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Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
T hose who argue that there is no Biblical evidence in the scriptures for church eras are overlooking the obvious. Not only does the book of Revelation describe seven distinct groups, with each group containing seven elements, but in virtually every one of these groups there exists a distinct prophetic order. Consider the following: There are seven seals with each seal being opened in succession as opposed to all at once. There are also seven trumpets, which are not blown together, but rather in sequence, beginning with the first and ending with the “last trump.” Additionally, this prophetic book describes seven vial plagues—and once again these plagues are not poured out simultaneously, but rather in progression, one after the other. Furthermore, other groups of seven such as seven thunders, seven gentile kingdoms, and seven resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire follow the same prophetic pattern. This being the case, why would it be different with seven letters written to the churches in Asia?
To illustrate the significance of God’s use of order and progression let us examine each of these examples in greater detail. Example I Seven Seals
The Scriptures explain that in heaven there exists a scroll with seven seals. Only Jesus Christ could open these seals and reveal their meaning. When removing the seals, He did so, one at a time, in a specific order. As each was opened, the scroll announced events that would take place over time. Notice how John introduces these seals.
After the first seal was opened, the scroll could be unrolled to a certain place and the first section could be read. At that point, another seal would be encountered. Once it was opened, the reader could progress further until another seal was reached. These seals, and what they represented, were opened in succession—not all at once. Furthermore, the events they picture also occur in succession. For example, famine and death follow war, as opposed to precede it.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The fulfillment of these prophetic seals began in type, shortly after Christ ascended to His Father in heaven. Almost immediately after that event, false teachers began to emerge in the church. Although they appeared genuine and even claimed that Jesus was the Messiah, they preached a false Christ and a false gospel (Matthew 24:5; II Corinthians 11:4, 13-15). Next came war, resulting in the devastation of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. So complete was the destruction of the city that the famous Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote that it looked like a place “that had never been inhabited.” On the heels of this destruction came famine of such severity that people actually turned to cannibalism, eating their own children. Finally, as in all wars, disease epidemics followed the famine, bringing death to thousands. Foreshadowing things to Come
At this point it is important to understand that these events took place decades before John received the prophecies recorded in the book of Revelation. Therefore, they represent a type of the events John saw as opposed to the actual events themselves.
However, just as the book of Revelation declared, false religious teaching, wars, famine, and disease would continue down through the ages, increasing in scope and frequency, until our modern day. Furthermore, these ills on humanity will continue in this successive order until the triumphant return of Jesus Christ to this earth. Additionally, when they do appear in the last days, they will be greater in magnitude than at any time in human history.
That a successive progression is intended by these seals is made clear by the fifth and sixth seals. When the fifth seal was opened, the event it symbolized becomes more specific to the latter days. This seal pictures a great martyrdom of saints. Consider the vision John records.
Notice that this verse looks back to those who had died in the past. However, it also looks forward to those who would die in the future. According to Revelation, the worst martyrdom of saints is yet to come. It will take place during a great tribulation that will come upon the entire world. Jesus characterized this time as more catastrophic than any in human history, saying there has never been, nor ever will be, anything like it (Mt. 24:21-22, also see: Jer. 30:7). The Sixth Seal We now come to the sixth seal, and it reflects a unique one time event that will only occur at the end of the age. This seal is a dramatic sign to all mankind—a warning that Christ’s return is immanent.
This sixth seal describes terrifying events that will ultimately culminate with the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings, to rule the earth. However, before that return, a seventh, and final seal is opened. Regrettably, this seal does not end the devastating events cascading down upon the earth. Instead, it begins yet another round of catastrophic disasters to come upon mankind. Only this time these disasters take the form of powerful judgments on humanity from none other than God Almighty. And like the seals before them, these judgments appear in seven distinct phases. They begin with a brief period of silence.
Example II Seven Trumpets
When the seventh seal is opened, John sees a new segment of the vision God has prepared for him, and once again it contains seven progressive phases. This time these phases take the form of seven trumpet plagues that Christ will direct to be unleashed on a defiant earth. Notice what John records.
Unlike the seven seals that were brought on by man, God’s trumpet plagues reflect His judgment. And make no mistake about it, His judgment is most compelling. As John writes, the first four plagues cause massive destruction. However, the end of this punishment is not yet. We now come to the fifth angel and his trumpet, which announces the coming of the first of three woes. At this sound, a “bottomless pit” is opened and demons that had been imprisoned there are released in order to torture mankind for five months (Revelation 9:1-12).
After this, a sixth trumpet rends the air, and another woe descends on the earth in the form of a two hundred million man army. The war it brings will be unimaginable in scope, and its devastation will result in the annihilation of one third of all mankind (Revelation 9:13-21). Finally, the seventh trump is sounded:
The Last Trump
The seventh and last trumpet signals the commencement of several events. First, when it is blown, the earth is put on notice that God is preparing to reclaim a world that has been under the influence of Satan the Devil for nearly six thousand years. Additionally, this blast signals the fulfilled hope of God’s servants from the beginning of time. It will announce the resurrection of the saints. Like the trumpet sounded at the coronation of Israel’s kings, this trump announces the coronation of those who will rule with Christ during the millennium and beyond. However, this final trump is also a sound of alarm, and a warning to the world that yet another round of devastating plagues is coming. Notice how John introduces this phase of God's judgment.
Example III Seven Vials After the resurrection of the Saints has taken place, there is yet another series of seven. This time, Jesus Christ directs seven angelic beings to pour out God’s judgment from seven vials. John explains:
The seven vial plagues described in Revelation represent the final phase of God’s judgment on mankind. Furthermore, each one graphically illustrates how serious our Creator is about defiance to Him and His great moral law. The scriptures reveal that immediately after they are poured out, Jesus Christ will return with His saints to make war with the nations (Rev. 19:11-21). Suffice it to say, He will use compelling force to bring a depraved world to its knees, as well as to restore order to the planet. The key to these plagues, and the Messiah’s subsequent return, is that each follows a predetermined sequence of events.
The use of order and progression when describing seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials represent further evidence that the letters sent to the seven churches in Asia follow the same pattern. However, there is more. These are not the only groups of sevens in this unique book of prophecy. There are yet others. And once again they all appear in succession.
Example IV Seven Gentile Kingdoms As John’s vision plays out, another series of sevens is revealed. This series deals with a federation of gentile nations called—the Beast! God uses this term because these nations rip and tear at each other in acts of war. John describes it this way.
Notice that the beast John describes has features that reflect a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a dragon. These features correspond directly to four beasts referred to by the great prophet Daniel.
These four beasts represent specific world ruling empires that would rise and fall through time. The lion reflects the Babylonian empire and its splendor. The Bear pictures Persia, The winged leopard pictures the Greco Macedonian Empire, whose conquering king, Alexander the Great used blitzkrieg like speed to attack and bring other nations under his control. Finally the fourth dreadful beast represents the powerful Roman Empire, whose dominion and influence extended to all the known world.
The rise of each of these great ancient empires followed a progression through history, culminating with the powerful Roman Empire under the rule of the Caesars. However, Rome, would suffer a fatal wound, but amazingly, that wound would be healed. As John writes:
Example V Seven Resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire The head that was wounded to death was the fourth beast, the Roman Empire. History records that Rome was destroyed in 476 A.D. Barbarian tribes, consisting of the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Heruli repeatedly attacked the weakened Roman armies until they finally collapsed in defeat—Rome fell!
However, this beast was not destroyed for long. It would live again. The Roman Empire was revived by Emperor Justinian in 554 A.D. When the Empire was restored, there was an addition to the former beast. This restored kingdom was destined to have an intimate relationship with a great false church. It would no longer be known as the Roman Empire, but rather the “Holy Roman Empire.” The apostle John describes this very union between church and state.
The Scriptures repeatedly refer to a woman in prophecy as a church. In the book of Revelation alone, this symbol is used eighteen times. In some cases, the woman is portrayed as God’s church, while in others it is a false church. In the verses above, the later is true. The woman is a great false church who rides the beast. Thus the Bible shows that there would one day be a beast comprised of a union of this false church with a powerful civil government. This new beast had seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads refers to the seven empires that would follow down through time beginning with the Imperial restoration under Justinian. Following that there was the Frankish Kingdom. Then, there was the Empire under Otto the Great. After this, there was the Hapsburg dynasty. This was followed by Napoleon’s kingdom, and then Garibaldi’s empire under Hitler and Mussolini. The last head has yet to come—a final revival of the Roman Empire which will be comprised of ten nations.
Thus, these seven heads portray seven successive empires, each existing in their own time, but finally culminating in a blasphemous end time beast power. The point here is that as with all the groups of seven in Revelation, the beast symbolizes an ongoing history, not a snapshot in time. Example VI Seven Thunders The book of Revelation also speaks of seven mysterious thunders. The apostle John explains:
Because God commanded that their utterance to be sealed, we can only speculate as to what these seven thunders are. However, the Almighty does give us some clues in His word. Additionally, it is important to understand that God only prohibited John from revealing the utterance of the seven thunders, not their existence. For this reason God must have wanted something about them known and something hidden. What Are the Seven Thunders? An important key to understanding the seven thunders lies in the timing of their appearance—they utter their voice just prior to the seventh trumpet being sounded (Revelation 10:7). During this time, the world is in a state of massive upheaval. Furthermore, no other messengers from God exist on the world scene other than the two witnesses. The very next chapter of Revelation actually discusses these end time servants and their work. When describing them, John records that they openly preach the truth to a defiant world, including the Beast and false prophet. Additionally, these end time servants have the power to call fire down from heaven to strike their enemies.
At this point it is interesting to note that when fire comes from above, or when lightening strikes, it is always accompanied by thunder. With this said, is it possible that the ministry of these witnesses is directly related to these seven thunders? The Sons of Thunder
It is also interesting to consider that when Jesus ordained His apostles, He referred to James and John as the “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:13-17). It may well be that this name was derived from a specific experience Jesus had with them while on a trip through Samaria. At that time the Messiah was not accepted in a particular Samaritan town because His destination was Jerusalem. When James and John observed this, they became indignant and suggested an unusual response.
Here, James and John desired that Jesus give them the power to call fire down from heaven in a manner like unto Elijah. After this event, Jesus began referring to them as the “sons of thunder.” The question is WHY? Why not call them the sons of fire, or, the sons of Elijah? Why call them the “sons of thunder”?
Now consider that one of the two witnesses is an Elijah like figure. Some have even suggested he will be the Elijah to come spoken of in the scriptures (Mal. 4:5-6). Like this great prophet of old who could call down fire from heaven, this end time witness will have similar power over the forces of nature (Rev. 11:3-6).
With this said, is it possible that “sons of thunder” is literally heaven’s term for these two end time witnesses? Furthermore, is it possible that the seven thunders are actually seven pronouncements made by them in which they employ this supernatural power? In other words, is Revelation describing seven distinct periods during the ministry of the two witnesses in which they utter specific pronouncement when using the forces of nature against the beast and false prophet or their surrogates?
All this is speculation of course, but the clear indication in scripture is that the seven thunders utter messages. The only ones giving messages at this time are the two witnesses. Furthermore, the instruction to John was to record the fact that seven messages were being uttered but not specifically what these messages were. Now consider that if these messages were uttered at the same time, their sound would be indistinguishable and John would be unable to write them. However, the fact that he did begin to write them stands as proof that these messages could be understood. How? Because they too were uttered in a progressive order—one after another. Obviously we do not know what these messages are now, but in all likelihood the world will find out what they are soon enough. A Final Thought
Prophetic order in the book of Revelation is so extensive that it cries out in every one of its pages. To suggest that the seven letters to the churches in Asia do not follow this pattern requires a leap of faith that contradicts the overwhelming evidence of this prophetic book. Whether it is seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, seven gentile kingdoms, seven resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire, or, seven thunders, a clear progression of events is the steadfast rule. It can be no different with seven churches. And their history bears this out. Read on...
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