END OF TIME PROPHECIES 019

"And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of man....."  Revelation 1v13.

John now focuses on the One in the midst of the golden lampstands; He is said to be " One like unto the Son of Man."  This title occurs over eighty times in the four gospels and only four times outside of the four gospels.   This title refers to Jesus humanity, as opposed to His Deity.  He identifies Himself as "the Son of Man" in Matthew 16v13;  "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"   In Acts 7v55-56 the martyr Stephen proclaimed, at the point of his death, "I saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God."    So the same Son of Man who was on earth is now in heaven.  The meaning of this title, however, has greater implications.   A study of the occurrences of this title, particularly the first mention in Daniel 7v13-14 reveals the meaning to be not just humanity, but humanity in dominion on the earth!   Way back in Genesis 1v26, God gave dominion of the earth to the first man.   This status is confirmed in Psalm 8 and also in Psalm 115; verse 16 of the last mentioned says this "The heaven, even the heavens are the Lord's; but the earth hath He given to the children of men."   Despite the entrance of sin and the curse upon the earth, this offer of dominion stands, since God never changes his promises.  In Hebrews 2v 5-9 the writer tells us how this will happen.   Not to angels, but to man is dominion on the earth.  How will this happen?  Jesus, the Son of Man will reign supreme on the earth with all in subjection to Him.   Now in Revelation 1, John sees the One he had known on earth, not only as Man, but Man destined for world dominion.   

So we must understand that this One whom John saw in the vision, who was "like unto the Son of Man" is the Jesus he knew on earth as the future ruler of all things.   Many scriptures convey this and a few are tabulated below to give us a taste of what is to come.   The whole thing would be summed up in the words of Hebrews 2v8-9,  "For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him.  But now we see not yet all things put under Him, but we see Jesus.....crowned with glory and honour...".  

• Daniel 7v 13-14       "I saw in the night visions and, behold, One like unto the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of days and they brought Him near before Him.  And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed".
• Matthew 24v30    "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
• Matthew 26v64   "Hereafter shall you see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven."   

There are many more references, but the above will suffice to illustrate the truth.   The Son of Man refers to a Perfect Man, Jesus, who will rule unchallenged over all the earth.   It is important we understand the full meaning of this title.

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 018

"And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks...."   Revelation 1v12.

The awkward phrase, "I turned to see the voice that spake with me", probably reflects the fact that John not only heard a loud voice but was aware of a great brightness.   The first thing that he saw was seven golden lampstands.   We will deal with that first, and next we will focus on the One who stood in their midst.  The imagery of the lampstands would be meaningful to John.  

• The meaning of lampstands in holy scripture  -   Their function is to shed light in a dark place.  The progressive teaching of the lampstands  (candlesticks A.V.) is that God has never been, and will never be, without a witness in this world.   The spiritual state of the world is clearly said to be one of  darkness.   This is made clear by John in his gospel when he described Jesus Christ come in the flesh as "the light of men" -John 1v4.  He continues, "and the light shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not"-John 1v5.   Time and space would fail us to go into the differences between light and darkness save to say that they are opposite one to the other.  Scripture defines the knowledge of this world apart from God as darkness.   The lampstands first appeared in Exodus 25 in the tabernacle.  Next we read of them in 1st Kings 7 standing before the oracle in the temple.  Next we see them during the exile of Israel in Babylon in Zechariah 4.   Next we see them in Revelation chapters 1,2 & 3, when the church has become the light of the world, reflecting the light of Jesus Christ.  Finally in Revelation chapter 11 the lampstands are mentioned again in connection with the two witnesses who will bring the truth of God, the light of God to the  world in the darkest period of world history yet to come.  Thus from the beginning of Divine revelation to the end, the light of God will go on shining.   Today that light is invested in the church.
• They are said to be golden lampstands    In all these pictures presenting Divine truth the Bible is self explanatory.   In the Old Testament pure gold represents Deity whereas gold with impurities represents God's people.   There is ever a distinction between God and His people.  When we think of the churches described as "golden", we would expect to see something perfect.   A study of the churches in chapters 2/3 reveal that they are anything but perfect, but they are golden because they have the stamp of God upon them.   They are in fact a work in progress and only through a refinement process will they shine brighter and brighter.  It is not that they are any better than anyone else, it is simply that by faith they have the life of God within them.   The picture in the Old Testament of the golden lampstand in the tabernacle is very graphic indeed.   It was made from one talent (one hundred and twenty pounds approximately) of pure gold, but it was an undefined shape, was not measured, and represents God as One who is undefined and undefinable.   This shapeless mass of pure gold was beaten into a recognizable shape in the seven branched lampstand that has become an iconic shape in the world today.  This represents Jesus Christ who took human form so that we could see Him as a recognizable man.   Thirdly through the stems of the lampstands flowed the oil which represents the Holy Spirit to give light in the dark place.   Thus the people of God as being part of the churches of God have the Divine stamp upon them of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   Despite their obvious weaknesses and failures they are still to be considered as the golden lampstands of the truth of God.  This of course is only true when they are representing the God who has saved them.  

A number of aspects of these lampstands should be observed and are interesting in themselves.  

• Each church is said to be in a locality:   Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.   There is no concept of a national church.  
• Each church is answerable alone to the One who is walking in their midst, the risen glorified Lord Jesus Christ.   There is no concept of a diocese, or committee or central church government; each one answers directly to the Lord.
• Each church exists to reflect the glories of Jesus Christ.  Thus in word and in deed the members are responsible to truly represent Him.  

The apostle Paul summarises the whole matter in 1st Timothy 3v15.   There he states that each church is the "house of God " and "the church of the living God " (this is the golden aspect ) and each church is said to be the "pillar and ground of the truth."  ( this  is the light shining ).   The ground of the truth is that the truth of God will be taught in the church; the pillar of the truth is that it will be transmitted to the world.   Thus every church should be a place of teaching and a place of testimony.  No matter how dark the days the light will never go out.  

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."      Matthew 5v16

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 017

"What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."           Revelation 1v11

The voice of the risen Christ said to John, "what thou seest write in a book."   This is expanded in v19 and the threefold command to write becomes the division of the entire book.  

• Write the things which thou has seen: This refers to the vision of chapter 1v12-18 and may also refer back to the gospel of John and the epistles of John.  Particularly in John's first epistle he says the following; "that which..... we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life.  John was witness to His public life, to His crucifixion, to His resurrection, to His ascension, and now to His exaltation.  The theme of Revelation 1 comes under the heading "the things which thou has seen." 
• Write the things which are: This refers to the church age of which John was part and covers chapters 2-3 of Revelation, describing not only churches in existence then, but a prediction of the course of church history until the end of the age of grace. The phrase  "this present age" is distinct from " the age to come "
• Write the things which shall be hereafter:  This commences in chapter 4v1 and continues to the end of the book.   This interpretation is made clear by the ending of the verse which describes "the things which must be hereafter".   

Thus the book of Revelation must be understood like this:

chapter 1         The vision of the glorified Christ; 

chapters 2/3    The role of Christ in the church age; 

chapters 4/22  The role of Christ after the church age.

The command to write to the seven churches in Asia is interesting.   Asia means "slime or mire."   The churches stand for God in what is spiritually speaking a slime pit.  The names of the churches are also interesting and give some idea of their weaknesses and strong points as they stand as a testimony for God.

• Ephesus means desirable but had left her first love and portrays loveless orthodoxy.
• Smyrna means myrrh and is the symbol of suffering - this church underwent severe persecution.
• Pergamos means marriage and represents the church being wedded to the state.
• Thyatira means incense, but the fragrance had gone bad because of severe moral departure.
• Sardis means remnant and portrays the nominal church in which only a few were truly saved.
• Philadelphia means brotherly love and refers to a small recovery of true Christian love, but which only had a little strength.
• Laodicea means the right of the people and represents a church where people were in control and not the Lord.  

Of all the churches mentioned above, only Philadelphia stood the test of time.   Trouble and failure was the order of the day and we should expect nothing less or more; yet we shall see there was something for God in all of them since they are described as "the seven golden lampstands."

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 016

"I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last; and what thou seest write in a book a send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia."           Revelation 1v10-11

We come now to the details of the vision by John of the ascended, glorified Christ.   This vision is something no one had ever seen.   There were glimpses of it on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17)  but nothing to compare with the awesome glory which is now before us.  This vision parallels with that given to Ezekiel in chapter 1 but goes further than that by identifying the Person so glorified.  The place of the vision was the barren rocky island of Patmos, a bleak place, a largely uninhabited place and a place surrounded by waters, so it was entirely conducive to receiving the vision that follows.  The timing of the vision is said to be on the Lord's Day.  Some interpret this as a Sunday being the day of commemoration of the Lord's death, but there seems to be no other indication in the New Testament of such a day.   Paul said in Romans 14v5 "one man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike.  Let every man be persuaded in his own mind."   For me this would discount such an interpretation.   It is not so much the commemoration of His death and resurrection that is in view here, it is the day of the revelation of the ascension glory of Christ, a day never to be forgotten, a notable day, the day of the Lord, the day when the Lord asserts His control, and the power of this will come out during the exposition. This is indeed a notable day for all God's people, when finally they realise just who He is.   It was a spiritual vision "I became in the Spirit."   The teaching of the New Testament is that the Holy Spirit is always with His people, but there are times when He would especially move them and reveal to them the things of God.  This is what is happening here. The details of the vision are numerous and each one should be considered.   In verses 10-18 John speaks Christ's whole body covering; he speaks of His breasts; he speaks of His head and His hairs; he speaks of His eyes; he speaks of His feet; he speaks of His voice; he speaks of His right hand; he speaks of His mouth; and he speaks of His countenance.   We anticipate now John's reaction to this vision, "when I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead"-v17.   This is the same John who was closest to Jesus of all the disciples and who was on daily speaking terms with Him, but he had never anticipated anything like this and his reaction tells all.   We are immediately confronted with the awesome glory in all its detail of the person of Christ who once died for us on a Roman cross.  The fact that He is seen by John in the mode of walking in the midst of the seven churches should bring before every gathered believer a sense of awe when we come into His presence.   It is perhaps true to say that such a sense of awe has disappeared from our churches and we need to recover it.   In some ways we have become besotted with the fact that He died for our sins and we have quite forgotten just who He is.  

"I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet"-v10.   When God of old would bring about any announcement or demand any movement or suggest any action it was always by means of  trumpets.  The details of this can be found in Numbers 10.   Other references are Exodus 19, Exodus 20, Joshua 6, Judges 3,6 & 7.   Two silver trumpets were sounded in the camp of Israel and the number of trumpets sounded, the length or shortness of the blast, and the low or high sound of the blast, would give very well known instructions to the people of Israel.   These were used for the gathering of the leaders, for the gathering of the congregation, for the moving of the camp, for the call to war, and for rejoicing on the feast days. The sound of the trumpet was meaningful to Israel and should be meaningful to us today as we are called to attention to the vision before us.  This was no trivial matter and called for urgent, swift, and immediate action.  This was a communication of great importance.  The action called for here was for John to stop everything he was doing; to write what he saw in a book; and to send it promptly to the seven churches of Asia.  The clarion call of the trumpet demanded immediate action. 

The essence of the book of Revelation is that God is about to become directly involved in the affairs of earth, and this will inevitably mean judgment because of sin.   God always gives warning to His people of impending judgment and this is what He is doing here.   This Divine communication is not now so much of a Saviour God coming to forgive peoples' sins but of God as the Judge of the whole earth to punish those who have rejected His grace.  

The presentation of Jesus Christ in the vision, as we shall see, is one of the Judge, just as the scriptures reveal, " The Father..... hath committed all judgment unto the Son"-John 5v22.    Again in Acts 17v31 "God.....hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained."    What we have here is a vision of the Man by whom God will judge the entire world."  

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 015

"I John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."              Revelation 1v9

We are now introduced to the human author of the book, and against the backdrop of the awesome glory of Jesus, for whom he was writing, John must have felt quite inadequate for the task.   This should be true of any of us who engage in such a work, that we should feel the weight of responsibility, and a sense of unworthiness.  For this reason John introduces himself, not as an apostle but as a brother.  He could not do otherwise, since against the backdrop of the superior glories of Jesus Christ, his own little light would be very dim indeed.  He says three things about himself:

• I am your brother.   John is the apostle who presents the truth of the family of God more than any other.  He emphasizes the fact that God is our Father, and we are all brethren-John 1v12,  "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe in His name."   Seven times over in his first epistle John addresses the believers as "my dear children".   Chapter 2v1; 2v12; 2v28; 3v7; 3v18; 4v4; 5v21.   This is a study in itself and reveals what we all are in the family of God.   Love and respect to all our brethren is the emphasis in his teaching and is seen as an evidence of salvation.  Here, he is the last apostle alive, yet he simply says to them "I am your brother".  
• I am your companion in tribulation.    We share good times, we share bad times.   Jesus said "in the world you shall have tribulation."   John 16v33   In the sermon on the mount he spoke about "suffering for righteousness sake"-Matthew 5v10 and "for my sake"-Matthew 5v11.   Under the Roman Emperor Domitian the Christians suffered greatly under a severe persecution and many of them were banished to work in the mines.   The brutality of this regime was evidenced by the fact they would even send a ninety year old man to work in the marble quarries of Patmos.  The authorities of the day no doubt thought the were doing their own will, but God had a higher purpose.   It was during this exile on a barren rocky island in the Aegean Sea that he received the testimony of Christ which is now in our possession.   The very seclusion of that place and the bleakness of it, possibly enhanced the revelation that was given.   John would have been free from all distraction on that island and he had come to terms with the fact that this was God's will, saying to his readers that he was there "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."   It is indeed a wonderful thing when we find ourselves in unwanted situations, to accept the fact that the Lord has a higher purpose.
• I am your companion in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.                     The kingdom of Jesus Christ is sure, but it is not yet visible.   As members of this invisible (but very real) kingdom we must suffer the misunderstanding and intolerance of a Christ rejecting world.   When John uses the word "patience" or perhaps better "endurance", he is indicating that all Christians will need a great deal of this quality.   Jesus said "from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force"-Matthew 11v12.   As subjects of the kingdom, not yet visible, we must pass through trying times.  Some will suffer martyrdom, some unemployment, some mocking, some loss of possessions, perhaps even loss of dignity and loss of friendship.   We are all in the kingdom of heaven and we must together demonstrate the qualities required of those who are part of heavenly royalty.

A quick reading through chapters 6-19 will reveal what believers will suffer because of the kingdom of God.   Even in chapters 2 & 3, where a panoramic view of the churches is given, it is predicted that believers will have a less than perfect experience in the churches; having to live with false doctrine, false professors, nominal Christians, lethargic Christians, lukewarm Christians etc. etc.   The words of the apostle John come to us across the centuries  "I am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ."

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 014

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."   Revelation 1v8.

In verse 8, now, we hear Jesus the Divine author speaking, followed in verse 9 by John the human author.   A comparison with chapter  22v16  makes it clear that Jesus is the speaker.    This is without doubt one of the clear assertions (of which there are many), that Jesus is God.   Denial of this cardinal truth of the bible, characterises such as false prophets, and anti-Christ, and, therefore anti- God.  Acceptance of it is fundamental to "the faith".   It is a wonderful truth; we have just been told  "He's coming".  Who is coming?  We all know that the status of a writer gives weight to the writing, so who is He who so writes?   He is man, "the Son of Man"  (1v13),  the perfect man, the greatest man who ever lived, man as God intended him to be, yet He is truly God in all the fullness of His being!(Colossians2v9).

Immediately, He asserts "I am....." This is the title of God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3. It is that which alone belongs to Deity, but which, blasphemously, is being used by celebrities and businesses and mass- media promoters, all the product of a God-rejecting society.   Jesus took this title to Himself in the gospel of John  "before Abraham was I am" John 8v58.  He reveals the full spectrum of His title to Deity on our behalf: "I am the bread of life" John 6v35; "I am the Light of the world" John 8v12; "I am the Door of the sheep"  John 10v7; "I am the Good Shepherd" John 10v11; "I am the Resurrection and the Life"  John 11v25; "I am the Way, the truth and the Life" John 14v6; "I am the true Vine" John 15v1.  There is only one Man who is the Great I Am.   He now gives us a three fold expansion of this in the verse.

• He is Omniscient: Alpha & Omega are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet.  Letters of the alphabet make up words, words make up sentences, sentences make up languages, together they all speak of communication, knowledge, wisdom.   Jesus Christ is the beginning and ending of all knowledge and wisdom and counsel and understanding in the universe.  Apart from Him all else is false.  He is the sole revealer of God (Matthew 11v27);  He is the sole communicator of God in every detail  (John 1v18).   Paul says in Colossians 2v3 in the context of human wisdom and philosophy,   "Christ..... in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."   He is the treasury, the fount of all knowledge.  Indeed He is the beginning and ending of everything.  The title that was applied to God in the Old Testament,  "The First and the Last" (Isaiah 41v4)  (Isaiah 44v6) (Isaiah 48v12) is here taken by Jesus.   In Hebrews 12v2 He is "the author and finisher of the faith."   In Colossians 1v16, a proper understanding of the verse would reveal that He is the architect and builder and sustainer and destiny of the entire material universe.   What He is in the realm of faith and in the realm of creation, He is in the realm of knowledge.  He knows everything,  about everything, and about everyone.  
• He is Omnipresent:  Jehovah, who spans all time and all space.  The footnote of the Newbury Bible comments on this.  The Hebrew name  "Jehovah" involves three time periods, past, present and future, "Which is;" present participle meaning which always is; "Which was;" imperfect tense meaning which ever was; "Which is to come";  participle meaning which always is the coming One.  No time whether past, present or future will wear Him out.   He was there at the beginning, He has been there all the way through, and He will be there forever.   There is no time period He has not witnessed, nor will there be.  Indeed over all time periods He has presided.   This is the true meaning of the Greek word  "aions" which is translated ages. The man who came as Jesus is the Ancient of days and is the never ending One.
• He is Omnipotent: The Almighty, corresponding to the Hebrew "El-Shaddai" who is able to accomplish anything He chooses to begin.  The vision of Jesus in the glory of heaven in Revelation 5v6 expands on this theme.   "And I beheld and lo in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."   The horns in scripture always speak of power.  The number 7 always speak of perfection, completion.  In Jesus, in the glory, is invested the perfection, the fullness, of all power.   There is nothing He cannot do, it is pointless for anyone to oppose Him.   He said to His disciples before He left this world  "All power is given unto Me in heaven and upon the earth."   Matthew 28v18  

Concerning all people and all events in this world, Jesus is hands on; He knows all things, He is everywhere at all times, and is all powerful.   This three fold assertion of Deity is cardinal to all that follows in this book.  Association with Him  is eternal security; opposition to Him will mean eternal loss.   These three facets of Deity are described in detail in Psalm 139.   There they are applied to God, here in Revelation 1 Christ applies it to Himself.   Major world religions deny this, but their denial makes it no less true.

Jesus Christ signs this letter at the beginning and at the end.   He is truly man and yet He is at the same time fully God.   What is obviously beyond human comprehension, is something that all of us should accept because it is true.

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 013

"Behold He cometh with clouds.....Revelation 1v7. THE SECOND COMING continued.....

"...if I go...I will come again.....", so said Jesus to His disciples in the upper room-John 14v3.    "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven"......so said the angels to the witnesses on mount Olivet in Acts 1v11.    The great message of the followers of Jesus was twofold: "He is risen, He is coming again!"

The evidence from scripture is that Jesus second coming will be in two phases. The first phase will be to remove His people, comprising the church, from the earth; the second phase will be to return with them to set up His kingdom on the earth.  Not all interpreters agree, and the details are too numerous to investigate here.   Those who believe, as I do, in a two phase coming, do so for the following reasons:

• He is coming to the air (1st Thessalonians 4v17).  He is coming to the earth (Revelation 1v7; Revelation 19v1-11; Matthew 24v29-30).
• He is coming for His people (John 14v3; 2nd Thessalonians 2v1; 1st Thessalonians 4v15-17).  He is coming with His people (Revelation 19v14; 2nd Thessalonians 1v10; Jude 14).
• He is coming privately, only the redeemed church members, whether living or dead will go-1st Thessalonians 4v14-18.  He is coming publicly, every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1v7).  Two Greek words are used for His coming in the N/T; Parousia which means presence, and indicates His private presence with His people. The other word is Apokalypsis which means public manifestation.

These are inescapable differences and lead me to believe He is coming for His people first of all, and then He is coming with His people in public display.   Another fact is that the church is mentioned many times in chapters 1,2 & 3, but no mention is made until Revelation 19, where it says "The marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife has made herself ready"-Revelation 19v7.  How did the Lamb's wife get to heaven?   Only by means of a translation from earth to heaven similar to Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament. We cannot come with Him unless we are first where He is.  

The ultimate coming, of course, is when He returns to the earth with His saints in public view; and this is what is being referred to here. It says "Every eye shall see Him",  all of Israel, all the Gentile nations shall witness the glorious coming of Jesus Christ.  The nation of Israel will mourn in that day, when they realise that the Man whom they rejected as Messiah, and crucified (as seen in the word pierced) is in fact, and, was all along, the Anointed of God.   When He stands in awesome glory before them, they shall understand in that day how badly they got it wrong.  A reading of Zechariah 12v10 - 13v1 is helpful here.   All the kindreds of the earth, representing Gentile nations, who for more than 2,000 years have had the offer of grace presented to them, will wail because their opportunity to be saved has gone.  The ramifications of His coming will be epoch-making and the details are recorded in scripture, a summary of which is as follows:

• There will be cosmic convulsions in the heavens.   (Revelation 6, Matthew 24)   There it is stated the sun is darkened, the moon fails to shine, the stars fall from heaven and the heavens depart as a scroll rolled up together.   What all that means is left to our imagination.
• There will be topographical change across the landmass of earth.  This process will have begun some years before; every mountain will be moved out of its place and all the islands will be scattered.   According to the prophet Zechariah in chapter 14 when His foot touches the Mount of Olives there will be an earthquake which splits the mountain in two and will cause a ravine to open up allowing the Mediterranean sea to flow towards the Jordan river and so on to the Dead sea. (read Zechariah 14 with Revelation 6, and scattered portions of Isaiah.
• The trumpet call of the angel will gather all Israel into their land  (Matthew 24).
• The great world leader and his false prophet will be banished as the first entrants into the lake of fire (Revelation 19).  
• Satan will be bound for 1,000 years (Revelation chapter 20).
• The judgement of the living nations will take place in the course of 75 days after His return (Matthew chapter 25 with Daniel 12).
• The apportionment of the land that God promised to Abraham will take place (Ezekiel chapter 45).
• Jesus will set up God's kingdom in Zion (the new Jerusalem, as per Daniel chapter 7. Isaiah 11 etc.

This is the message of the book of Revelation.   This is the summary of all the end of time prophecies.

                                                  BEHOLD HE IS COMING!