Visions of Revelation: Finding the Order By Petra Quirke with the help of the Holy Spirit
Which seal is the Day of the Lord? Which seal are the trumpets and bowls? How many waves of raptures can we expect? When is the battle of Armageddon going to happen? Who are the angels from the four corners of the Earth? Answers to these questions and to many more are offered in this document. What if we read it wrong this whole time?
Table of contents Part one: the many visions John was given
page 2
Part two: the general structure
page 3
Part three: connecting the trumpet vision with the bowl vision
page 3
Part four: sixth or seventh seal?
page 6
Part five: how many raptures?
page 7
Part six: the wars of Revelation
page 12
Part seven: what about the first 5 seals?
page 15
Attachmen one
page 16
Final chart
page 18
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Introduction This study attempts to accomplish three goals. The first one is to put the visions found in the book of Revelation into the correct order or relation to each other. Most believers have been wrongly taught that the judgments presented in the form of 7 trumpets and 7 bowls are contained within the 7 th seal, or that they simply concur each other (firstly 7 seals, then 7 trumpets, then 7 bowls), yet this has no scriptural bases other than that the 7 th seal and the prelude to the 7 trumpets were put into the same chapter, and that the bowls were written afterwards. Keep in mind that numbering of chapters and verses and chapter titles are NOT part of the original text and cannot be regarded as part of the Word of God. Therefore no conclusions may be based solely on anything that is not part of the original text. Our second goal, which is connected to the previous one, is to make sure the reader understands that there is only one seal which contains judgment / wrath. For many years the students of the book of Revelation were wrongly taught that there are altogether 21 judgments (7x3) in this collection of visions, which will start fulfilling one after the other once the church leaves in the rapture. Yet biblically speaking, there is evidence of only the 6 th seal having anything to do with any judgment or wrath. Check the text yourself and find out which seal as much as mention judgment and wrath – certainly only one. Our third goal will be an attempt at pinpointing - only by using available scripture – possible time(s) of departure(s) of believers throughout the events mapped out. Let's begin.
Part one: the many visions John was given The book of Revelation is a collection of around 30 plus visions that were granted to John the Revelator. People have assumed for centuries that somehow these visions are going to be fulfilled one after the other exactly the way they were written down, yet the scripture never indicates such thing and from the text itself it is quite obvious at times that this isn't quite possible – the same situations are repeated in different visions. We must accept that the book of Revelation is a collection of visions just like any other biblical book containing many different prophecies. Just because one visions follows the other in the flow of the text, it doesn't automatically mean these will be fulfilled one after the other in the real time, unless we find a very good reason for it in the text itself. One must always check the original text before making any assumptions. The Greek text seem to introduce every new vision with the work “and” (kai): and I saw, and I heard, and so on. Of course a vision doesn't start every single time the word “and” is used at the beginning of a paragraph: we must also carefully consider the previous and following content. After a prayerful consideration we have divided the text (beginning with chapter 6) into the following scenes – visions: •
Seals: 6:1-17 plus 8:1
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144.000: 7:1-8
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Multitudes: 7:9-17
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Trumpets: 8:2-21 plus 11:14-19
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Angel with scroll: 10:1-11
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Witnesses: 11:1-13
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Woman and dragon: 12:1-17, this vision has 5 sub-visions
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Beast from the sea: 12:18 plus 13:1-9
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Beast from the earth: 13:11-18
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Song of the 144.000: 14:1-5
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3 angels: 14:6-13
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Harvest: 14:14-20
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Bowls: 2 sub-visions - Prelude - Moses' and Lamb's songs – 14:1-4; main vision 15:5-8 plus 16:1-20
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Babylon 1: 17:1-18
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Babylon 2: 18:1-24
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Wedding: 19:1-10
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Rider: 19:11-21
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1000 years: 20:1-10
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Judgment: 20:11-15
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New earth and Heaven: 21:1-8
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City: 21:9-27
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River: 22:1-5
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Ending proclamations: 22:6-17
We also believe that most of these visions have some kind of connection or a clue that connects them with visions or words given already to previous prophets mostly in the old testament.
Part two: the general structure We believe that the visions contained in the book of Revelation are possible to be put into the correct order by which they will actually play out in the real time, but one must do that based solely on the text itself – no adding, no taking away and certainly no guess work. If you have to guess anything, you just got lost. It is crucial to us that the separate visions are really considered separately, even if they follow each other in the text. The biggest problem is with separating the vision of the seals and the vision of the trumpets: the first 6 seals were put together in chapter 6. Then the vision is interrupted with two different visions – 144.000 (7:1-8) and multitudes (7:9-17), and then the original vision of seals from chapter 6 continues on in the chapter 8. Chapter 8 begins with “when”, introducing the 7 th seal in the same way as the 6 previous seals were introduced. There is no beginning of a new vision detected, so we must conclude that the first verse from chapter 8 is a continuation of the vision from chapter 6 that was just interrupted by two other visions. From verse 8:2 the visions of trumpets begin (“and I saw...”, see Greek original). Just because verse 1 and verse 2 follow each other in the same chapter, it doesn't make them part of the same vision. If you deleted all the extra text that isn't part of the original, i.e. the chapter number, the title of the chapter and the numbered verses, you would clearly see that 8:1 is part of one vision and 8:2 is beginning of another vision. Let's look at the text itself: [chapter 6, the beginning of the seals vision] “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seal, ... . When He opened the second seal, ... . When He opened the third seal, … . When He opened the fourth seal, … . When He opened the fifth seal, … . I looked when He opened the sixth seal, … .”
[chapter 7, two new visions inserted] “After these things I saw four angels standing... . After these things I looked, and behold, … .” [chapter 8 verse 1, continuation of the seal vision from chapter 6] “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” [chapter 8 verse 2, beginning of a new vision – trumpets – detected] “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel … .” Now that we have separated the trumpets from the seals, we can start to try to connect it all together.
Part three: connecting the trumpet vision with the bowl vision Let's begin with the trumpet vision. The vision starts in 8:2-13 and goes on in chapter 9 the fifth and sixth trumpet. There it gets interrupted by two new visions in chapter 10 and 11 and picks up in 11:14 to continue on till the end of chapter 11. 3
First four trumpets seem to be connected: first one is most likely a description of a volcano, second and third contain what seems to be asteroids falling to Earth, and fourth is a description of the atmosphere being darkened by the fall out and debris caused by the first three trumpets. Then the vision is interrupted by an eagle proclaiming about the next three trumpets being 3 woes. Fifth trumpet seems to be more allegoric than the first four and seem to be reminding us of Revelation 12:7-9. Sixth trumpet seems to be reminding us of a vision in Zachariah 1:18-21. Seventh trumpet is the key to connecting this vision to the vision of the bowls.
Let's do the same with the vision of bowls. The prelude of the vision starts in chapter 15. The vision itself is in chapter 16 without being interrupted by anything.
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If you studied the previous charts carefully, you have noticed that what we read in 7 th trumpet, 11:19, is almost identical to what we read in the prelude to the bowls, 15:5: the temple opens. Also you may have noticed that the ending of the 7th trumpet and the ending of the 7th seal is almost identical (in fact the original has the “lightings, voices, thunderings” in the same order in both visions, unlike in the English translation). Let's put them side by side and study them for a minute. Look for where the temple opens in both passages:
Now let's see what happens when we join them together from where the text overlaps:
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We can see that the vision of the bowls (including its prelude in chapter 15) gave us the exact point where it fits into 7 th trumpet. 7th bowl also gave us extra details that were not difficult to work into what we were already given in the 7 th trumpet. The question is: which seal does this conjoined vision of trumpet and bowls judgments fits into?
Part four: sixth or seventh seal? The most common misconception is that this combined vision from part two of this study makes up the 7 th seal. We do not agree with it. Let's think about this for a minute: the single most prophetised event in the Bible connected to the end times is the Day of the Lord, and we know for sure that the Day of the Lord is in the 6 th seal, because of the sun turning dark and moon turning red. Do we really think that there will be a 6 th seal containing the Day of the Lord, followed by 14 extra judgments in the 7th seal (or after the 7th seal) that were never predicted before in the whole Bible? Or is it more likely that the 14 judgments in 7 trumpets and 7 bowls are actually part of the Day of the Lord? Let's check what the 6th seal actually contains:
Now we can see at least two points where the 6th seal connects with the trumpets and bowls – great earthquake and the every mountain / island moved.
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To summarize: the day of the Lord is the 6th seal. It contains the 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of judgment. The question is: where does the rapture fit in?
Part five: how many raptures? While reading the book of Revelation, you will notice that in numerous places it is speaking of different groups of believers. Right at the beginning in chapter 2 and 3, different churches are sent different letters with certain instructions in regards to being tested. Then in chapter 7 the 144.000 are introduced along with the multitudes, which is reinforced later on in segments when these groups are singing different songs already in Heaven. To top it up, Revelation 14:13 tells us: Then I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me,“Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on'.“, which would indicate another group, the martyrs. Let's try to see who's who in connection with other scriptures.
Group one: 144.000 Most believers have probably been led to believe that these are real Jewish virgins that will somehow be awaken in the end times and will start spreading the gospel after the church is taken up. We disagree with this view, namely because this goes against the principal “divide scripture with scripture”, i.e. to find a scripture which defines or explains another scripture we are trying to understand. There is only one way the new testament defines who Jew is: Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” And for the part of them being male only: Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” There you have it, there's no way to get around it. You can do the same with many other “words”: virgin is defined in Revelation 14:4, and which „women“ they didn't defiled themselves is indicated in Revelation chapter 17 – not earthly women, but religious believes of this world. If you really believe the 144.000 can only be males, do you also believe that the wise virgins from Matthew 25 are only FEMALE? Do you really? We cannot guess what certain terms used in prophecies means – we have to find their definition in the Bible. And if the prophecy is meant for our time we live in now, we have to chose the definition that is in the new testament, if there is one in the old and new testament as well, and these are in conflict with each other (as it is with the definition of Jew). So the first group is the 144.000 and we have made a study on this, connecting many scriptures together through similar words such as virgin, wise, bride, Zion, New Jerusalem, etc. Please watch our video on this and / or check all relevant scriptures in attachment 1 at the back of this document.
So who are the people in the first group? These are those that have been refined throughout their lives and followed the Lamb wherever it led them, mostly out of the churches, mostly through trials and tribulations. They are also called “the dead in Christ”: those are not dead people, but again the Bible tells us exactly who they are: Romans 6:4 “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” It's all the same group: dead in Christ, 144.000, Bride, elect, wise virgins. These are those that are removed in the first wave of rapture, BUT because “the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19), we do not know if the whole group leaves at the same time or at different stages, if they all leave and some are sent back, or if just part of them leaves while another part is “left behind” but with much, even visible anointing, working on the greatest harvest of all. Bible is not specific in this and we cannot put God in the box just because He didn't tell us in His word what exactly will happen and when. We have been promised the latter rain which will exceed the former rain, we have been promised to be doing mightier things in the end times than He did when He walked the Earth, but we have also been promised to be taken up before any destruction happens. For all this to be fulfilled, there are either different group within the Bride (some are taken, some are left here to help immediately and transformed to be able to 7
shine bright), or the Bride leaves and comes back, or both. Again: let's not put our mighty God in a box! He can and will do exactly as He decides. He is not limited to what He has revealed in His written word: He is revealing through His end-times prophets and it is up to you to search His confirmation on what's being announced.
Group two: the multitudes The multitudes are easier to understand. Let's look at some scriptures: Revelation 7:14 “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 3:5 “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Revelation 3:17-18 “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” Joel 3:14 “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” From the context above we can see that the multitudes are believers that somehow weren't keeping their garments clean and more pressure had to be applied for them to clean themselves in the blood of the Lamb. From Joel we can see that they had to go through the Day of the Lord and make a decision to stand with or be against God. We can also safely say that these are NOT those that have missed the rapture and had to die to get to Heaven, because that is the third group we will introduce shortly. From Revelation 15 we can see that they somehow made it to Heaven and now are there with the 144.000, because two songs are being sang: Moses song and also the Lamb's song (which only could be learned by the 144.000, as explained in Revelation 14:3). So they are in Heaven with the 144.000, and we believe both groups will be taken up in the second, world-wide rapture, that is called the second coming of Jesus. More about this in the next chapter. Group three: the martyrs The understanding of the fact that there will be some that will miss any of the raptures (probably due to disbelieve) and will have to die to get to Heaven comes from combining of these scriptures. In chapter 6 we learn that the number of those killed for His name has not been reached by 5 th seal: Revelation 6:9-11 “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” Then, in chapter 14 a special group of blessed believers is identified right after an angel warns not to worship the beast and its image and not to take the mark: Revelation 14:13 „Then I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.“ Then we read about this group again in chapter 20 at the first resurrection: “Revelation 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a[a] thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” If the martyrs died before the last wave of the rapture, they would not need to wait to be resurrected at the beginning of 8
the 1000 years Kingdom, because they would be resurrected as the rapture was happening. Therefore we can say these people somehow didn't make it in any of the rapture waves, but later gave their heart fully to Jesus and proved who they belonged to.
Locating the different waves of departures on our Revelation chart Now for the fun bit – let's try our best and locate these different groups and their departures on our chart. Firstly, let's look at some scriptural evidence of (at least) two waves of departures. In the so-often cited passage we can see the two waves once we remember who the dead in Christ are: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. [FIRST WAVE – BRIDE LEAVING] 17 Then we who are alive and remain [GREAT TRIB – TIME OF SORROWS HAVE BEGAN] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air [SECOND WAVE – THE MULTITUDES WITH THE BRIDE THAT RETURNED TO HELP IN THE TIMES OF SORROWS].” In the following verses we can identify all three groups. Keep in mind that firstfruits is used both for Christ (check 1 Corinthians 15:20), but also the Bride / 144.000 is being called the firstfruits (check James 1:18, Revelation 14:4). This passage also confirms that His second coming is the second wave. 1 Corinthians 15:22-26 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits [CHRIST ASCENDING TO HEAVEN, BUT IN OTHER SENSE ALSO THE FIRST WAVE], afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming [SECOND WAVE]. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power [MARTYRS ARE RESURRECTED AND 1000 YEARS KINGDOME BEGINS]. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death [AFTER 1000 YEARS KINGDOME WHEN ETERNITY STARTS].” The next scripture is usually used by those who believe in mid-trib or post-trib rapture. They use it as a proof of rapture happening after the antichrist is revealed. The problem we face here is with a fundamental misunderstanding of the translation of the word “falling away”: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day [Christ's return] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,... .” The term “falling away” was translated from the Greed “apostasia”. This word was used in the whole Bible only two times, while the second time (based on context) is better understood as “forsaken”, so we cannot relate the meaning of between these two passages and we have no other scripture to help us understand the meaning of it. Let's see what this word means in original: “apostasía (from 868 /aphístēmi, "leave, depart," which is derived from 575 /apó, "away from" and 2476 /histémi, "stand") – properly, departure (implying desertion); apostasy – literally, "a leaving, from a previous standing." (Greek concordance) A leaving, from a previous standing sounds a lot like our rapture of the first fruit. When you now read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 again with this knowing, you will see for yourself, that the first wave is the “falling away”, then the men of perdition comes onto the scene (obviously being held by the bride still being present on the Earth), then after some time Christ returns to take both the bride (that was sent back at some point) and the multitudes home.
First wave: when? We have been given a few clues. Zephaniah tells us that the Bride should not be here for the start of the Day of the Lord: Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger. Revelation 3:10 helps too: Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
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Add any other verses about the Bride not being subjected to His wrath and you'll get the picture. From previous chapters we've learned that the Day of the Lord starts with the sun turning black. That's the latest time for the first wave of departures. Since the world-wide earthquake is not part of the Day of the Lord, we cannot say for sure if the exit happens before, during or after the earthquake. That's why we made the border a bit fuzzy. Note that the first wave should coincide with a trump being blown (1 Thessalonians 4:16):
We cannot say if this rapture wave is a single one or if there will be different departures within it, for example children will leave on a certain day and different groups are translated after that or if this is one big wave. We do not know that and we don't need to know the specifics: it's enough to know that somewhere around these foretold events we should be expecting to see some supernatural occurrences. Also, soon after we should be expecting some of the 144.000 to return back to help with the harvest in the time between the “falling away” and the “second coming of Jesus”.
Second wave: when? The second wave, the world-wide rapture event is the one when Jesus is visibly coming down on a cloud, pulling both the 144.000 and the multitudes up to bring them to their Heavenly home. Unlike the first wave, it will happen during the Day of the Lord: Matthew 24:29-31 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other [Mark 13:27 from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven].” The next clue is provided in Revelation 10 – there are 7 mysteries of God, and rapture is one of them, as we know from 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. Therefore we can tell the rapture of the multitudes will happen within the time of the 7 th trumpet:
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Revelation 10:7 “...but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.” When we look at the chart, we can see that 7th trumpet is quite an eventful time. We can narrow the timing down even further, because in the prelude to the bowls we can see both the 144.000 (singing the Lamb's song) and the multitudes (singing Moses' song) are already up in Heaven on the sea of glass, before the temple opens in 15:5: Revelation 15:1-3 “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. 2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying... .”
We have connected three verses from Matthew 24 with the information already provided in the 6 th seal. Interesting point is the connection of the appearance of the sign of man in Heaven – which is the Revelation 12 sign – with the 5th trumpet: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,... .” (Matthew 24:30) is the same sign as described here:“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.” (Revelation 12:1-2) Later on in the same segment:”And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9) The same event is obviously described in the 5 th trumpet:“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.” (Revelation 9:1-2) Astronomically, the sign from Revelation 12 will appear in the sky on September 24, 2017. If we consider that the whole sign is basically a rehearsal of Marie's pregnancy & Jesus' birth, we could just subtract 40 weeks from Sept 24, 2017, to find the starting point of the sign. That would bring us to December 18, 2016. But even though a typical pregnancy is usually counted as 40 weeks long, at the end of it the baby is only 38 weeks old, because the start of the pregnancy is moved 2 weeks before the actual conception, since it is calculated from the first day of the last period the woman had (since the date of the conception is usually not known and period is usually the only date the doctor has got at hand). Therefore we will only subtract 38 weeks from September 24, 2017 (the culmination of the sign of the Son of man) to see when this rehearsal of the pregnancy starts: January 1, 2017. We believe that this whole time from January 1 till September 24, 2017 is very important prophetically, especially when the sign itself is mentioned twice in the texts concerning the events before the return of Jesus. We do not know how exactly everything will play out, but we do know we have to watch for this period.
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Part six: the wars of Revelation Now that we have conjoined Matthew 24:29-31, 6th seal, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls into one easy-to-understand segment which we can almost already see playing out in our so-called reality, let's look at the wars described in the book of revelation. There are a few places within the 6th seal that suggest war-like activities: in 6th trumpet we read of an army of 200 million (Revelation 9:13-21). In 6th bowl we read of a preparation of a battle of armies of the world at Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16). Thirdly, we read about a battle between the armies of Heaven and the earthy armies gathered together (Revelation 19:11-21). We believe these all are different segments of the same war. To understand the next part of this document, we need to explain our understanding about what's written in Matthew 24. Matthew chapter 24 has long been accepted as kind of general instructions from Jesus Himself about the end of times. It is an answer to a question the disciples asked about the signs of His return and signs of the end of age. Is it important to see that Jesus have given His answer in 3 different segments: 1. from verse 4 till 14 general instructions are given to His follower; section is ended “and then the end will come”. 2. from verse 15 till 28 is a segment on situation in Juda and of a great war, and false Christs just before His return. 3. from verse 29 till 31 a description is given for the time of the start of the Day of the Lord until the second wave of rapture. We have already connected the 3rd section onto our time line. The 2nd section that speaks of Juda and the great war will be added separately in connection to the three places in Revelation mentioning all things related to war. Let's read it together to refresh our memory: Matthew 24:15-28 ““Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
6th trumpet: the war drums begin to beat To understand the next part, we need to state that there are 2 different groups of 4 angels mentioned in Revelation and they are not the same 4 angels, because it is specifically mentioned where they are positioned at: 1. four corners of the Earth, 2. at the river Euphrates. Later on we will see that one set of angels is more powerful than the other. Angels from the four corners: Revelation 7:1-4 “After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed.” Angels from the Euphrates: Revelation 9:13-15 “Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound 12
at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.” To find out who these 2 groups of 4 angels symbolize, we have search the Bible inside out to find another scripture to help us understand, and of course there were a few: Zechariah 1:18-21 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns. 19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” This vision is full of “horns”. Read it a few times for it to settle in a bit. Let's connect all the information provided. 1. There craftsmen are more powerful than the horns. 2. The 4 horns are the 4 angels from the river Euphrates: they represent 4 countries around the river Euphrates (revelation 9:14). These countries are most likely Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran (Iraq and Iran as previous Medo-Persia), some sources mention also Saudi Arabia as being one of them, because they count Medo-Persia as one country / angel. 3. The 4 craftsmen are more powerful than the horns and are coming to punish the 4 horns for scattering Juda, and are the 4 angels from the 4 corners of the Earth. From Ezechiel we sense that these are sent from God Himself to punish those that dwell on the earth: “‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now the end has come upon you, And I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations. 4 My eye will not spare you, Nor will I have pity; But I will repay your ways, And your abominations will be in your midst; Then you shall know that I am the Lord!’” (Ezechiel 7:2-4) We can see that this punishment is what the whole content of the 6th seal and that the anger is poured out after the 144.000 leave / are marked for their protection, since these winds of judgment cannot blow until the 144.000 are marked by the seal. Specifically, we believe these are also the 4 archangels Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael that will in the end overcome the 4 angels bound in the river Euphrates. The events of 6th trumpet, the unbinding of the 4 angels at the river Euphrates therefore seems describes a war of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and perhaps Saudi Arabia against our modern day Israel (in the Bible called Juda) and in we are to go by what Zechariah wrote in the first chapter, Israel will not do very well. Is this what Jesus was warning about in another section of Matthew 24 and Luke 21? Matthew 24:15-22 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.“ Luke 21:20-24 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.“ The „abomination of desolation standing in the holy place“ (Matthew) is obviously the same as “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (Luke) that came to “scatter Juda and Jerusalem” (Zechariah). The comment about the “pregnant and those who are nursing babies” seems to indicate that enough time since the rapture of the bride and of the children passed for babies to have been born again when this event happens (check the chart on the 13
page 11 and notice that the 6th trumpet happens after the first wave of rapture. It is generally believed that children are going to be taken within this first wave.) There must be a reason why Jesus warned people in Juda to run once they see Jerusalem surrounded by armies. We believe it's because of what Zechariah been told – the 4 horns / countries will scatter Juda and Jerusalem. He was also told that somebody much stronger will come and punish these 4 horns.
6th bowl: the armies begin to gather against the kings of the east In previous part we have seen the angels unbound to scatter Juda and Jerusalem. Moving onto the 7 th trumpet and its 7 bowls of judgment (all 7 may be poured out quickly one after the other!) we can see the same armies being gathered in a place in Israel called Armageddon against the Heavenly armies: Revelation 16:12-16 “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” 16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” Verse 12 – water drying to prepare the way of the kings from the east reminds us of Matthew 24:27 “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Here we can see this is not about His second coming (world-wide rapture), but about His coming to defeat the armies of Armageddon. Then, in chapter 19 we actually see Jesus coming with his armies to defeat them: Revelation 19:17-21 “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” The segments in which the angel is calling the birds to feed on the dead bodies reminds us of Matthew 24:28 “For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Where else can we read about birds feeding on dead armies? That's right, in the mighty battle of Ezechiel 38-39! Ezechiel 39:4 “You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.” Ezechiel 39:17 ““And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and come; gather together from all sides to my sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood.” What else is written in Ezechiel 38-39? There is a mention of hailstones that helped greatly in defeating the armies: Ezechiel 38:22 “And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” We can safely connect Ezechiel 38-39 and previously mentioned verses from Matthew 24 with the 7 th trumpet, 7th bowl and the hail (chart on the next page):
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You can download this chart here to be able to enlarge it, or find the same chart in size A4 at the back of this document for print.
Part seven: what about the first 5 seals? It is not the aim of this document to exhaust everything about the book of Revelation and its visions. Yet, if you read till the end, you must be asking yourself? What about the first 5 seals? Have they been opened yet? We will say this much: the first 4 seals of the book of Revelation are the chariots portrayed in Zechariah 6. Zechariah 6:1-8 “Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, 3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds. 4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” 7 Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. 8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.”” We can see here that the first 4 horsemen of Revelation leave at the same time, i.e. are happening at the same time, and that there are representing 4 spirits. We will simply state our understanding of what these four spirits are and when they actually been released (seals opened). It doesn't matter if you agree with us or not – once the sun turns black we will all know the 6 th seal has been broken. 1. white horse / third chariot with white horses: this is the spirit of antichrist / spirit of unbelief that in our has been mostly manifesting in our time by materialistic science that deny God as the creator. It conquered the whole world without any weapons. It goes to the north country following the black horses (north country as in north from Jerusalem). Countries north of Jerusalem are the so-called first world countries. Science is dependent on wealth, represented by the black horse / second chariot with black horses. 2. red horse / first chariot with red horses: this is the spirit of collectivism, manifesting in our time as communism. Red is its colour, war is its tool. We have no direction given as to where they are going, communism spread north and 15
south of Jerusalem. 3. black horse / second chariot with black horses: this is the spirit of individualism, manifesting in our time as capitalism. It goes to the north country, we are basically speaking of the first world countries with market economies. Science follows it. “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” - is an echo of what's been happening daily on Wall Street and other exchanges (everyone wants to be in the “black” - profit). The oil and wine – the wealthy has always been preserved by capitalism, unlike the poor slaves in the exploited countries that are creating all the goods the wealthy countries consume. The it's been well known that these people are being only paid minimum to survive – a day of work only barely covers food they need to keep alive. 4. pale horse / fourth chariot with dappled horses: this is the spirit of Islam / false religion. Its colour is green (check out flags of Islamic countries). At the moment, Islam covers 25% of dry land. Islamic countries, especially in Africa, are known for having to deal with “sword, hunger, death, beast of the Earth (also viruses and bacterias)”. They go to the south country (view from Jerusalem) – most of the Islamic countries are located south from Jerusalem. We believe these 4 horses / spirits were released onto the Earth around 250 years ago and are the direct result of what secular conspiracy theorists call “Illuminati conspiracy”. Capitalism – the bank system as we know it started around then. Communism originated at the end of 18th century in Paris - “communa” during the French revolution, and from there spread to Russia later on. Scientific revolution started around 1750. The Pope and Papacy lost its status during the French revolution in 1798 and we believe that the spiritual powers behind it largely moved to use Islam as its main tool for about the next 100 years. Both religions have a lot in common: they largely suppress the role of Jesus (in catholicism, the priest forgives sins; in Islam Jesus in only a high prophet but not son of God), they promote salvation through works, at least partly, and their followers have been known for having a problem with pedophilia. Just stating the facts, not trying to offend anybody. The fifth seal seem to have been opened in the 50's when the persecution of Christians increased firstly in communist countries (especially in Russia, central and Eastern Europe, China) and then in the 70's the increase in persecution started to be felt in Islamic countries after many Islamic revolutions (Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran to name a few). We believe the 6th seal is about to be open. We have updated the chart with some of the years previously mentioned in this document and you can find it on the next page. We hope this study has blessed you immensely. If you are still questioning how everything within the 6 th seal can happen so quickly, especially with the 1260 days and 42 months prophecies, we would kindly redirect you to this website: Behold the beast.
Attachment 1: Connecting the dead in Christ, Bride, 144.000 and more Are you "dead in Christ", part of the group waiting on Jesus Christ? Who are they? •
dead in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18; Romans 6:4, 8:10, 13:14; Galatians 3:27)
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few (Mat 7:14, 9:37, 20:16, 22:14; Luke 10:2, 13:22-24)
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sealed by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 25:1-13; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30; Proverbs 21:20; Revelation 7:1-13)
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elect / chosen (Matthew 24:22-31; Mark 13:20-27; Romans 11:7; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 17:14; Isaiah 65:22)
What are they like? •
wise (Proverbs 3:35, 10:8, 10:19, 14:35, 21:20, 29:11; Matthew 7:14, 7:24)
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faithfull (too many verses to list)
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righteous (Matthew 5:10, 5:20, 13:43; Romans 8:10; 1 Peter 3:12; Revelation 19:8; Proverbs 10:6, 10:21, 11:4, 11:8, 16
13:9, 18:10, 24:16; Isaiah 32:17, 51:1) •
blessed (Proverbs 10:6, many other verses)
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hold their feelings (Proverbs 29:11)
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receive commands (Proverbs 10:8)
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delivered from trouble or death (Proverbs 11:8, Proverbs 11:4)
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slow to speak (Proverbs 10:19; Isaiah 32:17)
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build on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25; Romans 9:33; Proverbs 18:10; Isaiah 51:1)
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have clean clothes (Revelation 19:8; Ephesians 5:25-27)
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want Jesus to come back (Revelation 22:17)
What do they represent? •
the virgins - never believed they can be saved by religious practise (Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 7:1-8)
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the 144.000 (Revelation 7:1-8, 14:1-5)
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the body of which Christ is the head (Romans 7:4, 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 12:27; Ephesians 3:6-7, 4:11-16, 5:23; Colossians 1:24-25)
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good servants (Matthew 22:10, 24:45-46; Proverbs 14:35)
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the bride = New Jerusalem = Zion / daughter of Zion (Romans 9:33, 11:26; Ephesians 5:25-27; Joel 2:16; Revelation 3:12, 14:1, 21:2, 21:9, 22:17; Isaiah 33:5; 60:14; Psalm 2:6, 9:11, 14:7; Isaiah 2:3, 62:11, 66:8; Joel 2:1-2, 3:17-21; Zechariah 2:10, 9:9)
What will they be doing? •
participate at the great harvest of souls (Matthew 24:45-46; Isaiah 2:3, chapter 60, Isaiah 66:8; Daniel 12:3)
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be gathered from the 4 winds (Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; Revelation 7:1-13; Joel 2:1-2)
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pass through the narrow gate (Luke 13:23-24; Isaiah 26:2)
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rise (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Isaiah 60:1-3; Song of songs 2:13; Micah 4:13)
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shine (Matthew 13:43; Isaiah 60:1-3; Daniel 12:3)
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will not be put to shame (Romans 9:33, 10:11)
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be kept from the hour of trial (Revelation 3:10)
What will they receive? •
the latter rain (Joel 2:23; Hosea 6:3; Zechariah 10:1; James 5:7)
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opened door before them (Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:7-8)
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tree of life, everlasting life (Matthew 25:46; Proverbs 11:30)
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glory (Proverbs 3:35)
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Jesus' new name (Revelation 3:12)
Author: Petra Quirke with the Holy Spirit email:
[email protected] Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/P3tr4Q/videos Download chart in png here. Continue onto the last page for the finished chart.
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