The Epic Life - Bob Hallman

21-The Unholy Trinity: The Antichrist (Revelation 13:1-10)

Before considering Rev 13, a brief review of tribulation conditions will help us better understand the world’s vulnerability to the Antichrist -- the beast from the sea:
7 Seal Judgments (Rev 6):
Peace will be take from the earth
There will be terrible, world-wide famine
1/4 of the world's population will be killed - 1.5 billion people
There will be terrible earthquakes and cosmic disruptions
 7 Trumpet Judgments (Rev 8):
  Hail and fire will fall and burn up 1/3 of all the world's vegetation
1/3 of the sea will be turned to blood
A great star will fall and pollute 1/3 of all drinkable water
1/3 of the light sources are darkened
A terrible plague of scorpion -like locusts tormenting for 5 months
200 million horseman will destroy 1/3 of mankind - another 1.5 billion
During the Tribulation, people will be looking for a deliverer more than at any other time in human history. All the other world’s false religions are merely precursors to the Great Deception that’s coming. At the peak of their desperation they will be ready to believe anything. They will be looking for a “savior.”
We left the Dragon [Satan] looking out over the sea with two things on his mind:
 The best strategy with which to persecute and destroy Israel
The best strategy to persuade men to worship him above the highest God.

20-The Supernatural War - Part 2 (Revelation 12:10-17)

There are three primary characters revealed for us in this text: 
 The woman = Israel           
The male child = The Messiah, Jesus Christ                       
The dragon = Satan 
Notice that this is not a battle between God and Satan, but between Michael and Satan. It is two created angels and their forces battling each other.                  
Satan has perpetuated the lie that he is God’s opposite. He is not God’s opposite. He is not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. He is only a created being. He can’t even go one round with God. In fact, in chapter 20:10 he will be thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

19-The Supernatural War - Part 1 (Revelation 12:1-9)

In 1992 a group of academics and historians compiled some startling information about war: Since 3600 B.C., the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed is equal to a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick. Since 650 B.C., there have also been 1,656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remainder ended in the economic collapse of the countries involved.   (Today in the Word, June 19, 1992)
Who is ultimately behind this devastation? None other than Satan! It is what he does best. After all, John 10:10 tells us that "[Satan has come] only to steal and kill and destroy."             
In today's text, Jesus Christ reveals or unveils the truth of the supernatural war that is taking place all around us. A war that will ultimately be finished only when the enemy is finally vanquished.

18-The Inaugural Reign Of Christ (Revelation 11:15-19)

The world system and all its power and corruption is the result of the established universal dominion of Satan. But above it all God continues to remain sovereign over all and has worked out his plan to redeem and reclaim the earth and everything in it.            
One day, not long from now, the final minutes of history will tick past and we will hear the great multitude that John heard in Rev 19:6 like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns."  
Application:                       
Although the kingdom of God and His sovereign reign over it will be finalized in the last days, it also begins the minute you make God the King of your life. When you come to Christ, the kingdom shifts from you, your life and priorities, to God and His priorities.  The earth which God created, and which He redeemed with His own blood, will soon be His own once more -- never to be lost again.

17-The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:1-14)

Some have suggested that the book of Revelation is not meant to be taken literally. However, if it is not to be taken literally, it has no real meaning. All one has to do is to look at fulfilled biblical prophecy and you will discover that every prophecy has a literal and obvious fulfillment. 500 of the Bible's 1,000 prophecies have already been literally fulfilled.  
Now, as we consider these events, it is worth repeating a well known phrase; "When the normal sense makes sense, don't seek any other sense."      
Therefore:           
The great city is identified as the literal city of Jerusalem           
The time periods are taken as literal time periods.           
The two witnesses are interpreted as two actual individuals           
The 3 1/2 days are a literal 3 1/2 days           
The earthquake is a literal earthquake            
The 7,000 who die are the literal casualties of the catastrophe           
The death, resurrection and ascension of the witnesses is literal

16-The Little Scroll (Revelation 10:1-11)

Why does God allow evil to go unpunished? Why does He allow human suffering and death? Why doesn’t God intervene in human affairs? When will God break is silence and punish the wicked?  
Interestingly, many use the delayed justice of God and His patience as an excuse to refuse the gospel of Jesus Christ. But when they read Revelation, which is God's final corrective to evil in the world, they recoil in horror at the finality of His judgment. We're a very contrary people! 
Chapter 10 is an intermission – a parenthetical interlude -- in the divine judgment of God. Chapter 10 centers on an open scroll which John is commanded to eat resulting in prophecy “about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

15-Locusts and Horsemen (Revelation 9:1-21)

Last week we studied the first four Trumpet judgments.
Today we will study the 5th and 6th Trumpet judgments, called the three woes (Woe means "A state of deep sorrow or grief.")
 A comparison with the 10 Plagues of Egypt.  What was God’s purpose in the 10 Plagues of Egypt?   What is God’s purpose in the Great Tribulation?     
In this vision it is clear, despite God’s increasingly severe judgments upon the world, that the wicked maintain their refusal to repent. There is a purpose of love behind the judgments. They are to make plain the seriousness and final end of sin. They are to lead people to repent, to turn to God and be saved.

14-Trumpets Of Doom (Revelation 8:1-13)

The apocalypse [unveiling] of Jesus Christ!
John is commissioned by Jesus Christ to "write what he has seen, what is now and what will take place later." As we noted, Rev. 1:19 is the key to interpreting the book.
In our study so far we have discovered that:
Jesus Christ has very specific exhortations to the 7 churches of Asia Minor - Rev 2-3
The church has been raptured and will be spared the coming wrath of God - Rev 4
That the Lamb has opened the scroll which is the title deed to the earth - Rev 5
There are various judgments that accompany the opening of the seals - Rev 6
Salvation is possible even during the Tribulation:   144,000 and the innumerable multitude who will die a martyr's death - Rev 7
It is a terribly sobering thing to envision what John describes as the final days of the world as we know it. However, there are benefits to understanding and heeding the prophetic future:
It brings perspective to what is important in life
It serves as a warning to those who continue in sin
It motivates us to share the truth with others
It assures us of God's ultimate victory over sin and evil

13-The 144,000 (Revelation 7:1-17)

Chapter 7 is a parenthesis between chapter 6 and 8 that precedes the 7th seal.  The pause provides an answer to the question we were left with at the end of chapter 6, “Who is able to stand?”
In chapter 7 we see two groups who are able to stand during this terrible time:
      A godly remnant of the 144,000
      The great multitude in heaven.
God is going to set aside 144,000 Jews who will accept Jesus as the Messiah and He will protect them during the Tribulation period until their work of proclaiming the gospel is completed.
A great multitude of Gentiles will also be saved, but many of these will be martyred, and a multitude of the martyred dead will be found in heaven rejoicing in the presence of the Lamb and representing every tongue and nation.
It is an indication that even in the tragic closing hours prior to the Second Coming of Christ to the earth, countless souls will find Christ as Savior and be saved by His grace.
The Good News is that you don’t have to wait until the Tribulation period to receive salvation that Christ offers. Today, if you receive His offer of forgiveness and new life you can be confident that you will be spared the terrible judgment of God that is about to come upon the whole earth. You can also know with certainty that whether you leave this earth through death or rapture, you will enjoy the pleasures of heaven for all eternity!

12-The Opening Of The Seals (Revelation 6:1-17)

In Revelation chapter 5, we found that the Lamb of God was the only One worthy to take the scroll, or title deed to the earth, from the hand of the Father and to open it. Now in chapter 6, we find Him systematically removing the seals from the scroll.
The opening of the seals initiates the most catastrophic times in human history. All the earth's tragedies combined will pale in comparison to the Tribulation period -- also referred to as:
The Wrath of the Lamb
The Day of the Lord
The Seventieth week of Daniel found in Daniel chapter 9
 Who will be affected? Everyone who missed the rapture of Rev 4:1
As we make our way through the book of Revelation, we'll discover that God’s judgments are progressive in their intensity. There are seven seals, each with a judgement. The seventh seal ushers in the seven trumpet judgements. The seventh trumpet judgement ushers in the seven final judgements -- bowls of wrath poured out on the earth. When the last bowl is poured out, God is finished judging. Jesus will then return, ushering in the millennial Kingdom, 1,000 years of peace.