Revelation and the Antichrist: A Commentary

By William Edward Dewberry

Before the end of time, there will be a short period when Satan will be free to cause great tribulation and distress to the people on earth. God has foreknowledge and has determined the future events that will take place during Satans time on earth. Revelation was written to warn mankind what God has determined for the future. Those who have remained faithful to God will not be harmed during the tribulation and distress. Revelation and the Antichrist is the climax of the story of Gods redeeming plan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449772307

William Edward Dewberry

William Edward Dewberry’s life first began in 1930 during the great depression in a middle class family near Cleburne Texas. His first real experience with the Christian religion occurred when he was 19 years old and he read the Bible for the first time. His reason for reading was boredom during a stay in the hospital for leg surgery in 1949. He was confined to bed in a small room by himself most of the time without a radio, television or reading material except for a bible that was placed in the room by the Gideon Society. He began reading the bible and was so spellbound by what he was reading that he spent every waking moment reading until he was dismissed from the hospital. For the next few months during his daily activities his mind dwelled on the scriptures. He left his job and moved to Dallas, Texas to live with his mother who at that time was a regular member of a protestant church. He attended church with his mother a few times then made his commitment to become a Christian one Wednesday evening, by confessing his faith in Christ and being baptized in water. He has attended two Christian colleges and he has taught bible classes and did personal work for the last 60 years. He still loves to teach about the bible but at 83 years of age he confines his teaching to writing.

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Copyright © 2012 William Edward Dewberry

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God’s Redeeming Plan - Tribulation

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-7231-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7232-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7230-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012919824

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/22/2012

Contents

Preface

Preparatory Introduction

Introduction

Section 1: Chapters 1 Through 3

The Church In Ephesus

The Church In Smyrna

The Church In Pergamos

The Church In Thyatira

The Church In Sardis

The Church In Philadelphia

The Church In Laodicea

Section 2: Chapters 4 Through 7

Chapter 4—The Throne Room In Heaven

Chapter 5—The Lamb Receives A Scroll

Chapter 6—Opening The Seals Of The Scroll

The Fifth Seal Is Opened—The Martyrs

The Sixth Seal Is Opened—Great Earthquake

Chapter 7—The One Hundred And Forty-Four Thousand

Section 3: Chapters 8 Through 11

The Fifth Trumpet Sounds

The Sixth Trumpet Sounds

The Mighty Angel And The Little Scroll

Chapter 11—The Two Witnesses

The Seventh Trumpet

Section 4: Chapters 12 Through 14

The Beast From The Sea

The Beast Out Of The Earth

The Lamb And The One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand

Section 5: Chapters 15 Through 16

The Bowl Judgments

God’s Bowls Of Wrath Poured On The Earth

Section 6: Chapters 17 Through 19

Chapter 17—The Great Harlot Who Sits On Many Waters

Chapter 18—God Summons His People To Come Out Of Babylon

The Fall Of Babylon The Great

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

Finality Of Babylon’s Fall

Heaven Celebrates Babylon’s Defeat

Christ On A White Horse

The Beast And His Armies Defeated

Section 7: Chapters 20 Through 22

Judgment Of The Great White Throne

The New Heaven And The New Earth

The New Jerusalem

PREFACE

The book of Revelation reveals a future period of time when there will be a great persecution of the church that will challenge the faith of all Christians. Many books have been written to interpret the book of Revelation, and there are many theories about the future persecution and great tribulation at the end time and end of time. The opinions of Bible scholars and commentaries are diverse and sometimes leave their readers confused.

Revelation and the Antichrist explains God’s message about the future times in a way that the average student of the Bible can understand and accept. The book was not written to criticize anyone’s belief but to encourage Christians of all churches to reason together for a better understanding of these future events. No one knows what time in the future the persecution and tribulation will begin, but Christians need to know about these future events and be ready, for they will test our faith—and they could begin tomorrow.

Revelation was written not only to reveal the events of the persecution and tribulation, but also to encourage and comfort Christians when the time comes. Satan will be the instigator of the tribulation, and those who are spiritually unprepared may become victims of Satan’s evil plot to destroy their faith. The Antichrist, empowered by Satan, will come before the second coming of Christ, and he will be responsible for the persecution and tribulation.

The spirit of mankind does not die—life extends beyond the grave, and at the end of time God will deal justly with all people of every time period. According to Matthew’s gospel, people will be divided into two groups—the righteous and the unrighteous. Jesus and the angels will come to the earth to take vengeance on Satan, the Antichrist, and the people who are still unrighteous. Christ and the angels will be seen descending on the clouds of the sky in glory with great power.

Christ’s coming will be a time of grief and sorrow for the unbelievers and the unrighteous, but it will be a time of joy and comfort for God’s people. The earth will be destroyed at the end of time, but God has prepared a new heaven and new earth in which the righteous will live. The righteous will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and they shall ever be with the Lord. Then the earth and everything in it will be destroyed with a consuming fire.

PREPARATORY INTRODUCTION

The meaning of the word revelation is the act of making known things that are hidden, such as an unveiling of future events. The book of Revelation is called an apocalypse because it reveals future events. The future events were revealed by dreams and supernatural visions of the past, present, and future. The literature of Revelation is called eschatology because it describes the last and final events of God’s plan of redemption, including a time of great tribulation during the final days on earth. The Antichrist revealed in Revelation will cause oppression, persecution and tribulation. He will be a political and religious person in opposition to God and Christ and will claim to be God. The Antichrist will cause great tribulation and death among the people of the earth during a short period of time known as the end time and will persecute the church. These events of the end time will precede the final judgment of God, which determines a person’s final destination. The righteous will ascend to heaven with Christ and the unrighteous will be sent to hell.

Apocalypses contain times of oppression, persecution, and tribulation and are usually revealed by dreams or visions. Apocalypses make a contrast between the present and the future while revealing the latter. Apocalypses are written in figurative language using symbolism and metaphors. The only way we can understand the events in Revelation is to understand the meaning of the figurative language in the book.

The apocalyptic literature in Revelation hid the meaning of future events from the enemies of the church. The church of the first century was familiar with figurative and apocalyptic literature. Many books in the Bible include that type of literature, especially the books of prophecy. Apocalyptic literature includes heavenly visions and dreams interpreted by angelic intermediaries. Angels are intermediaries who communicate between God and man, revealing coming events.

The book of Daniel is a perfect example of apocalyptic literature. God’s people were in captivity in Babylon when Daniel wrote, and Daniel used apocalyptic literature to write about the future of God’s people. The time of the future events in Revelation are always viewed as imminent, because the time for their beginning is unknown.

In 1 John 4, John explains that the Antichrist denies the divinity of Christ. First John 5:6-8 says there are three things that determine the real Christ—the Holy Spirit, water baptism, and the blood shed on the cross. We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:18-19).

In the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians, Paul writes about the Antichrist and identifies him as the man of sin, also known as the lawless one. The end time is a short period of time represented figuratively by Daniel as three and a half years, forty-two months, 1,260 days, or a time, times, and half a time. The end time and the end of time are in the future, but the end time could begin to take place at any time.

Paul wrote about the end time in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4:

Now brethren concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you, 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 has come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped.

Daniel wrote about the time of trouble during the end time followed by the second coming of Christ:

At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

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. 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. (Daniel 12:1-3)

God made sure the church would be prepared for the end times by commissioning the Apostle Paul to write two letters to the church in Thessalonica. These two letters prepare us to understand the events of the end times. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul emphasized the second coming of Christ at an unknown time and warned the church to be ready at all times. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul wrote about the actual events of the end time.

INTRODUCTION

Revelation completes the record of God’s redeeming plan, which begins in the book of Genesis and continues throughout the Bible. There are several references to the end times in the Bible, but Revelation specifically focuses on the future events of the end time and the end of time. The end time is a time of great tribulation on earth symbolized by three and one half years. The end of time when Christ returns to earth immediately follows the end time. In the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians, Paul explained that he knew the end time was coming, but he did not know when it would begin. Paul wrote about a great apostasy that would take place during the end time before Christ came back. He wrote that many people would fall away from their faith in God and would follow a world leader called the lawless one, the Antichrist, and the man of sin who is corrupted by the power of Satan. Satan will be on earth during the end time and will give power to the Antichrist and help him establish his evil empire.

An idea has been presented that Christ will return to earth and reign over the church here on earth for a thousand years before the end of time. The scriptures indicate that Christ has continuously reigned over the church from heaven from its beginning in the first century and will reign over the church in a new heaven and new earth beginning with the end of time. Ever since the first century, the church has always been the kingdom of Christ on earth. Christ’s reign on earth ends at the end of time when the church will leave this earth bound for a new heaven and new earth. A Christian’s citizenship is in heaven and the church on earth waits for the return of Christ who will transform the body