1. Revelation 4:1. Did the whole church go to Heaven in this verse?

I want to say, “Give me a break,” but I imagine that is too common a word for a Bible question and answer book. Seriously, where did this idea come from? They say that the church is nowhere in Revelation after 4:1. What is true is that the word church is not there. But the church certainly is!

John is called up to Heaven. Alone. Must I stand on a table and shout it out? “I will show YOU (who? John!) what must take place…”

Be not deceived. Take the Scriptures as they are whenever possible, and it’s possible a huge percent of the time. “Come up here” was an invitation to one man and one alone.

2. Revelation 4:6. Who else saw these seraphim?

John: Four creatures full of eyes. One like a lion, one like a calf, one with the face of a man, one like a flying eagle. Six wings. Always saying, “Holy, holy…”

Isaiah 6: Seraphim stood above Him (the Lord), with six wings. They called out to each other, “Holy, Holy…” Burning coals of fire nearby.

Ezekiel 1: Four living beings. Human form. Four faces and four wings. Legs straight. Feet like a calf’s hoof. Gleamed like bronze. Face of a man. Face of a lion. Face of a bull. Face of an eagle. Burning coals of fire nearby.

What think ye?

3. Revelation 5:4. Why the weeping?

Did it ever occur to you, as to me, that it is strange for John to be weeping here? No one can open the book. John is touched by this situation. Why?

Here is my opinion.

Somehow John has got wind of the contents of this book, which is the future of humanity. He has also picked up the spirit of Heaven, which delights in the things God has prepared for those who love Jesus. When he realizes that that book is somehow being blocked from discovery, his tender heart is broken. He truly wants to know what is coming. This is the heart of John, evidently, that was the cause for him being entrusted with the Revelation in the first place.

4. Revelation 6:6. What do these measures indicate?

Dire poverty. Inflationary prices. The NIV helps us to clarify: Two pounds of wheat will cost you a day’s wages, as will six pounds of barley. How much do you make in a day? Stop by the store after work and give that amount to the cashier for a couple pounds of wheat. Add a few days to that, and all your money is spent on a little food. Nothing left for housing, transportation… You get the picture.

5. Revelation 6:9. What does “under the altar” mean?

It is not made clear to us which altar is intended. Altars are mentioned throughout the book, but are not necessarily tied to this one. The image is of sacrifice. The altar is the place of giving a life for God, whether an animal in the Old Covenant or one’s own life in the New. This particular altar represents the slaughter of martyrs in the Tribulation period. Rapture is not recorded for the church until Jesus comes. The way into Heaven for true saints at this time of the Book, is the way of the altar. Men and women, and children too, will freely give away their lives for Jesus in this awful time.

6. Revelation 6:11. How can a white robe be given to a “soul”?

Their bodies lie on earth, covered in blood. Their spirit has flown to Jesus. The white robe here, symbolizing the victory and the purity and the wholeness of the martyred saint, can only be figurative, though I never like to allow figurative interpretation. Here I see no other way. My question answers itself. You cannot do this, literally. But spirits can be covered with spirit clothing. Consider the angels.

7. Revelation 6:11. Does “a little while” signify we are already in the last days here?

It would seem that the six seals rush quickly to the end of time. Some brothers have already been killed, but the massacre continues. Antichrist is thirsty for the blood of saints and will hunt them down wherever he can. When he is finished with his work, the end will come, and the number of martyrs will be complete.

8. Revelation 6:12. Does this match with Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse about His coming?

Yes, Jesus saw everything that John is now seeing. Both bring us through a series of ever increasing troubles to the very end, at which time the solar system itself will begin to crumble. Awful day!

9. Revelation 6:13. How can stars fall to the earth?

If only one star fell to earth, earth would be no more. John sees here what we see today and label a “meteor shower”. Only this shower will be directed us-ward. Huge chunks of frozen rock will fall mercilessly on the land and the sea. The great day of God’s wrath has come.

10. Revelation 6:17. To what point in history does chapter 6 lead us?

I ask this question because it is important for readers to understand that the Book of Revelation covers some of the same material in cycles, adding details with each cycle. By the time we reach the 6^th seal, we are at the very end of history. But then the record stops, and chapter seven seems to back up and start over.

11. Revelation 7:3. How are persons sealed on their “forehead”?

I suspect that this description is not literal, that is, not physical. Christians are also “sealed” (Ephesians 4:30) by the Spirit of God. Now the elect Jews are being set aside, it seems, by that same Spirit. The means of this sealing is a little different. “We” refers to the angels themselves. The sealing of 144,000 persons will take a huge and supernatural effort, for which the angels have been chosen. Will their own hands be laid on the heads (foreheads) of these chosen ones?

12. Revelation 7:4-8. What is peculiar about this listing?

The tribe of Dan is not mentioned in the list. And instead of Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, we see Manasseh and Joseph, but no Ephraim. It could be that Dan and Ephraim are not mentioned because of the character of these two tribes over the history of Israel. Idolatry was at the heart of both of their peoples. Ephraim in particular was at the center of the pagan influences of the northern kingdom, and produced one evil king after another.

Again, my opinion. The Scripture does not tell us the reasoning behind this new and last listing of the tribes.

13. Revelation 7:14-17. How do Christians get to Heaven during the Tribulation?

That I can answer in one word, and it is not rapture or escape. It is martyrdom. These are not second class “Tribulation saints”. These are first class martyrs, washed in the blood, and giving their own blood for their love of Jesus!

14. Revelation 8:2. History is over. So, what is the seventh seal about?

We came to the end of history when the six seals were opened. Now comes the seventh seal, and behold, seven trumpets, that will take us back into that history we just covered, to bring out things we didn’t see before.

15. Revelation 9:1. Who is the “Star” from Heaven?

Angels are called stars in the book. So when you see a star do something, you know that an angel is being described. The angel of the bottomless pit is the one who controls, with God’s guidance, entry and exit into this place of prison punishment. Later in this chapter it seems that this angel is a fallen one, controlling and supervising the locusts that will emerge.