Revelation - Part 4 - Lecture 4

 

Introduction: These transcripts of Kay Arthur's lectures on Revelation (Parts 2-4) are provided as a service to the body of Christ with the written permission of Precept Ministries International. This material is the property of Precept Ministries International and all rights are reserved. The transcripts are for the most part verbatim with deletions identified by the characters (). The utilization of italics, bolding, hyperlinks and pop up notes represent editorial additions. Any written additions are identified by the designation "Ed note". Note that all text in blue identifies a link or popup. All reference are the NASB unless otherwise indicated. Please note that these lectures by Kay Arthur supplement the excellent Precept Upon Precept inductive Bible study on the Revelation. Click the following links to view each division of this encouraging study and note that you can also download the first lesson of each of the 4 parts:

Revelation - Pt 1 - Revelation 1-3, 10 lessons
Revelation - Pt 2- Revelation 4-22, 12 lessons
Revelation - Pt 3- Revelation 4-22, 11 lessons
Revelation - Pt 4 - Revelation 4-22, 14 lessons

If you can find a local Precept class studying Revelation, I would strongly encourage you to join the class, as I know of no other study available anywhere in the world that will equip you so thoroughly to discern the signs of the times and cause you to live expectantly as you look for Christ's Return!

Index to Revelation Lectures
Kay Arthur

Click Here for other "Futuristic" Resources on Revelation
Click here for Kay Arthur's Older Lecture Series on Daniel

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Lecture 01
Lecture 02
Lecture 03
Lecture 04
Lecture 05
Lecture 06
Lecture 07
Lecture 08
Lecture 09
Lecture 10
Lecture 11
Lecture 12
Lecture 00
Lecture 01
Lecture 02
Lecture 03
Lecture 04
Lecture 05
Lecture 06
Lecture 07
Lecture 08
Lecture 09
Lecture 10
Lecture 11
Lecture 00
Lecture 01
Lecture 02
Lecture 03
Lecture 04
Lecture 05
Lecture 06
Lecture 07
Lecture 08
Lecture 09
Lecture 10
Lecture 11
Lecture 12
Lecture 13
Lecture 14

Revelation, Pt 4: Lec 4:
What Will it be Like
When the ''Real'' Antichrist Comes?

Kay Arthur

Click following for literal chapter by chapter chart summary of:
Revelation 4-10
Revelation 11-16
Revelation 17-19
Revelation 20-22

1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.

Antichrist: one who opposes Christ or who takes the place of Christ.

So someone who is ''antichrist'' (1) denies that Jesus is the Christ and (2) will deny that Jesus is God. And the world will listen to and follow them. That spirit is already in the world but there is one coming who will be an individual who is the personification of this spirit of error & of the world and the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah and God. In order to understand him we need to understand the spirit of the antichrist which is in the world even now.

Last week in Mt 16 Jesus asked His disciples ''Who do people say that I am?'' Peter declared that He was the Christ. So at this time many were looking for Messiah (Ed. comment: It is interesting that there are many of the religious Jews in Israel today who are also ''looking for the Messiah''!).

Matt 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They (the Pharisees) said to Him, "The son of David."

What the Jews expected of the CHRIST (MESSIAH)

(1). HE WOULD RULE OVER Israel and Israel would rule over the world. They knew that Messiah was to be the Son of David, the king, who would have One Who would sit on his-David's-throne forever and ever.

(2). the Messiah would perform signs.

John 7:31 But many of the multitude believed in Him (Jesus); and they were saying, "When the Messiah shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?"

(3). THE MESSIAH WOULD SUFFER, DIE AND RISE ON THE 3RD DAY:

Luke 24:45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written, (Where? The OT was all they had… so Jesus was referring to Messianic prophecies) that the Messiah should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; (THE SIGN OF JONAH).

(4). THE MESSIAH WOULD REMAIN FOREVER:

John 12:34 The multitude therefore answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law (the PENTATEUCH, the first 5 books of the Bible) that the Messiah is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"

Jesus had been referring to His death and being lifted up on the Cross. They had heard that once the Messiah came He would remain forever.

In Mt 24 Jesus tells His disciples that there are many false Messiahs who have gone out into the world. He was warning them not to be MISLEAD. If there is one who is going to oppose Christ, then this can not be a system or a government, but it has to be an individual that is yet to come, the ''antichrist'', the personification of the ''spirit of antichrist'' which is in the world even now. Revelation gives us the DETAILS of this final antichrist. Revelation is the last book, the end. What started back in Genesis is now completely fulfilled by the time you get to Revelation. Sin starts in Genesis and comes to an end in Revelation. The Serpent appears first in the garden in Genesis. His demise is in the Lake of Fire in Rev 20. In Genesis man is shut off from the tree of life. In Revelation the tree of life is for the healing of the nations. So what you have between Genesis & Revelation is progressive revelation which centers around a people, the NATION OF ISRAEL, from whom David became a King and in turn from whom would come a Ruler Who would rule over the entire world. Revelation is an unveiling and in it we will see the culmination of all the prophecies that focus on this one antichrist.

OVERVIEW OF WORLD HISTORY

God calls one man, father Abraham, from whom God will make a nation and through whom all the nations of the world will be blessed. At that time He preached the GOSPEL (Gal 3:8) not just to Israel but also to the entire world. The seed and the promise would come through Abraham's son, Isaac (the child of promise) and in turn through his son, Jacob (or Israel). So the Jews are a people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jacob's 12 sons forming the 12 tribes of Israel (cp. the sealing of 12,000 from every tribe in Rev 7). So Israel is clearly in existence from Genesis to Revelation. Israel went down into the land of Egypt because of the famine in Canaan, the land God had given Israel. Israel remained in Egypt for 430 years.

1875BC the Jews went down to Egypt .

1445BC Israel came out of Egypt. So during this 430 years Egypt ruled over Israel, 30 of those years being in good favor until a pharaoh arose after Joseph who began to fear the multiplication of the Jews in his land. Israel is then delivered by God and after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years they go into the PROMISED LAND where they had 3 kings: Saul, David and Solomon.

931BC Kingdom split into a southern & northern kingdom the latter immediately falling into idolatry.

722BC Assyria took Israel (the northern kingdom's name at that time, the southern kingdom being called ''Judah''.).

605BC Nebuchadnezzar takes the southern kingdom into exile for the first time and takes captives back to Babylon (including Daniel).

586BC Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the Temple and the Jews go into captivity.

539BC Babylon is conquered by Medes & Persians who rule over Israel. Cyrus the Medo-Persian king gives the Jews permission to go back to Jerusalem but some (actually ''most'') do not return.

323BC Greece becomes the dominant power over Israel as Alexander sweeps down to conquer the world. This Grecian empire lasts until 165BC: When Alexander the Great dies suddenly at age 33 his 4 generals divide the kingdom and 2 of those generals become significant in Israel's history: The kings of the North, Syria (the Seleucids--see Dan 11). The kings of the South, Egypt, are referred to as Ptolemies. There arises a conflict between the King of the North (Syria) and the King of the South (Egypt) but remember they are both still part of the Grecian empire (so in a sense Greece is ruling).

165BC Maccabean Revolt against the King of the North, a cruel, despicable king, Antiochus Epiphanes, who sets up the statue of Zeus in the Holy of Holies desecrating it by offering a pig on the altar, initiating the revolt by the Maccabees, with Judas the ''Hammer's'' sons liberating the Jewish homeland from the domination by Antiochus Epiphanes.

63BC Rome under Pompey becomes the dominant power and conquers Israel and thus Rome is ruling during the birth of Messiah in 4BC, during the death of Christ 29-30AD and they destroy Jerusalem and the Temple in 70AD. Rome is still the ruling power while John is on the Isle of Patmos, having been banished there by a Roman ruler. When John writes the Revelation, Rome is ruling the world.

So we have 4 kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. In 605BC Nebuchadnezzar took Daniel into exile to Babylon. In Dan 2 Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a statue of a man with a head of gold, a chest of silver, a belly of bronze and legs and a trunk of iron. The two legs lead to 10 toes made of iron and clay. A Stone strikes the statue on the toes and it all crumbles. This Stone then becomes a Mountain (Da 2:35ff-note) that rules over the entire world. Messiah was to rule over Israel and the whole world. Has that happened yet? No, but it will happen because what God says will surely come to pass.

TIMELINE OF WORLD HISTORY
ACCORDING TO DANIEL

NOTE: DATES ACROSS THE TOP ROW
CHAPTERS IN DANIEL ALONG THE LEFT COLUMN
They may not line up well on some browsers

 

626BC 538 331 146 32AD 70AD {TIME GAP} ???

Israel in Captivity Israel’s Restoration & living in the land until 70AD---------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Babylon Medo-Persia Greece Rome Christ Returns

Dan 2 Head Chest Belly Legs {TIME GAP} Stone Crushes

of of of of All Kingdoms

Gold Silver Bronze Iron Da 2:34-35, 45

Dan 7 Lion Bear Leopard DT Beast 10 Horns

Little Horn

Da 7:23-27

Dan 8 Ram Goat

One Horn

Alexander the Great

Dan 8:5-8

4 Horns Da 8:8

Rather Small Horn:

Da 8:9-14

Da 8:23-26

Antiochus Epiphanes

Reigns

175-164BC

Dan 9 444/445 7Wks + 62Wks (Dan 9:25,26) => => => => => Messiah 32/33AD Abomination

Decree by Sanctuary {TIME GAP} of Desolation

Artaxerxes Longimanus Destroyed 70AD Da 9:27 = Daniel's 70th Week

Dan 11 486-465 Alexander the Great 4 Generals Antiochus Epiphanes King does as he pleases

Da 11:2 Xerxes I Da 11:3 Da 11:4 Da 11:21-35 Da 11:36-45

Maccabean Revolt in 166BC

Temple Rededicated

Dec 25, 165BC

TIMES OF THE GENTILES

NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM OF A STATUE IN DANIEL 2:

Da 2:36-note “This was the dream; now we shall tell its interpretation before the king.37 “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory;38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. (NEBUCHADNEZZAR) 39 “And after (expression of time) you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.40 “Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.41 “And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.42 “And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.43 “And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.44 “And in the days of those kings (SO 10 TOES = 10 KINGS) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.45 “Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

  Daniel 2 Daniel 7
Babylon HEAD of GOLD LION
Medo-Persian CHEST of SILVER BEAR (up on one side)
Greece BRONZE ABDOMEN LEOPARD with 4 wings & 4 heads
Rome LEGS OF IRON DREADFUL & TERRIFYING

So Egypt & Assyria ruled over Israel and then came 4 major kingdoms which would rule over Israel and then the Messiah would come. When? In the DAYS OF THE 10 KINGS, then God would set up a Kingdom which would never be destroyed. So from 605BC we can know that in respect to Israel until Messiah there would 4 kingdoms and no more! So as we look back on the book of Daniel to a book which was closed and could not be understood until the time of the end (Dan 8:17), & we see from our vantage point of history that what God said would take place has indeed taken place except for the 10 TOE STAGE. But we know that the DREAM IS TRUE AND ITS INTERPRETATION IS TRUSTWORTHY. We know that Messiah returns to set up His kingdom in Rev 19:11-21-note. So we are simply reading the Bible literally and not trying to force the Bible into history but watching and waiting for history to literally come to pass. Any other approach leads to all sorts of mental gymnastics trying to make it fit.

AN OVERVIEW OF REVELATION

Rev 1:4-note John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come; (God the Father) and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne;5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, (He will give us truth) the First-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth (Messiah was to rule over Israel and over all the world.) To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood,6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. (Once the Stone crushes the statue, then His dominion is forever and ever.) Amen.7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.

So John clearly states Who Messiah is right at the beginning of the Revelation but as he goes on he shows us a beast who rises from the dead, who rules over Israel, who rules over the whole earth. So John shows us the true Christ and then the ANTICHRIST.

John was told to write the things that he saw (Rev 1), the things which are (Rev 2 & Rev 3- Seven churches that existed at that time) and then the things which would come after those things. So in Jesus' message to the CHURCHES, He keeps repeating ''I am coming…Repent or I am going to come…hold fast until I come…I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come.'' Secondly, He talks to the churches about their deeds and that they are to be good deeds. Thirdly, He talks to every church and says ''Blessed is the one who overcomes.'' Who is an OVERCOMER (nikao)? The one that believes (if I really believe I will obey) that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The OVERCOMER is the one who does not go after the spirit of the antichrist that is in the world, the one who does not listen to the world but to God and the Truth, holding fast to that Truth. That one is an OVERCOMER.

A NEW SEGMENT

THE THINGS THAT COME AFTER

revelation 2-3

Rev 4:1-note After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

In Rev 5 we see a 7-sealed scroll in the hand of God and they are looking for One Who is worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals and there is no one found worthy on heaven, on earth or under the earth. Then One steps forward Who is worthy…the Lamb that had been slain…

Rev 5:6-note And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

When Jesus takes the scroll from the Father, heaven praises Him. Then He breaks the first seal in Rev 6. When He breaks 7 seals out of the 7th comes the 7 Trumpets, the 7th Trumpet inaugurating the 7 bowls. When the 7th Bowl is poured out the WRATH OF GOD IS FINISHED and Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. As we have studied it for the past 12 months we know that the seals, etc are chronological. At this point the beast and false prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire forever and ever. We first meet the beast in Rev 11. But Kay believes that the first time we meet the Beast is in REVELATION 6

Rev 6:1-note And I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.”2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown (Stephanos: a victor's crown, a civil award in contrast to a diadem which is a crown that a ruler would wear.) was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer.

This can't be Christ as some have said. ''Was Given'' is an aorist passive indicative verb which means that this ''giving'' of the crown was something that he had no control over but it was allowed to him or bestowed on him. Kay believes that when the first seal is broken is when God starts a new thing in the economy of God. He is through with the churches and now what you see happening as the TITLE DEED TO THE EARTH (the 7-sealed scroll representing God reclaiming the earth which is His and which Satan has usurped) is broken a conqueror goes forth conquering and to conquer. So he wants to conquer more and more and he is allowed to do so…it is GIVEN TO HIM. So at this first seal we see a man come forth who has a goal…to conquer.

In Rev 11 we see the first mention of the beast. By the time you get to Chapter 9 you have the first 6 trumpets blown.

Rev 9:13-note And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

In Rev 10:7-note we see a preview of the 7th Trumpet:

Rev 10:7-note but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.

So when the 7th Trumpet blows, the MYSTERY is over and we know.

Rev 11:1-note And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it.2 “And leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.

The TEMPLE (destroyed in 70AD) is rebuilt. The city is trampled for 42 months (3 ½ years) which Kay believes is the 2nd half of the 7 years.

THE BEAST FROM THE ABYSS

Rev 11:3-note “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth….6 These have the power to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.

So all of a sudden - A BEAST THAT COMES UP OUT OF THE ABYSS.

ABYSS IN SCRIPTURE

Ro 10:6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks thus, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abySs?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

So we learn that the abyss is the abode of the dead.

Luke 8:31 And they (the demons) were entreating Him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

Here we learn that the abyss was a place for the demons.

Rev 9:1-note And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit (ABYSS) was given to him.

So here we learn that the locusts come out of the abyss.

In Rev 11:7-note we learn that the BEAST comes out of the abyss.

Rev 17:8-note “The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come (NOTE THE PARALLEL WITH CHRIST) up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

Rev 20:1-note "And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time."

Satan, the serpent of old, the dragon is cast into the abyss.

Now at this point after the 6th Trumpet and before the 7th Trumpet you have the BEAST appearing on the scene as someone that has died and come back (Rev 11:7-note). Out of the abyss (if that is what it means) here is one who has in a sense suffered death and risen from the dead.

Rev 13:3-note And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”

What makes the beast different? Kay believes it was because he was slain and rose from the dead. Think about it…this one who comes conquering and to conquer has not yet come to his full potential as being recognized for who he truly is…the ANTICHRIST. But he is part of the federation of TEN TOES in Daniel (Da 2:41-42) and is coming into power and is part of a kingdom that is going forth conquering and to conquer. He comes up to a certain point and something happens to him and he is killed and goes into the ABYSS but then he comes out of the ABYSS and the SIGN that he has the POWER and no one is able to make war against him is the fact that these two witnesses that no one else is able to kill him!

So the stage is set and the clock starts ticking for the last 3 ½ years because all your timing begins at the 7th Trumpet with 42 months, Time, times, half a time and 3 ½ years. So ''AFTER THESE THINGS'' in Rev 4:1 you see a seal broken and this man is given a victor's crown and he is allowed to conquer because God has permitted him to conquer. Then something happens and he dies but he is raised from the dead (from the abyss) and walks in and puts the two witnesses to death and that is why the world says ''WHO IS LIKE THIS ONE?'' This one is one of the 7 heads of the beast that also has 10 horns. Remember the history of the 4 kingdoms and then the Stone comes.

So where does this BEAST have to come from if he is the world ruler?

He has to come from that 4th Kingdom and that is what you see as you study Daniel (Click for Daniel lecture on the Antichrist) along with Revelation.

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