I used to have no particular interest in the events connected with the coming of Christ, or, in scholarly terms, eschatology. All I knew was that Jesus died and rose again around the year 30, was then taken up to heaven, and is to return after 2 days (2000 years). Hints about the two days are written in the story of the raising of Lazarus, where Jesus stayed two days in a certain place with His disciples and then decided to return to Judea (Jhn.11:6-7), and also in the parable of the good Samaritan, who, as he departed, gave the innkeeper 2 denarii. In Jesus’ time a denarius was a worker’s daily wage, so the two denarii are a type of two days, and the innkeeper here is a type of the Holy Spirit. (Luk.10:35) So I thought Jesus would come somewhere around the year 2030.

But in January 2017 all kinds of prophecies about the last times and the coming of Christ came pouring down on me, to the point that one night I woke up to a voice that seemed to speak right into my ear: “Son of man, prophesy! Babylon will be judged!” I had not been reading the book of Ezekiel at bedtime — in fact I had hardly read it at all until then. But since that time I have been interested mainly in everything to do with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him in heaven.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Very often Revelation is presented as a book about the end of the world and about all kinds of events that will take place before the coming of Jesus Christ. Although these things do have their place, Jesus described best of all what this book is about: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him” (Rev.1:1). As you can see, the book of Revelation is not a revelation of the end of the world, of Armageddon, of the great tribulation, or even of the antichrist. It is a revelation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That is why the first chapter says: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy…” Blessed, because, as the apostle Peter wrote: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet.1:2)

In the first chapter Jesus reveals Himself to the apostle John as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth, as the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. In the second and third chapters Jesus reveals Himself to the angels of the seven churches, to each church in a particular way. In each revelation He gave to the angels of the churches, He showed that the revelation of Him was the way out of their situation. In the fourth and fifth chapters Jesus reveals Himself to heaven as the Lamb of God, who by His blood has redeemed people out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

In chapter 6 Jesus reveals Himself to the people on earth as the righteous Judge, which is why people said to the rocks: “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”. In chapter 7 He reveals Himself to the great multitude standing before the throne as the good Shepherd who leads His sheep to living fountains of waters.

We could go on revealing Jesus in every chapter of the book of Revelation, and in those I have listed I have touched only the tip of the iceberg. The book of Revelation is an endless treasure of revelations about our Beloved. We often read it and don’t understand what the book is about, because our gaze is usually turned to ourselves, so books of Scripture such as the Epistle of James, which is addressed mainly to the carnal, to babes in Christ or to the Jews, are easier for us to understand. In the book of Revelation we will find little about what we should do and how we should behave in one situation or another, so we understand nothing. And those who try to interpret the book of Revelation often do it from the standpoint of a book about the end of the world or about the antichrist, rather than revealing Christ in it. As Paul wrote, “the truth is in Jesus”, and only when Jesus Christ is our centre and focus, and not human works or the events of the last times, will we be closer to the truth and fall less into error.

A Great Sign

Chapter 12 of the book of Revelation tells of a great sign that appeared in heaven. Many, as I used to, think it is about the birth of Jesus Christ. Indeed, one of the primary meanings of this sign is the birth of the Messiah from a virgin. Paul wrote that the Jews seek signs, and also that signs are for unbelievers, so this sign is first of all for the Jews who do not believe in Jesus. Believers need no signs to confirm that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, the King of kings and Lord of lords. We already believe it. Paul wrote that believers are given not signs but prophecies, so that through prophecies — first of all those of the book of Revelation, and also of all the Scriptures — we might receive comfort and encouragement: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy.”

1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth… 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.
— Revelation 12:1-2,5

If we look at this prophecy in detail, we can see that this woman is not much like Mary, who gave birth to Jesus. Mary did not flee into the wilderness from a dragon that had been cast down to the earth after her child was caught up to the throne of God. Although the devil did try to kill the newborn Messiah through King Herod, Jesus was not caught up to heaven as a child from the dragon’s wrath. Jesus gave His life for us on the cross, destroyed the works of the devil, rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, and 40 days later was taken up into heaven in a cloud before many witnesses. So the woman and the male child in this prophecy point to other people through whom Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

Many, especially among English-speaking Christians, connect this sign, which will appear in the heavens on 23 September 2017, with the rapture of the church, and say that the male child is the church. After all, the church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the One who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Jesus also said that to him who overcomes and keeps His works until the end He will give power over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. (Rev.2:26-27) But it is no accident that the apostle John twice pointed out that this child is male, while the church, as we know, is always presented in Scripture as a maiden, the bride and wife of Christ. It is no accident that the apostle Paul compared husband and wife with Christ and the church when he quoted the prophecy from the book of Genesis: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph.5:31-32)

The Wife of Christ

If we look at Eve, who is a type of the church, we can see some interesting features. To begin with, Eve was not born of another woman. The Lord caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took one of his ribs and made a woman from that rib. Remarkably, in Hebrew, the language in which the books of the Old Testament were written, a completely different word is used here for made than when the Lord formed Adam.

When the Lord formed Adam from the dust of the ground, the Hebrew word used is yatsar (H3335), which literally means to form, as a potter forms his work from clay. So it is no wonder that in Scripture man is often compared to a clay vessel and the Lord to a potter. (Isa.45:9; Rom.9:21) The Spirit of God, like a potter, also forms a child in its mother’s womb. In the same way the Holy Spirit formed the physical body of the second Adam, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in Mary’s womb. (Isa.49:5)

For the making of Eve a completely different word is used. Here the Hebrew word is banah (H1129), which means to build, to construct, as a builder builds a house or a building. That is why Paul in his epistles often compared the church to the house of God, and Peter called believers living stones from which a spiritual house is built. The church is not conceived and born like a child, but is founded and built like a building, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Eph.2:20-22) The Spirit of God forms a child in its mother’s womb, and the same Spirit builds the church.

After the Lord made (built) Eve, He brought her to Adam, and by then she was already a grown woman. Adam did not marry a little girl when he said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman”. In the same way the Spirit of God will bring the church to Jesus Christ, her Bridegroom, and then the wedding feast will begin. Rebekah, who is a type of the church, was brought by the servant (the Holy Spirit) to Isaac (Jesus), and she became his wife.

The Male Child

“But then who is this mysterious male child who will be caught up to the throne of God?” someone may ask. This question interested me for some time too, and then the Lord revealed something interesting. The woman in chapter 12 of Revelation symbolises the people of Israel, for on her head were 12 stars, symbolising the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph even had a dream in which 11 stars (his brothers), the sun (his father) and the moon (his mother) bowed down to him. (Gen.37:9) And the male child the woman gave birth to is the 144,000 who will be sealed during the great tribulation. Even the number 12 itself points us to this. These 144,000 will come from the 12 tribes of Israel; there were 12 stars on the woman’s head; and the sign is recorded in chapter 12 of the book of Revelation.

The Word of God calls them “firstfruits to God”, and we can see them standing at the throne of God, where the male child was caught up. (Rev.14:3; Rev.12:5) It is also written that they are virgins, and I believe the parable of the 10 virgins speaks precisely of them (the 5 wise virgins); indeed, the whole parable is addressed to the house of Israel, not to the church. The church is the bride of Christ, and the virgins are her bridesmaids, just as John the Baptist called himself the friend of the bridegroom (Jhn.3:29).

It is an interesting fact that Jupiter, which is now in the womb of the constellation Virgo, will remain there for 42 weeks. It is no accident that it stays there for this length of time. For exactly 42 months, or 1260 days, the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11, clothed in sackcloth, will prophesy. It is during their witness that the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel will be sealed. It is their voice that the 10 virgins heard in the middle of the night, saying: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” I also believe that the sign that will appear on 23 September 2017 symbolises the time of the conception of the male child and the beginning of the tribulation for the people of Israel, for the prophecy says that the woman cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

After 42 months, or 3½ years, the two witnesses will go up to heaven in a cloud, just as Jesus went up in His time. As Jesus went up in a cloud of the saints of the old covenant who had risen when He gave up His spirit, so these 2 witnesses will go up with the 144,000 firstfruits. That is why the Epistle to the Hebrews says that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… (Heb.12:1)

After the male child is caught up, the woman will be given two wings of a great eagle, so that she may fly into the wilderness, where she will be hidden from the serpent for a time and times and half a time. These are the second 3½ years, the second half of the great tribulation, the week of which the prophet Daniel wrote. At the end of the great tribulation, as the apostle Paul wrote, “all Israel will be saved”, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (Rom.11:26) We can see all of saved Israel standing on the sea of glass, which is a type of the Law, made of sapphire. There they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!…” (Rev.15:2-3) Israel, which always clung to the law and lived under the law, is now above the law and under God’s grace. Hallelujah!

“But what about me, what will happen to me during the tribulation, and what category do I fall into?” a frightened Christian may ask. Yes, we are all often focused on ourselves and want to know what will happen to us. We need not be afraid, for Jesus said to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” (Rev.3:10) [More about the patience of Christ for those who think that keeping the word of His patience is some kind of super-mission.] Paul also wrote to the saints in Thessalonica to wait for God’s Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. He also wrote that God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Ths.1:10; 1 Ths.5:9)

If we read the book of Revelation, we will notice that from chapter 4 right up to chapter 19, which speaks of the marriage of the Lamb, the church is not mentioned even once. The great tribulation, or, as the prophet Jeremiah calls it, “the time of Jacob’s trouble”, is intended for the Jewish people, to bring them to repentance and salvation.

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
—Revelation 4:1

The prophetic expression “after these things” speaks of another prophetic period, or the beginning of one. And what was spoken of before this? The church. That is, the voice from heaven was telling John that when the time of the church is over, the time of Jacob’s trouble will begin. This verse also contains interesting hints about the rapture of the church. The open door symbolises Jesus Christ Himself, who said “I am the door of the sheep”, and His voice was like a trumpet. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord” (1 Ths.4:16-17) Here we can see the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. John here symbolises the believers of the last time, of whom Jesus once said: “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you…” (Jhn.21:22) Of these Johns, whose name means “grace”, Paul wrote as of those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord. (1 Ths.4:15)