insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8043','1','66','3','2','2','<p>3:2 &ndash; see on Rev. 1:20.</p><p><em>Be watchful and establish the things that remain, which are ready to die-</em> The \'things that remained\' uses the same word used for \'the remnant\'; He has just used it of the faithful remnant in Thyatira (2:24). The \'angel\', the eldership on earth who were represented by Divine Angels in the Heavenly throne room, were bidden strengthen that remnant, for even that was about to spiritually die. The \'you\' referenced in &quot;your works&quot; therefore refers to the angel / eldership. They had not watched, i.e. watched out for, the spiritual wellbeing of their flock.</p><p>I have explained earlier that the seven churches here provide a picture of how the churches will be in the last days before the Lord\'s return. The Olivet prophecy, like the Lord\'s letters, gives a huge emphasis on the need to watch in the last days (e.g. Mk. 13:5,9,23,33,35,37). The watching is for the safety of the house against the \'thieves\' of false teachers; we are each the porter, with the responsibility for the rest of the household on our shoulders (Mk. 13:34,35). Throughout the Lord\'s letters there is this same pointed emphasis upon the need to watch.&nbsp;The idea of the remnant being &quot;ready to die&quot; immediately suggests the parable of the virgins, whom we have portrayed as struggling to keep the flame of real faith from dying away.&nbsp;Seeing that the majority of Sardis are pronounced as &quot;dead&quot; (3:1), this encouragement to keep alive what was about to die can be read as a call to each of the faithful in the last days to not only keep their own faith alive, but to make every effort to keep alive those who appear fatally ill. This command presumes that it will be evident to the faithful what constitutes spiritual life and death.&nbsp;As our experience of the last days goes on, the difference between wheat and tares becomes increasingly marked - without having to anticipate the separation that will come at harvest.&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Be watchful&quot; is in the context of strengthening what remains, providing further proof that the command to watch in the last days fundamentally concerns watching over the state of the ecclesia and one\'s own faith, rather than \'watching\' the political state of the world. It seems that for generations, we have thought that \'watching\' meant reading \'Signs of the times\' articles which were actually no more than a running commentary on the state of the world. The Hebrew word translated &quot;watch&quot; is also rendered &quot;to take heed to oneself&quot;. The Hebrew word has the same idea. Thus David spoke of his <em>soul</em> watching (Ps. 130:5,6). Habakkuk \'watched\' for what God\'s word really said (Hab. 2:1); God watches over things in the sense of being sensitive to them (Jer. 31:28 Heb.). This Old Testament background to the idea of watching carries through to the NT. It\'s because we <em>don\'t</em> know the time that we are commanded to watch- not \'signs of the times\', because we don\'t know the time; but rather, to watch ourselves. Thus Acts 20:31 speaks of watching in the sense of being aware of the possibility of personal and collective apostasy. In 1 Cor. 16:31, watching means to stand fast in the One Faith; in Eph. 6:18 and 1 Thess. 5:6,11 it refers to praying for each other spiritually. In the last days, many brethren will turn away, Paul warned Timothy, but by contrast &quot;<em>you - </em>watch&quot; (2 Tim. 4:5). If we watch, both ourselves and others, the Lord\'s return will not be like a thief for us (Rev. 3:3). Thus watching is a sign of our acceptance by the Lord (Lk. 12:37). Yet <em>watching</em> our doctrine and way of life, realizing the real danger of mass latter day apostasy, is increasingly unpopular.</p><p><em>For I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God</em>- The Lord is right now in the presence or &quot;sight&quot; of God, representing us before Him. And He found Himself having to represent the works of these believers to the Father, and He did not \'find\' them complete; they were an appearance of religious activity rather than being the works done in faith and motivated by grace which the Father seeks.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8044','1','66','3','3','3','<p>3:3- see on Jud. 16:20.</p><p><em>Therefore remember how you have received- </em>They are bidden recall their first conversion; at that time, believers \'receive\' the Spirit (s.w. Jn. 14:17; 20:22; Gal. 3:2,14; 1 Jn. 2:27). To receive Jesus as Christ is to receive His Spirit (Jn. 1:12,16). The Corinthians received the Spirit, but were &quot;not spiritual&quot; at the time Paul wrote 1 Cor. 3:1. These believers were likewise being asked to remember the Spirit gift received, and to allow it to function within them.</p><p><em>And did once hear and keep it, and repent- </em>They needed to &quot;keep&quot; the Spirit they had been given. The idea of \'keeping\' does not solely refer to obedience to commandments, but to allow the Lord\'s word, His gifted Spirit, to abide / remain within them.</p><p><em>Therefore if you shall not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall not know what time I will come upon you</em>- The watching in view is not simply of themselves but of others; see on :2. &ldquo;I will come as a thief&quot; is an evident allusion to 1 Thess. 5:2 concerning the thief-like coming of Christ to the unworthy in the latter-day church.&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;You shall not know what time I will come upon you&quot; implies that they <em>should</em> have \'known the hour\'.&nbsp;&nbsp;This probably continues the allusions to 1 Thess. 5 - this time to :1: &quot;Of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you (faithful ones).&nbsp;For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night&quot; (AV). 1 Thess. 5:1,2 in turn alludes to Mt. 24:43 (R.V.): &quot;But this ye know&quot; that &quot;the goodman of the house&quot; would have watched if he knew when the thief would come. The wise at Thessalonica \'knowing\' the times and seasons of the thief\'s coming therefore implies that their \'knowledge\' was in terms of appreciating what the spiritual trials of the last days would be like.&nbsp;Rev. 3:3 brings all these strands together in warning the apostate members of the latter-day ecclesias. Not watching is equated by the Lord with not knowing the time. The evident allusion to the disciples not watching (Mk. 14:37) suggests that if we don\'t know the time, we will be like them- unprepared when we ought to be on the tiptoe of expectancy. The connection with the disciples also hints that when the Lord told them that they didn\'t know the time, he was in some sense rebuking them rather than making a general statement about the impossibility of <em>ever</em> knowing the time of his return.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8045','1','66','3','4','4','<p>3:4- see on Rev. 2:17.</p><p><em>But you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their clothes, and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy</em>- The Lord refers to His people not simply as \'people\' but as &quot;names&quot;. The Hebrew idea of a name is that it expresses personality and character. We are not numbers on a screen, but unique persons, known intimately to the Lord. These faithful ones were undefiled by the fact the others in their church were apostate- yet another disproof of any theory of \'guilt by association\'. The clothes undefiled refer to the gift of righteousness imputed at baptism abiding; just as the gift of the Spirit received abode with them (:3). &quot;Walk with me&quot; is yet another reminder that the destiny of the believer is to share the Lord\'s destiny; all that is true of Him is to become true of us. And this includes the idea of being &quot;worthy&quot;, which we are not in our own strength, but only on account of being in Him, the worthy one.</p><p>Again we must give full weight to the fact that the &quot;few&quot; in Sardis who had not defiled their clothes attended an apostate ecclesia; and yet they are <em>not </em>seen as &quot;defiled&quot; by the Lord Jesus. This is proof positive that there is no such thing as guilt by association with erring members of an ecclesia. Those faithful members were not rebuked for not disfellowshipping the others. The Lord&rsquo;s criticism of the ecclesias seems to be that they had allowed false teaching to develop, rather than the fact they hadn&rsquo;t separated from it. Smyrna was an ecclesia which received no criticism at all from the Lord; they weren\'t rebuked for not disfellowshipping the other local ecclesias who were apostate (Rev. 2:8-11). The elders at Sardis, an ecclesia holding many false teachers, were told to strengthen what remained (the Greek is usually used regarding people)- they were to strengthen the faithful minority, but nothing was said about withdrawing from them because they fellowshipped weak brethren.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8046','1','66','3','5','5','<p>3:5- see on 1 Cor. 4:9; Rev. 2:17.</p><p><em>He that overcomes shall thus be dressed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life- </em>&quot;Thus be dressed&quot; refers to the way that the Lord who spoke these words was at that very time dressed in white garments; they were to share His status, all that is true of Him is to become true of all in Him.</p><p>Blotting out of the book of life suggests that individuals were originally included in the plan for eternity, but are removed. Moses asking to be removed from that book is therefore a mark of his extreme love for Israel; willing to sacrifice his place in eternity for them. God did not accept this kind of substitutionary atonement, however. I have suggested that John wrote and spoke his gospel to appeal to his fellow Jews; and his letters were written to his converts. Revelation was perhaps also primarily intended for Jewish converts, and the initial references to the \'satan\' refer to the Judaist conspiracy to ween his converts back to the synagogue. The idea of our names remaining in the book of life would have suggested to a Jewish audience that we\'ll all be like Moses was at the end, in essence; we\'ll share his finest hours. Our names will not be blotted out of the book of life, as Moses\' wasn\'t (Ex. 32:32). For Jews, Moses was the acme of spirituality, a spiritual pinnacle they could never realistically attain to. But here they are promised that they are not mere Levites but in Christ, can share the peaks of Moses.</p><p>But there is the real possibility of names being removed from the book. This is the greatest tragedy; that a person at one point was on track for eternity, but lost that status. We must do all we can to \'watch out\' for others, therefore (see on :2); and never, ever, to make anyone stumble from the way which leads to eternal life.</p><p><em>And I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels</em>- As noted on :4, we are \'names\' and not numbers; in the Hebraic sense of a name reflecting the sum total of a person\'s character and being. Who we are as unique persons is confessed before the father; and our names, that code, if you will, which summarizes \'us\', is recorded eternally in the book of life. This points up the eternal importance of personality and spiritual character; for to some degree, who we are today is who we shall eternally be. Salvation is personal. We as persons shall be saved, meaning \'we\' shall be immortalized.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8047','1','66','3','6','6','<p>3:6 <em>He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches</em>- See on 2:7.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8048','1','66','3','7','7','<p>3:7 <em>And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says he that is holy, he that is true- </em>The Lord\'s essential character is important to establish, because it is He who has the power to eternally open and close the way to eternity in His Kingdom. \'Holy and true\' was one of the many titles heaped upon the Caesars, and again the radical, subversive nature of the book of Revelation appears. For the ultimate holy and true one is not Caesar, but the Lord.</p><p><em>He that has the key of David, he that opens and none shall shut, and that shuts and none opens</em>- The quotation is from Is. 22:22, where Eliakim is given delegated rulership in David\'s Kingdom. Perhaps the idea of David having the key to his kingdom alludes to the way that he consciously chose his successor and did not let it pass automatically to his firstborn. But the power to eternally shut and open the Kingdom has been delegated to us, in the sense that if we do not preach to others, or make them stumble from the path, we have closed up the Kingdom to them. The keys of knowledge are in our hands as preachers, and we can thereby open or shut up the Kingdom to men (Mt. 16:19; Lk. 11:52; see on Jn. 20:23). We have just been reminded that a man\'s name can at one stage be in the book of life, and then be removed; eternity can be closed to a person, as well as opened. The foolish virgins find the door to the Kingdom eternally locked against them. We get a strong sense from this imagery of the future we may miss, and how commitment to the things of the Kingdom logically demands 100% commitment from us.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8049','1','66','3','8','8','<p>3:8 <em>I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which none can shut), you have a little power- </em>Although no <em>man</em> can shut the door, the Lord can (see on :7). An open door speaks of an opportunity (1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3). It is the Lord who takes the initiative, opening the door to the Kingdom, by grace. It is for us to respond to His initiatives. Their &quot;little power / strength&quot; could imply that it could have been far stronger; but all the same, the Lord commends and accepts them. There are ranges of response to the Lord, and He is willing to accept that some ground will yield more harvest to His glory than others. Some work harder and longer in the vineyard than others; but all receive the penny of salvation.</p><p><em>And did keep my word and did not deny my name</em>- The aorist suggests this keeping of the Lord\'s <em>logos</em> was at a particular time in the past. They had presumably been called upon to deny His Name and stop abiding in His &quot;word&quot;. And they had refused. This could have referred to the local Jewish synagogue expelling them (Jn. 9:22), with the associated economic and social isolation which ensued for a diaspora Jew. Or in the Gentile context, it could have referred to exclusion from pagan trade guilds, with the same effect; or perhaps a call to show loyalty to the Caesar cult. But :9 suggests that the persecution had originated with the \'satan\' of organized Jewish opposition.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8050','1','66','3','9','9','<p>3:9 <em>Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and they are not, but do lie- behold, I will make these come to you and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you</em>- The persecution of :8 had been brought about by an organized group of people called here a false synagogue, implying they were Jews, but in name only. Perhaps one of their arguments was that God did really love the Christian Jews; because Judaism had a lot to say about themselves as the unique lovers of God, who enjoyed His special love. John in his letters has argued that if a Jew does not accept Jesus as Lord and Son of God, then such a Jew is outside &quot;the love of God&quot;. For he who denies the Son denies the Father also. These Judaist troublemakers will be resurrected and at the last day, see those they persecuted enter God\'s Kingdom. They will bow before the feet of those they persecuted, just as they will say &quot;Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord&quot;, but all too late for their personal salvation.</p><p>Some now in the ecclesia will be dashed to pieces by the Lord at the last day (2:27). Mal. 4:3 speaks of them being ashes under the souls of <em>our </em>feet, as if the faithful will play a part in the destruction of their faithless brethren. After our judgment, <em>we &quot;</em>will return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not&quot; (Mal. 3:18). Then in our own understanding the Kingdom of God will be likened to wise and foolish virgins; then we will see the tares clearly. Then the apostate false brethren in Philadelphia will worship before the feet of their faithful brethren. It may be in this sense that we will judge Angels / ecclesial elders (1 Cor. 6:3 cp. Rev. 2:1 etc.). Or it could be that the rejected will destroy each other. The surrounding world with whom they will then be associated will destroy themselves, brother against brother (Zech. 14:13); and they will have a part in this destruction. If we bite and devour each other, we may be consumed by each other (Gal. 5:15)- this is the same idea of brethren killing brethren.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8051','1','66','3','10','10','<p>3:10 <em>Because you did keep the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the time of trial which is to come upon the whole world, to test them that dwell upon the earth</em>- The Lord told the Philadelphians that He had set before them an open door, which elsewhere is a figure for an opportunity to preach (Acts 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3). He parallels such preaching with keeping His word and not denying His Name. For those who do these two things, i.e. respond to the open door preaching opportunities of the pre-tribulation period, &ldquo;I also will keep you from the hour of temptation tribulation which is to come&rdquo;. If we preach now, and the door is open as never before, then perhaps we will be saved from the tribulation. For one of its aims, as in the first century, will be to inspire us to witness as we ought to have been doing. See on Rev. 2:10, where we noted again this idea of various possible outcomes and chronologies stored up in God\'s purpose, in response to human freewill decision making. An the same is true especially of latter day chronologies of events leading up to the Lord\'s return. If the latter day faithful perhaps especially referring to Jewish Christians within the land promised to Abraham keep the Lord\'s word, He will keep them from the &quot;tribulation&quot; designed &quot;to try them that dwell upon the earth&quot; / land - of Israel. So whether or not some shall experience the latter day tribulation depends on factors such as their repentance and witness of the Gospel to all nations.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8052','1','66','3','11','11','<p>3:11<em> I come suddenly. Hold fast to what you have, that no one takes your crown</em>- As noted on :3, they were to hold fast to the gift of the Spirit they had been given at conversion, and allow this to continue to guide their path towards salvation. For it is the Spirit which they had already been given. They had been given &quot;eternal life&quot; in the sense of the spirit of that life which they would eternally live. In this sense they already had their crown; but as names in the book of eternal life could be blotted out, so the crown now potentially given can be taken away. The <em>stephanos</em> may refer not only to the victor\'s crown at the games, but to the wreath worn by those invited to a wedding or feast- an image elsewhere used in Revelation, rather than that of the games. Our part in the wedding can be taken away and given to another if we do not want it. Another will take our crown or wreath. This suggests the allusion is to floral wreath given to wedding guests; for a victor\'s crown in the games could hardly be given to another. But in the Lord\'s parable, the invitations to the Jews to come to the feast were taken from them and given to others.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8053','1','66','3','12','12','<p>3:12 <em>He that overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall leave there no more, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God; and my own new name</em>- There was apparently a large pillar in Philadelphia which may have been the reason for this idea. The name of Yahweh being written on a person suggests they are a priest, even the high priest. Instead of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his chest, we here have the name of the new Jerusalem written- which city speaks of all the believers. This is a major theme of the letters; that the role and exaltation of the Lord becomes true for all who are in Him. As the Lord was the central pillar of the new temple, so shall we be.</p><p>It is not surprising that the Lord, as the Son of God and His supreme manifestation to men, should also carry God&rsquo;s name. He could say &ldquo;I am come in my Father&rsquo;s name&rdquo; (Jn. 5:43). Because of his obedience, Jesus ascended to heaven and God &ldquo;gave him a name which is above every name&rdquo; - the name of Yahweh, of God Himself (Phil. 2:9). So this is why we read Jesus saying in Rev. 3:12: &ldquo;I will write upon him (the believer) the name of my God... and I will write upon him my new name&rdquo;. That the name was still new suggests these letters were given not so long after His ascension. At the judgment, we will share the Lord\'s exaltation; He will give us God&rsquo;s name; we then will fully carry the name of God. He calls this name, &ldquo;My new name&rdquo;. We can now properly understand Is. 9:6, where concerning the Lord Jesus we are told, &ldquo;His name (note that) shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father...&rdquo;. This is a prophecy that the Lord would carry all the titles and Name of God - that He would be the total manifestation or revelation of God to us. It was in this sense that he was called &lsquo;Emmanuel&rsquo;, meaning &lsquo;God is with us&rsquo;, although He personally was not God. The way He speaks here of &quot;my God&quot; even in His resurrected glory is proof enough of that. Thus the prophecy of Joel 2 that men would call on the name of Yahweh was fulfilled by people being baptised into the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:21 cp. 38). This also explains why the command to baptize into the name of the Father was fulfilled, as detailed in the Acts record, by baptism into the name of Jesus.</p><p>And yet the idea of bearing God\'s Name refers to what already in essence is happening to all who are in the Lord Jesus, by baptism into His Name.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8054','1','66','3','13','13','<p>3:13 <em>He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches</em>- see on 2:7.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8055','1','66','3','14','14','<p>3:14 <em>And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God</em>- The subsequent judgments are prefaced by this reminder that the Lord Jesus is the final truth, the &quot;Amen&quot;, and had Himself suffered unto death as the ultimately faithful martyr / witness. Laodicea was a hopeless case, it seemed; but the Lord reminds them that He is the beginning of a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and the power of the Spirit which had created the natural creation was available to them too. He had begun the work of new creation in them, and it could still be brought to completion if they repented.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8056','1','66','3','15','15','<p>3:15 <em>I know your works, how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot</em>- The reference may be to the hot and cold springs near Laodicea. It is easy to assume that \'hot\' refers to hot zeal for Him, and \'cold\' to total indifference to Him. But why then would He wish them to be totally &quot;cold&quot;, and not rather praise them for having at least some heat? For in earlier letters, the Lord takes full cognisance of the fact there is some \'heat\', some good points, even in those He chooses to condemn. So I suggest we must read in an ellipsis here. He may mean \'I wish that you realize that you can only be either cold or hot\'. They themselves considered themselves lukewarm, but thought this was acceptable to Him. And here we have a penetrating attack upon our own spiritual psychology; for we too would likely consider ourselves lukewarm, not coldly indifferent but not red hot in response to Him.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8057','1','66','3','16','16','<p>3:16 <em>As you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth</em>-</p><p>There is no third way. We may as well realize this. The Lord Jesus <em>hates</em> the fact that some think there is a third road; He would that we recognized, as He does, that there is really no \'lukewarm\' position- only hot or cold. He seems to ask us to realize this: &quot;Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt&quot; (Mt. 12:33).<br />We know that from God\'s perspective, we <em>are</em> either cold or hot. We either serve Him or mammon. We are either on the road to the Kingdom or to death. So surely the Lord is speaking from <em>our </em>viewpoint; He wished that those believers would have the attitude that they were either cold or hot, rather than thinking there was a middle course. In essence, their weakness is ours; for time and again, we hide behind the philosophy of \'balance\' in order to justify a &quot;neither cold nor hot&quot; attitude. Our lack of serious devotion, both individually and as a community, rests in this sophistry of \'balance\'; lukewarmness has become respectable, both in the brotherhood and in the world; total commitment is branded as fanaticism and simplistic dogmatism.</p><p>As tourists came to taste the waters of the Laodicean springs, so the Lord tasted the believers there. The spewing of them from His mouth connects with how the sharp sword of judgment proceeds out of His mouth (1:16; 2:16; 19:21).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8058','1','66','3','17','17','<p>3:17 <em>For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing- </em>The implication was that they believed some kind of false prosperity Gospel, reasoning that their wealth was a result of their spirituality and God blessing them for it. Hence the next half of the verse insists that contrary to what they are think, they are in fact deeply unspiritual. This verse is a powerful argument against the prosperity Gospel, for apparent material blessing is portrayed here as <em>not</em> the reward for spirituality but the fruit of unspirituality. The language of saying to themselves that they were rich and &quot;have prospered&quot; is exactly that of the rich fool (Lk. 12:21). So we can safely assume that &quot;you say...&quot; refers to what they, like him, said to themselves within their hearts. And these words of the heart are what we are judged by. But the same Greek word used here is used of how those who accepted \'Babylon\' were made rich and prospered because of her (18:3,15,19). And Babylon is presented in Jeremiah as considering she needed nothing Whatever \'Babylon\' referred to in the Laodicean context, these apparent Christians had materially benefitted from connection with her- be it the synagogue system, the pagan trade guilds or the Roman Caesar cult. And there may well come a latter day wave of prosperity- for those who associate with latter day Babylon. But for Christians, it will cost them their eternity.</p><p><em>Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked</em>- They perhaps considered that their material wealth must reflect their spiritual wealth. They were unaware that spiritually they were poverty-stricken and naked, needing to develop the riches of faith and clothing of righteousness. It seems to follow that their feeling of being spiritually rich and needing nothing was fuelled by being &quot;increased with goods&quot; - as if the material prosperity of the very last days will lead some to interpret this as God\'s blessing upon them, and a sure sign of their acceptability.&nbsp;&ldquo;I am rich...&quot; is alluding to Hos. 12:8, where Israel\'s wealth was associated with a feeling that they were therefore without sin: &quot;Ephraim said, I am rich... in all my labours they shall find no iniquity in me that is sin&quot;. This encourages us again to think that the first recipients of these letters were Jewish converts. Likewise, the description of them as wealthy but naked is taken straight out of Ez. 16:7 about natural Israel; suggesting that it is Jewish converts who are being written to here.</p><p>They were unlike Paul, who lamented &quot;O wretched man that I am&quot; (Rom. 7:24 s.w.), throwing himself upon the Lord Jesus in total faith in His grace. The Greek for &quot;miserable&quot; is found only in 1 Cor. 15:9, where apostate Christians considered that they had &quot;hope in Christ&quot; only in this life, and were therefore considered by the Spirit to be &quot;miserable&quot;. For them, their level of association with Christianity gave them some psychological benefits in this life, but the wonder of sin forgiven and certain eternity ahead had not dawned upon them. They refused to accept that they were &quot;poor in spirit&quot; and could, upon that recognition, have sure hope for the future Kingdom (Mt. 5:3 s.w.). They refused to see themselves in the man born blind from birth of John 9, who is set up as representative of us all; they would not recognize that they were totally naked before the eyes of the Lord Jesus (Heb. 4:13). From these references we see that wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked all refer to what we all naturally are; by refusing to see themselves as such, the Lord\'s work and provision for them was not seen as necessary.</p><p>The unfaithful now walk naked, in the Lord\'s eyes; but they will do so in the final condemnation of Rev. 16:15. They can walk naked <em>now </em>and repent, clothe themselves so as to cover the nakedness of condemnation which they now have; but not then.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8059','1','66','3','18','18','<p>3:18<em> I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may become rich- </em>John\'s writings continually allude to the power of the gift of the Spirit. It is the Spirit which is the true way to becoming enriched (1 Cor. 1:5; Eph. 3:16; the same word for &quot;prospered&quot; in :17). &quot;Buy from me&quot; obviously recalls the parable of the virgins, where the rejected go to buy oil cp. the Spirit all too late. The idea is that we can <em>now</em> do, spiritually, what the rejected will so desperately wish to do in the time of their condemnation, but will be unable to. Gold refined by fire is the figure Peter uses for Jewish converts who were being refined by the tribulations of the first century, both at the hands of the synagogue system and the Romans (see on 1 Pet. 1:7). The Jewish converts at Laodicea had flunked out of these testings by fire through their association with \'Babylon\'; see on :17. The counsel to buy this refinement by fire would be another way of saying that they ought to have submitted to the tribulations, so that their faith would have been developed.</p><p><em>And to clothe yourselves with white garments, that the shame of your nakedness be not revealed- </em>In the latter day church scene, it seems some because of their refusal to repent, will then have a final tribulation at the end of the holocaust period.&nbsp;Their salvation is what the Lord searches for. There is the suggestion that this group may choose not to suffer the initial stages of the holocaust, in that Rev. 3:18 implies that they are only <em>counselled</em> to buy the golden faith that is produced by the fiery trial of the latter day tribulation.&nbsp;Thus as with offering the pinch of incense to Caesar, there will be opportunity to avoid the tribulation by some apparently tokenistic obedience to the beast. By doing this they will waste &quot;the space&quot; given &quot;to repent of her fornication&quot;, and will experience a final tribulation.</p><p>We are clothed with white garments at baptism. The appeal to clothe themselves with them is an appeal for re-conversion. They could cover their shame now- but they choose not to. And yet, unknown to them, in God\'s eyes these people foam out their own shame (Jude 13).</p><p><em>And anoint your eyes with eyesalve so you may see- </em>&quot;Eyesalve&quot; didn\'t really improve vision, but just as the Lord used the wrong idea of demons without correcting the science, so here. The idea is that they needed to apply something to help them \'see\' differently, not least to \'see\' themselves as they truly were before God (:17). That \'eyesalve\' is surely the Spirit, which the Lord will give, but which we must be willing to apply. Anointing of itself implies pouring out the oil of the Spirit. For it is the Spirit which opens the eyes of our understanding (see on Eph. 1:18).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8060','1','66','3','19','19','<p>3:19 <em>As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent</em>- The Lord must have acted in the lives of those wealthy but lost believers in order to bring them to repentance. And He did so out of love. And the arrogant, self-assured wealthy are hard to spiritually love. But the Lord did, and for all time sets us an example of loving sorrow for the wealthy in their spiritual lostness. The Lord\'s reproof, according to Jn. 3:18, is in who He is as a person; within the light of Him as a person and character. He was therefore seeking to bring Himself to their attention; chastening is intended to direct our focus onto the Lord Jesus. It is the gift of the Comforter which reproves (Jn. 16:8); as baptized believers, they had once received this, and the Lord wishes for that potential Spirit gift within them to be allowed full reign. The Hebrew and Greek words for \'chastening\' also mean \'teaching\'. None of the Lord\'s chastening is solely punitive; He seeks to teach, and we need to perceive that in whatever chastening we receive. And the end product of that teaching is repentance.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8061','1','66','3','20','20','<p>3:20- see on Mt. 24:15.</p><p><em>Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him and he with me</em>- The Lord stands at the door and knocks at His return, and the faithful will open immediately to Him (Lk. 12:36). And yet the essence of His coming is now. He wishes to enter hearts; those who accept His Spirit have Him \'coming\' to them (Jn. 14:18 s.w.). His presence through the Comforter is just as real as was His presence amongst men in Palestine during His mortal ministry. The Lord is here writing to those who have turned away from Him in Laodicea. He is urging them to let Him come to them, to allow the Spirit to enter and fill them.</p><p>The Lord stresses, with apparently needless repetition, that to the man who responds to His word, &quot;I will eat with him and he with me&quot;. There is something very touching in the picture of a man living alone (unusual in the first century), presumably due to old age or persecution, with no wife (either dead or left him); and the Lord of all knocks at his door. He lets him in (i.e. responds to the word of Christ), and they eat together. Two men, eating a man\'s meal, earnestly bent together over the table. It\'s a fine picture of the mutuality between the Lord and the believer. Even in failure and weak moments, that mutuality is still there. The same word is used of the Lord having &quot;supper&quot; and \'eating\' with us in the communion meal (Lk. 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25), and so the fellowship of the breaking of bread is also specifically in view.</p><p>In the latter day application, the Lord knocking on the door and \'coming\' when the believer opens, hints at His second coming once the ecclesia shows a suitable level of spiritual response.&nbsp;In the same letter to Laodicea, the ecclesia being &quot;rich and increased with goods&quot; (:17) recalls the days of Lot and Noah, both typical of the second coming, and the unworthy walking naked is a figure picked up in 16:15 concerning judgment day. Our attitude and response in the split second when we know \'He\'s back\' will effectively be our judgment. When the Lord speaks about knocking on the door of our hearts and our response (Rev. 3:20), He is picking up the language of the Song of Solomon 5:2-8, where the bridegroom (cp. Jesus) knocks at the door of the bride. But notice the sequence there:</p><p>While she sleeps at night, the bridegroom comes and knocks unworthy virgins sleeping instead of being awake; the Lord Jesus comes <br />She replies that she\'s not dressed properly, makes excuses about her feet, she can\'t come and open the unworthy don\'t respond immediately <br />He tries to open the door from the outside, putting his hand through the latch-hole by grace, after the pattern of Lot being encouraged to leave Sodom when he hesitated, the Lord will be patient even with sleepy virgins in His desire for their salvation <br />Her heart is moved with desire for him the rejected still call Jesus \'Lord, Lord\'; they love Him emotionally <br />She starts dressing herself up, and then is overtaken by desire and rushes to the door, her hands dripping all kinds of perfume and make up over the lock as she opens it cp. the virgins going to buy oil, the unworthy trying to prepare themselves all too late, not trusting that their Lord loves them as they are at the moment of His coming <br />But he\'s gone , he <em>withdraws himself</em> all too late, the door is shut, He never knew them <br />Her soul fails the shock of rejection <br />She seeks him but doesn\'t find him, calls but he doesn\'t answer Prov. 1:28; the rejected call, but aren\'t answered; they seek the Lord early, but don\'t find Him. Hos.&nbsp; 5:6 is likewise relevant: &quot;They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to <em>seek </em>the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath <em>withdrawn himself</em> from them&quot;. <br />She feels tired of her relationship with him (&quot;sick of love&quot;). <br />She is persecuted by the world around her &quot;condemned with the world&quot;</p><p>The basic point is that if we don\'t immediately respond to the Lord\'s knock, we show ourselves to not love Him enough. If we don\'t open immediately, it\'s as if we didn\'t open at all. The Lord wants us as we are, bleary eyed and without our make up, but with a basic overriding love of Him, and faith in the depth of His love, which will lead us to immediately go out to meet Him. And as noted above, His coming to us is effectively now. We shall open to Him in that day if we have opened our hearts to Him today.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8062','1','66','3','21','21','<p>3:21- see on Mk. 10:37.</p><p><em>He that overcomes, I will allow him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne</em>- Here we see the very intense extent of our possibilities in Christ; all that is true for Him really can be true for those &quot;in Christ&quot;, even those as apparently far gone as Laodicea. These descriptions of the faithful in the Kingdom show how they are counted as righteous by grace; they overcame <em>even as </em>the Lord overcame. They are described as clothed in white linen, just as was the Victorious Saviour straight after His death (Mt. 27:59). A comparison of our struggles with the Lord in Gethsemane, let alone the cross, reveal that we do not overcome as He did. We have not resisted unto blood in striving against our own sin. We will have the <em>right</em> to the tree of life (Rev. 22:14); yet our salvation is by pure grace alone.</p><p>\'Israel\' means \'he who will rule as / with God\'. This would therefore be the basis of Rev. 3:21, which promises that he who overcomes (also translated &quot;prevail&quot;) will be a ruler with God, on His throne. It seems that the Lord has his mind back in Gen. 32, and he saw all who would attain His Kingdom as going through that same process of prevailing with God, overcoming, and being made rulers with Him.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8063','1','66','3','22','22','<p>3:22 <em>He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches</em>- see on 2:7.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8064','1','66','4','1','1','<p>4:1 <em>After these things I looked, and beheld a door opened in heaven- </em>John is being given a peep into the heavenly throne room. The \'court of heaven\' was a common Jewish idea. The events on earth are reflected there, with representative Angels standing before God and receiving His judgments. The Angels may represent sinners and sinful entities, but Angels themselves do not sin. The comfort is that situations in earth are not out of control, but are known and perceived totally and instantly in Heaven. The opening of a door speaks of an opportunity being provided, perhaps in response to a knock (see on 3:8,20). It could be that John and others had sought desperately to understand their persecutions and how things really were in Heaven; and John\'s visions were the answer.</p><p><em>And the first voice that I heard, as if a trumpet was speaking to me, was as one saying: Come up here, and I will show you the things which hereafter must came to pass- </em>Unlike Hebrew, the tenses in Greek are precise and have specific reference. In Rev. 1:19 John was told to write down the things which he had seen, the things which presently are, and the things which shall be &ldquo;hereafter&rdquo;. I suggest the things he had seen were the things of the vision of the Son of Man; the things which are refer to the messages to the seven churches; and &ldquo;the things which shall be hereafter&rdquo; is a phrase developed here in Rev. 4:1, where John is bidden come and see &ldquo;the things which must be hereafter&rdquo;. The things from then on all refer to the future, the last days and the coming of Christ. The vision of the Heavenly throne room in chapters 4 and 5 therefore refers to how things are in the Heavenly court <em>in the last days</em>. That is confirmed by comments on many of the following verses in chapter 4. The vision is in the form of &quot;a voice of a trumpet&quot;. The same Greek words are found in Mt. 24:31 and 1 Thess. 4:16 about the &quot;sound s.w. &quot;voice&quot; of a trumpet&quot; which will be heard at Christ\'s return. The same words are used of the trumpets heard at the final outpouring of woe upon the land at the Lord\'s coming (Rev. 8:3). The vision therefore has a clear end time reference, and describes the scene in Heaven at that time, rather than being a general picture of how things are in Heaven.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8065','1','66','4','2','2','<p>4:2<em> Immediately I was in the Spirit- </em>Being &quot;in the Spirit&quot; was in response to the invitation to come \'up\' to Heaven to view the court room (:1).</p><p><em>And beheld a throne set in heaven; and one sitting upon the throne</em>- The setting up of the throne recalls the language of the throne being \'set\' for judgment at Christ\'s return (Ps. 122:5; Dan. 7:9). As noted on :1, the entire vision in chapter 4 is of the state of affairs at the last day being reflected in the Heavenly throne room. Thrones set on earth are set in Heaven, just as David on earth sat as it were on the throne of God in Heaven as king.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8066','1','66','4','3','3','<p>4:3 <em>And he that sat on it was to look upon like a jasper stone, and a sardius; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, like an emerald to look upon</em>- The rainbow suggests that Divine judgment has come to an end, and the faithful remnant saved. As noted on :1, this is a picture of things at the last day. The Lord sits upon the judgment throne with a rainbow as a halo around it, meaning that His judgment is overarched by grace and a desire in fact not to condemn the world, even if they spurn His grace and choose His condemnation.</p><p>Jasper is the gem used to describe the appearance of all the faithful (21:11,18,19); the Lord\'s righteousness and exalted status will finally be true of all who are in Him. The sardine or sardius likewise (21:20), and the emerald (21:19). These are also stones in the High Priestly breastplate, representing the tribes of the Lord\'s people. We, His people, shine from His face. This is the extent of His total identification with us, and ours with Him. See on 5:3.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8067','1','66','4','4','4','<p>4:4 <em>And round about the throne were twenty four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, and on their heads were crowns of gold</em>- This again is reflecting the situation of the last days. The elders are \'clothed in white clothing\', but every time those words occur in Revelation the context is of believers who have overcome the tribulation and are now clothed in white (3:5,18; 7:9,13). The vision of such clothing in Heaven may suggest that the elders thus clothed are the representative Angels of the believers on earth. Revelation is full of this kind of representation of human situations before the court of Heaven. Their golden crowns (4:4) are the crowns of victory which the faithful wear after judgment (the <em>stephanos</em> is specifically a victory wreath- 1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19; the crown which shall be given &quot;at that day&quot;, 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10). Golden crowns are worn by the latter day enemies of God\'s people (Rev. 9:7); the specific usage of <em>stephanos</em> here, the victory wreath, suggests that they are celebrating their brief victory and establishment of a fake Kingdom of God. This is exactly what Moslems expect their Mahdi to do as a result of their latter day victories against the Jews. The ten horns of the beast are also crowned (13:1); the brief victory of the beast is a parody of the establishment of the true Kingdom of God.</p><p>These 24 elders recall the 24 orders of priests, who represent all the Lord\'s redeemed people. For we are a nation of priests, constantly in His service. As noted on :3, the Lord is presented as having the stones of the high priestly breastplate shining from His face as He sits enthroned, as a king-priest after the order of Melchizedek. We too shall be enthroned. Priests who are enthroned are king-priests; the Lord likewise was a king-priest after the order of Melchizedek, and we shall eternally have this status. We have just read that the faithful shall share His throne (3:21). As noted several times on Hebrews, we are not only benefitted by the Lord\'s high priestly work for us, but merge with Him, entering into the Holiest as did the High Priest- to do&nbsp;the work of the High Priest for the salvation of others.</p><p>I am of the view that the seals and vials of Revelation have such strong connection with both the Olivet prophecy and the actual events in the land in AD66-70 that it is impossible to discount the application of Revelation to this period. This means that it would have been written some time before AD70. A major theme is the need to resist the Caesar worship and maintain their separation from the world around them. Indeed, the whole of Revelation can be read, in its&rsquo; AD70 application, as an account of the struggle between Christ and Caesar. Such strong imagery is used in order to emphasise that there could be no third road. It was one or the other. Thus Rev. 4,5 presents a picture of the throne of Heaven, but it is replete with reference to the imperial ceremonial court. Consider the points of contact and contrast:&nbsp; <br />- Greco-Roman kings were considered to be divine, and their courtrooms were arranged in concentric circles centring upon the Caesar / King- just as with the true throne room<br />- Their attendants were often arranged in groups of 7s and 12s- after the supposed seven planetary spheres and the 12 signs of the zodiac. Compare this with the 7s, 12s and 24s 2 x 12 in Revelation (4:4,5,10; 5:6-10).<br />- These attendants sung hymns of praise to the Caesar (cp. 4:8-11; 5:9-14)<br />- The Caesar dispersed justice to the empire / kingdom, symbolised by a scroll (cp. 5:1-8).<br />- Language such as God, Son of God, Lord&rsquo;s day, saviour of the world was used in the imperial cult.<br />Suffice it to say that today just as much as in the 1st century, there is a radical clash of cultures and belief systems between us and this present world. The radical nature of the conflict cannot be overstated.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8068','1','66','4','5','5','<p>4:5 - see on Rev. 1:20;&nbsp;Jer. 1:11,12.</p><p><em>And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, voices and thunders- </em>As noted on :1, the vision of the Heavenly throne room in chapters 4 and 5 refers to how things are in the Heavenly court <em>in the last days</em>. In this context, the seven heads and mountains of the beast perhaps have their match in the seven spirits / Angels before God&rsquo;s throne. As found in Daniel, the situation on earth is not at all out of control; rather is it a reflection of the Heavenly throne room, just as the beasts of Daniel 7 arise out of the sea as a result of the apparent &lsquo;striving&rsquo; of the spirits / Angels / winds. The lightnings which flash out of the throne were not just what were &lsquo;usually&rsquo; there in Heaven; rather are these the lightnings which flash in the last day events of Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18, recalling the flashing of lightning as a sign of God&rsquo;s especial and saving activity of His people (Ps. 18:14). As lightening, fire and thunder \'proceeds\' out of the throne and from the mouth of Him sitting upon it (1:16; 4:5), so the same word is used of how fire and judgment proceed out of their mouth of God\'s briefly victorious enemies (9:17,18). So often the contrast is drawn between the things of God\'s Kingdom and God\'s people, and those of His opposition. The thundering recorded here is that of Rev. 19:6 at the time of the second coming of Christ. The great voice out of the throne &ldquo;voices&rdquo; may be a reflection of the Hebrew idea of an intensive plural is the great voice out of the throne of Rev. 16:17; 19:5 when &ldquo;it is done&rdquo;. It is the voice of victory which effectively comes out of the throne at the last day (Rev. 7:9,10).</p><p>The 24 elders of Rev. 4:5 represent rather than symbolize the believers, whose guardians they are. These Angels represent the saints in the court of Heaven. In this lies the practical meaning of all this; that we, our \'case\', our thoughts and deeds, are represented in none less than the court of Heaven; and there they are judged, discussed, and responded to.</p><p><em>And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God</em>- It is the faithful who are &quot;before the throne&quot;. The seven spirits refers perhaps to the totality of God\'s Spirit and His power. Seeing He makes His Angels spirits, it could be that God\'s power is apportioned between seven senior Angels. But the connection with the seven churches and stars, who are the angels of the churches, is also clear. As the indwelling Spirit dwells and abides within us, so we are represented as the seven lamps burning always before Him in Heaven. In the last day, of which this vision speaks, we shall be turned to Spirit nature. We are the elders, and we are the seven spirits. The symbolism reflects different aspects of the same realities.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8069','1','66','4','6','6','<p>4:6 <em>And in front of the throne there was as it were a sea of glass like a crystal- </em>Here there is a tranquil &ldquo;sea of glass&rdquo;, but this is the very same symbol as used in Rev. 15:2 concerning how this situation is arrived at <em>after</em> and <em>as a result of</em> the fiery judgments upon God&rsquo;s enemies in the last days. This confirms the suggestion on :1 that we have here a vision of the state of things in the last days, seen from Heaven\'s perspective. This glass sea is &ldquo;clear as crystal&rdquo;- which is the very metaphor used to describe the Kingdom conditions (Rev. 21:11; 22:1). Again and again, Revelation 4 uses the language of the period surrounding the establishment of God&rsquo;s Kingdom on earth. It&rsquo;s a prophetic vision of the things which shall be &ldquo;hereafter&rdquo; (4:1), rather than a description of how things were in Heaven at John&rsquo;s time and how they have been &lsquo;up there&rsquo; for the last 2000 years.</p><p>In confirmation of this, note that the whole scene happens &ldquo;in front of the throne&rdquo;, but this phrase is repeatedly used later in Revelation to speak of the situation before the judgment throne of the Father and Son, when this as it were is set up on earth. Before that throne the faithful shall be found faultless (14:5), and they sing before that throne a new song because of their triumph (14:3). Those who overcome the tribulation of the last days are found &ldquo;before the throne&rdquo; (7:9,11,15). So what we are seeing in chapter 4 happening &lsquo;before the throne&rsquo; is not a mere description of &lsquo;what was going on before God&rsquo;s throne at John&rsquo;s time, and has been going on all along since then&rsquo;. No. This is about what shall happen before that throne <em>at the day of judgment at the second coming</em>. That is the time referent of Revelation&rsquo;s language of &ldquo;before the throne&rdquo;. For the sea of humanity is hardly calm as crystal glass before His throne, and will not be until the last day.</p><p><em>And in the midst of the throne and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind</em>- There are evident similarities between Ezekiel\'s cherubim, and the four living creatures of Rev. 4. They are both described as &quot;full of eyes&quot; (Ez. 1:18 = Rev. 4:6), with four very similar faces (lion, calf, man, eagle in Rev. 4:7 = lion, ox, man, eagle in Ez. 1:10); and both have wings (Rev. 4:8 = Ez. 1:8). Yet the living creatures of Revelation speak of being redeemed by the blood of Christ and made king-priests in God\'s Kingdom (Rev. 5:8-10)- as if they are the redeemed people of God. The four faces are likely to be connected with the four standards of the tribes of Israel (Lion = Judah, Man = Reuben, Ox = Ephraim, Eagle = Dan). Each of those tribes had two other tribes assigned to them in the encampment procedures of Num. 2. There is extra-Biblical tradition that the cherubim in Solomon\'s temple had the same four faces which Ezekiel saw on the cherubim- lion, ox, man and eagle. Those to whom Ezekiel related his vision would have immediately understood the point- that the earthly sanctuary was a reflection of the Heavenly, and that above that was a huge Angelic system operating, which also represented God\'s people- them. But that huge system was to remove to Babylon, and then the final visions of Ezekiel show that glory returning. Ezekiel, as the representative &quot;son of man&quot; as he\'s so often styled, was caught up within that system and transported at ease between Babylon and Jerusalem- and those who wanted to opt in with God and His Angels could likewise be taken to Babylon and returned. Those who chose to remain in Babylon were therefore resisting being part of an awesome system of God manifestation and Angelic operation. We have that same choice in things great and small today.</p><p>We have just read that the faithful shall share His throne (3:21). And exactly there is where we find the living creatures. The &quot;four living creatures&quot; are a means of expressing God\'s manifestation, be it in Angels or Israel in the past. But now, at the point of the last day of which this vision speaks, the reference is to us. This is why we / they are both in the midst of the throne and round about it. We are in one sense before the throne, receiving His grace, casting our crowns there (:10); and in another sense, sharing with Him in His throne itself.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8070','1','66','4','7','7','<p>4:7 <em>And the first creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had the face of a man and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle</em>- See on :6. The four beasts full of eyes which are found here (:6,7) are the Heavenly reflection of the four beasts of Daniel 7, and the powerful little horn with its cunning eye is thus presented as a weak parody of the Heavenly reality. As noted on :1, the vision of the Heavenly throne room in chapters 4 and 5 refers to how things are in the Heavenly court <em>in the last days</em>. These beasts all exist in the last days in some form, but shall be subsumed within the &quot;four living creatures&quot; of the cherubim, representing the glorified believers; see on :6.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8071','1','66','4','8','8','<p>4:8 <em>And the four living creatures each had six wings, full of eyes round about and within; and they have no rest day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come</em>- See on :8. As the Angelic entity of Heaven, representing the believers, has no rest day nor night from His service and praise, so the beast worshippers have no rest day or night from their judgment (4:8 cp. 14:11). These are the only times in the entire New Testament that this Greek phrase for \'having no rest\' are used. Indeed, so often Revelation uses phrases and words which occur only in Revelation. So I suggest the scene at this stage is that of the last days (see on :1), and here we have ceaseless praise during the period of the beast\'s destruction. See on :1. The \'beasts\' / \'creatures\' of the nations shall be subsumed within and by the cherubic &quot;living creatures&quot;, representing the believers (see on :6). Their being &quot;full of eyes&quot; is a repeatedly noted feature, and I suggest refers to how we shall then know all. A large element of our struggle in this world is that we do not have full vision, we cannot attach precise meaning to event, nor see the immediate future. This plays no small part in the psychological struggle of believers especially, who sense that there<em> is</em> meaning to event, and the hand of God is and shall be in their immediate future history, but cannot see it all in detail.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8072','1','66','4','9','9','<p>4:9- see on Rev. 5:6.</p><p><em>And when the living creatures shall give glory and honour and thanks to him that sits on the throne, to him that lives for ever and ever</em>- The giving of honour to Him who sits upon the throne (4:9) is an idea only found elsewhere in 19:7, where honour is given to the Lord on the throne &quot;for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready&quot;. Again, we are directed to understand the giving of honour as appropriate to the Lord\'s second coming. The picture is specifically of the last days; see on :1. The &quot;living creatures&quot; have something to &quot;thank&quot; the Lord for, and to glorify and honour Him for. I suggested on :6 that at this point, they refer to the glorified believers.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8073','1','66','4','10','10','<p>4:10 <em>The twenty four elders shall fall down before him that sits on the throne and shall worship him that lives for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying</em>- Those who enter the Kingdom will genuinely, from the very depth of their being, feel that they shouldn\'t be there. They will cast their crowns before the enthroned Lord, as if to resign their reward as inappropriate for them. Indeed, they shouldn\'t be in the Kingdom. The righteous are &quot;scarcely saved&quot; (1 Pet. 4:18). The righteous remnant who spoke often to one another about Yahweh will only be &quot;spared&quot; by God\'s grace (Mal. 3:17).</p><p>This is another of many allusions to the emperor cult, whereby local kings and rulers knelt and cast their crowns before the Roman emperor. It was a statement of utter submission. But this picture is applied to the Lord Jesus, and contributed towards making Revelation such a subversive and illegal document within the Roman empire. The things we stand for are no less radical and break all the norms of the societies in which we currently live.</p><p>Because it is by God&rsquo;s will that we are created, because He is from everlasting to everlasting, because God is creator (:11), we cast our crowns of &lsquo;reward&rsquo; before His throne in a sense of unworthiness, just as David in Ps. 8 had the overawing sense of &lsquo;Who am I&hellip;?&rsquo; when he reflected upon God&rsquo;s creation.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8074','1','66','4','11','11','<p>4:11 <em>Worthy are you, our Lord, to receive the glory and the honour and the power. For you did create all things, and for your sake they existed and were created</em>- &quot;Our Lord&quot; refers to the Lord Jesus, and is again a subversion of the way Caesar was addressed in this way. His creation of all things recalls the prologue of John\'s gospel, where clearly a new creation is in view (2 Cor. 5:17), a creation of a world of persons in His image. And as the faithful find themselves accepted and immortalized before His throne, they will realize that indeed the new creation has come to its final term. And they stand there because of His creation of them, and not in their own strength, created of His will NEV &quot;sake&quot;, AV &quot;pleasure&quot; and not their own. The allusion may be to Jn. 1:13, where the Lord Jesus is presented as bringing us into spiritual being not of our will but of His. In :8,11 we read of &ldquo;the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come&rdquo; &lsquo;receiving <em>lambano</em>&rsquo; &ldquo;glory, honour and power <em>dunamis</em>&rdquo;. The only other time we read of this is in Rev. 11:15-17, when the seventh Angel sounds and the Kingdom of God is established: &ldquo;We give You thanks O Lord God&nbsp;Almighty, who is and who was; because You have taken <em>lambano</em> Your great power <em>dunamis</em> and have reigned&rdquo;. The vision here is specifically about the state of the Heavenly throne room at the last day; see on :1.</p><p>This continues the vision of chapter 4, which we have clearly located in the last days. The sealed book of 5:1 is the book of life, which is only opened at Christ&rsquo;s return (Dan. 7:10; Rev. 20:12). The opening of the seals is therefore something which is the opening of the book- and the events associated with them therefore occur at the last hour, when the book is opened. Any appropriacy to events at other points in history is intended and was of encouragement to those of that day, but the essence of the fulfilment is in the last days. The joy of the redeemed that the Lamb has opened the book through His blood is not just joy that prophetic revelation has been given in the seals; it is joy that they have been redeemed because the book has been opened (5:5,9). The Lamb&rsquo;s blood was required to open the book, and it is redemption, a place in that book of life, which was enabled by the Lord&rsquo;s death. The actual opening of the scroll is performed by the Lord Jesus in His role as &ldquo;the lion of the tribe of Judah&rdquo; (see on :5), and according to Gen. 49:5 this refers to the Lord in His latter day manifestation, triumphing over the prey. The redeemed burst into praise when the Lamb takes the book of life to open it- they thank Him for redeeming them, and for making them &ldquo;kings and priests, and we shall reign on earth&rdquo; (:10). This sounds like they are about to start reigning. The time when this is said is therefore that of the establishment of the Kingdom on earth.</p><p>Not every detail has been given of how that end has been achieved, but in chapters 4 and 5 we see a broad sweep from the beginning of the last days right through to the full establishment of the Kingdom.</p><p>That the scroll refers to the book of life was first pointed out to me by Peter Watkins. One of the most compelling reasons is the way that Daniel 7 is being alluded to, and the parallel with the opening of the books at the judgment is in the scroll of Revelation 5 being opened:</p><div align=center><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <div align=center><i>&nbsp;</i></div>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <div align=center><b><i>Daniel 7:9, 10</i></b></div>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <div align=center><b><i>Revelation</i></b></div>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(a)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>thrones were set</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>the 24 elders upon 24 thrones (R.V.) (4 :4).</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(b)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>the Ancient of days did sit.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne   (4:2).</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(c)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>His garment white as snow.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>like unto a jasper (4:3).</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(d)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>His throne like the fiery flame.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>and a sardine stone.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(e)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>His wheels as burning fire.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>(Ez. 1:15-21. Not mentioned in Revelation except by   implication in connection with the four-fold cherubim-chariot of Rev. 6).</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(f)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>a fiery stream issued and came forth from before   Him.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>the sea of glass.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(g)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>thousand thousands ministered unto Him and ten   thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>the number of the angels was ten thousand times   ten thousand, and thousands of thousands (5:11).</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(h)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>the judgement was set and the books were opened.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>I saw the dead small and great stand before God;   and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of   life (20:12).</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table></div>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8075','1','66','5','1','1','<p>5:1 <i>And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals- </i>Note the parallels with Ezekiel- the four living creatures, a throne scene, a scroll- with judgments against Israel on it, to be fulfilled in a Babylonian invasion. This similarity with Ezekiel would explain the correspondence between the cherubim vision of Ez. 1:22-28 and that of Rev. 4:2-6. But as explained in the introduction, the scroll is the book of life. But the opening of it involves the breaking of the seals, which speak of judgment upon Israel at the hands of an invasion by a latter day Babylon. Perhaps this is the significance of the scroll having writing on both sides; referring on one hand to the blessing of acceptance and salvation, and on the other to judgment to come. This would explain why the scroll of 10:10 is both sweet and bitter. The book of life is only opened once all the seals are broken, and I suggested in the introduction to this chapter that this implies the seals refer to events which happen in short succession in the very last days, just prior to the opening of the book of life. That surely is required by the \'decorum of the symbol\'.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8076','1','66','5','2','2','<p>5:2 <i>And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice: Who is worthy to open the scroll and to undo the seals of it?</i>- The great voice recalls the great voice of Goliath challenging Israel to provide a man who could provide their salvation; see on :4. None of course are worthy, and John opened his writings with the statement that not even John the Baptist was &quot;worthy&quot; (Jn. 1:27). This points up the power of imputed righteousness in 3:4 where the faithful are called &quot;worthy&quot;. All that is true of the Lord becomes true of us if we are in Him, but by grace alone. All the New Testament commands to &quot;walk worthy...&quot; are ultimately not obeyed by any of us. Only He is worthy.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8077','1','66','5','3','3','<p>5:3 <i>And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the scroll, or to look thereon</i>- See on :2. No Angel, no human believer currently live nor any who had previously lived and died, was worthy. Perhaps John somehow saw all the past and present believers flash before him in the vision. Being unworthy to even look upon the book of life recalls the impossibility of man looking upon God. The parallel suggests His close identity with all the names in His book of eternal life. In similar style, the face of the Lord Jesus&nbsp;is portrayed as identified with the stones of the breastplate, representing God\'s people; see on 4:3. But the idea may be that nobody was able to look at the scroll in the sense of reading or understanding it. And thus the simple point is made- that we cannot know who shall finally be saved. And apparently none in heaven, no Angel, knows that either. For we are all a work in progress and have freewill to act in such a way that our name may be removed from that scroll; see on 3:5. Who exactly will be saved amongst the last generation is therefore an open question right to the very end. But I suggested on :1 that the writing on the scroll was on both sides; the names of those saved, and yet also the final judgments. And nobody could even read or know that final picture apart from the Lord. And this again would be because the final chronology of events and nature of the various judgments are to some extent open; if for example Israel repent and accept the Lord early in the process, then various aspects of the judgments will not be necessary. These issues, of defining who are saved and also of knowing the exact chronology of latter day events, have been wrongly fascinating for many. But we not only cannot know them, we are unworthy to know them.&nbsp;</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8078','1','66','5','4','4','<p>5:4 <i>And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll, or to look thereon</i>- See on :3. Weeping because no man could open the book of life, of salvation, has similarities with Israel\'s inability to find a champion against Goliath. Goliath, representing the seed of the serpent, a personification of sin (i.e. the Biblical devil), needed a man to fight him (1 Sam. 17:8,9). The men of Israel cowered in fear, wishing they could only have the strength and courage necessary, but looking one on another helplessly as the invincible giant made his boast. How to overcome him and the evil intent of this man against God\'s people was what the men\'s conversation revolved around: &quot;Have ye seen this man that is come up? Surely to defy Israel is he come up&quot;. They also discussed the glorious reward being offered: &ldquo;It shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and make his father\'s house free in Israel&quot; - and throw in his daughter for good measure too (1 Sam. 17:25). But &quot;all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid&quot; (1 Sam. 17:24). Now what more precise description could we wish for of our feelings in the struggle against sin? There seems a similarity here with men and their Angel representatives in the court of Heaven weeping because no man was found worthy to look upon or open the book of life- until our Lord prevailed on the cross. John is representative of all of us, weeping at his inability and unworthiness to open the book of life.&nbsp;</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8079','1','66','5','5','5','<p>5:5 <i>And one of the elders said to me: Do not weep. Behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered; he can open the scroll and the seven seals of it</i>-Why this unusual title for the Lord in this context? Surely because the events are happening at the time when He is fulfilling His role as the lion rather than the lamb. That time for active and aggressive manifestation of Jesus against others- not least against the other beasts of the latter days- is at His return. The allusion is obviously to Gen. 49:9 which speaks of Judah&rsquo;s lion as aggressively triumphing over his prey- the work of the Lord Jesus <i>in the last days at His return</i>. In Rev. 5:5, the lion of Judah &lsquo;prevails&rsquo;, the language of struggle, in order to open the scroll. The loosing of the seals therefore speaks of the Lord&rsquo;s activity at the time of His coming in triumphant judgment upon the other beasts of the field.</p><p>The Lord &quot;conquered&quot; or \'prevailed\' / \'overcame\' in order to open the scroll. This is the language of the Lord\'s overcoming on the cross (s.w. Lk. 11:22; Jn. 16:33). As the Lord urged us to be of good cheer because He has overcome / conquered (Jn. 16:33), so the Angel urges John. And the word is frequently used of how all the faithful \'overcome\' their world (Rev. 2:7,11,17,26; 1 Jn. 2:14; 4:4; 5:4 etc). But the Lamb alone has &quot;overcome&quot; yet we in Him are finally counted as having achieved His victory. Just as He alone is worthy, but we are counted worthy (3:4). This concept of being &quot;in Christ&quot; is so common in Paul, and John too is expressing the same wondrous idea but in different ways. This great truth lifts us up above all feelings of personal inadequacy and failure to achieve. For we are part of One so much greater than us, and His Name and victory are ours.</p><p>The concept of conditional prophecy opens up a significant window into the tension facing the Lord Jesus as He approached the cross- indeed, throughout His ministry. So much depended upon Him. If He had failed, so much would simply not have come true as God intended. Rev. 5:5 stresses how the Lamb alone, through His sacrificial death hence the figure of a lamb was able to open the seals, and thus enable history as God intended to unfold. Indeed, the sealed scroll can also be understood as the book of life, whose opening was only made possible by the Lord&rsquo;s death. This had as it&rsquo;s basis the language of Dan. 12:4, where Daniel sealed the book. Rudolf Rijkeboer comments: &ldquo;Daniel&rsquo;s prophecy of the seventy year-weeks takes us to the time of the Messiah, but not really beyond. How things would continue would depend on the Saviour, if He was victorious. That he would be victorious was&hellip; by no means a foregone conclusion. It depended totally on the Saviour&rsquo;s own free will&hellip; while the scroll remains sealed&hellip; that particular future is not going to happen at all&rdquo;. In this sense we understand that through the cross, the pleasure or &lsquo;intention&rsquo; of God would be furthered by Messiah&rsquo;s &lsquo;hand&rsquo; through His crucifixion (Is. 53:10).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8080','1','66','5','6','6','<p>5:6- see on Jer. 1:11,12.</p><p><i>And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had just been slain-</i> The living creatures, representing the victorious believers, are in the midst of the throne (see on 4:6). We are set down with the Lord in His throne (3:21). But superimposed upon them is now the ever stronger image of the Lamb standing and not sitting. He is at our centre, in Him He is us and we are Him. For in no other way can we be portrayed as sitting upon the throne. The slain lamb is still standing, rather than lying down as a dead body. Perhaps the idea is that the Lord died on the cross in a vertical position, as if dead whilst still standing in victory.</p><p>The lion&rsquo;s triumph is only because He had previously been the sacrificial lamb; but He is portrayed as a rather aggressive looking lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes (5:6). Again we note that the beast with his ten horns and a little horn with eyes (Dan. 7:20) is an anti-Christ, a parody of the real Jesus. We note the sustained emphasis that the Lamb alone was &ldquo;worthy&rdquo; to open the scroll of life (4:11; 5:2,4,9,12); but the Lord graciously says that His redeemed people will walk with Him because they too are &ldquo;worthy&rdquo; (3:4). This is a deep insight into the extent of imputed righteousness, and what it means to be counted as &ldquo;in Christ&rdquo;. The marks of His sufferings will be in Him eternally, and thereby we will be eternally reminded of the things we now only dimly appreciate (Rev. 5:6; Zech. 13:6). See on Mk. 9:47.</p><p>Rev. 4:9 alludes to the Isaiah 6 vision, and applies it to the future judgment. Yet silhouetted within the vision of the judgment throne is a slain lamb (Rev. 5:6), as if before the judgment, all will be aware of the Lord&rsquo;s sacrifice. The accepted will utter praise immediately after realising the wonderful verdict pronounced for them- in terms of praising the Lord Jesus for his sacrifice, and recognising their eternal debt to the blood of His cross (Rev. 5:9). The cross and the judgment and reward are connected. This is why the Sephardim called the Day of Atonement, with all its typology of the cross, &ldquo;the day of judgment&quot;. To come before the cross is to have a foretaste of judgment; there and then was the judgment of this world.</p><p><i>The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth</i>- The Lord\'s death meant that the Spirit was given to all His people (Jn. 7:39). And it was in the power of the Spirit that they went out into all the earth with the Gospel, in fulfilment of the great commission. I noted throughout Jn. 14-16 that the Comforter has especial relevance to the fulfilment of the great commission. And yet the reference is also to the Lord Jesus becoming Lord of all Angels, becoming Himself &quot;the Lord the Spirit&quot; (2 Cor. 3:18). His Spirit is therefore sent forth into all the earth, just as His followers go into all the earth with Him and the message of His Spirit.</p><p>And yet a specifically latter day interpretation is also discernible once we perceive the allusions to Zech. 6:5-7, where the horsemen spirits of the Lord go forth throughout the earth / land promised to Abraham. This theme will be later developed in the seals, trumpets and vials. But at this stage the comfort is that in the awful situation to come upon that area in the last days, the details of which we are to read about in the next chapters, the Lord\'s Spirit is intensely present, preserving and empowering His people.</p><p><b>The Chronology And Structure Of Revelation</b> <br />The lamb slain is clearly a reference to Passover. I suggest that the key to the interpretation of Revelation is in understanding how its structure is linked to its interpretation. This doesn\'t mean that interpretations which ignore the structure are wrong; the book is open to multiple fulfilments, as most Bible prophecies are. The New Testament often quotes the Old Testament out of context- phrases and verses are taken up and given an interpretation which can\'t be extended to the surrounding context of the Old Testament passage. And so it\'s surely legitimate to likewise interpret Bible prophecy in a similar piecemeal manner. However, this doesn\'t preclude a hermeneutic scheme of interpretation which takes an entire book and seeks to make sense of it from start to finish. <br />Throughout latter day Bible prophecy, there is mention of a 1260 day / 42 month / three and a half year period of final tribulation. The Jews had a three and a half year reading cycle, similar in principle to the annual <i>Bible Companion</i>, whereby there were specific readings from the Pentateuch and prophets, with a Psalm read every Sabbath. This system was based around the feasts. The book of Revelation is likewise based around the feasts. It should be noted that the Gospel of John, which appears so similar in style to Revelation, was likewise based around the Jewish feasts; and a case can be made that it was intended to be read over a three and a half year cycle along with the Jewish lectionary readings (Aileen Guilding, <i>The Fourth Gospel And Jewish Worship</i> (Oxford: O.U.P., 1960)). Hence John\'s account of events seeks to place them all within the period of the various feasts; and his material can be seen as a kind of exposition of the Old Testament \'readings for the day\' according to the Jewish triennial reading cycle.</p><p>There are many connections between the various sections of Revelation and the Jewish feasts. Here\'s a summary:</p><div align=center><table border=0 cellspacing=3 cellpadding=0 width=1164>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=119>            <div align=center><b>Revelation</b></div>            </td>            <td width=140>            <div align=center><b>Feast</b></div>            </td>            <td width=599>            <p><b>Allusions</b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>5</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Passover</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Rev. 5:6,9 = Ex. 12:13</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>7</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Tabernacles</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Rev. 7:9,15,16 RV = Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Zech.   14:16-20</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>8,9</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Day Of Atonement</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Lev. 16:31; more detailed links in Harry   Whittaker, <i>Revelation: A Biblical Approach</i> pp. 104,105.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>11</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Dedication &amp; Purim</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>The Torah readings for these feasts were Num. 7   and Zech. 2- 4 about the dedication of the temple; Rev. 11:10 = Esther 9:19,22.   The period from Tabernacles to Purim is exactly 5 months- as mentioned in   Rev. 9:5</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>12</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Pentecost &amp; Passover</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>The Jews traditionally ask: &quot;On this   Sabbath, shall I reap?&quot;</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>14</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Tabernacles</p>            </td>            <td>                        </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>15 + 16</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Atonement &amp; Passover</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Lev. 16; Ps. 118 the Hallel Psalm</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>19</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Passover</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Ps. 113,114 Passover Psalms</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td>            <p>21,22</p>            </td>            <td>            <p>Tabernacles</p>            </td>            <td>                        </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table></div><p>Laying out the material chronologically, we have:<br />Chapter 5: Passover<br />6 months</p><p>Chapter 7: Tabernacles<br />Chapters 8&amp; 9: Atonement and Tabernacles<br />1 year<br />Chapter 11: Dedication 5 months (Rev 9:5)<br />Chapter 11: Purim<br />Chapter 12: Passover and Pentecost<br />Chapter 14: Tabernacles<br />1 year<br />Chapter 15: Atonement<br />Chapter 16 &amp; 19: Passover <br />Chapter 21 &amp; 22: Tabernacles<br />1 year</p><p>The conclusion would therefore be that we have in the book of Revelation a literal account of the three and a half years tribulation, with the Jewish feasts being the key marker points. And it would appear there will be an especial period of five months tribulation as described between chapters 9 and 11.</p><p>Not all prophecy has to be predictive. The Lord Jesus spoke of His future sufferings and commented that once those things happened, the disciples would be able to make sense of them <i>at that time </i>because of His previously spoken words about them (Jn. 8:28; 13:19; 14:29; Acts 11:16). And so it may be futile to try to work out precisely how things will be before they actually happen; but as we pass through the final three and a half years, those who understand will be amazingly encouraged as they see everything falling into place. It will be the most amazing, detailed and practically encouraging fulfilling of prophecy that anyone has ever lived through. And given the whole nature of the tribulation, it will be encouragement that the faithful will sorely need.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8081','1','66','5','7','7','<p>5:7 <i>And he came and he took the scroll out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne</i>- This appears to speak of the Lord Jesus taking the scroll from God. Salvation is from God, but the Son has opened that salvation to us. But all this is indeed a kaleidoscope of images. The Lord Jesus is enthroned (:6), yet He comes to the throne where the living creatures are; He is as a lamb, then a lion, now apparently again in human form. As explained in the introduction to chapter 1, this is classic apocalyptic genre. Over interpretation will lead to false interpretation. The images rotate as in a kaleidoscope, because each image portrays a different aspect of the truth being revealed.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8082','1','66','5','8','8','<p>5:8 <i>And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints</i>- The living creatures represent the faithful who are set down in the Lamb\'s throne and the throne of the Father (see on 4:6). But now they fall before the throne. And here the living creatures are differentiated from the &quot;saints&quot;, whose prayers they hold. See on :7 for the idea of a kaleidoscope of images being presented, and the danger of over interpreting these visual forms.</p><p>In 15:2 it is those who overcome the beast who have harps. The living creatures and elders are entities in the Heavenly throne room, representing the believers on earth. Whilst the victory is the Lord\'s, it has been brought to realization by the prayers of the saints. Chapter 8 emphasizes how the incense of their prayers triggers the events which happen on earth to bring about the Lord\'s visible return to establish Hs Kingdom. Their bowls of prayer cannot be separated from the seven vials or bowls of judgment which are later poured out on the earth / land; they are poured out as a result of the bowls of prayer offered by the saints. 5:9 will go on to talk of a new song being song. This is to be connected with the offering of incense; we are being invited to behold a reflection of a temple service in Heaven itself. Edersheim describes the offering of incense in the temple as follows, and note his mention of the &quot;new song&quot; being sung afterwards, just as we have here in 5:8,9: &ldquo;As the President gave the word of command which marked that \'the time of incense had come,\' the whole multitude of the people without withdrew from the inner court and fell down before the Lord, spreading their hands in silent prayer. It is this most solemn period, when, throughout the vast temple-buildings, deep silence rested on the worshipping multitude, while within the sanctuary itself the priest laid the incense on the golden altar, and the cloud of odours rose up before the Lord, which serves as the image of heavenly things in Revelation (Rev_8:1, Rev_8:3, Rev_8:4). The prayers offered by priests and people at this part of the service are recorded by tradition as follows: \'True it is that Thou art Jehovah, our God and the God of our fathers; our King and the King of our fathers; our Saviour and the Rock of our salvation; our Help and our Deliverer. Thy name is from everlasting, and there is no God beside Thee. A new song did they that were delivered sing to Thy name by the seashore. Together did all praise and own Thee as King, and say, \'Jehovah shall reign who saveth Israel\'&rdquo;.</p><p>Revelation describes Angels rushing in response to human prayers, vials of judgment being poured out on earth as a result of the incense of prayer accumulating... this is the power of prayer. If prayer is like incense, we must give Dt. 33:10 RVmg. its full weight- that incense would come up &quot;in your nostrils&quot;. This is how intimately we are invited to see our prayers being received by God; this is the power of prayer. The golden vials full of prayers of Rev. 5:8 become the vials of judgments which are poured out on the land in Rev. 8:5- so close is the connection between the events that mould history, and the incense of prayer.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8083','1','66','5','9','9','<p>5:9 <i>And they sing a new song, saying: Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open the seals of it. For you once were slain, and did purchase for God a people with your blood, people of every tribe, tongue and nation</i>- See on :8 for the significance of this &quot;new song&quot;. Is. 42:9,10 says that we sing the &ldquo;new song&rdquo; now, because we sing / meditate of the &ldquo;new things&rdquo; which will be in the Kingdom. In that day, we will &ldquo;sing a new song&rdquo; (Rev. 5:9; 14:3). And yet this is undoubtedly picking up on the way in which we can <i>now</i> sing the &lsquo;new song&rsquo;, every morning (Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1).</p><p>This presents us with the picture of men and women redeemed from <i>every</i> kindred tribe / clan, tongue <i>glossa- </i>language, people a group of people not necessarily of the same ethnicity and nation <i>ethnos</i>- ethnic group, lit. &lsquo;those of the same customs&rsquo;. And they are found to be redeemed at the time when the book of life is opened, which is at the Lord\'s return. Which we believe to be imminent. This means that not only redeemed &lsquo;Yugoslavs&rsquo; will stand before the throne in the end; but Macedonians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Bosnians... every ethnic group, with every custom, will have representatives who will have believed the Truth and been saved. This idea is confirmed by considering how 70 bullocks had to be sacrificed at the feast of ingathering (Num. 29), prophetic as it was of the final ingathering of the redeemed. But 70 is the number of all Gentile nations found in Gen. 10. And it is written: &ldquo;When he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel&rdquo; (Dt. 32:8). A total of 70 went down with Jacob into Egypt; and thus 70 seems an appropriate number to connect with the entire Gentile world. And representatives of <i>all</i> of them will be finally ingathered. It seems highly doubtful to me that over the past 2,000 years, the Truth has been taken to every <i>ethnos</i>, tribe, clan, custom and language, especially in Africa and Asia. So it follows that only once <i>we</i> have done it in our generation will this come true. The brethren in those parts especially have work to do yet, it seems to me. And we should all support them as best we can. But these days, one only has to stand on the streets of London, Sydney or New York handing out fliers to reach every nation and tongue. I have a real belief that given the current rate of progress in preaching, the current generation <i>could</i> witness literally world-wide representation by those who understand true Christian doctrine- <i>if</i> we <i>all</i> do our bit. It is very difficult for me to reproduce in writing the kind of picture I have in my mind. But it is a thrilling and all consuming, all-demanding vision.</p><p>We are a purchased people, redeemed, bought out of slavery, by the Lord\'s sacrifice. A true appreciation of the Lord\'s work on the cross, a real ability to say that the Son of God loved <i>me</i> and gave Himself for <i>me</i>, will reflect itself in our attitude to materialism. The Lord gave His blood in order to purchase our body and our spirit for himself (1 Cor. 6:19,20; Rev. 5:9 RV). <i>Therefore</i> we must surrender our body and spirit, all that we have, to Him. We are not our own. To hold <i>anything</i> back is to deny the cross; to deny the Lord what He paid so terribly to possess: our lives, our hearts, our bodies.</p><p>The very close association of the Angels with their charges is shown by the Angels identifying themselves with their charges by saying that Christ had &quot;redeemed us&quot; out of every nation, and given them the hope of being king-priests in the future Kingdom (Rev. 5:9,10). Unto the Angels the world to come has not been put in subjection, nor do they belong to specific nations, but because they identify so closely with us they can speak in this way. Rev. 5:9 RVmg. speaks of the Angels in the Heavenly throne room, representing us, praising God that He had purchased men unto Himself &ldquo;and madest them to be AV &ldquo;made us&rdquo; &hellip; a kingdom&hellip; and they AV &ldquo;we&rdquo; shall reign on the earth&rdquo; (Rev. 5:9,10). If the RV is correct, we have a picture here of our Angels thanking God in advance for the salvation which He has prepared for us their charges. It would seem from this that our \'guardian\' Angel changes according to what we are trying to achieve for God. Similarly the great Angel of the Exodus appears to have been Moses\' personal guardian because Moses and the Angel were working for the same ends.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8084','1','66','5','10','10','<p>5:10- see on Rev. 6:9.</p><p><i>And made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they shall reign upon the earth</i>- Several times so far in Revelation we have noted the faithful presented as enthroned priests, king-priests, after the order of Melchizedek. And the Lamb Himself is likewise presented. It\'s not that some will be kings and others priests; we shall be king-priests. If we can gain a clear picture of God\'s intended roles for the priests under the Law, we will have further insight into our future work as king-priests. Through what He achieved for us on the cross, we have been made <i>now</i> king-priests, with the future hope of reigning on earth (Rev. 1:6; 5:10).</p><p>As noted in the introduction to chapter 5, this whole vision refers to the last day. The redeemed burst into praise when the Lamb takes the book of life to open it- they thank Him for redeeming them, and for making them king-priests who shall now reign on earth. This sounds like they are about to start reigning. The time when this is said is therefore that of the establishment of the Kingdom on earth. Seeing there is no conscious survival of death, it is hard to imagine how the redeemed could have said this to Jesus 2000 years ago, especially seeing that many of them were not then in existence. The vision goes on to the time of the total establishment of the Kingdom on earth, when all existence in heaven, earth and sea praise the Lamb (5:14).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8085','1','66','5','11','11','<p>5:11 <i>And I looked, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands</i>- We are seeing a vision of the heavenly throne room, where the Angels represent before God the believers on earth. Now we have the kaleidoscope of images merging again; the Angels about the throne are the believers crying out in the joy of victory and final receipt of grace.</p><p>This huge number reflects Abraham\'s seed as innumerable. The living creatures in and around the throne symbolize the redeemed; see on 4:6. The great number of the redeemed could mean that many are saved relative to the wonder of salvation, seeing that many are called but few chosen; and there are plenty of other suggestions that the redeemed are but a minority amongst humanity. But on the other hand, the numbers are intended to be gawped at as huge. This needs to be given full weight by those who consider that only their tiny denomination or fellowship shall be saved.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8086','1','66','5','12','12','<p>5:12 <i>They were saying with a great voice: Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power, riches, wisdom, might, honour, glory and blessing</i>- Angels and those faithful they represent upon earth (see on :11) are united in realizing that this wonderful salvation is thanks to the Lamb. Not the lion, but the Lamb, thanks to His death, the book of life has been opened and the reward given. The seven terms used are all elsewhere used about the power, riches etc. of the pagan world which has dominated the believers in their lifetimes. The glory of the kingdoms of this world is to be given to the Lamb.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8087','1','66','5','13','13','<p>5:13 <i>And I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing, honour, glory and might, for ever and ever</i>- Ps. 69:34 speaks of how <i>everything</i> in the sea, heavens and on earth should praise God. This cannot refer to believers in all those places. Rev. 5:13 uses similar language to describe how every creature in the sea, under the earth and on the earth and in Heaven, all praised God for Christ\'s ascension into Heaven. The dead do not praise God. The impression is given that the whole natural creation will in some way render praise to God. But those under the earth in :3 are dead believers. Those under the sea are believers who died at sea who are to be resurrected when the sea gives up its dead (20:13). Those &quot;on earth&quot; are the believers who are still alive at the second coming. They together with those in heaven, the Angels (see on ;11), unite in praise.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8088','1','66','5','14','14','<p>5:14 <i>And the four living creatures said: Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped</i>- On 4:6 we discerned that the living creatures, the cherubim, are a visual way of expressing God\'s manifestation; and in this case they refer to the believers, along with their Angel representatives in the court of Heaven. The elders likewise represent the believers and their Angel representatives. Every form of representation of the redeemed is portrayed as falling down in praise. The language of rapturous praise of One by all is taken from the image of the Roman triumphs and coronation of Caesars. Again, the images of the imperial cult are being applied to the Lord Jesus; which was radical and subversive stuff in Roman society. It is no less subversive in our age, in spiritual terms.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8089','1','66','6','1','1','<p>6:1 <i>And I looked when the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder: Come- </i>The living creatures as they are in Heaven represent God in manifestation through His Angels, who represent His people on earth. The voice of thunder is as it were God\'s voice. The invitation &quot;Come&quot; is later repeated by John at the end of Revelation as an invitation to come and inherit the Kingdom. The Gospel is an invitation into the things of God, to see things from His Heavenly perspective, from the standpoint of His Kingdom. The repeated invitations here to &quot;Come&quot; are rendered in some manuscripts as &quot;Come and see&quot;. In John\'s language, this has meant coming and seeing the things of the risen Lord (Jn. 20:1). It is His death and resurrection which has opened the things of Heaven.</p><p><b>General Observations</b><br />The seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials, subdivided as they are in places into subdivisions, all appear to be parallel. But they aren&rsquo;t necessarily describing the same events. I suggest the seals refer to the judgments to come upon God&rsquo;s people and land, Israel / the land promised to Abraham; and trumpets and vials describe God&rsquo;s commensurate judgment of the beast system which inflicts these judgments. The similarities are because as they have judged, so they will be judged. The cup they give others to drink must be drunk by themselves. And it could be argued that their judgment will be even more severe and complete. Thus in the seals, a fourth part of things are affected; in the trumpets, a third part; whilst the vials speak of total destruction. As with the judgments on Egypt, which form the basis for the seven vials, the people of God may initially be affected by the outpouring of those judgments, but those who are sealed are saved from them.</p><p>The vials are really bowls or cups poured out on the land. The same word is used in one of the Aramaic targums on Is. 51:17,22,23 concerning how the &ldquo;cup&rdquo; of judgment drunk by Jerusalem will be given to her judges, the beast system of latter day Babylon. This explains why the vials / bowls / cups are based around the plagues on Egypt, representing the abusers of Israel:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=255 valign=top>            <p><b>Vials in Revelation</b></p>            </td>            <td width=247 valign=top>            <p><b>Israel&rsquo;s experience and plagues on Egypt, Exodus</b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=255 valign=top>            <p>Boils 16:3,4</p>            </td>            <td width=247 valign=top>            <p>9:8-12</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=255 valign=top>            <p>2 and 3. Water to blood, water sources   contaminated, 16:6</p>            </td>            <td width=247 valign=top>            <p>Water to blood 7:14-21</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=255 valign=top>            <p>4.Scorching heat from the sun, 16:8,9</p>            </td>            <td width=247 valign=top>            <p>This will specifically not come upon God&rsquo;s people   (Is. 49:10; Ps. 121:5,6; Rev. 7:16), just as the later plagues did not harm   the Israelites in Egypt.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=255 valign=top>            <p>5.Darkness 16:10,11</p>            </td>            <td width=247 valign=top>            <p>10:21-23</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=255 valign=top>            <p>6.Gathering to Armageddon- perhaps Jerusalem. The   word could mean &lsquo;The desirable city&rsquo;, &lsquo;His fruitful mountain&rsquo;, &lsquo;the mount of   assembly&rsquo;. It may refer to the Mount Megiddo.</p>            </td>            <td width=247 valign=top>            <p>Mount Megiddo was where repentant Israel won a   great victory against the Canaanites, the tribes within the land (Jud. 5:19).</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=255 valign=top>            <p>7.Lightning, plague</p>            </td>            <td width=247 valign=top>            <p>As on Egypt. The reference is also to Ez. 13:8-16   which describes such things coming on Jerusalem- perhaps the idea is that   those who now dominate Jerusalem will be punished in this way.</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p>The first four seals, the four coloured horsemen, are based upon the horsemen of judgment in Zechariah 1, which vision is repeated in Zechariah 6 but with the difference that the four horsemen go out to judge the nations who have performed these judgments upon Israel, e.g. &ldquo;the north country&rdquo;. These four horsemen inflict punishments and judgments which are full of Old Testament allusions to prophecies concerning how God would judge His people, His land and specifically Jerusalem for their impenitence. Ezekiel 5-7 is full of the same language about what shall come upon Jerusalem, e.g. famine is described in the same language as in Revelation 6 (Ez. 4:16). The four judgments of Rev. 6:8 are those of Ez. 14:21- to come upon Jerusalem. The language of Jeremiah&rsquo;s prophecies against Judah are particularly alluded in these first four seals (Jer. 6:22-26; 14:11,12; 15:1,2; 16:4,5; 18:11-21; 21:8-10; 38:2; 44:11-14). And the language of the fifth seal is alluding to the Lord&rsquo;s word of judgment upon Jerusalem in Mt. 23:35. Most significantly, the language of the four horsemen is taken directly from the curses upon Israel for disobedience to the covenant in Dt. 32:23-35.</p><p>Clearly enough, beyond any question to the serious Bible student, the focus of the four horsemen is upon God&rsquo;s people in their land, and especially the city of Jerusalem, in the last days. The Old Testament allusions continue in the appendix to the seals which we find in Revelation 7:1-17. There, the sealing of some of God&rsquo;s people is obviously based upon Ez. 9:4, where the same was done to the faithful at the time of the Babylonian invasion.</p><p>The theme of &lsquo;seven&rsquo; judgments coming upon the land surely connects with the claim that Mohammad waged seven military campaigns against the infidels in the land promised to Abraham. The Hadith several times speaks of the &quot;seven military expeditions led by the Messenger of Allah himself (may peace be upon him)&quot; (e.g. Book 19.4469), or of the &ldquo;seven battles&rdquo; he was victorious in (Book 19.4462). This would explain the seven fold structure of the seals-trumpets-vials. The Moslem pretenders to the pattern of Mohamad bring seven judgments upon Israel, and are punished by likewise receiving back seven judgments, drinking the cup they made others to drink. The Hadith claims that Mohammad predicted three cycles of calamities in the last days, which would be subdivided into various other calamities: &quot;Hudhaifa b. al&minus;Yaman reported: By Allah, I have the best knowledge amongst people about every turmoil which is going to appear in the period intervening me and the Last Hour; and it is not for the fact that Allah\'s Messenger (may peace be upon him) told me something confidentially pertaining to it and he did not tell anybody else about it, but it is because of the fact that I was present in the assembly in which he had been describing the turmoil. and he especially made a mention of three turmoils which would not spare anything and amongst these there would be turmoils like storms in the hot season&quot; (41.6908). This is exactly the Biblical picture- of three cycles of judgments and turmoils in the land (seals-trumpets-vials), subdivided into various specific calamities. As the jihadists strive to obey the letter of their writings, they will thereby be fulfilling the outline picture of the last day crisis which is foretold in Revelation.</p><p>The typology of the invasions recorded in Judges as well as those of Babylon and Assyria teaches that the latter day Arab incursions during the period of prolonged downtreading will have consciously aimed to destroy the agriculture and even the physical structure of the land of Israel.&nbsp;Dt. 28 and Lev. 26, which have a specific application to the latter-day curses upon Israel, emphasize this curse of famine and its related problems of disease and death. This is exactly the language of the seal, trumpet and vial judgments of Rev. 6,9 and 16, largely falling upon the earth/land of Israel.&nbsp;Our Lord\'s prophecy of famines at the time of the end had its primary fulfilment in the land of Israel around A.D. 70 - and its secondary reference is fundamentally to the land of Israel too (Lk. 21:11), although this does not rule out this prophecy\'s partial reference to famines in the surrounding world also.<br />It should be noted that the record of the curses in Lev. 26 splits them up into six sections, each introduced by a phrase like, &quot;If ye will not for this hearken unto me... then...&quot; more curses would come (Lev. 26:14,18,21,23,27,36).&nbsp;&nbsp; It is tempting to associate this with the series of six judgments to be poured upon Israel and the Arabs as outlined in the six seals (Rev. 6) and six vials (Rev. 16), leading up to the seventh period, of Israel\'s repentance and Christ\'s Kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp; There are many other points of contact between the curses and the language of the seals and vials.&nbsp;&nbsp;The implication of this is that there are at least six periods of God\'s appeal to Israel to repent through their trials, which they will refuse to accept.&nbsp;&quot;If you will not for all this <i>hearken</i> unto me&quot; (Lev. 26:18) may suggest that God\'s word will be spoken to Israel along with the trials.&nbsp;This again indicates that the Elijah ministry will operate within Israel during their period of Arab downtreading.&nbsp;&quot;If you will not be <i>reformed</i> by me&quot; (Lev. 26:23) uses a Hebrew word elsewhere translated \'to teach\', defined by Strong as \'to chastise by words\'.&nbsp;This provides further confirmation of the idea.</p><p>It&rsquo;s noteworthy that the seven seals and seven trumpets and seven vials all conclude with the seventh being the establishment of the Kingdom. So there are actually six judgments in each case. The Hadith (Book 41.7040) speaks of six signs before the last day: &quot;Hasten in performing these good deeds (before these) six things (happen): (the appearance) of tribe Dijjal, the smoke, the beast of the earth, the rising of the sun from the west, the general turmoil (leading to large-scale massacre) and death of masses and individuals&quot;. These six are very similar to the things spoken of in the seals and trumpets- signs in the sun, mass death, smoke, beasts of the earth. The jihadists are seeking to consciously fulfil the Hadith and so, due to the allusions the Hadith and Koran make to Revelation, they will end up fulfilling God&rsquo;s word of their own volition.</p><p><b>The Seventh Seal?</b><br />It is my belief that prophecy is to some extent conditional, and the outcome is variable upon human repentance, God&rsquo;s gracious holding back of legitimate, prepared judgments, the intensity of His people&rsquo;s prayers etc. The lack of any detail about a seventh seal, even though it is opened, is significant. All we read is that there was silence in Heaven at that time for half an hour (Rev. 8:1). This has the same feel to it as the seven thunders whose details were specifically not written down (Rev. 10:4). Why mention them? I submit that the final judgments intended upon the land and God&rsquo;s people are not in fact going to be performed, although they are potentially prepared- because of God&rsquo;s gracious response to human repentance, prayer and the suffering of His dear people.</p><p>This idea that the seventh seal is not opened is confirmed by the observation that the sixth seal is the composite one that contains the trumpet and vial prophecies &mdash; the <i>sixth </i>seal and not the seventh.</p><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=185 valign=top>            <p><b>&nbsp;Sixth Seal</b></p>            </td>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p><b>Seven Trumpets</b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 valign=top>            <p>(Revelation 6: 12-17)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 valign=top>            <p>great earthquake</p>            </td>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p>great earthquake (11:13)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p>another earthquake (11:19)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 valign=top>            <p>sun black</p>            </td>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p>third part of sun smitten (8: 12)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 valign=top>            <p>moon as blood</p>            </td>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p>third part of moon smitten (8:12)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 valign=top>            <p>stars fall from heaven</p>            </td>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p>&quot;there fell a great star from heaven&quot;   (8:10)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p>third part of stars smitten (8:12)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 valign=top>            <p>the great day of his wrath</p>            </td>            <td width=217 valign=top>            <p>&quot;thy wrath is come&quot; (11:18)</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=168 valign=top>            <p><b>Sixth Seal</b></p>            </td>            <td width=234 colspan=3 valign=top>            <p><b>Seven Vials</b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=168 valign=top>            <p>great earthquake</p>            </td>            <td width=234 colspan=3 valign=top>            <p>great earthquake (16:18)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=168 valign=top>            <p>sun black</p>            </td>            <td width=234 colspan=3 valign=top>            <p>darkness in kingdom of beast</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 colspan=2 valign=top>            <p>islands moved</p>            </td>            <td width=216 valign=top>            <p>every island fled away (16:20)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 colspan=2 valign=top>            <p>mountains moved</p>            </td>            <td width=216 valign=top>            <p>mountains were not found (16:20)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=185 colspan=2 valign=top>            <p>the great day of his wrath</p>            </td>            <td width=216 valign=top>            <p>the vials of the wrath of God (16:1)</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p><br /><b>The Seals and the Olivet Prophecy</b> <br />It is clear enough that the Olivet Prophecy has application both to the &quot;last days&quot; of AD70 and also to our last days. Revelation is the Lord\'s expansion upon His words on Olivet- and therefore we should use this as a framework for interpreting the book. It applies to both the first century and also our last days, and the seals are perhaps the clearest example of this.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=252 colspan=2 valign=top>            <p><b>Revelation </b></p>            </td>            <td width=252 colspan=2 valign=top>            <p><b>Olivet Prophecy </b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>6:1,2</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:14</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:14</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:35</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:3,4</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:6,7</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:16</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 23:30</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:5,6</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:7</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:17</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 21:36</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:7,8</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:7</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>7:1</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:31</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:9</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:12</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:3</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 21:18,28</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:11</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:14</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:14</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:19,21</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:12</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:7</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>8:3</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 21:36</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:13</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:32</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>:5</p>            </td>            <td width=126 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:27</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p>John was told that the events of the seals &quot;must take place&quot;- <i>dei genesthai</i>. The Olivet prophecy uses the same phrase (Mt. 24:6; Lk. 21:9).</p><p>We have seen that the Olivet prophecy describes the events of both AD70 and our present last days, with special reference to the tribulation of God\'s people, both natural and spiritual. The connections between the Olivet prophecy and the seals would therefore indicate that the seals, and therefore much of Revelation, has reference to these same two time periods. Fairly conclusive evidence for a pre-AD70 date for Revelation has now been published. In any case, the connections with the Olivet prophecy cannot be shrugged off as incidental. The seals, then, can be applied to our latter day tribulation. There seems no reason to insist that they should be interpreted chronologically; they can quite comfortably be seen as describing different aspects of the same period. This is how series of judgments described in the prophets often have their fulfilment (notably in Isaiah), rather than being a chronological prophecy of events. Zech. 12:3-11 is a passage which contains seven occurrences of the phrase &quot;In that day...&quot;. The passage does not have to be interpreted chronologically; this is a list of events which will occur around the same time, &quot;in that day&quot;. They are snapshots of the same scene from different angles. The seals and the repeated references to a three and a half year tribulation period can be understood likewise; they do not necessarily refer to chronologically different events, but are giving different aspects of information about the same basic scene. The lack of strict chronological sequence in prophecy is a major feature of the Old Testament; thus a consideration of the phrase &ldquo;in that day...&quot; in Isaiah reveals that the context \'jumps around\' all over the place, from the first coming of Christ to the Babylonian invasion to the Kingdom. There is no reason to think that Revelation is any different.</p><p>All the seals must be opened if a scroll is to be opened. The scroll doesn&rsquo;t become partly visible because one seal has been broken. I suggest the imagery is chosen in this way in order to lead us away from seeking to interpret the events of the seals as being continuous historic, consecutive events. Rather are they different aspects of the total picture of what has to happen before the book of life can be opened. The idea of opening a sealed scroll is obviously alluding to Dan. 12:1-4, where Daniel was told that the scroll would be opened specifically in the last days- i.e. the seals to it would be then removed. This means that we have to look to the last days for the time when the seals are removed.</p><p>In my youth I attended regular continuous historic studies of Revelation, noting carefully in my wide margined Bible the suggested fulfilments of the various seals, trumpets and vials in events during the Roman empire and subsequent European history. Some of these fitted better than others. I couldn&rsquo;t deny that there was a fairly good fit in some areas, but in others, eyebrows had to be raised. The fit seemed forced and lacked the ring of truth in terms of credible interpretation. We don&rsquo;t need to take a red pencil and put a line through all those interpretations. Like the continuous historical interpretations of the image in Daniel 2, they have a certain validity. But just as the image was specifically about a latter day entity which stands erect and complete in the land promised to Abraham in the last days, destroyed in totality by the Lord&rsquo;s return, so Revelation has its major fulfilment in the last days. Any shadowy fulfilments we may discern over history are incidental compared to the ultimate and main, intended thrust of latter day prophecy- which is focused upon the events in the land promised to Abraham in the last days before Christ returns. We live at the end of human history; the previous fulfilments are but mere shadows compared to the ultimate reality which is now starting to unfold before our eyes.</p><p><b>The Horsemen</b> <br />The Hadith claims that the Moslems will be as horsemen in the final conflict at the end of the age: &quot;The Last Hour would not come until... there would be a terrible fight and the Muslims would prepare a detachment (for fighting unto death) which would not return but victorious... Allah will decree that the enemy should be routed... Allah\'s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: I know their names and the names of their forefathers and the colour of their horses. They will be best horsemen on the surface of the earth on that day&quot;. (41.6927). As we find so often in Revelation, the descriptions of the main players are expressed in terms which fit admirably with Moslem self-understanding as expressed in the Koran and Hadith.</p><p><b>The Four Horsemen and Zechariah</b><br />The vision of horses going forth to bring judgment is clearly alluding to the similar vision in Zech. 1:8-12; 6:1-8, and we need to get a handle on what is in view there in order to understand how this will come true in the last days:</p><p>&ldquo;I stared into the night, and there was a man mounted on a red horse The horse was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him there were red, brown, and white horses. Then I asked, &quot;Who are these, sir?&quot; The messenger who was talking to me answered, &quot;I will tell you who these are.&quot; The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, &quot;These are the ones whom the LORD sent out to wander throughout the earth.&quot; Then they reported to the angel of the LORD who stood among the myrtle trees, &quot;We have wandered throughout the earth&mdash;and look&mdash;the entire earth is at rest. Everything is quiet and peaceful.&quot; And the angel of the LORD replied, &quot;LORD of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?&quot;&hellip; Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses&mdash;all of them strong.&nbsp; Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, &quot;What are these, my lord?&quot;. And the angel answered and said to me, &quot;These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.&quot; When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, &quot;Go, patrol the earth.&quot; So they patrolled the earth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Then he cried to me, &quot;Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.&quot;</p><p>The horses of Zechariah 1 are those nations who have trampled up and down the earth / land of Israel, subduing it until it is quiet. The chariots / horses of Zechariah 6 are the Angel cherubim representatives of those nations, who are sent out against them in judgment. Such judgment is portended in chapter 1 also, where straight after the vision of the horses we read of the four horns who have abused Israel being cut off by the carpenter Messiah of Israel. Significantly, there is an Angel stationed with the horses in the valley from which they emerge, as if to show that the judgments upon the land were Angelically controlled; Israel was not at the hands of chance human evil, indeed the horses report back to the Angel. This sets the scene for the horses / chariots of chapter 6 going out in judgment against those nations. The land lying still and at rest is explained further in 1:11,12- it was because the cities of Judah were lying in ruins after the horse powers had trampled over them. This all looks forward to how Jerusalem shall be trodden down in the last days, after the pattern of how the Babylonians trod it down (Is. 5:5; 28:18; 63:18; Lk. 21:24)- which is when this prophecy will have its final fulfilment. We can look, therefore, for the three or four entities which trod down the land and people of Israel to have their latter day equivalent, and a like judgment from Heaven. And this is what Revelation 6 is explaining in more detail- in a latter day context. The immediate message in Zechariah&rsquo;s time was therefore that a future treading down of the land and Jerusalem was to happen, but the silver lining of that cloud was that this would finally lead to the eternal restoration of Israel. This is exactly the same style as in Ezekiel 38; we noted in studying the context of that prophecy that it was given at the time when news of Jerusalem&rsquo;s fall had come to the rebellious captives in Babylon amongst whom Ezekiel was sitting. They were being told that another even worse desolation was to happen, patterned after the events they were now hearing of, and yet from this would come the eternal restoration of Israel in God&rsquo;s Kingdom on earth. But not immediately.</p><p>The two brass mountains of Zech. 6 are from where the horses / judgments issue forth- towards the north and south of Israel. The mountains must therefore be in central Israel. I suggest the mountains in view are both in Jerusalem- the Mount of Olives and Mount Zion, in between which is the valley of Jehoshaphat. These mountains and that valley are from where God&rsquo;s latter day judgments proceed (Joel 3:2,16; Zech. 14:14). Or it may be that they are the two mountains formed by the cleavage of the Mount of Olives predicted in Zech. 14:4, at which time &ldquo;half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half toward the south&rdquo;. This would connect with the horses / chariots going out towards the north and south here in Zech. 6. Any difficulties with exact chronology may be accounted for by the suggestion that the meaning and nature of time will change in the time around the Lord&rsquo;s coming, as I have outlined at length in <i>The Last Days</i>.</p><p>The four horses / chariots are understood by most commentators to have connection with the four metals and beasts of Daniel&rsquo;s prophecies. Their connection with the four winds / spirits of the Heavens (Zech. 6:5) recalls the way that the four beasts of Daniel 7 arise as a result of the same four winds / spirits being active. I have explained elsewhere that the four metals and beasts of Daniel&rsquo;s prophecies refer to powers that will dominate the land and people of Israel in the last days, whatever historical application they may have had. The metals and beasts all exist together in the last days, because they are all judged together at the coming of Christ to earth.</p><p><b>Potential Fulfilments of the Horses of Zechariah Chapters 1 and 6</b> <br />The way prophetic words can be rescheduled in fulfilment is demonstrated by the 70 years. They came to fulfilment at the time of Daniel&rsquo;s prayer in Dan. 9:2; but also at the fall of Babylon and edict of Cyrus (2 Chron. 36:22,23; Ezra 1:1); and yet also in the second year of Darius (Zech. 1:1,12). This latter period would have been timed from the actual destruction of the temple (2 Kings 25:2,8,9); whereas the captivity began before that. And the predicted restoration didn&rsquo;t happen as prophesied. But it will ultimately happen- at the Lord&rsquo;s return.</p><p>The little horn of Daniel 7 grows out of the fourth kingdom, represented by the fourth beast. But in Daniel 8, a very similar horn grows out of Greece, the third kingdom. We can therefore conclude that the antichrist figure of Daniel 8 would have appeared as an outgrowth of the Greek kingdom, and been destroyed by Messiah&rsquo;s coming. But this didn&rsquo;t happen, and Antiochus Epiphanes became but an incipient fulfilment of the antichrist of the last days. Zechariah, like Daniel, contains many conditional prophecies- &ldquo;And this shall come to pass, <i>if </i>you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God&rdquo; (Zech. 6:15). Zech. 9:13 appears to be another such conditional prophecy, similar in reference to that of Daniel 8 about the possibility of Messiah&rsquo;s coming at the time of the Greek empire. God says He will place Ephraim within the bow of Judah, to be fired at her enemies; and He would &ldquo;raise up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece&rdquo; (Zech. 9:13), leading to the final salvation of God&rsquo;s people, the establishment of Messiah&rsquo;s Kingdom, and her Messianic king coming unto her (Zech. 9:9). But this didn&rsquo;t come true; the resistance of the Maccabees was not based on true spirituality, and the Romans took over control of the land from the Greeks. No Messianic Kingdom was established. This would explain the purposeful ambiguity of interpretation which there is in the image of Daniel 2; a good case can be made for the sequence Babylon-Media-Persia-Greece, and yet also for the sequence Babylon-Medo Persia- Greece-Rome. Daniel 8 predicts the breakup of the Greek empire after Alexander&rsquo;s death into four horns, out of which a little horn arises (Dan. 8:8). The only other prophetic reference to four horns is again in Zechariah, when we read of how the four horns who had scattered God&rsquo;s people were to be cut off by the carpenters (Zech. 1:18,19).&nbsp; The carpenters surely look forward to the carpenter Messiah. He could have appeared and cut off those four horns; but He did not, and so another prophetic sequence was allowed, in which another fourth beast arose, this time with ten horns, not just four. And in Revelation we find this developed further, in that seven heads also appear on the beast, and a whore rides the best, sitting upon another? seven hills / kingdoms. The number and ferocity of the enemies of God&rsquo;s people seems to increase over time. If Israel had repented earlier, then all this would have been unnecessary. The three horses of Zechariah 1 thus become four horses in Zechariah 6. The fact the four cherubim chariots are sent out in judgment of those same coloured horses speaks of how all earthly entities have their representative Angels in Heaven.</p><p>This same situation can be found in the way that Zechariah 1 opens the prophecy with a vision of three kinds of horses- red, white and speckled. These represented the powers which had subdued the land of Judah and left it in the desolate state it was at the time of Zechariah (Zech. 1:12). It&rsquo;s tempting to interpret them as Assyria, Babylon and Medo-Persia; or perhaps Babylon, Media and Persia. Straight away, we read of <i>four </i>horns, representing the powers who had desolated God&rsquo;s people; and how they would be destroyed by the carpenters, surely looking forward to the carpenter Messiah. And the vision of Zech. 6 has <i>four</i> and not <i>three </i>kinds of horses- red, black, white and speckled. This may be Zechariah&rsquo;s way of saying that because of Israel&rsquo;s inability to fulfil the required spiritual preconditions, the longer version of the prophetic program was going to come into play. Although as always, there is the distinct message of hope, that finally God&rsquo;s triumphant purpose with Israel shall come to realization.</p><p><b>The Final Scenario</b> <br />The vision of Zechariah 6 could have had fulfilment in Zechariah&rsquo;s time; the three horses of Gentile oppressors in chapter 1 are matched by the horses of the Divine cherubim in chapter 6, who are sent forth to judge those powers. But there are four of them- because by the time of chapter 6, the prophetic program had been extended to coax repentance from Israel. And now in Revelation 6, we have a similar scene in the last days- four horses of different colours are sent out into the earth / land of Israel. The context is the same- these are the powers which will dominate Israel in the last days, under Angelic control, in order to bring about her repentance and eternal restitution to God. I don&rsquo;t think we have to look for four literal entities. The &lsquo;four&rsquo; clearly connect with the four beasts and four metals, and the speckled horses of Zechariah invite comparison with the feet or iron and clay; especially if we read the Hebrew <i>amots</i> in Zech. 6:3 as meaning &lsquo;red&rsquo; AV &ldquo;bay&rdquo;- they would be speckled with red, as if the strength of the red horse was partially in them. Until Zechariah&rsquo;s time, there had been various horses of Gentile powers, the fulfilments of the metals of Daniel 2 and the beasts of Daniel 7, dominating the land and people of Israel. They had trodden down the land and people until they were silent (Zech. 1:10,11). This treading down is to happen in the last days, when the image stands complete, and all the beasts exist together. This is the burden of the first four horses pictured in the first four seals.</p><p>We need not look for these events to come chronologically; for all the seals have to be removed before a scroll can be opened. The event of &lsquo;opening the scroll&rsquo; is presented by the metaphor as one event, and the seals are presenting different aspects of the events required for the scroll to be opened.</p><p>The horses were &ldquo;sent&rdquo; by Yahweh &ldquo;to walk to and fro through the land&rdquo; (Zech. 1:10). These are the same Hebrew words found in Jer. 25:9 for how Yahweh &ldquo;sent&hellip; all the families of the north&hellip;and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon&rdquo; into the land. The horses are thus confirmed to represent the nations who had subjugated the land. And the same Hebrew words are found in Hab. 1:6: &ldquo;I raise up the Chaldeans&hellip; which shall march s.w. &ldquo;walk to and fro&rdquo; through the land&rdquo;. These horses are effectively parallel with the four horns who &lsquo;scattered&rsquo; Israel (Zech. 1:19). Israel were to be &ldquo;scattered s.w. beyond the Euphrates&rdquo; (1 Kings 14:15); the number four is not perhaps referring to four specific powers, but rather alluding to the way that Israel&rsquo;s domination according to Daniel&rsquo;s visions was to be by &lsquo;four&rsquo; entities.</p><p>The coloured horsemen of Revelation 6 are therefore full of reference to the nations who subdued the land and people of Israel, and also to the Angelic powers who ultimately permitted those nations to do that work, and who finally judged them. The horsemen are presented in Revelation as clearly under the control of the living creatures, the Angel cherubim, and that was the same as in Zechariah. The first horse was white and conquering; this doesn&rsquo;t mean that firstly there was a period of military victory, followed by one of hunger and necessity. The seals don&rsquo;t have to be chronologically separate from each other. The opening of the book of life will require a military conquering of the land / earth of Israel, as well as the sufferings of the other seals hunger, famine etc..</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8090','1','66','6','2','2','<p>6:2 <i>And I looked and beheld a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow, and there was given to him a crown, and he came forth conquering and to conquer</i>- In the first century application to the &quot;last days&quot; which culminated in AD70, the rider on the white horse &quot;bent on conquest&quot; would initially refer to the victorious Roman march towards Jerusalem in Spring 67. The rider takes peace from the earth (cp. Mt. 24:6,7)- the disruption of the \'<i>pax Romana</i>\', the peace of the Roman empire. &quot;Caesar has obtained for us a profound peace. There are neither wars nor battles&quot; (Epictetus, <i>Discourses</i> 3:13:9). The riders on the black and pale horses would then refer to the famine and death resulting from the Jewish war.</p><p>The description of the rider on the white horse going out to conquer is intended to be linked with the description of the Lord Jesus in Rev. 19:11. Yet the rider of Rev. 6:1,2 is part of the judgments upon the land. It refers to an anti-Christ, a fake Christ, the ultimate false Messiah; perhaps the Islamic Mahdi.</p><p>The white horse here must be understood as the latter day version of the white horse of Zechariah chapters 1 and 6, which went forth to conquer the land promised to Abraham and to tread down its cities and inhabitants. The simple point is that the land of Israel will be conquered; the current technological advantage of the IDF and the bravado of the state of Israel will not ultimately save them. Only faith in Christ will. And yet the figure of a rider on a white horse is used later in Revelation regarding the Lord Jesus. This doesn&rsquo;t mean that it is the Lord Jesus who is in view here in 6:2. For often in Revelation, the powers and entities who dominate God&rsquo;s land and people are presented in terms elsewhere used about the true Kingdom of God and its king. Thus the whore who rides the beast represents the city of Babylon, but the descriptions used have clear connection with the description of the true city of God. This is not to say that they are one and the same. It means that the antiChrist is a fake, imitation Christ, and his Kingdom is likewise an imitation of the true. So the white horse conqueror of the land is an antiChrist- bearing in mind that the Greek idea of <i>anti </i>carries the idea of an equivalent or imitation, rather than as in Latin someone &lsquo;against&rsquo;. The Hadith in book 19.4388.4390, 4392 and 4437 claim that Mohammad rode on a white horse during the time of the early Moslem battles with the Jews. The language of conquering is very current amongst Islamic jihadists: &quot;Allah hath decreed: Lo I verily shall conquer&quot; (Sura 58.21).</p><p>The horses invite connection with the locusts like horses and &ldquo;the sound of chariots of many horses rushing to battle&rdquo; in Rev. 9:7,9,17, which I later interpret as the hordes of Israel&rsquo;s neighbours from the Euphrates who will rush into the land promised to Abraham to destroy it. Horses are frequently used in the Bible to represent military action. In Rev. 14:20, blood comes up unto the horse bridles- these invaders meet a terrible destruction. The final destruction of Israel&rsquo;s enemies features the destruction of their horses (Rev. 19:18), and that prophecy compares their horses with the white horse of the Lord Jesus and His followers also on white horses (Rev. 19:11,14,19,21). This juxtaposition of &lsquo;horses&rsquo; suggests that the white horse conqueror of 6:2 is not Christ, but rather an antichrist, an imitation, fake Christ.</p><p>The rider on the white horse was &ldquo;given&rdquo; a crown, a <i>stephanos</i> of victory, and with that &lsquo;gift&rsquo; he goes out to &lsquo;conquer&rsquo;. We find the same Greek words translated &lsquo;given&rsquo; and &lsquo;to conquer&rsquo; in Rev. 13:7, where &ldquo;the mouth&rdquo; of the beast is &ldquo;given&hellip; to make war with the saints God&rsquo;s people, Israel and to <i>overcome </i>s.w. &ldquo;conquer&rdquo; them&rdquo;. The mouth of the beast is his publicity agent, the false prophet, the little horn- the antichrist figure. And it is this same individual who is pictured in 6:2 as riding the white horse, an imitation Jesus, an anti-Christ. The same Greek word translated conquer / overcome is also found in a similar context in Rev. 11:7: &ldquo;The beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit having experienced a death and amazing &lsquo;resurrection&rsquo; shall make war against them the two faithful witnesses and shall <i>overcome </i>them and kill them&rdquo;. But the same word is found frequently throughout Revelation and John&rsquo;s letters, speaking of how ultimately God&rsquo;s people shall conquer / overcome. The point is, they will temporarily be overcome, but they shall gloriously overcome at the end. &ldquo;A troop shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last&rdquo; (Gen. 49:19).</p><p>The crown of the antichrist connects with how the horns of the beast have crowns. His bow connects him with Gog, the individual leader of the assembly of ten nations from within the land promised to Abraham who will invade Israel in the last days. In Gog&rsquo;s defeat by Divine intervention, his bow will be smitten out of his hand (Ez. 39:3). The bow is the weapon of Esau / Edom, the father of the Arab peoples (Gen. 27:3); and it is repeatedly used about the weaponry of the Babylonians and Assyrians and the neighbours of Israel, whose desolation of the land and Jerusalem are the prototypes of the latter day desolation (Is. 5:28; 13:18; Jer. 4:29; 6:23; 46:9; 50:29,42; 51:56). Jeremiah perceived that the bow of Babylon was effectively the bow of Yahweh, drawn against His own people in judgment (Lam. 2:4; 3:12). Again we see that the horses, their riders and weaponry are also those of God, just as the coloured horses of Zech. 1 are matched by the same coloured horses which comprised the Angel cherubim in Zech. 6. Zech. 9:10 speaks of how the horse, chariot and battle how will be &ldquo;cut off from Jerusalem&rdquo; just prior to the establishment of God&rsquo;s Kingdom on earth. Here in Rev. 6:2 we have the development of that situation- and the focus will finally be upon Jerusalem as the holy city of Islam, now proclaimed by some Jihadist theologians as more holy than Mecca.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8091','1','66','6','3','3','<p>6:3 <i>And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying: Come</i>- See on :1</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8092','1','66','6','4','4','<p>6:4 <i>And another horse came forth, a red horse, and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, that they should slay one another. And there was given to him a great sword</i>- The red horse is literally a flame / fire coloured horse <i>purrhos</i>. The same root word is found in describing how the horses released from beyond the Euphrates spit &ldquo;fire&rdquo; <i>pur</i> upon the earth / land of Israel, with which they destroy the people there (Rev. 9:17,18). Perhaps the &ldquo;fire, smoke and brimstone&rdquo; which they bring upon the land means that they consciously think they are bringing Divine judgment upon Israel- this is indeed the radical Islamist position. Or there may be reference to some form of warfare which makes use of fire, some kind of white phosphorous or other weaponry which creates intense fire which water cannot quench. The only other time we meet the colour &lsquo;flame-coloured&rsquo; &ldquo;red&rdquo; is at Rev. 12:3, the great red dragon. This horse is therefore to be associated with that system of latter day domination of the land.</p><p>Constantly, the comfort is given that none of these calamities upon the land are a result of radical evil, evil that is totally free of any control; for &quot;it was given unto him...&quot;. All the traumas to come upon the land are under direct Divine control through the Angels.</p><p>&quot;Him that sat thereon&quot; is the same phrase used of how the whore sits upon the beast (Rev. 17:1,3,9,15; 18:7). The whore is the embodiment of the beast, of the same red colour as the red horse. They are symbols for the same thing- an entity of latter day domination of the land which is controlled by an individual-the antichrist, the rider of the horse, the rider of the beast.</p><p>It is ultimately the Lord Jesus who sends a sword rather than peace upon the earth (Mt. 10:34); the horses and their woes are all, therefore, under His direct control. There seems to be allusion to Mt. 10:34 because Rev. 6:4 goes on to say the red horse rider has a sword, and he causes those in the earth / land to kill each other. Mt. 10:34 records the Lord teaching that He had come to send a sword in the form of division between persons. The red horse rider causes those living in the territory of the land promised to Abraham to kill each other; and this is the scenario we currently see unfolding in that very area. It is conflicting forms of religion which are clearly at the root of that conflict; this is the characteristic of the feet of mixed iron and clay, that will not cleave to each other.</p><p>Revelation is written in Greek but is clearly a Hebrew book. We can safely assume that the <i>ge / </i>&quot;the earth&quot; in view is the same as the Hebrew <i>eretz</i>- the land of Israel. And this is indeed how <i>ge </i>is often specifically used in the New Testament in speaking of the land of Israel. In Matthew alone: Mt. 2:6,20,21; 5:35; 9:26; 12:42 the Queen of Sheba came from the uttermost part of the <i>ge</i>, the land promised to Abraham; 17:25; 23:35 &ldquo;all the righteous blood shed upon the earth&rdquo;; 27:35. And almost every reference to <i>ge </i>in Revelation can be understood as the land promised to Abraham this of course is not the same as the territory currently occupied by the state of Israel.</p><p>The great sword was &quot;given unto him&quot;. Again the idea is that these invasions of the land are allowed and even empowered by God. The idea of being given a sword likewise implies that the horse and rider are executing judgment from God. This is how present day Israel are crying out for serious Divine judgment, from the gay bars of Tel Aviv to the arrogance of the IDF, overarched by a refusal to repent for crucifying God&rsquo;s Son and refusing Him to this day.</p><p>The Greek translated &ldquo;sword&rdquo; is the word for a knife; being given a great knife has connotations of sacrifice. We think of Islamic State beheadings, publicized by them with pictures of jihadists holding a knife over their victims. This is exactly the picture we have here. This is what we are seeing before our eyes on the media.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8093','1','66','6','5','5','<p>6:5 <i>And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: Come And I looked and beheld a black horse, and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand- </i>The black horses of Zech. 6 were sent into &ldquo;the north country&rdquo;, associating this horse with the invasion from the latter day Assyria / Babylon. It could be that the message is simply that there will be terrible famine in the land, and tiny amounts of food will cost much money. But the rider has the balances in his hand, as if he is the merchant and seller. We think of the prediction that none will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast; the suggestion may be that the invading power sells food to some within the land for high prices.&nbsp; Islamic militants insist upon conversion to their form of Islam but will make concessions if a <i>jizya </i>tax is paid. So it may be that we have here a description of how famine will come about for God&rsquo;s people as a result of such actions.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8094','1','66','6','6','6','<p>6:6 <i>And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying: A measure of wheat for a denarius and three measures of barley for a denarius- </i>Comparing the prices here with those mentioned for food during the siege of Samaria in 2 Kings 7, these prices are very high but not as great as when &ldquo;an ass\'s head was sold for 80 shekels, and the fourth part of a cab of dove\'s dung for five&rdquo; (2 Kings 6.25). The figures are not such as we would expect if real famine, and particularly the famine conditions of a siege, were in view. A man could buy three times as much barley as he needed for a day\'s wage. This isn&rsquo;t talking about actual death by famine, but rather food being sold at grossly inflated prices compared to income- that&rsquo;s surely the impression being created. This would fit my suggestion that the dominators of Israel are pictured as selling food at grossly inflated prices to those under their control, in a manner reminiscent of the Jewish ghettos of central Europe under Nazi domination.</p><p><i>And do not damage the oil and the wine</i>- The GNB appears to be closest to interpreting this: &quot;Do not damage the olive trees and the vineyards&quot;. The Greek translated &quot;hurt&quot; occurs several times later in Revelation, also in the sense of hurting or damaging. The Angel of Rev. 7:2,3 is told not to &quot;hurt&quot; the physical land until God\'s servants have been sealed. And likewise in Rev. 9:4, there is the proviso that men must be hurt, but not the plants of the land. The word is used about the hurting of the people on the earth (Rev. 9:10,19), and the faithful are initially not &quot;hurt&quot;- until they are killed after they have completed their witness (Rev. 11:5). The voice that states &quot;hurt not the olive trees and the vineyards&quot; comes from between the four beasts- it is an Angelic limitation placed upon the damagers of the land / people in the land promised to Abraham. The sense may be that initially, the physical land is not to be damaged; the people of God, and then the entire dwellers in the land, are to be \'hurt\', and not the physical land. Therefore the lack of food created by the rider on the black horse would not be because of famine, but rather as I suggested- because of selling food at high prices as a form of destruction of those who refuse to convert to the Islamic State.</p><p>Another consideration is that the phrase could be rendered &quot;Hands off our oil and wine&quot;. Oil and wine occur together in pictures of abundance and luxurious&nbsp; living (Num. 18:12; Dt. 7:13; 8:8; 28:51; 2 Chron. 11:11; 32:28; Prov. 21:17; Jer. 40:40; Joel 2.24); and note especially that these are part of the luxury of the Babylon-beast system in Rev. 18:13. The implication could be that the desolators of Israel enjoy a brief period of opulence, having grabbed the wealth of Israel and the Jews, and submitting those they have conquered to heavy <i>jizya</i> tax and exorbitant prices for food.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8095','1','66','6','7','7','<p>6:7 <i>And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying: Come</i>- See on :1.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8096','1','66','6','8','8','<p>6:8 <i>And I looked and beheld a pale horse, and he that sat upon him. His name was Death, and Hades followed behind him. And there was given to them authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with death and by the wild beasts of the earth</i>- The plural &quot;given unto <i>them&quot; </i>presumably refers to death and hades. It&rsquo;s unclear whether &quot;the fourth part of the earth&quot; is geographical, or refers to a quarter of the population. The idea which we meet in the Revelation of \'parts\' of the land and people being damaged or killed is in line with the Koran, which speaking of judging &quot;the children of Israel&quot; says that Moslems are &quot;to cut off a part of those who disbelieve&quot; (Sura 7.127).</p><p>As it stands, it seems redundant to say that death and the grave <i>hades</i> kill with sword, famine, wild beasts and death. How can &lsquo;death&rsquo; be one of the four listed methods of killing? Perhaps it refers to some specific kind of death- a death penalty of execution (the word is used in this way in Mt. 10:21; 15:4; 20:18). Likewise how can any one horse rider have power over wild animals? The first century fulfilment was clearly in Christians being thrown to the lions; a related word is used for how Paul fought with wild beasts (1 Cor. 15:21). I would suggest that the latter day fulfilment will be in that those who refuse to convert will meet their end in one of four ways at the hands of this horse rider- death by the sword, i.e. in battle; by controlled and enforced starvation, as in the Nazi death camps; &ldquo;death&rdquo; in the sense of the death penalty; or death by being thrown to wild animals, as was done to the early Christians by the Romans.</p><p>The Greek word translated &ldquo;sword&rdquo; here is <i>rhompaia</i>, which has already been used of that proceeding from the mouth of the Lord Jesus (1:16; 2:12,16). It is connected not so much with killing in battle or war, but with deliberate, judicial, putting to death. This recalls the Islamic jihadist approach to killing those who will not convert to Islam- they are seen as being killed in a judicial sense, before a court of Moslems who are both judge, jury and prosecution, as well as the execution squad.</p><p>The four judgments mentioned here clearly allude to Ez. 14:21: &ldquo;I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast&rdquo;. The &lsquo;fourth part&rsquo; of the land that is thus judged is therefore likely to be Jerusalem. Again we see that the location of the &lsquo;earth&rsquo; is not the entire globe but the land promised to Abraham. The Ezekiel passage goes on to say that out of those judgments will come forth a repentant remnant- which is the same picture we have throughout latter day prophecy. It is this remnant which will enable the return of Christ to Israel. The same pattern is to be found in Ez. 33:27-29; the four judgments on the land, involving a total desolation, result in the repentance of the remnant: &ldquo;Thus says the Lord Yahweh: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him who is in the open field will I give to the animals to be devoured; and those who are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; the pride of her power shall cease and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate i.e. not producing food- leading to famine, so that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am Yahweh, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed&rdquo;.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8097','1','66','6','9','9','<p>6:9- see on Lk. 18:7; Dan. 5:23; Rom. 14:8,9.</p><p><i>And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those that had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held</i>- The fact the people are &lsquo;slain&rsquo; on the altar connects with our comment on &lsquo;death&rsquo; in 6:8. These are those slain by the Islamic militants for refusing to convert to their false religion. The allusion is to the blood at the base of the altar from the sacrifices, representing the blood or lives lived of the faithful who had been sacrificed. It is blood which is under the altar; the &quot;souls&quot; are represented by the blood. The witness of their lives, who they essentially were, cried out to God, just as Abel&rsquo;s blood cried out. Cain, his brother, becomes the prototype of Israel&rsquo;s latter day persecutors- it is their own half-brothers, their Arab neighbours, who slay them. The Hebrew for \'Cain\' is the root of the word \'Canaan\'. The persecutors of the faithful are Canaan- the inhabitants of Canaan, Israel\'s aggressive neighbours</p><p>In their death they as it were died with their Lord, the slain lamb (Rev. 5:6). The Greek suggests to be butchered, which is absolutely the behaviour of the jihadists to their victims. Note that those in view are not necessarily Western hostages, but those who are butchered for the sake of their witness to God\'s word. What we are seeing in the butchering of any who get in the way of the Islamic militants in the \'earth\' / land promised to Abraham is a precursor of what can be expected on a wider scale, especially of true Christians witnessing to God\'s word.</p><p>The believer&rsquo;s death is a pouring out of blood on the altar (Phil. 2:17 Gk.), which is language highly appropriate to the Lord&rsquo;s death. It follows from this that the death of one in Christ is the pinnacle of their spiritual maturity, as the Lord&rsquo;s death was the pinnacle of His. It is a spiritual victory, more than the temporal domination of the flesh which it can appear.</p><p>Their preaching God\'s word was a <i>marturia</i>, a legal testament at court, and this was the basis of their martyrdom. The jihadists believe that all who refuse to accept their version of Islam must in some form come before an Islamic court, often presided over by themselves as both judge and prosecution, and then be legally butchered as a result. From their perspective, they are not guilty of wanton butchering; they claim they are doing it in fulfilment of Muslim legal requirements. The parallel is in Rev. 20:4: &ldquo;Them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God; and such as worshipped not the Beast nor his image and received not his mark&rdquo;. The &lsquo;slaying&rsquo; is particularly by beheading; and Islam is the only world religion today which legitimizes and practices beheading. And they are publicly doing it.</p><p>Seeing that there is no conscious survival of death, could this not refer to the guardian Angels of the former martyrs, crying out for the blood of their charges to be avenged? They are <i>so </i>closely identified with them that they can ask for &ldquo;our blood&rdquo; to be avenged. It&rsquo;s apparent enough that this is not the people themselves speaking- for they are dead. Surely then it refers to their Angels, who identify so strongly with them? Perhaps in the same way, Rev. 5:10 has guardian Angels thanking Jesus for making &ldquo;us&rdquo; king-priests to reign on earth. And when the believers are finally glorified, there is an ecstatic voice in Heaven, exalting that the Lamb&rsquo;s wife has made herself ready (Rev. 19:6). Surely this must refer to the Angels rejoicing that their charges have finally made it to salvation? We, for whom they laboured perhaps for centuries, preparing our genetic pool note how the Angels &ldquo;prepared&rdquo; Edom unto destruction long before it happened, Ez. 35:6), and the myriad of circumstances we would meet which were designed to bring us towards the Kingdom. No wonder they will be so ecstatic. Or in another figure, the blood of the dead believers cries out from under the altar, demanding vengeance on this world: on the Catholic, Protestant, Babylonian, Roman, Nazi, Soviet systems that slew them for their faith (Rev. 6:9). To God, their blood is a voice, just as real as the voice of Abel, which cried out (in a figure) for judgment against Cain (Gen. 4:10). After their death, those who had already died are spoken of as being given &ldquo;white robes&rdquo; and being told to rest a bit longer. Yet the white robe is given at baptism; a man may cast off Christ, but the prodigal is given again the robe if he returns (Lk. 15:22 s.w.); we are given white robes in this life through our acceptance of the blood of Christ and living in response to that redemption (Rev. 7:13,14; 22:14 Gk.). God giving believers white robes after their death can surely only be understood as His remembrance of how in their lives they had put on those robes. But His view of time is different, and He sees them as doing it again and again, as He considers how they had died for His cause and how thereby He will surely raise them. This is just as we would relive in our own minds the baptism of one of our children who has died. We know of course that there is no immortal soul, and that we personally feel nothing in death. But there is an immortal spirit, in that who we essentially are, our personality, lives on in the memory of a loving Father.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8098','1','66','6','10','10','<p>6:10 <i>And they cried with a great voice, saying: How long, O Master, the holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?</i>- Just as the Lord cried with a loud voice at His death (Mt. 27:46,50; Lk. 23:46). The suffering and even death experienced by the faithful during the tribulation will identify them with the crucifixion sufferings of their Lord. In Revelation, it is usually an Angel who &lsquo;cries with a loud voice&rsquo; (Rev. 5:2,12; 7:2,10; 8:13; 10:3; 11:12,15; 12:10; 14:2,7,9,15; 16:1,17; 18:2; 19:17- a very considerable theme). We have here another example of Revelation&rsquo;s theme that the believers on earth have their position reflected in Heaven, by Angels in the court of Heaven. Their representative Angels loudly proclaimed to the court of Heaven the injustice done. It was not so much they themselves who cried out, seeing that death is unconsciousness, but the witness of their lives their &lsquo;soul&rsquo;, the &lsquo;blood&rsquo; represented by their Angels before the throne of God in Heaven.</p><p>Rev. 6:10; 13:15; 14:9 describe the persecuted Christian remnant of the last days in the language of Daniel. The conclusion is that they (we?) will find strength to endure through the understanding of prophecy. Daniel\'s spirit of &quot;How long...?&quot; is so exactly reflective of the attitude of all God\'s children down the years that it is hard to deny that Daniel is being framed as the representative of all the saints. Indeed, these very words are quoted in Rev. 6:10 concerning the attitude of the slain saints of the last days.</p><p><i>&quot;</i>How long, O Lord&quot; is clearly alluding to Is. 6:11-13: &ldquo;Lord, how long? He answered, Until the cities are waste without inhabitant and houses without man and the land becomes utterly waste, and Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stump remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stump&rdquo;. The context is the same- an utter desolation of the land by an &lsquo;Assyrian&rsquo; invader, resulting in the repentance of the remnant. This is the context of many other &lsquo;How long?&rsquo; laments in the prophets- the answer is &lsquo;Until Israel repent&rsquo; (Jer. 4:14 &ldquo;Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?&rdquo;; 4:21; 12:4; 23:26; 31:22 &ldquo;How long will you go here and there, you backsliding daughter?&rdquo;; Hos. 8:5 &ldquo;How long will it be until they are capable of purity?&rdquo;; Hab. 1:2). Particularly relevant is Zech. 1:12: &ldquo;How long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah&rdquo;. The significance is in the fact that the vision of four coloured horsemen is based upon Zechariah 1, and so the &ldquo;how long?&rsquo; theme continues the allusion. Again we note that the territory in view is Jerusalem and the land promised to Abraham. The answer of Dan. 12:6,7 to the question is more precise; effectively it is the same as the answers which said &lsquo;How long? Until Israel repent&rsquo;: &ldquo;How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished&rdquo;. Daniel&rsquo;s answer to &lsquo;How long?&rsquo; appears to be &lsquo;Until the three and a half year period is finished, and God&rsquo;s people have been thoroughly broken in pieces&rsquo;. For it seems it is only then that the necessary repentance will occur. Those interested in trying to work out a chronology of events might take note that these particular believers must be killed earlier in the tribulation period. The cry &lsquo;How long until justice?&rsquo; is answered by the news that three and a half years tribulation must pass, and more must yet be killed.</p><p>The &ldquo;holy and true&rdquo; Lord is defined earlier in Rev. 3:7 as the Lord Jesus. This is not the usual Greek word translated &ldquo;Lord&rsquo;. We have to think long and hard as to why a word with such negative connotation as <i>despotes</i> should be used about the Lord Jesus. Why not the more natural <i>kurios</i>? I suggest that the more tyrannical and draconian <i>despotes</i> is used exactly because a despot, the antichrist, is then reigning over the land, and has caused the death of these believers. But for them, their <i>despotes</i>, their Lord, is not him, but the true Christ. Hence they address Him as the &ldquo;holy and true&rdquo; <i>despotes</i>- hinting that there is a false one, one that is <i>not </i>holy, to whom they have refused allegiance.</p><p>&quot;Do You not judge&quot; perhaps needs the emphasis placed on &lsquo;You&rsquo;, seeing they have been judged by some human court and punished with death; see on 6:9 <i>Their testimony</i>. The same words for &quot;avenge our blood&quot; are found in Rev. 19:2- the blood of God&rsquo;s servants is avenged at the hands of the &ldquo;great whore&rdquo;. The horse riders of the seals are therefore part of the beast system dominated by the whore. The avenging of Israel&rsquo;s blood will be by God&rsquo;s &ldquo;sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates&rdquo; in the latter day of Yahweh&rsquo;s vengeance, the day of the Lord of Hosts (Jer. 46:10). This suggests again that the shedders of Israel&rsquo;s blood are those from the north country, Babylon / Assyria, who come from the Euphrates. And this is the current source of jihadist Islam.</p><p>Their call for vengeance means &lsquo;Avenge our blood on those men who shed it&rsquo;. To describe those men as &lsquo;earth dwellers&rsquo; seems somehow redundant and rather too obviously self-evident- unless there is some particular significance to being an earth dweller. We need to understand the &lsquo;earth&rsquo; here as specifically the land promised to Abraham, and not the whole planet. The significance of the murderers as being &lsquo;land dwellers&rsquo; is perhaps because these people have come over the Euphrates, the northern border of the land promised to Abraham, and they are invaders now dwelling in the land. The other NT references to dwelling in the earth / land are specifically about dwelling in the land promised to Abraham; Abraham moved into the land of Canaan, in which land the Israelites now dwelt (Acts 7:4); Abraham dwelt in the land of promise (Heb. 11:9). The earth / land dwellers are singled out for particular judgment because of how they have persecuted God&rsquo;s people (Rev. 8:13; 11:10; 12:12). It&rsquo;s as if being an earth dweller is a cause for judgment; this is far more understandable if we understand the term to refer to neighbouring invaders who are now dwelling in the land promised to Abraham in the last days. The earth dwellers are those who worship the beast and give power to him (Rev. 13:8,12,14; 17:2). The domain of the beast is the &lsquo;earth&rsquo; or land promised to Abraham, seeing it is based upon the fourth beast of Daniel 7, whom we have demonstrated to have this specific dominion. Rev. 14:6 draws a distinction between the earth dwellers and every nation, tongue and tribe- which would lend support to our definition of them as the invaders who now dwell in the land promised to Abraham in the last days.</p><p>Ez. 32:30, Rev. 6:10 and some other passages give the impression that the dead are somehow alive. And yet we know from an impregnable array of Bible passages that the dead are unconscious. These \'difficult passages\' are surely giving us a window on God\'s timeless perspective. Apart from the death state, there are other examples of where future things are spoken of as having already happened (e.g. Ez. 39:29). God\'s future actions are simply spoken of as having already happened (e.g. Ez. 32:18). Living believers are called &quot;martyrs&quot; even before they are killed, because God foresees that they will be killed (Rev. 11:7).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8099','1','66','6','11','11','<p>6:11- see on Mk. 13:13.</p><p><i>And each one was given a white robe, and they were told that they should wait a little longer- </i>Those who come through the great tribulation of the last days are clothed in the same way (Rev. 7:9,13,14), and this tribulation is clearly that which the Lord in the Olivet prophecy predicted for the last days immediately prior to His coming. Revelation aims to give us Heaven\'s perspective on events on earth; the martyred believers are counted as being clothed in white robes, they are assured of salvation. This is an interesting parody of the belief of Islamic jihadists, that their martyrdom will assure them of salvation. This will in fact be the case for those whom they kill. It is Angels who are presented as clothed in white robes (Mt. 28:3; Mk. 16:5; Jn. 20:12; Acts 1:10; Rev. 4:4). Again we see how the martyred believers have representative Angels whose clothing is as theirs will be finally. The promised reward of white robes is also for those who &quot;overcome&quot; whatever they must pass through in their generation (Rev. 3:4,5,18). Our sufferings are in that sense no less than the terrible persecution unto death which is in view here in Rev. 6 and 7 for the latter day believers in the land promised to Abraham.&nbsp; The Lord is intensely aware of the suffering and death of every individual believer in Him; hence &quot;Unto every one of them...&quot;.</p><p>The same word for &quot;rest&quot; is used in Rev. 14:13 about those blessed ones who die in the very last days before the Lord\'s coming, during the great tribulation: &quot;&quot;Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.&quot; &quot;Blessed indeed,&quot; says the Spirit, &quot;that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them&quot;&quot;. The &quot;little season&quot; is the very same term used in Rev. 20:3 of the &quot;little season&quot; during which the dragon is let loose on earth after his \'death\' in the bottomless pit and he has recovered from his deadly wound. This connection strengthens the suggestion that Rev. 20:3 speaks of events at the time of the establishment of the 1000 years, and not at their end AV &quot;fulfilled&quot; can be translated \'established\'. The \'season\', Gk. <i>chronos</i>, &quot;time&quot;, is perhaps part of the time, times and half a time of the tribulation period of Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:14. <br /><i><br />Until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been, was completed- </i>Note the AV makes a mess of translating this. The significance of &quot;every one of them&quot; is that God is working to a precise number. Paul speaks of how the full number of the Gentiles must come in (Rom. 11:25). God is working to an exact number, and this is why the calendar date of the Lord\'s return and the outworking of these prophetic possibilities is to some extent open ended. The sooner that number come in, the sooner the number to be slain are slain, then He will come. Note how the work of preaching is paralleled with the experience of suffering for that latter day witness which makes the converts. The full number of Gentile converts will be reached when the full number of preachers have died. We can expect there to be conversions to Christ despite the obvious risk of death for making that conversion. That is what happened in the first century, and that is the power of the Gospel. The Gospel must be preached for a witness to all nations, and the end shall come (Mt. 24:14). But <i>marturion</i>, &ldquo;witness&rdquo;, can simply be a legal term referring to testimony or witness in a prosecution; through the Islamic \'trials\' of those who refuse to convert, the Gospel will be spread by the witness of those who are slain for their testimony and refusal to convert to Islam. The &quot;times of the Gentiles&quot; (Lk. 21:24) appear to refer to the time of Gentile domination of Jerusalem, and yet it is reapplied to refer to the time of Gentile opportunity to learn the Gospel, according to how Paul alludes to it in Rom. 11:25. </p><p>&quot;Fellowservants&quot; suggests those who serve the same Master, the Lord Jesus. The difference between fellowservants and brothers may be intentional. Perhaps the group in view are Jewish Christians of the last days; their fellowservants are their fellow Christian believers, and their brothers may refer to other Jews. Of course the two terms may be used in simple parallelism, referring to the same group. Another insight is that &quot;fellowservant and brother&quot; is only elsewhere used in Revelation about the Angels (Rev. 19:10; 22:9). There must be some purpose in this. Perhaps the hint again is that these slain believers have their representative Angels in the court of Heaven. Their agony and crisis, just as for all of us, is intensely recognized and portrayed in Heaven. This is why there is an Angelic voice <i>in Heaven</i> rejoicing that the false accuser &quot;of our brothers&quot; has been cast down (Rev. 12:10). The Angels see us their charges on earth as their brothers. Truly man is not alone, beyond the steely silence of the skies there is huge Angelic activity and support for all our witness for His sake. Note how in 19:10 the brothers have the testimony of Jesus; in 22:9 the brothers are the prophets. A prophet is strictly one who speaks forth God\'s word, not necessarily a predicter of the future. The prophets in the new Israel therefore are the preachers, the forth tellers, of God\'s word. The view of Judaism was that the prophets were a category of white faced saints somehow of an altogether higher category than ordinary members of God\'s people. But the Lord Jesus created a new Israel in which all His people were preachers, and thus all are prophets.</p><p>The sixth seal concludes with the great day of the Lamb coming, with the fig tree casting her immature figs (cp. the fig tree parable), and great changes in Heaven and earth. This must have some reference to the second coming. If it does not, then where is the principle of interpreting Scripture by Scripture? This sixth seal appears to be an extension of the fifth seal, where persecuted believers plead for vengeance to be shown against their persecutors. They are assured of their salvation (by being given white robes), and rest &quot;for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled&quot; (6:11). Once these brethren were killed, the Lord would take vengeance- by His second coming. It follows that this violent persecution of brethren is going on before the second coming. Perhaps the &quot;little season&quot; refers to the three-and-a-half-year period? The persecuted souls under the altar would then describe the early sufferers in the persecution. It should be noted that once a set number of believers have been slain, then the Lord will come (Rev. 6:11 Gk. and modern versions). This must mean that there will be violent slaying of believers going on right up until the Lord&rsquo;s return (so the Greek for &ldquo;killed&rdquo; implies); which suggests that we have yet to see violent persecution before the second coming.</p><p>A further indication that the fifth seal concerns the last days is in the obvious connection between the altar scene and the parable of the widow crying for vengeance on her persecuting adversary; she would be avenged &quot;when the Son of man comes&quot; (Lk. 18:3,5). Thus the intense prayers of the persecuted saints of the last days are what prompt the second coming; at least, this is how God wishes us to see it. If our prayers were that fervent now, perhaps the tribulation could be avoided. Revelation 7 then describes how the 144,000 are sealed to ultimately survive the persecution, and due to the accumulated intense prayer of the persecuted believers, the seventh seal of judgment is poured out on the world (8:3,4), resulting finally in the establishment of the Kingdom.</p><p>After their death, those who had already died are spoken of as being given &ldquo;white robes&rdquo; and being told to rest a bit longer (Rev. 6:11). Yet the white robe is given at baptism; a man may cast off Christ, but the prodigal is given again the robe if he returns (Lk. 15:22 s.w.); we are given white robes in this life through our acceptance of the blood of Christ and living in response to that redemption (Rev. 7:13,14; 22:14 Gk.). God giving believers white robes after their death can surely only be understood as His remembrance of how in their lives they had put on those robes. But His view of time is different, and He sees them as doing it again and again, as He considers how they had died for His cause and how thereby He will surely raise them. This is just as we would relive in our own minds the baptism of a child who has died. We know of course that there is no immortal soul, and that we personally feel nothing in death. But there is an immortal spirit, in that who we essentially are, our personality, lives on in the memory of a loving Father. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8100','1','66','6','12','12','<p>6:12 <i>And I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake, the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon turned the colour of blood- </i>This along with the sun becoming dark recalls the Lord\'s crucifixion, and is another reason to think that the sufferings of the believers in the tribulation lead them to a close identity with His sufferings, that they might share in His resurrection. And that principle in fact works out in all our sufferings, in whatever generation and context we live in. Mt. 24:7 says that there will be a number of earthquakes in the last days. And it may be that the various earthquakes recorded in Revelation are not all referring to the same earthquake. Zech. 14:5 associates an earthquake with the coming of Christ after Jerusalem has fallen to her latter day enemies. The seals appear to refer to the sufferings experienced by God\'s people (both natural and spiritual) in the land promised to Abraham; just as the horses of Zechariah 1 speak of the judgments upon the land, and then the horses of Zechariah 6 speak of the judgments upon those nations. The seven vials and the various judgments upon the beast system include similar language, but appear to refer to the Divine judgments upon the persecutors of His people. These judgments will be similar to those they meted out to Israel, according to the principle that the beast system is tormented with the same things they brought upon their victims (Rev. 18:7), being made to drink the same cup she gave others (Rev. 18:6). The earthquake of Rev. 6:12 is matched by the earthquakes of judgment upon Israel\'s persecutors in Rev. 11:13,19; 16:18. </p><p>&quot;The sun became... black&quot; is a clear example of the language of the Olivet prophecy about the last days being developed in Revelation. The allusion is to Mt. 24:29: &quot;During Gk. <i>meta</i>, AV &quot;after&quot; the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light&quot;. We are clearly being pointed to a distinctly latter day interpretation. Whatever application this had in the first century (Acts 2:20), the final and main fulfilment is in our last days. The first century fulfilment may have included a literal element in the events of AD70 and the Lord\'s crucifixion, and so it may also be in the last days. But sun, moon and stars are introduced to us in Joseph\'s dream as symbols of Israel. We have here for sure a prediction of the total destruction of the Jewish system. It may be that initially a third part of the sun and moon are darkened (Rev. 8:12)- which suggests a literal darkening is not primarily in view. Rev. 9:2 says that the sun is darkened as a result of the beast system arising from the bottomless pit, the deadly wound healed and the vicious revival of the beast system after an initial Western destruction of them?. The sun being darkened and the moon turning into blood is the sign that the day of the Lord is about to come (Joel 2:31,32). We are to understand this event as happening immediately prior to the Lord&rsquo;s coming. </p><p>&quot;Black as sackcloth of hair, the moon became as blood&quot; are terms hard to interpret. Hair sackcloth would suggest mourning; but why would the sun mourn in this context? And why would the moon become blood? What really could that mean in terms of symbology? I see no very credible explanation in terms of symbology.&nbsp; But I came across online Special Paper 186 1981 of the Geological Society of America, by Troy Pewe: <i>Desert Dust: Origin, Characteristics and Effect on Man</i> . In this very technical article, the author makes the throwaway comment that the words &ldquo;Black as sackcloth of hair, the moon became as blood&rdquo; are a superb description of an approaching dust storm coming out of the desert. The Americans called their 1991 military operation in Iraq &lsquo;Desert Storm&rsquo;. The picture is of an army coming out of the desert; and this is exactly relevant to the invasion of Israel by the hordes who burst across the Euphrates and move across the desert to engulf God&rsquo;s land and people. </p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8101','1','66','6','13','13','<p>6:13 <i>And the stars of the heaven fell to the earth</i>- This would continue the usage of sun, moon and stars as in Joseph&rsquo;s dream- as symbols of the Jewish system (Gen. 37:9; Dt. 1:10). The sons of Jacob, the stars, will fall into the earth, losing their power and station. This is a direct quotation of the Lord&rsquo;s words about the situation in Israel and Jerusalem specifically in the very last days (Mt. 24:29). We note that the King of Babylon sought to exalt himself above the stars (Is. 14:13)- the Jews in Jerusalem. The connection may imply that the latter day king of Babylon is briefly successful in this, and those stars fall. The latter day little horn, the antichrist, succeeds in dominating God&rsquo;s people and casting them down like stars to the ground, and stamping upon them (Dan. 8:10). This is the basis for the Lord&rsquo;s prediction that Jerusalem shall be trodden down, stamped upon, by the Gentiles. We note the repeated focus upon the fate of Jerusalem and its inhabitants.</p><p><i>As a fig tree casts her unripe figs when she is shaken by a great wind</i>- The fig tree and fruit on it is a Biblical picture of Israel&rsquo;s spiritual state. The &ldquo;winter fruit&rdquo; or &ldquo;unripe fruit&rdquo; refers to fruit that came covered in leaves in the Summer, but never turned ripe. It therefore remained until the Winter, and the strong Winter wind blew it off the tree. The reference is clear- Israel had time to produce spiritual fruit, but they didn&rsquo;t; and so the&nbsp;falling of their stars to earth is precisely because they had not brought forth spiritual fruit. The falling of the figs is parallel with the falling of the stars. The same word for &quot;shaken&quot; is used of the shaking of the Jewish heaven and earth / system in Heb. 12:26. The &quot;mighty wind&quot; continues the allusion to a desert dust storm which has caused the moon to look like blood (see on 6:12). The wind is representative of both an Angel and also an army. Recall how the four winds / Angels blow on the sea to cause the beasts to arise in Dan. 7. The mighty wind of the invaders is Angelically directed by God. The day of judgment at Christ&rsquo;s coming is likened to a mighty wind in Mt. 7:25,27. This mighty wind is to be connected with the four winds we will soon encounter in Rev. 7:1, which will blow upon the earth / land in judgment but will not affect the sealed, righteous remnant. The strong wind blows away the unripe fruit. It could be that the singular mighty wind prepares the way for the four winds of chapter 7, replete as they are with connection with the four winds of Daniel 7 which cause the beasts to arise in domination of the land.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8102','1','66','6','14','14','<p>6:14 <i>And the sky was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up- </i>Remember this is all in the context of the scroll being opened by the lamb. For that book to be opened, the scroll / heaven NEV &quot;sky&quot; of political Israel has to be closed and removed for ever. The Old Testament passage in view here in this section is clearly Is. 34:4-8. This however speaks of God\'s final judgment of Edom, which is Esau (Gen. 36:1,8). Revelation 6 is talking about judgments against Israel; but the point is that what latter day Esau / Edom does to Jacob will be done to them: &ldquo;All of the army of the sky will be dissolved, the sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree. For My sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom and on the people of My curse for judgement. Yahweh&rsquo;s sword is filled with blood, it is covered with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.&nbsp; The wild oxen will come down with them and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; and their land will be drunken with blood and their dust made greasy with fat.&nbsp; For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion&rdquo;.</p><p><i>And every mountain and island were moved out of their places</i>- In the first century application, the removal of every mountain would refer to the Roman legions flattening the approach roads: &quot;Vespasian sent both footmen and horsemen to level the road, which was mountainous and rocky&quot; (Josephus, <i>Wars of the Jews</i> 3.7.3). Having outlined the mountainous setting of Jotapata, Josephus says that Vespasian decided &quot;to raise a bank against that part of the wall which was practicable&quot; (<i>Wars</i> 3.7.8).</p><p>I mentioned in notes at the beginning of Revelation 6 that the things done to Israel / the land during the seals are then repeated to Israel&rsquo;s abusers during the trumpets and vial judgments. The cup they made her drink must be drunk by them. And in keeping with this, the same ideas are found in Rev. 16:20- when Babylon falls, &ldquo;every island fled away, and the mountains were not found&rdquo;. However, the repetition of the terms shows that literal islands and mountains are not in view- they cannot totally disappear twice. The supporters of Israel, the powers represented by mountains and islands, those who seemed so stable and eternally fixed in their place, will remove; just as the figurative mountains and islands supportive of Babylon will likewise. I have explained elsewhere that the West must fall or be rendered ineffective. <br />The final tribulation of Israel will be at the same time as the Elijah ministry; and the intention is to bring down the mountains, making a smooth way for the second coming of the Lord Jesus (Is. 40:4; Lk. 3:5). These judgments, involving mountains moving, are all part of that preparatory process.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8103','1','66','6','15','15','<p>6:15 <i>And the kings of the earth, the princes, the chief captains, the rich, the strong and every slave and freeman-</i> The kings of the land are parallel with the stars who fall from the sky, the heavens and earth who are rolled up. The leading lights of the Jewish system are the kings of the land. The kings of the land are described later in Revelation as facing judgment for their support of the beast against Israel. The current Jewish rulers of the land are to be replaced, therefore, by a new set of rulers of the land; who will be punished with the same judgment they meted out to the rulers whom they overthrew. The &ldquo;princes&rdquo; (AV &ldquo;great men&rdquo;) translates the same Greek word found in Rev. 18:23 about how the great men of the earth supported Babylon but would now be judged. Indeed, the terms used here in 6:15 are elsewhere found about those who will be judged in the land for having supported Babylon. The Jewish mighty ones, the stars and heavens, will be replaced, however briefly, by those of the Babylon / beast system. Likewise &ldquo;chief captains&rdquo; is found again in Rev. 19:18. The wide range of people listed here in 6:15 stretch right across society; and similar words are used about the entire range who accept the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16) and follow the beast (Rev. 19:18). Jewish society in the Israel of today is to be replaced by that of their invaders and the system of the beast.</p><p><i>Hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains-</i> This hugging of the earth is a result of the stars and unripe figs falling to the earth (:13). The kings of the land are thus connected with the stars and unripe figs- representative of Israel&rsquo;s unspiritual leadership. The allusion is to Is. 2:19-21, which was initially addressed to the proud Jews who were in Jerusalem just prior to the Assyrian invasion. They are the prototypes of arrogant, self-assured Israel in the land today: &ldquo;Men shall go into the caves of the rocks and into the holes of the earth from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the caverns of the rocks and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily&rdquo;. But Isaiah 2 speaks of this hiding in the rocks as part of the preparatory process for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, on the tops of the very mountains where men only recently had been hiding themselves (Is. 2:2-4). Yet again, we are dealing with last days language, and also specifically about the situation in and around Jerusalem.</p><p>The hiding in caves from the face of the Lamb recalls the desire of those in Jerusalem living just before the Babylonian invasion: they wanted to hide themselves from the Lord&rsquo;s presence (Jer. 23:24). Likewise the Jews of Amos 9:3 sought to hide themselves in the mountains of Carmel. The idea of hiding from the Lamb very much suggests the kings of the land in view are Jewish rulers of Israel. The Lamb&rsquo;s wrath was being manifested through the events of the seals, and the Jewish leadership desperately seek to hide from it. <br />Living in the caves and mountains recalls the behaviour of the faithful in Heb. 11:38. Perhaps that connection is purposeful, to hint that through all this suffering, a minority will come to faith in Christ and repentance.</p><p>In the first century fulfilment, the ideas of hiding in caves, wishing the rocks to fall on them etc. refers to how the Jews hid underground in the 67-70 war. &quot;On the following days the Romans searched the hiding places, and fell upon those that were underground and in the caverns&quot; (Josephus, <i>Wars of the Jews </i>3.7.36). The Lord had told the women who watched His death that they would ask the mountains and hills to fall upon them to cover them (Lk. 23:29,30 cp. Mt. 24:1,2,19,34).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8104','1','66','6','16','16','<p>6:16<i> And they said to the mountains and to the rocks: Fall on us- </i>This again is a quotation from the Lord\'s words about the judgment to come upon Israel because of their crucifixion of Him (Lk. 23:30). It is also a quotation from Hos. 10:8, when because of &quot;the sin of Israel... they shall say to the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us&quot;. My point is that these passages are all talking specifically about Israelites; the kings / rulers of the land of the sixth seal are Jews in the last days within an Israel that is to be crushed amidst unspeakable abuse and atrocity, as the pent up Moslem and Arab wrath of centuries explodes upon them. The Hosea passage in its context speaks of Israel lamenting that they have no human leaders any more (Hos. 10:3,7) and how &quot;the nations shall be gathered against them&quot; (Hos. 10:10). This is precisely the message of the sixth seal- the heavens / stars of the Jewish system fall, sun and moon no longer shine, and all nations are gathered together against Jerusalem at Armageddon.</p><p><i>And hide us from the presence of Him that sits on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb</i>- There are multiple Old Testament statements that in the final time of Israel&rsquo;s sufferings, God will hide His face from them (e.g. Dt. 31:17,18; 32:20; Ez. 39:29; Mic. 3:4). This is from their perspective- the reality is, according to this insight here, that Israel themselves seek to hide from His face NEV &quot;presence&quot;. If the reference is to God enthroned in Heaven, this fear seems rather misplaced. Would sinful men experiencing judgment really feel they were in the presence of the throne of God in Heaven, and wish to run away from the one enthroned? The reference is more appropriately understood in a futuristic sense. In some sense, Jesus is now visibly enthroned, on the throne of David in Jerusalem, and the sinful Jews slink away from His throne, just as the rejected are pictured doing in 1 Jn. 2:28 Gk.. Rev. 4:2,9 have introduced the Lord Jesus as enthroned <i>at His return</i>. These sinful Jewish leaders have some sense of this, and wish to slink away from His presence in rejection. These people seek to be hid from the face / presence of the wrathful Lamb, but in 14:10 we read of how some will be tormented in the presence / before the face of the Lamb. Their desire to escape His judgment doesn&rsquo;t come to anything.</p><p>Note the juxtaposition of ideas in \'the wrath of the lamb\'. It is not simply that the Lord died as a lamb but returns as a rampant lion. He will have both lion and lamb aspects at His return. God\'s character is not just partly severe, partly gracious. His grace and His judgment of sin are wonderfully interconnected within His character. Thus destruction comes from Shaddai, the fruitful, blessing one (Is. 13:6); and the meek, harmless Lamb has great wrath (Rev. 6:16,17).</p><p>Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Who He was then, as He walked around Palestine 2000 years ago, the lamb for sinners slain, is who He will essentially be at His second coming and judgment. It&rsquo;s not quite so that He was once a meek lamb but will roar back as an angry aggressive lion of Judah. Revelation brings out the paradox of &ldquo;the wrath of <i>the lamb</i>&rdquo;- not the roaring lion. Even in condemning men, His basic passion for humanity, His pain for the lost, comes out. Thus He will call those whom He rejects &ldquo;Friend&rdquo;, just as He addressed even Judas, a man not fit to breathe the same air as He did. And in any case, it was in His role as the lion of Judah that He opened the seals through His death, not at His return. In His mortality He was the one who served rather than the one who sat at meat; and when He returns He will again come forth and serve us, His Divine nature notwithstanding. He so earnestly desired that even the wicked children of Jerusalem who did Him to death should be gathered together into His Kingdom. As He was, so He will be, and so He is even now.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8105','1','66','6','17','17','<p>6:17 <i>For the great day of their anger comes, and who is able to stand?-</i> The situation clearly refers to the last day. The Old Testament &lsquo;day of wrath&rsquo; is usually against Israel and her leaders; and these are in view here, the kings of the land. The Babylonian invasion was the day of wrath (Dt. 29:28; Jer. 32:31; 44:6; Lam. 1:12; 2:1.21.22; Zeph. 2:2,3). The same word translated &ldquo;wrath&rdquo; is used by the Lord in the Olivet Prophecy concerning how there shall be &ldquo;wrath upon this people&rdquo;. The people of Israel are therefore those who suffer under the sixth seal. &ldquo;The great day&rdquo; is Joel&rsquo;s &ldquo;great and notable day of the Lord&rdquo;, the second coming. Jude 6 uses the very expression in talking about &ldquo;the judgment of the great day&rdquo;, &ldquo;the great day of God Almighty&rdquo; of Rev. 16:14.</p><p>&quot;And who shall be able to stand?&quot; alludes to Mal. 3:1-3 concerning the coming of the latter day Elijah prophet to Israel: &ldquo;Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, He comes says Yahweh of Armies. But who can endure the day of His coming? And <i>who will stand</i> when He appears? For He is like a refiner&rsquo;s fire, and like launderer&rsquo;s soap; and He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver&rdquo;. At the time of the sixth seal, Elijah (or the Elijah ministry) will be active in Israel amongst Jewish people. Those who do not respond to this ministry will be unable to stand before the Lord.</p><p><strong>Revelation 7: The 144,000</strong><br />The seals speak of the latter day outpouring of judgment and trouble upon the land and people of Israel, perhaps throughout the entire territory of the land promised to Abraham. God&rsquo;s judgments on His people are never simply the wrath of a powerful Deity; they are intended to elicit repentance. They are His appeal to men. After the seals, we read of the sealing of 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel. This could be all purely symbolic- 12 tribes multiplied by the 12 disciples, making 144, and thousands of them, speaking therefore of Jews who had come to Christ. But the laboured repetition of the &ldquo;12,000&rdquo; and the names of each tribe is striking. It may simply be that the Lord wishes to stress how every single one of those latter day believers is known to Him. Or it could be a literal number, and the ethnicity / tribal origins of the Jews is known to the Lord. But I somewhat doubt that kind of literalism is to found in Revelation or the entire apocalyptic genre. Perhaps there is a geographical reference- Jews from the entire extent of the land and tribal allotments of Israel.</p><p><strong>The Seals and Islam</strong><br />Reading through the seals is like reading parts of the Koran and Hadith which speak of the judgments which Islam wishes upon the Jews. This is not simply because the Koran is full of garbled allusions to the Old and New Testaments e.g. Sura 2.249 confuses several Bible stories: &ldquo;And when Saul set out with the army, he said: Lo Allah will try you by the ordeal of a river. Whosoever therefore drinketh thereof he is not of me, and whosoever tasteth it not he is of me, save him who taketh thereof in the hollow of his hand. But they drank thereof, all save a few of them. And after he had crossed the river, he and those who believed with him, they said: We have no power this day against Goliath and his hosts. But those who knew that they would meet Allah exclaimed: How many a little company hath overcome a mighty host by Allah\'s leave Allah is with the steadfast&rdquo;. The reality is that radical Islamists, in strict obedience to the Koran, will seek to bring these judgments upon the people and land of Israel because they think this is what the Koran tells them to do; and in so doing they will fulfil Revelation. For the kind of brutality they practice is only possible for a person who has been brainwashed with religious or political philosophy. That&rsquo;s why jihadist volunteers are firstly sent for weeks of &lsquo;teaching&rsquo; before being sent to fight. The kind of extreme, severe abuse of Israel which is required by the language of Revelation and Daniel 7 is such that it would require people fuelled by deep religious programing to execute it. The Quran often speaks of God&rsquo;s severity against the Jews because of their supposed sins against Mohammad and refusal to accept Islam, e.g. Sura 2.211: &ldquo;Ask of the Children of Israel how many a clear revelation we gave them He who altereth the grace of Allah after it hath come unto him for him, lo Allah is severe in punishment&rdquo;. This is the reasoning which will inspire the Moslems to abuse the Jews so intensely. &ldquo;Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews&hellip; we have prepared for those of them who disbelieve a painful doom&rdquo; (Sura 4.160,161). Unashamed aggression is taught by the Koran multiple times, e.g. Sura 9.123 &quot;O ye who believe Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you&quot;. &ldquo;Then seized I those who disbelieved, and how intense was my abhorrence&rdquo; (Sura 35.26). And so we could continue:</p><p>&quot;Fight (slay and kill) those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the last day (judgement day), nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited, nor they follow the religion of truth (the religion of Islam) out of those who have been given the Book (Jews and Christians), until they pay the tax, in acknowledgment of superiority and (recognition that) they are in a state of subjection (to Islam)&quot; (Sura 9:29).<br />&quot;Worst among men in enmity to the believers (Muslims) wilt thou find the Jews and pagans&quot; (Sura 5:82).<br />&quot;O ye who believe, take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends and protectors to each other, and he amongst you that turns to them for friendship is one of them Verily, Allah guideth not a people unjust (Jews and Christians)&quot; (Sura 5:51).<br />&quot;Those who reject Islam among the people of the book (Jews and Christians) and among the polytheists (all other religions) will be in hell fire to dwell in there for ever and they are the worst of creatures&quot; (Sura 98:6).</p><p>Not only Revelation, but many other latter day prophecies are full of language strikingly similar to that found in the Koran. The jihadist Moslems seek to obey the Koran, and by doing so, they will be fulfilling Bible prophecy about the last days. For example, Joel 2:6 LXX speaks of how in the final day of the Lord, Israel will be invaded by a latter day Assyrian, &quot;a numerous and strong people&quot; (:2), and &quot;Before them shall the people of Israel be crushed: every face shall be as the blackness of a caldron (AV &quot;gather blackness&quot;)&quot;. The Koran in Sura 7.106 speaks of this happening at the last day, when Moslems will blacken the faces of those who refuse to convert to their religion: &quot;On the Day when some faces will be whitened and some faces will be blackened; and as for those whose faces have been blackened, it will be said unto them: Disbelieved ye after your profession of belief? Then taste the punishment for that ye disbelieved&quot;.</p><p>The punishments of the seals are the very punishments which the Koran says must be brought upon the Jews in order to make them repent and accept Islam and that Mohammed was a messenger to them: &quot;We shall test you with fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits so that when afflicted with calamity they will say, Truly To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return&quot; (Surah 2.155,156). These calamities will indeed cause a remnant to repent- but return to the God of Israel, rather than convert to Islam. Surah 4.160,161 and the Hadith expansions upon it speak of starving the Jews and torturing them, which is how I interpreted Rev. 6:5-8: &ldquo;Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews we forbade them good things which were before made lawful unto them, and because of their much hindering from Allah\'s way, and of their taking usury when they were forbidden it, and of their devouring people\'s wealth by false pretences, We have prepared for those of them who disbelieve a painful doom&rdquo;.</p><p>Sura 17, <em>Al-Isra</em>, is about future Moslem judgments upon &quot;The children of Israel&quot;. Sura 17.7,8 speaks of how latter day Moslems will repeat the historical judgments of the Jews upon them. This explains why some Jihadist groups see themselves as the revival of Babylon and Assyria: &quot;So, when the time for the second of the judgments came we roused against you others of our slaves to ravage you, and to enter the Temple even as they entered it the first time, and to lay waste all that they conquered with an utter wasting. It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, but if ye repeat the crime we shall repeat the punishment, and we have appointed hell a dungeon for the disbelievers&quot;. The language of utter wasting and taking the temple mount is exactly that of latter day Bible prophecies about what is to happen to Israel in the last days. The Hadith and some Suras of the Koran are full of such language of what shall be done to the Jews and Israel: &quot;we annihilate it with complete annihilation... or punish it with dire punishment... There is not a township but we shall destroy it ere the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with dire punishment&quot; (Sura 17.16,58). And radical Islam is all set up to fulfil it. The same Sura continues to liken that final destruction of the Jews to a book of judgment being opened: &quot;We shall bring forth for him on the Day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open. And it will be said unto him: Read thy Book&quot; (Sura 17.13,14). Likewise Sura 17.58: &quot;There is not a township but we shall destroy it ere the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with dire punishment. That is set forth in the Book of our decrees&rdquo;. This is the significance of the judgments upon Israel in the last days being likened to a scroll / book being opened.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8106','1','66','7','1','1','<p>7:1 <em>After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree</em>- When we come to Revelation, especially bearing in mind its&rsquo; constant allusions to the Old Testament, the &lsquo;earth&rsquo; can generally be understood as the land of Israel. All the weight of Biblical evidence is in this direction. There are undeniable similarities between the events of the seals and vials, and what happened in the land in AD66-70. The whole idea of pouring out judgment upon the &lsquo;earth&rsquo; refers to the OT images of such judgments being poured out upon the land. Consider too how Rev. 7:1: &ldquo;And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth&hellip;&rdquo;. If the earth has corners, it can&rsquo;t really be the globe, rather, an area such as the land.</p><p>There seems to be an&nbsp;association&nbsp;between the &quot;four winds&rdquo;,&nbsp;the four &quot;living creatures&quot; and the four &quot;beasts&quot; mentioned at various points in Scripture. It is suggested that these all refer, even if indirectly, to a literal four cherubic Angels. Rev. 7:1 is the clearest evidence: &quot;I saw four Angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth&quot;. The stress is on &quot;the four winds&quot;. Dan. 7:2,3 connects the winds and the beasts: &quot;Behold, the four winds of Heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea&quot;. The &quot;four winds&quot; may refer to Angels- God makes His Angels spirits or winds.</p><p>&quot;The four corners of the earth&quot; is proof enough that the earth / land doesn&rsquo;t refer to the whole planet but to a specific territory on the planet- the land, promised to Abraham, with defined borders. The Hebrew word translated &lsquo;borders&rsquo; in the context of the borders of the land is also translated &ldquo;corners&rdquo;. We think of Ez. 7:2: &ldquo;You, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel, An end: the end has come on the four corners of the land&rdquo;.&nbsp; The four Angels on the borders of the land connect with the four Angels on the Euphrates, the northern / eastern border of the land, who shall release the hordes they are holding back to surge towards Israel. That process may already be in operation. We are here introduced to the idea that there are Angels holding back the winds of destruction on the borders of God&rsquo;s land and people. This explains the miraculous survival of the state of Israel since 1948. The hordes of neighbouring enemies have been restrained- by the Angels on the borders of the land. But they will remove that restraint, and we can see that already happening. It&rsquo;s worth noting that the key enemies of Israel in the Old Testament are described as dwelling in the corners of the earth / land (Jer. 9:26; 25:23; 49:32); and Israel are described as going into captivity in the corners of the earth / land promised to Abraham (Dt. 32:26; Is. 11:12). So it&rsquo;s appropriate that the winds of destruction come from these same corners of the land. Rev. 20:8 defines &ldquo;the nations which are in the four quarters of the land&rdquo; as being &ldquo;Gog and Magog&rdquo;; clearly the Ezekiel 38 Gog is being defined as the epitome of the nations along the borders of Israel, who both historically and currently are Israel&rsquo;s main enemies.</p><p>The four winds of the earth / land create a picture reminiscent of Dan. 7:2; the four beasts which dominate the earth / land of Israel in the last days all arise as the result of the four winds / spirits / Angels operating over the sea of nations. Now, the four winds / spirits / Angels are told not to blow upon the land and sea until the faithful have been sealed. The connection would teach that the final domination of the land by the beast systems occurs after the events of the seals; or perhaps, the seals are part of that domination period, but there is a break, the winds of destruction are held back, so that those Jews who have responded in repentance can be sealed. In Ez. 37:9, the wind from the four winds comes to spiritually revive the spiritually dead Israel who have returned to their land from dispersion. But here in Rev. 7, these four winds are the winds of destruction. It is from them and the desolation associated with them- that spiritual life is breathed into Israel. The winds are controlled by the four Angels who &lsquo;stand&rsquo; or &lsquo;are appointed&rsquo; at the four corners of the land- it may be that they were appointed from Old Testament times, not least in Daniel 7.</p><p>Significantly, the Koran likens the judgment of Jews and apostates to the coming of winds. The whole of Sura 77 is entitled <em>Al-Mursalat </em>(The Emissaries, Winds Sent Forth). These winds of judgment come &quot;when the stars are put out, and when the sky is riven asunder, and when the mountains are blown away&quot; (Sura 77:8-11). This is all very much the language of the seals, trumpets and vials. The judgments upon Israel are brought by the Moslems in terms of their own understanding of condemnation. And they too will be judged in the same way- the thing they greatly fear comes upon them, the cup they give Israel to drink, they must drink.</p><p>We noted at the beginning of the seals in Revelation 6 that the first four seals, the four horsemen, are based upon the horsemen of Zechariah 1 who desolate the land of Israel and scatter her people. Here in Revelation, the thought then moves on to the four winds- and the same is to be found in Zechariah, where Zech. 2:6 associates them with the scattering into the provinces of Babylon and Persia: &ldquo;flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I will gather you from the four winds of heaven&rdquo; (LXX). The land of the north (Babylon, where Judah were in captivity in Zechariah&rsquo;s time) is &ldquo;the four winds&rdquo; because its territory covered much of the land promised to Abraham. The same Hebrew words are found in Zech. 6:5, where the four horses responsible for desolating Israel are &ldquo;the four winds AV &ldquo;spirits&rdquo; of the heaven&rdquo;. Judah were also gathered from the four winds in the sense that the Angels were with them, as demonstrated by Ezekiel&rsquo;s vision of the four beast cherubim. This is surely the idea of Mark 13:27: &ldquo;Then shall He send His Angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth land to the uttermost part of Heaven&rdquo;. The earth / land in view is that promised to Abraham, and the heartland of Israel&rsquo;s enemies is and always has been at the uttermost part of it, at the Euphrates border where ISIS are from and are currently. The parallel between Heaven and earth here in the Lord&rsquo;s teaching is in line with what we find so often in Revelation- the situation on earth is reflected by the Angels in Heaven who stand in the Heavenly throne room.</p><p>The four winds / four Heavenly cherubim beasts are the Heavenly antithesis of the four winds and four beasts of Daniel 7 on earth who desolate the land. The four horns which arose from the third empire were &ldquo;towards&rdquo; the four Angelic winds of Heaven; there was a connection between them (Dan. 8:8; 11:4). There is no such thing as radical evil- even the worst desolators of God&rsquo;s people are under direct Angelic control. We note too the prophecy of the four winds in Jer. 49:36 against Elam, modern day Iran: &ldquo;I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds&rdquo;. The &ldquo;quarters&rdquo; of Heaven suggest that Heaven, like the earth / land with its corners, is a territory. I suggest that &lsquo;Heaven&rsquo; here is a reflection of the earth / land promised to Abraham. Elam / Iran will likewise be judged by the Arab nations living in the corners of the land promised to Abraham, and will be scattered into those areas.</p><p>The four winds plural are spoken of as one wind (7:1). This is rather like how the four beasts are effectively one beast. Scattering to the four winds was scattering to &ldquo;the land of the north&rdquo; (Zech. 2:6). The four cherubim beasts of Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10 are effectively one system, moving the same way. We shouldn&rsquo;t therefore be necessarily looking for four distinct entities to dominate the land in the last days. The &lsquo;four&rsquo; refers to Heaven&rsquo;s organization, and how it is reflected on earth.</p><p>&quot;Holding the four winds&quot; is better \'restraining\'. This sounds similar to the idea of the Angels restraining the hordes which then burst over the Euphrates to desolate the land; and to the restraining influence which stops the antichrist being revealed in 2 Thess. 2:5-7. This period of restraint is maybe seen by John in order to serve as a dividing point between the suffering of the six seals, and the fact that some in the land repent as a result of this. These are sealed, and then the trumpet judgments are poured out, and then the desolating powers are destroyed, as outlined in the seven vials. But there may not be an actual period of time required to &lsquo;seal&rsquo; the 144,000. The language of winds blowing is that of the final judgment in Mt. 7:25,27.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8107','1','66','7','2','2','<p>7:2<em> And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea</em>- The East is &lsquo;the sunrising&rsquo;. The idea of the sun rising connects with the language of the Lord Jesus returning as the sunrise (Mal. 4:2). Again the time is located around the second coming of the Lord. The allusion may be to the Lord&rsquo;s description of His coming as a bright shining arising from the East (Mt. 24:27).</p><p>Other references to sealing refer to a mark being placed on a person by God which <em>He </em>recognizes, although the world doesn&rsquo;t see it. Thus Paul&rsquo;s converts were a seal of His apostleship (1 Cor. 9:2)- to God, but not to men. The seal of God is simply that &ldquo;The Lord knows them that are His&rdquo; (2 Tim. 2:19). We are sealed by being given the Spirit in our hearts, very privately and intimately (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). But that knowledge is to Him, and is not publicly displayed. For people to be sealed, they are as it were known by God, stamped with His mark. It might even be that there is a mass baptism into Christ of Jewish people in the land- that would certainly be a point at which believers are sealed. This would admirably fulfil the otherwise strange prophecy of Zech. 13:1, that a fountain will be opened in Jerusalem in which the inhabitants of Jerusalem can be washed from their sin.</p><p>The outline idea is of an Angel putting a mark on God&rsquo;s people so that other Angels don&rsquo;t harm them with the judgments they are pouring out. And this of course recalls the Passover Angel hovering over the homes of the Israelites who had placed the mark of the Lamb on their doorposts, so that &ldquo;the Destroyer&rdquo; Angel would not destroy them. Ez. 9:4 is similar- a mark is placed upon the forehead of those in Jerusalem who are repentant, so that they are not hurt by the judgments of the Babylonian invasion and destruction of the temple. These allusions further encourage us to understand the 144,000 as Jewish Christians within the land / earth.</p><p>&quot;The four Angels&quot; connect with how in Daniel 7 it is the four beasts who do the hurting of the land. But these are but the earthly counterparts of the Heavenly cherubim, which are portrayed also as four beasts. And here the point is made explicit- there are four Angels coordinating the desolation of the land in the last days.</p><p>&quot;To whom it was given to hurt&quot; again reminds us of the constant comfort that it is God who allows the desolation and even ultimately empowers it.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8108','1','66','7','3','3','<p>7:3 <em>Saying: Do not hurt the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees</em>- Significantly, the Koran stipulated that trees are not to be damaged during campaigns against infidels. The same word for &quot;hurt&quot; was used in 6:6, where the oliveyards and vineyards were not to be then hurt. This may mean that now the judgments upon the land are poured out upon it.</p><p><em>Until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads</em>- This sealing of the 144,000 is presented at the beginning of Revelation 14 as the counterpart to the sealing of the other inhabitants of the land with the mark of the beast in <em>their</em> foreheads which we find at the end of Revelation 13. The faithful who come through the traumas of the six seal judgments of chapter 6, refusing to take the easy way out by receiving the mark of the beast in their forehead, are sealed with the Father&rsquo;s Name in their foreheads. They are known by Him, and they know Him. The presence or absence of &lsquo;marks in the forehead&rsquo; decides whether the beast system will persecute people or not; and in response to this, the Divine judgments will likewise be upon those who lack the Father&rsquo;s Name but instead have the beast&rsquo;s name (Rev. 9:4; 13:16; 14:1,9; 20:4). And it is those who have the Father&rsquo;s Name in their foreheads who will again be given it yet more permanently at the day of judgment (Rev. 22:4). This means that their response to the beast&rsquo;s persecution is in effect their day of judgment ahead of time; because they refuse to accept his mark in their foreheads, therefore the Father will give them His mark in their foreheads- which is the reward of the faithful at the last day. This is a feature I commented upon extensively in <em>The Last Days</em>- that our response to the tribulation is effectively our judgment day. And this has an appropriacy to it- for if the generation alive at the Lord&rsquo;s coming will be the only one to never die, they need to be prepared in a unique way for the passage into eternity which they will experience. And this will be achieved through their experience of the tribulation.</p><p>The mark of the beast in the forehead is clearly intended to be understood as the inverse of the &ldquo;seal of God&rdquo; which is in the forehead of the believers (Rev. 9:4). The word <em>sphragis</em> used there definitely means a seal, and it is matched by the &ldquo;mark&rdquo; of the beast. That mark can be understood, therefore, also as a seal- and what more likely than the seal of Mohammed? It may be that signet rings are used to stamp documents, or it forms part of an insignia without which no business can be done in the land. The Koran itself speaks of how true Moslems will have the mark of Mohammad on their foreheads as a sign that they worship: &ldquo;Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Thou O Muhammad seest them bowing and falling prostrate in worship, seeking bounty from Allah and His acceptance. The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration&rdquo; (Surah 48.29). In Revelation 14:9,11, having the mark of the beast is connected with worshipping him. The Islamic jihadist movement set to take over Israel is a highly religious movement, seeking to strictly obey the Koran. They are highly conscious of these verses. They perceive those who don&rsquo;t have <em>their</em> mark in the forehead as having the mark in the forehead of condemnation (Surah 9.35); the idea of a seal being placed upon non-Moslems who refuse to convert to Islam is found also in Sura 7.101: &quot;Thus doth Allah print upon the hearts minds / foreheads of disbelievers&quot;. All this is in fact the picture presented in Revelation of sealing with forehead marks. We have either the mark of the beast Islam, or of the Father. And so the Koran also says in This is exactly the idea of Sura 7.46,48: &quot;And on the Heights are men who know them all by their marks... the dwellers on the Heights call unto men whom they know by their marks&quot;. Islam believes that the unbelievers are sealed by God in their unbelief- whilst the Moslems are sealed as believers. &quot;Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great torment&quot; (Sura 2:7). Note too that the Koran and Hadith repeatedly speak of faithful Moslems as the servants of Allah, with Mohammad as the supreme servant. The description of the 144,000 as &ldquo;servants of our God&rdquo; is purposeful in this context; in the time of Moslem domination of the land, they will be the <em>true</em> servants of God, in opposition to the Moslems who falsely claim to be His servants. In this context it&rsquo;s worth noting the claim that &ldquo;The value of the word &quot;Muhammad&quot; equals the value of the word &quot;Jesus.&quot; (Jesus = 444,&nbsp;Muhammad = 444). Therefore, &quot;Muhammad seal&quot; and &quot;Jesus seal&quot; both equal 666&rdquo;.</p><p>The seal is the Name of the Father, Yahweh (14:1). The only personage in the Old Testament who had the Yahweh Name in their forehead was the High Priest, who on his mitre had written &lsquo;Holiness / Dedicated to Yahweh&rsquo;.&nbsp; The idea was that all of the 144,000 are as the High Priest- in that they are &ldquo;in Christ&rdquo; and all that is true of Him is true of them.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8109','1','66','7','4','4','<p>7:4 <em>And I heard the number-</em> This is added to highlight the contrast with the &ldquo;great multitude which no man could number&rdquo; (7:9). This &lsquo;hearing&rsquo; contrasts with how John &quot;saw&quot; the great multitude. I suggest that the same group are in view, just seen from different perspectives. He heard something happening in Heaven- there, the 144,000 are marked off or sealed. There is not necessarily any physical mark upon the faithful, repentant Jewish remnant, apart from that they refuse to wear the mark or seal of the beast, which I have suggested is the seal of Mohammed. There will therefore be a tension between the seals- the seal of Mohammed, the mark of the beast, which is visible; and the invisible seal of God which is seen only in Heaven.</p><p><em>Of those that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand</em>- The 12 x 12 is obviously intentional, as if to say that this group is the true Israel. The thousands would refer to their being &lsquo;many&rsquo;. The sealing of a group of faithful within Israel parallels the 7000 &ldquo;reserved&rdquo; by God out of Israel for Himself at the time of Elijah&rsquo;s ministry. The three and a half year ministry of the historical Elijah looks forward to the latter day Elijah ministry during the tribulation for the same period. As 7000 faithful were &lsquo;reserved&rsquo; by God for Himself at that time, so the 144,000 are in the last days. The 7000 remnant in Elijah\'s time were &quot;left&quot; or \'remained\' to God (1 Kings 19:18). The same word is used of the latter day remnant within Israel: &quot;He that is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem&quot; (Is. 4:3). This is the same idea in essence as in Rev. 7- the 144,000 are numbered and written, carefully noted by God. The same word is used of the latter day Jewish remnant in Is. 11:11,16; 17:6; 24:6 (the few men that will remain when the earth / land is made desolate); 37:31 (the faithful remnant in Jerusalem at the time of the Assyrian invasion which typifies that of the last days); 49:21; Jer. 21:7 (the remnant who remain after the plague, sword and famine of the Babylonian invasion have devoured them, all of which are the source material for the events of the six seals which the 144,000 have come through); 50:20 (&quot;I will pardon them whom I reserve&quot;, speaking of the forgiveness of the latter day repentant remnant); Amos 5:3 (the ten percent of Israel who \'remain\'); Zeph. 3:12 (the \'remnant\' of the &quot;afflicted and poor people&quot; who &quot;shall trust in the name of the Lord&quot;); Zech. 9:7 (the remnant who will &quot;be for our God&quot; after the destruction of the majority of Israel); 12:14 (the \'remaining ones\' who weep in repentance for crucifying Jesus).</p><p>The 144,000 are the antithesis of the followers of the beast- these follow the Lamb wherever <em>He</em> goes. It\'s highly significant that Muhammad is supposed to have had 144,000 followers or <em>Sahaba</em>&nbsp;Thomas Patrick Hughes, <em>A Dictionary of Islam</em>, &quot;Ashab&quot;. This is supposed to connect with the claim that there are 144,000 prophets in Islam Elwood Morris Wherry &amp; George Sale, <em>A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran</em>. The 144,000 who follow the Lamb are thus in purposeful contrast with the 144,000 who are supposed to have followed Mohammad wherever he went. This confirms the entire thrust of our exposition- that whatever previous historical fulfilments there have been, the latter day application of Revelation is to events in the land promised to Abraham in the last days whilst it is under Moslem domination.</p><p>Revelation is full of language which is also found in the Koran- because Islam, like Babylon, Assyria and Rome before them, are offering God&rsquo;s people a fake replica of real spirituality and the true Hope of Israel. They are an anti-Christ, an imitation Jesus, a false 12 tribes of Israel rather than the true. This explains why the promises of the Kingdom of God in Revelation are full of language which is also used in the Koran for the reward of faithful Moslems. Revelation will have intense relevance to the persecuted under Moslem domination- the rewards offered by Islam will be seen to be a fake Kingdom of God. Thus in Sura 2:25,266: &quot;Give glad tidings cp. \'the Gospel\' to those who believe Moslems... for them will be gardens under which the rivers of Paradise flow... they will be provided with a fruit therefrom... &nbsp;trees with all kinds of fruit&hellip; they will abide therein for ever&quot;. The final visions of Revelation offer eternal residence in a restored Paradise and eating the fruit of the tree- to those who refuse to accept the religion of the beast, Islam.</p><p><em>Sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel</em>- This makes more poignant the omission of Dan and Ephraim from the list. Due to their apostasy, they are no longer numbered amongst the children of Israel. The order of the tribes is also not according to their age, but it may be according to their faithfulness to God. This is therefore the picture at the time of final judgment, when the true Israel have finally been made up and numbered.</p><p>The very laboured mentioning of 12,000 faithful within each tribe may be because they are the antithesis to some yet unseen aspect of the beast. In the ISIS magazine <em>Dabiq</em> No. 4 (October 2014) the Islamic State on the back page (p. 56) quote a hadith which states: &ldquo;They will then gather for the <em>Malmanah</em> (the grand battle before the Hour) the equivalent of Biblical Armageddon, they will come under eighty banners, with each banner there will be twelve thousand people&rdquo;. The IS wish to consciously fulfil such Islamic prophecies in order to hasten the coming of the antiChrist and then the Mahdi. Perhaps in an attempt to fulfil these predictions, there will be groups of 12,000 Moslems who play some role in the earth / land promised to Abraham. Their antithesis- the Jews who refuse to convert to Islam- are therefore here presented as twelve tribes of twelve thousand.</p><p>The Koran claims that the twelve sons of Jacob were in fact \'Moslems\', and that current Jewish claims to being descended from Jacob\'s twelve sons are false (Surah 2.140 &quot;Or say you that Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma\'il (Ishmael), Ishaque (Isaac), Ya\'qub (Jacob) and Al-Asbat the twelve sons of Ya\'qub (Jacob) were Jews or Christians? Say, &quot;Do you know better or does Allah (knows better; that they all were Muslims)? And who is more unjust than he who conceals the testimony)&quot;. Again we see the relevance of the sealing of people from the 12 tribes of natural Israel- if at the very time this happens, they are being accused of not being from those 12 tribes, and that in fact it is Arab Moslems who are the true 12 tribes. This situation is reflected by the way in which the descriptions of the 144,000 are in terms elsewhere used by the beast system. Thus they are sealed, just as the beast seals his followers; the great multitude who proclaim &ldquo;Victory&rdquo; before the throne (7:10) are parodied by the beast&rsquo;s followers doing the same in 13:4.</p><p>It is worth noting that two thirds of the Jews within the land are to be&nbsp;&ldquo;cut off&quot; in the holocaust, meaning that a third survive it (Zech. 13:8,9).&nbsp;&nbsp; Having spoken of this period in Rev. 6, Rev. 7:4 speaks of 144,000 Jews as surviving it.&nbsp;&nbsp; A third of the Jews in Israel is about 1.4 million people; it may be that only a tenth of those will ultimately be found worthy. The 144,000 are sealed so that they avoid God\'s judgments, which would fit the idea of the righteous remnant miraculously surviving in an Arab occupied Jerusalem.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8110','1','66','7','5','5','<p>7:5 <em>Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand</em>- See on :4 and :8.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8111','1','66','7','6','6','<p>7:6 <em>Of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand- </em>See on :4 and :8.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8112','1','66','7','7','7','<p>7:7 <em>Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand- </em>See on :4 and :8.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8113','1','66','7','8','8','<p>7:8 <em>Of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand</em>-&nbsp; See on :4. It&rsquo;s been observed that the tribe of Dan is excluded from the list of the redeemed tribes in Rev. 7. Dan didn&rsquo;t take possession of their inheritance; they despised it. And so they excluded themselves, rather than being excluded for e.g. bad behaviour. The other tribes all had their moments of terrible failures; but these didn&rsquo;t exclude them. The only one excluded was the one who didn&rsquo;t want to be there.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8114','1','66','7','9','9','<p>7:9 <em>After these things I saw and beheld a great crowd, which no one could number</em>- An allusion to how the seed of Abraham would be innumerable (Gen. 13:16; 16:10; 32:12; Hos. 1:10). The great multitude are the true Israel, and are thus parallel with the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel.</p><p><em>Out of every nation, comprised of all tribes, peoples and tongues</em>- The reference is limited by the context to the tribes of the earth / land promised to Abraham; see on &quot;All nations&quot; later in this verse. This is the same term used about the nations, tribes, peoples under the domination of the beast (17:15), and seems almost a title of the beast system in 11:9. The great multitude are therefore being parodied by the followers of the beast, who also claim as the Jihadists do to be universal in their support base. This is just as the 144,000 followers of the lamb are parodied by the supposed 144,000 followers of Mohammad. The events of the last days will bring about the final and ultimate clash of God&rsquo;s Kingdom and the kingdoms of men.</p><p><em>Standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes and with palms in their hands- </em>They &quot;stood before the throne&quot;, as men will &quot;stand before&quot; God at the day of judgment (Rev. 20:12 s.w.). They had white robes, a term used about those slain at the start of the tribulation (6:11).&nbsp; In this we see the connection between the seals and the sealing of the 144,000 / great multitude. A specific group is in view- those who were slain in the tribulation. </p><p><em>Of all nations-</em> The multitude came \'out of\' <em>ek</em> &quot;great tribulation&quot; (:14); yet they also come <em>ek,</em> out of, the nations, peoples, languages of :9. The suggestion would be that this group of various peoples are those where the tribulation has occurred. The very same Greek phrase &quot;nations, tribes, peoples and languages&quot; is used later in Revelation for the peoples within the land promised to Abraham who support the beast system (11:9; 17:15).&nbsp; The beast / whore rides upon them- and her dominion is over the earth / land, which is therefore where these tribes and peoples are located. This also solves the logistical problem of imagining that literally every tribe and language group of the Amazon or central Africa or Pacific islands must come under the direct control of any one world system. We can legitimately translate <em>ek</em> as \'out of\'; the same word is found in Rev. 18:4 where &quot;My people&quot; are asked to come &quot;out of&quot; Babylon and the beast system- the mass of peoples and tribes within the land promised to Abraham from Euphrates to Egypt, which is under the control and religion of the beast. It\'s a typical Western stereotype to assume that all the people living in that area are simply \'Arabs\'. That\'s as facile as saying that Europe is inhabited by \'Europeans\'. The area is full of various tribes and ethnicities, as the conflicts in Iraq and Syria have demonstrated. So the statement that the great multitude had come <em>ek </em>out of the various nations and tribes is not merely a statement of fact, it is a commendation of the fact that they had spiritually \'come out of\' those peoples. Rev. 15:2 repeatedly uses the word <em>ek</em> to speak of how the faithful had come out of the beast system: &quot;Them that had gotten the victory over <em>ek</em>, out of- &quot;over&quot; is not the correct translation the beast, and over <em>ek</em>, out of his image, and over <em>ek,</em> out of his mark, and over <em>ek</em>, out of the number of his name&quot;. Rev. 7:9 says that the faithful come <em>ek</em> out of the <em>phule</em>, the tribes AV &quot;kindreds&quot;. But we have just read with painstaking repetition of how the 144,000 have come <em>ek</em> out of the <em>phule</em>, the tribes, of <em>Israel</em> We must not fail to give this due weight in interpretation. The 144,000 come out of the tribes of Israel, and the great multitude come out of the tribes who are willingly dominated by the beast. The picture is that the tribes of Israel submit to the beast, but the faithful refuse to do so. Such a covenant is suggested by Dan. 9, and I have commented upon this elsewhere in writing about the Antichrist. This coming \'out of\' the beast system may be in view in Mt. 24:31, where we learn that the Lord will gather His elect <em>ek</em>, out of, &quot;the four winds&quot;. And Rev. 7:1 in this very context speaks of the four winds of desolation to come upon Israel, from which the 144,000 are preserved.</p><p>Think of the misunderstood Jesus, welcomed by the crowds with palm fronds in hope of an immediate Messianic Kingdom. Surely John intends us to think back to that when we read in Rev. 7:9 that the Lord will be welcomed by another large crowd, from every nation, carrying palm fronds and calling out praise to Him for dying on the cross and redeeming them. Here are those who truly understand Him. The Lord had in mind this contrast between the crowd and those who would truly understand Him when He said that &ldquo;Now is the son of man glorified&rdquo; in the things of the cross (Jn. 12:23) in contrast to the crowds who were shouting &ldquo;Glory in the highest&rdquo; at the prospect of Him there and then inaugurating the Messianic Kingdom (Lk. 19:38). See on Jn. 5:23.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8115','1','66','7','10','10','<p>7:10 <em>Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne</em>- See on Jn. 20:28. Revelation is full of allusion to Roman imperial court scenes and rituals. In its first century application, it was an appeal for Christians to not convert to the imperial cult, even at the risk of persecution and death. In its latter day reference, Revelation may well be found to be full of reference to and parody of the culture and structure of the entity which dominates the land in the last days. In the first century, the Caesar declared himself as the &lsquo;saviour&rsquo;. The Roman emperors often gathered people from all nations and languages within the empire, who stood before his throne and cried &lsquo;Victory&rsquo; or &lsquo;Salvation&rsquo; to the Caesar. This was seen as legitimizing the Caesar as chosen and approved by the entire empire. Radical Islam loves to use the cry of &lsquo;Victory&rsquo; and to talk of how each town they overrun has been liberated or saved. They also love to claim that they have support from worldwide and not simply from Arab Moslems. The crowd of believers here parodies their claims by giving the true international worship to the true God rather than the false one.&nbsp;</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8116','1','66','7','11','11','<p>7:11 <em>And all the angels were standing round about the throne and about the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God</em>-</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8117','1','66','7','12','12','<p>7:12 <em>Saying: Amen. Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power and might to our God for ever and ever. Amen</em>-</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8118','1','66','7','13','13','<p>7:13- see on Rev. 6:9.</p><p><em>And one of the elders asked me: These that are dressed in white robes, who are they and from where did they come?</em><i><br /></i>- This is the clothing of Angels; they are presented as at one with their Angelic representatives in the court of Heaven. The Lord Jesus is likewise presented as clothed both in white and in a red &ldquo;garment dipped in blood&rdquo; (Rev. 19:13). The whore who leads the beast is also described as clothed in white linen (Rev. 18:16) and also in <em>porphura</em> (Rev. 17:4), a word which can mean &lsquo;dyed red&rsquo;. The external clothing of the real Christ and the antiChrist is similar; because the antiChrist is indeed a fake Christ. Moslems also believe in dressing in white robes; it&rsquo;s as if this group who come out of the Moslem dominated land of Israel are the antithesis of their persecutors.</p><p>&quot;From where did they come?&quot; carries the idea that they had come out of something, namely, the beast system (:14). See on :9 <em>Of all nations</em>.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8119','1','66','7','14','14','<p>7:14 <em>And I replied: My lord, do you know? And he explained to me: These are they that came out of the great tribulation</em>- The great tribulation in latter day Israel of Mt. 24:9,21,29. &lsquo;Coming out&rsquo; can be a Hebraism for coming forth successfully from a trial- e.g. &ldquo;When He has tested me, I shall <em>come forth</em> as gold&rdquo; (Job 23:10). These are the group who respond to the traumas of the six seals and repent. Their white robes connect with those given to those who die during the tribulation under the fifth seal (&ldquo;And each one was given a white robe&rdquo;, Rev. 6:11).</p><p><em>And they washed their robes</em>- Perhaps a reference to mass baptisms into Christ in the beast dominated Israel of the last days?</p><p><em>And made them white in the blood of the Lamb</em>- It is the function of the three and a half year Elijah ministry which will occur at the same time as the tribulation to be &ldquo;like fullers&rsquo; soap&rdquo; so that Israel may &ldquo;abide the day of Messiah&rsquo;s coming&rdquo; (Mal. 3:2). Fullers&rsquo; soap is what makes white. The reference is to those in Israel who respond to the Elijah ministry and make their clothes white. These are the 144,000 or great multitude.</p><p>The 144,000 are redeemed from all the tribes of Jewry in the last days, and they wash their robes through baptism in the blood of Jesus as a result of &ldquo;the great tribulation&rdquo; (Rev. 7:14 RV) which they pass through. This great multitude are Jews yet out of every nation and language (Rev. 7:9)- for as Ron Abel shows in <em>Wrested Scriptures</em>, the great multitude and the 144,000 are to be read as identical. The witness to them will thus be world-wide. This &ldquo;great tribulation&rdquo; is one of many links discernible between Revelation and the Olivet prophecy. The Lord had prophesied that the &ldquo;great tribulation&rdquo; such as never was for Israel will occur in the very last days before the return (Mt. 24:21). It is only for the sake of &ldquo;the elect&rdquo; that the days of the great tribulation are shortened. This elect are surely the 144,000 of Rev. 7- Jewish brethren in Christ,&nbsp;converted during the very last days. It is this &ldquo;elect&rdquo; which is to be gathered from &ldquo;the four winds&rdquo; (Mt. 24:31) by the Angels. This suggests that they are not just Jews in the land who are converted, but those throughout the world-wide Diaspora. For the time of Jacob&rsquo;s trouble, worse than anything they have ever experienced (including the holocaust) must affect all Jewry world-wide. And this includes the USA and other apparently pro-Jewish or tolerant nations.</p><p>We must face the questions: Are the 144,000 the same as the great multitude? And are these 144,000 the same as the 144,000 in Revelation 14? I believe they all refer to the same group of faithful believers, perhaps literal Jews, who repent during the early part of the tribulation which is described in the six seals. But each passage gives different aspects of the same picture. The seven trumpets are the tribulations brought about by the four winds of 7:1. These can still be responded to by those within the land. The 144,000 group are preserved from them, just as Israel experienced the first plagues to come upon Egypt but were preserved from the later ones (cp. Is. 26:20). The seven vials are clearly based upon the plagues upon Egypt, and they are part of the extensive description of the beast&rsquo;s judgment which interspersed with visions of the faithful dominate the rest of the book of Revelation.</p><p>But are these 144,000 the same as the 144,000 in Revelation 14? The differences don&rsquo;t necessarily have to make them different; John hears the 144,000 and then sees the great multitude, just as earlier John hears about the Lion but turns to <em>see</em> a Lamb (Rev. 5:5,6); and so it could be that he is<em> told</em> about the 144,000 and turns to <em>see</em> a great multitude. It would be facile to suggest that the Lion and Lamb are two different beings. They are simply different aspects of the same personage- the Lord Jesus. And this is common in Revelation and Jewish apocalyptic generally. So the differences are not fundamental, but rather presenting to us different aspects of the same group. In one sense they are the innumerable seed of Abraham, in another sense they are the 12 tribes, the true Israel. The great multitude are dressed in &ldquo;white robes&rdquo;- and this has just been used about those slain at the start of the tribulation (6:11). A specific group is in view- Jewish believers who suffered in the land at the hands of the beast during the time of the seals.</p><p>There are similarities between the 144,000 and the &ldquo;great multitude&rdquo;. The 144,000 of Rev. 14:3 are &ldquo;before the throne&rdquo; just as the &ldquo;great multitude&rdquo; of Rev. 7:15,17 are. If the 144,000 represent the church generally, it&rsquo;s hard to understand why there should be such a laboured enumeration of them as coming from the various listed tribes of Israel. The idea surely is that they are Jewish Christians from within the land- perhaps the mention of the 12 tribes is to show that they will come from the entire geographical inheritance of Israel.</p><p>The great multitude have palms in their hands (:9) as if they are lining the streets of Jerusalem to welcome Jesus as King (Mt. 21:8). The term &ldquo;great multitude&rdquo; is repeatedly used in the Gospels for the crowds who followed Jesus. So although they do refer to the group of Jewish Christians of the last days, they are clearly to be understood as looking forward to the entire community of Jesus-followers. Rev. 7:14 says of the great multitude: &ldquo;These are they which came out of great tribulation&rdquo;. The many connections with the Olivet Prophecy would surely mean that the tribulation in view is partly that of the last days (Mt. 24:21,29).&nbsp;</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8120','1','66','7','15','15','<p>7:15 <em>Therefore are they before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple, and He that sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them</em>- There is maybe the suggestion here that after the judgment process, the Lord will come down off His throne and mix with us, after the pattern of Joseph reassuring his brethren.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8121','1','66','7','16','16','<p>7:16 <em>They shall hunger no more nor thirst any more</em>- Quoting from Is. 49:10 about the repentant Jewish remnant of the last days. Hunger, thirst, no more burning AV &ldquo;heat&rdquo; and the sun no longer falling upon them Gk. all has reference to the experiences in the land during the six seal judgments. The comfort for that group is that these things will be no more.</p><p><em>Neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat</em>- The sun is symbolic of the Lord Jesus, but those who have passed through the tribulation will have been under the heat of the anti-Christ, the fake &quot;sun&quot; (cp. Mt. 13:6). The &quot;heat&quot; could refer to the heat of torture or to nuclear warfare. The word literally means a glow or burn. There seems no doubt that the Islamist elements within the earth / land promised to Abraham would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons in their assault upon Israel. However the Hebrew used in Is. 49:10, which is being quoted, refers to the <em>sirocco</em> or scorching desert storm wind, an idea used earlier for the Islamist invasion of Israel in the last days.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8122','1','66','7','17','17','<p>7:17&ndash; see on Lk. 13:15.</p><p><em>For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of living water-</em> Again we have a kaleidoscope of images. The Lamb is both in the midst of the throne and leading them as a shepherd. he Lamb, once a sheep, is the appropriate shepherd; His shepherding is on the basis of His own human experience, as a sheep.</p><p>The &quot;springs of living water&quot; to which they are led could refer to us; for repentant Israel will be given teachers to teach them (Jer. 3:15). In John\'s languages, the spring of living water is the gift of the Spirit given in the Lord Jesus. It is ultimately the spring which gives the water of life eternal (22:1). This last generation of repentant Jews will indeed be given the life eternal.</p><p><em>And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes</em>- Quoting from Is. 25:8 about the resurrection and immortality of the last day (thus it is quoted in 1 Cor. 15), again about the repentant Jewish remnant of the last days. In the context, this happens on Mount Zion, which is where the 144,000 are found in Rev. 14, at a time when &ldquo;Moab&rdquo; and Israel&rsquo;s neighbour enemies have been destroyed. Those who enter the Kingdom will genuinely, from the very depth of their being, feel that they shouldn\'t be there. When we read that the Lord will &ldquo;wipe away&rdquo; tears from their eyes, this is the same word used in Acts 3:19 to describe how the sins of repentant Israel will be &ldquo;blotted out&rdquo; when the Lord returns. The conclusion seems to be, therefore, that the Lord Himself will comfort them with the reality that their sins and being unworthy of the Kingdom is all truly forgiven. The judgment will have achieved its end for them- a true realization of sinfulness.</p><p>The trumpets of Rev. 8-11 are clearly based upon the plagues of Ex. 7-12. Yet those plagues were each one designed to induce repentance in Egypt; there were various possible futures and outcomes related to each of them. If, e.g., after plague eight, Pharaoh had truly repented- then the other plagues wouldn\'t have happened. And perhaps it will be the same with the trumpets of the last days. See on Rev. 16:12.</p><p>The six seals of Rev. 6 brought judgment upon God&rsquo;s people Israel within the land or earth promised to Abraham. A minority responded and were &ldquo;sealed&rdquo; in Rev. 7. Now there are seven trumpets, which are judgments on the Jews who are impenitent, and also on others within the land. But trumpets are warnings. In these judgments there is still an appeal being made, even though time is more than up for both Israel and her enemies. The trumpet judgments begin with desolations upon the physical land, in order to help people in the land understand what is going to happen to them. After the trumpets, there is yet another desperate appeal for repentance; and then in 15:7,8 the temple is closed, and the vials are poured out- of final and utter destruction. The vials come in rapid succession, because they are not intended to elicit repentance. Their finality is implied by the words &quot;the seven <em>last </em>plagues&quot;. Whereas under the seals and trumpets, only a third or quarter of things were destroyed, under the vials there is total destruction. The language of the trumpets and vials is similar- because Babylon is being made to drink the cup of judgments which she gave others to drink during the seals and trumpets:<br />:</p><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=100%>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p><strong>Trumpets</strong></p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p><strong>Vials</strong></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>1st. earth</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>earth</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>2nd. sea (salt   water)</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>sea (salt   water)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>3rd. rivers and   fountains (fresh water)</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>rivers and   fountains (fresh water)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>4th. sun, moon,   stars</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>sun, moon,   stars</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>5th. sun and   air darkened</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>kingdom of   beast full of darkness</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>6th. River   Euphrates</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>River Euphrates</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>7th. &quot;The   kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord&quot;</p>            </td>            <td width=50% valign=top>            <p>&quot;It is   done&quot;</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p>This explains why the trumpet judgments are effected through a variety of agents, some of them evidently human. The vials, however, are all poured out by Angels.</p><p>It should be noted that the seven signs, relating to the destruction of the beast, are also related to the seven trumpets:</p><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p><strong>Trumpets</strong></p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p><strong>Signs</strong></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>(Chapters 8   -11)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>(Chapters 12   onwards)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>A great star   falls from heaven (8:10)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The dragon is   cast out of heaven (12:9)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>A third part of   the stars is smitten (8:12)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The dragon\'s   tail casts down a third of the stars (12:4)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Woe, woe,   woe to the inhab-iters of the earth&quot; (8:13)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Woe to   the inhabiters of the earth&quot; (12:12)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>The beast that   comes out of the bottomless pit . . .</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The beast that   comes out of the sea . . .</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . makes war   against the witnesses and overcomes them . . .</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . .makes war   against the saints and overcomes them . . .</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . they of   the people and kindreds and tongues . . .</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . power   over kindreds and tongues and nations . . .</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>. . . they that   dwell upon the earth... (11:7-10)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>... all that   dwell upon the earth . . . (13:1-8)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Resurrection   and judgment (11:18)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Resurrection   and judgment (20:4 and 11-13)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Thy wrath   is come&quot; (11:18)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The vials of   God\'s wrath</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Temple of God   opened (11:19)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>(chapters   15,16)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Lightnings,   voices, thunderings, earthquake and hail (11:19)</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Temple of God   opened (15:5) Voices, thunders, earthquake and hail (16:18,21)</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8123','1','66','8','1','1','<p>8:1 <em>And when he opened the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven for about half an hour</em>- Literally &ldquo;<em>whenever </em>he opened the seventh seal...&rdquo;, as if there is an element of doubt as to whether it will be opened. See on :13. On 6:1 I discussed whether in fact the seventh seal is opened, or has anything in it; hence the silence.</p><p>But the silence is also an allusion to the silence in the temple at the time of the incense offering (see on 5:8). The run up to the final tribulation will provoke a &ldquo;praying always, that ye may be accounted worthy... to stand before the Son of man&quot; (Lk. 21:36). Perhaps this intense latter day praying of the faithful is what Rev. 8:1 refers to, in speaking of &quot;silence in heaven&quot; when the seventh seal was opened- for this is one of Revelation\'s continual allusions to the temple service: &quot;In the Temple, when the incense was offered, the people retired from the court and prostrated themselves in silent prayer&quot;.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8124','1','66','8','2','2','<p>8:2 <em>And I saw the seven angels that stood before God; and there were given to them seven trumpets</em>- The presence of the article &quot;the&quot; indicates these seven Angels have already been referred to. But the only time we have so far read of them in Revelation is in the description of the seven Angels of the churches who represent the believers before God (Rev. 1:20). The seven Angels feature later in Revelation, pouring out the vials of Divine wrath upon the land and the beast system. The Angels responsible for God\'s people are the same ones who pour out such terrible calamities upon the land. This is the power of our representation before God in the court of Heaven. This is exactly in context, because we go on to read that because of the prayers of the believers, things are poured out upon the land and Angels blow trumpets. This is the power of prayer, and it will be especially evident in the last days.</p><p>The theme of &lsquo;seven&rsquo; judgments coming upon the land surely connects with the claim that Mohammad waged seven military campaigns against the infidels in the land promised to Abraham. The Hadith several times speaks of the &quot;seven military expeditions led by the Messenger of Allah himself (may peace be upon him)&quot; (e.g. Book 19.4469), or of the &ldquo;seven battles&rdquo; he was victorious in (Book 19.4462). This would explain the seven fold structure of the seals-trumpets-vials, and the feature of &lsquo;seven&rsquo; judgments in various others way within the Apocalypse. The Muslim pretenders to the pattern of Mohamad bring seven judgments upon Israel, and are punished by likewise receiving back seven judgments, drinking the cup they made others to drink.</p><p>The Hadith claims that Mohammad predicted three cycles of calamities in the last days, which would be subdivided into various other calamities: &quot;Hudhaifa b. al&minus;Yaman reported: By Allah, I have the best knowledge amongst people about every turmoil which is going to appear in the period intervening me and the Last Hour; and it is not for the fact that Allah\'s Messenger (may peace be upon him) told me something confidentially pertaining to it and he did not tell anybody else about it, but it is because of the fact that I was present in the assembly in which he had been describing the turmoil. and he especially made a mention of three turmoils which would not spare anything and amongst these there would be turmoils like storms in the hot season&quot; (41.6908). This is exactly the Biblical picture- of three cycles of judgments and turmoils in the land (seals-trumpets-vials), subdivided into various specific calamities. As the jihadists strive to obey the letter of their writings, they will thereby be fulfilling the outline picture of the last day crisis which is foretold in Revelation.<br />It&rsquo;s noteworthy that the seven seals and seven trumpets and seven vials all conclude with the seventh being the establishment of the Kingdom. So there are actually six judgments in each case. The Hadith (Book 41.7040) speaks of six signs before the last day: &quot;Hasten in performing these good deeds (before these) six things (happen): (the appearance) of tribe Dijjal, the smoke, the beast of the earth, the rising of the sun from the west, the general turmoil (leading to large-scale massacre) and death of masses and individuals&quot;. These six are very similar to the things spoken of in the seals and trumpets- signs in the sun, mass death, smoke, beasts of the earth. The jihadists are seeking to consciously fulfil the Hadith and so, due to the allusions the Hadith and Koran make to Revelation, they will end up fulfilling God&rsquo;s word of their own volition.</p><p>The Angels &quot;stood before God&quot;. We have just read of how the great multitude, the minority of the Jews in the land who repent as a result of the six seals, stand before God (7:9), as do their representative Angels (7:11). They are &quot;before God&quot; in that their representative Angels are literally in His presence in the throne room of Heaven. Now, those Angels act on behalf of those believers. And the prayers of the believers&nbsp;are likewise before God (:3). There is only one mediator, the Lord Jesus. The Angels do not mediate those prayers, but Heaven is aware of the prayers on account of their Angels.&nbsp; Our final \'standing before God\' at judgment day (20:12) is effectively going on now. We are right now in the presence of His judgment throne.</p><p>Again we note the idea of &quot;given&quot; they were &quot;given&quot; the trumpets. The judgments and calamities to be poured out are not because of any radical human evil, unrestrained in the world. These things are all under God\'s direct Angelic control. The trumpet sound is very much associated with the return of Christ to earth (Mt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16). Our change to immortality will be when the <em>last</em> trumpet sounds (1 Cor. 15:52); and the seventh trumpet announces the full establishment of God\'s Kingdom on earth (11:15). These trumpets therefore speak of events immediately surrounding the Lord\'s return.</p><p>The trumpet judgments contain several of the plagues on Egypt:</p><table border=0 cellspacing=3 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p><em>Trumpets </em></p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p><em>Plagues on   Egypt</em></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>1.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Fire from the   altar cast upon the earth.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Dust of the   furnace (of the altar) sprinkled abroad.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>2.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Hail and fire.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Hail and fire.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>3.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Sea became   blood.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Waters turned   to blood.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>4.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Darkness.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Darkness.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>5.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Locusts.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>Locusts.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>6.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Abaddon, the   Destroyer.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>The Destroyer   Angel (Ex. 12:23).</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><table border=0 cellspacing=3 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=23 valign=top>            <p>7.</p>            </td>            <td width=180 valign=top>            <p>Men slain by   angels.</p>            </td>            <td width=226 valign=top>            <p>The firstborn   slain by angels.</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p>The seal judgments of chapter 6 came upon Israel to bring them to repentance, and a majority repented, as explained in the sealing of the 144,000 in chapter 7. Now, that repentant remnant are spared the plagues on Egypt, as it were; but the impenitent amongst Israel will suffer along with &lsquo;Egypt&rsquo;, the unbelieving world. This is as predicted in Dt. 28:59,60- the plagues of Egypt will come upon unbelieving Israel: &ldquo;Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues&hellip; He will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt&rdquo;.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8125','1','66','8','3','3','<p>8:3 <em>And another Angel</em>- Perhaps representative of the Lord Jesus, seeing He is the mediator of prayer.<br /><i><br /><em>Came and stood over the altar- </em></i>There are two altars in view here. The Angel takes fire from the bronze altar of sacrifice, which we have recently encountered in 6:9 as the symbol of the sacrifice of the faithful during the tribulation, and uses this to ignite the incense on the golden altar of incense, which we again encounter in 9:13. The sacrifice of the faithful remnant, their endurance unto death, gives power to the prayers offered for the coming of Christ. The sacrifice of the believers during the tribulation in 6:9 gave rise to the prayer &quot;How long...?&quot;, the begging for the Lord\'s coming. And it was because of their sacrifice that their prayers were heard. That is represented here by the fire from the blood covered altar of sacrifice being used to ignite the incense of prayer on the incense altar. Our lives are in that sense a prayer, and give credibility and integrity to our words of prayer. Otherwise, prayer is mere words. But those prayed words cannot be powerful unless they are rooted in a life lived before God. If this were not the case, then answers to prayer would simply go to those who know how to wordsmith their language nicely and persuasively. That is a mistake made by so many Orthodox believers, but we can all tend to believe it too.</p><p><em>Having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne</em>- One Angel is given much incense- i.e. prayers- presumably by the individual guardian Angels. He then offers this up on the altar (Christ) to God, and the response from God comes in the form of the Angels sounding their trumpets. It is interesting to note that actually these Angels had already been prepared for what they were going to do (Rev. 8:2) when they had been earlier before the throne of God. God knows our prayers before we say them. He knew what the prayers of the people at that time would be, and had earlier prepared the Angels to answer them, and this was unleashed by their cumulative prayer. But without that prayer- that human part of the equation- the prepared answer would not have been put into action. The prayers were offered up by one Angel- this either means there is one Angel with overall responsibility for offering up prayers to Christ (the altar), or that there is one Angel who collects together the prayers from one period of time or about one particular subject and then offers them up to Christ. The fact &quot;much incense&quot; is mentioned presumably means that there was much prayer made at this time, and this was added to the &quot;prayers of all saints&quot; (v. 3) which had already been made about this.</p><p>The sky, the trillions of kilometres between Heaven and earth, are in fact no ultimate distance. That&rsquo;s the simplest message of those visions. In Revelation we see the incense of human prayers arising into Heaven, resulting in Angels coming to earth, pouring out bowls, blowing trumpets, and major events happening on earth (Rev. 5:8; 8:3). Prayer is noticed; it brings forth quite out of proportion responses.</p><p>Rev. 8:3-5 as well as Rev. 11:6 certainly allude to Elijah as a pattern for our latter day witnessing. Much incense of latter day prayer is added to the existing incense, resulting in fire being brought down on earth after the pattern of Elijah (Rev. 8:3-5 RV). The especially intense prayers of the latter day remnant are added to the cumulative prayers of former generations, and result in the second coming and the beginning of the final judgments.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8126','1','66','8','4','4','<p>8:4 <em>And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel\'s hand</em>- The same Greek words for \'smoke ascended up\' are found in Rev. 14:11; 19:3 concerning the smoke of the destruction of the beast system. This ultimately will be brought about by the prayer of the latter day remnant. As I point out in <em>The Last Days, </em>much emphasis is given to prayer in the latter day prophecies. But the ascending up of the smoke of their prayers is also to be compared with the ascending up of the smoke from the bottomless pit in 9:2, which gives rise to the locust invasion which torments those in the land. This judgment on the land is therefore a direct response to human prayer.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8127','1','66','8','5','5','<p>8:5- see on Rev. 5:8.</p><p><em>And the angel took the censer, filled it with the fire of the altar and cast it upon the earth</em>- The fire from the bronze sacrifice altar was used to ignite the incense on the incense altar; see on :3. The earth / land has the fire of judgment thrown at it because of the prayers of and about those who were slain in it during the tribulation. This is the scene at the altar in 6:9; the blood on the altar leads to a promise of judgment against those who shed it. The Lord perhaps foresaw all this when He used the same words about how He came not to cast peace on the land but fire and a sword (Mt. 10:34; Lk. 12:49)- because Israel refused to accept Him. The scattering of fire on the land recalls Ez. 10:2, where fire is scattered over the city of Jerusalem; and the Babylonian desolation which this primarily refers to is a prototype of the latter day desolation of Jerusalem.</p><p><em>There followed thunders, voices, lightnings and an earthquake</em>- What was seen in the Heavenly throne room at the start of the vision (4:5 cp. 11:19). This awesome Divine activity in the temple of Heaven, the throne room (11:19), is triggered by the prayers of men on earth. Voices, thunder, lightning and earthquake are all experienced in the events which make Babylon fall in 16:18 under the seventh vial (16:17). The voice of thunderings proclaims the establishment of God\'s Kingdom in 19:6. Putting these things together, we see that the voices, thunders and lightnings are all part and parcel of the same final judgment of the beast system and establishment of God\'s Kingdom at Christ\'s coming. There is no way that these various passages refer to events over a 2000 year period. They are the events of the very last days. The earthquake which is associated with voices, thunders and lightnings is clearly that of 16:18, for the same words are used. The literalistic, linear thinking mind would expect that there must be a progression of chronological events between chapters 8 and 16. But that is not how apocalyptic works, nor do we find such a chronological development in Old Testament Bible prophecy. Rather are we given repeated snapshots of the same events from different angles, and often the end point is declared and then there is an explanation of how that position was arrived at. This is true of Biblical language generally- consider how in 2 Samuel 24 we are told that the Lord spared Jerusalem because of David\'s prayer, but then the text reverts in time to explain how that came about. </p><p>The same earthquake is in view throughout Revelation (6:12; 11:13,19; 16:18). We naturally think of the great earthquake which is to accompany the return of the Lord Jesus in Zech. 14:5. The earthquake is described in various parts of the Revelation prophecy because chronological order is not very significant in apocalyptic. The images overlap, giving a kaleidoscope effect. </p><p>The language in 8:5 and indeed throughout the trumpets is alluding to the prophecy of Jerusalem\'s destruction in Isaiah 29:<br />&quot;I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation... I will encamp against you all around... and you will be brought low... in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night... so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion... In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD... For the ruthless the Islamic Jihadists shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off... Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale... those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding&quot;. It\'s hard to find a complete historical fulfilment of this- when God revealed Himself to deliver a besieged Jerusalem with thunder, earthquake and great noise, which then results in the repentance of a remnant in Israel. This time is yet to come, and it is the time spoken of in Revelation 8. The earthquake which fells Babylon is Jerusalem\'s salvation, and it comes at a time when Jerusalem is surrounded by enemy armies. This is the scenario of Zechariah 14- Jerusalem surrounded by armies, who are judged by the Lord\'s return and a huge earthquake.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8128','1','66','8','6','6','<p>8:6 <em>And the seven Angels that had the seven trumpets</em>- The blowing of trumpets is commonly used in the OT for preparing war against Israel\'s enemies. The war being prepared is against Israel\'s latter day desolators. The obvious connection is with the seven priests blowing the seven trumpets which caused the fall of the great city Jericho (Josh. 6:4,6). Israel\'s latter day enemies are the equivalent of the Canaanites, the non-Jewish inhabitants of the land promised to Abraham. The Angels are as it were the priests, and we have read earlier in Rev. 8 of the Angels as it were doing priestly duty in the Heavenly tabernacle. The blowing of the trumpets is preparing for the fall of the great city Babylon, the epitome of the beast.</p><p><em>Prepared themselves to sound</em>- We imagine them lifting the trumpets to their mouths. The detail adds to the general impression that all the calamities of the last days have been carefully prepared. They are not at all the outcome of random evil which has got out of even Divine control. That point is repeatedly made doubtless because it might well appear like that to those who endure those things. There is a strong theme in Revelation of things being prepared by the Angels and then happening on the land (the locusts are prepared for battle, 9:7; four Angels are prepared for action at a precise moment, 9:15; the persecuted woman has a placed of refuge prepared for her, 12:6; the hordes from the East are prepared for release from the Euphrates, which is what we are seeing in the preparation of the jihadist hordes in that very area today, 16:12; the bride is prepared through all her tribulations, 19:7: 21:2). It is that preparation process which we are seeing today in the development of the radical Islamists.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8129','1','66','8','7','7','<p>8:7 <em>And the first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood; and they were cast upon the earth- </em>One reason why there are such similarities between the seven vials and the seven trumpets see introduction to this chapter could be that the vials refer largely to the judgments to come upon the world, and the trumpets to the latter day tribulation of the saints. See on Rev. 11:3. <br />Seven Vials&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Seven trumpets <br />16:2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8:7 <br />16:3&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8:8 <br />16:4&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8:10 <br />16:8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8:12 <br />16:10&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 9:1 <br />16:12&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 9:13 <br />16:17-21&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 11:15</p><p>The hail is seen prepared in Heaven in 11:9; now it is sent to the earth. Hail is one of the final bowls that is poured upon the beast system in 16:21. What the beast does to those on the land is done to them; the cup or bowl they gave others to drink, they must drink at the time of the bowls being poured out. The idea of &quot;hail and fire mingled&quot; is clearly alluding to the plague upon Egypt, of hail mingled with fire (Ex. 9:24). But the hail plague did not touch the Israelites in Goshen (Ex. 9:26). This is exactly as we would expect- the seal judgments led a remnant of Israel to repent, and through the symbology of the 144,000 in Rev. 7, they are declared the true Israel. They are sealed so that the judgments of the trumpets don\'t come upon them. So the allusion to a plague on Egypt which didn\'t touch Israel is appropriate. Is. 32:19 describes the repentant remnant of Israel as being unharmed by hail in the last days. Note that the plagues on Egypt were intended to elicit repentance in Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and that is likewise the purpose of the trumpet judgments upon the beast system. We gasp at God\'s grace- that He even wants jihadists to repent. We recall too how a confederacy of five kings of the earth / land, under the leadership of the antichrist figure Adonizedek (&lsquo;Lord of righteousness&rsquo;, a fake Christ), were likewise destroyed by hail during the conquest of Joshua-Jesus (Josh. 10:11).</p><p>Hail cast down to the earth is exactly the language of the judgment upon the impenitent amongst Israel in the last days who do not accept the Messiah, the corner stone laid in Zion; those who are not amongst the remnant who repent (Is. 28:2,5,16,17); those Jews who will not \'come out of\' the Babylon system will experience her judgments, if they are not part of the repentant Jewish remnant, the 144,000. In similar manner, the impenitent Jews at the time of the restoration were struck with hail, albeit as part of a program intended to bring them even then to repentance (Hag. 2:17).</p><p>Hail and blood are used by God to &ldquo;plead&rdquo; with Gog (Ez. 38:22). Ezekiel 38 is a latter day prophecy, but we again must note that the judgment of hail, blood, plague etc. is in order to plead even with Gog to repent. Only when the warning trumpets are ignored are the vials of complete destruction poured out and the temple is closed to men (15:7,8).</p><p>&quot;Fire mingled with blood&quot; is all part of the Lord&rsquo;s second coming, for He comes with flaming fire in judgment upon those who have refused to know Him (2 Thess. 1:7); thus the eyes of Jesus in Revelation are as a flaming fire (Rev. 1:7; 2:18; 19:12). This is the picture of Him at the time of His coming in judgment to earth. Yet the Angels are His eyes, according to Revelation 1 and 4:5, and they are therefore made a flaming fire (Heb. 1:7). Thus the actual, mechanical outworking of His coming in judgment in fire will be through the medium of Angelic activity. And this is what we have spoken of here in Rev. 8:7.</p><p>Casting fire on the land of Israel recalls Amos 7:4, which also mentions locusts, whom we will meet in the fifth trumpet: &ldquo;The Lord God contended by fire... and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land (R.V., LXX: &ldquo;the Lord&rsquo;s portion&rdquo;). The context goes on to predict that &ldquo;the high places of Isaac (where Isaac was offered- Moriah, the temple mount) shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries the great sanctuary? of Israel shall be laid waste&rdquo;. Notice once again that the punishment by fire is Yahweh &lsquo;contending&rsquo;. It is again an appeal for repentance.</p><p><em>The third part of the earth was burnt up, as was the third part of the trees; and all green grass was burnt up</em>- In Ez. 5:1-5 Ezekiel shaves his hair and is told to divide it carefully into three parts, except for a mere few bound in the hem of his robe. These three parts are then consigned to destruction by fire, sword or scattering. We have just read in chapter 7 of the 144,000 faithful remnant. They will be saved, but the three parts of Israel who remain apart from them are to be destroyed. Note that the context of Ezekiel 5 is specifically Jerusalem. Zech. 13:8,9 speaks of two thirds of Jews <em>in the land</em> being killed, and a third being refined. Zech. 14:2 has half of Jerusalem going into captivity. Bearing in mind the difference between Jerusalem and the whole land, these proportions aren&rsquo;t necessarily contradictory. The point is, these Old Testament prophecies of a partial desolation of Jerusalem and the land of Israel are being alluded to in Revelation; and the context is of the last days, rather than of some period in past history. </p><p>Not all trees were destroyed by the hail. This is in intended contrast to how the hail upon Egypt destroyed <em>every</em> tree of the field (Ex. 9:25- although some escaped, 10:5,12,15) as well as all the grass. Here, all the grass is destroyed but only a third of the trees. We may not need to think in terms of literal grass and trees. Perhaps the point is being made that yes, the situation is analogous to Israel in Egypt and the plagues upon Egypt, but still they are more restrained than those upon Egypt. This would be because God wants the beast system to perceive the similarities perhaps therefore literal hail will be used, and to repent- before the bowls are poured out, which speak of utter destruction of the beast system. We note that in this case, Moses before Pharaoh must have a latter day equivalent, and we see this in chapter 11, where the two witnesses have similarities to Moses at this time.</p><p>The destruction of trees recalls what Babylon did to Jerusalem: &ldquo;For thus hath the Lord of Hosts said, Hew down her trees (RVmg.), and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her&rdquo; (Jer. 6:6). Likewise Ez. 20:47: &ldquo;Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein&rdquo;. These words were applied by the Lord to Jerusalem&rsquo;s future judgment, both in AD70 and therefore also in the last days (Lk. 23:31). The idea is that the Babylonian judgment upon Israel is to be repeated in the last days. And that may simply be the point of reference to the trees- perhaps we don&rsquo;t need to look for any literal application. It could be that as in the Lord&rsquo;s latter day parable of the fig tree, trees represent nations within the land / earth promised to Abraham. Another Old Testament allusion to be aware of regarding trees is <br />Zech. 11:1,2: &ldquo;Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down&rdquo;. These words preface a prophecy of the rejection of Jesus and of the resultant judgment for that in the last days.&nbsp;</p><p>It&rsquo;s not my style in this exposition to unduly dwell on the very evident application of Revelation to the run up to AD70, for we want to know the relevance to our days. But it&rsquo;s worth noting that there was a literal removing of trees then. Josephus claims that trees were felled indiscriminately to build engines of war and even the crucifixion of prisoners had to cease through lack of timber to make crosses. There has been an especial attempt to reforest the land of Israel since 1948. This is typical of the way that natural Israel have sought to bring about the fulfilment of Bible prophecies about the fertility of the land- in their own strength. And all that reforestation will be burnt up in the tribulation.</p><p>We note that the olive and vine trees were not to be hurt during the time of the seals (6:6). But now, a third of them are. The Hadith records how generally, trees should not be destroyed by Moslems when on campaigns: &ldquo;The first Caliph Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) gave to his army while sending her on the expedition to the Syrian borderscommands permeated with the noble spirit with which the war in Islam is permitted. He said: &quot;... Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful&quot; (The Hadith, Book 19 Jihad and Expedition (<em>Kitab Al&minus;Jihad wa\'l&minus;Siyar</em>). As often happens, the jihadist may go well beyond their own religion. Or it could be that these particular judgments on the land are brought about by non-Moslems.</p><p>&quot;Burnt up&quot; is the same word used about the burning up in judgment of the last day when Christ returns (Lk. 3:17; 1 Cor. 3:15; 2 Pet. 3:10) and the burning up of Babylon (Rev. 17:16; 18:8). The weeds are gathered together and burnt up (Mt. 13:30), and this is effectively a latter day prophecy of the gathering together of the nations to Armageddon and their being burnt up in the land. &quot;Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth&quot; (Mt. 13:40-42). The furnace is specifically defined as Jerusalem under judgment at the hands of Babylon-Assyria (Is. 31:9; Ez. 22:18), the latter day Sodom and Egypt which are also described as a furnace (Gen. 19:28; Dt. 4:20; 1 Kings 8:51; Jer. 11:4). Sodom and Egypt are Jerusalem of the last days (Rev. 11:8; Is. 1:10; 3:9; Jer. 23:14; Ez. 16:46). The prophecies about this will therefore be fulfilled in stages within the last few days around the coming of Christ. The furnace of Rev. 9:2 must be understood likewise; the overthrow of Babylon is as when God overthrew Sodom (Is. 13:19; Jer. 49:18; 50:40).</p><p>The specific mention of <em>green</em> grass may suggest that this happens at Passover time (cp. Mk. 6:39). <em>Chloros</em>, here translated &ldquo;green&rdquo;, is the same word used about the <em>chloros</em> AV &ldquo;pale&rdquo; horse&rdquo; of the seals (Rev. 6:8). This similarity with the seals is because what was done to Israel is now being done to those who did it. Babylon is drinking the cup she gave others.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8130','1','66','8','8','8','<p>8:8 <em>And the second angel blew his trumpet and as it were a great mountain</em>- This can refer to Israel and Mount Zion: &ldquo;Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done&rdquo; (Mt. 21:21). &ldquo;This mountain&rdquo; was Zion, before which the Lord stood at that time, with its altar fire, which never went out. Yet the great destroying mountain is also Babylon (Jer.&nbsp; 51:25). The punishment upon Babylon will come upon an Israel who fail to come out of her.</p><p>The mountains had been moved out of their places in the seal judgments (6:14), and now this is in turn done to the enemies of God\'s people. For the mountain falling represents the destruction of Babylon in the Old Testament. But it also represents Judaism. The fall of Israel as an entity is framed in the same terms as the fall of Babylon. They had failed to come out of Babylon, and so Babylon\'s judgments come upon them. We\'re dealing here with a double symbol- of both falling Babylon and falling Israel. By contrast, the &quot;great mountain&quot; of God\'s Kingdom, the Mount Zion, stands secure (Dan. 2:35; Rev. 14:1; 21:10). The clearest Old Testament allusion is to Zech. 4:7: &quot;Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the corner stone amid shouts of \'Grace, grace to it\'&quot;. The corner stone is the Lord Jesus, whose second coming will mean the fall of the &quot;great mountain&quot;. The creation of a plain instead of elevated land is the language of the required levelling of Israel by the work of the Elijah prophet before the coming of Messiah (Is. 40:4). The immediate context of Zech. 4:7 speaks of how the mountain of opposition to Zerubbabel would be removed so that the restoration of Israel\'s Kingdom could come about. And that opposition was from local Arabs such as Sanballat who were opposing it. Zerubbabel failed to restore the Kingdom and become the Messiah figure he could have become. The essence of the prophecy is to be fulfilled in the last days, when the Lord Jesus will be in perfection the Messiah of Israel. The great mountain will then speak of the fake kingdom of God established by the Babylon beast, which shall be cast down.</p><p><em>Burning with fire</em>- This burning with fire is part of the outworking of how fire was cast into the land as a result of the prayers of the faithful remnant (8:5). The mountain is cast down, burning- just as fire is cast onto the earth from above. Yet burning fire is a feature of God\'s latter day judgment upon the beast, as often spoken of later in Revelation. The Lord Jesus will sit in judgment on the beast enthroned with wheels of burning fire (Dan. 7:19), replete as that language is with reference to the Angel cherubim (Ez. 1:13), the four beasts of Heaven. Again, we are clearly to see in this the language of the last day. The lamps of fire burning before the throne in Rev. 4:5 speak of the view of the Heavenly throne room as it will be in the last day. Finally, the lake of burning fire- fire burning on water- is the end of the beast system. And this same image, fire cast into water and the water burning, is found here in the&nbsp;second trumpet (and also in the third trumpet, where fire hits water again, the rivers). Perhaps we could understand that this is a foretaste of the final judgment of the lake of fire. Only a third of the water is affected, and then a third part of the rivers, unlike the symbology of the entire lake of fire burning. There is again the implication that even at this late stage, men can see what condemnation will be like and avoid it in repentance. This would be in keeping with how God has worked so many times- He gives worked examples of condemnation to men to warn them of where their path shall lead them. Quite simply, because He wishes their repentance. Significantly, the Koran several times claims that the judgment of unbelievers will be severe exactly because they have rejected warnings (especially Sura 54.16-24). The Moslem followers of the beast will be treated exactly in accordance with their own perceptions of Divine judgment.</p><p><em>Was cast into the sea</em>- In this sense, there is a sea of glass mingled with fire in 15:2. The sea of glass speaks of the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, but the picture is mingled with fire because the throwing of fire into the sea is what brings about the Kingdom. We see again how apocalyptic is not interested in precise chronology- the events are run together. Different aspects of the same picture are given. What this means, however, is that the casting of the mountain of fire into the sea is definitely a picture of latter day events, immediately around the time of the establishment of the sea as glass, the Kingdom of God on the sea of nations.</p><p>The wicked are as a troubled sea (Is. 57:20). But closer examination of that passage reveals that is talking about the Jews at the time of the Assyrian invasion who chose not to be amongst the righteous remnant. This exactly fits our context. And the Hebrew word translated &quot;troubled&quot; means literally \'sent away\', and is also translated \'divorced\'. The metaphor of divorce is certainly used about God\'s relationship with Israel, and the destruction of the faithless majority of Israel at the time of the end will be the final climax of that great divorce. such troubling of the sea will be the lot of the majority in Israel, but &quot;Peace, peace&quot; to the repentant remnant (Is. 57:19).</p><p><em>And the third part of the sea became blood</em>- In the AD70 application, this may refer to the mass killing of Jews in the Sea of Galilee. Josephus recorded: &ldquo;One might see the lake all bloody, and full of dead bodies, for not one of them escaped. And a terrible stink, and a very sad sight, there was on the following days over the country. In this way thousands were slain&rdquo; (B.J. 3:10:9). Likewise, on the Mediterranean coast: &ldquo;The sea was bloody a long way, and the maritime ports were full of dead bodies ... and the number of the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was 4,200&rdquo; (B.J. 3:9:3). Perhaps something similar will happen in the last days.</p><p>Water becoming blood is obviously a reference to the plagues upon Egypt (Ex. 7:20). The continual allusion to those plagues suggest that there has been an abuse of Israel by a latter day Egypt. In <em>The Last Days</em> <a href=http://www.aletheiacollege.net/ld/5.htm>chapter 5</a> I work out in more detail the typology of Egypt\'s domination of Israel, with the Passover deliverance being a type of the second coming. That might explain the reference to &quot;green grass&quot;, associated as it is with Passover. Bother &quot;rivers&quot; and &quot;waters&quot; are described as being turned into blood in Egypt (Ps. 78:44; 105:29), and both rivers and waters are spoken of here in the trumpets.</p><p>A burning mountain coming into the sea would create the impression of a sea of fire- and the lake of fire is the picture of the beast&rsquo;s final destruction (Rev. 19:20; 21:8). There may therefore be no specific symbology in the &lsquo;sea&rsquo; or water beyond this.</p><p>Fire destroying things in water is surely an indication that this is from God. The Hadith (Book 41.7012) says that the Antichrist of the last days will do the same: &quot;The <em>Dajjal</em> would appear and there would be along with him water and fire and what the people would see as water that would be fire and that would burn and what would appear as fire that would be water&quot;. The Muslims will therefore see the entity bringing these things about- the Lord Jesus- as the antiChrist and thus be the more motivated to engage in mad warfare against Him, to their own destruction.</p><p>In Rev. 8:8 we have an Angel casting a mountain into the sea. This must surely connect with the Lord\'s encouragement that we can cast mountains into the sea by our faith (Mk. 11:23). Therefore... it surely follows that our prayers have a direct effect upon the Angels. They throw mountains around because of our faithful prayer... Inevitably we see a connection with Ps. 46:2, which comforts us not to fear when mountains are cast into sea. Surely the point is that we shouldn&rsquo;t be scared when we perceive the awesomeness of the power of prayer and its influence upon Angels. It&rsquo;s all too easy to ask for things without perceiving how it would really be if that prayer were answered. We need to have specific and focused faith in what we ask for, realizing that legions of Angels are potentially able to operationalize what we ask for. See on Is. 6:7.</p><p>Jer. 51:25 calls Babylon a &quot;destroying mountain&quot; which is to be judged by fire to become &quot;a burnt mountain&quot;. The use of identical language in Rev. 8:8 must make that passage have some reference to the fall of latter-day Babylon.&nbsp;&quot;Destroying mountain&quot; is the language of Dan. 2:44 concerning the little stone destroying the image and growing into a mountain, symbolizing God\'s Kingdom. Jer. 51:20-23 stresses no less than nine times how \'Babylon\' is to be &quot;broken in pieces&quot;, which is another connection with Dan. 2:44 concerning the breaking in pieces of the nations who are confederate with \'Babylon\', the head of gold.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8131','1','66','8','9','9','<p>8:9 <em>And there died the third part of the creatures (even they that had life) which were in the sea, and the third part of the ships were destroyed</em>- The connection is clearly with Rev. 5:13, where the &quot;creatures&quot; s.w. in the sea all give glory to the Lamb enthroned. To get to that end point, the creatures in the sea who will not give Him glory must be judged. The seals, trumpets, vials and descriptions of the judgments upon the beast and whore can be read as being all aspects of the final judgment. But it could also be that the last judgment of the unbelieving world comes in stages. Here in the trumpets, a third of the sea creatures die; in 16:3, the sea becomes as the blood of a dead corpse &quot;and <em>every</em> living creature died in the sea&quot;. The same Greek word for &quot;died&quot; is used there as here in 8:9. As commented previously, God gives warning of His final judgments, in the hope that men will learn from the condemnation of others and repent. We marvel at His patience, portrayed as it is throughout the various judgments we read of. Our human sense would be to simply liquidate the entire unbelieving, abusive system in one shot. But He works, with all the intricacies of the systems of seven interlocking, interrelated judgments, in order to try to elicit repentance at every turn. Truly, as Emil Brunner observed, &quot;the wrath of God is the love of God&quot;. Even in His style of condemning wicked men and systems, we see shining through His urgent desire for human repentance and other, better outcomes. &quot;The sea&quot; is the area from which the beast arises (13:1). We can therefore interpret it as the power base of the beast- the nations and peoples within the land promised to Abraham. This would explain the repeated judgments upon the &quot;sea&quot; in Revelation. The emphasis given to &quot;the ships&quot; being judged would therefore speak of the mercantile activities within that area. The only other references in Revelation to &quot;ships&quot; are when we read that the ships associated with the Babylon-beast system are destroyed in her final judgment (Rev. 18:17,19). At the time of the trumpet judgments, only a third of them are destroyed- but finally, they are all destroyed. The destruction of a third of them is again a portent of the final total destruction- and is therefore an appeal for repentance. Likewise we read that this third part of shipping was &quot;destroyed&quot; but the word is found elsewhere in Revelation only when we read of the total \'destruction\' of those who had destroyed the land (11:18).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8132','1','66','8','10','10','<p>8:10 <em>And the third angel blew his trumpet, and there fell from heaven a great star-</em> The Olivet prophecy speaks of the stars falling from Heaven (Mt. 24:29), and the context begs us interpret this as referring to the collapse of the Israelite ruling system. The imagery can equally refer to the ruling system of any entity. It seems a specific star or leader is in view, and his fall will result in damage on the earth / land. A great star falling from Heaven to earth recalls Isaiah 14, the parable of the fall of the king of Babylon. And this surely looks forward to the last days. Stars represent rulers or leaders, and Rev. 17:10 speaks of how the five kings supporting the beast system &lsquo;fall&rsquo; s.w.; here in the trumpets we have detail of the fall of at least two of them.</p><p><em>Burning as a torch</em>- This is the language of the earlier vision of the Heavenly throne room, where the seven lamps of fire burn before the throne (Rev. 4:5). The implication is that this is a result of Angelic involvement in the judgment. But there is also a continuation of the theme that the beast kingdom is a fake kingdom of God. It has just been described as a &ldquo;great mountain&rdquo;, which is the language of <em>God&rsquo;s</em> Kingdom. Perhaps the leader who falls will be known as the burning torch or lamp.</p><p><em>And it fell upon the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of the waters</em>- See on 8:8 <em>burning with fire. </em>Such judgment on water courses is predicted in prophecies about latter day events in the land of Israel. &ldquo;The mountains of Israel... Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers (R.V. &ldquo;water courses&rdquo;; the reference is to wadis) and to the valleys&rdquo; (Ez. 6:3). Ez. 36:4, 6 uses identical language about the land of Israel, again in a latter day context. Before the Assyrian invasion, typical of the latter day desolation of Israel, Joel 1:20 records that &ldquo;the rivers of waters are dried up&quot;.</p><p>The Koran and Hadith speak hundreds of times of paradise as being a place of rivers and fountains of waters. The contrast is with the <em>living</em> &ldquo;fountains of waters&rdquo; which the repentant 144,000 come to (Rev. 7:17). The &ldquo;fountains of waters&rdquo; of the beast system are turned to blood and dried up in the various judgments brought upon them. They are <em>dead</em>. The Muslim concept of paradise will be destroyed and inverted. In seeking to establish a caliphate in the land promised to Abraham, with Jerusalem as its capital and the temple mount as its central point of worship, radical Islam is seeking to establish a fake, imitation Kingdom of God- just as Assyria offered Judah a land where each would sit under their own vine and fig tree, appropriating the language of <em>God&rsquo;s</em> Kingdom to their own. Whilst there may be a literal element to these judgments upon the waters, I suspect that the judgment must be understood in terms of the Islamic conception of paradise.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8133','1','66','8','11','11','<p>8:11 <em>And the name of the star is called Wormwood</em>- This is Old Testament imagery for the bitterness of Israel&rsquo;s judgment at the hand of their neighbours, especially Babylon at the fall of Jerusalem: &ldquo;Behold I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the nations&rdquo; (Jer. 9:15, 16; Lam. 3:15,19). &ldquo;Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land&rdquo; (Jer. 23:15 cp. Jer. 6:26). The allusion is also to Numbers 5, the trial of the bitter waters of jealousy, for the woman who has been unfaithful to her husband. And that woman is clearly enough representative of Israel, according to many Old Testament allusions.</p><p>Sura 37.62 of the Koran speaks of a similar plant that Muslims believe is the food of dwellers of Hell-fire, part of the diet of <em>Adh-Dhari</em>, bitter fruit, which intensifies their torment (Sura 69:36,37). The similarities with the Koran could suggest that the victims of these judgments will be subjected to an Islamic judgment of condemnation, i.e. ministered by Islam. Or the hint could be that the self-righteous jihadists will understand that they are being condemned, they will feel their condemnation in terms they understand.</p><p><em>And one third of the waters became bitter-tasting; and many men died because the waters were made so bitter- </em>The parallel is between the waters &lsquo;becoming wormwood&rsquo; and the waters being &ldquo;made bitter&rdquo;. There may not be too much significance in the term &ldquo;wormwood&rdquo;, rather is the idea being developed of a curse and bitterness. The judgments of the trumpets are partly upon those in Israel who didn&rsquo;t repent during the seals, and thus weren&rsquo;t sealed in chapter 7; and partly upon their desolators, or others within the land promised to Abraham. The language of bitter waters obviously alludes to Israel&rsquo;s experience at Marah in Ex. 15:23. The bitter waters were cured by a tree being cut down and cast into the water. This clearly looked ahead to the tree of the Lord&rsquo;s crucifixion, through which the bitter waters were made sweet. The unbelieving Israelites were tested / tried at the bitter waters (Ex. 15:25). We could reasonably infer that the way only a third of the waters were made bitter is a hint that this partial judgment is intended to lead Israel to repentance, and to acceptance of the tree / cross of the Christ whom they crucified. Again we marvel at God&rsquo;s ever saving intention, ever desiring human repentance and salvation. After leaving Marah, and learning the lesson of the tree, Israel came to Elim, where there were &ldquo;fountains of living water&rdquo; (Num. 33:9). The contrast between bitter water and living water is only really found here in Rev. 8:10 and 7:17, where the repentant 144,000 come to living fountains of waters. Those who don&rsquo;t accept the crucified Christ have the bitter waters of Marah, from which they will not move on to Elim.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8134','1','66','8','12','12','<p>8:12- see on Rev. 18:8.</p><p><em>And the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck and a third of the moon and a third of the stars- </em>The darkening of a third of the stars and a third of the sun and moon is very much the picture in Rev. 12:4, where a third of the stars fall to earth. The picture of a part of the heavens falling is exactly how the Koran envisages the last day judgment of apostates- &ldquo;A fragment of the heaven falling&rdquo; (Sura 52.44). The judgment they envisage upon others will come upon them, and it will be articulated in terms appropriate to their cultural understanding. This, I suggest, is the significance of the similarities between the Biblical pictures of the latter day judgments, and the wording of the Koran and Hadith.</p><p>Harry Whittaker sums up the various usages of sun, moon and stars as symbols of Israel: &ldquo;(a) Joseph&rsquo;s dream, where sun, moon and stars stand for his father, mother and brethren, <em>i.e. </em>the whole family of Israel.<br />(b) Revelation 12:1. The woman clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars similarly represents the nation of Israel. From this starting point the chapter yields a coherent and highly relevant interpretation (ch. 27).<br />(c) Genesis 22:17: &ldquo;I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven.&rdquo;<br />(d) Jeremiah 31:36: &ldquo;If those ordinances (sun, moon and stars; v. 35) depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever.&rdquo;<br />(e) Joel 2:10: &ldquo;The sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining&rdquo; - the final invasion of Israel in the Last Days (cp. ch. 3:15).<br />(f) Daniel 8: 10: &ldquo;The little horn waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.&rdquo;<br />(g) Amos 8:9: &ldquo;I will cause the sun to go down at noon&rdquo; is coupled with: &ldquo;I will turn your feasts into mourning.&rdquo;<br />(h)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Luke 23:45: &ldquo;And the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple rent in the midst.&rdquo; Strange conjunction of phenomena in one verse except it is that both are symbolic of the same thing - the end of the Mosaic economy&rdquo;.</p><p>They are &quot;struck&quot;, using the same word as is used in the LXX of the smiting of Israel by the Assyrians (Is. 1:5; 9:13), who represent Israel\'s latter day invaders.&nbsp;</p><p><em>This meant that the third part of them were darkened; and the day would not shine for the third part of it, and the night in like manner</em>- Darkness coming upon the earth is the presage of a new creation (Gen. 1:2). The Old Testament prophets use the metaphor about the latter day invader of Israel bringing darkness upon the land (Is. 8:22; Am. 4:13), but that darkness is the necessary precursor for the Lord arising in glory upon the land (Is. 60:2). This language of a darkened earth is therefore the signal that we should expect imminently the active manifestation of God, through the return of His Son. These events therefore specifically reference the time of the immediate return of Christ. The unnatural eclipse of heavenly bodies recalls the period of darkness at the crucifixion. As so often in Revelation, the message is that the sufferings of the last days will enable people to identify with the crucifixion sufferings of Christ, and through that identification with Him to come to share in His resurrection. The essence of this means to salvation in Christ has gone on throughout the lives of all the Lord\'s people, at whatever time they have lived. However, the victims of the trumpet judgments are those who did not respond to those of the six seals. We again draw our breath in marvel at how the Lord will even seek with those stubborn people to bring them to identity with Him. Note that many of these judgments are a reversal of creation- for God initially made the sun, moon and stars to shine upon the earth (Gen. 1:15,17 s.w. LXX). </p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8135','1','66','8','13','13','<p>8:13<em> And I saw and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a great voice- </em>According to Vine, &quot;It means, properly, the meridian, the highest point in the heavens which the sun occupies at noon; not the space between heaven and earth&quot;. The appeal from the place of the sun at its zenith surely speaks of the Lord Jesus. <em>En</em> (AV &quot;through&quot;) would be better translated &quot;at&quot;, with reference to this specific point. The warning that the next three Angels have very serious judgments to declare must serve some kind of function. It may be to give the impression that these judgments are not to be understood in chronological sequence; they are known before they are pronounced. Or perhaps the declaration is made because, yet again, it is an appeal to repentance.</p><p><em>Woe, woe, woe</em>- This can be read as an invitation to weeping; the weeping of repentance. There is still just about time for repentance, even from those who have turned down the appeals of the six seals. The Muslim jihadists believe they are to pronounce woe upon the enemies in the last hour: &quot;When a decisive surah is revealed and war is mentioned therein... Therefore woe unto them&quot; (Sura 47.20). The trumpets speak of judgments which are to come on both the beast and the impenitent Jews. But the judgments are brought about by the Moslem beast itself, which is exactly how God\'s enemies have met their end in history- by destroying themselves. Rev. 17:16 speaks of how the horns of the beast destroy the beast. So the bringing of &quot;Woe&quot; upon those in the land is what the jihadists are preparing to do.</p><p><em>For those who dwell on the earth</em>- This talk of &ldquo;inhabitants&rdquo; seems rather redundant; until we realize that the reference is likely to those who have but recently invaded the land promised to Abraham, grabbed the wealth of the Jews and are now &lsquo;inhabiting&rsquo; it as their own land.</p><p><em>By reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, who are yet to sound</em>- But only two of the woe trumpets appear to be sounded (9:12; 11:14). This recalls how there is no seventh seal either- just a pointed silence in Heaven, instead of an expected outpouring of calamity (see on :1). And now it seems there is no seventh trumpet either. This may be because we are intended to see &lsquo;the end&rsquo;, the final establishment of the Kingdom, as the seventh trumpet and seventh seal. But the seals and trumpets are of calamities happening to the land and people, not blessings. It could well be that God planned a final calamity which will not happen, just as the seven thunders are prepared but not recorded. His grace and pity may make Him relent; or quite simply the prayers of the faithful for &lsquo;the end&rsquo; are powerful in bringing about some measure of shortening of His work. The Old Testament parallel would be in Joseph apparently cutting short the more extended program of education which He had intended for his brothers.</p><p><br clear=all /></p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8136','1','66','9','1','1','<p>9:1<em> And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star from heaven fall to the earth-&nbsp; </em>If the physical movement of Angels from Heaven to earth to perform certain tasks can be taken literally, Rev. 9:1,11 and certain other&nbsp;passages taken on a more literal slant: &quot;I saw a star (symbolic of an Angel) fall from Heaven unto the earth: and to Him was given the key of the bottomless pit. . . the Angel of the bottomless pit&quot; (Rev. 9:1,11). It seems that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on Gen. 18:10.</p><p><em>And there was given to him the key to the pit of the abyss</em>- The key to death and the grave is in Christ\'s hand (Rev. 1:18). This person is therefore an anti-Christ. We note how the locusts who are released from it are specifically obedient to their king-leader (9:4,11). The idea of course is that if you\'re thrown into a bottomless pit &quot;abyss&quot; which is locked, there\'s no way you can ever get out of it. But locusts, representing the desolators of the land, do arise out of it. The figure is similar to that of receiving a deadly wound, a wound that makes one die, and then resurrecting. This is what is said of the beast and its horn (13:3,12). The locusts are connected to that entity. We should be looking, therefore, for the entity which will finally dominate Israel to receive a wound which apparently makes it dead. This could be from Western and / or Israeli intervention against them. There would then be a brief period of worldwide relief- the &quot;peace and safety&quot; period of 1 Thess. 5. But the entity then revives. This scenario is possible as we see from the Western conflict against the Islamic jihadists.</p><p>So many of Revelation&rsquo;s allusions to the Old Testament are to material specifically concerning Jerusalem. One could almost argue that the prophecy could have a specific application to the latter day city of Jerusalem. The language of the bottomless pit likewise has specific reference to Jerusalem: &ldquo;In the floor of the small cave (measuring about 14 feet square with a six foot ceiling) under the great foundation stone in the Dome of the Rock is round marble slab closing a well shaft known as &quot;the well of the souls&quot; (Bir al Arwah) &hellip; A Muslim tradition holds this is the entrance into the bottomless pit, the abyss. The souls of the dead awaiting judgment are said to be audible beneath. The Talmud claims that this is the abyss above the primeval waters of creation and of the Flood&rdquo; Lambert Dolphin, <em>Early History of the Temple Mount</em>.</p><p>The language used here is specifically relevant to latter day Islam. Mawdudi writes of how Muhammed and his message came out of &ldquo;Arabia- the Abyss of Darkness&rdquo; (Abul A&rsquo;la Mawdudi, <em>Towards Understanding Islam</em>, 8th ed. (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: National Offset Printing Press, 1986), p.63).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8137','1','66','9','2','2','<p>9:2 <em>And he opened the pit of the abyss and smoke went out of the pit</em>- This is the same figure used in 14:11 for the destruction of the beast worshippers. But here it speaks of what they did to deserve that destruction- their actions against Israel and the land promised to Abraham is the grounds for their condemnation.&nbsp; The Hadith mentions smoke as one of the ten signs that the last day is coming: &quot;Allah\'s Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion). He said: What do you discuss about? They (the Companions) said. We are discussing about the Last Hour. Thereupon he said: It will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made a mention of the smoke, Dajjal Antichrist, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (Allah be pleased with him), the Gog and Magog, and landslidings in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly&quot; (Book 41.6931). Again, we see the crisis in the land in the last days foretold in terms which Moslems will relate to. Sura 44 of the Koran is entitled <em>Al-Dukhan</em>, &lsquo;The Smoke&rsquo;. It speaks of how painful smoke will be the punishment of God&rsquo;s enemies in the last days: &ldquo;But watch thou O Muhammad for the day when the sky will produce visible smoke that will envelop the people. This will be a painful torment. Then they will say: Our Lord relieve us of the torment&rdquo; (Sura 44.10-12). It could be that jihadists bring smoke upon others in an attempt to judge them according to Islam. And they will be judged likewise, drinking the cup they made others to drink. This means that they will be judged as apostates within their own frames of reference.</p><p><em>Like the smoke of a great furnace</em>- See on 8:7. The language of Sodom (Gen. 19:28) and Egypt. Both these places are used to describe Jerusalem under domination of her enemies as the place of particular suffering for God\'s people (11:8).</p><p>The invading hordes come out of the bottomless pit- both the locusts (:3) and the beast arise from here (Rev. 9:1; 11:7; 17:8). They come up out of the &quot;bottomless pit&quot;, the abyss, the &quot;great furnace&quot; (Rev. 9:2). But the beast arises out of <em>the land</em> promised to Abraham in Rev. 13:2. We can therefore understand the bottomless pit and great furnace as being within the land promised to Abraham. The locusts of Joel 2:3 are pictured as coming upon Israel as if it is the garden of Eden, and leaving it as a desolate wilderness. This could connect with the revival of the land of Israel since 1948 as the garden of Eden (Ez. 36:35); or it could be that Eden is the same as the land promised to Abraham. Is. 31:9 speaks of Jerusalem surrounded by the Assyrians as a furnace. Judah\'s captivity in Babylon was as it were in a furnace of affliction (Is. 48:10; Ez. 22:18,20,22). The deliverance of the faithful Jews from the furnace in Dan. 3:6,11 was an acted parable of Judah\'s deliverance from captivity in Babylon / Persia and her empire- throughout the land promised to Abraham. And yet in Rev. 20:3, the beast is again cast into the bottomless pit, clearly representing condemnation and judgment. So it would seem that the judgment upon the beast / locusts occurs several times- they are condemned / judged and put in the bottomless pit, and then released, and then placed there again. This probably speaks of various stages in the judgment upon them. But it would be foolhardy to try to work out an exact chronology ahead of time.</p><p><em>And the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit</em>- Israel\'s extremist neighbours will not think twice about using nuclear weaponry against her, and one wonders therefore whether this will have a literal dimension. The sun is spoken of as being darkened by the smoke. But the sun itself would not be darkened; that is presented here as it appears from the standpoint of an observer on earth. So often the Bible is written this way, from the Genesis account of creation to the language of demons in the New Testament. Failure to appreciate this leads to wrong interpretation. The darkening of the sun is another connection with the account of the Lord\'s crucifixion (s.w. Lk. 23:45), the point being that the tribulation&nbsp;of the last days will connect the saints with His sufferings; and having suffered with Him, that generation shall live eternally with Him. It is also a quotation from the Olivet prophecy (Mt. 24:29). This again confirms that we are reading of things to happen in the very last days, before the Lord\'s return- and not at some point between centuries before that. The darkening of the sun is the very figure used for the latter day suffering of Israel at the hands of her invaders (Joel 3:15; Mt. 24:29).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8138','1','66','9','3','3','<p>9:3 <em>And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power</em>- The locusts of the fifth trumpet act in a very un-locust-like way. Unlike real locusts, they have a king. And, astonishing to relate, they are forbidden to touch grass or any vegetation Once again the instruction seems to be: &quot;Hurt not the earth, nor the trees&quot;- only on this occasion it is given to locusts. <em>Akrab</em> being the Hebrew for scorpion, we may be justified in seeing here an allusion to the word \'Arab\', the likely ethnicity of many of the boots on the ground of the last days. :3 The connection between these specific locusts and their place of origin is in line with how the Bible uses plant and animal imagery. &quot;The prophets, when they used symbolical language to denote any events, commonly, at least, employed those which had a local or geographical reference; thus, in the symbols derived from the vegetable kingdom, when Judah is to be symbolized, the olive, the vine, and the fig-tree are selected; when Egypt is referred to, the reed is chosen; when Babylon, the willow. And so, in the animal kingdom, the lion is the symbol of Judah; the wild ass, of the Arabs; the crocodile, of Egypt, etc.&quot; (Elliott, <em>Horae Apoc</em>. i. 394-406).&nbsp; Being consumed by locusts was one of the punishments upon Israel for their disobedience (Dt. 28:38,42; Ps. 78:46; Joel 1:2). Again, we are to understand this language as specifically applying to Israel.</p><p>The parallels between Joel and Revelation 8 and 9 are certainly impressive.</p><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p><em>&nbsp;</em></p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p><em>&nbsp;</em></p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p><em>&nbsp;</em></p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p><em>Joel</em></p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p><em>Revelation</em></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Locusts.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1: 4</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:3.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Symbolic of a   nation.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1:6.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9: 4, 7.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>3</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Teeth like   lions.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1:6.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:8.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>4</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Trees and   pasture withered and burnt up.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1: 12, 18-20.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>8:7.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>5</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Destruction   from the Almighty.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1: 15.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9: 11.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>6</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Fire.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1: 19; 2:3, 5.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>8:7; 9:17.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>7</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Rivers of   waters dried up.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>1:20.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>8: 10; 9:14</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>8</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Blowing of   trumpets.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:1, 11, 15.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>8:6.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Darkness.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:2.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:2.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>10.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Horses.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:4.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:7, 9.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>11.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Chariots.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:5.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:9.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>12.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Torment.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:6.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:6.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>13.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Earthquake.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:10.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>8: 5.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>14.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Sun, moon, and   stars darkened.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:10, 31; 3:15.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>8:12, 9:2.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>15.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;Turn ye to me   ... &ldquo;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:12.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:20, 21.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>16.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The locust army   goes back into the abyss.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:20.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:1.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>                        </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>17.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Deliverance for   the faithful remnant.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>2:32.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>9:4.</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p><strong>Locusts in Joel</strong><br />Joel\'s prophecy is full of reference to the army of locust-horses which invade Israel in conjunction with the Palestinians (Joel 3:4), resulting in the repentance of a remnant who stand on Mount Zion (Joel 2:32), the destruction of the northern invader another term for the locust army after their holy war jihad, Joel 3:9, and then the final establishment of God\'s Kingdom on earth. He describes the invading army in Joel 2 in terms of a locust swarm, and they come to their end as locust swarms often do in Israel- in the Dead Sea and Mediterranean. In more detail, Joel 3:2,12 speaks of a final conflict in the valley of Jehoshaphat, when the Gentiles &quot;round about&quot; Israel are gathered together and judged- spoken of in Revelation 16 as the battle of Armageddon (which likewise is primarily concerning the peoples &quot;round about&quot; Israel rather than the whole planet). The degree of damage done to the land and people of Israel was limitable- if Judah repented. Hence the frequent appeals for repentance. This prophecy could have had potential fulfilment in the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions of Judah; but the prophecy is alluded to in Revelation and in other latter day prophecies, as if it has specific and complete fulfilment in the last days. The overall context is exactly as presented in Revelation- the seal judgments appeal for Israel\'s repentance, the minority who respond are the symbolic 144,000 who stand on mount Zion; and then there are the trumpet and vial judgments, which are full of allusion back to Joel. The frequent appeals for repentance mention the possibility that the program of judgment and desolation can be limited- if Judah repent. And finally, Joel speaks of the establishment of God\'s Kingdom and physical restoration of the decimated land, into the wonder of God\'s Kingdom on earth at Christ\'s return. Joel opens by saying that the destruction of the land he was burdened to portray had no parallel in the past, and the Jews would tell their children of it and the account of it would be passed down throughout future history (Joel 1:2,3). This is another way of saying that this prophecy is about a time of trouble for Israel such as never was, and never will be in the future. And that is precisely the language of the Lord Jesus, Jeremiah and Daniel about the latter day tribulation of Israel. <br />&nbsp;<br />The Arabs and Muhammed have a unique connection to the locust: &ldquo;In the Bedoween romance Antar, the locust is introduced as the national emblem of the Ishmaelites. And it is a remarkable coincidence that Muslim tradition speaks of locusts having dropped into the hands of Muhammed, bearing on their wings this inscription &ndash; &lsquo;We are the army of the Great God.&rsquo;&rdquo; (Albert Barnes, <em>Barnes&rsquo; Notes on the Bible</em>, Vol. 18).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8139','1','66','9','4','4','<p>9:4 <em>And it was said to them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree</em>- There are many allusions in this section to the anatomy and style of the locust; the highlighted difference here with locusts who usually eat up the grass is therefore intentional. The people represented by the locusts were therefore going to be made to act uncharacteristically due to the charismatic individual controlling them. The reason for this is because these locusts have a king- which, again, locusts typically do not (see on <em>king over them</em>). </p><p>Keil in his commentary on Joel 2 describes the geographical origins of the locusts which descend upon Israel: &quot;Swarms of locusts come from south, west, north, and east. Their home is not confined to the desert of Arabia, but they are found in all the sandy deserts, which form the southern boundaries of the lands that were, and to some extent still are, the seat of cultivation, viz., in the Sahara, the Libyan desert, Arabia, and Iraq; and Niebuhr saw a large tract of land, on the road from Mosul to Nisibis, completely covered with young locusts. They are also met with in the Syrian desert, from which swarms could easily be driven to Palestine by a north-east wind... Such a swarm as this might be called the <em>tsephoni</em><em>¯</em>, i.e., the northern one, or northerner Joel 2:20, even if the north was not its true home&quot;. These are the very areas from where jihadist fighters are emerging in their tens of thousands, and uniting together to establish an Islamic state and destroy Israel. This geographical connection cannot be merely coincidental</p><p>Concerning trees and vegetation, the Koran says: &ldquo;When you fight the battles of the Lord&hellip; destroy no palm trees, nor burn any fields of grain. Cut down no fruit trees&hellip;&rdquo; (Quoted in Barnes, <em>op. cit</em>).</p><p>Albert Barnes makes the following commentary upon the statement that the locusts would be commanded to not harm the grass: &ldquo;The often-quoted order of the Caliph Aboubekir, the father-in-law and successor of Muhammed, issued to the Saracen hordes on their invasion of Syria, shows what was understood to be the spirit of their religion: &ldquo;Remember that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not the victory be stained with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any fields of grain. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God in that way; let them alone, and neither kill them (&lsquo;and to them it was given that they should not kill them,&rsquo; ver 5), nor destroy their monasteries,&rdquo; etc. (Gibbon, iii. 417, 418). So Mr. Gibbon notices this precept of the Koran: &ldquo;In the siege of Tayaf,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;sixty miles from Mecca, Muhammed violated his own laws by the extirpation of the fruit-trees,&rdquo; ii. 392. The same order existed among the Hebrews, and it is not improbable that Muhammed derived his precept from the command of Moses <u>Deu_20:19</u>, though what was mercy among the Hebrews was probably mere policy with him. This precept is the more remarkable because it has been the usual custom in war, and particularly among barbarians and semi-barbarians, to destroy grain and fruit, and especially to cut down fruit-trees, in order to do greater injury to an enemy&rdquo;.</p><p><em>But only such men as do not have the seal of God on their foreheads</em>- They also don\'t have His seal. So perhaps we are intended to read in an ellipsis: \'Have not received the seal of God\'. The idea would then be that those who have not responded to the appeal to repent (as a result of the seal judgments) are targetted.</p><p>Job is being shown to represent &quot;those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads&quot; (Rev. 9:4). The idea of sealing is associated with being justified by faith rather than by the Law in Rom. 4:11. If &quot;the earth&quot; in Rev. 9 is read as &quot;the land&quot; and the chapter given a Jewish interpretation, the allusions to Job as representative of unsealed Jewry still depending on the Law become even more relevant. Note the clear connections between Rev. 9 and Job:&nbsp;</p><div align=center><table border=0 cellspacing=13 cellpadding=0 width=80%>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td>            <p><b><font size=3><strong>Rev. 9</strong></font></b></p>            </td>            <td>            <p><b><font size=3><strong>Job</strong></font></b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>:5 &quot;To   them it was given that they&nbsp;should not kill them, but that&nbsp;they   should be tormented&quot;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Satan could not   kill Job, but was given power to torment him.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>:6 &quot;Men   (shall) seek death, and&nbsp;shall not find it; and shall&nbsp;desire to die,   and death shall&nbsp;flee from them&quot; .</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Job said he was   one of them &quot;which long&nbsp;for death, but it comes not; and dig for it   more than for hid treasures&quot; (3:21,22)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>The marauding   Saracen bands&nbsp;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The Sabean   bands</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>:11 &quot;A   king over them, which is&nbsp;the Angel..&quot;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>The satan/Angel   of Job?</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>:11 &quot;A   king... Abaddon... Apollyon&quot; (\'Destroyer\').&nbsp;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;The king   of terrors&quot; attacking Job\'s tents (18:14)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>:11 &quot;The bottomless   pit&quot; &nbsp;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Hell is   naked before Him, and&nbsp;destruction (cp. \'Abaddon\') has no covering&quot;   (26:6).</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table></div>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8140','1','66','9','5','5','<p>9:5<em> They were told</em>- AV &quot;It was given&quot;. We are surely to read in the ellipsis, that a commandment was given to them. And it is jihadist Islam which forbids damaging trees and plants during military campaigns. Or it could be that the idea is that these jihadists are actually \'told\' something by God indirectly communicating with them.</p><p><em>That they should not kill them</em>- As locusts don\'t usually cause death but rather suffering.</p><p><em>But that they should be tormented</em>- The same word used about Babylon (18:7,10,15) and the beast worshippers being &quot;tormented&quot; (14:10). The language of torment is not, therefore, reflective of an angry God being mean to sinners. Rather will they drink the cup they gave others to drink. </p><p><em>Five months</em>- It could be argued that the book of Revelation will \'come alive\' during the three-and-a-half-year tribulation in the land, and it\'s possible that this is a literal period. In any case, it is based around the fact that the season for locusts is five months, from May to September. Five months is their lifespan, so the idea may be that at the end of it they too will come to their end.</p><p>The locusts / scorpions judge the people in the land for five months (Rev. 9:5)- part of the three and a half year tribulation period. When it happens, it will all be clear enough. But for now, the point is that these locust / scorpion hordes, the beast, are restrained and yet then released, to come and destroy the unbelievers in the land / earth promised to Abraham; see on :14,15. It is this restraint which we are now seeing released, as the hordes develop and begin to gush forth from the Euphrates.</p><p><em>Their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man</em>- See on :3. There are many links between the trumpets, seals and the Olivet prophecy; and also many links with Josephus\' descriptions of what came upon Palestine in AD66-70- e.g. 9:5 &quot;inwardly tormented&quot; Gk. <em>ebasanizonto</em> is used in Josephus (<em>Wars</em> 5.1.5).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8141','1','66','9','6','6','<p>9:6 <em>And in those days men shall seek death and shall in no way find it, and they shall desire to die and death will flee from them</em>- Those who in that day will &quot;seek death&quot; are those whose behaviour in this life was effectively a seeking of death (Prov. 21:6). They were and are living out the condemnation experience right now. See on 1 Cor. 10:13. In the latter day application, the Koran in Sura 75:10,11 speaks in similar terms of the final judgment of the condemned: &quot;On that day man will cry: Whither to flee Alas No refuge&quot;. Islamists will therefore seek to do this to the Jews whom they believe it is their duty to condemn, and in turn they will drink the same cup, seeking death but not finding it.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8142','1','66','9','7','7','<p>9:7 <em>And the shapes of the locusts were like horses</em>- Clearly the locusts represent fighters charging to war. The Arab Bedouin call locusts <em>Farras el Jundy, </em>&lsquo;soldiers&rsquo; horses\'. The description of these horsemen from the East accurately fits the Parthians, who were massed to the East of the Roman empire. There was much angst amongst the Romans of the first century as to whether the Parthians would invade; they did not. But the similarity is explained if we accept that Revelation is open to many possible fulfilments. It could have all happened in the first century, and God moved the players into place. But due to human failure, the whole scenario was delayed to our last days.</p><p>&ldquo;Like unto&rdquo; continues the idea that John is seeing in outline form something he finds hard to describe, and he keeps likening the vision to things he is familiar with. Hence &ldquo;As&hellip;as&hellip; like unto&hellip; as it were&rdquo;. This is understandable if he saw modern military hardware.</p><p><em>Prepared for war</em>- This is the process we see ongoing around us. The Joel allusions encourage us to see this as Joel 3:9: &quot;Prepare war, wake up the might men&quot;. The gathering of thousands of fighters to support an Islamic State in the land promised to Abraham is surely the fulfilment of this.</p><p><em>And upon their heads as if crowns of gold, and their faces were as men\'s faces</em>- The <em>stephanos </em>may suggest they are victorious, for a brief period, over the land. But John saw their appearance <em>like </em>this. Turbans as worn by Moslems today were not used in his day. If he saw, as I suggest, hordes of latter day Moslems streaming into Israel to proclaim a radical Islamic state, then this is how he would\'ve described them- wearing something like a <em>stephanos</em>. The Greek literally means something wrapped around the head. This is the picture of Moslem turbans and jihadist headgear. The Hadith records Mohammed as saying &quot;And turbans are the crowns of Arabs&quot;. &quot;Like gold&quot; means he saw a yellow colour. Perhaps this group of jihadists will have yellow headgear or turbans? According to Suyuti\'s Commentary on the Koran, there are Hadith which make this association: &quot;Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr: The latter was wearing a yellow turban on the day of Badr, so the angels descended wearing yellow turbans... the Prophet himself came wearing a yellow turban... The day of Badr the angels came down on piebald horses, wearing yellow turbans&quot; view these quotations online at <a href=http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/islamic_dress.htm>http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/islamic_dress.htm</a> .</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8143','1','66','9','8','8','<p>9:8 <em>And they had hair as the hair of women- </em>The long hair of the jihadist fighters.</p><p><em>And their teeth were like that of lions</em>- The quotation from Joel 1:6 means that these forces will be a latter day Babylon or Assyria invading Israel. Lions are a common OT symbol of Babylon-Assyria, the historical prototype of Israel\'s latter day invader.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8144','1','66','9','9','9','<p>9:9<em> And they had breastplates, like breastplates of iron</em> - Another allusion to how the locust has a firm and hard cuticle on the forepart of the breast, which serves for a shield or defence. &ldquo;&ldquo;Breastplates of iron&rdquo; speak of the Arabs&rsquo; armour. The poem Antar makes at least four references to a warrior&rsquo;s cuirass or breastplate. The Koran says, &ldquo;God hath given you coats of mail to defend you in your wars&rdquo; &hellip;&rdquo; (Quoted in Barnes, <em>op. cit</em>).</p><p><em>And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war</em>- Alluding to the noise made by locust swarms. They are similar to chariot horses in that the locust\'s head is similar to that of a horse. The locusts of Joel 1 which invade Israel are also described as war horses in Joel 2:4-6: &quot;Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle&quot;. The similarity with locusts is in the springing motion of chariots on mountain paths. This was surely the first century way of trying to express helicopter gunships and other modern military technology advancing into the land promised to Abraham in final judgment. Joel 2:8 speaks of how this locust army will not be deterred by weaponry: &quot;they fall headlong through weapons <em>shelach</em> means literally a missile, and do not cut themselves in pieces&quot;. The greatest missiles and military technology of the IDF and the West will be unable to restrain their ever forward march into the land. Currently, it is superior weaponry that enables Israel to survive and the West to control the jihadists. But the picture of the locust swarm is that absolutely no weapon can stand in their way. Perhaps it is by sheer force of suicidal numbers that the jihadists win- and thousands of Muslims are already flocking to Syria and Iraq to enlist in this great army. In Joel 2, the locust army attacks because Judah failed to respond to the call to repent made in Joel 1. But even at that late stage there is the possibility of repentance: &quot;Yet even now, is the saying of Jehovah, turn ye to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning&quot; (Joel 2:12). This fits the context of the trumpets admirably. The seal judgments in Revelation 6 appealed for repentance; those few who respond, the symbolic 144,000, are sealed and stand on Mount Zion; and then the trumpet judgments come. But even then there is the chance of repentance, so that God would leave behind a blessing, i.e. the harvest-produce which could be used for a meat offering and drink offering (Joel 2:14)- even though this had &quot;all&quot; been destroyed by the locusts (Joel 1:9, 13). And as a result of this, a remnant of repentant Jews is likewise pictured by Joel standing on Mount Zion (Joel 2:32).</p><p>The reference is also to the language of the cherubim chariots; Ez. 10:5 is the only other place in the Bible where we read of the sound of wings as chariots are in motion. The invaders will be led by the Angels, just as the locust army of Joel 2 is described in terms of the irresistible march of the Angels. But there may also be the hint that the invaders see themselves as a cherubic system, continuing the theme of the anti-Christ being an imitation Christ.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8145','1','66','9','10','10','<p>9:10- see on Mt. 24:37; Mk. 13:20.</p><p><em>And they have tails like scorpions and stings, and in their tails is their power</em>- At first blush, this appears to not be true to the figure of locusts. But Smith\'s &ldquo;Bible Dictionary&rdquo; gives a picture of &quot;a species of locust, the <em>Acridium Lineola</em>, a species commonly sold for food in the markets of Baghdad, which has a sting in the tail&quot;. We may infer that these symbolic locusts come from Iraq, specifically from the area of the Euphrates. This is in harmony with the later picture within this same chapter of hordes of attackers swarming into the land promised to Abraham from the same area- the Euphrates. The only other reference to a &ldquo;tail&rdquo; in the NT is in Rev. 12:4, where the dragon uses his tail to cast down one third of the stars. It could be that we are being shown part of the same process here.</p><p><em>To hurt men</em>- Significantly, the same word is used in Lk. 10:19 about how those who are preaching the Lord Jesus will not be hurt by scorpions. This is the context here- these trumpets are part of the judgments which will be restrained from falling upon those who have responded to the seal judgments, the symbolic 144,000. The same word is used in 7:2,3 of how the 144,000 will not be &ldquo;hurt&rdquo;. And chapters 10-15 teach that the resistant believers at this time will be engaged in witnessing to Jesus.</p><p><em>For five months</em>- See on :5.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8146','1','66','9','11','11','<p>9:11 <em>They have over them as king</em>- Prov. 30:27 observes that locusts have no king. The picture presented is of an unusual and uncharacteristic unity of the locusts under the leadership of a &quot;king&quot; or caliph. This is what students of latter day prophecy are taught by the image\'s toes of Daniel 2. The components of the final entity to abuse Israel are divided, but uncharacteristically united in their domination of Israel. This will be brought about by the locusts having a king- just as the disparate materials of the image are united in the form of a man, a latter day Nebuchadnezzar.</p><p><em>The Angel of the bottomless pit</em>- This presumably is the same as the fifth Angel, who opened the pit at the beginning of this section. As in Daniel, so here, the Angel refers both to an Angel in the court of Heaven, and to the person on earth whom that Angel represents before God. Again we see how that even the terrible individual on earth spoken of here is in fact represented in the court of Heaven and under the control of God&rsquo;s Angel. The allusion is to the destroying Angel of the Passover deliverance (Ex. 12:23; 1 Cor. 10:10). The Angel comes in judgment upon the Egyptians and also upon any unfaithful Israelites who would not trust in the blood of the Lamb; hence all the allusions to the plagues on Egypt here in the trumpet judgments. The locusts unleased by the destroyer Angel therefore come forth to punish people for what they did to God&rsquo;s people Israel, and also to punish those of Israel who will not trust in the blood of the Lamb / Jesus.</p><p><em>His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue</em>- The two languages are perhaps mentioned because both Jews and non-Jews in the land suffer from this invasion. The locusts have an Angel-King over them, called Abaddon / Apollyon- the destroyer. The idea is that their leader has an Angel representative in Heaven. Again, emphasis is placed upon their having a specific leader, the antichrist. &lsquo;The destroyer&rsquo; was the Angel who destroyed the unfaithful Israelites (1 Cor. 10:10), and the charge of the locusts and their leader is against the same group, within the land promised to Abraham.</p><p><em>Apollyon</em>- This is the noun from the verb <em>apollumi</em>. Lk. 21:18 says that not a hair of the faithful will be <em>apollumi</em> in the latter day tribulation, and this is clearly what the Apollyon Angel is responsible for. There are many word plays upon and indirect allusions to Caesar worship in Revelation. Rev. 9:11 is an example- the condemned King of the bottomless pit is called &quot;Apollyon&quot;, which G.B. Caird takes to be an allusion to Domitian, &quot;who liked to be regarded as Apollo incarnate&quot;.</p><p>Often, Angels are described in terms of the men, empires or armies they control- the frequent descriptions of human armies in language which refers to Angels too provides proof of this (e. g. Is. 66:15; Ez. 26:7,10; Joel 2:5; Nahum 2:3,4,13). Rev. 9:11 is another example: &quot;They (the Arabs?) had a king over them, which <em>is </em>the Angel of the bottomless pit&quot;. This Angel is both a Heavenly Angel and the earthly leader over which the Angel has charge. Rev. 9:16&nbsp;says that &quot;the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand&quot;- cp. &quot;thousand thousands&quot; of Angels in Dan. 7:10. Rev. 9:17 continues: &quot;Horses... and them that sat on them&quot;. Horses and riders in Rev. 6 and Zechariah have clear Angelic connections (Chapter 11); &quot;the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions&quot;- lions and Angels are linked in Rev. 9:17; 10:1,3.</p><p>The locusts have a specific leader- an Angel called Abaddon or Apollyon. Angels as in the Divine beings do not sin, as I&rsquo;ve demonstrated in chapter 2 of <em>The Real Devil</em>.&nbsp; But Daniel 10 and other passages are clear that situations, nations and individual leaders on earth have an Angelic representative in Heaven, before the court of God. The antichrist figure on earth therefore has a representative Angel in Heaven, just as the prince of Persia did in Daniel 10. &lsquo;Abaddon&rsquo; means &lsquo;the destroyer&rsquo;, and the term is used of the destroying Angel of Passover, the same Angel who destroyed the unbelieving Jews in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:10)- and it is also used of the Babylonian invader (2 Chron. 36:19; Is. 14:20; Jer. 4:7; 15:3; 22:7 &ldquo;I will prepare destroyers against you&rdquo;; 36:29), the Midianite invasion of Israel (Jud. 6:4), the Philistines / Palestinians (1 Sam. 13:17; 14:15), the Assyrian invader (1 Kings 18:25) and the Syrian invasion (2 Chron. 24:23). All these nations and incidents were from the territory of the IS, and prefigure the latter day invasion of Israel. The point is, there is a specific, singular leader- and this fits well with the Biblical requirements for an antichrist figure to lead the enemies of Israel in the final jihad against her. The destruction, wanton and conscious, wrought by the IS surely justifies the leader of the entity being called &lsquo;the destroyer&rsquo;.</p><p>The Islamic world has always been divided, and the neighbours of Israel have likewise been characterized by their historical divisions. What is going to be remarkable, therefore, is their temporary unity against Israel. This is the picture presented of the iron and clay not cleaving to each other, but standing together, however fragile, in brief domination of the land promised to Abraham on the eve of Christ&rsquo;s return. This unity will be under one strong leader, the antichrist. The metaphor in Rev. 9 makes this point, by saying that the invading hordes will be as locusts who have a king over them, called Abaddon (Rev. 9:11). Locusts do not have much centralized structure in their movement, and Prov. 30:27 specifically states that locusts have no king over them. But these latter day locusts will have such a king- for a brief period. Muslim tradition speaks of locusts having dropped into the hands of Mohammed, bearing on their wings this inscription - &lsquo;We are the army of the Great God.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>There can be little doubt that Revelation 9 speaks of the very last days. The smoke and resultant darkening of sun and moon is obviously alluding to the Old Testament prophecies about these things happening in the context of an invasion of the land of Israel in the immediate prelude to Christ&rsquo;s coming: &ldquo;Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. (Is. 13:9,10). &ldquo;And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD&rdquo;&nbsp;(Joel 2:30,31).</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8147','1','66','9','12','12','<p>9:12 <em>The first Woe is past. Behold, hereafter there come two other woes- </em>This could seem relatively pointless information, until we perceive that the idea is to appeal for repentance, even now at a time when the window for repentance provided by the six seals and sealing process of chapter 7 has already passed. I have mentioned earlier that the third of the three woes never seems to happen- perhaps because there is repentance, or because God\'s mercy is such that He restrains the final destruction. Or perhaps the third woe is the pouring out of the bowls of final destruction upon the beast and impenitent.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8148','1','66','9','13','13','<p>9:13- see on Jn. 16:23.</p><p><em>And the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God</em>- This is the incense altar, and the voice suggests that the combined prayers of the faithful bring forward the execution of God\'s purpose, causing Angels in Heaven to sound and do things on the earth / land. The words / voice of those prayers really is &quot;before God&quot;. This an attempt to relay the degree to which human words in prayer really are rehearsed before God\'s very presence, and result in a word of command appropriate to the word of those prayers. Horns are connected with Angels in Zech. 1:18; Hab. 3:4, and these four horns on the altar suggesting reference to the Angel cherubim.</p><p>Let\'s be encouraged by the fact that the sixth Angel releases the hordes from behind the Euphrates because of &quot;a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God&quot; (Rev. 9:13). This is the incense altar, and earlier in the scene we have seen the prayers of the faithful ascending from that altar, eliciting Divine action from Heaven upon the earth (Rev. 8:3-5). The releasing of the peoples beyond the Euphrates which we are seeing before our eyes <em>is actually a response to our prayers</em>. We pray and pray for the second coming, and it seems as if nothing very concrete is happening. But it is. The IS were raised up and given control of the Euphrates and are being propelled on their mission to fulfil end time prophecies, so that the culmination may come in the return of the Lord Jesus to earth. In this context we can note that the language of loosing the bound was used by the Lord in His teaching that we can bind and loose things in Heaven (Mt. 16:19; 18:18)- in this case, the Angels. This is the huge significance of human prayer and action for God.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8149','1','66','9','14','14','<p>9:14- see on Ps. 78:49; Lk. 1:10,11. For the significance of the Euphrates, see on 16:12,13.</p><p><em>One saying to the sixth angel that had one trumpet: Release the four angels that are chained at the great river Euphrates-</em> The voice of prayer is effectively a voice of command to Angels resulting in dramatic action upon the earth / land, and in this case, the loosing of restraining Angels. The voice of human prayer as it were commands: &ldquo;Loose the four angels which are bound at the great river Euphrates&rdquo; (R.V.). They then eagerly go forward to prepare the way for the second coming. The implication is surely that those Angels were geographically bound / limited in the scope of their work by the Euphrates River- and yet in their eagerness to progress the timetable of events leading to the last day, they yearned to go beyond that limitation. The reference to &ldquo;the Angel of the waters&rdquo; likewise suggests that an Angel was operative in one geographical area. It could be that as the future elohim we likewise will have areas of geographical influence in the age to come- the &ldquo;cities&rdquo; over which we are given dominion.</p><p>There seems no reason to doubt that these, along with most other mentions of \'Angels\' in Revelation,&nbsp;can be taken as literal Angels John saw in the court of Heaven, representing individuals and groups on earth. The fact that they were &quot;loosed&quot; implies a restraint from action- as if the action they desired to take was held back by another (&quot;the sixth&quot;) Angel &quot;preparing&quot; or \'adjusting\' (Greek) them for a certain period. This recalls the Angel of death being restrained or held back by the Angel who hovered over the homes of the Israelites on Passover night in Egypt. It\'s not that there are good and sinful Angels; but there are Angels who have different tasks, and make exceptions in executing those tasks because of the intervention of other Angels.</p><p>God Himself has a close interest in and control of the work of His Angels; thus in Rev. 9:13,14 we read of the sixth Angel sounding, wanting to bring about certain things on the earth. The response to this was &quot;a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth Angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four Angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates&quot;. This voice was probably either from Christ (the altar), as the head of the Angels, or God Himself; or maybe a mighty Angel representing God or Christ. It instructed the Angel how to bring about His intention by bringing other Angels into operation which this sixth Angel presumably had in its control- hence they were to be &quot;loosed&quot; by Him.</p><p>The drying up of the Euphrates spoken of in Rev. 16:12 is what enables the seventh trumpet and seventh seal to come to pass- and they refer to the coming of Christ. It cannot be insignificant that the Islamic State took control of the dams on the Euphrates. The latter day Islamic entity which overruns Israel will likely do the same. The control of rivers, dams, and water installations would be a major weapon in their tactical armoury. This was indeed how it was in the time of Saddam Hussein. For more information on this, see Vidal, John (<em>The Guardian</em> 2 July 2014). <a href=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/02/water-key-conflict-iraq-syria-isis>&quot;Water supply key to outcome of conflicts in Iraq and Syria, experts warn&quot;</a>.</p><p>The waters of a river are symbolic of nations (Is. 23:10), specifically the Assyrians in Is. 8:7, Zech. 10:11 and Jer. 2:18- it could be that the reference is to the drying up or destruction as the metaphor of &lsquo;drying up&rsquo; means of the nations and tribes of the fertile crescent. And these are the very areas where the Islamic State is so active. The Assyrian armies were those &ldquo;beyond the river Euphrates&rdquo; which were unleashed by God upon Judah (Is. 7:20). This is the basis for the language of Rev. 9:14, where four Angels are bound by the river Euphrates and unleashed in the sense that a huge army is let loose from beyond that river in order to judge an impenitent Israel. We recall that it was an Angel which stood upon the river in Dan. 12:6. We note that Greece likewise was likened to a ram held back by a river, which it jumped over (Dan. 8:3). The latter day power restrained by the Euphrates is therefore to be based upon the historical Assyria and Greece. Again we see how the image of Daniel 2 stands complete in the last days, because the final entity which dominates Israel will incorporate elements of the previous dominators, such as Assyria and Greece.</p><p>Euphrates was the boundary of the land promised to Abraham. Israel were thrown out of their land by being taken \'beyond the river Euphrates\', just as Adam was cast out of Eden, which appears to have been bounded by the Euphrates. The 200,000 (or RV &quot;twice ten thousand times ten thousand&quot;) horsemen were bound at RV; Gk. <em>epi</em> the Euphrates (Rev. 9:14), which is the northern border of the land promised to Abraham (Gen. 15:18; Ex. 23:31; Dt. 1:7; Josh. 1:4; 2 Sam. 8:3). When Judah were taken to Babylon to be punished, this is described as their being punished in the border of Israel (Ez. 11:10,11). Babylon was located on the border of the land promised to Abraham. The idea is clearly that these hordes will come from that northern border, the Euphrates, and invade Israel. The Islamic jihadists are already using pictures of horsemen as symbolic of their mission. The Greek text speaks of&rdquo;&nbsp;twice ten thousand times ten thousand&quot;, recalling the way that the image of Daniel 2 and the beasts of Daniel 7 will be destroyed when &quot;ten thousand times ten thousand&quot; stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Dan. 7:10). Once the Euphrates is no longer allowed to restrain these hordes, they will race towards Israel- and judgment by the returned Lord Jesus. Note too the language of Mic. 5:6- the latter day Assyrian will &ldquo;tread within our borders&rdquo;, which include the Euphrates, and then be destroyed by Christ&rsquo;s return. Revelation is putting this another way, in saying that the hordes of invaders will come from beyond the Euphrates, the border of Israel.</p><p>The trumpets, seals and vials do not have to be chronologically consecutive events; they are all part of the kaleidoscope of images which we have in Revelation. They are different takes and angles on related events. The sixth Angel loosing the hordes bound at the Euphrates is matched by the fifth Angel coming down to the land and unlocking the bottomless pit with a key (Rev. 9:1,2; this surely refers to a Divine Angel, as it would make no sense for &lsquo;satan&rsquo; to be given the key to his own prison). This released the aggressive locusts to swarm over the earth / land of Israel and kill and persecute those in the land promised to Abraham who haven&rsquo;t taken the Father&rsquo;s Name into their foreheads- for all their hypocritical wearing of phylacteries. Again we have the metaphor of restraint being lifted, and swarms of enemies pouring into the earth / land of Israel. The seventh trumpet begins with the news that there will be no more delay (Rev. 10:6)- the idea is again of an imposed delay / restraint being now lifted. Locusts are symbolic of Israel&rsquo;s neighbouring enemies (Dt. 28:38; Jud. 6:5; 7:12; Jer. 46:23; Joel 1:4; 2:25). Especially significant is the reference in Am. 7:1 LXX: &ldquo;Thus has the Lord God shewed me; and, behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the east; and, behold, one caterpillar, king Gog&rdquo;. The locusts from the east, headed by Gog, released by the fifth Angel, compares with the kings from the east who are released by the sixth Angel. The locusts arise out of the bottomless pit, just as the beast arises out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 11:7; 17:8). The beast is therefore another image for the locusts; they all speak of the enemies of Israel coming from the east and swarming the land. The locusts are described as having long hair, and striking as scorpions (Rev. 9:5,8)- all very reminiscent of jihadist fighters.</p><p>The similarities between Revelation 9 and Joel are striking, and without question Joel is speaking of the neighbour nations pouring into the land of Israel: &ldquo;The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array&hellip; They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march everyone on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks&hellip; They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining&rdquo; (Joel 2:4-10).</p><p>The four Angels holding winds in Rev. 9:16 surely alludes to the Angels gathering the elect from the four winds (Mt. 24:31; Mk. 13:27). The process of gathering the elect at the last day is part of the same process as gathering the nations to judgment. It could be that the final gathering of the nations against Israel therefore occurs at the same time as the gathering of the believers to judgment. It would seem that now all is in place for such a gathering of the nations from beyond the Euphrates- and therefore the Lord\'s coming could be really very near. The whole scene surely consciously recalls that of Daniel 12, where Daniel sees Angels standing on the banks of &quot;the river&quot;, announcing that there must be a time of terrible trouble for Israel lasting &quot;time, times and a half&quot; (three and a half years?) and then the whole suffering of Israel would be &quot;finished&quot; by the return of Messiah and establishment of the Kingdom of God (Dan. 12:5-10). &quot;The river&quot; is not defined, but the term is usually used in the prophets for the Euphrates; at the very least it must refer to one of the rivers in the Tigris-Euphrates basin. Note the significance of the river Ulai, a tributary of the Euphrates, in Daniel 8. Revelation expands upon this by saying that the Angels cease restraining the jihadist hordes and then release them in the last days, when the Euphrates dries up. Biblically, the drying up of water is so that armies can pass over (we think of the Red Sea and Jordan being dried up for this intent). The final time of trouble is brought about by Angels standing upon &quot;the river&quot;- and the fact the Euphrates is now in the hands of Islamists is therefore highly significant.</p><p>It is also surely no coincidence that there are four nations represented by the four Angels? located to the East of the Euphrates, bound by her- Turkey, Syria, Iraq and what is now effectively the nation of Kurdistan. Kurdish independence and the development of a <em>de facto </em>state of Kurdistan is something we can expect to develop. It could just about be argued that Iran is also effectively held back from the promised land by the Euphrates, but Iran doesn\'t in fact border the river. It could be argued that the part of Turkey which is bound by the Euphrates is Kurdish territory, and may form part of a future state of Kurdistan if it is declared. In this case, the four nations could be Kurdistan, Syria, Iraq and Iran- or perhaps some future Islamic entity. These four nations would be under the control of the four Angels bound at the Euphrates, who then release them when the restraint is lifted.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8150','1','66','9','15','15','<p>9:15 <em>And the four angels were released, that had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year- </em>Vine correctly observes: &quot;This rendering is wrong, since it conveys the idea that the four periods mentioned are to be combined as representing the length of the preparation or of the continuance of the plague. But it is to be noted that neither the article nor the preposition are repeated before day and month and year. The meaning is that the angels are prepared unto the hour appointed by God, and that this hour shall fall in its appointed day and month and year&quot;. The parallel is with how the locust-horses are &quot;prepared&quot; s.w. unto the final battle. It is this specific battle which is the final date in view here in :15. The way of the kings from the East is likewise &quot;prepared&quot; (16:12 s.w.).</p><p><em>That they should kill a third of all mankind</em>- This \'slaying\' could be understood as a ritual slaughter <em>apokteino</em>. The fact it is done at a particular hour on a particular date and year may mean that there is some kind of religious relevance of the exact time of their slaughter; and that the men are slain at the same &quot;hour&quot;, suggesting a specific ritual, organized slaughter rather than the gradual killing of people in the process of war or domination of the land. This kind of thing is imaginable in an Islamic state.</p><p>&quot;The river&quot; was Biblically the language of Euphrates; the Assyrian invasion is described as the River i.e. Euphrates bursting upon Israel (Is. 8:5-8). This invasion is described as the loosing of four Angels (Rev. 9:15,16). It could be that four Angels are involved in the work of arranging this geopolitical situation; or it could be that each Angel represents a particular subdivision of the latter day Islamic entity. Note how &quot;the Angel of the bottomless pit&quot; refers both to a Heavenly Angel and to a human leader on earth, in that the princes of the earth have their Angelic representative in the court of Heaven. These are surely the same four Angels of Rev. 7:1,2 who had been holding the winds from blowing on the land of Israel; restraining the nations around Israel from destroying it from 1948 onwards. But they will no longer hold back the winds; they will loose the horsemen previously restrained by the Euphrates. This may happen in practice by the restraining power of America and the West being no longer permitted to operate by the four Angels. At the time of writing, it\'s highly significant that most of the cities, towns and areas on the East bank of the Euphrates are now in the hands of jihadists, of various factions; the river was as it were holding them back from advancing Westwards into the land promised to Israel. But that restraint is now being lifted. This idea of a restraint in place is to be found in 2 Thess. 2:7,8. It could be argued that the Roman Empire was the restraining force written about by Paul there, and there will be another restraining power likewise in the last days. In practice, not only has the West been the power broker restraining Israel&rsquo;s enemies, but Israel&rsquo;s nuclear and technological edge have been. This may be removed, in whatever way, so that this is no longer a restraining item.</p>');
insert into `nev_dcomm` (`id`, `active`, `book`, `chap`, `startverse`, `endverse`, `html`) values('8151','1','66','9','16','16','<p>9:16 <em>And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard the number of them</em>- The very words used about the 144,000 in 7:4. The contrast is made between the sealed 144,000 and this far larger group of their opponents, 200,000,000. The figures are surely not to be taken literally, rather is the idea that the opponents of the faithful are far more, and are as it were a fake imitation of the faithful, just as the anti-Christ is a fake imitation of the true Christ. This concept fits admirably with Islamist theology, as they consider themselves as the descendants of Ishmael to be the true seed of Abraham, and Isaac to be as the Bible presents Ishmael the roles of Isaac and Ishmael are switched around in the Koran; Moslems believe that it was Jewish scribes who switched the roles to how they are in the Hebrew Bible.</p><p>The significance of &quot;<em>twice</em> ten thousand times ten thousand&quot; may be in that the latter day dominators of Israel are split into two broad camps, represented by the two feet of the image of Daniel. It may be a reference to the Sunni - Shia division within Islam, or to the two centres of domination of Israel which will appear based in Gaza and the West Bank. Dan. 7:10 contrasts these &quot;ten thousand times ten thousand&quot; who are to be judged with the thousands who minister unto the judge, the Lord Jesus; the thousands of the Lord Jesus will stand in opposition to the thousands of the latter day invaders, just as the true Christ will face off against the anti-Christ.</p><p>&quot;By these three was the third part of men killed&quot; suggests that this invading army has three aspects to its work.&nbsp;The huge number of horsemen must allude to the &quot;great company&quot; of horsemen of Ez. 38:4, which is rooted in the Assyrian invasion. The 200,000,000 horsemen of Rev. 9:16 may correspond to the fact that the strength of the Assyrian army which came against Jerusalem was claimed as being 200,000 men. See on Rev. 16:16. But this huge invasion is portrayed here in chapter 9 as being the cause of punishment of the abusers themselves. So as has happened so many times in Israel\'s Biblical history, their invaders will turn upon themselves. Perhaps that is one reason why the Ezekiel 38 invasion is not recorded as being successful.</p>');
