Understanding the Book of Revelation: Through History, the Seals, Witnesses and Kings

By Karen Brown

History is a great teacher if we would learn from it. God spoke through the prophets about historical events which took place before Christ came to earth, during Christ’s time on earth and well past 70 Ad when the temple fell. God revealed through the prophets, many of the events which happened to the Jewish people during WWII. If you know history, you can see the fulfillment of these prophecies in part or whole. This book combines both. It compels us to widen our minds to the scope of what God wants us to see and understand. In order, to know more of His plans for Christ’s coming and to be ready to share His word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664240520

Karen Brown

Karen Brown is currently an ESRC Research Fellow at the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, University of Oxford. She has published a number of papers that deal with environmental and veterinary history in South Africa.

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WestBow Press rev. date: 08/23/2021

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1     Near/Far Prophecy of Jesus’s First and Second Coming

Chapter 2     The Church Age and the Jewish Peoples

Chapter 3     Jesus and the First Five Seals

Chapter 4     The Sixth Seal, 144,000 Marked Jews, and Four Rapture Views

Chapter 5     Angels with Trumpets

Chapter 6     Signs of the Times: Covenant, Witnesses, and Satan

Chapter 7     The Spirit of the Antichrist: The First through Fourth Kings

Chapter 8     The Fifth and Sixth Kings: Kaiser Wilhelm and Adolf Hitler

Chapter 9     Antichrist: The Seventh King, Who Is the Eighth King but Very Different

Chapter 10   The Wrath of God: Enter the Seven Angels with Seven Bowls of Judgment

Chapter 11   Babylon and the Ten Toe Kings

Chapter 12   Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon the Great

Chapter 13   God’s Conclusion

Recommended Reading

Chapter Synopsis

Outline Notes: A Study of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Prophets and History

End Notes

Preface

I cannot fully express the extent of my gratitude to my Lord and God for the salvation He has given me and for the hope of His coming. I want to thank my parents for their example of faith and love. I also want to thank all the pre-wrath folks who dared to go against the tidal waters of the pretribulation scholars in the quest for truth and understanding.

May our God and Lord Jesus Christ always be praised for what He is about to do as He enters our world once again!

I am not ashamed of the message of Christ because it is the power of God leading to salvation for all who believe.

He will come when the last person who is open to the salvation of God believes.

Introduction

I was about six years old when I first understood the concept of salvation. It was the most significant event of my life. I was sitting in Sunday school class, in the basement of the church, with the sun beaming through a small rectangular window above us, engrossed in what my teacher was saying. The teacher was speaking about the rapture, the event where Jesus meets believers in the air to save them from the tribulation period. She said, in the twinkling of an eye, the Lord will return and take us up to meet Him in the clouds. Someone asked her how fast the twinkling of an eye was. She blinked and said, That fast. I sat there for a moment blinking my eyes to see what would happen. I was hooked! There was no way I was going to be left out of that. So, at that moment, I believed, and Jesus became my Savior. I never looked back. I was baptized a little while later by my dad—another event I will never forget.

From those earliest days, I believed, and I still do believe, Jesus would return in my lifetime. Perhaps it won’t happen that way. It has, however, compelled me to study the scripture diligently and to read every prophecy book I could get my hands on. My studies have formulated my belief that God did not go silent over the past two thousand years but has, indeed, prophesied about the events from His death and resurrection to the current day.

Really, when you think about it, why would God be silent? It doesn’t make sense. He loves all believers, and He still loves the Jews. It would stand to reason He has communicated to us in the scripture about some of the events that would take place between His ascension and His return.

I want to say right up front, I am a very serious student of the Bible and prophecy, but I do not have any theological degree. I must make the point clear: I am in no way trying to put down any scholar. We have many great teachers in this country, and I, for one, am very grateful for their work and insight. Unfortunately, many scholars viciously attacked each other, and that is wrong. I have a library full of books on prophecy from various authors, and it pains me to see separation over doctrinal issues concerning the end times and the rapture.

Having said that, I have formulated some of my understanding through various points scholars agree on, rather than what they disagree about. I have discovered that many doctrines, including those on the rapture and revelation, have been formulated as an outcry against the Roman Catholic Church. This is very understandable, which you will discover when you read that chapter in this book. It’s a pity really. Much doctrine has been formulated as groups defend their positions. The only positions that should be defended are about Jesus, His saving work on the cross, and the resurrection.

Furthermore, ideas that revolve around Revelation, other than the sure fact of Jesus’s return and God’s judgment, should not become so divisive. Godly men and women should not have a my-way-or-the-highway attitude, because, after all, we won’t know for sure until it happens. But rest assured, I will present the facts as they’ve appeared in history, and you can make a judgment about them with study and prayer. As I studied, God brought forth to me the idea that prophecy repeats itself just as history does. Therefore, we need to understand history. If we cannot learn from the past, which humanity apparently can’t, we will make the same mistakes. This is evident in the opening book of the Bible, where within a few short chapters from creation, man messed up and bred with demons. This caused judgment to come upon the earth in the form of a worldwide flood. The Bible ends with people handing over their souls to Satan. Judgment comes with the end result of the final destruction of the heavens and earth and all the sin with it. Thankfully, God creates a new heaven and earth for those who have believed on Him.

This book unpacks the history that has played a part in my view and all the prophecy that seems to support that history. After all, you don’t know it is fulfilled until it is completely fulfilled. That is why we need history. When Isaiah was penning the words now found in chapter 53 (they didn’t use chapters in his day), no one figured it out until Christ rose from the dead. The religious leaders and His disciples didn’t even get it when He was crucified. He had to reveal it to His followers. Then their eyes, hearts, and minds were opened to all that took place. So, to take this understanding a step further, knowing history helps in recognizing when God has given a prophetic word.

The first idea is the idea of near/far prophecy, particularly as it relates to Christ, His work of salvation on our behalf, and His second coming. Often, God will overlap the prophecy with a situation in the near future and to the end of the age. This concept is not hard to understand, because, as we all know, history repeats itself. It is this repetition of history that reinforces this idea that God is using the same scriptures for us to understand today’s events. This is what makes the whole Bible relevant, not just that which pertains to salvation and Christian living, as some non-Revelation folks would like us to believe. I am not one to say that you need to obsess over the book of Revelation, but it is a good, very good, idea to have some understanding of it, lest you be caught off guard.

The second idea, when we study the book of the Revelation of Jesus, is we cannot put God in a box. He is the creator of the universe after all. We need to be a bit flexible. Having said that, I was a staunch pre-tribulationist. This means I believed God would not have any of us go through any part of the seven years at the end of the age. I believed God would take us out of here before the antichrist came on the scene. This is a lovely thought, because who in their right mind would want to suffer at the hands of Satan’s henchmen? I, for one, would not. However, I have always had issues with this doctrine.

It has some scriptural support, but the support brings about more questions than answers. I have come to believe God will rapture the believers at the moment of the sixth seal (which is not a judgment) and before the trumpets and bowl judgments—hence, the theology of pre-wrath rapture. (This theology is not new. It is just not popular because it suggests we may have to suffer a little.) Now, some of you are going to be on the attack against this book because I said pre-wrath. Please, cool your jets. I have some different thoughts from the original idea. I will be going through these thoughts in more detail as we travel through the book. I will also support the ideas with scripture because it would be futile and pointless not to.

Along those lines, I have become more convicted about the seven kings of Revelation, who are six major kings in history and the seventh is to come. These six kings have come out of the territory of the old Roman Empire. This premise, I will develop further, is in fact—yes, fact—Rome never died. As you will see, Rome and the concepts it created have stayed alive and well for the past 2,021 years. Out of Rome came six kings whom, I believe, Satan tried to use as antichrists. Each one, of course, has failed, but God knew that would happen.

The ideas came from Daniel’s vision of the statue, and Revelation 17. Some will disagree with this concept, but I will show you why their concept doesn’t fit with scripture and why this model has a better fit. As I stated earlier, many times, theologians get caught up with the doctrine of our early church fathers and forget to think for themselves. I challenge any believer and person searching for the truth to search the scriptures diligently and to put in some time and study of history as it relates to the scripture. The answers are right there before our eyes.

Understanding the six kings of Revelation 17 is essential in understanding why the pre-wrath point of view is the most logical and truest to scripture. Although, in this book, I am not going to take much time discussing the various rapture views. I will present them in a relationship to the kings and history. It is essential for the pretribulation believers to explore the pre-wrath view because when they are faced with the antichrist, they may feel that they were left behind. Their faith will be greatly tested at a time when they will need their faith the most. Some may argue that to suffer through any part of the tribulation goes against the concept of the blessed hope. These folks believe the rapture from the tribulation is the blessed hope. I say not so. Jesus and eternity are the blessed hope, nothing more. This is made clearer in the scripture than any other concept. Remember, our hope is in Jesus.

My prayer is for everyone who is searching for truth to have the eyes of their heart open. We will be entering very perilous times. This will be a time of great testing and despair. We must remember God told us, through scripture, what is going to happen. History repeats itself in varied form, I admit, but it does repeat itself. Why is that? Perhaps, it is because Satan has been on the move for a long time, and he is always stopped by our Father in heaven. When the time is right—I believe it is soon—Satan will achieve his goal of indwelling the human and taking over the world to be worshiped. Satan has always wanted world domination and worship from humans. That theme is also found on the Sumerian stones, which I will also bring into the discussion. Please remember, when I discuss the stones, take a breath and relax, as it is only to look at possibility and connection.

Furthermore, as an aside, remember the Mayan calendar date of December 21, 2012? As we know, the world did not end. However, it is interesting to note the Mayan calendar said an evil deity, a destroyer god, will come to earth on that day. I should think the antichrist may have been born on that day. Wouldn’t that be interesting? In any event, you will discover, since the ascension of Jesus, there have been six kings who fit the description of the antichrist with little exception. Of course, the exception is they were not indwelled by Satan himself, but not for lack of effort, I’m sure.

I hope, dear readers, you will read this book with an open heart and your Bible at your side. Some of the information will be upsetting to say the least. The seven heads of the dragon are the seven kings I will be unveiling in this book, and they have done great and hideous acts for which they will be eternally punished. God is just. I also suggest that you read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. It is eye-opening, and it gave me so much understanding of the meaning of the kings.

I would also suggest some study of history and the Roman Empire. Many scholars believe the Roman Empire is gone and will resurrect before the end time. Others say it is still here but needs to be revived. I say, not so! The Roman Empire is alive and well, as it lives within all the countries of the free world who hold on to the ideas it created. Another point is the Roman Empire has been territorially remade with each of the six kings we will look at. Each king also had the goal of owning Jerusalem, which I found to be very interesting.

Finally, because of publishing rules, I cannot write for you the entire Biblical text. I will reference it and write out the text I’m highlighting to make my points. Therefore, having your Bible ready to reference is appropriate. Also, I need to tell you I tend to be blunt. It is the nature of my personality. I’m not flowery. I’m a realist. I wanted you to know, as some may find it off-putting. And lastly, I will be discussing our current times as I see connections forming. Having said that, let’s get started.

Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while, and the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and goes he goes to destruction. [emphasis mine] Revelation 17:9-11

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1

Near/Far Prophecy of Jesus’s

First and Second Coming

To fully understand the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, one must look at it through the eyes of all the prophets who came before. Revelation 1:19 states, Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall take place after these things. John is instructed to write about what is past, present, and future. This is key to understanding how much of the prophets’ writings you need to include in your study of the book of Revelation. Jesus Himself spoke of the need to understand Daniel and all the Old Testament prophets. When you take the time to really study all the prophets and history, so many more pieces of the puzzle come to life.

This is the concept of near/far prophecy. Jesus Himself says He has been from the foundation of the universe. He was right in front of people when He walked the earth. And He is yet to be when He comes back to reign on earth. He was and is and will always be—past, present, and future. This concept of past, present, and future is how God could be talking about one subject and jump to the next, all in one breath. He does this frequently in the Old Testament through the prophet Isaiah, as well as many others.

The idea of near/far prophecy is like mountain peaks. As you look toward the mountain, you will see the smaller mountain in front and the larger mountain in the back. What you don’t see is the valley between. The valley could be small or very large, but you would not know that just from looking at the peaks. This is how the near/far our prophecy works. God will say something about a subject in a certain time and then say something different about another period with similar yet different people involved, all in the same breath. The prophecy can work backward as well as being a far/near statement. What He doesn’t generally talk about is the valley in between. History tells us that. So, let’s look at some prophecy and see how God works. Isaiah 52 and 53 shows the far/near setup of prophecy.

Isaiah 52:1–6 demonstrates the near prophecy of the Assyrian oppression and then God jumps forward in time to the millennial kingdom in Isaiah 52:7–12, when the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see their salvation. This, of course, has not happened even in 2021, so it is still a future event. From this point, God jumps into Isaiah 53, which is the description of Jesus at His first coming. These verses describe His life, trial, and crucifixion. Unfortunately, many Jews today still do not read or understand this passage. Many are still only seeking a Messiah who will wipe out their enemies. They really don’t want Him as king; they just want other nations to stop picking on them. We know from scripture, all the nations will bow to Jesus, and Jerusalem will be lifted in the last days. Get a Bible, look closely at the following scripture, and see for yourselves how God lays out the future.

Isaiah 52:1–6

These verses first state that there will never again be unclean, uncircumcised people who enter Jerusalem. This has never happened so we can surmise it is a future event. The next statement within this short passage is Israel will be redeemed without money. This is obviously speaking of Jesus’s work of redemption. Then, Assyria is charged with oppressing the Jews without cause, which was the present situation in Isaiah’s time. The words clearly indicate the Lord was speaking about current events, relevant to the nation of Israel.

Yet, in the next verses, Isaiah 7–12, God said the good news will be proclaimed, which started with the first coming of Christ. He then jumps forward to a time when God will reign, and all the nations of the earth will see the salvation of God! To literally see the salvation of God is to see Jesus Himself reigning on Jerusalem at His second coming. This is a time when God will return to Zion. Clearly, this passage is an example of the near/far prophecy concept.

The next section of Isaiah 52:13–15 indicates Jesus will be lifted on high for all to see, and all will see His beaten yet healed body. And all the kings of the earth will shut their mouths because they will see and understand the truth of Christ.

Clearly, these passages are referring to a distant future, not one of Isaiah’s day or of the first coming of the Lord. He was not introduced to any king except for those when he was a small child. Here’s the kicker: God takes another jump going back from the distant future to a not-so-distant future in Isaiah and then jumps to the first coming of the Lord. Isaiah 53 describes the events of Jesus and His death in good detail, teaching us that Jesus grew up in a time when the spiritual ground of Israel was dry, yet He was a tender shoot. Jesus was not the handsome movie star type. What drew people to Him were his life-giving words and actions.

Here are some key verses from Isaiah 53:1–3:

Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of the parched ground; He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor any appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hid their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him.

Who despises Jesus? The religious leaders of Jesus’s time despised Him and rejected His teaching. Was Jesus rejected? Absolutely! How painful it must have been for Jesus to be rejected. When Pilate asked the crowd whom they wanted to release, they chose a murderer over Jesus their Messiah. Matthew 12:14 tells us the Sanhedrin held a meeting to devise a way to kill Him. These folks were not fooling around with the carpenter from Nazareth! After all, they were the important ones.

Isaiah 53:4–6 says,

Surely our grief He Himself bore, and our sorrow He carries; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him. And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

History and the Bible corroborate the fact that Jesus’s flesh was torn apart by scourging. The tool used for scourging was made of leather straps with small pieces of bone or metal attached to the end of each strap. When the person was whipped, the bone pieces penetrate the skin and ripped the flesh off. So, yes, I would say Jesus was wounded and given stripes. It is easy not to internalize this concept, as it is so unpleasant. Watching the movie Passion of Christ while in the movie theater, with it so huge and up front on the screen, was almost unbearable for me. The scourging shown was horrifying. The reality of what Jesus did for humans, to save us, became so real. By His wounds, we are saved—meaning the beating He took on our behalf was payment to God for our sin. (The word sin translates to miss the mark.) By His actions, we are free. Isaiah 53 came to life.

God is communicating through Isaiah in verse six, a point which Jesus drives home many times in the gospel. Jesus is the shepherd, and His people / humanity are the sheep. We are lost and gone astray. Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection were all about finding and saving the lost sheep of the world, humans. It is very interesting to note, Jesus was not interested in saving the lost angels who fell with Satan. I suppose He could have, but they were not created in the image of God. God sees value in humans. That’s why He wants to redeem us!

Jesus, understanding His audience, would comprehend ideas concerning shepherding, discussed in Luke 15:4 and John 10:11–16. The shepherd of the sheep would do anything to protect them. If one was lost, He would leave the others in good hands and go find the