Dr. Stephen Phinney
CONNECTING DANIEL TO REVELATION
The end of humanity's history is soon upon us. If you like endings with a flurry of incredible events climaxing with a bang – well, you will love how this story ends. I love how the apostle Paul said it. “Things which the eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Not only were those words given to Paul before John wrote the book of Revelation, but he was also given a glimpse of hope of the glorious new Earth for all those who love and are indwelt by Christ Jesus. While these words should motivate all to be a part of the closing act of humanity, ninety percent of the world’s masses deny Jesus and go to Hell.
OVERVIEW
In the final four chapters of Revelation, we are given chapter headings of seventeen global events that end humanity, Satan, and his demonic loyalist. Almost all of them have been noted by prophets through the ages. John was privileged enough to write them down to seal the promise of God, fulfilling all stated prophecies from Genesis to Revelation’s book.
THE BIG SEVENTEEN
1. The Marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-10) This event takes place in Heaven directly after the Rapture and during the time of the Tribulation before the Second Coming of Jesus. How do we know this? The Word tells us the Bride of Christ returns with Christ at the Second Coming – making it affirmative that we have the wedding feast before He comes to punish those who offended His Bride.
2. The Glorious Appearance of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 19:11-18) Jesus’s Second Coming culminates the Holy prophetic plan of God, first seen by Enoch, “the seventh man from Adam” (Jude 14-15), and last revealed to John. According to Jesus’s words, the appearance will happen immediately after the Tribulation. He will not take His Sabbath rest until humanity is brought to a closure. (Matt. 24:29)
3. The Battle of Armageddon. (Rev. 14:14-20) This is the war to end all wars. It will be a great day for God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit – let alone the Bride of Christ. God keeps the details close to His heart. However, we know that it involves several battles involving the nations of the world, as well as the demonic warriors of Satan. It is a short and brutal battle. In fact, the Word of God tells us that the blood of the opposing warriors will rise to the brittle of the horses. Satan wanted a blood sacrifice, so God gave him what he wanted by using Satan’s loyalist's blood. Prophets have prophecied this particular battle since the days of Enoch. After this war, peace will set the stage for the new Heaven and Earth.
4. The World’s Greatest Earthquake (Rev. 16:18) Shortly before Jesus establishes His Kingdom on Earth; a horrific earthquake will occur that will sink the islands of the seas, be felt worldwide, and divide Israel into three separate land masses. (Rev. 16:19) During this time, God remembers the damage old Babylon inflicted upon His Jews. What does He do? He destroys her influence, eradicates all nations that came from her, He sinks her islands, and flattens every mountain on the earth. That, of course, is beyond killing all her warriors in the Battle of Armageddon. God keeps His promise and removes Babylon and her descendants from the face of the earth.
5. Judgment of the Nations. (Rev. 25:31-46) This is also called the judgment of the sheep and goats when Jesus separates pure bloodline Jews from the fake. Remember that all those who receive the indwelling Life of Jesus are graphed into the pure bloodline of Jesus. It will happen at the end of the Tribulation. The sheep will go into the Millennial Kingdom, while the goats are judged during the thousand-year judgment period. One by one, each goat will be sent to Hell after being held in an account of their disbelief.
6. Antichrist and False Prophet Cast into the Lake of Fire. (Rev. 19:20-21) God puts an end to the influence of these two power players toward the end of the Tribulation by throwing them into the Lake of Fire. Neither receives judgment since they were judged before they started their deception based on their partnership with Satan. Out of all the power players world history has noted, these two damned, persecuted, and destroyed more human souls than any leader since the beginning of man’s time.
7. Satan is Bound for 1000 Years. (Rev. 20:1-3) The world’s master deceiver will be bound in the bottomless pit to block his madness method of deceiving humanity during the 1,000-year judgment conducted by Jesus Christ. The bottomless pit is the dwelling place, home base, of all darkness and evil beings. However, instead of being a come-and-go place, Satan will be bound there during the Millennial Judgment period. Jesus also references this place as Hades in Luke 16.
8. The Resurrection of All Believers. (Rev. 20:4) The “gathering up,” also known as the Rapture, occurs before the Tribulation. This is the first phase of the believer’s resurrection, ushering all who have the indwelling Life of Jesus into Heaven as eternal members. This event seals the authenticity of the believers being the Bride of Christ. All Old Testament saints who died believing in the prophecies of Jesus will be included in this event. After the 144,000 pure bloodline Jews are saved toward the end of the Tribulation, who are the only born-again believers during the Tribulation, they are graphed into the Bride of Christ at that time.
9. Christ Establishes His Millennial Kingdom. (Rev. 20:1-6) God has warned and notified humanity of the coming 1,000-year reign of Jesus since the times of Noah. This phase of the End Times will fulfill this promise. During this time, Satan is bound and placed in the bottomless pit to keep evil’s influence during Jesus’s Judgment period.
10. Satan Released One Last Time. (Rev. 20:7-9) It is curious why God releases Satan to deceive one last time. The reason is simple. He is released to rile the nations judged to formulate a war against the King of kings, who recently finished judging each. The nations surround the capital city of Jerusalem, which hosts the Bride of Christ and Jesus Himself. As soon as they think they have the advantage – God releases fire from Heaven and devours all those judged during the 1,000-year judgment. This is the method God uses to send the judged to the Lake of Fire – forever.
11. The Final Rebellion. (Rev. 20:7-9) The above is also called The Final Rebellion. Imagine the hostility of the masses after the final judgment. A form of hostility will be present that the ages of man have never experienced before. Their hatred will be directly against the Bride of Christ and Jesus. They will form a global army through Satan's influence, attempting to destroy authentic believers, ending in a blast of fire.
12. Satan Cast into the Lake of Fire. (Rev. 20:10) After God terminates Satan’s followers through the Heavenly fire blast, the Lord Thy God casts Satan into the Lake of Fire, joining the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and his followers.
13. The Final Judgment Results. (Rev. 20:11-15) At the end of the 1,000-year judgment period, the unbelievers of the past and present will receive their consequences. God brings forward all the dead for sentencing. Each is judged and condemned for the horrid deeds written in their books. At this moment, the shift of Hades to Hell is activated. All souls will burn in the eternal flames of the Lake of Fire for eternity.
14. The Acknowledgment That Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:9-11) Before the condemned souls are cast into the Lake of Fire, all will confess that Jesus is Lord – including Satan. Each one of them will bend their knee to Jesus, proclaiming Him to be the Lord of all and the true Son of God.
15. The New Heaven and New Earth. (Rev. 21:1) While the Lord has purposed to offer us few details regarding the new Heaven and Earth, we know that these new places represent the Garden of Eden before the fall of humanity. While the new Jerusalem that hovers over the old Jerusalem during the Tribulation is the capital city of this new Earth, we also know that the Bride of Christ in all her glory is housed in this city. Once the Lord Jesus finishes the judgment, the new Jerusalem is ushered off to the New Earth. After that – God tosses the old Earth into outer darkness. "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:30)
16. The Holy City Comes to Earth. (Rev. 21:2-8) During the 1,000-year judgment, the capital city of the house (Earth) that Jesus built for His Bride will descend upon the old Jerusalem without touching the cursed soil of the present Earth. It is a massive city – it is a 1,500 square mile cube. It will be large enough to house all past and present Saints who have the Holy Spirit living within each. It will remain in place for the full 1,000 years. Suppose you mark it on a modern map, placing Jerusalem in the center. In that case, you will not only notice it covers the past, present, and conflicting future countries that rose against Israel, but you will also be able to see the original space of the Garden of Eden – for God marked it off as having the same dimensions.
17. The final invite for Humanity. (Rev. 22:6-20) God has worked diligently to provide humanity with prophecies, warnings, and invites throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. In this book, He offers one more inviting.
THE END IS FILLED WITH HOPE
The closing of Revelation’s book, and the book of Daniel is filled with hope – with an invite to join the select group of Bridal members. Most view the End Times as “doom and gloom.” While this is true for those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus’s narrow path to hope, for the authentic believers who are faithful and true, each can embrace the Spirit of God inhabiting the prophets to reveal the things that must soon take place. Jesus has said multiple times that He is coming quickly. However, the conditions of receiving eternal freedom come with His words stating – “Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book (Revelation).” As John said, true authentic believers, fall and worship Christ when they hear or see the End Times events. Honestly, those that don’t - prove their hope is in humanity, not in Christ Jesus. The price of this decision, well, the book of Revelation, reveals the consequences.
LET THE WRONG DO WRONG
The angel that communicated Jesus’s words to John in his vision said something a bit mysterious. First, he said, “do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” This single-mandate reveals that the writings of the book of Revelation are to be heard, read, and obeyed. Secondly, the angel said, “let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is Holy, still keep himself Holy.” Preachers and teachers of the Word cannot change a human’s ability to view the prophecies as a warning and hope to the lost. If the Holy Spirit doesn’t grant understanding, humanity will remain stupid until the end. However, since we don’t know who the Spirit is transforming, we as servants of the Gospel must remain faithful to preach the prophecies of God until none remain to hear God’s Truth.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE REWARDS
Jesus said “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of Life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” Only one wash basin can wash the robes of unrighteousness – the basin filled with the blood of Jesus. The sad part of this story is most remain as dogs and sorcerers, immoral, murderers, and idolaters, remain lawless, and practice a lifestyle of a liar. For these, no such freedom through the gates of the New Jerusalem shall partake in the hope of Christ’s salvation.
"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." (Revelation 22:16)
The Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles made it clear that Jesus was coming, had arrived, and will bring humanity to an end. God spent 6,000 years of humanity to make these Truths known. Only the masses with a depraved mind cannot see the consistencies of this warning. Are you one of them? People who refuse to believe the End Times message are nothing short of what Isaiah said, “My people are stupid sheep.”
ADDING OR DELETING FROM REVELATION
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)
Adding to Revelation’s book, and the book of Daniel is speculating, doubting, or intentionally reducing the impact of what the prophets of old, or the words of John, have stated regarding the End Times facts. Deleting from these books is either removing the impact and its warnings by washing these verses in a lukewarm bath. More importantly, ignoring the books of Revelation AND Daniel is deleting these Words and warnings through the covert excuse of “they are too difficult to understand.” This kind of excuse deletes the Holy Spirit’s ability to provide understanding. We call it what the Word calls it, “Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.” For now, you should know what this passage means by God removing these people from the book of Life and not participating in the tree of Life.
FINISHING WITH GRACE
The last statement out of John’s mouth was, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.” It all started with God’s grace, and it is no surprise that He finishes with grace. By assuming God is filled with hate or that He is mean for ending humanity with such harsh consequences, humanity calls God evil. No evil comes from God. However, God uses the evil one to assist in bringing humanity to an end. That, of course, is not without 6,000 years of gracefully warning His people of the consequences of NOT believing that He means what He says. Authentic grace does not dismiss sin; it fronts sin with the harshness and ramifications of its sting. That is accomplished through Jesus taking on the harshness and consequences of sin while on the cross. The masses must pay the price for their own sin when they ignore this step. This is what Revelation is all about.
THE CLOSURE OF DANIEL’S BOOK
In chapter twelve of Daniel’s book, the angel tells Daniel the opposite of what the angel later told John. “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." (Daniel 12:4) Why? The vision God gave Daniel was ordained to remain a mystery until this same angel was finished documenting John's vision. After this record was concluded, the mysteries given to Daniel became alive and active. In other words, Revelation’s book ignited the active process of bringing all prophecies to closure, an end. A further note. When Daniel asks, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders? The angel says, “for a time, times, and half a time.” Folks that is three and a half years in God’s timeline. The gate will be open to Daniel's prophecies, which will conclude the start of the second half of Satan’s Tribulation period. We are not certain why God seals and releases prophecies at a strategic moment, but we know it is likely a reason for blocking humanity's ability to interfere with God’s Divine plans.
Forward these blogs to your sphere of influence. The Rapture is soon upon us.
President & Founder
Dr. Stephen Phinney
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IOM America | Identity Matters Worldview Institute
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