Posted by Elana Janson on July 13, 2007 at 15:03:14:
Hail and floods from Jan to June 2007 and the words “great hail” in Rev 16:21
In a recent post, I remarked that the symbolism relating to the end time is very complex. One of the verses that reveals this complexity and relates to the end time is Rev 16:21 “And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail: for the plague thereof was exceeding great”. This is the last verse of the casting of the seventh vial (‘bowl of wrath’). It is said in Rev 15:1 “Seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God”. The castings of the seven vials are the last revelations before the end, therefore Rev 16:21 which is the last verse of the casting of the seventh vial or plague reveals the final signs. With the knowledge of the construction and meaning of Revelation it should be seriously considered whether the words of Rev 16:21 “great hail” could have bearing on the great storms some with larger than usual hail stones that we have witnessed in 2007.
The words of Rev 16:21 are complex for with the knowledge that they relate to a specific time, they are relative to the twenty-first century; the words also have bearing on what has been revealed in Revelation, and finally the words relate to references in Scripture. One must take every word or phrase and analyse it with all the above in mind, in order to finally understand all that Revelation wishes to reveal in one verse. Only in this way can one fully understand Rev 16:21.
In this post the words “men”, “the weight of a talent”, “blasphemed God”, and “exceeding great” will be examined in order to substantiate what I have just said.
Men
It is only when one has established the full meaning of the word “men” in Revelation that the full understanding of the word “men” in “And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven” and “and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail: for the plague thereof was exceeding great”, can be determined. All the positions of the word “men” in Revelation have to be taken into account.
The verses in Revelation in which the word “men” appear, specifically relate to the time that the nations have come under the influence of the deception of ‘beast out of the earth’. The ‘beast out of the earth’ is also the revelation of what is revealed concerning the word “man” in Revelation. Rev 13:18 “Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man”. The word “men” indicates the time of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, when the inhabitants of the globe essentially follow the ideologies of ‘man’. (New readers should refer back to the full analysis of the “beast out of the earth” (Rev 13:11-18) on this website.
Many hailstorms with large hailstones
I shall proceed to refer to all the positions of the word “men”, as they appear in Revelation for only in that way can Rev 16:21 be confirmed relative to the present time that we are witnessing many hailstorms with large hailstones in many places on earth.
Rev 6:15 “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondsmen, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains.”
As I have shown in my books and on this website, the verses of Revelation connect to one another through the repetition of words and to specific revelations in the prophecy of Revelation. This verse relates to Rev 13:1-10 that reveals the ‘beast out of the sea’. It shows and confirms that Revelation reveals in history the transition from the rule of “kings” to the leadership of “men”: that is to the rich and mighty, to the bondsmen and free men that could become leaders since the latter centuries of the last millennium. It therefore says “great men”, “rich men”, “chief captains”, “mighty men” etc. In the end time the rule of “men” is a misled leadership that will have power. Those who discarded the values of Christianity in the rule of the nations were misled. Ps 10:9 “He (the wicked) lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den”. The enemies of Christianity bear the mark of the beast.
The sounding of the fifth trumpet
There are five references to “men” in Revelation, chapter 9 verses 1 to 10. This is the section that falls under the sounding of the fifth trumpet. In order to understand why there are so many references to “men” in this section one must understand where the sounding of the ‘fifth trumpet’ fits into the entire construction of the book Revelation.
Fifth
There is a link to the verses that contain the word “fifth” in Revelation. As it was shown in the previous post there is a link between the opening of the ‘sixth seal’ and ‘the sounding of the sixth trumpet’. The two verses relating to “sixth” were the “four angels” that were holding the four winds (Rev 7:2) and the four angels that were released, that were “bound in the great river Euphrates” (Rev 9:14). The opening of the fifth seal is also linked to the sounding of the fifth trumpet.
Fifth seal
[Explanation taken from “11 September 2001, the Great Earthquake and Revelation”]
With the knowledge of the opening of the fourth seal, one can determine the time of the opening of the fifth seal. I found in my understanding of Revelation that when one had correctly interpreted a verse it would lead to the understanding and verification of the following verses. Rev 6:9 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony that they held: And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
Threescore and ten
Note the words “And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord”. If one goes to Scripture these words appear in Zechariah 1:12 “Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and of the cities of Judah, against which thou has had indignation these threescore an ten years.” Note the time measurement of “threescore and ten years” in this reference.
As indicated in the opening of the fourth seal, when history is correlated with the verses concerning the “beast out of the earth” (Rev 13:11-18) there is hidden within the words of Revelation a time measure of “threescore” years 1952 to 1992. (For new readers, this is explained in the full analysis of the ‘beast out of the earth’.) Therefore from 1952 to 2002 there are “threescore and ten years”.
My understanding of Revelation is based on the knowledge of time measurement, history and meaning found by linking the words of Revelation to certain verses in Scripture. The words of Zechariah 1:12 (above) is a good example. This is how the understanding of Revelation gives a “new” meaning and why Rev 21:5 says “I make everything new”. At the present time, after all the conflict in Israel since 1947 we can say ‘how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah’. See also Ps 90:46 “How long Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself forever? Shall thou wrath burn like fire? Both these references, through the revelation of the time measures of Revelation, also pertain to the present time.
Only the understanding of the time measurements of the number “six hundred, threescore and six”, only after the Divine intervention, and only after history had played out up to the time 2003 was there the insight given that the time of the opening of the fifth seal was approximately the time 2002.]
9/11
According to my understanding the “fifth trumpet” sounds from the time of the attack on the world trade centre to the end of the final season that is only known to God. It is therefore (after 2001) the time that the ideologies of “man” rule the nations of the globe.
Altar
The word “altar” is linked to the time of the opening of the fifth seal: Rev 6:9 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.”
As I mentioned in the previous post the opening of the last three seals deal with a coming together of what has happened in the past two thousand years. This is under the direction of Almighty God. The words of the opening of the fifth seal reveals to us that in the final time some are going to die because of the “testimony which they held”.
What is understood by “testimony”? Acts 14:3 “A long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.” In Acts 14:3 therefore “testimony” means witnessing evidence or proof of what was written in Scripture. Does “testimony” in the opening of the fifth seal only relate to the Christian faith? The Christian testimony developed from the “testimony” of the Old Testament. Ps 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” The meaning of “testimony “in Ps 19:7 relates to the Law of God and the word of God which declares what man should do, what should be believed in and practised.
One has to take into account that the word “altar” has its roots in the Old Testament.
In other words the time of the death of those that held to the testimony concerns the followers of Jesus Christ, but also all those that follow the teachings of the Old Testament. It is the time of the manifestation and evidence of the wrath of God. Therefore the wars and unresolved problems of the Middle East, and all that is revealed in Revelation concerning the casting of the seven vials (bowls of wrath) are the reasons that persons will die because of their religious convictions in the time of the opening of the fifth seal.
With the knowledge of the understanding of Revelation and the equalization of all the faiths before the law in the rule of democracy in the twenty-first century, the sounding of the final three trumpets deals with Christianity within the context of peoples of all faiths living together in most nations of the earth in the twenty-first century. The sounding of the fifth trumpet relates essentially to the West, and those who have been misled by the inventions “great wonders” (Rev 13:13) in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries together with the outcome of the transition from the rule of kings to the rule of men, but also includes the entire globe.
What I have just said seems to be revealed in the verses where the word “men” appear in the sounding of the fifth trumpet. The words seem accurate considering the present time.
Rev 9:4-5 “And it was commanded them (the locusts) that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them was given that they should not kill them, but they should be tormented five months: and their torment was the torment of the scorpion, when he striketh a man.” The meaning of these verses is as follows:
Locusts
Because the word “locusts” is symbolic, it relates to a specific time that must fit into the entire understanding of the time measures and meaning of Revelation. The word “locusts” firstly relates to a specific time in the twenty-first century. The appearance of the unusually large locust plague in Africa at the time from October 2003 and in 2004 seems to confirm that we have reached the time of the sounding of the fifth trumpet. The time of “five months” was measured in the opening of the sixth seal from August 2003 to December 2003. Specific happenings from August to December 2003 were correlated with verses from the opening of the sixth seal. (See earlier post on the opening of the sixth seal on this Forum).
“Locusts” also have a symbolic meaning relating to their power to harm. Locusts eat grass, any green foliage and green trees. In Revelation “green grass” and “trees” are symbolic of those that are witness to the faith. Ps 52:8 “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.” “Green” in Revelation is also symbolic of those that bear the fruits of the faith, in other words those who do the deeds required by those in the faith. Jer 11:16 “The Lord called thy name: A green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit”.
Therefore in Revelation the locusts are symbolic of the power to harm. However, Revelation reveals in Rev 9:4-5 that the forces of evil that have the power to harm will not hurt those of the faith, but only torment those “men” (those that have been misled) and which do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. The locusts would not kill them, but torment them in the final short season. (“Five months” is relative to the time of “42 months” (Rev 11:2) in the final short time that we can measure. The measure of “five months” in the opening of the sixth seal, August to December 2003, falls in the time of the “1260 days” (Rev 11:3). It seems therefore that the “1260 days” and the “42 months” are about the same time September 2001 to February 2005. The powers of evil do not have the power to destroy, but only to torment. Revelation seems to reveal that man ultimately destroys himself through the deception of the serpent. Evil misleads, man is hurt, but man has the will to resist with the knowledge of the Commandments and Law of God. The forces of evil have limited power for man has a free will and man shall ultimately stand before the judgement of God for his decisions.)
Scorpion
Rev 9:5 “And their torment was the torment of the scorpion, when he striketh a man”. The word “scorpions” has a symbolic meaning. The reference in Scripture I Kings 12:11 reveal that the twenty-first century is a time of chastisement. (1 Kings 12:11 “But I will chastise you with scorpions”). The word “scorpion” is symbolic of injuries like to the sting of a scorpion that torment persons in the twenty-first century. These could be the injection needle of those that are hooked on drugs. It could be the sting of a bullet wound. In the twenty-first century those who have been misled will suffer chastisement.
Rev 9:6 “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
According to my understanding this verse relates to the time of the “1260” days” in the end time that is the time 11 September 2001 to 22 February 2005. It is the time of the suicide bombers and failed suicide attempts to destroy lives. It is the time of those who wish to destroy themselves because of torment or deception: either torment through believing in the ideologies of men, and not being able to find solace in the communication with God through Scripture and prayer; torment that results in the use of drugs or excessive abuse of alcohol (“seek death, and shall not find it”) torment because of the power of the forces that have deceived man in taking his focus and will away from the directions given in the Law of God.
Rev 9:7 “And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.”
This verse substantiates that the power of forces that could destroy (“locusts”) were related to the transition of the rule of the Christian nations from the rule of kings to the rule of men (“were like unto horses prepared unto battle”). Those who have studied this website will know that the openings of the first four seals are linked to the four riders of the apocalypse that reveal the transition from the rule of kings to the rule of men. The forces of deception would influence the decisions of the leadership of the nations to take up arms in the twenty –first century. There decisions would be based on great wealth (“crowns like gold”) and all can see (“face”) that they (those that have the power to destroy) follow the ideologies of men and not God.
Rev 9:10 “And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months”. This verse seems to convey much the same as Rev 9:5. The reason for the repetition is to convey that the torment of the “scorpion” relates to also another time.
The following is taken from the “Introduction” of “11 September 2001, the Great Earthquake and Revelation”.
[Month
The time measures “month” or “five months” and “42 months” appear in Revelation.
“Five months” pertains to history and the end time. In history “five months” is a period of thirty years (a month being 6 years). In the end time “42 months” is 42 months, as we know it to be. 42 months seems to relate to the time September 2001 to February 2005. This will be explained in the book.]
Therefore the “five months” relates to a time in history and the time September 2001 to February 2005. Because the power of the beasts of Revelation are only going to be destroyed by the final intervention of Almighty God and the Return, the torment of the symbolic “locusts” and the “scorpions” will continue into the time that we cannot measure.
Rev 9:15 “And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” This verse is from the sounding of the sixth trumpet. The sounding of the sixth trumpet deals with the Middle East section of the earth. Revelation reveals its meaning by dividing the earth into three sections: The West, the Middle East and the Far East. Therefore Revelation reveals that it is essentially in the Middle East that war will take place in the final time.
Rev 9:18 “By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths”.
The above verse, Rev 9:18, is part of the section Rev 9:16-21 that symbolically reveals the wars of the past two thousand years, the reasons for these wars and the great destruction of the wars through modern weaponry, and the final war, that must be Armageddon.
Rev 9:16 “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.”
Through the word “horsemen”, Revelation is bringing the total time of the riders of the Apocalypse to bear. That is the total time of the past two thousand years.
The number “two hundred thousand thousand” is a figurative number (“I heard the number of them”). The word “voice” in Revelation indicates time measure, therefore the word “heard” reveals ‘in relation to the time measures of’ Revelation. The word “number” is also used in Rev 13:18 “number of the beast”. With the knowledge that “two hundred” relates to the time of “two hundred” days from 7 June to 26 December 2004, and “thousand thousand” relates to a time of two thousand years, the meaning of “two hundred thousand thousand” reveals the time of the gathering together for the final battle (the number of the army of horsemen). The time of the gathering together is beyond 2004.
Rev 9:17 “And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.”
The sounding of the sixth trumpet pertains to history (“prepared” Rev 9:15) and the end time. This verse therefore links to a specific time in history and to the end time. The result of all the wars to bring about the rule of Christian kings and then the transition to a rule of men in history (“the horses in the vision and them that sat on them”) are finally brought together in the time after 1788.
Breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and of brimstone
The colour (jacinth) in Revelation reveals time. The time of “jacinth” in history is the time 1788 to 1860 and the time 1980 to 1992. (The reason for this is explained in my books.) 1788 to 1860 was the time of the French Revolution (1789) and the time of the wars that would replace the rule of kings by the rule of men in Europe. The rule that would be transported to the colonies of the European nations across the seas, and ultimately to almost every nation on earth.
The time 1980 to 1992 (and after) was (and is) the time that the ideologies adopted by man revealed through the “beast of the sea” and the “beast of the earth” would determine the motives for war (“and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions”). It was the time that the international media (“out of their mouths”) would propagate the ideology of war according to the rule of men.
Rev 9:18 “By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.”
The words “by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone” bring revelations of the present time. The word “smoke” (also used in Rev 9:2) reveals also the time of the sounding of the fifth trumpet and the time 11 September 2001. The propagation of the ideology of a rule of men (“which issued out of their mouths”) would lead to war and death in the Middle East section of the earth (“third part”). The word “killed” relates also to a gradual spiritual death over time. Because Revelation ultimately includes the entire globe, the words “third part” also has bearing on a third part of the entire earth.
It seems that “smoke” reveals that the time of “1260 days” is also a time of preparation for the final battle or conflicts that will ultimately lead to the final battle. “Brimstone”- which is sulphur and highly explosive is I believe is symbolic of all the bombings that we have seen in the twenty-first century, bombings that ultimately cause conflict and are also preparation to the final battle.
Rev 9:19 “For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.”
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails
The power of the nations to go to war (“their” referring to “the horses in the vision and them that sat on them”) is in the world media (“in their mouths”), but it is a false ideology that is propagated (“in their tails”). This power will lead to the “hurt” of the “earth” and the “sea” (Rev 7:2).
Note that Revelation includes all four the riders of the Apocalypse. The rider on the white horse revealed that the Trinity brought it about that there would be unity of the Christian church and state in Europe. This means that the propagation of the rule of men and the going to war for this ideology, that is the ideology which is an acceptance of a freedom and equalization of world faiths and the ultimate acceptance of the separation of church and state will ultimately lead to the “hurt” of men by the whole deception understood in the “the beast out of the sea” (the rule of men) and the “beast out of the earth” (the deception brought about by the advancement of man’s knowledge from that which man has mined or taken from the earth).
It seems therefore that the wrath of God is to be found in that man was misled in believing that the nations could be governed indefinitely by a false ideology even though Revelation reveals that God brought it about that the Christian faith would be the rule of the nations of Europe in the first millennium. The rule of men was set in place and was acceptable to God for a certain length of time: Rev 17:17 “For God hath put it in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled”. When the time comes that “the words of God shall be fulfilled”, which is I believe the end of the time that we cannot measure, the rule of men will be ended by a gathering of the nations to the final battle Armageddon (Rev 16:16).
Rev 9:20 “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
Plagues
It should be noted that in Rev 9:20, the words “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues” reveals that all that was said in Rev 9:17-19 relates also to the casting of the seven vials. The word “plagues” is used in Rev 15:1 “Seven angels having the seven last plagues”. I mention this to show that Revelation substantiates what is revealed through the repetition of words. Therefore the end of the sounding of the sixth trumpet is also the time of the casting of the seventh vial (plague).
The casting of the seven vials relates to man’s deception by the ‘dragon’ and the ‘beasts’ of Revelation, deception that would cause man to blaspheme God and sin. God has punished the nations over time and all these aspects come together at a certain point in the near future. Those who were not destroyed by these deceptions would be misled in the various ways described in Rev 9:20-21
Rev 11:13 “And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
The words “And the same hour there was a great earthquake”: Through my understanding of the time measures of Revelation and what has taken place in the time since 2001, these words seem to mean that as there was a great earthquake in the time of “1260” days, the final time that we can measure, so there will be (“the same”) an earthquake in the final season that we cannot measure.
A tenth part of the city fell
The words “tenth part” is symbolic and means “third “of the entire globe. The “great earthquake” off the coast of Sumatra essentially affected a “third” section of the globe. We know this from “tenth” which means a third part. [Refer back to the explanation of “ten days” (Rev 2:10) on this website.] In the numbers of Revelation: “10” indicates one part of the earth; “100” two parts of the earth and “1000”, three parts of the earth or relative to the entire earth. Therefore “144 000” in Rev, chapter 7 relates, to the twelve tribes of Israel but also symbolically to the entire earth in the time of the 144 years: 1860 to 2004.
This final earthquake will be when the peoples of the earth are fully aware that we are at the time of the Return and Judgment (“and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.) This earthquake will be in one section (“the tenth part”) of the three sections of the earth (“of the city”). A number of persons from the total population of the globe will perish (“were slain of men seven thousand”). This happening will have economic effects on trade and commerce in one section of the earth (“one tenth of the city fell”). Because we live in a time of a linked world economy, it will ultimately involve the entire globe.
And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.
The number “seven thousand” is also symbolic. People of many nations were killed or affected, therefore “thousand” - people from “three” parts or sections of the earth. The “seven” in “seven thousand” reveals that it is the time of “seven”, that is the time of the opening of the “seventh seal”, the sounding of the “seventh trumpet” and “seventh bowl of wrath”.
The word “men” in Rev 16:18 “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty and earthquake and so great.” According to my understanding the earthquake in this verse is the Sumatra –Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004. Readers should refer back to the posts on this Forum that explain my reasons for saying this.
Rev 18:13 “The souls of men”: These words appear at the end of a long list of trading goods in Rev 18:12-13. The reason that “the souls of men” are at the end of the list is because the long list of trading goods are actually listed in a specific order to show the advancement in the types of methods of transport for the purpose of trading over the past centuries. The trading goods in Rev 18:12 are not perishable and will not harm or decay in transportation over long distances. The trading goods in Rev 18:13 need more sophisticated and faster methods of transport for they can decay (“fine flour and wheat”) or die (“beasts, and sheep and horses and chariots”). Also larger and faster vehicles, vessels and airplanes would be required. The inclusion of the words “and slaves, and souls of men” at the end reveals that in the final centuries there was a gradually growing awareness that slaves and all men have inherent human rights (“souls of men”) and that the trading of men would come to an end. What Revelation seems to be revealing in this verse is that the freedom that came about through the influence of the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth would bring about also the awareness of the each person’s needs (“souls of men”). This understanding confirms why God allowed the ideology of freedom to rule for a specific period of time (Rev 17:17).
Rev 19:18 “That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both great and small”. This verse is quite amazing for with the repetition of the words of Rev 6:15, that I said revealed the transition from kings to great men over centuries, Revelation reveals through repetition, the gradual spiritual destruction of those that were misled by the “beast out of the sea”. Readers will remember that the “gestalt” of the ‘beast out of the sea’ revealed the transition over centuries from the rule of kings to the rule of great men. The words that are used in this verse also substantiate this meaning. The words “the flesh of horses and them that sat on them” reveals that the transition from the unity of State and Christian Church symbolised by the rider on the white horse, that changed in time (AD 790) to the rider on the red horse and then (1896) to the rider on the black horse and finally the rider on the pale horse (1947), where the rule of the nations would lead to spiritual destruction (Rev 6:8 “a pale horse and him who sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him”).
Rev 21:3 “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God.” This is a very significant verse for it seems to reveal that the word “men” is inclusive of all people in the end time. To fully understand “the tabernacle of God is with men” one must go to Rev 13:6 where the word “tabernacle” is used.
The meaning of the word “blasphemed” in Revelation will be discussed fully later in this post.
[The following is taken from “11 September 2001, the Great Earthquake and Revelation”
Rev 13:6 “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”
He opened his mouth in blasphemy
In the twentieth century, after 1906, world communication would propagate the rule of freedom. Christian nations blasphemed against God when they accepted the Christian doctrine of salvation through the blood of Christ is equal to all other faiths before the law. But God allowed this (Rev 17:17). The nations also blasphemed when the laws of the nations were contrary to God’s law.
Blasphemed his name and his tabernacle
In the Old Testament the “tabernacle” of the Israelites was in the “wilderness”. In Revelation the “wilderness” is symbolic of the lands to which the Christian faith spread when it was under threat in Europe (“Egypt” Rev 11:8 “Egypt” is symbolic of the place from which those under threat fled - as the Israelites from Egypt in the Old Testament). In the spread of the faith to the ends of the earth the unity of Christian Church and Christian State would ultimately disappear. The “beast” which incorporates political freedom and religious freedom, will ultimately remove Christianity and its message that the cross is the only way to salvation from mainstream politics.
And them that dwell in heaven
These words reveal that the true witnesses that carried the Christian faith to the ends of the earth carried the message of the cross as the only way to everlasting life. These true witnesses died in the faith and dwell in heaven. This message would under the rule of men be ‘captive’ (Rev He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity) for all religions are regarded as equal before the law.
What this means is that all the nations of the world will seek political freedom (all the world wondered after the beast). Ultimately the peoples of the nations will scorn the Christian faith and those who lived Christian lives (“blaspheme his name”). They will not believe that there is life after death and not strive to live a life that will have a reward in heaven.
The words of Rev 21:3 reveal that everyone will ultimately be affected by the forces of deception. From all people (“men”) will be those that held to God’s Commandments and the testimony of Jesus Christ and will ultimately inherit everlasting life in the New Jerusalem.
Men
I have indicated in this post all the positions of the word “men” in Revelation. Taking into account all that has been said in this post concerning the word “men”, I believe that it is in the twenty-first century and the time that we see more extreme weather that the understanding of Rev 16:21 is to be found.
Rev 16:21
Rev 16:21 “And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven”, reveals the signs of global warming that we are witnessing at the present time. When the earth’s atmosphere heats up increasingly, it takes up more moisture and this must lead to more and greater storms. Up to a certain point, mankind will be oblivious to the fact that factors like tornadoes, hurricanes, great storms and large hailstones have bearing on an end time.
To be continued