Table – The Great Tribulation – classified by events.
The Bible is a "letter" from God to us human beings. Yes, it
really is the case that with most books of the Bible God is trying to send us a
message. But since God passes on his messages through the spirit of believing
biblical authors, these thoughts of God’s frequently get mixed up with the
thoughts of these people.
This has the unfortunate result that misunderstandings are all too common,
whether they arise deliberately or inadvertently. And then too the fact that the
Bible was written in ancient languages, like Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek, and has
to be translated into our modern languages is another – and a very much bigger –
source of mistakes.
On the other hand many biblical teachers and interpreters, preachers and leaders
of congregations of the present day are concerned to introduce the Bible to
their audiences and readers "book by book". In an Evangelical congregation of
this kind, this means something like – "OK, we’ll read one book of the Bible
every month, so in the end we will have read the whole Bible from cover to
cover."
What people overlook here is the fact referred to above, that in the Bible the
thoughts of God are interwoven with the thoughts of the prophets and authors of
the individual books. This is because the Bible is not, in its totality, "the
Word of God" but rather contains the Word of God – as it also
contains, to some extent, the "word" of the prophets and authors of its books.
And so we can now explain how it is that these brethren in the congregations,
often with the very best intentions, succeed in reading their way through the
whole Bible over three or four years, but have nonetheless understood very
little of what they have read, and are even less well able to remember it.
But in view of the fact that if criticism is to be positive, it should always
try to point the way to a solution, we would like here to get to the bottom of
the matter and subject the problem to thorough analysis. So let us start with an
example, as a way of illustrating the mistaken conclusions to which this
approach – an approach common all over the world in Christian circles – can
lead.
Let us just take a look, then, in this connection at the so-called "Jehovah’s
Witnesses". Their method, with the aim of arriving at a sort of "biblical
competence", is to learn a great many biblical references by heart. They are
brilliant, in any biblical discussion, at reciting biblical passages in response
to a keyword which relate to the theme in question.
And this often conceals the fact that they have very little idea about the
context of these biblical passages. Although they know where a great many
statements in the Bible are to be found, when it comes to the meaning of these
statements – either individually, or in terms of the bigger picture – they are
very much less well informed.
But the real problem with this approach is not just the spurious claim to
biblical knowledge of these brethren, but rather the incorrect interpretation of
many biblical texts that results from their supposed interpretive competence.
And this then is directly related to many false doctrines to be found in
Christian congregations.
Here now is an example from actual practice which shows what
deep mysteries a careful interpretation, based on study of the Bible in its
entirety, can bring to light, and how superficial exposition focused on speedy
results, and based on texts taken in isolation, can falsify the true meaning and
make it impossible for people to understand the message aright.
We are concerned here with the interpretation of the four "living creatures"
which were seen by both John in his Revelation (Rev 4,2-8) and by Ezekiel in two
different visions (Ezk 1,2-11 and Ezk 10,14-15). These beings on the one hand
confirm the authenticity of what is stated, while on the other hand they also
demonstrate the absolute reality of the events described.
For the reader’s better understanding, here are these biblical passages:
A throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the
throne.
Rev 4,2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and
behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
4,3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance;
and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 4,4
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw
twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on
their heads. 4,5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and
peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,
which are the seven Spirits of God; Rev 4, 2- 5;
As all serious exegetes are in agreement on the point that the
one sitting on the throne was God, the Almighty, we can go straight on and turn
our attention to the appearance of God. And – to be more precise – not with the
appearance which John describes in verse Rev 4,3, but with the figure of God,
which can be inferred only indirectly from this text.
The fact that there is talk about a throne here and that someone was sitting on it,
implies that this somebody had a manlike figure, otherwise he would not be able to
fulfill the physical prerequisites for a creature that is able to sit and John would not
have described him as "sitting". This throne and the figure that was to be seen
on it, was also described by the prophet Ezekiel. He had his vision on the river
Chebar, in the land of the Chaldeans.
And on the throne, high up, was a figure with the
appearance of a man.
Eze 1,22 Now over the heads of the living beings
there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread
out over their heads. 1,23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out
straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on
the one side and on the other. 1,24 I also heard the sound of their wings like
the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a
sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they
dropped their wings.
1,25 And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads;
whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 1,26 Now above the
expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne,
like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high
up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Eze 1,22-26;
And in contrast to John, Ezekiel expresses it in Ezk 1,26 quite
clearly: the one on the throne had the appearance of a man. And he even confirms
immediately after this verse, in Ezk 1,28, that this was "the glory of the
Lord".
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of
the LORD.
Eze 1,27 Then I noticed from the appearance of His
loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around
within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something
like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 1,28 As the appearance of the
rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding
radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Eze 1,27-28;
So, God has the appearance of a man. Is this surprising? –
Frankly speaking, it is not, for in Gen 1,26-27 we explicitly read that God
created man in His own image – in the image of God.
Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.
Gen 1,26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in
Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 1,27 God created
man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He
created them. Gen 1,26-27;
And if man is created in the "image", that is to say in the
figure of God, also the other way round must be applicable, namely also God must
have a manlike figure. Even if now God in His almightiness and omniscience, that
is to say in His spiritual attributes is not at all comparable to man, we may
imagine His figure to be similar to our one.
Now one might here quite justifiably ask whether the absolute
righteousness of God really constitutes the background to those scriptural
passages we have quoted earlier. So in order to back up these statements, once
again in the light of Scripture, I would like to cite and comment on a highly
interesting passage from the Old Testament.
And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
Dan 7,9 "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient
of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His
throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. 7,10 "A river of fire
was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads
upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. Dan 7, 9-10;
The throne of God, seen and described by Daniel in the above
passage, was also seen in a vision by John (Rev 4,1-9). And Ezekiel too gives us
an account of this throne, which he saw twice – once in Ezk 1,1-28 on the river
Chebar, and then in Ezk 10,1-22 in Jerusalem – and he describes the four
Cherubim who transport the throne that is above them and the four wheels beside
them in the following terms:
And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.
Ezk 1,10 As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man;
all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had
the face of an eagle. 1,11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had
two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. 1,12 And each went straight forward; wherever
the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 1,13 In the midst of
the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting
back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the
fire. 1,14 And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.
1,15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the
living beings, for each of the four of them. 1,16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship
was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and
workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. 1,17 Whenever they moved, they moved
in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. Eze 1,10-17;
As is to be understood from the context, each of these four
Cherubim has four faces. In the vision on the river Chebar in Ezk 1,10 above,
Ezekiel describes the faces as follows: "each had the face of a man; all four
had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all
four had the face of an eagle". When he encounters them again in Jerusalem,
however, he corrects the former description (Ezk 10,14, 10,20, 10,22) and states
that the third face was not that of a bull but rather that of a Cherub. And each
of the creatures is accompanied by a wheel.
(See also Excursus 11: "The throne of God.")
(See also Table 15: "The throne of God and its
surroundings. ")
We have an interesting description of the wheels in the above passage (Eze 1,16):
"as if one wheel were within another".
Taken on its own, this description could lead to all kinds of suppositions – and has
done so in a good many interpretations. The next verse as well (Eze 1,17) -
"Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without
turning as they moved"
is rather puzzling when taken on its own. It is only when we
compare both verses, and a third verse as well, in a single perspective that a
convincing interpretation results. Where it is stated that these four beings
moved "in any of their four directions", this must mean their movement is
restricted to a right angle: either straight ahead (forwards or backwards) or to
the side (to the right or the left). They are only capable of movement in a
straight line, and do not go in for diagonals or curves. So if something they
are trying to reach cannot be arrived at by moving in a straight line (forwards,
backwards, to left or to right), they will have to move in a zigzag – first in a
straight line to the front, then again in a straight line to the side – until
they arrive at their intended destination.
Now it is possible that the peculiar construction of the wheels also has a connection
with this unusual form of progress. Their appearance is described in Ezk 1,16 in
the following terms: "… their appearance and workmanship being as if one
wheel were within another". This does not mean that a smaller wheel has been
inserted in a larger wheel in parallel, for verse 1,18 tells us that the wheels’
rims were "lofty and awesome", and such rims would be bound to cover and
conceal the second wheel.
The phrase "one wheel within another" must clearly describe a kind of
"cross wheel". We can picture it to ourselves as two wheels or tires, of
approximately the same size, which interlock at a right angle, as if to describe
the limits of a notional sphere. With wheels like this it would only be possible
to advance in the direction of one or other of the wheels, either forward or
backward or sideways, so movement in curves would be ruled out.
These wheels were "on the earth, beside the four living creatures". This means that
they are not located on an axis, but stand independently beside the four beings
and follow them, the Cherubim in their turn being directed by the Spirit of God.
Taken all in all, then, we can conclude that the throne of God is not a material
or mechanical construction, but a spiritual/biological vehicle that the spirit
of God directs and controls.
Keeping this idea firmly in mind, let us now
look at an earlier verse (Ezk 1,14), which has tempted generations of
commentators to draw the wildest conclusions. In this verse we are told:
"And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning".
And here interpretations range from a suppositious extraterrestrial spaceship with
rocket drive – in such commentators like Erich von Däniken and Shirley Maclaine, who
acknowledge that in biblical interpretation they are only amateurs – by way of the following
explanation:
"With every movement they made, they lit up like flashes of lightning.
Ezekiel just cannot find the words to describe the radiant, supernatural and divine world" (Gerhard
Meier in "Der Prophet Hesekiel" ["The prophet Ezekiel] – WStB)
right through to interpretations that are wholly abstract and distort the sense
completely, such as the following:
"The glowing coals contained a flickering fire, that ran back and
forth between the living creatures. This seems to be an advance hint of Ezekiel’s message of God’s
burning judgment against Judah." (J. F. Walfoord in "Das Alte Testament – erklärt und
ausgelegt" ["The Old Testament – explained and interpreted"].
If we remember the interpretation we arrived at earlier, postulating a right-angled
progress of the wheels and of the Cherubim, and bearing in mind the fact that this vehicle, as a
result of the presence of the Lord in his radiant glory on the throne above the Cherubim, looked to
Ezekiel as he saw it on the plain by the river Kebar approaching from the north like "a storm
wind... coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually" (Eze 1,4),
which made him think of "something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it"
(Eze 1,27), then it is not difficult to imagine that it was simply the nature of the chariot’s
movement – in zigzags, that is – that left him with the impression that "the living beings ran to
and fro like bolts of lightning" (Eze 1,14).
Now of course some readers will be liable to ask at this point what on earth this has to do with the
justice of God. But if we imprint on our consciousness the fact that our God is absolute
righteousness and justice in person, and that this justice cannot endure injustice or deviations
from the straight path in any respect, not even the minutest, then we can see a reflection of this
in the way in which the throne of God progresses purely in straight lines:
God does not go by crooked paths or travel by oblique routes.
- not even when moving in person from place to place.
The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.
Ps 145,17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.
145,18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. 145,19 He will fulfill
the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. Ps 145,17-19;
Ascribe greatness to our God! His work is perfect, For all
His ways are just; Righteous and upright is He!
Deut 32,3 "For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness
to our God! 32,4 "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of
faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. Deut 32, 3- 4;
Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He
instructs sinners in the way.
Ps 25,8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He
instructs sinners in the way. 25,9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches
the humble His way. 25,10 All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To
those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Ps 25, 8-10;
The way of a guilty man is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.
Prov 21,8 The way of a guilty man is crooked, But as
for the pure, his conduct is upright. Prov 21, 8;
The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
Isa 26,7 The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright
One, make the path of the righteous level. Isa 26, 7;
For the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has
done.
Dan 9,14 "Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and
brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has
done, but we have not obeyed His voice. Dan 9,14;
For the ways of the LORD are right.
Hos 14,9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, And the
righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them. Hos 14, 9;
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the LORD,
make His paths straight’.
Mt 3,3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet
when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the LORD,
make His paths straight’" Mt 3,3;
Make ready the way of the LORD, make His paths straight. The crooked will
become straight.
Lk 3,4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the LORD, make His paths
straight. 3,5 ‘Every ravine will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low; The
crooked will become straight, and the rough roads smooth; 3,6 And all flesh will see the
salvation of God.’" Lk 3, 4- 6;
Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!
Rev 15,3 And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and
the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous
and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Rev 15, 3;
Now although God in his omnipotence and omniscience can hardly be intuited by us
human beings, in his justice we can see perhaps just a trace of his nature. In the judgment of God,
only straight paths will do. Any deviation leads to condemnation. So it is impossible for human
beings to achieve righteousness before God through their own efforts. We have nothing to set against
the justice of God but the grace of God in his Son Jesus Christ, and Christ’s redeeming sacrifice
on the cross for the sake of us sinners.
Here again we recognize the wrong thinking of all false religions, where people
suppose that they are capable of pleasing God by building a temple, a cathedral,
a church or a chapel, or by some other more or less expensive "donation". This
world is God’s footstool, after all – so what can human beings do that is in any
way comparable?
The only way in which we can succeed in pleasing God is by believing in his Son and
keeping his commandments.
When it comes to the "four living creatures" described by
Daniel, Ezekiel and John in Revelation, we again find an enormous range of
different interpretations from the commentators. But we would like first of all
to analyze these texts with a view to finding out for ourselves what these
statements are trying to say.
As we have already analyzed the text of Rev 4,1-5 above, let us look at Rev
4,6-8, where John continues his vision of the "four living creatures".
And around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes
in front and behind.
Rev 4,6 and before the throne there was something
like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne,
four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. 4,7 The first
creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and
the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature
was like a flying eagle.
4,8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are
full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
"Holy, holy, holy, holy is the LORD God, the Almighty, who was and who is
and who is to come." Rev 4, 6- 8;
The conventional exegesis has interpreted these four living
creatures since Ireneus (170 A.D.) as symbols of the evangelists of the New
Testament, that is to say Matthew = man, Mark = eagle, Luke = calf and John =
lion. In this connection the order of the assignment can vary, however, from one
exegete to the other one.
Other exegetes, on the other hand, see the four
creatures as symbols of the attributes of God, with the calf representing the
"sacrifice of God", the eagle representing the "comprehensive
view of God", the lion representing the "majesty of God" and the
man representing the "lowness of God in His Son".
Those interpreters
who see in these creatures the "entire nature disposing of a living
soul", construe them as the "four classes of animated nature":
man, tame animals (calf), wild animals (lion) and birds (eagle). Also the
complete abstraction into symbolism is not lacking in the interpretation of this
text. So, some exegetes see the entire image as a metaphor of the sighing
creature.
According to them the wings are the expression of the yearning
aspiration for more freedom of those who are bound, and the calling day and
night in verse Rev 4,8 is tantalizing restlessness. But there are also serious
attempts to see hints at astrological signs of the zodiac (taurus, leo…) in
this image.
So we see, there are various attempts to interpret this rather difficult text.
However, precisely such a delicate passage from the Scriptures should not be
interpreted by personal interpretations of the individual exegete, but should be
interpreted on the basis of arguments and analyses which are in conformity with
the Scriptures, because all other attempts will inevitably lead into the
exegetical Nirvana.
If we are now looking for a hint at these four living
creatures in the Scriptures, we find it again with Ezekiel in quite an
unmistakable way. However, whereas John above describes only the faces of these
four creatures, Ezekiel also tells us here something about their figure:
"they had human form". That is to say, both God (Eze 1,26) and the
four creatures had a manlike figure.
Within it there were figures resembling four living
beings.
Eze 1,2 (On the fifth of the month in the fifth
year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 1,3 the word of the LORD came expressly to
Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river
Chebar; and there the hand of the LORD came upon him.) 1,4 As I looked, behold,
a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth
continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like
glowing metal in the midst of the fire. 1,5 Within it there were figures
resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had
human form. 1,6 Each of them had four faces and four wings. 1,7 Their legs
were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like
burnished bronze. Eze 1, 2- 7;
However, these two reports differ in the description of the
faces of these four creatures. Whereas John recognizes with each of the four
creatures an individual and each time different face, Ezekiel observes the same
four faces with each of these four creatures.
The form of their faces.
Eze 1,8 Under their wings on their four sides were
human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 1,9 their wings
touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went
straight forward. 1,10 As for the form of their faces, each had the face
of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the
face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle.
1,11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two
touching another being, and two covering their bodies. Eze 1, 8-11;
Judging by this description, Ezekiel saw these four creatures
standing in a quadratic formation, with one figure at each corner of the square.
Each of them had four wings on the four sides of their bodies. Two of the wings
were stretched out and touched the wing of the two neighboring creatures – at
the back and at the side and/or at the front and at the side – and thus formed
the sides of the square. The two other wings covered the corresponding side of
the body, as it is also described in Eze 1,23.
Some interpreters establish a connection between the statement of Eze 1,22,
"Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an
expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads"
and the "firmament" and see in the four living beings then those
forces which support this firmament at the four corners of the earth.
However,
at a closer examination, one can see easily that this "expanse" is
only an imitation of the firmament (also the text says so literally) and the
dimensions of the square which is formed by the four creatures and their
stretched-out wings are approximately 4 times 5 meters (1Ki 6,24-25).
The way
how Ezekiel describes now the four faces at the four sides of the heads of each
of these creatures, he must have taken up a position which was left of and in
front of this formation. Then we can proceed from the assumption that the human
face was situated on the right from his point of view, but seen from the four
creatures it was orientated toward the front.
Therefore, Ezekiel saw the head of
the lion right of it from where he was standing, the head of the calf opposite
of it, on the left side and the eagle at the back.
While in the case of Ezekiel
each of these four creatures had these four faces, John sees these four
creatures, too, however, each of them has only one of these faces. With John we
do not find any hint at the positions of the four creatures either.
But probably
it is not wrong to proceed also here from the assumption that – in a similar
way as with Ezekiel – seen from the view of the beholder in front of the throne,
the human face could be seen in front of the throne, while the head of the eagle
was standing at the back, the head of the calf on the left and the head of the
lion on the right side of the throne.
The reconstruction of the positioning of
these four creatures with John may seem relatively unimportant at the first
glance, but as we will see immediately, it can help us with the interpretation.
Although the faces of the four creatures – apart from the four faces of each
one with Ezekiel – are described by both prophets in the same way,
nevertheless a considerable difference emerges in the further analysis.
Ezekiel
had two such visions of these four living beings. One by the river Chebar,
quoted above from Eze 1,1-28, and the other one in Jerusalem, which is reported
in Eze 10,1-22. And also in this vision he describes the four living beings and
their faces.
The first face was the face of a cherub.
Eze 10,14 And each one had four faces. The first
face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a man,
the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
10,15 Then the cherubim rose up. They are the living beings that I saw by the
river Chebar. Eze 10,14-15;
And here it is striking that the description is identical with
Eze 1,10, with the exception of the face of the calf. Although Ezekiel confirms
that this was the same vehicle – he calls it the "living being" – ,
which he saw also by the river Chebar, here the face of the calf is replaced by
the "face of a cherub". As we can rule out transcription or
translation errors at this passage, it seems that Ezekiel was mistaken in one of
the two cases.
It would not be in the least surprising, when there are so many
incredible happenings, it may well be that he did not pay attention to quite a
few details. The question is now only which of these two reports is now the
correct one. And in this connection a further statement from the vision in
Jerusalem can help us.
So I knew that they were cherubim.
Eze 10,20 These are the living beings that I saw
beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were
cherubim. 10,21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath
their wings was the form of human hands. 10,22 As for the likeness of their
faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar.
Each one went straight ahead. Eze 10,20-22;
Also here Ezekiel corroborates that this appearance concerned
the same vision he had by the river Chebar. He confirms in particular that the
"appearance of their faces" is identical with those of the vision he
had then. That means that the faces themselves were not changed, but that the
prophet just found out that, by mistake, he had seen the face of a calf in his
description of the first vision instead of the face of a cherub and that
therefore the description of the second vision, the one in Jerusalem, is the
correct one.
Also other details of the Jerusalem vision confirm that this must be the case.
As it says above, in Eze 10,20, also Ezekiel found out only this second time
that these four living beings themselves were cherubim. And as it seems, this
discovery was not based on any external signs of recognition, but on the simple
fact that the Lord ordered him in Eze 10,2 and 10,6 to "enter between the
whirling wheels under the cherubim" and to "enter the whirling wheels
from between the cherubim" and that thus he identified these living beings
as cherubim. From that time on, Ezekiel knew that these living beings were
cherubim.
Enter between the whirling wheels under the cherubim.
Eze 10,1 Then I looked, and behold, in the expanse
that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a sapphire stone, in
appearance resembling a throne, appeared above them. 10,2 And He spoke to the
man clothed in linen and said, " Enter between the whirling wheels under
the cherubim and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the
cherubim and scatter them over the city." And he entered in my sight.
10,3 Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the temple when the man
entered, and the cloud filled the inner court. 10,4 Then the glory of the
LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple
was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the
glory of the LORD. 10,5 Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was
heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
10,6 It came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, "Take
fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim," he
entered and stood beside a wheel. 10,7 Then the cherub stretched out his hand
from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some
and put it into the hands of the one clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
10,8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
Eze 10, 1- 8;
And while he reports in Eze 1,18 on the wheels that they
"were full of eyes round about", he extends this description in Eze
10,12 also to the four cherubim, of whom he writes that "their whole body,
their backs, their hands, their wings and the wheels were full of eyes all
around". So this is – after the two rectifications "living beings
– cherubim" and "face of a calf – face of a cherub" – the
third correction which Ezekiel makes on the basis of the second vision.
(See also Table 15: "The
throne of God and its surroundings.")
In the question which is relevant to us we can therefore proceed
from the assumption that the fourth cherub did not have the face of a calf, but
the face of a cherub. With this knowledge we now return to the Revelation and
try to get, on the basis of the relevant texts, a general idea of the position
and the function of these four living creatures within the framework of this
vision.
The Lamb and the four living creatures.
Rev 6,1 Then 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." 6,2 I looked, and behold, a white
horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went
out conquering and to conquer.
6,3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature
saying, "Come." 6,4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who
sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay
one another; and a great sword was given to him.
6,5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature
saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on
it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6,6 And I heard something like a voice in
the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a
denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil
and the wine."
6,7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth
living creature saying, "Come." Rev 6, 1- 7;
The living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to
Him who sits on the throne.
Rev 4,9 And when the living creatures give glory
and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever
and ever, 4,10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits
on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast
their crowns before the throne, saying, 4,11 "Worthy are You, our Lord and
our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and
because of Your will they existed, and were created." Rev 4, 9-11;
And they fell on their faces before the throne and
worshiped God.
Rev 7,11 And all the angels were standing around
the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they
fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. Rev 7,11;
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the
four living creatures and the elders.
Rev14,3 And they sang a new song before the
throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could
learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been
purchased from the earth. Rev 14, 3;
One of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels
seven golden bowls.
Rev 15,6 and the seven angels who had the seven
plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded
around their chests with golden sashes. 15,7 Then one of the four living
creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of
God, who lives forever and ever. Rev 15, 6- 7;
And the four living creatures fell down and worshiped
God.
Rev 19,4 And the twenty-four elders and the four
living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying,
"Amen. Hallelujah!" Rev 19, 4;
This look back to the Revelation shows us for one thing that
also John had obviously the same problems in recognizing the figures as Ezekiel:
He could not identify the four figures as cherubim and therefore calls them
"living creatures", and in the case of the fourth one he sees the face
of a calf.
So, as also John sees the face of a calf here, the question arises,
of course, in how far the face of a cherub has a certain resemblance to the face
of a bull, over and above that to the face of a young bull, a calf, as John
specifies in Rev 4,7 – that is to say without horns and with still little
distinct lower part of the face.
On the other hand, also here this mistake is not astonishing, for also he sees
this picture for the first time. By the way, the stem of the word "cherub" comes
from Assyrian and has the meaning of "winged bull". And as a matter of crucial
importance, in his first vision Ezekiel describes the legs and feet of these
four living creatures in Ezk 1,7: "Their legs were straight and their feet were
like a calf’s hoof."
So it seems that the form of a cherub – at least in what concerns the feet and
the face – must have a certain resemblance with that of a calf. So, we can
complete the description also here – analogously to Ezekiel – by
interpreting these four living creatures as cherubim and the face of the fourth
cherub as the face of a cherub.
But the above texts, especially Rev 19,4, show us also that these four living
creatures are unmistakably servants of God. They are – after the Lamb and
still before the twenty-four elders and the angels – those who are closest to
the throne all right, but they have, no doubt, a serving function. And here a
new interpretation offers itself in face of the new finding that the fourth
figure did not have the face of a calf, but the face of a cherub.
With the four creatures we are confronted with four cherubim, who have four
different faces: a cherub, a man, a lion, and an eagle. At closer examination,
it can be concluded from that that these faces could, indeed, be symbolic
"representatives" of all creatures of God. The criteria for the choice
of just these four faces can be substantiated approximately in the following
way.
Cherubim: are the representatives of the world of the angels and thus
creatures of the heavenly dimension. They are immortal and therefore do not need
any reproduction (Lk 20,34-36;).
Man: He belongs to the biological living beings of this earth. He has the
ability to develop intellect in common with the angels. With the other earthly
beings he shares their mortality and the necessity to have to reproduce himself
in order to preserve his species.
Lion: The mammals are not endowed with reason, but they nevertheless have
a privileged position among the biological beings because they – like man –
feed their breed at the very first period of their lives by endogenic milk
production, that means that they are able to suckle. Apart from the land mammals
also whales and dolphins, among other animals, number among this group.
Eagle: Among the large group of oviparous animals rank apart from all
species of birds for instance also reptiles, fishes, insects, and worms.
In this interpretation which is orientated toward the criteria of intellectual
capacity and preservation of the species, the cherub would consequently
represent the world of the angels, man would represent mankind, the lion would
represent the mammals, and the eagle would represent all those animals which
effect their reproduction by oviposition and thus the entire animated creation
would be represented in these four cherubim as the closest of all servants of
the Creator.
If this interpretation is correct, we find here a system of the living beings as
it was discovered by man only thousands of years later (since Ezekiel!) in his
"Natural System of the Animals" – and here also only incompletely
(only for the earthly living beings). The modern attempts of classification to
this effect go back to Carl von Linné (1707-1778, Systema Naturae) and
distinguish six classes of animals: mammals, birds, amphibians (including
reptiles), fishes, insects, and worms. These are the same categories which can
be seen also above, with the criteria for distinction seeming clearer and
therefore also more comprehensive there.
As for the many eyes on the cherubim and on the wheels "all around"
(Eze 1,18; 10,12; Rev 4,6-8), one has to contradict the view of quite a few
exegetes that with the formulation in verse Rev 4,8: "And the four living
creatures (…) are full of eyes around and within …" the outer surface
and the inner surface (under the skin) of the bodies of these four creatures
were meant.
The "all around" is derived from verse Rev 4,6, where
"around the throne" is meant and where with that the side of these
bodies which is visible from outside the throne is described, whereas the
"within" refers to the side of the four creatures which is turned
toward the throne and toward God.
For the meaning of these eyes there is sufficient evidence in the Scriptures, so
that there is no need for an interpretation here. In the introduction of the
Revelation, in Rev 1,4, John greets the seven churches with "Grace to you
and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven
Spirits who are before His throne".
The fact that these "seven
Spirits" are mentioned in a connection with God, the Lord and that grace
and peace is asked for also from them, makes it clear that these seven Spirits
here can only be the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.
Grace to you and peace from the seven Spirits who are
before His throne.
Rev 1,4 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,
and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 1,5 and from Jesus
Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the
kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His
blood – 1,6 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. Amen. Rev 1, 4- 6;
While these seven Spirits above, in Rev 1,4, were only
mentioned, they are also physically presented here below, in Rev 4,5. They are
the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.
Seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are
the seven Spirits of God.
Rev 4,5 Out from the throne come flashes of
lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; Rev 4, 5;
So, before the throne of God the Holy Spirit has the shape of
seven burning lamps of fire. The prophet Zechariah tells in Zech 3,9 of a star,
into which the Lord had engraved seven eyes as a token for the fact that he will
remove the iniquity of Israel in one day (outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon
Israel).
(See also Chapter 10: "The
Millennium.")
On one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an
inscription on it.
Zech 3,9 ‘For behold, the stone that I have set
before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an
inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the
iniquity of that land in one day. 3,10 ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of
hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and
under his fig tree.’" Zech 3, 9-10;
These seven eyes of the LORD range to and fro throughout
the earth.
Zech 4,10 "For who has despised the day of
small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line
in the hand of Zerubbabel – these are the eyes of the LORD which range to
and fro throughout the earth." Zech 4,10;
These seven eyes are the eyes of the Lord, which range to and
fro throughout the earth and therewith they are also a representation of the
Holy Spirit. And so, also John sees the Lord Jesus Christ in Rev 5,6, when he
saw the "the Lamb standing, as if slain", this Lamb, our Lord Jesus
Christ, with seven horns and seven eyes.
The seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent
out into all the earth.
Rev 5,6 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. Rev 5, 6;
Also here, these seven eyes are called " the seven Spirits
of God, sent out into all the earth" and with that they are to be
understood without doubt as the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in the Son.
Finally, it can be concluded from all these hints that the eyes of the four
cherubim mentioned in Eze 1,18; 10,12 and Rev 4,6-8 are to be regarded as the
manifestation of the Holy Spirit as well.
The ultimate question, why these four
creatures have only one face each with John, while they have four faces with
Ezekiel, might have to do with their respective task. With Ezekiel their task
– as a "means of transport" of the Almighty – is of a rather dynamic
nature and requires a joint action of all four of them.
What would be more
helpful in this case than dividing the mind and the faculty of perception of
each of them and assigning it to all four of them equally? In that way a
coordination would be established which cannot be excelled. With John, however,
their function seems to lie in guarding the throne and in praising God. For this
rather static function such an effort is perhaps not necessary.
And now, after this attempt at interpreting these texts with all due care and in
conformity with the scriptures, here is a short extract from an interpretation of
these visions on the internet platform "Bibelwissen.ch".
Here we have to do with the Cherubim, as they are known.
These are heavenly beings who live in the presence of God, and always have
a role to play in the description of God’s glory. The same beings were
seen by John in his Revelation (Rev 4). What do they look like?
▪ They have the form of a
human being, which is exactly described (verse 5b)
▪ Each of the creatures
has four faces (verse 6)
▪ Each of them has four
wings which are extended upward, and with which they touch each other
mutually (verses 6.9-11)
▪ Their gaze is oriented
to the front. They follow the guidance of the Spirit (verse 12)
▪ They move with extreme
rapidity back and forth (verse 14)
Of particular interest is the description of their faces
(V10):
▪ To the front: the face
of a human being
▪ To the left: the face of
a bull
▪ To the back: the face of
an eagle
The Cherubim in Rev 4 have the same faces, but each of
them has six wings, with eyes all around. They are occupied day and night
with the task of worshiping God on his throne (V8-9). In Judaism after the
Exile, and later in the Christian church, this was seen as being a
description of the omnipresence of God. Many also see in this symbolism
the four revelations of the person of Jesus Christ as portrayed in the
four gospels:
Figure |
Gospel |
Significance |
Emphasis |
Lion |
Matthew |
Christ as king of Israel | The rejection of the king |
Bull |
Mark |
Christ as the servant of God | Christ as worker – many deeds |
Human being |
Luke |
Christ as human being |
Biographical details – Christ’s birth |
Eagle |
John |
Christ as the Son of God | He who comes from heaven |
Each gospel emphasizes one aspect of the person of Christ. That
is why the reports are different, and one should not try to harmonize them. We
must read the gospels as a revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ!
Das Buch Hesekiel
[The Book of Ezekiel] / Ewald Keck
As we can see, although our author here goes by the antiquated
interpretation, in that he relates the "four living creatures" to the four
evangelists, his interpretation makes some changes to the traditional order.
Instead of
Matthew = human being, Mark =
eagle, Luke = ox and
John = lion
(interpretation of Irenaeus)
or
Matthew = lion,
Mark = ox, Luke = human
being and John = eagle (interpretation
of Hieronymus)
he posts
Matthew = lion,
Mark = ox, Luke = human
being and John = eagle (interpretation
Keck)
Like so many of his predecessors in the last hundred years, so too this author
has shrunk from the effort that would be needed to get a more comprehensive
grasp of these texts and to recognize that when God gives his visions to human
beings, he does not mean to refer to this, that or the other biblical author,
but rather wants to show us in no uncertain terms that he is the Creator of all
living creatures, and that his creation should be subject to him and to him
alone.
But in our world of today, faith in the God of the Bible is hardly found
anywhere any longer – not in atheism, nor yet in the idolatrous religions which
worship the creation instead of the creator, among which indeed the Catholic
church may well be counted, with its worship of human beings ( "Mary ", and the
cult of the dead of prayer to the deceased "saints"). So the great majority of
humanity has deliberately cut itself loose from its Creator.
This brings us now to a further aspect which lies hidden in the biblical
passages quoted above. Our God is not just the God of the beginning, he is also
the God of the end. And so in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of
John, we not only find indications of the creation, represented by the "four
living creatures " and the throne of God, but we also hear about the consequences
of the disrespecting of the Creator God through his creation.
These "four living creatures", which in the above passage represent the entire
creation before the throne of God, are actually the same ones who, the moment
they are introduced, in the text quoted earlier (Rev 4,2-8), first of all give
thanks and glory to the creator of all things:
For You created all things, and because of Your will they
existed, and were created.
Rev 4,9 And when the living creatures give glory
and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever
and ever, 4,10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits
on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast
their crowns before the throne, saying, 4,11 "Worthy are You, our Lord and
our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and
because of Your will they existed, and were created." Rev 4, 9-11;
But then, immediately following and in the next chapter, the
famous book of seven seals is put into the hand of God – and so we are already
in the time of the Last Days. Not at the end of the world, please note, as there
is still the Millennium (the thousand years’ kingdom of peace of our Lord Jesus
Christ on earth) to come first.
But here we are indeed faced with the time of the end of the human race’s global
supremacy. For this book which God holds in his right hand contains those
well-known prophecies about the four horsemen of the Apocalypse who dominate the
first part of the Last Days. This is the time of the Great Tribulation, which is
then followed by the second part, the "Day of the Lord".
But first of all, in this vision of John’s (Rev 5:1-5), we find ourselves faced
with the question who will be allowed to open this book, with all its ruinous
revelations of the Last Days, and so set in train all these disastrous events.
According to John’s report, no one was found in the whole of creation – in
heaven, on earth and even under the earth (an allusion to the kingdom of the
dead perhaps?) who was qualified to carry out this task.
And then, in what follows, we find two important statements – perhaps the two
most important messages in the entire Bible. The first statement is the answer
to the question we referred to above. There is only one person who is worthy to
open the Book and so pronounce judgment on the whole of humanity – that human
being who gave his life to save them (Rev 5:8-10): Jesus Christ.
It might of course be objected at this point that we are talking about just a
single life, whereas billions of human beings, out of the whole of humanity, are
lost as a result of their unbelief, and will spend eternity in hell. But Jesus
Christ is not just simply "a human being". He is the Son of God, and only he
could atone, before God, for us human beings through his freely chosen death on
the cross.
But – and this is a whole lot more important – there is not a single human being
on earth (or even in the kingdom of the dead – those people who died before the
death of Jesus had the gospel preached to them by Jesus, after his death, in the
kingdom of the dead 1Pet 3:18-19) whose sins could not have been forgiven (with the exception
of the one unforgivable sin) and who thus could have been saved from damnation.
But it would be wrong here to lend any credit to the argument of the Jews who
justify their guilt in the death of their Messiah on the grounds that in this
way they "saved the world". This would be a case of whitewashing the
perpetrators and turning them into victims. Those Jews who come to believe in
Jesus Christ will be saved in just the same way as all others who believe in
Jesus, through the forgiveness of their sins.
JThose Jews who do not believe in Jesus – and that is the overwhelming majority
of Jews over the last two thousand years – will, like all godless persons and
idolaters, be consigned to damnation at the Last Judgment. This is because the
Jews can no longer offer sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins as in their
old Mosaic religion, because the altar of the temple in Jerusalem, which was the
one place where such a sacrifice could be acceptable to God, has been destroyed;
while on the other hand they have declined the offer of God to have their sins
forgiven through faith in his Son (Jn 8:24).
The second insight that we can derive from these texts is the biblical fact that
two thousand years ago a paradigm shift took place on earth in relations between
human beings and their God: :
o After the death of his Son at the
hand of the Jews, God no longer wishes for sacrifice, not even animal sacrifice.
The death of his Son was a universal sacrifice for all.
o If a person wants to have their sins forgiven, they must also
believe in this vicarious sacrifice of the Son of God for their sins as well,
and actually confess it.
The Law and the Prophets (the Mosaic religion) were proclaimed until John;
Lk 16,16 "The Law and the Prophets
were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the
kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Lk 16,16;
But this also involves a change of power. God has handed over
all power in heaven and on earth to his Son.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and
riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
Rev 5,11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels
around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was
myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 5,12 saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." 5,13 And every created
thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all
things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,
be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." Rev 5,11-13;
And Jesus too confirms this, after his Resurrection, when he
appears to the eleven disciples:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth.
Mt 28,16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to
Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 28,17 When they saw Him,
they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 28,18 And Jesus came up and spoke to
them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. 28,19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 28,20
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age." Mt 28,16-20;
And the start of the next chapter in Revelation, chapter 6, is
then also the beginning of the judgments of the seals. The Son of God opens the
first seal, and one of the four living creatures, hence a representative of
creation, calls to the first horseman of the Apocalypse on the white horse,
telling him "Come".
What is generally left unexplained here is the fact that it is precisely these
four living creatures who invoke the catastrophes of the judgments of the seals.
One might rather have expected that God would bring these punishments upon
humanity. There are two reasons, however, for this proceeding on God’s part.
First of all, of course, it is not yet the end of the Last Days. The judgments
of God are still to come, but only in the second part, on the Day of the Lord.
The second reason why these "living creatures" are here chosen to give the order
is the very fact of their role as the ones who stand before God as
representatives of all creation. Just as God has given his Son authority for the
opening of the seals, because his Son himself became human, has become familiar
with the heights and the depths of human life and so is also capable of judging
it, so too these four living creatures are identical with this creation and
hence are similarly suited to judge whether this humanity is guilty or not. And
they decide that it is guilty.
So much for a few avenues of explanation in relation to these four living
creatures, their position and their actions. As an overview, and for the better
understanding of these matters, we reproduce below a table showing all the
events mentioned in the Revelation of John. The crucial distinction between the
Great Tribulation (with the Rapture following) and the "Day of the Lord" (or
"Day of the Wrath of God", as this period is also called) emerges here with
particular clarity.
The beginning of the birth pangs: The tribulation of those days – Seal #1: The man of lawlessness 6: Second coming of the Lord, rapture | |||||||
< 1st seal > (Rev 6:1-2;) White horse: rider has a bow. A crown is given to him, he goes out conquering and to conquer. |
< 2nd seal > (Rev 6:3-4;) Red horse: takes peace from the earth. A great sword is given to him, men slay one another |
< 3rd seal > (Rev 6:5-6;) Black horse: a pair of scales in his hand, wheat, and barley expensive but oil and wine not damaged. |
< 4th seal > (Rev 6:7-8;) Ashen horse: Death, and Hades follow. Authority over 1/4 of the earth, wild beasts, famine, pestilence |
< 5th seal > (Rev 6:9-11;) Underneath of the altar: martyrs call for judgment. They wear a white robe, rest until their brethren are killed too |
< 6th
seal > (Rev 6:12-17;) Great earthquake: sun is black, moon is like blood, stars fall, sky is rolled up, mountains, islands moved |
a6th sel |
< 7th> seal > (Rev 8:1-6;) Silence in heaven 1/2 hour Incense on the altar 7 angels with 7 trumpets thunder, sounds, lightning |
The day of the LORD: The two witnesses of God
prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth (?) |
|||||||
< 1st trumpet > (Rev 8:7;) Hail, fire, mixed with blood 1/3 of the earth burned up 1/3 of the trees burned up all green grass burned up |
< 2nd trumpet > (Rev 8:8-9;) Mountain burning falls into sea, 1/3 of the sea blood 1/3 of sea-creatures died 1/3 of ships destroyed |
< 3rd trumpet > (Rev 8:10-11;) Torch-star from heaven 1/3 of rivers wormwood 1/3 of springs worm- wood, many men died. |
< 4th trumpet > (Rev 8:12-13;) Sun, moon, stars: 1/3 of them darkened for 1/3 of the day and 1/3 of the night |
< 5th trumpet / 1 woe
> (Rev 9:1-12;) Star with the key of the pit: smoke darkens the sun, locusts hurt only the men without the seal for 5 months. |
< 6th trumpet / 2 woe
> (Rev 9:13-21;) Angels from Euphrates: fire smoke and brimstone killed 1/3 of mankind, the rest of mankind did not repent. |
a6th trp |
< 7th trumpet / 3 woe
> (Rev 11:15-19;) World’s kingdom is God’s. God’s wrath has come. Time for judging the dead. Thunder, sounds, lightning |
The day of the wrath of God: The
dominion of the demonic Antichrist / Death of the 2 witnesses / The nations tread
Jerusalem under foot |
<a7th trp> |
||||||
< 1st bowl > (Rev 16:1-2;) Poured out on the earth: a loathsome, malignant sore on people who had the mark of the beast. |
< 2nd bowl > (Rev 16:3;) Poured out into the sea: becomes blood like that of a dead man, every living thing in the sea died. |
< 3rd bowl > (Rev 16:4-7;) Into rivers and springs: the waters became blood. They poured out blood of saints: they now have blood to drink |
< 4th bowl > (Rev 16:8-9;) Poured out upon the sun: men scorched with heath they blasphemed the name of God and did not repent. |
< 5th bowl > (Rev 16:10-11;) On the throne of beast: kingdom became darkened, men have pain blasphemed God and did not repent. |
< 6th bowl > (Rev 16:12;) On the river Euphrates: its water was dried up so the way is prepared for the kings from the east. |
a6th bwl |
< 7th bowl > (Rev 16:17-21;) Lightning, sounds, thunder great earthquake as never before, no islands, no mountains |
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<a7th bwl> =================== |
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The returned Antichrist: death of the two
witnesses |
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a6th sel after 6th seal (Rev 7:1-17;) No harm to earth, sea trees, until the 144’000 are sealed. Those out of the Great Tribulation before the throne. The Lamb will guide them to springs of water of live God will wipe every tear from their eyes |
a6th trp after 6th trumpet (Rev 10:1-11; 11:1-14;) A mighty angel in a cloud. At the sound of the 7th trumpet the mystery of God is finished. There will be delay no longer. The two witnesses will be killed by the beast Earthquake in Jerusalem |
a7th trp after 7th trumpet (Rev 12:1-17; 13:1-18; 14:1-20; 15:1-8;) The woman and the dragon, the fall of Satan and his angels. The beast out of the sea overcomes the saints. Antichrist and false prophet: the dominion of the two beasts. The Lamb and the 144’000 standing on Mount Zion. Three angels: gospel, judgment has come, Babylon is fallen. Blessed who die Beginning of the judgment, the Son of Man reaps the earth. Those who had been victorious over the beast and its image sing Moses’ song The 7 angels with the 7 bowls of the wrath of God. No one was able to enter the temple until the 7 plagues were finished. |
a6th bwl after 6th bowl (Rev 16:13-16;) Satan, Antichrist and false prophet send spirits of demons performing signs to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the war on the great Day of God to the place which is called Armageddon. |
a7th bwl
after 7th bowl (Rev 17:1-18; 18:1-24;) The fall of Babylon (Rev 19:1-21; 20:1-15;) Battle Armageddon Antichrist false prophet in lake of fire
Judgment, 1st Resurrection
Last fight, Last Judgment (Rev 21:1-27; 22:1-21;) The New Creation |