The Army of Heaven
The book of Revelation shows wars between the army of God and the army of the Devil. People think commonly the war of Armageddon would be the third World War which will break out in Israel. However it is symbolic to show a war in the spiritual world. This war aims to catch the Devil and the Devil is a spirit so the war will be between spirits in spiritual world.
God has been making the army of heaven during 6,000 years. They have been being made in the Old and New Testament times, 144,000 saints mostly consisted of martyrs. They will be given the authority to judge after they destroy the Devil, and after the judgment they will be kings to rule the saved from it and priests to serve God.
1. The composition of the army of heaven
2. The millennium
3. 42 months
4. After the 42 months
5. Capture the beast
6. Capture Satan
7. The authority to judge
8. The authority as King and Priest
1. The composition of the army of heaven
After Adam sinned and was expelled, humanity is ruled by the Devil. We can know it from the words of a devil who tempted Jesus.
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke4:5-7)
Thus devils take people to their world, Hades, after they die. The Bible expresses it as Hades follows Death.
I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. (Rev.6:8)
The reason devils can take people is due to sins. Adam ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and as the result he got to be ruled by the Devil, and his descendants also can’t escape from the Devil because sins are inherited.
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. (1John3:8)
Therefore in the Old Testament time can’t the prophets and martyrs go to God’s world after death. To wash away sins came Jesus. When he was crucified, God accepted him as a sacrificial offering and created the spring of the water of life.
On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. (Zech.13:1)
Thus after Jesus’ resurrection could the souls who had been in Hades come out and go to God’s world. God showed it to Matthew the apostle symbolically in his vision as the dead came out from the tombs.
The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. (Matt.27:52-53)
Afterwards they are staying under the altar in God’s world. They met Jesus and asked him when he would avenge their blood because they had been killed under false accusations.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. (Rev.6:9-11)
Here those who had been slain because of the word of God were the saints of the Old Testament time who had come out from the tombs in Matthew’s vision. They were martyred due to following God’s words. And those who had been slain because of the testimony they had maintained were the saints of the New Testament time. The testimony means “the testimony of Jesus”, that is the Holy Spirit. (Revelations 19:12-13) Jesus heard the martyrs’ question and answered they had to be wait until the number of martyrs would be filled up. The number is 144,000.
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. (Rev.14:1)
The number is not completed yet. The work to complete the number is prophesied as to harvest at the last time in the Bible.
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. (Rev.14:14-16)
The one “like a son of man” means the second olive tree, which is referred to this:
When the number of soldiers will be completed at last time, Jesus will come to take them over. That is the second adventure of Jesus.
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matt.24:30-31)
2. The millennium
Once the number of soldiers of heaven will be fulfilled, an angel will throw devils into the Abyss for a thousand years not to interrupt.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. (Rev.20:1-3)
People usually misunderstand there will be kingdom in the millennium. That is due to the misunderstanding of John the apostle.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Rev.20:4-6)
It is called the first resurrection because they will escape from the Devil before others. In the millennium will no ones come to life except martyrs, the 144,000, so there will not be people for them to reign. Therefore they will not reign during the millennium. For them to reign will be after the destruction of the Devil and the Judgment.
Revelations 20:1-3 shows the story Satan will be captured and thrown into the Abyss before the millennium, and phrases 4-6 shows the Judgment after the war to destroy the Devil, and phrases 7-10 shows the war to capture the Devil coming out from the Abyss after the millennium. Jesus didn’t show John the apostle revelations in the order of events, but John misunderstood those were in the order of events, so he thought the story of phrases 4-6 would be during the millennium. Revelations shows God’s plan to capture the Devil, and it should be hidden to the Devil so the orders are mixed up and most of them are composed of symbols. No one except him who is taught is supposed to know of it. The one who is taught is just the overcomer, olive tree.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. (Rev.2:17)
Only the one who overcomes knows it because it is his duty. His mission is to produce soldiers of heaven. This is the work to harvest. The army of heaven will be trained during the millennium to fight against the Devil later.
3. 42 months
The dragon who will be released from the Abyss after the millennium will give the beast authority of 42 months.
Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. (Rev.13:4-5)
For the meaning of 42 months, refer to ‘9. the prophecy of 1,260 days’ in the below article.
The beast will make war against the saints and conquer them in this period, and those whose names have been written in the Lamb’s book of life are the saints of God. (Revelations 13:7) At that time will the two olive trees be killed by the beast that comes up from the Abyss. (Revelations 11:7)
4. After the 42 months
The olive trees who will have been killed by the beast will be resurrected.
But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. (Rev.11:11-12)
And the saints who will have been defeated by the beast will be recovered and come back to God.
Rev.15:2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name.
The army of heaven will augment their power again and come out to the war to capture the beast with Jesus.
5. Capture the beast
The soldiers of heaven is called Lamb’s wife and their names is written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Rev.19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Rev.19:8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Lamb’s wife will wear fine linen, and they will conduct the war against the beast following Jesus.
Rev.19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
They will capture the beast and his subordinate, the false prophet, and throw them into the lake of fire.
Rev.19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.
Rev.19:20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Rev.19:21 The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
6. Capture Satan
After the beast will be captured, Satan himself will come out to fight against the army of heaven.
Rev.20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
Rev.20:8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
Rev.20:9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
Rev.20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The phrases say Satan will fight against the saint immediately after the millennium, but in fact, he will come out from the Abyss and give the authority of 42 months to the beast, and afterwards there will be the war to capture the beast. Therefore when Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire, already will the beast and the false prophet be in it.
7. The authority to judge
The soldiers of heaven will be given the authority to judge after the war to capture Satan. (Revelations 20:4) After Satan will be captured, all souls who have been dragged to Hades, the world of Satan, will come out and be judged.
Rev.20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
Rev.20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
Rev.20:13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
Rev.20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
Rev.20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The one on the white throne is not God but one of the 144,000 soldiers. (Refer to Revelations 20:4) The scene above is to show one of the 144,000 places to judge. Each judge will have one book of life and other books. In the book of life are written the name of those to be saved. Therefore we can know those who will be saved is much less than those who will be not. Each judge will have one book of life so there will be 144,000 books of life. However Lamb’s book of life is just one, and the number of those whose name is written in it is limited to 144,000.
8. The authority as King and Priest
After the judgment, those who will be saved will be people of the kingdom of heaven, and the soldiers of heaven will be kings to reign them.
Rev.22:3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
Rev.22:4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Rev.22:5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Those who will serve God and the Lamb is the soldiers of heaven given the duty of priest. On their foreheads will be the names of God and the Lamb. (Refer to Revelations 14:1) They will be kings to reign their people in kingdom of themselves forever.
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