Kevin E. Johnson has been in Christian Ministry for over 30 years, having served as an assistant pastor, senior pastor, evangelist, and teacher. His primary calling and function is in teaching the scriptures, with a primary emphasis on  end-time prophecy and current events as they relate to the prophetic Word. Pastor Kevin preaches and teaches whenever and wherever the Lord opens doors. He also publishes a weekly BLOG, http://pastorkj.wordpress.com, with an emphasis on prophecy, politics, and current events as they relate to scripture.

Our study this time takes us to Revelation chapter 22. This is of course the final chapter of this great book. In this chapter John continues his description of the New Jerusalem and of the period of time we have been referring to as the Perfect Age. 

The final two chapters of Revelation, chapters 21 & 22, reveal to us a time that none of us have ever known at this point. I think of the many wonders of the world as it presently exists, all of the breath-taking beauty existing in many places of the world; and yet you and I live in a world still tainted by the affects of original sin. Because of this fact, despite all of the grandeur, the ugliness and scars of the curse are also present. 

In one of the most imponderable statements of scripture we read that after the 1,000 years are fulfilled, he must be loosed a little season. Why, given all of the murder, mayhem, sickness, pain, and misery caused for some 6,000 years of human history by this dragon, this serpent, the devil, and Satan; would you want to let him go once you had him bound and locked away?

We return this time to Revelation chapter 19. We looked at the first ten verses last time and discovered five reasons for Heaven's song of rejoicing. Satan and his man the Antichrist have had their day and their time of judgment will have arrived. This will cause great rejoicing in Heaven as the great plan of God for the ages comes to fruition when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ and He reigns on the Earth. Despite Satan's, and in some cases man's best efforts, the great plan of God for man and the Earth will be realized.

 There are seven major events of end-time prophecy, all of which are covered in the book of Revelation. In chapter 1 we see the resurrected, glorified Christ standing in the midst of the seven churches, typified by seven golden candlesticks. In his right are seven stars, which typify the angels or Pastors of the seven churches. Chapters 2 and 3 deal with the seven churches. While there were more than seven churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor in John's day; the seven that were selected by the Holy Spirit, while certainly actual congregations with very real issues and needs, represent seven distinct periods of Church history; commencing with Ephesus the Apostolic Church, and concluding with Laodicea the Lukewarm, self-absorbed Church. This church represents the final church that will be on the earth just prior to the return of Jesus in the clouds to catch away His people.

By the time we get to Revelation 18, great progress has been made. The world would have by this time progressed through the series of sevens; seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls. It would have witnessed the judgment of the “Great Whore”, the apostate world “super church”, and is now advancing to the end of the Great Tribulation, in fact the events of this chapter present the end of the Great Tribulation, just prior to the Glorious Appearing of Christ at His Second Coming, or Second Advent. 

There has never been a generation on the face of the earth that has needed to understand the message of Revelation more than this one. I realize that is quite a statement, but I believe it is the truth. We have been privileged to be alive at the point in history, a time I believe we could refer to as the last, of the Last Days. What do I mean by that? 

If all of the religions of the world were joined into one global “super church”, what would such a conglomeration look like? More importantly, how would the Lord view such a thing? We really don't have to wonder long, as we are told exactly what this union would look like, and how the Lord will view it in the 17^th chapter of Revelation. 

About thirty percent of the Bible is devoted to prophecy, much of which has already been fulfilled making it easily verifiable. In marked contrast, prophecy is utterly absent from the Koran (although Muslims do hold eschatalogical views), the Hindu Vedas, the Baghavad Gita, the Ramayana, the sayings of Buddha or Confucius, the book of Mormon, or any other writings of the world's religions 

We have been studying for some months now the great book of Revelation. Taken together, the book of Genesis and the book of Revelation, having been penned some 1,600 years apart; are like book ends holding the entirety of the Bible together. Correctly understood and interpreted, the Bible is a cohesive document weaving with a crimson thread the story of man's creation, fall, and redemption.  

Last time, if you will recall, we saw the preparation in Heaven for the pouring out of the final series of judgments on the earth and its inhabitants. This will be the concluding event completing a set of three groups of seven judgments each. At this point in the seven-year Great Tribulation people would have experienced the seven seal judgments, and the seven trumpet judgments. 

We come this time in our ongoing study through the book of Revelation, to chapter 15. This chapter happens to be the shortest of the book, having only eight verses. The opening scene again is heavenly in nature. I want to clarify something I said in an earlier post. 

When I first began this series on the book of Revelation, I never intended to continue the series for as long as it has gone. I thought perhaps I would do a summary of the book. It has turned into a verse by verse exposition. That is really a good thing as expositional teaching is the most important thing that believers need. We see very little of it done in most churches, as many ministers are presenting trite, little topical sermons big on fluff but light on substantive content. 

Revelation 13 sets forth the most disturbing, troubling, yet thorough depiction of the Antichrist and the system he will reside over in all of scripture. John writes, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. [Rev. 13:1 KJV]  

There are a couple of things that one needs to understand in studying the book of Revelation. First, it was written from the perspective of the spirit world. What do we mean by that? Simply that this book, like no other book of the Bible with the exception of Ezekiel and Daniel and a few of the other Old Testament prophets, pulls back the veil, as it were, and shows us things that originate in and are orchestrated by Heaven that in turn manifest in the earth realm.

We have come in our examination of the book of Revelation to the 12^th chapter. This is a key chapter in the book. It is one of the most symbolic in a book filled with symbolism. The manner in which one interprets the symbols here will determine how one not only interprets this book, but in reality all of Bible prophecy.

There will be a Temple that will be re-built in Jerusalem that will be standing in the days of the Man of Sin, the Antichrist; the Satan empowered world leader who will come to the forefront sometime following the rapture of the Church. He will make a pact, a treaty, if you will, which will broker peace between Jewish and Palestinian factions; finally bringing peace in the Middle East. No world leader has ever been able to do this, so this one will be haled as the greatest leader of all times.

The identity of these two witnesses has been a point of disagreement among Bible teachers and scholars for centuries. In all honesty, any of us who teach the Word of God must admit that we are not told precisely the identity of these two individuals.

As we continue with our study in the book of Revelation, we come to the 11th chapter. The fourteen verses continue the fourth and longest parenthetical section of the book. This section of course began in the 10th chapter. There we saw an unusual angel, whom we identified as Christ Himself.

If you will recall last time, we are examining Revelation 10 which is the fourth parenthetical section of the book, presenting us with an interval in the main events; yet filling in much important information. Again, this is the longest parenthetical section, covering all the way from 10:1 – 11:14. The opening events of this interval preparing for the final trumpet blast highlight five unusual occurrences: An unusual angel, an unusual act, an unusual answer,an unusual announcement, and an unusual assignment.