Rev 22:16-21 If Any Man Add to or Take Away, Part 2

 [Study Aired August 22, 2025]

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Rev 22:21  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

We paused our last study with this stern warning from the Lord:

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

We will continue our study by considering the consequences of ignoring this warning against handling the Word of God carelessly as the sons of Aaron handled the fire in their censors carelessly. That ‘fire’ in their censors signifies the Lord’s Words and as that story clearly demonstrates the Lord does not tolerate His ministers offering “strange fire.”

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Num 26:61  And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD.

“Strange fire” signifies a perversion of the Lord’s Words. His Words are not to be dealt with carelessly. If we “speak above what is written”, we are ‘adding to these things… which are written therein’ (Rev 1:3). If we do such a rash and foolish thing, “God shall add unto him [us] the plagues that are written in this book.” Paul had given us this same warning many years earlier:

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other.

Notice that we are told that God will plague those who add to the things which are written therein. We will all keep the things written therein, and the seven last plagues are already written. That is why we are told, “I testify to every man that hears the words of this prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” This demonstrates that there are those who are given ears to hear what is written, and yet they are made to “add to the things which are written therein.” An example of such a person is one who sees that all who would enter into the temple in heaven must first ‘fulfill the seven last plagues.’

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

That phrase, ‘were fulfilled’ is in the aorist tense and should read ‘are being fulfilled.’ Nevertheless the person who is given to “hear the prophecy of this book” and agrees that we are to keep the seven last plagues, but then ignores the promise that all overcomers in this present age “will not be hurt of the second death” and begins teaching that all men are ‘partakers of the second death’, that person and all who seek after him, has “added to the words of this prophecy”, and they will indeed ‘be hurt of the second death’, because the Lord has promised to “add to him the plagues which are written in this book.”

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

All who teach that our Lord’s statement that ‘man… shall live by every word’ means that we must ignore this promise…

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. [which is “the lake of fire”:

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

…The person teaching that false lying doctrine is ‘adding to the words of the prophecy of this book’, and our Lord will “add unto him the plagues which are written in this book”, and He will judge him out of his own mouth, and he will indeed ‘partake of the second death.’

Since we have all “come out of” Babylon, where we have all “added unto these things”, therefore we have all had these plagues added to us in accord with our own personal stubborn, self-righteous, rebellious, and blinded ways. Yes, it is all the work of the Lord, even our lack of appreciation of Him requiring us to “give an accounting” of all He has caused us to do (Isa 63:17). However, our ‘giving an accounting’ does not change this work of our Creator in our lives.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Luk 16:1  And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
Luk 16:2  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

Who among us is not wicked by nature? Who among us has not erred from our heavenly Father’s ways? So what part of this prophecy is not to be applied to “every man”? Obviously it is only that part which is specifically qualifies that “he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death”:

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. [which is “the lake of fire”]:

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

This prophecy is all of “the things written therein.” If we take out all the seven fiery trumpet judgments, or if we place the seven last plagues written therein upon someone else and teach that we are not required to fulfill those fiery plagues, then we are taking out our part in the things which are “written therein.” What will be done to any who attempt to do such a foolish thing?

Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

It is significant to notice the loss suffered by those who take away from the words of this prophecy, including the judgment of Revelation 14:7-12 and the judgment of Revelation 15:8, is to have our part taken out of the book of life and out of the holy city. In other words we will not have a part in the first resurrection, and we will not be the bride, the Lamb’s wife, the mother of all living. That is the loss suffered by those who take away from the words of the prophecy of this book.

It is argued by all those who are recognized as the “great men of God” in the churches of Babylon, that to believe that the plagues written in this prophecy and labeled “the wrath of God” have any personal application to, or upon, God’s very elect, is to nullify the promise of 1Thessalonians 5:9.

1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

It is argued that we simply cannot “keep” and “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” and Christ in this prophecy because of this promise:

Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

It is asked, “How is it possible to be “not appointed… to wrath” and yet endure the wrath of the seven last plagues? How is it possible to be “kept from the hour of temptation” and live by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God telling us that there is an hour of temptation which will come upon all the world?”

These are certainly not illogical questions. We have all had them. So let’s just ask and answer how it is possible to “enter into the temple of God after the seven plagues of the seven angels are fulfilled” and at the same time be able to say, “God has not appointed us to wrath?”

While we are told we “are not appointed to wrath”, we are also told this:

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Are these words of this prophecy not for you? Do you believe that 1Thessalonian 5:9 is for you, but the words of Revelation 15:8, are not “things written therein” to be kept by you?

If that is your mindset, then you have no concept of what “the sum of thy word is truth” means.

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. (ASV)

If you think that 1Thessalonians 5:9 is true, but Matthew 4:4, Revelation 1:3, Revelation 15:8 and Revelation 22: 6-7 have no application for you, then you have turned the word “sum” of God’s Word into ‘some’ of God’s Word’, and you now believe that you can pick and choose which “words written therein” have any personal application to you.

So how does this Biblical principle of “the sum of God’s Word” work? How is it possible to be delivered from the wrath of God in our lives, and still have the seven plagues of the seven angels fulfilled in our lives?

This is accomplished in the exact same way we are delivered from being blind:

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and that they that see may become blind.
Joh 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said unto him, Are we also blind?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see: therefore your sin remaineth.

“If you were blind you would have no sin” means simply that as long as these Pharisees cannot acknowledge their own blindness, their blindness remains. So it is with the wrath of God. “We are not appointed to wrath” only if we acknowledge that we ourselves have been “by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Now we are simply adding scripture to scripture, while adding nothing to the things written therein. Now we are able to accept “the sum of God’s word” instead of pitting scripture against scripture and taking away from the things written therein.

How is it possible to believe on Christ in this life and never die, as Christ promised Martha?

Joh 11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother [Lazarus] shall rise again.
Joh 11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Just how does one who “lives and believes in Christ.. never die?” Once again, as contradictory as 1Thessalonians 5:9 seems to be to Ephesians 2:3 and Revelation 15:8, this is the only way to “believe on Christ and never die.” This is how we can live forever and not be appointed to death.

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of [the wrath of God] the seven angels were fulfilled.

It is the same principle by which “we are not appointed to wrath.”

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

So let us ask, “Do you want to see the things of the spirit?” If so, you simply must first acknowledge your spiritual blindness. Do you want to live and never die spiritually? If so, all you need do is “lose your life [in this world] for Christ’s sake” and you will find how you “will never die” spiritually. Would you be found of God? You simply must acknowledge that you are spiritually lost. Would you ‘not be appointed to wrath?’ All you need do is to acknowledge that you have been “by nature a child of wrath even as others”, that ‘the seven plagues of the seven angels are being fulfilled’ in your life, and then “you are not appointed to wrath but to salvation” spiritually as all men of all time are “not appointed to wrath, but to salvation.”

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1Th 5:7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. [The many called but not chosen]
1Th 5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. [Of “all men”, 1Ti 2:4]
1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us [all men] to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep [are drunken or sober], we should live together with him.

1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth [1Ti 2:4], even that he doeth.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

There are two more verses which bookend this subject of God’s wrath, as indeed they bookend and wrap up how we are to approach every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Here are those very revealing verses of scripture.

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Should Ecclesiastes 9:2 read, ‘All things come alike to all but God’s elect, who never experience His wrath upon their unrighteousnesses?’ Is that what the sum of God’s Word teaches?

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Should Romans 1:18 read ‘The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, except for those who accept Christ?’

Should 1Corinthians 3:21-22 be made to read ‘Most things are yours, most things present and most things to come, but not the seven last plagues of God’s wrath upon my ungodliness and my unrighteousness?’

We who have the mind of Christ know that is not the case, and we are careful to neither add to nor take away from the words of this prophecy, knowing we will reap what we sow, and knowing that the grace of God will chasten us to live godly lives in this age.

That is how this great revelation which ends with the promise that death and all that are dead in Hades and in the ‘sea’ of all mankind of all time, will be delivered up and cast into those who are the small ‘lake’ of fire to be purged and cleansed at the “great white throne judgment” of all that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and His Christ.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth [the seven last plagues], the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Those among us who are at ease in the everlasting burnings, and who are able to dwell comfortably in the devouring fire of God’s Word, are those who “speak uprightly” those devouring fiery words:

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

They are the gates of that city, the pillars in the temple of God, the bride of Christ which is New Jerusalem. It is by those twelve gates of a single pearl each, that all the dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murders, and idolaters who love and make a lie, will one day be purified of all the lies and false doctrines with which they have added to and taken away from the word of God. It is through the fiery sword which guards the way of The Tree of Life that all men will be redeemed of all their sins and be transformed from a “vessel of clay” into a new vessel of spirit as seems good to the Potter to make it.

1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. [The purifying lake of fire]

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Those who are that ‘Lake of Fire’ as those who are “the bride, the Lamb’s wife”. They alone will “enter into that city through the gates” of that city which as The Bride, The Lamb’s wife, will become “the mother of all living” and will have the power and authority to give life to all men of all time:

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right [G1849: ‘exousia’, power, authority] to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Such is the revelation of Jesus Christ. We dare not add to or take away from what it reveals, and what it reveals is that it is only those who “do His commandments… in this present time” (Rom 18:8) who will be given the “exousia”, the power and authority to redeem  the ‘dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremonger, and murders, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie’ who are not given the ‘exousia’ to become the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife, the mother of all living.

Every word that has proceeded out of the mouth of God, neither added to nor diminished, will be acknowledged as being within the same Adamic flesh with which we are all “by nature” born. This process of judgment will in the end be accomplished in every man who has ever lived, as the scriptures so clearly make known.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the [“whole”, (1Jo 2:2)] world through him might be saved.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [not exclusively] of those that believe.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

It is all being accomplished by our Lord Himself working in every man His chastening work of grace, “after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11). That is why we all ask for that chastening grace to always be with us, at all times.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared [aorist tense, is appearing] to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching [Greek: paidueo, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

(Read The Purpose and Function of Grace [Tit 2:12] at this link:

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/what-grace-is-versus-what-grace-does/

It is with the knowledge that the grace of God chastens us to “forsake ungodliness and worldly lust and to live Godly lives in this present age” that this revelation of Jesus Christ in His own body the church (Col 1:24), ends with this blessing:

Rev 22:21 The [chastening] grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

It is by Christ’s chastening grace, as our ‘everlasting Father’ (Isa 9:6), through His faith working in us, that all men will be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth. It is from the beginning to the end, His work within us, and we bring nothing at all to the table.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

This concludes our study of the revelation of our Lord and His Christ, the bride, the Lamb’s wife:

Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

Rev 9-13-16- Part 2- The Sixth Trumpet

[Study Aired Aug 25, 2024]

We said we would continue our next study by answering the question, What is the spiritual significance of “the great river Euphrates”?

What is “the great river Euphrates?”

The Euphrates is the river that fed and nourished Babylon. It was upon the waters of the Euphrates that the wealth of all the provinces of Babylon flowed and came into “that great city”. Babylon and the walls of Babylon actually spanned the entire width of the Euphrates River and it was to Babylon that God’s people were carried away as captives:

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Psa 137:2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
Psa 137:3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us [required of us] mirth, [saying], Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion.
Psa 137:4  How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?

Here is one of the “woes” placed upon God’s people by the prophet Jeremiah. In this ‘woe’ we see that God uses the Euphrates and Babylon to “mar” the girdle which should be used to cover our nakedness. The result is to make us “profitable for nothing”. We see that those who “sit on David’s throne” are caused by God to “stumble on dark mountains” and go into “gross darkness” and are carried away captive, and it is all the work of the Lord.

Jer 13:1  Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
Jer 13:2  So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put [it] on my loins.
Jer 13:3  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
Jer 13:4  Take the girdle that thou hast got, which [is] upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
Jer 13:5  So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
Jer 13:6  And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.
Jer 13:7  Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
Jer 13:8  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 13:9  Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
Jer 13:10  This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.
Jer 13:11  For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
Jer 13:12  Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?
Jer 13:13  Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
Jer 13:14  And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
Jer 13:15  Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
Jer 13:16  Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, [and] make [it] gross darkness. [Smoke of the ‘abussos’ filled with locusts which dim the sun and the air, Rev 9:2-3]
Jer 13:17  But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for [your] pride [iniquity, Eze 33:13]; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive.
Jer 13:18  Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.
Jer 13:19  The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open [them]: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.
Jer 13:20  Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where [is] the flock [that] was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
Jer 13:21  What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them [to be] captains, [and] as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
Jer 13:22  And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, [and] thy heels made bare.
Jer 13:23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Jer 13:24  Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
Jer 13:25  This [is] thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
Jer 13:26  Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.
Jer 13:27  I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, [and] thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when [shall it] once [be]?

Here God is telling His people that ‘He will cause’ the righteousness of His people to become “marred” then, “after many days”, He will cause them to abuse His wine and be drunk. He will then “dash father against son… will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but [will] destroy them…” He then causes darkness… makes it gross darkness… [and then He says] woe unto thee, O Jerusalem…” To which Isaiah adds:

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

As God’s people, we “lose our first love” and become the great harlot of the book of Revelation, who is revealed to be “the faithful city… the city wherein our Lord was crucified,” to which we all bear witness as we ‘look behind us’ to see all these details of the revelation of Jesus Christ, within us.

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.[Isa 1:21]

We see “the Lord’s day” behind us. That is when we realize that we were “the great city… where our Lord was crucified.” These truths have no “ring of truth” to them until we have already lived and “kept the things which are written therein.”

Rom 4:25  Who was delivered for [Greek, dia, through] our offences, and was raised again for [dia, through] our justification.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

What does all of this have to do with the four angels being loosed from their bonds in the Euphrates River? It shows us that God’s own people who “believe on Christ” are the very people who are now Babylon itself, the great city wherein our Lord was crucified, and the very same people who want the christ of Christ, crucified to this very day (Joh 8:30-59).

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those [many] Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye [“many Jews which believed on Him”] are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye [“many Jew which believed on Him”] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

As we “look behind us”, we see clearly “that great city” was each of us only yesterday, and this is what is being revealed in this trumpet woe to the inhabiters of the earth. This is what is seen by those who “keep the things which are written therein” (Rev 1:3). We have been the waters of Babylon, nourishing and sustaining her every desire with our doctrines and our substance.

What is “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year”?

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.

Christ tells us “there are twelve hours in a day.”

Joh 11:9  Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

Of course, Christ is talking about walking in Him. He is “the light of this world”.

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Joh 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

What does that make you and me if we follow in His footsteps?

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

So for all who “walk in the day”, there are “twelve hours in the day”. But there are also twelve months in the year in which to “slay the third part of men”. What is this “year for to slay a third part of men” in the lives of God’s elect? Here is the only year in scripture that is given any special consideration.

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

This ‘year’ was the topic of the very first sermon of Christ’s ministry. It was given in His own home town of Nazareth immediately after His temptation in the wilderness.

Luk 4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was [Notice that it does not say “according to the 4^th commandment], he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

The “acceptable year of the Lord” is the year in which the whole of the gospel [four angels] comes to “heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” But Christ made it clear that before these four angels would be released from the River Euphrates within us, we must first come to see ourselves as being in Babylon, being the sick who need a physician, and the blind who need “recovering of sight.”

Mat 9:12  But when Jesus heard that he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

If we see ourselves as “whole”, then the words of this trumpet are not for us, and we do not need a physician. So it is with our sight. If, while we believe lies, we think we see, then we are yet blind and our sin remains:

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And [some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Until we see that we live by every word, that all things are ours, that we keep the things written therein, we are totally unaware of what God is doing. The “hour, day and month and year” of scripture are one and all parts of the process which comprises “the year of the Lord” spoken of by Isaiah and Christ in which ‘judgment is now on the house of God’:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment [“The year of the Lord and the day of vengeance”] must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Proclaiming the year of the Lord is to proclaim the destruction of the kingdom of our old man just as Israel and Judah were destroyed before they were made to “acknowledge [their] wickedness”:

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.

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

What does “to slay the third part of men” mean?

We have already covered the spiritual significance of the number three when we did our studies on the various ‘thirds’ which are mentioned in chapter eight of this prophecy. Three in scripture signifies the process of being judged. If this trumpet is one third, then there must be two other thirds.

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

We are not counting thirds, but we are being told that the process of judgment is taking place within us. The third part of the trees was burnt up, the third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died, and now the third part of men are to be slain by the fire, smoke and brimstone which issue out of the mouths of the horses that come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit. Each seal adds to the previous seal, but it is all the revelation of Jesus Christ. Each trumpet of the seventh seal adds to the knowledge that was revealed in the previous trumpet, but it is all “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” the revelation of Jesus Christ who is persecuted by each of us when we are in Babylon. When all the thirds are realized in our life, we will begin to be “crucified with Christ”, and we will be “dying daily” with our Lord as we ‘fill up in our bodies what is behind’ of His afflictions, and we too, will be “perfected the third day.”

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of [the] Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

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.

When will we be given eyes that see that all of these thirds of dying are nothing less than the progression of the revelation of Jesus Christ within us as we “keep the things that are written therein,” and “keep the saying of the prophecy of this book” (Rev 1:3 and Rev 22:7).

Summary

We have seen the scriptures which tell us the meaning of 1) the four horns of the golden altar, 2) four angels which are 3) bound in the river Euphrates, 4) which angels are commissioned to be loosed, 5) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, 6) for to slay the third part of men.

1) The voice from the four horns of the golden altar, we saw signify both the whole and the strength of the words of the gospel of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

2) The four angels are the symbol of the whole of the gospel which has for so long been

3) bound in the river Euphrates, signifies the great river of deathly lies, which nourish and support Babylon and which are the subject of the two million horses and their riders in next week’s study.

4) The loosing of these four angels signify the release into our hearts and minds of the truths which necessitate that Babylon, with all of her smoke and horses and scorpions and lions and all of her lies begins to be judged within us.

5) It is the birth of this day of judgment within us that is the hour, day and month which make up the acceptable year of the Lord, also called the day of the Lord, within us.

Isa 49:8  Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

2Co 6:2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)

6) “For to slay a third part of men” is the symbol of the three part process of the judgment of the old man and his kingdom, with all the armies and principalities with which he rules within us.

Next week, Lord willing, we will discover why the armies of the darkness of the smoke of the bottomless pit are said to number two hundred million and why their breast plates are “of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone.”

Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen [were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

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.

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.