THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF REVELATION
Chapters
| 13. | Chapter 13 |
| 14. | Chapter 14 |
| 15. | Chapter 15 |
Chapter 13
(Jer. 30:7)The Antichrist and False Prophet During The Time of Jacob’s Trouble
(Click on NUMERIC links to READ ENDNOTEs)
The Antichrist: the Revived Grecian Empire
13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea [this beast is the Antichrist (c/p. Dan. 7:3)], having seven heads (8) and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard [Greece], and his feet were as the feet of a bear [Medo-Persia], and his mouth as the mouth of a lion [Babylon]: and the dragon [the Antichrist’s power comes from Satan] gave him his power, and his seat [throne], and great authority. 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death [Greece]; and his deadly wound was healed (9): and all the world wondered after the beast. 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months (10). 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them (c/p. Dan 7:21 and Dan. 7:25): and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (11). 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 13:10 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 [saints will not be able to resist the Antichrist with physical force (Rev. 14:12-13)].
The False Prophet (12)
13:11 And I beheld another beast [this beast is the false prophet] coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast [the Antichrist] before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles [Satan’s counterfeit of the ministry of God’s two witnesses (Rev. 11:3)] which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live (13). 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
13:16 And he causeth all (14), both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (c/p. Rev. 15:1). 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count (15) the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (666).
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[Note: the chronological storyline of Revelation is continued from Rev. 12:17.]
The 144,000 Are Seen in Heaven (16)
14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand (Rev. 7:3-4), having his Father's name written in their foreheads. 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins (17). These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits [the first fruits of those saved following the resurrection of the two witnesses, and the close of both the Antichrist Covenant week and Daniel’s 70th week of years] unto God and to the Lamb. 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
The first angel’s message (18)
14:6 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 [c/p. Rev. 7:9], 14:7 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 second angel’s message
14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon (19) is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
The third angel’s message
14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints [all saints]: here are they that keep the commandments of God [Jewish keepers of the Sabbath day 4th Commandment], and the faith of Jesus (Rev. 13:10).
14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth [during the last 75 days of the third woe, salvation is (apparently) only by death]: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man [Jesus], having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped [c/p. Matt. 13: 24-30; 36-42].
14:20 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 [200 miles: which is the length of the nation of Israel. "Armageddon" is Hebrew for "Mt. Megiddo", which is in Northern Israel. The valley of Megiddo (also referred to as the valley of Jehoshaphat; Joel 3:2, 12) is where the Battle of Armageddon is to be fought (Rev. 16:12-16; c/p. Zech. 12:11). See also: Ezekiel 38 and 39 is not the battle of Armageddon.]
- The seven last plagues
- 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass [the crystal floor of the throne room of God] mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast [the victory of death (Rev. 14:13)], and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name (c/p. Rev. 13:16-17), stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses [they are Hebrew] the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb [they are born again by the blood of Jesus], saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
- 15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen (20), and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
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 | 8. The seven heads are: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Revised Rome that is yet to come. The 10 horns are the 10-nation confederacy that will make up the revised Roman Empire (Dan. 7:8; Dan. 7: 23-24; Rev. 17:12). The 10 crowns are its 10 kings; they are also the 10 toes of Daniel 2:41-44]. |
| 9. The Roman Empire was not "wounded unto death," or conquered from
without. Its demise was from within. It has, however, never ceased to exist—even
unto this day. The Grecian Empire, on the other hand, did receive a mortal wound
from Rome, although its 4 divisions—Greece, Turkey, Syria,
and Egypt—continue until today. It is Greece, then, that will be
resurrected or revived
as the eighth kingdom to oppress the nation Israel (Rev.
17:10-11). Today, the Roman
Empire is beginning to be revised—not revived—in
the European Economic Community (c/p.Rev. 17:12
). In the years to come, however, for the
prophecies of the 10 horns and 10 toes of Daniel to
manifest, the 10-nation confederacy that will comprise the
revised Roman
Empire must include the above 4 divisions of the Grecian Empire.
Daniel makes this very clear at
Dan. 8:9,
Dan. 8:21-22,
Dan. 8:23, and
Dan.
11:40.These 10
nations will be located in the territories
formally ruled by both Rome and Greece, as the Bible clearly states that
the 10-horn nations of
revived Greece |
| We must also remember that there were 5 toes on each of the feet of iron and clay on the image God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:41-44). The legs, feet and toes represent the Roman and revised Roman empires. At the close of the third century A.D., the Roman emperor, Diocletian, divided the Roman empire into two main divisions—east and west. In 395 A.D., the emperor Theodosius I made this division official by dividing the empire between his two sons. Rome became the capital of the Western Roman Empire and Constantinople [Byzantium] became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. [To precisely fulfill Bible prophecy, then, we should look for a confederacy of nations with 5 of the toe/nations to be on each foot of revised Roman Empire—five from the West and five from the East.] |
| The revised Roman Empire does not actually come into existence until it is given a king who is over the entire confederacy. He will continue but a short space (Rev. 17:10). By the middle of The Antichrist Covenant week, the kings of these 10 nations will come to hate the great whore city of Mystery Babylon and will agree to destroy her [see The Mystery of Mystery Babylon]. They will burn her with fire. They will then give their power, authority and kingdom to the Antichrist (Rev. 17:13, Rev. 17:16-17), whose kingdom then becomes the revived Grecian Empire. |
| 10. The same time period of Gentile rule of Jerusalem (Rev. 11:2) and the ministry of the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3): the last half of both The Antichrist Covenant Week and Daniel’s 70th week. |
| 11. Peoples is missing, because the remnant of Israel is hidden in the wilderness (Rev. 12:6, Rev. 12:14). |
| 12. It is my opinion that the false prophet will be the Jewish high priest and not the Pope. This fits the detailed historical pattern established in 1st and 2nd Maccabees in the collusion between the Jason, the Jewish high priest, and in Antiochus Epiphanes, the biblical model of the Antichrist (Dan. 11:21-34). As a matter of fact, the Pope is excluded on geographical grounds because since the Greek Empire never ruled Italy and Rome. Likewise the revived Grecian Empire will not include the nation of Italy, and thus excludes the Vatican City. |
| 13. There is a strong suggestion—given the amount of repetition concerning the deadly wound that was healed (Rev. 13:3, Rev. 13:12, and Rev. 13:14)—that the Antichrist [the counterfeit savior] may also personally receive and recover from a deadly wound. |
| 14. It is the false prophet that demands worship of the Antichrist. He is also the one who institutes to mark of the beast computer system. |
| 15. When one "counts" the number 666 he gets the number 18. A person living in the United States of America could very well have as his number a 666, followed by a 3 digit country code (101), followed by a 3 digit area code (xxx), and then a 9 digit social security number (xxx-xx-xxxx)—making a total of 18 digits. With a laser gun, such a number could be instantly, painlessly and invisibly inserted on the hand or forehead of any person, and used to control buying and selling with the present scanners in today’s supermarkets. [See When Your Money Fails666 and The New Money System, by Mary Stewart Relfe, Ph.D., Ministries, Inc., P. O. Box 4038, Montgomery, Al 36104.] |
| 16. This is following the end of The Antichrist Covenant Week and Daniel’s 70th week and the war in the heavenlies (Rev. 12:7). |
| 17. See notes on Revelation 12:5. |
| 18. The chronological story continues from the war in the heavenlies and third woe of Satan and his angels being cast into the earth (Revelation 12:7-12). Angels must preach the gospel because both the two witnesses and the 144,000 have been taken to heaven (Rev. 11:12; Rev. 14:1). |
| 19. Literal Babylon (Rev. 18). |
| 20. These are not angels, but redeemed men [c/p. Rev. 17:1; Rev. 19:10, Rev. 19:8 and Rev. 19:14; Rev. 21:9; Rev. 22:1, Rev. 22:6-9]. |
© 1999-2009 Walter J. Taylor; Walter James Taylor
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