Israel in The Book of Revelation
We have previously traced for you some of the many references to Israel in the New Testament. This shows that the New Testament is as much an Israel book as the Old Testament is. The two books in the New Testament we haven�t covered as yet, are Hebrews and Revelation. In this lesson, we want to examine the book of Revelation, to show that this too is an Israel book.
No book in the whole Bible is so little understood as the book of Revelation. It is a prophetic book, history prewritten. It is much more difficult to understand than any other prophetic book, because it is written principally in symbols.
The period of time covered by this book is the entire Christian era and even beyond, into the beginnings of eternity. When the prophet Daniel wrote his prophecies, these were not for his own times, but for the remote future. In Daniel 12:4,9 the angel Gabriel told Daniel,
�But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal up the book, even to the time of the end: Go thy way Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.�
In contrast to this, the angel told John in
Revelation 22:10,
�Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.�
So the book of Revelation prophetically covers all the time from Yahshua to our own day and onward.
Nobody can hope to understand this book unless he knows that it is an Israel book, most of the symbols are Israel symbols. When we recognize this, many of the difficult passages become fairly clear. Let�s examine some of these.
In Revelation 4:6‑7, John is given a vision of the throne of Yahweh.
�And in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were four living creatures: And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a young bullock, and the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.�
In Ezekiel chapter 1, this prophet also beheld the throne of Yahweh. He likewise saw that it was surrounded by four living creatures whose faces were respectively those of a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle. What is the meaning of these four living creatures on the four sides of the throne?
This was the camp of Israel; it was formed in a hollow square, with the tabernacle of Yahweh in the center, as described in Numbers chapter 2. The tribes were commanded to form their encampments in a hollow square, protectively surrounding the tabernacle in the center. On the east side of the square camped the three tribes Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, under the leadership of Judah, on whose banner was a lion.
On the south side were camped the three tribes, Ruben, Simeon and Gad, led by Reuben on whose banner was the image of a man. On the west side camped the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin, led by Ephraim, on whose banner was a bull.
On the north camped Dan, Asher and Naphtali, led by Dan, on whose banner was a flying eagle. This should not surprise you, for the symbolism is both clear and logical. Where should the throne of Yahweh be found but in the midst of the camp of His people Israel!
Around Yahweh�s throne sat 24 lesser thrones, on which sat 24 elders wearing crowns. In Revelation 5:10 these elders sing,
�Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.�
This again identifies them as Israel. We read in Exodus chapter 19 that Yahweh said,
�Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.�
This was never said about anybody except Israel. There were 24 of these elders, 2 for each of the tribes.
We are not directly told how these 24 are selected. The logical explanation would be that 12 of them are the original patriarchs, the 12 sons of Israel. As to the other 12, Yahshua told the apostles,
�And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.� (Matthew 19:28)
Remember this, they are not going to judge the Methodists, Catholics, Episcopalians or the Baptists; they are going to be judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
In Revelation chapter 7, John saw four angels holding back the four winds, so that the great storms of war and conflict could not overwhelm the earth until the seal of Yahweh�s protection was placed upon His servants. John heard the angel command,�
�Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.� (Revelation 7:3).
Yahweh�s servants are His people Israel.
In Isaiah 44:21‑23 Yahweh says,
�Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art My servant: I have formed thee; thou art My servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me: for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens: for Yahweh hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein: for Yahweh hath redeemed Jacob and glorified Himself in Israel.�
Therefore, when John witnesses the sealing of Yahweh�s servants, he tells us in Revelation 7:4,
�And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all of the tribes of the children of Israel.�
Then the seventh chapter goes on to list different tribes, which were so sealed.
All the tribes except Dan were mentioned; Dan was omitted for a good reason. The world, of which this book is speaking, when it describes the various plagues, which are to come upon the world as the consequences of the people�s wickedness, is the Roman world.
This is the portion of the earth then occupied by the various beast nations of the Babylonian succession of world empires. By the time John wrote the book of Revelation, the tribe of Dan had already migrated out of this area.
They went partly by sea, through the Straights of Gibraltar, into the British Isles and beyond. They went partly across Europe throughout the Danube valley to the Baltic Sea and to the peninsula of Denmark. Therefore, the tribe of Dan did not need special protection from the plagues, which were about to fall upon the whole Roman Empire.
Next in Revelation chapter 11 we find that John was given a reed, like a measuring rod and was told,
�And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.� (Revelation 11:1)
The prophet records in Ezekiel chapters 40‑43 he was similarly told to observe the measurement of the temple of Yahweh.
This of course, was exclusively an Israel institution, no other race or nation has ever had it. It was always true that the temple was exclusively for Israelites, and others were forbidden to enter the temple proper. Thus, we find Yahweh saying in Ezekiel 44:6‑9,
�And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.�� (Ezekiel 44:6-9)
Consistent with this rule, John was told in Revelation 11:2,
�But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not: for it is given unto the Gentiles.�
Thus we see in the prophetic future, the separation of Yahweh�s people Israel, from all other nations and races is made clear. The Bible is an Israel book throughout.
Revelation chapter 12 begins thus.
�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.�
This reference to the sun, moon and 12 stars is old Israel symbolism. It was first used in Genesis 37:9‑11, where the boy Joseph tells his father Israel of his dream.
�And he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brethren and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? and his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.�
Israel correctly interpreted the dream. The sun was himself, the moon was his wife, and the 11 stars were Joseph�s brothers, Joseph making the 12th one.
We see in Revelation 12:1 that the symbolic woman �clothed with the sun, having the moon under her feet, and wearing a crown of 12 stars, symbolized the Israelite race. The following verses make this unmistakable clear.�
�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. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.� (Revelation 12:2-5) �
Obviously the man‑child destined to rule all nations with a rod of iron is Yahshua, for Revelation 19:11‑16 clearly says so.
�And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty Yahweh. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of Kings.�
We know the Israel symbolism to be correct, for it was Yahweh�s people Israel who gave birth to Yahshua.
���� Romans 9:4‑5 speaks of Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of Yahweh, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came.
So we see it correctly symbolized Yahweh�s people Israel giving birth to Yahshua, while the red dragon stood waiting to devour Him as soon as He was born. We know that the Edomite Jew Herod did try to murder Yahshua when He was about two years old.
Revelation 12:5 tells us that the woman�s child was caught up unto Yahweh and His throne. We know that Yahshua, after His resurrection, did ascend to heaven where He sits on the throne of Yahweh.
Revelation 12:6, 13‑17 further confirms the Israel identity.
�And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of Yahweh.�
The people of Israel spent centuries migrating through the wilderness to their new homes in northern and Western Europe, far beyond the reach of the evil powers of the beast nations.
These verses further say,
�And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.�
Yes, the dragon did this from the very beginning. Read these verses of Acts 4:1‑3, 16‑21; 5:17‑18; 27‑33; 6:8 to 7:60; 9:22‑23; 12:1‑4; 13:44‑45; 14:2, 19; 17:5,13; 18:12; 20:1‑3; 21:27; and 23:12.
Yahweh never abandoned His people. Revelation 12:14 tells us,
�And to the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place.�
This is familiar Israel symbolism, for in Exodus 19:4 Yahweh tells His people,
�Ye have seen how I bore you on eagles wings, and brought you unto Myself.�
The serpent�s people, having failed to kill off Israel, tried another weapon against them. Revelation 12:15‑16 says,
�And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.�
Revelation 17:15 tells us,
�The waters which thou sawest are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.�
The serpent�s new attack was an attempt to destroy Israel by mongrelization. The great Asiatic invasions under Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan were sent to overrun and intermix with the Israelites on their march into Europe. They succeeded only in hurrying the migration of Israel and were not able to overrun them.
In Revelation 12:17 the identification of Israel is completed.
�And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of Yahweh and have the testimony of Yahshua.�
We know that today all the real Israelite nations do have the testimony of Christ, not Judaism, but Christianity. Make the role call of the great Christian nations of the world today, those who have demonstrated what true Christianity can do for the nation which will whole heartedly follow it.
Then you have the list of the Anglo‑Saxon nations. They are Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa, the United States, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and heroic little Finland. There are pockets of Israel people existing in several other nations, but those I have named are the predominating Israel nations.�
Ephraim.....United States���� Asher.....Sweden
Manasseh.....Great Britain� Gad.......Italy
Judah........Germany����������������������������� Reuben....Holland
Simeon.......Spain����������������� Issachar..Finland
Naphtali.....Norway����������������������������� Dan.......Denmark
Zebulun......France������������������������������ Benjamin...Iceland
The original city of Babylon had perished by the time John wrote this book, yet he speaks of great Babylon, in prophecies extending to the end of this age. Therefore he is speaking of the Babylonian system, which did not end with the fall of the city, but is with us even today.
It completely dominates our present economic and financial system, it forms a powerful portion of our present religious system, and it dominates the political systems of the world today. But, even Babylon must be subject to the laws of Yahweh, when the final judgment comes.
Revelation chapter 17 deals with religious Babylon in its present form. Chapter 18 covers the Babylonian economic system of today. From the description given, it is easy to identify those of whom it is speaking. An angel announces the fall of this system and the despair of those who have used it to gain world power.
In Revelation 18:23 he tells them,
�Thy merchants were the great men of the earth: for by thy sorceries were all the nations deceived.�
It also describes which merchants these are, who handle,
�The merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones, and pearls; and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet; and all aromatic wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments and frankincense; and wine; and oil, and fine flour, and wheat; and cattle and sheep; and horses and chariots; and slaves and souls of men.� (Revelation 18:12‑13).
���� There you have it, gold and jewelry, luxury items, the drug industry, clothing industry, liquor industry, wholesale foods and the meat packing industries are all controlled today by modern Babylon.
When you� find the people who have largely monopolized these trades, the Jews, you have thereby identified the economic side of great Babylon. You can also see that the souls of men are valued by them as less than any of the other things; in fact it is the least of value.
���� The Babylonian system in all of its phases is evil. It has brought misery and grief to the great majority of
the people of the world for these many centuries. Therefore in this chapter, Yahweh prophesies Babylon�s overthrow and judgment.
���� We are warned to drive them out. Yahweh tells us in Revelation 18:4‑5,
�Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and Yahweh hath remembered her iniquities.�
���� The judgment, which we, yes we, are commanded, to execute upon great Babylon is pure Israel law. Revelation 18:6 tells us,
�Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in� the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double.�
Under Israel law, a thief must always restore to his victim at least double what he stole. For example Exodus 22:9 commands,
�For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for money, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbor.�
This being the justice that is required of Yahweh�s
people, surely it is the minimum justice to require of Satan�s children.
We are told in Revelation 18:24 the evil activities of this great Babylon, has been basically responsible for all the murders of the innocent. It states,
�And in her was found the blood of the prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.� This book is prophetic of all time, even to the end of this age. This covers their guilt for the millions of Christians who have been murdered behind the iron curtain, in our own day. This includes other millions slain in the wars, which their plots have brought on and are bringing on us.
Yahshua identified them for us in Matthew 23:29‑35, He clearly referred to the same thing. He said,
�Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then, the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.�
In carrying on to its conclusion the conspiracy originated by their ancestors, the wicked also take the responsibility from the beginning to the end. In Matthew 27:25 they acknowledge it, for we read,
�Then answered all the people and said, His blood be upon us and our children.�
In Revelation 20:4 we again find Israel in the picture.
�And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.�
This is the very thing Yahshua spoke to His disciples about in Matthew 19:28.
�Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.�
This is not the judgment of the wicked, for Yahshua has already executed judgment upon the Babylonian system and the beast nations in Revelation chapter 19.
The last judgment of the wicked, after the end of the millennium and the second resurrection for judgment, is conducted by Yahweh, not by men. This reference to some sitting upon thrones and being judges refers to the disciples being judges over Israel; rule by judges is an old Israel institution.
During this age, Yahshua rules the beast nations with a rod of iron, compelling them to live by the laws of Yahweh. Micah 4:3‑4 promises,
�And He shall judge� among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it.�
���� Even men, who think of themselves as religious, have thought they can bring this to pass by their own wisdom and power. They try to do this through alliances with Satan in the United Nations, which bars all mention of the name of Yahshua. No good can ever come from a godless source. Disarmament and peace can come only when the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it. It won�t come when it is spoken by Kennedy and Khrushchev, Mao Tse Tung and Rostow.
The beast races have lived under their own rule, according to their own ideals, for well over six thousand years of continuous tyranny, cruelty, poverty, disease, misery and filth. Some of the Judeo-Christian Clergy say they have rejected the laws of Yahweh, so they must receive the consequences of their own choice; but we contend that they will not be judged by Yahweh�s Laws because the other nations have never had them.
Proverbs 1:29‑31 tells it thus.
�They hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of Yahweh: they would none of My counsel: they despised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.�
During the millennium, they will be compelled against their will by a rod of iron, to live in obedience to Yahweh�s laws and they will see what peace and prosperity result from it. Yet, they will not be convinced, for it is not in their nature to understand it. Yahshua explained all this in John chapters 14‑17.
Yahshua said,
�And I will pray the father, and He shall give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever: even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive.� (Taken, in part, from an article entitled �Israel in The Book of Revelation,� By Bertrand L. Comparet)