Revelation 7

Chapter 7 is the answer to the question in Revelation 6:17:
the great day of their wrath has come, and WHO will be able to survive?"

This is the first of five parenthetical passages. The six seal judgments extend over the entire period of the ending age. The rider upon the white horse will be on the scene to the end, wars will continue to the end and culminate in the battle of Armageddon and so do the famines and pestilences. Thinking back to the image of a six-sealed scroll, all seven seals would have to be broken before the scroll can be read.

Things happen in groups of seven in the book of Revelation. We're almost through the seven seals of the scroll. Next, there will be seven trumpet judgments. Then there are seven bowls of wrath. Between the sixth and seventh of each these is always a parenthesis. This structural parenthesis make a chronological summary of Revelation next to impossible. That's why it is often so hard to follow - because we assume that it is written chronologically in order of events, and that makes it hard to understand:

1. Between the sixth and seventh seals, we are introduced to the 144,000.
2. Between the sixth and seventh trumpets, we see John eat a book, measure the temple, and introduce us to the two witnesses.
3. Between the sixth and seventh bowls of wrath, we see the unclean spirits that prompt Armageddon.

One clue that helps us determine time in Revelation is the Greek phrase, "meta touto," which is translated, "after these things" or "then." This tells us when something is definitely chronological. After the four horsemen of chapter 6, John tells us "meta touto" in chapter seven.

(1) THEN I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds from blowing upon the earth. Not a leaf rustled in the trees, and the sea became as smooth as glass.

• The direct implication of these verses is that harm is about to come upon the earth. It appears that this harm is part of "the great day of their wrath" (6:17).
• Then (Greek - meta touto - "After this")
• That is, after the happenings of the first six seals. These angels (ministering spirits) were to do something to the whole earth (four corners of the earth).  These angels were waiting for orders from God. Their job at this moment was to control these four winds until God said release them. The wrath is held back until those who must be sealed are sealed.
• Four angels:
• These four angels may be the four of the seven angels that will blow their trumpets in chapter 8.
• Four corners:
• Some think that the Bible teaches that the earth was flat and square. But, Isaiah 40:22 says, "It is God who sits above the circle of the earth."
• Four winds:
• The “four winds” here is similar to that of Daniel 7:2 (KJV):
• Daniel spake and said , I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea
• Not a leaf rustled ... sea smooth as glass:
• It's as if the world is holding its breath for the horror that is about to unleashed.

(2) And I saw another angel coming from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted out to those four angels who had been given power to injure land and sea,

• Seal of the living God:
• The actual act of sealing is not described, but it is simply implied to take place.
• We're not told what this seal is, but Revelation 14 suggests that it is the name of the Lamb and of the Father.
• Revelation 14:1: Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
• A seal was a sign of ownership and authenticity. It protected whatever it sealed. To violate the seal of a person of great authority would carry severe consequences. For example, in Matthew 27:66, the tomb holding Jesus' body was sealed. To break the Roman seal was punishable by death.
• The seal of the Antichrist is the “the name of the beast or the number representing his name” on his followers head or hand (Revelation 13:16-18) called a “mark”.
• All the Old Testament priests had a seal on their heads:
• Exodus 28:36-38: "Next make a medallion of pure gold. Using the techniques of an engraver, inscribe it with these words: SET APART AS HOLY TO THE LORD. This medallion will be attached to the front of Aaron's turban by means of a blue cord. Aaron will wear it on his forehead, thus bearing the guilt connected with any errors regarding the sacred offerings of the people of Israel. He must always wear it so the LORD will accept the people."
• Ezekiel 9:4-6: He said to him, "Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all those who weep and sigh because of the sins they see around them." Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, "Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! Kill them all -- old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin your task right here at the Temple." So they began by killing the seventy leaders.
• 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV: Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
• Ephesians 1:13: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
• Ephesians 4:30 (KJV): And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
• Revelation 9:4: They were told not to hurt the grass or plants or trees but to attack all the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
• Revelation 9:4 explicitly declares that those who have the seal of God are protected from the fallout of the fifth trumpet.

(3) "Wait! Don't hurt the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants."

• Wait:
• They are restraining the seven angels with the seven trumpets in chapter 8:6-12:
• Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts. The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down upon the earth, and one-third of the earth was set on fire. One-third of the trees were burned, and all the grass was burned. Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. And one-third of the water in the sea became blood. And one-third of all things living in the sea died. And one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed. Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great flaming star fell out of the sky, burning like a torch. It fell upon one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died because the water was so bitter. Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark and one-third of the night also.

(4) And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God. There were 144,000 who were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

• The Church which is His Body is already gone! Those that are sealed are Jewish believers - when did they believe?
• The tribe of Dan is not included here - they are the tribe that introduced apostasy into Israel. The closing chapters of Judges give an account of the sordid way the tribe of Dan led Israel into terrible apostasy, involving homosexuality and idol worship. This was in line with Jacob's prediction concerning Dan. Jacob predicts the future of his twelve sons and he says, "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward." (Genesis 49:17 KJV). In the millennium, however, Ezekiel 48:1,32 tells us that Dan has a portion in the distribution of the land in that day.
• 144,000:
• Dispensationalists believe that the group of 144,000 will be literal Israelites. Dwight Pentecost (professor emeritus of Bible exposition of Dallas Theological Seminary) believes that they are a “remnant within the remnant” of saved Israel during the Tribulation. He argues the number is literal and these are to be witnesses and are to be kept from death whereas other of saved of Israel will die under the Antichrist. (Pentecost, 297-298) He believes their mission is to witness to the nations and bring about many converts. (Pentecost, 214)  Their message is the “gospel of the kingdom” (Pentecost, 472), which is similar to the announcement of the Kingdom by John the Baptist and Jesus (Matthew 3:1 and 4:17) as well as a message of salvation through faith in Christ. Their message and ministry will also target Israelites (Pentecost, 295).
• These will fulfill the commission of Matthew Chapter 10. The complete prophetic scripture in Matthew could not have been completely fulfilled by the twelve apostles or by the pre-rapture Church. The commission in Matthew chapter 10 is completely fulfilled in the ministry of those that are sealed here. Like many prophecies there was a partial fulfillment in the time it was spoken but it then goes on to speak of a greater end time fulfillment. They and the two witnesses in Revelation 11 will also fulfill Matthew 24:14: And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come.
• These who are sealed—at the beginning of the Tribulation period—are kept from death during the Tribulation.
• These Jews (like John the Baptist) will preach that the kingdom of God is at hand and that King Jesus is about to come to earth and rule the earth as the Messiah from Jerusalem.
• Those who say the list can’t be accurate because 10 tribes disappeared in 721 BC when the Northern Kingdom was scattered would do well to read 2 Chronicles 11:15-16: Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made. From all over Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
• Josephus reported that this migration caused a substantial increase in Jerusalem’s population. God has always maintained a faithful remnant of His people.
• The listing of each tribe emphasizes that it is Israel and only Israel that is in view with the 144,000! They are not "Jehovah's Witnesses"!
• A time is coming when Israel "will declare my glory to the nations" (Isaiah 66:19).
• Per Matthew 10:5, Christ sent out His twelve apostles with directions to "Don't go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel -- God's lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ... I, the Son of Man, will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel." These last words no doubt leap forward to the preaching of the remnant during the tribulation period. Their gospel will be the same as John the Baptist and the apostles - the gospel of the kingdom of Heaven. The gospel of the grace of GOD was given to Paul by special revelation (Ephesians 3:2-3). It is the good news of salvation by grace through faith alone and is characteristic of the present church age. The gospel of the kingdom of Heaven, that was proclaimed by the apostles and that is to be again proclaimed before the "end come," is a call to repentance because the king is ready to set up His kingdom.
• Matthew 24:3,14: Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and asked, "When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world?" ... And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come
• All the tribes of Israel:
• If a Seventh Day Adventist or Jehovah's Witness cultist should claim to be a member of this throng, let him give proof to which tribe he belongs. They are all Israelites, not a Gentile among them.

(5) from Judah - 12,000 from Reuben - 12,000 from Gad - 12,000

• Judah:
• Judah, the fourth son, is listed first. Possibly because it is the tribe to which Jesus belonged.
• There are at least 19 lists of Jacob's sons in the Old Testament. Not one of them is the same as the list here.

(6) from Asher - 12,000 from Naphtali - 12,000 from Manasseh - 12,000

• Manasseh:
• Though Ephraim is not named, his brother-tribe, Manasseh is included. Perhaps this honors Manasseh's faithfulness in contrast to Ephraim's unfaithfulness. Ephraim and Manasseh were the two sons of Joseph, the next to the youngest of Jacob's sons. Because of Joseph's role in the history of Israel, and his preservation of the nation in Egypt during the days of famine, his two sons were adopted by Jacob to be given an inheritance with the rest of Joseph's brothers. That really makes thirteen tribes of Israel. When they came to divide up the land Levi was left out because he was called to be the priestly tribe. Ephraim actually does appear here under the name "Joseph." So Manasseh and Joseph are really Manasseh and Ephraim.
• Ephraim was the head of the Northern Kingdom of Israel that apostatized under King Jeroboam I's leadership. Ephraim will also be in the millennial kingdom (Ezekiel 48:5).

(7) from Simeon - 12,000 from Levi - 12,000 from Issachar - 12,000

(8) from Zebulun - 12,000 from Joseph - 12,000 from Benjamin - 12,000

(9) AFTER THIS I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands.

• After this - meta touto:
• Again, we see the phrase "meta touto." John is showing us something that happens after the 144,000 are sealed. He sees a huge number of people in heaven before the throne. They were from every country, every ethnicity, every language - not just Jews.
• How much time elapses between these two visions is not known. This vision sequence begins at Revelation 7:9 and will continue through Revelation 15:4.
• The result of the preaching of the 144,000 is that a true revival will break out in the world, and so many people will be saved, no one can count them.
• Vast crowd:
• We are told in verse 14 who these are: These are the ones coming out of the GREAT tribulation.
• This is not the Church which is His body because those Christians have been raptured before the tribulation. The vast crowd is made up of Gentiles and Jews who have been brought to Christ through the ministry of the 144,000 during the Tribulation.
• Robert L. Thomas Revelation 1-7 Exegetical Commentary: "This group, like the 144,000, is unhurt by the effects of God's wrath, but for a different reason. They have at this point been removed from the earthly scene of the wrath and have no need of protective sealing. Someone might ask, 'Are the 144,000 the only ones who have maintained their composure under the first six seals?' This vision responds to such a question negatively. A vast throng has turned to God during this period and have now passed into His immediate presence through death [cf. 6:8]."
• From our standpoint of time, John sees things that are happening at the close of the seven-year week. He sees ahead, as it were, to the end of the seven years, and sees this great multitude that have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and they have palm branches in their hands.
• This statement shows that these people are not saved before the Tribulation but are saved during that period of wrath.
• Standing:
• Standing = is a perfect participle - which indicates completed action. This is very important because it indicates that the universally innumerable multitude is one group. In other words, they are not assembling, but have assembled. John sees the finished product.
• Before the throne:
• This gives us the location of the standing universally innumerable multitude - this group is in heaven.
• Clothed in white (robes):
• Signals a change in the status of these earthly beings who are in heaven in contrast to martyrs of the fifth seal. These individuals have bodies and are clothed.
• Palm branches:
• This would be the second time that John has seen a crowd with palm branches praising Jesus as King! Ray Stedman: "When did we last find a crowd of people with palm branches in their hands, welcoming Jesus as a King? It was, of course, when he rode down the mountainside into Jerusalem. The prophet is linking that event with this. Then, Israel had the opportunity to receive their King, but the leaders of the nation rejected him. At this event, in the end times, they are welcoming and worshiping their King, still with palm branches in their hands. So this great multitude of Jews and Gentiles is particularly associated with the restoration of Israel. These are all martyrs. They have died for the sake of Christ during the tribulation, and they now appear before the throne of God as victors over death and hell, and join the worship of angels around the throne. Is it not wonderful to think that, in earth's darkest hour, yet to come, the greatest harvest the world has ever seen will take place? Millions of those who have never heard the gospel today will be saved. I do not think there is any possibility that those today who hear and reject the gospel will be any part of this number. It is a harvest of those who have never heard. ... We will meet them again when we come to Chapter 20. There we are told that those "souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus ...  they reigned with Christ for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4) will be raised from the dead to serve the Lord throughout the thousand-year reign of Christ. It is the same multitude as here. John sees them in heaven at this point, but they are given a spiritual ministry on earth during the thousand-year reign of Christ.
• John 12:12-16: The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A huge crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, "Praise God! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: "Don't be afraid, people of Israel. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt." His disciples didn't realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered that these Scriptures had come true before their eyes.

(10) And they were shouting with a mighty shout, "Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!"

(11) And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell face down before the throne and worshiped God.

• First the innumerable multitude offers words of adoration. Then, "all the angels" follow. Closer yet to the throne of God, the elders and the closest group of all—the four living creatures join the heavenly praise session.

(12) They said, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and forever. Amen!"

• Seven-fold praise!

(13) Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, "Who are these who are clothed in white? Where do they come from?"

• Twenty-four elders:
• This elder must already know who these are. He probably asks this question to teach those who do not understand who these are.
• It is clear from these questions that the twenty-four elders are representative of a group different from those who are here pictured as the great multitude in white robes. If the elders represent the church, the multitude represents a different body of saints.

(14) And I said to him, "Sir, you are the one who knows."Then he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the GREAT tribulation. They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

• The ones coming out of the GREAT tribulation:
• Those here described are martyrs who have sealed their testimony with their own blood - many by the world ruler. They will be hounded to death much as the Jews were by Hitler. Because they will not worship the beast, they will be under a death sentence (Revelation 13:15). Those who accept Christ in that time may be faced with the solemn alternative of either renouncing their faith in Christ and worshiping the beast or being slain. The result will be multiplied thousands of martyrs. We see that today as Islamist terrorists conquer others and force them to convert or be beheaded.
• Revelation 13:15: He was permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.
  
• The GREAT tribulation:
• In the ancient Greek grammar of this passage, “the” is emphatic.
• Jesus coined the term "the Great Tribulation" and identified it as the second half of Daniel's seventieth week:
• Matthew 24:15,21-22 (KJV): When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth , let him understand:) ... For then shall be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened
• The tribulation referred to here, is the great tribulation also spoken of by Daniel:
• Daniel 12:1: "At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued.
• This is the only specific mention of the Great Tribulation by this name in Revelation. However, it is probably referred to by “the great time of testing” in Revelation 3:10. They are described as “coming out” of the Tribulation, probably by being martyred. They are NOT THE CHURCH since the members of the Body of Christ were already raptured
• Robes:
• Revelation 6:11: Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters -- their fellow servants of Jesus -- had been martyred.
• Blood of the Lamb:
• Spurgeon: "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Not one of them became white through his tears of repentance, not one through the shedding of the blood of bulls or of goats. They all wanted a vicarious sacrifice, and for none of them was any sacrifice effectual, except the death of Jesus Christ the Lord. They washed their robes nowhere but in the blood of the Lamb."
• Romans 5:9: And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's judgment.
• Hebrews 9:22: In fact, we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
• Ephesians 1:7: He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.
• Colossians 1:20: and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.
• 1 Peter 1:18-19: For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
• White:
• This white is such a bright white that it may even glisten as the Shekinah Glory of God. White stands for righteousness. We are righteous because we have taken on Jesus' righteousness. Notice also, that they were not saved from tribulation, but in it. The white robes portray a standing of righteousness, and the multitude praises God especially for their salvation.

(15) That is why they are standing in front of the throne of God, serving him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will live among them and shelter them.

• These saints are in God's presence because they have believed in Jesus Christ and have died in the first half of the Tribulation. Possibly they will have intermediate bodies until their resurrections. This appears to be the condition of Christians who die before the Rapture too (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:2-3). These Tribulation saints will serve God continually in His present heavenly sanctuary. There will be no temple in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22), so what John saw here was not a vision of the new Jerusalem. God will protect them and share fellowship with them there. The elder's description of God spreading His tabernacle over them recalls Old Testament instances of God dwelling among and protecting His people.
• Throne:
• Matthew 25:31-32: "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
• Temple:
• The fact that a temple is mentioned here is probably a reference to the millennial temple which is yet to be built in Jerusalem; the one which Ezekiel describes in the closing chapters of his prophecy. It will be the place where the nations come to worship in the days when Christ rules over the earth. There is also a description of it in Micah. And, we're told in Zechariah that the Messiah will build it and in Acts that Jesus will sit on the throne of David. 
• Micah 4:1-6: In the last days, the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem will become the most important place on earth. People from all over the world will go there to worship. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Temple of the God of Israel. There he will teach us his ways, so that we may obey him." For in those days the LORD's teaching and his word will go out from Jerusalem. The LORD will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end. Everyone will live quietly in their own homes in peace and prosperity, for there will be nothing to fear. The LORD Almighty has promised this! Even though the nations around us worship idols, we will follow the LORD our God forever and ever. "In that coming day," says the LORD, "I will gather together my people who are lame, who have been exiles, filled with grief.
• Zechariah 6:12-13: Tell him that the LORD Almighty says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out where he is and build the Temple of the LORD. He will build the LORD's Temple, and he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between the two.
• Acts 15:16-18: 'Afterward I will return, and I will restore the fallen kingdom of David. From the ruins I will rebuild it, and I will restore it,  so that the rest of humanity might find the Lord, including the Gentiles -- all those I have called to be mine. This is what the Lord says, he who made these things known long ago.'
• Day and night:
• There is no day or night in heaven. This is seems to be an earthly scene.
• Sits on the throne:
• Revelation 3:21: I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.
• Live among them:
• Live is skenosi. In Revelation, skenoo describes God tabernacling with men and in John 1:14 (So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.)
• Shelter them:
• Literally, "God will spread his tabernacle over them.”

(16) They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat.

• According to Revelation 13:17 it may be that they had gone hungry rather than buying food and submitting to the worship of the beast.
• Isaiah 49:10: They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun and scorching desert winds will not reach them anymore. For the LORD in his mercy will lead them beside cool waters.

(17) For the Lamb who stands in front of the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away all their tears."

• Life-giving water:
• John 4:10-14: Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?" Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."
• Wipe away all their tears:
• Isaiah 25:8: He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The LORD has spoken!

Revelation 8:1-2,13: When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. ... Then I looked up. And I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, "Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets."

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://revelationofjesustojohn.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-of-revelation-references.html
• Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/