Understanding Revelation

By Wesley Cole

This is a book about life and death, conflict and war, courage and faith, heaven and hell.

Gods purpose in having the book of Revelation written was because God wanted the servants of Jesus Christ to understand what is going to take place. He tells us when these things begin they will take place quickly. God so desires us to have this information that He promises to bless all those who will read and heed the book of Revelation.

This book foretells of an apostasy and how the restrainer of lawlessness is removed. How the city of Babylon rises to prominence. What transpires to bring about the demise of Hamas, Hesbollah, the Palestinian resistance and Israels takeover of Jordan. It tells about a prosperous Israel at peace until invaded by a coalition of countries. It reveals how the antichrist comes to power and how he influences the world. It tells us about two of Gods witnesses who are killed and then come back to life. It tells us how God will rescue the Jews from Satans plan to annihilate them. It tells us what will happen before and after the rapture.

This book has over 60 events in chronological order that must take place before Jesus institutes a new government and begins His reign as King of kings for a thousand years.

This is a book about Jesus Christ. In it He tells us what He likes and dislikes about the churches. He tells us about rewards He has for us and what must be overcome to insure we have eternal life. But most of the book deals with coming events that must take place before He returns.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490869452

Wesley Cole

WESLEY COLE was a deep sea diver for fourteen years than in 1983 he started an equipment rental business from which he retired in 2009. He is married, has two children and four grandchildren. He is a member of a local church and has been studying and teaching the Bible for over thirty years.

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UNDERSTANDING

REVELATION

A COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF REVELATION

WESLEY COLE

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Copyright © 2015 Wesley Cole.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher or author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references in this book are taken from the

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6946-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6947-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6945-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015902640

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/26/2015

Wesley Cole operates the website www.godsrevelation.net

where more commentary and teaching can be found.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Section One

Introducing the Book of Revelation with Charts of Events

Chapter 1    Introduction to a Revelation of Jesus and the Future

Section Two

Events and commentary covering Revelation Chapters 6 – 20:6

Chapter 2    Eschatology

Chapter 3    Building Babylon and the Roman Ten

Chapter 4    Men Learn about God, and the Beast Gains Authority

Chapter 5    Death Claims Two Billion People

Chapter 6    The Wicked Are Deluded

Chapter 7    The Antichrist Makes a Seven-Year Covenant, and Two Witnesses Prophesy

Chapter 8    Six Trumpets Bring Havoc to the Earth

Chapter 9    Satan Is Thrown to Earth and All the Nations Gather against Israel

Chapter 10    Christians Triumph

Chapter 11    God’s Wrath Poured Out

Chapter 12

Charts one through fourteen

Section Three

Commentary on Revelation Chapters 1 – 5

Chapter 13    Introducing Jesus Christ Unveiled

Chapter 14    The Churches of Asia

Chapter 15    The Churches of Asia Continued

Chapter 16    The Glory of God Almighty

Chapter 17    The Book Is Taken by the Lamb

Chapter 18    Men Learn about God

Section Four

Commentary on Revelation 20:7-15

Chapter 19    The Judgment

Section Five

Commentary on Revelation Chapters 21 – 22

Chapter 20    The Glory of Heaven

Preface

Many people think the book of Revelation cannot be understood because they believe it is full of mystical signs that cannot be discerned. Others think it foretells of events far in the future and has no application for them today. Both premises for this type of thinking argue against what this book says about itself.

First, this book was written to inform the bondservants of Jesus Christ about future events that, once begun, would take place quickly.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bondservants, the things which must soon¹ take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bondservant John" (Revelation 1:1).

If it was written in mystical ways that could not be discerned or understood, it would not be informative, as it purports to be.

The apostle John to whom these things were given is told, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (Revelation 22:10). This indicates that it was written to be understood and is contrasted with what the prophet Daniel was told when he asked about the meaning of the prophecy he was given. There, the angel told Daniel, Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time (Daniel 12:9).

Second, the book itself says, Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near (Revelation 1:3). This tells us that everyone over the last two thousand years who has read and heeded this prophecy was not long afterwards blessed, and this will be true for us as well. This is unique, because no other book of the Bible makes this promise. It does have application to us.

The apostle John tells us the book of Revelation originates from God the Father and was passed on to him through Jesus Christ and His angel. All the content is from the Father and Jesus Christ. John is only the writer. He begins by addressing the book to the seven churches of Asia. Next, he introduces himself and explains how he received this revelation from Jesus Christ. Then he transcribes the words of Jesus, as Jesus tells the seven churches of Asia what He likes and dislikes about each one of them. After this John tells us what he sees when Jesus calls him up to heaven and shows him events that will take place in the future.

Most of Revelation tells us about prophetic events that have yet to happen. In writing this commentary, I have tried to take the forthcoming events of Revelation, correlate them with other unfulfilled biblical prophecies, and place them in chronological order. This commentary is the result of that attempt.

We know the prophecies mentioned are true and will ultimately come to pass, just as they are written. This commentary presents possible scenarios that could bring about their fulfillment. The proposed causes that propel these prophetic events into happening, the timing of the prophecies, and the exact nature of some of the prophecies in this commentary are speculative, but in no case do they violate Scripture.

Introduction

The Trial and Persecution of John the Evangelist

I lay on the hard stone floor for a long time, waiting for the bump on my head to stop throbbing. It was cold outside, but I wasn’t cold. My robe kept me comfortably warm and had a marvelous softening effect on the floor. I fell asleep but awoke when I heard noises outside my cell. The small door at the bottom of my prison door opened. The glow of torch light flickered through that small opening. A guard pushed through a bowl of gruel and then shut the small door, leaving me in total darkness again. I didn’t mind. On the previous day, they had shoved me with such force into my dark cell that even putting my hands in front of me had not protected my head from being knocked against the stone walls. I felt the bump on my head again. It was still there, but it didn’t hurt much now.

The bowl of food was warm and smelled good. I was hungry. I wiped my right hand on my robe, stuck a finger in the gruel, and then licked it off. Slowly, I began to eat from the bowl as I reflected on why I was here. There was no reason for me to be here. I was accused of no crime. Our emperor, in his wisdom, had decreed that no Christian brought to trial could be exempted from punishment, not even if he was found innocent of the charge brought against him. In Ephesus, where I was the pastor of the Christian church, someone had accused two of our members of murdering their own children. They went to trial, and I, as their pastor, went with them. It was all hogwash. One of the accused men, though married for six years, had never sired any children, nor could any description of a child who purportedly had been murdered be given, nor could a body be found. It was pure maliciousness, encouraged by false publications and a governmental decree that all Christians should be carefully watched for rebellious acts towards the empire. The second accused man had three wonderful children. All three of them were produced in court, and no evidence was found that any of the accusations were true. Both men were cleared of the charges.

This all took place in the Roman court at Ephesus, where both these men were well known and respected. The matter should have ended there but for the emperor’s decree that no Christian, once tried, could be freed without punishment. Both of my good friends were asked to denounce Jesus Christ as a charlatan and proclaim that their allegiance to the emperor was foremost and above any other allegiance to God or man. When they refused, they were beaten with rods and then released.

It became known that I, the constant companion and encourager of these two men, was their pastor and also an encourager of Christianity. It was ordered that I be remanded to the court until the authorities determined how the law—No Christian brought to trial may be dismissed without being punished—should be applied to me. One of the magistrates, no doubt seeking to enhance his career, wrote to Rome to say that I was in their custody. Forty days later, they sent me, in irons, to Rome.

In Rome, I was placed in a cell, where I stayed for six days before being summoned before the tribunal. First, guards took me to a pool where I was allowed to wash. Then they ushered me into the tribunal, where court was in session. I was seated with other men who had been accused of various crimes. Three judges sat behind a bench. As each accused man was called forward, his wrongdoing was stated, and he had an opportunity to give a defense. Then the three judges would confer, and a judgment was rendered.

My turn came. I stood in the center of the room, facing the judicial magistrates. When they asked me to state my business in Ephesus, I replied, It is a privilege to help people know my Savior Jesus Christ.

Your Savior was a liar and a thief, one magistrate said, and He was duly executed as a criminal. It is rebellion to give allegiance to a condemned criminal and especially rebellious to give a higher allegiance to this condemned criminal than to the emperor. Besides that, this Jesus is dead, and the emperor is alive.

What an opening! I had an opportunity to tell them that on several occasions, I had personally seen Jesus Christ Himself, after He had been crucified. I told them I had gone to the tomb and found it empty except for the grave clothes just as they had been wrapped around His body. Jesus appeared not only to me but to all of the disciples and to hundreds of others as well, I told them. I ate with Him and saw the marks on His hands and feet from the crucifixion. Christ’s rising from the dead is something that He taught us would happen, even before He was crucified. He ascended into heaven and promised to come again. Christ promised that all who trusted in Him will one day rise up out of the ground, get new bodies, and never die again.

At that, the chief magistrate stood and ordered me to be silent. I remember his next words. Do you, John, son of Zebedee and called John the apostle, denounce Jesus Christ as a charlatan and proclaim your first and highest allegiance to the emperor?

With great pleasure, I answered, Jesus is my Lord and Master. He has my total allegiance and my love and all that I have.

The chief magistrate looked at the other two magistrates and then turning to me said, It is the order of this court that on the day after tomorrow, you will be placed in a vat of boiling oil and cooked for three hours. He paused, smiling, and then continued. Or until you are dead, whichever comes first. There was laughter in the court.

I was in jail because of the ruling of the Roman magistrates, but I was also in jail because of Jesus Christ. When I think of Jesus, my heart just swells up within me. What a God! What a man! He left all the glory and magnificence of heaven. He emptied Himself of His power and might and authority and even His ability to have life in Himself. He was a God who gave up all this to become a man. This is the man I knew, and what a man He was. He was a perfect picture of love and caring for others. He loved people so much, individually, that He would do anything it took to help them. In fact, He loved so much that His main mission on this earth was to offer His life as a ransom for the lives that were sold into the slavery of sin. He did that, and He did it for me. I’m in jail now because of Jesus Christ, but that’s okay with me. Tomorrow, I’ll be boiled in oil, and that’s okay too. Nothing can repay the debt I owe to Jesus.

In two more weeks, I would have been seventy-nine years old. I’m the very last of the original twelve disciples. Each one of us, except for Judas and me, has died at the hands of those who have hated Jesus Christ.

Andrew was crucified in Asia for preaching about Christ. What a mild-mannered, easygoing man he was—quiet and considerate. Everyone liked him. Andrew’s brother, Peter, was in the fishing business with my father, my brother James, and me. Andrew, though not part of the business, would sometimes help us out. I really liked Andrew. It’s hard to understand why someone would kill such a quiet, likable guy. But Jesus did tell us that if they persecuted Him, they would persecute us.

Peter—what a character. He was blunt, bold, and outspoken. If Peter was on your side in an argument or a contest, you knew you had a solid ally who would not give up. He taught me to fish and to sail a boat. They whipped Peter with pieces of metal tied into the whip, and then they crucified him. Do you know that Peter said he wasn’t worthy to be crucified like his Lord Jesus and requested that he be crucified upside down. They obliged him. Before his beating and crucifixion, Peter was in prison for nine months, and during that time, almost fifty people trusted Christ as their Savior, including two captains of his guard. That Peter—he never stopped.

As boys, my brother James and I were always fighting with each other. He was older than me, so he always won. Before we met Christ, James had the hottest temper going. He could get so riled up that just the smallest thing could set him off. After we met Christ, James began to change, and the change in him never stopped. My brother and I were a lot alike. I was thirty-two years old when James was beheaded; James was thirty-six. He had learned from Jesus to forgive and love his enemies. He did this, even forgiving and loving the man who turned him over to the authorities.

Since James was killed, I’ve wondered how I would react, knowing my life on this earth was soon to end. I can look forward to being in heaven, but still I wonder, how much pain is involved? How much will it hurt? James had it easy from that viewpoint. Bam! The ax comes down, and you’re in heaven. Poor Andrew! It took two days of hanging on a cross for him to die. And Peter—whipped with a metal-studded whip and then crucified upside down. Could I endure all that pain? Would I cry out for mercy? I’ve been afraid that when my time comes, I will be overcome with fear. Yet tomorrow’s the day I’ll be boiled in oil, and I’m not afraid. I have complete peace. My Lord Jesus, the Christ, loves me, and my life is in His hands. Why should I fear?

I wondered about Peter and Phillip—they’d both thought I would live until Jesus returned, but now they probably knew I was waiting to join them tomorrow.

Phillip was another disciple who was crucified. Imagine hanging on a cross. You can’t move, you’re in a lot of pain, and then people throw stones at you. That’s what happened to Phillip. What had Phillip done to deserve that? He just preached the message of salvation to them.

When I heard them coming, I stood up and brushed off my robe. I was ready. Please, Lord, don’t let me end my life in dishonor to You.

I was not afraid, and I had great peace. They tied my hands and then escorted me down the halls and through another building to a courtyard, where there were probably forty spectators and a large cauldron of oil suspended over a fire. A chair was rigged above it so it could be lowered into the cauldron. Bubbles worked their way up through the oil. Two men pulled down the hanging chair, level with the floor. They put me in the chair, securely tied me, and then lifted me over the vat. The smell of the oil had been strong in the courtyard but was much stronger from my new position. They slowly lowered my chair into the vat until I was all the way in, with the chair resting on the bottom of the cauldron. My head and shoulders were out of the oil, but the rest of me was submerged. I was not hot. I was not hurting. Even the smell wasn’t quite so bad. I realized I had my eyes closed all this time so I opened them. Everyone was staring at me. The oil was bubbling up and boiling all around me, yet I didn’t feel a thing. I looked at the two men who lowered me into the cauldron. One of them got close enough to touch the outside of the pot to see if it was truly hot. He yelled, and a large blister appeared on his hand where he touched the cauldron. I tell the spectators that my God was the one who made the heavens and the earth; that He worked His will and nothing could thwart Him. But He didn’t strike men dead immediately when they sinned against Him, because He wanted them to have time to repent. He wanted them to repent because He loved them and wanted to forgive them. In fact, He loved them so much that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for their sins. I preached for three hours and then they pulled me out of the oil. Later, I learned that many spectators and both of the men who operated the chair became Christians.

My guards took me back to my cell—they thought I was a ghost or some kind of spirit. They were afraid to touch me. They gave me a new cell, one with a window. After only a few minutes, they came for me again. At first, I thought they were going to take me back to my first cell, but they took me to the pool, where I was able to wash and clean myself. I was covered with oil, and it had a very rank odor. After washing, they gave me a new robe. Will wonders never cease? I thought. When I got back to my new cell, there was a chair, a table, and a mattress in it.

The prison commander came to me and wanted to know what had happened; why wasn’t I dead? I told him about Jesus. It seemed that they all came, one or two at a time, everyone who worked in or around the jail. I told them all about Jesus.

After about three weeks, the prison commander visited me again. He wanted me to tell him everything I could about Jesus. I talked for more than six hours. When I told him about Christ’s resurrection, he asked me to tell it again … and then tell it again. He wanted to know when Christ was coming back and what he had to do. I told him. Two days later, he came back and confessed that Jesus was now the Lord of his life. He asked if I could baptize him, and I did so in the wash pool. Two days later, he was removed from his command. I never heard from him again, but I know I’ll see him in heaven. Shortly after this, I heard that I had been banished to the Isle of Patmos. I was to leave the next morning. My guard confided to me that the three magistrates who had sentenced me also had been banished. Their banishment had been to minor posts in remote parts of the empire. Their little joke—boiled for three hours or until dead—had backfired.

Rocks, rocks, rocks—everywhere you go in Patmos, that’s all you see. I had a garden where I raised a few vegetables, but the since the soil was so poor, it had to be strengthened. I collected goat dung, chopped straw, and ashes, and then mixed them together and spread the mixings on my garden plot. Then I hoed the mixings into the soil. My garden was only four cubits by seven cubits, but it produced a few squash and cucumbers.

I really couldn’t complain. I’d been on the island for three years and was given preferential treatment. The island commander made sure I had enough food and enough wood to keep a fire going. I lived in a cave, but it was comfortable. I had a writing table, two chairs, and a straw mattress. I was allowed two visitors each week—these were always other prisoners, as only prisoners and guards were allowed on the island. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted as long as I stayed within the confines of my allotted space. No work was required of me, but this was not the case for the other prisoners. They worked hard every day in the quarries. Once a month, if their work was satisfactory, they got a day off. There usually were five or six men each day that earned their once-monthly day off.

There were other Christians on the island. Claudius, a former Roman centurion, was here because he embezzled funds. His uncle, a wealthy landowner, pleaded for his life and gave almost two hundred drachmas to a Roman senator, who interceded for Claudius. After arriving on Patmos, Claudius gave his life to Christ after hearing the witness of Phillip. Phillip was from Macedonia, a scholar and first-rate historian. He came to Christ after reading the writings of Luke. He said Jesus had to be the Jewish Messiah and that all history pointed to that fact. Since Christ had been resurrected, all men could find forgiveness through Jesus’ payment of their sins. Phillip, like me, was on Patmos because of Jesus Christ. He was accused only of not giving his first allegiance to the emperor. Phillip worked in the quarry; he liked the hard work and said it gave him opportunity to share Christ with the other prisoners. After Phillip talked to the prisoners in the quarry, he would send them to visit me. So far, forty-four men had confessed Christ as their Savior. Every day, I lifted those forty-four men to God in prayer, as well as praying for Phillip and all the others in the quarry, guards included. We make a good team, Phillip and I. I have yet to see Phillip, though, and I hope one day he will pay me a visit, but the men he sends to me tell me about him.

By the time I’d spent three years on this rocky island, I was eighty-two years old and in very good health, but I wondered if I would spend my remaining years in this cave. I continued to write letters back to my church in Ephesus. I asked the island commander to send the letters for me, but I don’t believe the letters ever got off the island. Certainly, I never received any letters in reply. I considered trying to smuggle the letters off the island, but I knew God granted even the prison officials the authority they had, and it would be sin to counter that authority, unless a higher authority, God Himself, instructed me to do otherwise. Still, writing the letters helped me to collect my thoughts. I knew the commander read at least parts of my letters, and I thought maybe God would use them to turn the commander’s heart to Christ.

One Sunday, the same day of the week on which Jesus was raised from the dead, I went to a flat spot among the rocks. This was where I often prayed and thought of all the things Jesus had told me. On this day, I poured out my heart to God and prayed for Phillip and each of the forty-four men in the quarries who had confessed Christ as their Savior. I prayed for the island commander and the guards, as well as for the emperor and the governing officials in Rome. I prayed for the people in the church at Ephesus where I had been the pastor. I prayed for the commander of the prison who had confessed Christ, shortly after I had been boiled in oil. I prayed for a long time, and then I just thought about all the things Jesus had told me and the other disciples. He had told us that the Father had given Him authority to execute judgment, yet He did not come to bring judgment, not even on those who heard His sayings and didn’t keep them. He told us He came to save the world, not judge it. Jesus cared about people so much that He was always thinking about how to help them. He told us that judgment was going to come, yet He earnestly desired that all would repent, and none would fall into condemnation. As I looked at the state of the world—all the injustice and the misery men bring on other men—I longed for Christ to return. Christ did promise to return, and the prophet Isaiah gave us a hint of the magnificent and peaceful kingdom that Christ will rule. Before that time comes, however, Zechariah the prophet tells of another time, when God Himself will fight for Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives will be split (Zechariah 14:1–5). I wonder if perhaps Jesus Christ Himself will stand on the Mount of Olives when it splits. If Jesus came back today, the world wouldn’t lay down its weapons and worship Him—not without a fight. Of course, God could strike dead all those who resisted Him, but God could have done that at any time and only hasn’t because He is waiting for every last person to repent.

Jesus told us that if He did judge, His judgment would be true, and He wouldn’t be alone in it; His Father and He would act in agreement. Christ, having been a man and knowing all of man’s frailties and temptations, would pour out the wrath of God on men, whom He had died to save. In doing so, He would, in justice, exempt those who had committed themselves to Him. And because of His great love for mankind, He would peel away the ignorant logic that separated some men from God, allowing them a final chance to turn to Him. I personally saw the love that Christ had for mankind; it was beyond understanding. What a judge He would make.

I meditated on my glorious Jesus and was oblivious to my surroundings as I was completely absorbed in my thoughts. Then, I turned my thoughts to Phillip and prayed for him again.

All at once, a clear loud voice, like a trumpet, broke the silence and my concentration. I jumped up and turned to see who was speaking. There, in the flat place among the rocks, were seven golden candlesticks, and in the middle of the candlesticks was someone like a man. He wore a robe that fell to his feet and a golden girdle across his chest. His eyes were like flames of fire set in a face that shone like the sun. His hair was white like snow. His feet glowed beneath his robe like molten bronze.

He said, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to