January 10, 2001
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Revelation 11-15
Revelation 11 3/25/2007 Tama Newtown Christ Church
1I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there.
John is given a symbolic order to measure the temple. The order is symbolic because John, writing around 90AD knows that the temples was destroyed 20 years earlier. He cannot measure it literally because it is not there. We see similar orders to measure Jerusalem in Zechariah 2 and Ezekiel 40, and this is to be done as in preparation for the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple. John's order is also given as a promise of restoration. What will be restored? Worship of God will be restored, as His people gather to worship Him.
2But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.
There were four courts in Herod's temple, and the outermost court was for the Gentiles. Rather than a racial group of those who are not of Jewish blood, here Gentiles are those who are not a part of "spiritual Israel." those who did not believe or respond to the call for repentance written in the scroll of Revelation 10. 1,260 is 42 months which is 3 1/2 years. Perhaps this must best be treated as a symbolic number. The number 7 is symbolic of perfection and fulfillment, and half of that would represent imperfection and unfulfillment. We can also see this "half of seven" in Daniel 12:5. We don't know the actual length of the literal time period. To John and the readers this must have given assurance that the time of Roman "trampling" would not go on indefinitely, and that it would come to an end. 3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
This is indeed a difficult passage that gave the readers assurance that the spreading of the Gospel would continue to take place under persecution. Who are the two witnesses? Taken in context of temple restoration, we think of Joshua and Zerubbubel. Mention of draught and water turning to blood reminds us of Elijah and Moses. Many would interpret the prophets as being two literal people like the ones mentioned in the fictional "Left Behind" series. (I listened to this over the Internet but got tired of it as it spiraled down into a soap opera.)
Pastor Nishida proposed another interpretation, that the two witnesses are the church. If the church is one, why are two witnesses mentioned? Legally, the testimony of two witnesses were required to establish a point in a court of law. Jesus also had a practice of sending disciples out in pairs rather than alone.
Joshua, Zerubbabel, Elijah and Moses were all powerful men of God, but we must remember that they were merely men, and that God who was with them and who worked through them was the source of their power. It is this same God with the same power who worked through the church under Roman persecution. The churches, anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit would continue to maintain a witness. It is the same God who works in the church today.
7Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
There would be a witness, but at the cost of martyrdom. Those who disdained the message of repentance would rejoice, but their celebration would be short lived and unfulfilling.
11But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
Martyrdom is unavoidable, but it is not the end. A a promise of the resurrection of the church is spoken of here, and a separation of those who belonged to the Body of Christ and those who did not. Believers will be taken up, and the time of judgement for those who did the trampling draws near.
13At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
God will give strength to the churches to witness, and although it may be impossible to avoid martyrdom, there will be no defeat.
4/15/2007
14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.
The seventh trumpet is mentioned in Revelation 10:7 "But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets." It is here that the trumpet finally spoken of is sounded. What happens at this time? The elders explain: all countries of the earth now come under the sovereignty of their true leader and Messiah.
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." 16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
Compare this to Revelation 1:8. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord god, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Notice here that there is no more "is to come," because it has happened. The sovereign reign of God has arrived. Fulfilment has taken place.
18 The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth."
The nations raged and God's wrath is not expressed against their rebellion. Now the time has come for judgment. Believers will be resurrected to receive their reward, and destruction will begin for those who refused to believe.
19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.
At the time of the writing of Revelation, there is no temple in Jerusalem and the Arc of the Covenant is lost. Israel has lost their copy of the "contract," but God has not changed regarding His promises. The thunder, lightning, quakes and hail are all signs of His presence. All of his promises will be kept and His mysteries will be revealed. These are truly words of grace.
John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." We walk a path where victory has already been declared and assured by God Himself.
Luke 1:5-20 is the story of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. When he was told that he would have a son, he argued the improbability of such an event taking place and was rendered unable to speak until the child was born. God's Words are always true, and what God says will happen always does, whether we choose to believe it or not.
God's words always come true, and they always declare victory.
4/22/2007 Revelation 12
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
The identity of the women mentioned here is not simple to establish. Psalm 104:2 mentions God wrapping himself in light as a garment. There are many possible interpretations, but let's handle them later. We see that the woman is in the process of giving birth. The dragon, whose enemy is light destroys some sources of light.
We have some clues to indicate that the child borne by the woman is Jesus Christ. The Messiah is mentioned in Psalms 2 and Psalms 19 as ruling with a rod of iron. When the child is born, he is protected and caught up to God's throne. We remember that King Herod attempted to murder the newborn Christ, and the dragon was certainly behind that. Being snatched up to God's throne could also be a reference to Christ's ascension.
Is the woman Mary? Probably not. This might be a symbol of Israel, as the woman is wearing a crown of 12 stars on her head, suggesting the 12 tribes of Israel. The woman might be spiritual Israel as well.
7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
The dragon attempts to chase the child into heaven, and war ensues. The dragon looses, and there is no longer any place for him in heaven. He is now clearly identified as Satan, that ancient serpent who has grown into a dragon. He is the deceiver of the world, the one who began the initial rebellion against God when he tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
The meaning of Satan's fall from heaven is that he cannot reappear to accuse us before God. His accusations were correct and accurate, but we are forgiven and have been granted Christ's righteousness. The work of salvation is done. Christ Himself is our intercessor, and Satan's work as accuser is finished, over. God's power has resulted in salvation; his sovereignty has resulted in his reign. God's people are always victorious, and that victory is obtained through faith. Satan has been thrown out of heaven, but goes down for a last attack on the earth. He pursues the woman, spiritual Israel or the church and attempts to wipe it out. Rome attempted to wipe out the church, but did not succeed, and ended up declaring Christianity as its official religion.
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. 15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
The imagery of the torrent of water reminds us of the nation of Israel crossing the Red Sea. The water threatened to engulf them, but they passed through undefeated. Spiritual Israel, the church, will not be destroyed, either.
Let us go back to Genesis 3, where God promises that the seed of a woman will crush the head of the snake. The woman of Revelation 12 also contains Eve imagery. The curse upon Satan and the promise of a Savior made in the beginning are now fulfilled. Satan has attempted to do away with all of the covenants that God has made with man, with Adam, Abraham, Moses and David, but he is now defeated and thrown out of heaven. He is left standing on the shore.
5/6/2007 Revelation 13
Jesus spoke much of the end times, especially in the Gospel according to Matthew. He spoke of catastrophes and judgement, and the content of Revelation repeats the same themes. We must also remember, however, that Revelation was written in a historical context. It had meaning for the readers of its day, and this is the interpretation to which we must assign priority, even though the contents become more concerned with future events after the sounding of the sixth trumpet.
1 And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. A beast arises from out of the ocean as if Satan has called it forth. It has the same seven heads and ten horns and is clearly related to and supported by Satan. It bears blasphemous names and is in obvious opposition to the churches. The appearance of this beast as being part leopard, bear and lion causes us to recall Daniel 7, in which Daniel sees separate beasts of this description rising from the sea. Perhaps the beast in Revelation is all of these combined into one.
The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.
Readers of John's time would probably interpret this beast as Rome. The beast is given authority by Satan. Satan desires worship, and in Matthew 4 we read that he attempted to make Jesus worship him and come under his authority. If Satan cannot get worship for himself, he is equally happy to set something else up as a representative of himself to be worshipped. He is happy with anything as long as worship is being drawn away from the true God.
The wounding of the beast might refer to a period of instability in the history of the Roman empire. After the death of Nero there were four emperors in 69AD. Rome regained stability with the emperor Domitian, who signed documents as "Lord and God."
4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
Verse 4 mentions the beast's authority. The real power is held by Satan, but the beast's authority will make him appear reasonable and attractive, and people will want to obey him. The false worship will not be forced. Everyone will do it quite naturally from their own hearts. Psalm 71:19, 89:8, 133:5 all ask "Who is like God?" But here the receiver of the worship is not God, it is direct copycat worship of the beast and indirect worship of Satan himself. Worshippers of the beast will think their worship so natural that they will begin to see as enemies all those in the church that do not worship the beast.
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.
This period is like the one mentioned in Revelation 11, the 3 1/2 years during which the unbelievers will be allowed to trample the outer court of the temple. The actual duration is known only to God. God only allows the beast to exercise the authority given it by Satan as it will. The beast chooses for itself what it will do.
6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
9 He who has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
The language here is like that of Jeremiah 15. Because of Israel's idol worship, God in his sovereignty turned the people over to judgement. Here the case is different because it is the church that is being persecuted. It appears that the beast will be victorious and that God has lost, but this is not the case. Whatever happens, the elect, those chosen to have their names recorded in the Book of Life are called upon to endure because they are promised protection and victory.
5/13/2007
11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.
The second beast rises out of the earth, whereas the first one rose out of the sea. Together with Satan, these two beasts can be considered as a kind of evil trinity. The second beast is not as frightening as the first one, and looks like a lamb with two horns. Compare this to Christ as the Lamb of God in Revelation 5:1-7. He speaks the words of the dragon, words of deception as were spoken in the Garden of Eden. He has authority and causes people to worship the first beast.
13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
The signs that the second beast will do, which includes calling down fire as did the prophet Elijah on Mt. Nebo in the Old Testament, but considering that Satan is the source of his power, he will be a false prophet. His aim is for people to worship that which is not God. First century Christians would have understood this as emperor worship.
15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
The false prophet is given power to breath live into images. We are reminded of Genesis 2:7 in which God breaths live into man at the creation. Satan and the beast will put themselves into the same positions as the creator and will set themselves up as gods. Habbakuk 2:18-19 says that it is common sense that idols cannot speak or do anything else for that matter; is it possible that these Gentile idols will be so convincing that people will be taken in to the degree that they think the idols can speak? All who do not worship the idols will be martyred.
Verse 16 shows the totality of the takeover. Proof will be required that one has indeed taken part in worship of the beast, and without this proof one will not be able to function economically. During the time of the Roman Empire there were documents issued to show that one had indeed properly taken part in emperor worship.
18This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
There is a system called "gemateria" which assigns numbers to letters and adds up the totals. The Hebrew letters for "Nero Caesar" add up to 666, so this is a cryptic reference to the Roman Empire, the source of the persecution.
This portion of the vision is the darkest. Jews familiar with the Old Testament would think of Daniel 3, when three Jews were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing participate in Babylonian idol worship. They were miraculously saved. But in the case of the Roman persecution, no such miracle happened, and there were many martyrs. God does not intervene, but waits until the number is fulfilled. They are faced with a difficult choice - to worship the idols or die. We may very well be faced with the same choice someday.
In Matthew 26 we read that Jesus faced that choice, to bow to Satan's will and walk away from the cross or to bow to God's will and carry it to His crucifixion for us. 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
5/27/2007 Revelation 14Joel 3 mentions the restoration of the fortunes of Jerusalem, and the return of the children of Israel. The nations that persecuted them, Assyria and Babylon would be punished. The evil that they did in Israel would be returned to them. God returns to Jerusalem and restores the relationship between Himself and His people, and Israel's salvation is restored.
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. Joel predicts the presence of the Lamb, or Christ on the holy mount Zion, and this prophecy is fulfilled here. The victorious 144,000 are the ones who did not receive the mark of the beast, because the mark of God was on them already. (See Rev. 7) God's mark is a mark of protection, of election and of assurance. The election is unconditional. One may choose to marry for money or for looks, but when the condition changes the relationship is lost. God is not so. He chooses to love a person because they are, and only those who are in the relationship are able to comprehend it.
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. The 144,000 are already in heaven praising God and singing a new song.
4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. This could present a problem in interpretation. If read literally, only virgin men could be saved. These individuals make up the church, the pure bride of Christ. They are symbolically unmarried, as the church is the bride of Christ and marries no one but Him. Christ shares His all with his bride the church, His glory and His sufferings. This 144,000 is compared to the offering of the firstfruits in thanks for those who did not bow to Roman idol worship. What a privelege to be among the first ones! The metaphor indicates that which has been harvested, and that judgement has not yet been handed out.
6Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth葉o every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water." An angel speaks, and we can consider that the words of this angel are the words of God. A chance for receiving the message of salvation is given to all before the final judgement begins.
8 A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries." Babylon and Rome are as good as fallen before God. Their defeat is predicted and God's victory is assured. The wine of adultery refers to spiritual adultery or idol worship, which Rome tried to force upon the church.
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. This time it will be Rome's turn to drink the wine of God's wrath. It will not be watered down, but will come in full force as it did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19:24-29 speaks of fire and sulpher, smoke and torment day and night with no cessation. This is the second eternal death, in which death is longed for but does not come.
11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. So endurance is called for - there is no other way. This is what will come to pass and what must be done.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." In the Old Testament two witnesses were needed to present a convincing testemony. God the Father and God the Spirit both declare those who labored for God, who did not take the mark of the beast and who gave their lives in faithfulness to the truth as blessed. The seven churches must make a choice as to what they will do in the face of persecution.
14I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. We also see this image of Christ in Daniel, and most interpret this harvest as a harvest of judgement.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. This grape harvest speaks of God's judgement. Hebrews 13:11 speaks of Christ being crucified outside of the city. All sin was dealth with outside of the city of Jerusalem. Those who do not accept God's forgiveness will instead receive God's judgment and will be dealth with "outside the city." We must either accept Christ's sacrifice made for us outside the city or undergo it for ourselves. Are we to be part of the harvest of the firstfruits or of the grapes? The choice is ours. Whose mark is on your head?
6/3/2007 Revelation 15
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues - last, because with them God's wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. 4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."
God's righteous acts of judgement are about to be revealed, and the 144,000 praise God's righteousness. They praise God's holiness because his judgements will be fulfilled at last. This is why they chose to be martyrs, because they knew that God's holy, righteous judgement would be fulfilled indeed and absolutely. There were hard times coming and the church would have to choose. The bride of Christ would be absolutely victorious.
5 After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. What is the purpose of the seven angels? We can tell by looking at their clothes of pure white linen that they are wearing priestly garments to carry out priestly work. (compare Revelation 1:10-18) Christ wears similar garments, so the angels are wearing uniforms related to Christ and they will carry out his work.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. The word here for "bowl" is the same greek word used in Leviticus 6:8-13. It refers to vessels that were used to collect ashes that remained after a burnt offering was consumed by flames. The disposal of ashes is the point here. They were thrown outside of the camp or the city for disposal. The angels in Revelation are carrying out a similar priestly task. Those who have the ashes poured out upon them are of course outside the city and cannot enter into it. The heavenly temple is filled with smoke and those not engaged in priestly duties cannot enter until atonement has been fulfilled.
Martyrdom is not wasted. God's proper judgment will take place, and those killed by Rome will not have died in vain. The 144,000 show us that those who remain faithful will indeed be victorious, because GOD IS FAITHFUL. We have absolute assurance of God's final, holy, righteous judgement and victory.
