on any other book of the Bible.

   Many learned scholars and deep-thinking servants of God hold other views, concerning The Revelation, then I have expressed here.  My intention was to study The Revelation and to make some notes of my own, now that I have done that I would like to share my findings with you, my readers.

Literal or Symbolic

   One of the interesting things in this study has been to notice the almost innumerable interpretations of any given text.

   We were taught that if plain sense makes common sense seek no other sense.  The trend in my Bible studies is to take a very literal interpretation of the Bible whenever possible, but obviously, if horses have lions heads, 9:7-8, we must admit that we are not reading about normal horses. 

   A careful reading shows that much of The Revelation is figurative.  One example is 17:1, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, and 17:15 says, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.  So we see, the harlot (who is not really one woman) is not sitting on many waters literally, but rather she is involved in the lives of the people of many nations.  Allowing figurative language is not the same as spiritualizing the truths; the practice of spiritualizing Biblical truths and facts, is, as it should be, taboo in good Bible commentaries.

  Some feel comfortable spiritualizing the Apocalypse; some call it a work of fiction; some, like me, like to take everything in the Bible literally; however, The Revelation does not co-operate with literalists, and so the symbolic approach is freely used in this study.

The argument for the re-arrangement of subject matter in these posts, it seems to me, are stronger than the arguments against it are.  Many Bible teachers insist that The Revelation must be followed through in the order in which we have it recorded.  With that view in mind it is not surprising that The Revelation is impossible to understand.

The Outline 

A different approach is taken here; The Revelation is divided into five parts:

a) The introduction,
b) The main body,
c) Individual scenes that must be interlaced into the main body,
d) the afterlife and
e) the conclusion.

   To get any meaningful grasp on The Apocalypse it is imperative to re-arrange 12:1-22:6 into the correct sequential order and then dovetail those sections into the proper place into 6:1-11:19. In these posts, that adaptation has been made to help better grasp the picture.

The Jerusalem Bible, in its introduction to The Revelation, puts this slant to the problem of the repeated information.  There are repetitions and interruptions, and there are passages out of context.  One promising hypothesis is that the strictly prophetic part of the book is made up of two different “apocalypses” written at different times and later conflated.  That is the premise that is being followed here.  This re-arrangement shows up before we even start chapter two of our studies.

   Surely, no one who has studied The Revelation will dogmatically insist that he has all the right answers and that anyone who disagrees with him is categorically wrong.  Even while studying and writing about The Apocalypse, at many places one wavers as to the position that needs to be taken.

   If you are planning to follow along with these posts, there are a few things you might appreciate knowing.

   Bible quotations are in red, other quotations are in blue, and when I put words into peoples mouths they will be in purple.  The text used is the New King James Version and if another version is used the difference is noted.

   In Greek, the word "Apocalypse" has the same meaning as "The Revelation" does in English, and this study uses the two titles interchangeably.

   This is the outline I purpose to follow:

A. The Introduction to The Revelation 
B. Conflict 
C. Letters to the Seven Churches
D. John Visits Heaven
E. The First Six of the Seven Seals
F.  Six Trumpets and Six Bowls of Wrath
G. The Great City
H. The Seven Angels
I.  The Little Book
J.  Harvest Time Has Come
K. The Rapture Takes Place
L.  The Saints Worship Jehovah

  According to Shakespeare, Polonius said, To thine own self-be true.  Therefore, I post those ideas that I believe to be true, or at least consider to be worth thinking about as being true!

   In the next post, we will start our studies of The Book of the Revelation. I will keep the posts short so that you need not devote a lot of time at any one sitting, and yet, the plan is, that we will come to the end of the book before the end of time.

  I hope that even though some of the thoughts and the arrangement expressed in this blog, are not orthodox, they will at least be a blessing to you, the reader. 

Thanks for joining me.