 Okay, welcome back everyone. This is our second lecture on BC 213, The End Times. We are joining through the book of Revelation. We've just gone through an overview, a high level of the first five chapters. And let's see if there are any questions. I see a question from John. And John says, as Revelation 4 talks about things going to happen, does it mean that there are no elders now casting their crowns and worshipping? Just thinking about the songs, about the throne room songs. Should we be singing these songs as it is going to happen or already happening? Now, we know from these scriptures, chapter 4 and 5, that the Lord is telling John these are things that are going to come, going to happen. But at the same time, we know that at the time when God was speaking to John, these elders were already there. Many of them had already died and martyred and they were already there, the example, the two apostles. Only John was the last apostle. The others had already died and gone to heaven. Old Testament, the prophets, they were already in heaven. And yet the Lord is telling John, John, it is going to happen. He is pointing it to the future. What we can say is, surely right now, all the saints who are in heaven, surely they are engaging in worship of God. It could be similar to what we are seeing in chapters 4 and 5, in the sense they could be standing around the throne and worshipping or how they are worshipping, how it is taking place. There are probably different things happening. But I am sure that the saints of God are worshipping the Father. They are worshipping God. They are on their harps and their spreads coming up. To answer your question, there is nothing wrong in singing songs that are based on Revelation 4 and 5 for two reasons. One is, we know there is worship going on in heaven. The angelic beings and the saints will be engaged in worship. That's the right thing to do. We see, even in the Old Testament, as Isaiah has a vision of the Lord, he sees the glory of God and angels saying, Holy, Holy. So there is worship going on. And also we can sing songs based on Revelation 4 and 5 as a declaration or an agreement or affirmation of what God said is going to happen, all the saints and angels. They bow before the throne. We are just declaring that this is what the Lord said is going to happen. So to answer your question, there is nothing wrong in singing throne room songs for these two reasons. One, there is worship happening in the throne room of God. It may not necessarily be exactly like this, but definitely God is being worshiped and he is Holy, Holy, Holy. So that's one thing. And second is, when we sing throne room songs, we are just coming into agreement with Revelation 4 and 5 saying this is what is going to happen. We are declaring the same thing. So from that perspective, I think it's fine. Both those perspectives. Sure. Thank you. Any other questions on what we have covered so far? Everybody is following. So Revelation 4 and 5 is a scene of the throne room, what's happening in heaven with all the redeemed saints, everybody along with the angelic beings worshiping God. And at that time, Jesus comes, the Lamb of God comes. He takes the scroll and he opens it, meaning all the prophecies are now going to start happening. And so when we come into chapter 6, verse 1, he says, I saw the Lamb and He opened one of the seals. And then he says, come and see. So that opening of the seal, the opening of the scroll and opening of the seal is symbolic. It's saying, hey, these prophecies which were spoken, which were sealed, or you could say in our modern language, we say it was kept in cold storage. It was kept like that. Now the time has come for those things to start happening. And the Lord is saying, John, come and see what's going to happen. So come and see these things that are going to unfold. So as in Revelation 6, as he opens, there are these, like we said, there are seven seals that are opened. And every seal is saying that some event is taking place. But I'm going to just focus on the very first one. When he opens the first seal, Revelation 6 verse 2, I saw a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him. And he went out conquering and to conquer. So this white horse, someone on the white horse, and he's got this in a bone arrow, meaning he's having the ability to conquer and he goes about conquering. So the question is, who is this man on the white horse? Now as you know, the Lord Jesus also comes riding on a white horse in Revelation 19. But this is a different one. This is the beginning of the tribulation. So this rider on the white horse, Revelation 6, 2, is not Jesus Christ. It's the Antichrist. It's talking about the Antichrist who's been given a time to operate on the earth. So Revelation 6, 2, is talking about the Antichrist who, he comes on a white horse, but he's not the Christ. He's a false, he's not the Christ. The real Christ comes riding on a white horse in Revelation 19. This is the Antichrist and he's been given authority, a crown on his head, and he goes out to conquer. He's taking control. So the beginning of the events on the earth start off with the Antichrist being revealed. Now you tie this to what we read in 2 Thessalonians 2. This man of sin is being restrained. When he who is restrained is taken out of the way, then he will be made manifest. The first thing that you see on earth, Revelation 6, 2, is this Antichrist coming. Where is the church taken out of the way? In heaven, Revelation is after 4 and 5. So it's a very clear indication again, like we said, one of the reasons we gave as to why the church is taken out of the way is because we see this Revelation 4 and 5 and then Revelation 6, 2. The first seal is, here comes this man who's riding on a white horse, the Antichrist. He has authority and he's conquering and continues to conquer. And then as you read the rest of Revelation 6, you find different things beginning to happen. The second seal and that's opened. There is war on earth, violence. So immediately there is war on earth. So definitely Revelation 6, 2 cannot represent Jesus. But it's the Antichrist. He's coming in and right after that there's all the destruction taking place. Now this horse, remember, the horse again has to be understood figuratively. Doesn't mean he'll actually be coming on a horse. It means the horse represents speed and strength. So in Revelation, the first four seals are representing, you see different horses, a white horse, a red horse, a black horse, a pale horse. Now horse doesn't mean that these things are literal. They're figurative, representing speed and strength. Meaning here comes a man who's moving very fast. He comes as though he's a good man on a white horse. He's got authority and he's conquering and gaining influence. Second, there's a red horse which is talking about war, people killing each other. Then verse 5, Revelation 6 and verse 5, there's a black horse talking about famine. Then there is the fourth seal that is Revelation 6 and verse 7. There's a pale horse talking about death, hunger, and being, you know, destruction of life. And then we see that there are many people who are being martyred for the faith in Christ. Revelation 6 verse 9, it says, when he opened the fifth seal, he said to the all to the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held. So right from the start of the tribulation, people are going to be killed for believing in Christ. So that's why we are saying that there will be people who believe in Christ during the tribulation. Obviously, when they see everything happening, they will know that the Bible is true and they will call on the name of the Lord. They will be saved, but it's going to be very difficult to be a believer. They're going to be slain for the word of God and the testimony where they held. And there, their souls, of course, they will go right up into heaven. And then it tells us here, verse 11, Revelation 6, 11, white robe is given to them and their fellow servants are brethren who will be killed. That means there are even more people who are going to be killed during the tribulation. And then Revelation 6, 12, there is earthquake, catastrophic things happening. The sun and the moon becoming like blood, stars falling from heaven. So Jesus spoke about it. He said the moon would be darkened. So this happens on more than one occasion during the tribulation. So catastrophic things are happening, cosmic events are happening. The earthquake, the sun, the moon becoming like blood, stars or meteors falling to the earth and so on. And the people are crying out to the rock, fallen us and hide and fall. They want to die. They want to hide from the one who sits on the throne. They're recognizing that this is the time of God's judgment. So on the earth, all of these things are starting to take place. Revelation 6, at this time, Revelation 7, God has reserved 144,000 Jewish people who will serve Him during the tribulation. Now, these 144,000 Jews, they don't have to be living in Israel. They could be anywhere in the world because Jewish people are there in Israel, Jewish people are all over the world. But it tells us here in Revelation 7 that he says, you know, verse 3, "'Til we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." That means these 144,000 Jews have the seal of God on their foreheads. Now, this doesn't mean like there's a physical mark in the New Testament. We know that the word to be sealed by God is the presence of the Holy Spirit. Believers, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit to the day of redemption, right? So we are sealed. So the seal of God is a language in the New Testament to talk about the presence of the Holy Spirit. So here's again one more reason why we say these servants of God, Revelation 7.3, they have the seal. They are servants of God. That means they're going to serve God. They're going to do something. They're ministers of God. And they have the seal of God on their head. They have been marked by God given the presence of the Holy Spirit on their lives, put the name of God upon them. And how many of them are there? Verse 4, Revelation 7.4, there's 144,000 from the different tribes of Israel. So I'm not getting into the details of the tribes, but there's a little comment we'll make next year when we look at the tribes and so on. But there are 144 of them. And what are these people going to do? They are going to be preaching. They're servants of God. They're going to serve God during the Tripoli. Now, there are a lot of questions we could ask. Why did God choose 144,000 Jews? Why is He doing this? We don't know. There's a reason, of course, that God knows of why He's having these 144,000 Jews marked, sealed by God, to be servants of God during the Tripoli. There's a reason. God knows perhaps that the Jews rejected Jesus. But now He's using them to proclaim Jesus in the worst time ever. Of course, the second part of the Tribulation will be even worse. But 144 of them are serving God. So the Gospel is being preached. Will the Gospel be preached during the Tribulation? Yes. And God is going to... Many, many people are going to preach the Gospel during the Tribulation. But we know that these 144,000 Jews will be specifically raised by God all over the world to serve the Lord. And as a result of that, we see what happens. Verse 9, Revelation 7.9, that John sees. He sees a great multitude of people. Revelation 7.9. Of all nations, tribes, peoples and languages, they're standing before the throne of God. They're worshiping. And they're falling before the throne of God. They're worshiping God. And in verse 13, then one of the elders answered to me. So now the elders, one of the elders are speaking to John. So there's conversation happening. So John is having a vision of the future. And in that vision, he's seeing a conversation in the future. Right? And he sees one of the elders talking to him and says, you know, do you know who these people are? Where do they come from? And he said, I don't know. Well, you would know. Sir, you know. This is Revelation 7.14. And what he says, these are the ones who come out of the great Tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That means while the Tribulation is going on, people are being killed, being martyred. He saw that in chapter 6. And their souls, they're coming up in the presence of God and they're worshiping God in spirit, in clothes. Remember, our spirit is real, a real being. And these spiritual beings are there in the presence of God and they're worshiping God. They're before the throne of God. They're serving Him day and night. And he says, they will need the hunger, not thirst. It was 16. And the Lamb is going to be the shepherd for 17. And God will wipe over every tear from their eyes. So the result of the preaching of the 144,000 Jews is that many, many, many people all over the world are going to be saved. They will be martyred. And they're coming up before the throne of God and they're worshiping God. This will happen. Seven seals, seven judgments are happening on the earth. Catastrophic things are happening. 144,000 Jews are preaching. Souls are being saved. They have been killed for their faith in Jesus. They are appearing in the throne room of God, worshiping God. Everless night. So while all of this is going on, the last seal represents a time of silence, quietness in heaven. And then the next set of judgments are going to be poured out. These are seven trumpets. But before the seven trumpets, the judgment of the seven trumpets can happen, you see something interesting. Revelation chapter eight versus three to five. What happens? Revelation eight, three to five. There's a golden censor. There's an angel that throws a golden censor and he fills it to fire on the altar from the altar and he throws it to the earth. But this golden incense is representing something. It's representing the prayers of the saints. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints was for ascending before the throne of God. So what is happening? While the seal judgments are going on, the 144,000 Jews are preaching. People are getting, say, they're being martyred. There is also prayer rising up before the throne. So we can say that during the tribulation, there's going to be a global prayer movement. People are going to pray like never before. Because it says there is so much incense, the prayers of the saints coming up before the throne of God. And this censor is being thrown to the earth. Meaning it's like saying, you know, I'm going to add fuel to the fire. I'm going to make this stronger. And remember that that censor representing prayer, prayer, is being thrown to the earth. There's God by His power is going to cause a massive prayer movement happening on the earth. Revelation 8, 3 to 5. The prayers are rising up before the throne of God. During the tribulation, people are going to be praying. Then there are the next set of judgments, the seven trumpets. So what do we see? In verse 7, Revelation 8, verse 7, one-third of the vegetation is destroyed. Then third, verse 8, verse 8, this third of the waters are destroyed. They become like blood. 8, verse 10, chapter 8, verse 10, the waters, the rivers and waters destroyed become bitter. Water problem. Chapter 8, verse 12, the sun, the moon, the stars are darkened. So once again it's happening. It happened in chapter 6 we saw. Happening again in chapter 8, verse 12. And remember Joel prophesying. Joel chapter 2, in the last days, as God is pouring out his spirit, he said, the sun will be darkened and the moon will be turned into blood red before the coming of the great and redful day of the Lord. Joel prophesied. Joel 2, 28, 231. And that's seeing that's happening here. Revelation 8, 12, the sun is darkened and so on. So imagine if the sun is darkened the earth is going to be, it's going to be catastrophic, the weather conditions. Then chapter 9, verse 1, on the 5th trumpet there are demonic powers that are released on the earth and they are destroying people to the point except, you know, they won't touch the people out of the seal they've got on the foreheads and they're destroying people for a period of five months, Revelation 9.5 to the point where men will seek death and they will desire to die. So there's some sort of a demonic power, demons are released on the earth and they're going to trouble people in such a way that for five months that people will want to die. So demonic powers are released on the earth. So it's going to be very, very terrible. People will want to die. They want to die because of all the suffering that they're experiencing. 6th angel, this is Revelation 9.13 and it says, release the angels that are from the Great River Euphrates and one-third of mankind are killed and he sees horsemen, Revelation 9.16 200 million and verse 17 these horses have breastplates of fiery red, high synth blue, sulfur yellow and what are they causing? Fire, smoke and brimstone. And verse 18, Revelation 9.18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed by the fire, the smoke and the brimstone. So this is where we see an army of 200 million. Now when he says horsemen doesn't mean they're going to be riding on horses. It's, you know, in John's understanding they're military, they're soldiers, the military people and verse 17, Revelation 9.17 is talking about fire, smoke and brimstone, sulfur yellow, red and blue. So it, you know, remember John is saying things which are way ahead of his time. He may not understand, you know, nuclear weapons and he may not understand, he would not have definitely understood nuclear weapons and, you know, weapons of mass destruction and missiles and those kinds of things. He would tanks and so on. But he's seeing these destruction which today we can say these kinds of things fire, smoke and brimstone by which one third of people are killed could definitely happen, right? With the kind of weapons and warheads that are there today, these kinds of things can happen. Now this army of 200 million is interesting because there's only one country that could possibly have such a big army and again the passage doesn't say China. It doesn't indicate to us but it's quite possible this is pointing to such kind of an army, right? And we will see later on and we also read about this in Daniel chapter 11 that when the antichrist is operating he will be terrified by news that comes from the east and the north and we will study Daniel next year. He'll be terrified by news from the east and the north and he's the antichrist operating within Israel. So from the east, which most likely, you know, we could say the armies from the east, China and others, the north from Russia. So it is not stated in scripture clearly. Now Russia we can understand because of the names of the tribes that are given in Ezekiel 38. We will look at it, you know, but here in Revelation 9.17 it doesn't tell us who these 200 million are but we can speculate, we can guess maybe the only country that could have such a big army is China and so maybe it's them moving here, maybe, right? And when we come later on Revelation 16 it'll tell us about the river Euphrates drawing up and the army is moving in from that side, okay? So again we are guessing the armies from the east could be China and its allies moving in, okay? One more thing I want to point out here in Revelation 9 is verses 20 and 21 that while all this is happening it says the rest of mankind did not repent. Look at that, Revelation 9.20 and 21. They did not repent and they continued worshipping demons. They continued worshipping idols verse 21. They continued in their murderous and sorceries and immorality. So you can think about the hardness of people's heart that while all these things are happening on the earth yes there are certain number of people who are turning to Christ and dying for Christ and they're coming up into heaven. But Revelation 9.20 and 21 is also telling us that there will be numbers of people who don't repent. They will continue in their evil ways while all this is happening. You know they can read the scriptures and say look these are things the scripture is speaking about but they will not repent. This brings us to Revelation chapter 10 which as I mentioned earlier is a parenthetical chapter. In this chapter John is having an experience where he sees a mighty angel coming to him with a book that's open and this angel is a very big huge powerful angel and this angel, Revelation 10, when this angel comes to John and he says take this little book and eat it. So John takes this book and eats it. Now of course remember it's a vision. It's not like he's physically eating it but in the vision he is seeing this big angel come to him and say John eat this book and John eats this book. So he's seeing this vision and John is in the Spirit he's in heaven and then he's seeing this happen. And as he eats this book he feels that initially it's very sweet then becomes bitter and then the angel says okay you're eating this book which means you have to prophesy some more. That means there is some more prophetic revelation coming to you about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings, Revelation 10 and verse 11. So in the vision he is seeing this and that experience is basically telling John, you're going to get more prophetic revelation about things that are going to happen. It's okay. Now Revelation chapter 11 marks the midpoint of the tribulation. Midpoint meaning Revelation 6 to end of Revelation 10 is the first three and a half years. Revelation 11 to Revelation 19, end of 19, early part of 20 is the second three and a half years. How do we know it? Revelation 11 verses 1 and 2, Revelation 11, 1 and 2, John seeing. He says, you know, he sees the angel saying hey measure the temple of God, but leave out the outer coat and all of it because it has been given to the Gentiles. Revelation 11 verse 2, they will tread the holy city underfoot for 42 months. 42 months is three and a half years. So that's why we say Revelation 11 is the middle of the tribulation. Now the angel is saying for the next 42 months the Gentiles are going to trample Jerusalem underfoot. So 42 months means that seven years we spoke about of Daniel's 70th year is this period of the tribulation and Revelation 11 is the middle of that for the next 42 months. So everything happening from Revelation 11 onwards is the next 42 months, the next three and a half years, the second half of the tribulation. What will happen in Revelation 11? We read about the two witnesses. Revelation 11 verse 3. God says, you know, I'm going to send these two witnesses. Now, and they are going to be ministering for 1,260 days. That's three and a half years, almost three and a half years. They're going to be ministering here on 1,260 days. So Revelation 11 is giving us an idea of what these two witnesses are going to do during the second half of the tribulation. It tells us that they're going to do mighty signs and wonders. They're going to have power to shut up heaven, no rain. They'll call fire from heaven. But what will happen is Revelation 11 verse 8, 7 and 8, that the beast, which is the Antichrist, he's going to make war against them. I'll read more about the beast in Revelation 13. So the name, the beast, is suddenly introduced for us here in Revelation 11 verse 7. The beast that ascends from the bottomless pit. Now, this beast we will see is the Antichrist. It doesn't mean he's going to come from the bottom. It means that he is a man who is empowered by hell. He's empowered by the powers of darkness, by hell. He's going to kill them. Verse 8, the dead bodies will lie in the street, the great city, Jerusalem. Now, spiritually it's called Sodom and Egypt because spiritually Jerusalem has departed from God. That's why it says, spiritually it's called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified. Revelation 11 verse 8. So in that city of Jerusalem, which spiritually has departed from God, these two people will be there. And notice verse 9, it says, people from all over the world will see their dead bodies three and a half days. Think about that. People from all over the world are going to see their dead bodies for three and a half days. Now, only in our day and time could something like this happen. Today, everyone can see what's happening in different parts of the world. In life, you know, you can, on your phone, you can, you know, connect whatever life stream is happening. And in real time, on your phone, you can see what is happening in a different part of the world. About 30 years ago, it was not, you know, not possible. You know, yeah, you would read in the newspaper, but that would happen later on. Or you might see a video on television. But here, Revelation 9, 11 verse 9, you're seeing it in real time. And then it says in verse 11, after three and a half days, life will come into them. They will stand on their feet. And they will be taken up into heaven. Revelation 11 verse 12. And people will see it and great fear will come on them. So these two prophets, two witnesses are serving God in this second half of the tribulation for three and a half years or 1,000 to 60 days. Towards the end of that period, they're going to be killed. Their bodies will be seen all over the world. They'll be lying there in Jerusalem for three and a half days. And when people are watching, they'll rise up and they'll be taken to heaven. So again, it's a powerful sign from God that he is doing something. Now, of course, the question is, who would these two people be? Who are these two witnesses? And there are different opinions. Now, one is we know one person would be Elijah. Because in Malachi chapter four, God says, I will send Elijah the prophet to you before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. So God said, I will send Elijah the prophet. Now, when the Lord Jesus was here and was earthly ministry, he said in Matthew 17, he referred to John the Baptist. He said, Elijah has come. But Jesus also said, Elijah will come. Matthew 17. So that means he says, OK, here's John the Baptist. He's come in the spirit and part of Elijah. But the Elijah will also come. Jesus also said that. So we could, you know, with a lot of confidence, say that one of these two witnesses would be, why would it be Elijah? Because he didn't die physically. He was caught and taken up into heaven. So if we go by that premise, we go by that reasoning, then we would say, well, the other person like that was Enoch. He was caught up into heaven. He didn't die. So most likely the other witness would be Enoch. And both these men would be sent back to the earth. They will bear witness. And then they will be killed. They will die. And they will be taken up into heaven. Now, some people say that it could be Moses because on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared along with Jesus. So that's their reasoning as to why the second, the other witness could be Moses. You know, my thought would be Elijah and Enoch for the same reason that both these men didn't die. They were taken up into heaven. The Bible says it is appointed unto men once to die. But, you know, we know Elijah was specifically stated. God said, I will send Elijah. The other one, we don't know. We could do our best guess based on what we see in scripture. But you don't have to fight about it. The most important thing is, you know, there will be these two witnesses who will be serving God in the second half of the tribulation. They will do mighty things. And the details that are given here will be fulfilled. Okay. So I'm going to pause here. Any questions so far? We haven't finished chapter 11. There's some more. I will pick up in the second part of chapter 11 next week. But is everyone following me? You all with me so far? Any questions? Okay. I'm assuming things are clear. Okay. If there's any doubt or anything that comes to your mind later on, you know, just feel free to ask. And this is just an overview of the chapter by chapter. We're not reading every verse next year. We will do it. But it gives us a good idea of these other things that are going to happen during the tribulation as the Lord revealed it to John. Okay. So let's pray and close for today. And we will continue this next week. And we'll see how far we go next week. And we'll pick up in middle of Revelation and finish that. Okay. Could somebody pray with us? And then we will dismiss the class. Anybody? Good pray, please. Lord, we thank you for this time of learning. We pray and ask our God that we would continue to wait upon your coming and prepare ourselves. Lord Jesus. And we also pray that we would be able to lead and meditate upon the book of Revelation and Daniel and get more insights from it and to understand us as what you're trying to tell us Lord Jesus and you would open the eyes of our understanding and you would grow with you Lord Jesus. Lord, we thank you for this class. We thank you for all our classmates. We declare your grace and protection upon each one of us God. We thank you in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you everyone. Let's take a break and we can head off to your next class. God bless. Thank you. Bye now. See you next week. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you everybody. Thank you everybody. God bless you. See you soon.