The “woman clothed with the sun” is a great sign: she is herself and portends or points to something else, namely, “the Great Day of Almighty God” [16:14]. But, the proximal result of this “great sign” is that Saint Michael and his angels [angelic and human] cast out Satan and his angels [angelic and human] from heaven “unto the earth”; and in 12:12 a “loud voice in heaven” declares the time of this event,

“Woe to the earth and to the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has a short time.”

This implies that, as Satan was cast out of the Church, so he will be cast out of the world [the earth and sea]. Therefore, the term “a short time” can refer to only one period: the last 3½ years of the second woe.

Books, ReligionSite MasterMay 12, 2018Revelation, Apostasy, End Times, WoeComment

The Imperial Guard of the Lamb.

The number “144,000” signifies a minority, a small minority out of the entire laity, just as this number in Chapter 7 indicated that only a small minority of the Jews had converted to Christ by the fourth century AD. However, the number “144,000” in this chapter, does not represent all who have remained faithful, but a special minority of them.

Religion, BooksSite MasterNovember 27, 2017Revelation, End Time, JudgementComment

The Problem With Symbols

John, under divine inspiration, deliberately wrote the Apocalypse rife with symbols and subtleties, so that the book would not be a breeze of a read for anybody. He understood that the symbols and subtleties constituted a major problem, one that would occasion many a pounding on pate and tearing of hair, and, perhaps, even splitting of wits and spitting of his name--none of which, may I point out, deterred him from his task; yet, it ought not to be thought that the Seer, a man whose mansuetude pervades every page of his epistles, had even one mean bone in his body.

Religion, BooksSite MasterNovember 17, 2017Beast, Revelation, ApocalypseComment

The Coming of the 200 Million Horsemen

In John's day, the population of the entire Roman Empire was about 125 million; and one out of every ten could be trained and maintained in the military. The 200 Million Horsemen, therefore, according to the ancient ratio, which has changed little in modern times, suggest a population of TWO BILLION.

Religion, BooksSite MasterNovember 6, 2017Bible, Prophecy, Revelation, WoeComment