Revelation

"1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God."

I find it interesting that in this section Alleluia is mentioned 4 times. The term Alleluia means to praise God and rejoice. As Babylon is defeated, Christians will all be rejoicing. You can just imagine a massive crowd, almost like a concert or a huge tournament. The persecuted, the 24 elders, the 4 living creatures, and other believers in Heaven shouting for joy so loudly that it sounds like thunder and the sound of rushing waters. I don’t know about you but that picture gets me excited. This will be a major victory but not quite the final one. Victory should be something that we should all be excited about. For us believers, these victories may be overcoming temptation, or helping others get little victories of their own. In any case, just make sure to give the praise and glory to God. At the end of the day, He gives the victory and allows us to destroy our enemies. Never lose faith in Him, for with God all things are possible.

"23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."

It’s strange to think of a city so great and powerful but it wasn’t backed up by God. With all these great cities, I find a common theme; if they don’t have God, they almost always get destroyed or fall apart. Think about ancient Egypt, Babylon, Romans, the Mongolians, and several others. Nowadays, you have a couple large empires, which would be the USA, China, and maybe India. Every nation as a whole seems to have lost faith in God and have fallen. This would mainly refer to the USA because it was a nation that was started on the belief of God. When I think about these verses, I think everlasting punishment and complete destruction. Destruction that would cause this city of Babylon to disappear off the face of the earth. As Christians, I think we need to be like that secretary of state and not be afraid to express that we are Christians and are followers of God. We shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to others. We shouldn’t be afraid of anyone because our fear of God is greater.

"14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing."

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if God took everything from you? Your house, your car, your job, your family, your money, your clothes? Would that really matter to you that much? Even before God? These people are a picture of those that love money over anything else. God will punish those that get their riches from Babylon and He will take everything. It appears from the previous verses that a lot of these goods, if not all of it is trading goods and this great city is sounding more and more like the USA. As Christians, I believe this is giving us a reminder. A reminder to stay planted in our faith in God and ask ourselves, “Is God truly my rock and my foundation?” If He is, then we will be immovable and have an unshakeable faith. Let’s not get caught up in the world too much and remember about what matters most: Our relationship with God and our walk with Him.

"4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."

As Christians, when we are encountered with sin, especially for ourselves, how should we react? The way I believe we should all think about it is think about light and darkness. Jesus being the light in our hearts shines through us and that light spreads to others. Darkness however, is also in each and every one of us and that is where the sin lies. If you were to light up a pitch black room, you would still have darkness especially under your bed where the monsters live. In these verses, God is telling the people to come out of her, meaning Babylon. In Isaiah 52:11, the first part of it says, “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence…” and in Jeremiah 51:45 says, “My people, go ye out of the midst of her…” You can kind of get the hint that God is saying that when we see sin, run and run as fast as you can and don’t turn back. We can’t have any sin when we go to Heaven so we should try to not associate ourselves with it as much as possible. With sin being the literal doo-doo water, I don’t think you’d want to get that into our bodies because that would make us sick. Enough of it and it eventually leads to death. Let’s repent always and put God first. God will punish Babylon eventually and I don’t think we want to be a part of it when God sends His judgement.

"14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

Have you ever wondered what it would be like when we finally see Jesus? I just imagine tears of joy, complete happiness and overall fulfillment that we would never get anywhere else. He is the one we’ve been searching for and we finally get to meet Him. During these end times, there will come a point where evil will have a short victory and they will think they are strong enough to take on Jesus. Well, unfortunately for them, they are sadly mistaken. The picture that comes to mind is a martial arts master, kind of like this old korean drama where the main character’s old master was blind and yet could take on several guys at once and still could win. The only thing different about this battle against evil will be so one-sided towards Jesus that once He is done, you won’t even see sweat coming from Him and He’ll dust off His shoulders. We are a chosen people as followers of God. Let’s stay with Jesus until the end and He will get the victory.

"19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. "

This verse reminds me a lot of the movie John Wick, but also a post apocalyptic movie where the world ended. WIth the first section, it showed me a powerful picture. I saw a world where not a single building was left standing after this earthquake. Think of a major city like New York, just wiped out; a place like Hawaii just gone and completely submerged underwater. Then going a little into the other verses, massive hailstones a hundred pounds each all falling on people. That picture wasn’t so pretty as I pictured people getting crushed by that, so we’ll leave it at that. As for the second part, it’s kind of like John Wick because he never forgot who killed his dog and stole his car. The reason behind him killing a bunch of people is a bit amusing. However for God, in order for Him to remember you and not in a good way is a really, really scary thought like the movie, these people need to be struck with fear because God is coming. As for us Christians, let’s continue to keep our faith, continue to fear God, and continue to reach out to others. It is only a matter of time.

"15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."

Are you ready to go to Heaven? Are you prepared not so much with worldly things, but in spirit? When true believers are about to die they all have this immense peace that goes about them. Even those that are persecuted and suffer a great deal of pain still have peace right before death because they know they are saved and are going to Heaven. We will never know when Jesus will return. It might be in the next hour, it might be in 100 years; you can never predict the exact timing, so let’s always be ready. For the second part, when I think of the clothing, I think of Adam and Eve when they first sinned. It was the first thing they noticed when their eyes were opened and they sinned. We need to clothe ourselves in the armor of God and try our best to remove all the impurities by continuing to repent and get closer to God. When Jesus takes us to Heaven, it’s almost like we are going to be power rangers. We’ll have a transformation into our super suits which are flawless, perfect and white as snow. So what are we waiting for then? Let’s get to work

"7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. "

What does God mean to you? Is He your Father? Is He someone who is fair? Is He your creator? Is He loving? God is all those things and much, much more. It’s just a matter of us believing that. Have you heard the term, I trust your judgement? It’s kind of interesting. Contextually, judgement in this verse in Revelations is talking about God’s judgment in the end days but I believe God’s judgement and His plans are all perfect, just and true. We as Christians can get a little too caught up in these judgements and might lose sight of the end picture. Everything that we do is all based on mindset. You can pick up trash with a poor mindset but you can also pick up the same trash in a positive, happy mindset. Let’s remember to have faith and put our trust in whatever God has planned for us but also for others. God is absolute so let’s keep an open mind when we approach Him.

"2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God."

At this particular point in Revelations, it finally appears that all the Christians have been taken up to Heaven and it seems that they are finally victorious over the beast. From here, it looks like God will send the last of His judgements in the seven plagues/bowls, then from there all will be judged before God. I think to myself often about if I am following God’s direction for my life. I believe it’s something you need to think about always because He knows the perfect path for us and at the same time knows our needs and desires. I can’t even imagine life without God because all I see is chaos and destruction. I mean think about it; without God who are you serving? There’s really one other being and that is Satan. This verse shows the end result; believers who eventually remain victorious in Chris, but not by their own will, as you see in the other verses they glorify God. So let’s remain faithful and always glorify God in everything. It’s only through Him that we will be victorious. Let’s chase that victory.

"19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."

I don’t know if you've ever seen a horror movie, but this imagery shows me a lot of death. A horse’s bridle is about 4 feet tall and the distance of 1,600 furlongs is about 180 miles. It’s a picture that almost makes you sick to your stomach, but it shows you just how much people will incur God’s wrath. If you think about it, we have about seven to eight billion people living in the world. The unfortunate result is that a vast majority of those people are not true believers and will not make it to Heaven. When God’s judgement on the earth and the people living there is completed, then you can see how that winepress could be filled. God has control over every single thing, even if we don’t think that He is. I was reading in George Mueller that when he accepted Christ and found that he needed money, he just prayed a very simple prayer to God. But just before he decided to pray, he was still hesitant and almost thought it was silly. However, we prayed the simple prayer and said to God that you know my needs and I just ask that you would provide for me. A very simple and powerful message. But that same day, within the hour, he gets his prayer answered. Like my mom told me yesterday, we should not be praying like God “if” you are able, because He is able and can do all things. Instead, we should pray with more faith and ask God to provide for us and give us wisdom and understanding because He can. So yes, this picture is a scary one, but with God every single thing that might be impossible, is possible. Let’s always remember that and with that knowledge let’s reach out to those that are in need and are seeking God’s Word..

"6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

The first words that pop out to me is “in the midst of heaven”. A picture that comes to mind is one of those kung fu masters almost flying to fight and reach his opponent. This angel doesn’t necessarily have an opponent that he must fight, but instead he’s more of a messenger and gives a warning to the people. The imagery given here is quite powerful when you think about it. You have an angel literally flying in midair and with a booming voice says to fear God. If I was there, just someone flying in midair would cause me to worship God because that would be a visible miracle. You can also picture the earth at this time, all cameras on this individual. There would probably be reports like, “So aliens do exist” or some like, “Superhero? Or Vigilante?”. Going back to this message the angel is saying, it’s quite powerful. Bottom line is that we must fear God, give Him the glory, and worship Him. It’s these things that should be our foundations as Christians and sets us on the path to righteousness. With each passing day, you can almost sense that God’s judgement is coming soon. Let’s take this message and take action for time is not on our side.

"5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."

What does it mean to be fully blameless or to be without any fault? Does it mean to be sinless? Does it mean to be a very good person? These 144,000 are very special people. People who before God are considered to be pure (at least according to what my study bible says). These are people who weren’t perfect, but were so special that they were sealed by God since they believe in Christ. Is it possible for regular people to obtain this level of purity? Well, when you think about it, when you accept Jesus in your life, then you are forgiven of all your sins, but not only that, you are changed from the inside out. However, we are not perfect, so we need to repent always in order for us to not continually do the same sins and this allows us to cleanse ourselves for what we have done. God has written all of the believers' names in the Book of Life already. He knows who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell. As Christians, let’s try to be like these 144,000 who were blameless and who God sealed. God uses everyone and you just might be that person that will spark change in others lives so they will get to Heaven.

"18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

These numbers… What is their meaning and what is their purpose? Revelations as a whole is a very interesting book because it not only tells of future events, but also it is full of complexities that we as people can fail to completely understand. I feel that God made it this way for a reason. If we had the keys to our lives, then what would we do with it? Would we live life to the fullest and just live in the world? I feel like that is how it would be for most people and they would decide to come to Christ at the very last second. During these end times, the Beast of the earth is going to be someone that will perform for the people, but we know that it will also be a man, not a higher being. He is going to have immense power and will be treated like a god. Bottom line for the believers is that we shouldn’t dwell so much on evil and even the future. I believe we need to live for today,, get closer to God now, and bring others to Christ as soon as we can. The end times are coming.

"10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."

Have you ever seen the movie or read the book about the Tortoise and the Hare? Basically, the life lesson is that it’s not a sprint all the time, it’s a marathon. The hare goes so fast and would have finished the race in an instant, but instead, he gets distracted and places too much trust in himself that he would win. As a result, the tortoise, who keeps chugging along ever so slowly, gets the victory. This beast of the sea that is referenced in this chapter appears to me like he’s the antichrist and will have a massive following. These people that follow him will carelessly worship him and even go as far to say, “Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (vs. 4). As Christians, we need to remember that our walk with God is a marathon not a sprint and we need to constantly work on our endurance by staying in the Word. We can’t get caught up in the world because then we will be confined in Satan’s captivity of sin. Instead, we need to keep our faith in God always and don’t let that falter. Even to the point of dying by the sword, which I take as persecution, and it will happen in the future; it’s just a matter of when. Will you be able to die whole-heartedly for Jesus? Are you able to keep on running to Him and never stop even when you get tired? Our bodies may fail, but God gives us strength and it can be like nothing we have seen before. Let’s keep our faith in Him and with His hands outstretched to us, let’s never let go.

"11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Have you ever wondered what drives your spirit and soul? Is it proving somebody wrong? Is it your belief that you must succeed? Is it Jesus and the Holy Spirit? It’s pretty easy to see what drives Satan. He already lost to God and knows that He can’t win, so what does he do instead? He attacks the believers like it says in verse 17: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Verse 11 points out a key point and says they triumphed over Him but not on their own, but with the blood of the Lamb. Satan may go as far as killing people and by heavily persecuting Christians, but the one thing he can never take is our belief in Jesus and our love for Him. These verses go back to the point that nothing is impossible with God and this should also be reassuring because when you read Revelations we know that God already has the victory and Satan already has the defeat. Satan can do whatever he wants to us but we as believers need to keep our faith in God, keep His commands, and hold onto the testimony of Jesus. From there, we will triumph and score the victory; not from us, but from Jesus.

"5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."

I find the book of Revelations very fascinating because it not only tells of the future but gives insight of the past as well. According to my study bible, the woman refers to the nation of Israel which would make sense because those are God’s people and Jesus descended from it which is the Son that was birthed from this woman. I noticed it said in quotations “who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron”. When you look closely in that, there’s a keyword which is the words, “Who was to rule”, not already ruled. This also makes sense because while Jesus was on earth, He didn’t rule over everyone due to that not being His purpose at the time. Jesus will come back and when He finally does, that will be the time where He will rule over all. The last part of this is God snatched up the child and brought Him to His throne. I believe that this is literally referring to when Jesus was taken up to heaven after He was resurrected. You kind of wonder whether or not John knew what this was referring to when He was writing about it, but bottom line: anyone should be able to make out that Jesus is this child and He will rule eventually once all of God’s judgements are finished. I believe this should encourage all of us as Christians that there is always hope in the darkest times and we must stay steady with our faith until the very end.

"18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."

A turning point. Just like in every single superhero movie, there’s a point where they (the hero) face an intense challenge or trial and they may fail, but they receive encouragement and push through and start to win the fight against the villain. In Revelation’s case, I would say the 7th trumpet is basically the turning point for the better for all the Christians. The twenty-four elders are saying here that the time is now for the judging of the dead, rewarding the believers and then destroying those that destroy the earth. These chapters from here on out are where God will issue the final judgements, but it also looks like there might be some intermission in between this chapter and the last judgements. I wonder what the people on earth will be thinking during these times. Will they be fearful? Will they not care? Will they repent? Will any of them come to Christ? One can only wonder but God knows. I think the hardest thing to do is give God one-hundred percent control. Sort of like the Tesla car and the autopilot system with you giving the car control to drive itself. In hindsight, it’s actually a really scary thought because you don’t know what’s going to happen. I feel like our faith has to be like that, but you also must have full confidence that whatever happens, God is in control. He has to be in control so much that you’re confident enough to sleep at the wheel because now God’s in the driver seat with spiritual hands and angels are surrounding every corner to ensure your safety. Having faith in God is only going to get harder, so it’s better to put that into practice now instead of later where we may be too late.

"3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed."

Have you ever seen a real life superhero or villain? Someone that had powers beyond the imagination and was a step above everyone else. These 2 witnesses are basically superheroes that God sends down, but to be realistic, the people living on the earth will think these are supervillains. You can see it in these verses and how we move along in Revelations just how bitter these people are getting. God grants these two witnesses power and if anyone harms them, God will send fire from their mouths and will kill their enemies. I wonder what kind of impact this would have if society and civilization was not as advanced as it was today. Think ancient Rome or even early America’s and this was happening. Nowadays, people can think of a reason or excuse for anything. They think they can use science to back up everything. Even when miracles are happening right in front of their eyes, they cannot see and fail to understand. The world we live in today is filled with less and less faith in God because people put more faith in other people or machines, so of course God would bring down judgement on the people of the world. Like these two witnesses, we as believers must also be witnesses for Christ and have fellowship with others and share His Word. However, this starts with our relationship with God and truly repeating so that He can make us change from our sinful ways. Let’s continue to have a solid faith in God even when it gets more and more difficult, because we know the end result and through God all things are possible.

"9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings."

If you had the ability to see your fate, how would you react? Or maybe you had the ability to see other people’s fates and in the same notion, how would you react? Would you try to change your history and path so you would get the greatest outcome? Maybe your fate was great so you just kept chugging along in life. Like John saw here, we as believers and readers of God’s Word can actually see the fate of people through the books of the Bible. I thought it was kind of odd when the angel said to eat the scroll and while it will be so sweet, it makes your stomach sour. The way I interpret this is that I feel like this little scroll is the Bible and as we take in and use God’s words for nourishment. It’s sweet and can make you feel good, however at the same time, when you read about the fate of nonbelievers and all the things that they will go through, it really shouldn’t make you feel that good. So now we know this information, what will we do with it? Well application is verse 11. We need to prophesy to the world about this and the things to come. Likewise, we always need to ask ourselves, am I ready? And remember to repent always.

"14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them."

Imagine the greatest and bloodiest war in mankind’s history. World War II. With over 70 million fatalities, it claims the top spot for the number of lives that were lost from a battle. There’s also plagues, diseases, abortions, and other deaths, but when you add those all together, it still doesn’t equate to the amount of people that will die when the 6th trumpet sounds. The current population of the world is nearing 8 billion. During the 4th seal, ¼ of the population will die, then with this trumpet another ⅓ will die and that number adds up to about 4 billion people. It’s hard to imagine all that death and we think that 70 million people is a lot, but that is only two percent of the total amount that will die during this time. For believers, we really need to have the fear of the Lord in our hearts because like it says in Proverbs, fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and having knowledge of Him is understanding. We as Christians and followers of God should be reaching out to others and really try to tell people this message as it is. God knows the blueprints of everyone’s lives, so why not have Him be the blueprint of ours.

"3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them."

Have you ever seen those movies where there’s an experiment that goes wrong on an insect and then it turns super large and terrorizes the world? I think there’s a lot of people that have a fear of insects whether it’s spiders to mosquitos to even ants. When this trumpet sounds, it will be like the time in Exodus, but instead of the locust destroying all the crops, God will have them target the people living on Earth without God’s seal on their foreheads. What makes this a little scary is that these aren’t just any locusts, they will even be equipped with a scorpion stinger to make people suffer. These end times as things progress will be worse and worse for the people living in the world. What I get from this is to repent always and not only for yourself but also for others like Job did. Even if we might be the most righteous person, we would still sin greatly because that is what currently controls the world. It’s better that we repent now and constantly ask for God’s forgiveness. I feel that with these seals, trumpets, and bowls, God is telling everyone just repent and ask Him to change us from our wicked and sinful ways.

"12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise."

Have you ever seen any of the post-apocalyptic movies about the end of the world? I’m sure most have and usually it’s some major natural disaster that destroys everything. One of the more interesting things is where the sun disappears and/or the moon. You see, I think we take too many things for granted and this applies to both believers and non-believers. The sun, the stars, and the moon with its gravitational pull actually controls a lot of how the Earth functions, like the moon and the waves in the ocean. It would really be a scary thought to see everything just go dark for a third of the day and night. It’s just a reminder what God is capable of and we need to take Him seriously. We need to greatly fear Him and at the same time always look to Him because He is the perfect example. If Jesus were to come today would you be ready? Let’s live everyday serving and worshipping God. I think we all know Jesus is coming soon.

"1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets."

The number seven seems to appear often in the Bible most likely because it is God’s number. When this seventh seal is broken, there is silence in heaven for about half an hour. Initially, I linked this with Genesis when God finished His creations and rested, but now that I look at it, it appears it’s basically a moment of silence for the judgement that is about to come. This final seal being broken allows Jesus to open this locked scroll and you can tell it’s for judgment because the seven angels and their trumpets we’re already getting ready. This silence reminds me of a lot of war movies. In Hacksaw Ridge, they were climbing this rope structure to get to the battlefield and when they made it to the top there was smoke and silence for a while. Then one of the wounded soldiers screamed out of shock and just like that the chaos began and gunshots were fired. As believers, yes, this picture is scary and the things that are to come are even scarier, but I’m constantly reminded of God’s grace and He will send Jesus again to take us; most likely before this all happens. We can just never be sure so let’s have faith in God but at the same time we must fear Him and have a deep respect for Him. For God was the same yesterday, He is the same today and will be the same forever.

"15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

I find it so sad that in the end times, Christians and followers of God will be persecuted greatly and many of those people will die for their faith. At first, I thought of the Great Tribulation as a good thing, but I didn’t realize that tribulation means a cause or state of great trouble or suffering. My study bible says this will be a great loss of life and martyrdom will most likely be their escape. Then, it says/predicts in Daniel 12:1 that this tribulation will be an intensity “unequaled from the beginning of the world until now” and will never be equaled again which is in Matthew 24:21. It’s definitely a scary thought to the people of the world during these times, but especially for Christians. But then these next verses are extremely comforting and gives Christians something to look up to. Verse 15 says these people will be before God and will serve Him all day and night, and God will shelter them. Then verse 16 says they won’t hunger or thirst and the sun or any heat won’t beat down on them. Then verse 17 says that He will lead them to the springs of living water and will wipe away every tear from their eyes. I think this is a beautiful picture of what’s to come and I believe this doesn’t just apply to the people of the Great Tribulation but all Christians. So there’s a couple takeaways. This is just a few of the amazing things we will see and obtain in Heaven, but there is so much more. The other thing is that we shouldn’t need to worry about what others say about you or me, especially when it comes to following God’s plan and praying and worshipping Him. Let’s make sure we praise God always and lift each other up in the Word. There is just so much more when we get to Heaven, so don’t wait and act now.

"2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."

A picture that comes to mind when I read these verses is when God sent the final plague to Egypt in the time of Moses when He was trying to free the Israelites. The final plague was a scary one, where the Angel of Death would kill all the firstborns in the case they did not spread pure lamb’s blood over their doorways. It was a seal that held the Angel from coming into those places. While I don’t think we as Christians currently don’t have this seal, I believe that we have been marked by the Holy Spirit, which is in each of our hearts. We need to ask ourselves daily if I am in tune with God and does the Holy Spirit reside in me? As believers, we need to repent daily in order for us to be more in tune with God and so we can listen to His instruction for the path He wants us to take. People can usually sense something about someone that is filled with the Holy Spirit and they don’t even need to be a Christian. Let’s continue to be difference makers, but with God’s instruction instead of ours. The sooner everyone knows about Jesus, the sooner Jesus will come to take us to Heaven and we will start to see everything in Revelations become reality; one by one.

"12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place."

If you were to paint a picture in your head of one of the scariest things out there, then what would it be? You might be thinking of ghosts or clowns or maybe falling to your death, but in reality, what John saw in the sixth seal is probably going to be one of the most frightening things that will ever happen. An earthquake so big that the mountains and islands will be removed from its place, then the sun turning black, the moon turning blood red and stars falling down from the sky. The image I see is utter fear and chaos. Even Heaven will be receded so that all can see God who sits on the throne. I think the saddest part about this is that most, if not all nonbelievers, probably will not repent. If they did and all became believers, then God wouldn’t have to do all the next things that are going to be even worse than this. Basically, this is a true nightmare, but what is to come for those nonbelievers will be their worst fear that comes to reality. As Christians, I think we will still be affected by this but we must continue to have faith, continue to trust in God and continue to repent because we know that Jesus is coming soon.

"9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"

Are you and I ready to die for our faith? It is a question that believers and followers of God need to be ready for. The imagery that John saw was quite powerful and while this might be scary for nonbelievers, for true believers, there’s no reason to be afraid. Matthew 24:9 also talks about this and Jesus says: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” We need to all be prepared and ready to go. Jesus is coming back, but before that happens, some or even many of us may be martyred for our faith. As a result, we need to always ask the question again. “Am I ready to die for Jesus?” If that answer is no or you are on the fence about it, then you need to change that answer to and unfaltering yes. The beauty in this is that when we trust in Jesus and have our faith in Him, there’s no need to fear death. God already has things under control even when you think it might not be. God will punish the wrongdoers on earth and will make them repent, but by that time, it would be too late for them. With this, let’s be ready. Ready to die for Jesus if it is His will and then we can finally meet Him in Heaven.

"5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

I think a common life lesson that is taught around the world to everyone is that you need to make a lot of money and be successful. This may be a stereotype but in most asian families that is one of their defining traits so that you can be honorable in the family. With this, money is important, but money is not everything, especially when we get to the end times. When the third seal hits, there is going to be a big famine which will kill off a lot of the world’s food sources. For a day's worth of wages, verse 6 says we will get 2 pounds of wheat and 6 pounds of barley. According to macrotrends.com, a bushel of wheat (which is 60 pounds) is only $5.18. As for barley, according to ycharts, a bushel of barley (which is 48 pounds) is less than 5 dollars. The Bible doesn’t specifically say how much a day’s worth of wages is, but you can expect the price of these two things to go out at least 100 times the current value. This should give us a picture of how severe this famine will be and many people will be going hungry. This world will already be chaotic from the second seal and this will be making it worse. The unfortunate thing is that this won’t even be the worse part for the people living on earth at this time and it will get even more severe. We can never underestimate God. Our faith must be in Him always and even more so during these times. Money will not nearly be as important and you will probably see food being valued a lot higher. So let’s ask ourselves. Who do we serve? God? Or Money?

"4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword."

If you ever watched Avenger’s Infinity War and Endgame, then I would say you probably got very emotional. But going to the point, I think it does a decent job of how life will sort of look like in the end times. In the movie, Infinity War, Thanos (the villain) ends up getting all the Infinity Stones and with his gauntlet, he snaps his fingers and half of the entire universe dissolves to dust. The beginning of the next movie, Endgame, basically shows the aftermath and all the destruction that happened because of it. The seals are things that will happen in the future, and it’s only a matter of when. For this second seal, with the fiery of the red horse, this will be when the earth goes into chaos. The peace will be taken away and wars will break out all over the place. I take this war (or wars) to be the biggest one of them all and I’m sure there will be many, many casualties. These seals should be mind-openers for us as Christians and followers of God. These are going to be extremely scary times and I can see that if you aren’t a believer, then it will be that much harder to accept Christ at this time. For myself and many others, I feel that at times we can take God for granted a little too much, however, these verses are just a reminder that God doesn’t change and is still the same God as He was shown in the Old Testament. Let’s make sure that we fear Him and also put our utmost faith in Him. God controls every single thing and knows exactly what will happen and when.

"10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

Have you ever wondered what life was like back in the medieval times? Kings, queens, princes, and princesses. With that there’s kingdoms and all their glory and power. Even though these times are pretty much past us, we still have a kingdom that we serve and live in. In verse 10, I like how it says that we have been made to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and we will reign on the Earth. Just think about that for a moment. While this can be separate kingdoms for each of us, I think this means a whole kingdom as one. Not so much our kingdom, but God’s kingdom. There we are all priests that serve God and worship Him. A kingdom where God is the focus and nothing else. You see without God, there is no kingdom and we are homeless. Without God, there is only darkness and sin. Without God, there is no path to Heaven and the end path leads to Hell. However, with God, we are a part of His kingdom, we have a home, we have only light, there is no need to sin, and there is a path to Heaven. 1 Peter 2:5 and 9,10 explains and reiterates this very well. It says “...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” So with this, let’s continue to be apart of God’s kingdom, and keep building ourselves up until the day Jesus comes back for us.

"5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without Jesus? I can tell you one thing; the world would probably not exist anymore because of how dark and impure we as humans truly are. The world would be chaotic, full of anger, and there wouldn’t be any peace. Now the Bible really only points to one direction and that direction leads to Jesus. As we walk with Jesus, He leads us towards His path where He wants us to go. Eventually, we reach a door, a door that is locked but does not have an actual lock or handle to open it. At that point Jesus opens that door and from there you see the stairway to Heaven. In verse 5 of Revelations chapter 5, one of the elders reiterates that Jesus has already triumphed and is able to open the scroll and the seven seals when no one else could. Going back to my last QT point, is that we are not worthy. In fact, even the elders and angels in Heaven weren’t worthy enough to open the scroll. It’s amazing the awesome God that we serve and He truly gave us an easier way to get to Heaven and that is Jesus. Let’s all get closer with Him and deepen our relationships as well. Remember He is the only way to Heaven and is the Worthy, Chosen one.

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Imagine yourself as a young padawan in the Star Wars Universe. Your master and all others and you give you all the attention and also criticism. Why? Well you are the chosen one that is supposed to bring the universe order and believe. There is also prophecies explaining this to be true. For us Christians and everyone around the world, there is only one worthy one. That would be God, the Father, son and Holy Spirit. God is the one that breathed life into all of us, but not only that, He gave us free will. God isn't a dictator, but all he wants is the best for us and knows the perfect way for us to obtain that. He even sent his son Jesus to die on the cross so that we can go to heaven with him being the only bridge to get there. We need to always ask ourselves who do we serve? Is it God, or is it the world? None of the people on earth are ever worthy and cannot get to heaven on our own. We need to worship Jesus always and understand that with his power, we can do all things. Let's thank God for all he as given to us, and then live for him and him only.

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

Have you ever had coffee that was sitting out a little too long and when you drink it, it wasn't hot but just warm? Vice verse for cold drinks that you left in the car on a hot day and the ice melted and it ended up being very warm. If you hadn't tried this, then don't. I can tell you that it tasted nasty and this nastiness is basically what the church of Laodicea was dealing with. They weren't on fire for God but at the same time the weren't denying God either. This type of lukewarm person is a person of compromise. Someone who knows something is bad but will try and justify it until that is normal for them. Jesus greatly dislikes people who are lukewarm and said in verse is that he wishes you were on of the other, but not only that but inverse 16 it says that he would just spit us out. Have you ever ate something you didn't like and just ended up spitting it out because it was that bad? Well it's kinda like that, people who are lukewarm are on a tightrope. If they fall on one side that is the path of Satan, but on the other side is the path that leads to Jesus. These people love both the world but also want (or think that they want) Jesus. Jesus already said early in the New Testament that he doesn't want this. Matthew 6:24 says "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." As a result and as followers of God, let's make sure to set out priorities straight right away. God is first and there can be no compromises with that. Let's make sure that we aren't setting our eyes on the worldly pleasures, but instead focus on the end game which is our treasures in heaven and eternal life with Jesus.

"Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth."

Have you ever wondered what it would be like past rapture? After the believers are taken into heaven and the people left on earth just contemplating their lies at this point. The movie left behind in my opinion doesn't really do a good job of just how crazy and chaotic the world would be. What if some of these people are pilots? Planes would be crashing down from the sky and it would basically be a repeat of 9/11 only worse. Jesus, when talking about the church of Philadelphia, didn't rebuke then, but instead encouraged them to continue in what they were doing. Because they endured patiently, they would be protected when Jesus comes back to the earth to take them. Just think of how scary life will be if you aren't taken up into heaven at the time of the rapture. As Christians, the first step in faith is believing. Believing that Jesus existed, died on the cross, beat death, rose again, and is our Lord, and Savior and the only wing to heaven. Let's continue to believe in Him even when it gets hard, because Jesus is coming soon.

"Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. "

Have you ever owned something that was white and got it very dirty? It really doesn't matter what it was from a car, to a t-shirt, to furniture, but the color white is something that stains very easily. I'm sure almost everyone owns something white aside from these people that just love the color black and live in the dark side. Anyways, one of the church of Sardis's problems was that they acted alive, but were truly dead. Think about a person that looks so pure on the outside, but inside is just back and dirty; it is basically like that. Have you ever tried to get a stain out of white clothing? Well it is extremely difficult (at least back then), now just some bleach would usually do the trick. Our sin is basically the stain that never goes away on our own. The only thing that can clean it off is Jesus and the blood that he shed for us when he died on the cross. If we as Christians want to be able to walk with Jesus and get dressed in that pure white color, then Jesus has to be in our hearts, our souls, and our minds. He has to surround our bodies and has to always be invited in our lives. Jesus is coming sooner then we know but will also come when people last expect it. Why would we not walk with him now, knowing that he is coming for us soon. Let's repent always for our sins and walk with him as he clothes us in his presence. Let's not only be alive on the outside, but on the inside as well.

Revelations 2:26-28

"26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star."

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have immense power? Think of any superhero and just imagine yourself as one of them. Now the idea can be pretty cool, but with too much power you could end up turning yourself into a supervillain if you’re not careful. For Christians, we get our power and strength from God. He blesses us with gifts of all kinds, but only if you believe and have faith in Him. With life, there is sin and lot’s of it, but if we are victorious over it, then it says in verse 26 that He will give us authority over the nations. He will also give us the morning star, which is Jesus. Now this church in Thyatira was struggling with sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols (v.20) and Jesus was telling them that they needed to repent and ask for forgiveness. Everyone will have sin, so how do we become victorious so that we gain this power? Well we need Jesus in our lives first. We need to believe and accept Him into our hearts and make Him our number one. Another thing we need to understand is that we as human beings do not have much power, instead it is God who has it. Thankfully, God lets us use some of that power to do what He has planned for us. This goes from healing, to being able to preach His Word to being prayer warriors and much, much more. Repentance is also a must and must be done daily. It cannot just be a false repentance where we end up doing that same sin over and over again, but instead give that sin up to God. He needs to be in control in our lives so that sin should almost no longer be an occurrence. God gives us the victory at the end of the day. He is our superhero and also our Everlasting Father. Let’s be victorious, but not because of us, but because God gave it to us.

Revelation 1:8

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to time travel? Think Back to the Future or even Avenger’s Endgame. Think about being able to rewrite history or maybe even going back to see Jesus in the flesh. While I think the idea of this would be pretty cool, it just isn’t logical and it would really go against our faith as Christians. Now what do I mean by that? Well, faith is trust in the Lord and also knowing that God will do things even though we can’t see it. Is it also believing that Jesus existed and much, much more. If we were to go back in time to change something, then how would that be faith in God? God does all things for a specific reason that is beyond our understanding. As this verse says, He is the “Alpha and Omega, the Almighty”. God is the beginning and the end. He knows that will happen in your life from today to when you die. He even knew you were going to exist before you were born. So with this, let’s have faith that God knows all and is in control over everything. Let’s not be worried, but instead rejoice of the day when Jesus returns.

Revelations 1:18

"18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

Have you ever thought about death? Maybe a recent grandparent or friend, or other family member passed away and it brought you to think about when you might pass away. Death can be a scary thought and it keeps some people up all night because they are afraid to die. Why would someone be afraid to die? Well it’s probably because they do not have Jesus and did not receive Him in their lives. Now the only way to Heaven is through Jesus. There is no other way to get to Heaven. Once we accept Jesus in our lives, there is a radical change and with it, we change from our old ways. We understand we are so unworthy of God’s love and His sacrifice, but He continues to give anyways to us. As followers of God, there’s really no need for us to fear death. Verse 18 tells us why Jesus is the Living One; He died, but rose again and because of the resurrection, He conquered death and defeated Satan. So as Christians what do we have to worry about? Well nothing really because God provides all that we need. Jesus has already beat death and Satan so we already know who’s going to win in the end. Let’s be on the winning side and believe and have faith in Jesus and know that we will go to Heaven.

Revelations 2:7

"7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

There’s a particular saying that dad always tells me and that is we have two ears, but only one mouth. So what does that tell you? We need to listen carefully and with intent, then if we need to talk (and only if we absolutely need to), we can say what we need to say after we’ve done the first two things first. Jesus says in this verse and actually in the end of all the letters to the churches that whoever has ears let them hear. He also mentions that whoever is victorious will have something to gain at the end. For this first church of Ephesus, they forgot their roots and forgot about love. I’m sure there were probably other things too, but with the main thing being love, they needed to repent.. Someone can misinterpret the victory part, thinking that if they get the victory, then they will receive eternal life and live in God’s paradise of Heaven. In all actuality, it’s not you but God that grants the victory. As human beings, there is only so much that we are capable of, but with God everything is possible. So we cannot forget to love as it was God’s greatest commandment, but just know that victory cannot be achieved without God.

Revelations 2:10

"10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown."

Persecution is something that Christians have had to deal with for a long time. Christianity may have been the normal thing in the 17th century, but nowadays people just seem to take it as another religion. Because of this, persecution will come for us as we get closer to the end days. There are already heavily persecuted areas in different parts of the world like China and North Korea, but America hasn’t had it that bad. As the times of persecution and suffering come, Jesus tells us to not be afraid and to be continually faithful even to the point of death and then Jesus will give us life. I think true believers will show during times like these and more specifically when Christians begin to get killed for their faith worldwide. Weak Christians may falter and will turn away from Jesus and deny Him, but we need to be the opposite. We need to make sure that we are on the strong side and remain faithful. Persecution will come whether we like it or not so let’s be prepared and trust in God in all things. Let’s be strong in the faith until Jesus comes to take us home.

Revelations 2:13

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false."

How strong is your faith? What would you say your limit is? For Christians, we really shouldn’t have any limits because God has no limits. For our faith, the truth is that the journey will be rough, there will be struggle and it is full of sacrifices. There will be individuals along the road of faith that will assist us to make us stronger, but also those that try to bring us down with them. In verse 13, Jesus is commending the church of Pergamum for keeping their faith in Him even when a man of faith, Antipas, was put to death. In the end days, we will start seeing this as a similarity. Christians will begin to be heavily oppressed and the individuals that will help us on the faith journey will get even smaller in number. These are times when our faith will truly be tested. Can you trust God during these times? Do you have faith that you will be able to go to Heaven? For us, God will always be there through the good and the bad. He is our creator, protector, and our light at the end of the tunnel. During these times, let’s make sure to stay planted in our faith, stay locked in the Word, and continually pray for one another. Remember with God, all things are possible.