Revelation··
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
An Exegesis of the Revelation·· By William Oakley The Meaning of NumbersIndex for the 1 Prophetic TimetableStudy of Revelation 19 Chart of Premillennialism 20 Daniel's Seventy Weeks 21 Will the Church Go Throughthe Tribulation? 23 Chapter l 24 Chapter 2 - The Churchat Ephesus 33 Chapter 2 - The Church at Smyrna 36 Chapter 2 - The Church at Pergamos 38 Chapter 2 - The Churchat. Thyatire 41 Chapter 3- TheChur¢h ai'Sardis 45 Chapter 3 - The Ch�lihai Phlladelphia ··· · 48 Chapter 3 - The Church at Laodicea so Chapter4-TheY�itation 55 Chapter S - Angelology 64 Chapter 6 - The Conquest 71 Chapter 7 - lntroducdon 83 Chapter8 - The Silence in Hea-,,en 93 Chapter 9 - The FallenStar 101 Chapter 10 - ParentheticalSection 109 Chapter 11 - ParentheticalSection 115 Chapter12 - Conflictin Heavenand Earth 125 Chapter 13 - The FirstBeast 131 Chapter 14 - Victoryof the Lamb andHis Followers 137 Chapter15 - Visionof the Seven LastPlagues 143 Chapter 16 - Vialsof the Wrath of God 147 Chapter 17 - Destructionof Ecclesiastical Babylon 152 Chapter 18 - Fallof Babylon 159 Chapter19 - Second Comingof Christ 163 Chapter 20 - Reignof Christ 169 Chapter 21 - New Heaven and New Earth 175 Chapter 22 - ConcludingExhortation 181 Foreword Very earlyin the ministry the lordgave me a deep interest in the study of prophecy.In the pursuit ofan education in college andseminary. that interest intensifiedto include not only prophecybut also eschatology and where the book of Daniel andRevelation fit into thescheme of things. As my studies in these were continued, my interestsexpanded to the study of Angelology andnumerology. Afteralmost fifty years of study and reading over 250 volumes by many authors who approachedthe subjects fromevery conc eivable theo logical viewpoint,1 have come to a positionon these subjects that is rich andmeaningful to me. Out of that background,it is a pleasure forme to sharemy heartin thislittle commentary on the book of the Revelation fromthe pen of a Premillenialist. Included in this volume is a short study of Numerology and a few notes on Angelology. May the Lord use it to inform.inspire and to cause us once again to" look forthe coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." William uBill,, Oakley June 2009 Dedic'-1tion This book is dedicatedto Pattye Norman Oakley My precious, devoted wife, lover. encourager, and best. friend. Thank you fornearly sixty years of wonderfulmarried life. Thank you for being my prayer partner. And to Thememory of my dedicated father and mother, Dr. & Mrs. Willie B. Oakley. who arenow with our dear Lordin Heaven. And to Our wonderfuland Loving Children who have been loving, supportive and encourging through the years:Libby and K.S. George,Dianna and ClarkSeymour, Joe andDeborah Oakley,Paul Oakley,and Michelle McAdams. We also dedicatethis book to our fivegrandchildren andsix great-grandchildren. The Meaning of Numbers. NUMBER1 One is the symbol of unity and independent existence. One - unique, separate, set apart, alone. One is forGod in the most hidden absolute ness of His being. It speaks of primacy, sufficiency, omnipotence. It speaks of harmony in all parts. and.attributes. It speaksof individuality andpersonality (Deut. 6:4; Zech. 14:9; Mark12:32; Eph 4:4-6). One - Thepersonality and sovereignty and uniqueness, separateness and holiness of God. NUMBER2 Twomeans addition, an increase. So it pertains to help, to confirmation and to fellowship. Ecc. 4:9-12 - Confirmationand help. So in theBible, 2 stands fortestimony forconfirmation. Illustrationof theuse of 2 for testimony: When at a business meetinga manstands upand makes a motionand someone else standsup and says, "I second the motion," what is he doing? I second themotion. I amcon firminghis testimony. Two (2) is forconfirmation and witness. There are2 testaments, the old and new, by which God witnesses to man. The second person of the Trinity is Jesus, Rev. 1 :5. Rev. 3:14, truewitness. The second man, Jesus unites the· 2 natures, divine and human, in His own person and He witnesses to us of men and of God. (John 8: 17, Mark6:7 ., they might confirmeach otherin their witness andtestimo ny to Christ (Luke 24:4; Acts 1 : 10). NUMBER3 Three is. the number for divinity. Three is the Trinity of God (Matt. 28: 19). Threeis thesymbol of divine, a complete, ordered whole. Three in one are these beginning, middle,end; heaven, earth, sea; father,moth er, child; morning, noon, night; right, middle, left; knowledge, action, experience; body, soul, spirit;length, breadth, height. .' An Exegesis ofthe Reve/atwn Heb. 13:8, G!n. 18:1-2. Is not.that significant? 3! Num. 6:24-26 - A threefold benediction; a threefold is . seen in the •words sung by the seraphim in Isa. 6:3. Three times daily prayer (Psa. 55:17; Dan. 6:10). Ex. 29:20 - Consecration of Priest and Lev. 14: 14 - Cleansing of the leper, the blood is placed ( the blood of sacrifice, consecration and cleansing) upon the tip of his right ear, upon his right thumb and upon the great toe of his right foot The whole man belongs to God. Relationshipto deity: Matt. 4:3 3 temptations Matt. 16:21 Christ arose on the 3rd day · Matt. 26:34 Peter denied Christ 3 times Matt. 26:44 - 3 prayers in Gethsemane NUMBER4 Four is the number of the world of God's creation. Four seasons, 4 directions, 4 phases of the moon, 4 elements, (earth, air, fireand water), God's world, God's creation, God's universe. Gen. 2:10 - River of Eden has 4 heads, divides into 4 parts, refers to God's sustainingcare forHis world. Matt. 13: 19-23 :.. kinds4 of soil, 4 kinds of hearers. Jer. 49:36 and Ezek:. 37:9 - 4 winds, Rev. 7:L Four is the firstnumber that can be divided by 2, a symbolof the weak ness of the creature in contrastwith thecreator. It is a symbol of us in this world. It is a symbol of failureand of trial. Thebook of Numbers is the fourthbook in theBible and is a type of our pathway and trial in the wilderness.of this world. This extendsto the multiple of 4. 4 x 10 = 40(40 refers to a timeof trial and testingin the earth). In thedays of Noah, it rained 40 days and 40 nights. In Moses' day, he was on Mt. Sinai 40 days. In the days of Jesus, He was driven intothe wildernessto be temptedof the devil 40 days - trial and temptation. We are tempted 3 ways - body, soul, spirit (Matt. 4:3- 8). NUMBERS 5 AND 10 They are together because they areof the same thing. Ten is integral in thinking of human life. The tithe is a tenth. All that we have is con- 2 An Exegesisof the Revelation ceived of as being divided into 10. parts, of which one part belongs to God as a token of God's sovereignty. Ex. 29:20; Lev. 14:14 each con nected with 5 which was mentioned earlier in number 3. Thereare 5 senses by which we arein contact with theworld. Theseare: 5 fingerson the hand by which a man executed his choice. There are5 toes on his foot by which man walks. The basis of thedecimal system originated in counting with the fingers. The full rounded man was the manwho had all of his fingersand toes. Five doubled to 10 came to stand for human completeness. Toe whole duty of man is summed up in 10 commandments. Rev. 13:1 - TheJO hornsstands for complete power in human government. Dan. 2:41-42 - Ten stands for worldly,human completion. Matt. 25:1-13 - The10 vir gins represents the churches in their entirety, in their mixed and slum beringand earthly condition,some of them dead and sound asleep; some of them alive and vibrant and quickened. Luke 19:13 - The 10 pounds entrusted to 10 servants. The whole responsibility and sovereignty of God placed in our hands. Luke 15:8 - Ten pieces of silver representing all of the devotion of his life. The multiples of 10 intensify the meaning of the basis number. Rev. 9:16 -An immense army;Rev. 2:10 also has meaning of being intense, fierce and intense tribulation; Ex. 7:12 - 10 plagues, terrific in the extreme. Five alsoshows God actingin grace (Phil. 2:7, 8). NUMBER6 Seven is the sacrednumber. Six falls short of it. It represents failure. It is the number of man. He was created on the sixth day. His workday week is 6 days. Hebrew slaves served 6 years. The darknessof thecross began at the sixthhour. Jesus was crucifiedon the sixth. day of the week. It is the worst of all numbers. I Sam 17:4; Rev. 13:18; 666. Six units, 6 tens, 6 hundreds. Three sixes, three successively higher powers in the decimal scale, Thatis evil in its fullestactivity. I Sam 17:4 - Goliath, 6 cubits and a span. Dan. 3:1 - Golden image, 60 cubits high and 6 cubits broad. Ezek. 39:1-2, all but 1/6 was destroyed. The numberof a man vainly and impiously aspiring to be God; the deification of man; the dethroning of the Son of God. Theantichrist whose number is 666 is a leader wherelabor is without prayer, where culture is without scripture, 3 An Exegesisof the· Revelation wheresongs arewithout Psalms, whererules are without reverence. His is a world withoutGod. Six means failure - shortcoming. Seven is the sacrednumber and symbolizes the fullness and perfection ofNUMBER7 God's-Word. · The perfect world number is 4 � it represents the world. Theperfect divine numberis 3. Togetherthey make the holy and sacrednumber 7. Seven is the earth crownedwith heaven, theunion of earth and heaven. The seventh day was hallowedby the Lord after-the works of creation. afterthe creativework of God.- It speaksof fullness,of completeness,of accomplishment and of resL It i& used at least600 times.