Revelation Overview Pt. 3 — Chuck Smith

Revelation 1:19 and the Three Divisions of Revelation

In the first chapter of Revelation, verse 19, the Lord gives us the key to the understanding of the book as we see the three divisions. Write the things which you have seen, the things which are, the things which will be after these things.

Chapter one, the vision that he saw, Christ walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks holding the seven stars. Chapters two and three, the things of the church, the history of the church, the ministry of the church to the world.

The Church in Heaven After Revelation 4

Beginning with chapter four, you enter into an area that goes beyond church history. When the church has completed its mission, when it has completed its task on the earth, then we see in chapters four and five, the church in heaven, taken up, called up, as John heard the voice of a trumpet saying unto him, come up hither, and I'll show you things that will take place after these things or the things of the church.

And so we saw the church in heaven and we saw the throne of God and the cherubim worshiping around the throne of God. We saw the 24 lesser thrones, the elders sitting upon them. Attention was drawn to a scroll in the right hand of him who sat upon the throne.

The scroll being the title deed to the earth. A strong angel with a loud voice saying who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals. Time for redemption has come, the redemption of the world. Actually, Jesus came to redeem the world from the powers of darkness that had taken it by forfeiture from man.

The world belonged to God. He created it. God gave it to man, but man forfeited it over to Satan. But Jesus came to redeem it back to God. And so the strong angel talking about this scroll, the title deed to the earth.

Time for redemption has come. Who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals? And as John sees that no one in heaven earth is worthy to take the scroll, he begins to weep until the elders said, don't weep, John.

Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed. He's going to take the scroll and loose the seals. So as we get into chapter six, though we are in the heavenly scene, as we see him now beginning to break the seven seals, yet with the breaking of each seal, there is a corresponding event that's taking place upon the earth.

And so we watch it from the heavenly scene, but then we look down and see the results as they transpire upon the earth with the breaking of each seal. So as you're in chapter six, verse one, I saw when the lamb had opened one of the seals, I heard as it were the noise of thunder and of the four cherubim saying, come and see.

So he hears this sound like a thunder. The cherubim say to John, come and see, look down now and see what's happening on the earth when this seal is broken. And I saw, behold, there was a white horse.

The First Four Seals and the Antichrist

He that sat upon him had a bow and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. The first thing that is going to take place on the earth, once the church has been removed, will be the revelation of the man of sin, the son of perdition, the beast commonly called the antichrist.

I believe that the powers of darkness are in control of the world today, but yet their full power cannot yet be manifested because of a restraining force. And that restraining force that is holding back the man of sin from taking over completely is the church of Jesus Christ and the power of God's spirit working in the church.

And I believe that as long as the church is here, that the antichrist cannot accomplish his purpose of taking over the world. I believe that he would like to right now. I believe that he is waiting in the wings.

I believe that he is alive on the earth today. And I believe that the only thing that is keeping back the world from going completely in the powers of darkness is the light of the world, which is the church, or the salt of the earth, which is the church.

And the power of God's spirit within the church is holding back these forces of darkness from complete control. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, Paul is talking to them about that day of the Lord will not come until, first of all, there's a falling away and the son of perdition is revealed.

And he talks about how he's going to come with all kinds of miracle working powers, deceiving the world and the world following after him. But he said that which hinders shall hinder until it is removed out of the way, and then he shall be revealed.

So the moment the church is taken out, caught up into heaven, there is nothing holding back the Antichrist from taking control. And so the first seal reveals and brings forth the Antichrist. I don't know who he is.

I don't care to know who he is. I'm not looking for him. I'm looking for Jesus Christ and his coming for the church. That's what interests me. Now when he opens the second seal, there are seven seals on this scroll.

When he opens the second seal, I heard the second cherubim say, come and see. And there went out another horse. It was red. Power was given to him and he that sat upon him to take peace from the earth that they should kill one another and there was given unto him a great sword.

Now in the first part of the reign of the Antichrist, he will come with a program of peace and the world will believe that the problems in the world were religious fanatics. Those Christians who were insisting that Jesus Christ was the only way by which a man could enter into heaven.

They were the real problems. Now that they're gone, we can have peace and it will be a time in the beginning of peace and prosperity. The wealth of the Christians will be divided by the rest of the world.

And so peace and prosperity and it will be as far as the world is concerned. You know, this is it. We've come into the new age. We come into this glorious new age in which we are not bothered by those Christians and their testimony.

But that won't last for very long. Because when the second seal is open, then war breaks out. And as the Antichrist goes forth conquering and to conquer, as the war breaks out upon the world, power to kill one another with a great sword, then the third seal is open.

As a result of the war, there's going to be a tremendous famine coming over the earth. If there were a war with nuclear weapons, it would have a tremendous effect negatively upon our food chain. As the radioactivity would affect the food chain.

And it would then create a tremendous famine. When Chernobyl had that accident there in the Ukraine, and it affected the food chain throughout Europe for a time. And so the great famine that will follow.

Then when the fourth seal is open, well in the famine they'll be selling a quart of wheat for about $60. That's how bad the famine will be. Fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth cherubim saying,.

Death, Judgment, and the Sixth Seal

And I looked and I beheld a pale horse. And the name of him that sat upon him was Death. And hell followed. And power was given to them over a fourth part of the earth to kill with a sword with hunger and with death and with the beast of the earth.

Now if when the church is removed, the earth's population say is 4 billion people. In these first four seals, one fourth of the 4 billion will be killed. Now you cannot even imagine that kind of a slaughter.

One billion people in the first four seals. Now when he opens the fifth seal, John sees under the altar the souls of those who were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. These are people who have missed the rapture.

These are people who live on the earth after the Lord has taken his church out but will suddenly recognize what a serious mistake they have made in their rejection of Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives.

And when the Antichrist takes over and he causes everyone to receive his mark either in their right hand or in their foreheads, these people will have enough sense to know not to take the mark. And he has power to put to death those that refuse to take the mark.

And so there will be thousands of people that will be martyred at this time because of their refusal to worship the beast or his image or to receive his mark. And so John sees these. They are under the altar of God.

And they are crying with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, before you judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? They were given white robes, every one of them. And it was told to them that they should rest for a little season until their fellow servants also and their brothers should be killed that were going to be killed.

And so your number isn't yet complete. There are still more that are to be martyred. So you fellows just wait a while. They can't yet come into the heavenly scene. They can't yet fully enter into the heavenly scene.

They are to wait a little longer until the full complement of those that will be martyred has been accomplished. Now he sees the sixth seal. Behold, when he had opened the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake.

The sun became black as sackcloth of air. The moon became as blood. The stars of heaven fell to the earth even as a fig tree cast her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth and the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, the mighty men, bondmen, freemen, hid themselves in dens and rocks. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, hide us from the face of him that sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the lamb for the day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand.

And so we see now the wrath of God being poured out upon the earth in this great cataclysmic judgment of God. Heavens rolled back like a scroll. From the description it sounds as if there were a polar axis shift.

The physicists tell us that there is about every 6 ,000 years or so a polar axis shift where the earth shifts slightly and you have a new polar axis. And that the present polar axis which is about 22 and a third degrees tilt from the sun is not the way it has always been.

There have been polar axis shifts in the past probably causing ice ages and things of this nature. And from the description of this it sounds like how the physicists describe what would happen during a polar axis shift.

A complete change of the weather patterns, a change of the ocean floors, the part of the mountains sinking and the water rushing in creating other up thrust. It's interesting in the Himalaya mountains up at 28 ,000 feet they find seashells.

How in the world did seashells get up at the top of the Himalayas? Well, in one of the polar axis shifts they believe that the water came rushing in perhaps in the great depression off of the Philippines and where the depression there is about 25 ,000 feet deep covered with water.

That when that took place the water rushed in it caused then the up thrust of the Himalayas. And we know that up at the south rim of the Grand Canyon 7 ,000 feet there are seashells up there, fossilized seashells there.

Grand Canyon, Geology, and the Limits of Human Knowledge

Interesting thing of course just to pass on and do with it what you want. How was the Grand Canyon formed? Was it formed by a little water over billions of years or was it formed in just a very short time by a great flood of waters?

The evidence seems to be that it was formed by a great flood. There was a great ocean or sea up in the Painted Desert area and around the Painted Desert area of course we have all kinds of dinosaur artifacts and that probably it may be the last polar axis shift.

There was this great sea that was up there came as the ground was up thrust it pushed the water down to the canyon and formed of course the Grand Canyon and that marvelous spectacle that we can see today.

The interesting thing and what mitigates against a little amount of water over thousands or millions of years is that where the Colorado River enters the Grand Canyon it's only 3 ,000 feet elevation. Now did the Colorado River climb up 4 ,000 feet and gradually wear the thing down?

Doesn't make sense, does it? That the entrance of the Colorado River at the Grand Canyon is about 3 ,000 feet and yet the top of the Grand Canyon is 7 ,000 feet where the erosion first began. So something to, you know, think about.

And they don't have, you know, the geologists today don't have all the answers. They like you to think they do but they don't. The day of his wrath has come. Who shall be able to stand? Now chapter 7.

The 144,000 and the Multitude from the Great Tribulation

It's sort of what they call parenthetical. It isn't following a sequential order. But after these things I saw four angels and they were standing at the four corners of the earth and they were holding the four winds of the earth that the wind should not blow on the earth nor on the sea nor on any tree.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to hurt the earth and the sea and they said, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

And I heard the number of them that were sealed. It was 144 ,000 of all of the tribes of the children of Israel. Now that's very plain. Not 144 ,000 Jehovah Witnesses. Not 144 ,000 of the Worldwide Church of God or any other group that wants to claim to be the 144 ,000.

These, very plainly, how plain can you get? They are from the 12 tribes of Israel and of the tribes of the children of Israel and if that isn't clear enough it names then each tribe 12 ,000 from each tribe getting the 144 ,000.

So there's no sense even going into that, it's too obvious and it takes some kind of magic jugglery to make that mean anything else than the 12 tribes of Israel. After this I beheld and though there was a great multitude no man can number them.

They were out of all nations and families and people and language groups. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. And they cried with a loud voice saying Salvation to our God which sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb.

And all of the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four cherubim and they fell before the throne on their faces. They worshipped God, they said Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power and might.

It seems like every time they give a blessing they add a few extra things. You know it just was in the beginning the first thing was Thou art worthy to receive glory and honor because Thou hast created.

I mean just very simple but every time they give these blessings they're all they add to it. And so here we're really getting into it now. Honor, power, might and wisdom and glory and all unto Him forever and ever.

Amen. And one of the elders asked me Who are these who are in white robes? Where did they come from? And I said unto him Sir, you tell me. I don't know. And he said These are they which came out of the great tribulation.

They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple and He that sits upon the throne shall dwell among them.

They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the sun light upon them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them into living waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Who are they? Going back to the previous chapter remember under the fifth seal that John saw these souls under the altar who were martyred for their faith in God in Jesus Christ and they were told to wait until their number is complete.

Now in chapter 7 their number has been completed. They are brought into the heavenly scene. They are obviously not the church. John would have recognized them had they been the church. The church is already there.

And that's why John is sort of as a mystery of who these people are. Where did they come from? Well they came up out of the great tribulation. They were saved after the church was raptured. I do believe that once the church is raptured you'll probably have the greatest period of evangelism that the world has ever known.

Maybe a lot of you will get right at that time. Hope so. You see there's an easy way to go and a hard way to go. The easy way to go is to accept Christ now. Hard way to go is to wait until you have to be martyred.

But the thing is if you don't have enough guts to live for Him now how in the world are you going to have enough strength to die for Him then? And so better to live for Him now rather than have to die for Him then.

But there will be this great multitude. No man can number. They're there in heaven. Now if you turn to Revelation chapter 20 for just a moment. Verse 4. It's a verse that has created confusion with a lot of people because they put the resurrection rapture and resurrection here at verse 4 of chapter 20.

But I want to show you the error of that. And I saw thrones and they that sat upon them and judgment was given unto them. That is the church. He sees the church sitting upon the thrones. Jesus said he that overcometh I will grant to sit with me on my throne even as I have overcome and sat at my father's throne.

Paul said to the Corinthians you oughtn't to be going to court with one another to the secular courts. Don't you realize that these issues ought to be resolved within the church? Don't you know that you're going to be judging angels?

And so I saw the thrones. They that sat upon them. Judgment was given unto them. That's the church. But now he sees a second number. I saw the souls of them who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God which had not worshipped the beast neither his image neither had they received his mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years but the rest of the dead did not rise until the end of the thousand years was over.

So you see John saw two groups. He saw this group that came up out of the great tribulation not the church. Notice their place here in chapter 7. They are before the throne of God. We are sitting upon the thrones.

They serve him day and night in his temple. We reign with him as the church. And so they are a separate company a large company that will be brought in after the rapture of the church and they'll be brought up out of the great tribulation.

The Seventh Seal and the First Four Trumpets

And so when he opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for the space of about a half an hour. We just had silence for the space of ten seconds. Seemed like a long time didn't it? Imagine what it will be like when silence for the space of a half hour.

Silence can be rather awesome. And probably it will be in just shock and just sort of in awe of what has transpired and what is about to transpire. I saw the seven angels which stood before God. They were given seven trumpets and another angel came and stood at the altar having the golden censer and was given unto him to offer much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all of the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer he filled it with fire of the altar he cast it to the earth and there were voices, thunderings, lightnings, an earthquake and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared to sound.

When the first angels sounded there followed hail, fire mingled with blood that was cast upon the earth. The third part of the trees were burnt up and all of the green grass was burnt up. So the first trumpet brings a biological disaster as far as the earth is concerned.

All of these tree huggers are going to have a bad time as a third part of the trees will be destroyed. And a third part and all of the green grass. The second trumpet it affects the burning fire cast into the sea.

Third part of the sea becomes as blood. Third part of the creatures which are in the sea that had life died. A third part of the ships were destroyed. The third trumpet the angels sounded there fell a great star from heaven burning as it were a lamp and it fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters and the name of the stars called wormwood.

The part of the waters that became wormwood and many people died of the waters because they were made bitter, poisoned. And so the great plague of of the fresh water supplies being destroyed. The fourth angel sounded.

Third part of the sun was smitten. Third part of the moon. Third part of the stars. And so as a third part of them were dark and the day did not shine except for a third part of it and the night likewise.

I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven saying with a loud voice woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth by the reason of the three trumpets just to sound. And fellows you haven't seen anything yet is what the angel is saying.

Watch out. This is just the beginning. Woe, woe, woe. Three trumpets yet to sound. And so to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of these three trumpets yet to sound. Chapter nine. The fifth angel sounded.

The Fifth Trumpet and the Demonic Locusts

I saw a star that was falling from heaven unto the earth. To him was given the key of the abuso. The bottomless pit. The abuso is would appear from the scriptures is a shaft that goes from the surface of the earth into the heart of the earth.

It would appear that Hades is in the heart of the earth. That the abuso is a shaft that goes into Hades called the bottomless pit. And it's actually that's the translation of the abuso the abyss, this bottomless pit.

And there arose the smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. Been interesting, say, when Caraca Caratau, woe, woe, woe, woe.

Carcatua. That's what it was. Great volcano that exploded in the Pacific. It colored the sunsets around the world for several years as the dust went into the atmosphere. And it actually created sort of a a cold spell for a while because it began to shut out the sun and its effect upon the earth.

And so here we find with this fifth trumpet, this pit that is open. The smoke comes out of it. But out of the smoke come these demonic hordes. And these demonic hordes but they are told that they are not to hurt the grass of the earth, which of course is the locusts usual fare.

Neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. So the 144 ,000 they are instructed not to hurt them. But to them was given that they should not kill people, but that they should be tormented for five months.

The torment was as the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. And in those days men will seek death and shall not find it. They will desire to die, but death will flee from them. You know we think of death as such a horrible thing, but in reality in many cases death is a blessing.

Think of a person whose body has been mangled in a car accident. And their body is totally mangled. But think of them not being able to die. And they have to just remain in that painful, mangled condition.

They just don't die. You see, there are times when death is a blessing. But death is going to take a five month holiday. And people will not be able to die for five months during this time that these demonic hordes are inflicting their torment upon the people that are here on the earth.

The shape of the locusts were like horses that were prepared to battle. Their heads were like crowns of gold. Their faces were faces of men. They had hair like a woman. And their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

They had breastplates as they were breastplates of iron. The sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. They had tails that were like scorpions. And there were stings in their tails.

And power was given to hurt men for five months. They had a king over them which is the angel of the bottomless pit whose name is Abaddon in Greek or in Hebrew but Apollyon in Greek. They both mean destroyer.

As we were saying yesterday, sin is a destroyer. And the king of the Abuso is named destroyer. One woe has passed. You see, I told you, you hadn't seen anything yet. When these last three woes bring such calamity upon the earth.

Here inflicting torment, pain like the pain of a scorpion when a person is stung. But because these are demonic spirits, there will be no escaping from them. You can't hide from them. There is no escape from them.

You will wish you were dead. You might even try to commit suicide but it won't work. You'll just be left in your mangled state. The six angels sounded. I heard the voice of the four horns of the golden alder which were before God.

They said to the six, saying to the six angel, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. These four angels in the great river Euphrates are bound by God for the sake of man. They are absolutely the fiercest probably most diabolical creatures that have ever been created.

And for the sake of man God has kept them bound. Now, you do read in Peter and also in Jude about those angels which kept not their first estate who are reserved in chains of darkness awaiting the day of judgment.

Now the day of God's judgment has come and these four angels are going to be released. Listen to what happens. They are angels which are prepared for an hour of a day and of a month and of a year to slay a third part of men.

When they're released they'll go forth and another one third of the remaining population of the earth will be destroyed. So in the first four seals one quarter of the earth's population will be destroyed.

Again surmising that or saying that the earth population maybe would be four billion people. One billion killed in the first four of the seals. Now by these two angels a remaining third or another billion will be killed which will mean that the earth's population will have been halved by just these two out of the many different plagues that will be coming.

There is one scripture in the Old Testament that does signify that about only one person out of ten will survive this great period of judgment when God pours out His wrath upon the earth that there will only be about one in ten who will actually survive this great tribulation.

So I saw the number of the army of the horsemen. There were two hundred thousand thousand or two hundred million. I heard the number of them and thus I saw the horses in the vision and those that sat upon them having breastplates of fire and jankenth and brimstone and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lion and out of their mouths there issued fire, smoke, brimstone and by these three a third part of men were killed by the fire, by the smoke, by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths.

For their powers in their mouth and in their tails, for their tails were like unto serpents that had heads and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men, and here's the amazing thing to me, those that survive, you'd think at this point they would be on their knees crying out for the mercy of God.

But rather than that, the rebellious heart is even hardened against God. More or less like Pharaoh when the plagues began to come, he had hardened his heart and now God just sort of sets it. And if you harden your heart over and over again, you're always in danger of God setting it.

And when God sets your heart you're in a hopeless state. So the rest of the men that were not killed by these plagues, yet they did not repent of the work of their hands, that they should worship devils.

You know, I'm amazed today at how many people are getting into the worship of Satan. Many of our young people, by the rap groups, the rock groups and so forth, are being drawn into Satanic worship. And they become so involved in it.

Here they are not, they will not repent of their worship of devils or their idols of gold and silver and brass. That is, the material things that men is clamoring for today. Neither these gods that cannot see, nor hear, nor walk.

Neither did they repent of their murders, the abortion of so many children, babies today. Nor of their sorceries, which is the use of drugs, pharmacia. Nor of their fornication. Nor of their thievery.

The things that are plaguing the world today. And yet, they will not repent. Though God is already bringing severe judgment upon them. Now in chapter 10, we have what is known again as a parenthetical.

The Angel, the Little Scroll, and the End of Delay

This is just thrown in. It's so bleak, it's so dark, it's so horrible, that the Lord's gonna just throw in a bright shaft of light now for just a moment. Because as we get into chapter 10, we get into the return of Jesus Christ to the earth.

This is just thrown in the middle, just to keep you from despairing totally. We'll get it more fully when we get to the 19th chapter. But I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud and with a rainbow upon his head.

His face were as it were the sun. His feet like pillars of fire. He had in his hand a little scroll that is now open. And he set his right foot upon the sea, his left foot upon the earth. He cried with a loud voice as what a lion roars when he had cried.

And seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not.

Would you like to know what the seven thunders said? Well, I can't tell you. It was sealed up. We don't know. So we just have to wonder. But the angel, which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven.

He swore by him that lives forever and ever, who created heaven and all the things that are therein and the earth and all the things that are therein and the sea and all of the things that are therein, that there should be no more delay.

That is time shall be no more is a poor translation. There's not going to be any more of a delay as far as the setting up of the kingdom of God. There's been a delay of God setting up his kingdom. There's been almost 2 ,000 years of delay of the setting up of the kingdom.

So much so that Peter writing of the last days said there would be scoffers that would come and they would say, where is the promise of his coming? Since our fathers have fallen asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning.

But they're ignorant, willfully ignorant of this one thing. That God did bring judgment on the earth once before in the form of the flood. But Peter said that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

And know this, that a day is as a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years as a day. So you say, well, where's the promise? It's been 2 ,000 years almost since Jesus left. Where's the promise of his coming?

Well, it's been a couple days. So when the Lord says, behold, I come quickly. Yeah, I might be two days before I get there, you know. And so that's where we run into difficulty. Time from our perspective and time from God's perspective in our first night, I think it was that we dealt with eternal versus the time continuum.

And you can get the tape if you weren't here. But we discussed that earlier. So there will be no more delay. In other words, the kingdom is going to be set up. And in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God will be finished as he has declared to his servants the prophets.