War will be fought in Heaven between Michael and the dragon. Michael, the archangel (Jude 1:9) designated as the ruler or prince of Israel (Daniel 12:1) will direct his forces against the dragon and his angels. One can only wonder what warfare between supernatural-angelic-beings-who-cannot-physically-die looks like. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven” (Revelation 12:7-8 KJV). In the satan’s [literally, adversary] battle with Michael over the body of Moses, Michael won by uttering, “The LORD rebuke thee” (Jude 1:9) to the devil. Michael did not embellish his language with impious speech, even at the devil. “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing [Greek, blasphēmia, blasphemous, e.g., filthy swear words] accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 1:9). For Michael, prevailing over the devil was delivering the Almighty’s judgment that the satan no longer had the right to place an accusation against the saints in the Courts of Heaven before the Divine Council. This has been his customary practice as witnessed by his accusation of Job (1:6-12; 2:1-7). Michael’s power in battle is his certainty: (1) of the Almighty’s ability to kill, then “cast into hell” (Luke 12:5), and (2) of the finality of the Second Death, where even “death and hell were cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14). LORD, may we be as bold as Michael, not fearing mortal death, because we have been given immortal life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy
Woman Clothed With the Sun (Revelation 12:1)
The nation of Israel is portrayed as the “woman clothed with the sun” (Revelation 12:1 KJV), which is the first of seven main characters of this parenthetical section of the Book of Revelation 12-14. Like identifying constellation pictures in the night sky, we won’t be able to understand God’s narrative of future history, which is prophecy, unless we can appreciate the plot’s characters in this meant-to-be-understood story. The “woman clothed with the sun” (12:1) alludes to Joseph’s dream: “Behold, the sun [Jacob] and the moon [Rachel] and the eleven stars [heads of the tribes of Israel] made obeisance to me” (Genesis 37:9). Israel is there depicted. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” (12:1). The second two main characters now appear, Christ, who is the “child” (12:2) to be delivered; and a “great red dragon” (12:3), our adversary. “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads” (12:2-3). LORD, may we be among those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Help us to understand the story of the Book of Revelation. May it not be as words wasted upon us. Help us to intelligibly pray for the fulfillment of prophecy that we may be co-workers with You, if we could aspire to such a position. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
My Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3)
More power than Moses and Aaron over Egypt, the LORD’s “two witnesses” (Revelation 11:3 KJV) will prophesy 42 months or 1,260 days, the second half of the Tribulation Week. Who are they? Neither Enoch nor Elijah died, since both were personally raptured Home. Perhaps it will be them. Fire will proceed out of their mouths to devour their enemies (11:5). They will have unprecedented power. “These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will” (11:6). The Almighty, not the wicked one, controls the narrative for the story to conclude as prophesied. Both will be martyred like many true witnesses, will lie dead three days in the streets of Jerusalem, but will be resurrected for all the world to see, when a Great Voice from heaven calls out, “Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them” (11:12). All of this transpires as the Seventh Trumpet sounds (11:15). LORD, You control the narrative. You determine the fulness of time for all things. May our awe of You far surpass our apprehension about the enemy. May our understanding of You transcend our understanding of not just man’s power but all the supernatural power of wickedness in high places. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Measure the Temple of God (Revelation 11:1)
John the Beloved may return to administrate the Seven Thunders (Revelation 10:3-4). What? That’s crazy. No more than you judging angels (1Corinthians 6:3). The Almighty directed John: “Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not” (Revelation 10:4). Then, he directed John to eat the “little book” (10:10), which was sweet in the mouth and bitter in the stomach. John was next given a cryptic promise, “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” (10:11). Thereafter, he was directed, “Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein” (11:1). What the Almighty measured, did He not exercise dominion over (Isaiah 40:12)? Temple worshippers during this time worship Antichrist. Whatever surprise the LORD delivers with the Seven Thunders, it may become significant for John, just as Malachi projected for Elijah. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Malachi 4:5). Who would ever see this coming? LORD, fulfill Your prophecies that You may be justified, whatever we may predict. Return quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
God’s Surprise (Revelation 10:4)
Why write an entire book about revealing the future, only to tell us, ‘I know something you don’t know’? “And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not” (Revelation 10:4 KJV). We can all speculate about it, but His creative mind will not be laid bare by our probing. To be sure, whatever He does will magnify Him, ensure the success of all His judgments, and draw all His children to Himself. LORD, cause confusion to all Your enemies, and grant us admiration for all Your wonderful works, as we pray for the success of Your Seven Thunders. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Why We Live
Christ is the reason we live. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 KJV). Anything else is robbing God. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). Our purpose for existing cannot merely be the keeping of commandments, but glorifying God from a pure heart. “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1Peter 1:22). How better to self-test our love of God, if Christ is indeed the reason we live, but do we love our neighbor as ourselves (1John 4:20)? Do we love one another, especially the household of faith (John 13:35)? If we are like the rest of creation groaning, awaiting the future redemption of our physical bodies (Romans 8:23; 1John 3:2) in New Heavens and a New Earth, then we should be praying our understanding and cooperation with the indwelling Christ would grow, so He would hasten to physically and corporally return (Acts 1:11; Revelation 22:20). “Looking for and hasting [literally, hastening] unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2Peter 3:12). LORD, help us to see the daily fulfillment of our purpose for living is intimately connected with Your future plans for returning that “God may be all in all” (1Corinthians 15:28). That You would dwell with us forever (Revelation 21:3). Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen.
Demonic Horsemen Kill 1/3 of Humanity (Revelation 9:13-21)
Every third person in the world will be burned alive in the Fifth Trumpet Judgment. “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” (Revelation 9:18 KJV). The “brimstone” is the fuel, the “fire” is the combustion process, and the “smoke” is the exhaust; but, wicked men are the targets of the flame. The LORD is the Righteous Judge. Satan is the villain. The enemy executes a burning, which makes insignificant the six million murdered in the Holocaust. Yet, the survivors “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” (9:20). Insanity! O the depths of the depravity of the human heart! Will any finally repent to enter physically into the Millennial Reign of Christ? Yes. Will Israel finally be saved? Yes. “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). Everything that happens during this seven year Tribulation Week, must happen, for they “are determined upon thy [Daniel’s] people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Daniel 9:24). LORD, You alone have clean hands. You have pleaded by the prophets with Your prophecies, and the unrighteous would not repent. Why do they cling to the one murdering them? Insane! Continue Your righteous and mysterious work of judgment. Secure for Yourself a people. Reclaim Israel. In Jesus’ reconciling name, we pray. Amen.
Demonic Locusts From the Abyss (Revelation 9:1-12)
Terrorizing only the ungodly with unimaginable pain without the release of death for five months is Satan unmasked, revealing his malevolent intentions upon his own in the Fifth Trumpet Judgment. “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1 KJV). The game is up and the hand of the wicked one is forced by the Almighty, incentivizing repentance
to those previously not so inclined in this latter part of the Tribulation Week, but why then not sudden and total mass defection from the wicked one? The chains of bondage to sin go to the depths of humanity’s normal inaction in the face of divine displeasure. The hidden curses upon all has piled up, where ‘every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword,’ as observed by Abraham Lincoln (March 4, 1865), who further declared, “The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:9). Father, it is our unimagined delight to so petition You with this affection of Your parentage. We have such tangled webs of curses ensnaring us, we find it bewildering to address. Abba Father, deliver us! Show us Your glory! In Jesus’ sin delivering name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Day Shone Not for a Third Part (Revelation 8:12)
God’s judgments are apocalyptic and miraculous. Best to ignore them and hope they cannot be as strange and incomprehensible as they sound. God forbid! We rob God of His glory in judgment, when we force His actions to conform to the smallness of our understanding. God smites the sun, moon, and stars, so there is a third less daylight and moonlight, in the Fourth Trumpet Judgment. “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise” (Revelation 8:12 KJV). God miraculously intervenes in the space time continuum, to the chagrin of the enemy.
First, Joshua’s Long Day (Joshua 10:12-14) demonstrated the ability of an omnipotent God to listen to the prayer of a finite Joshua and cause the sun and moon to stand still for about a day to aid Israel in overcoming the Amorites. “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day” (Joshua 10:13). Only God could supernaturally pause the motion of heavenly bodies for about a day. Who has heard of such a thing?
Second, Jesus’ Mountain Cast Into the Sea (Mark 11:23), as if recalling Joshua’s prayer and predicting our intercession for the fulfillment of the Fourth Trumpet Judgment, Jesus encouraged us to pray for great and mighty things which we know not. “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). Amen. Lord, cause the sunlight and moonlight to be shortened by a third during this Fourth Trumpet Judgment.
Third, Hezekiah’s Sun Dial (2Kings 20:8-11; Isaiah 38:7-8), where a sign was given to Hezekiah that he would be healed, by the LORD causing the movement of the sun upon the sun dial to go backwards ten degrees. “And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz” (2Kings 20:11). This would be as if to reverse the rotation of the earth for a few hours. Not just miraculous, but only possible by an omnipotent, omniscient God.
Fourth, Visit of the Babylonians to Check on Hezekiah (2Kings 20:12-13), to pay their respects to Hezekiah for his recovery from sickness, but also to find out, ‘Did you notice that strange event, where the sun dial seemed to go backwards — about the time you were healed?’ “At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick” (2Kings 20:12). If Hezekiah’s Sun Dial was only God playing tricks with the sunlight on Hezekiah’s sun dial, why did the Babylonian astrologers notice the same thing on their sun dial, unless God performed this miracle on the entire world, because of Hezekiah?
All of this discussion is about God’s ability and willingness to alter the natural progression of time, which will play out in the Fourth Trumpet Judgment toward the latter part of the second half of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-26).
In my opinion, the Fourth Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 8:12-13) points to a speeding up of the rotation of the planet earth by 50%, where a new Apocalyptic Day would be 16 hours — 1/3 less than the present 24 hour day. This would be 1/3 less light from the sun, shrinking from 12 hours of normal daylight to 8 hours, and 1/3 less light from the moon and stars, shrinking from 12 hours of normal nighttime to 8 hours, for a total of 16 hours for a new Apocalyptic Day.
If the circumference of the earth is approximately 24,901 miles, to complete a single rotation in 24 hours, the earth must be rotating on its axis at about 1,038 miles per hour. That is now a Normal Solar Day. After the Fourth Trumpet Judgment, for the earth to complete a single rotation in 16 hours, the earth will be rotating on its axis at 1,556 miles per hour, a 50% increase in speed, for a new Apocalyptic Day.
Father, this seems like a lot of information and speculation about prophecy, but You are the One who commended the Bereans, because “they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). LORD, I’ve always wanted to pray for a mountain to be cast into the sea. Now, I intercede for that to be so with the Second Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 8:8) and ask for the fulfillment of this Fourth Trumpet Judgment (8:12), where it looks like You may speed up the rotation of the earth. May Your will be done, and may the good be accomplished in the judgment of the earth, the repentance of sinners, and especially the reclamation of Your people Israel. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Don’t Look Back
Looking back is yearning for calmer, simpler days before all the troubles that came with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 KJV). Why so harsh? Jesus was speaking to someone, who had just said, “Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house” (9:61). Instead of rejoicing about another potential convert, Jesus warned him about turning back— even for the slightest or greatest reason. Why? Because God knows better that we are either all or nothing at all for Him. Trifle not with your decisions. We will not be caught unawares, when the LORD blows His Trump to call us up hither into His Presence. We are not madmen to think this world is falling apart under our feet, unless we are at home in Sodom. LORD, come quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
We Need A Miracle 
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