The Book of Revelation is like a great Union Station where the great trunk lines of Prophecy come in from other portions of Holy Scripture, the Holy Bible. Revelation does not only originate but consummates all Prophecies. It is imperative to a right understanding of the Book to be able to trace each great subject of Prophecy from the first reference to the terminal. There are at least 10 great subjects of Prophecy which find their consummation here:
The Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth against the ungodly false Church:
Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
I will put enmity. The hostile strife between the human race and serpents, which is now apparent. Mankind has by a secret feeling of nature, a hatred for snakes. We see, however, there are some men who take pleasure in them. To most the sight of a serpent inspires us with horrors, the memory of our fall is renewed. "It shall wound thy head, and thou shalt wound its heel." There shall be such hatred that on both sides they shall be troublesome to each other; the serpent shall be vexatious towards men, as satan shall sting the Lord Jesus Christ and His True Church, the True Worshipers, the Elect of God (His Church) as a serpent, snake would sting or bite a man's heel, but not overcome them. Righteous men shall be intent on the destruction of the serpent, satan and his devils, these demons that teach the doctrine of devils 1 Timothy 4:1-5(these righteous men seek the bruising of the head of the crooked serpent of old (Pharaoh whom was so controlled by satan,) and in the times of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth the crooked serpent is now the Roman Catholic 'pope' and righteous men seek his destruction by God. One of the "popes" two heads was "cut off, dead," taken away, as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed, which was his political headship or authority of the "pope", but it has since been restored: Revelation 13:1-3His religious headship remained.
at Rome . . . The Apostles . . . , Firstborn, 1260 year reign of terror of the Roman Catholic 'church'.doc
The titles of the Roman Catholic "pope" are blasphemous. Revelation 2:9; Revelation 13:1; Revelation 17:5The Roman Catholic "pope" calls himself “Holy Father” and “His Holiness,”names that belong solely to Almighty God. Also, the Roman Catholic "pope" calls himself the "Vicar of the Son of God," or the “vicar of Christ,”which is the sole Office of the Holy Spirit.
Roman Catholic "priests" also take to themselves blasphemous titles and claims. They want to be called “Father,” which the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth forbade. The Roman Catholic "priests" also claim to be ordained after the Order of Melchisedec, but this is an Office that belongs to Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth alone. Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:11; Hebrews 7:17; Hebrews 7:21,
Matthew 23:1-10,
Meanwhile, we see that the Lord Jesus Christ acts mercifully in chastising man, whom He does not suffer satan to touch except in the heel, but the Christ Jesus subjects the head of the serpent now the (papacy) to be wounded by Him, that is the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, His Word, and His Church.
We must now make a transition from the form of the serpent in the Garden of Eden to the author of this sin, satan himself. Some take the seed for the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth alone, however, the collective noun is NOT GENERALLY to be understood of one man only. The seed means the posterity of the woman generally, the seed of those under the Promise, the Elect of God, Born Again Believers, the True Worshipers. As is noted, however, not all the sons of Adam arise as conquerors of satan, that devil, the old serpent. This passage in Genesis leads us to understand that those of Adam, that is mankind who are to bruise the head of satan's offspring, represented by the evil one, satan who gives (the pope) his seat and authority/power Revelation 13:2, these righteous men must first come to be under one Head, the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, that we may find Him alone, as the Head over all men, to which the victory belongs. 1 Corinthians 11:3
Hatred between serpents and man is to this day, between whom the antipathy still continues, and mystically the evil angels and also wicked men are called serpents. Genesis 49:17, Psalm 58:3-5, Psalm 140:1-4, Ecclesiastes 10:11, Matthew 3:7, Matthew 12:34, Matthew 23:33, Luke 3:7, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 20:2.
Satan, the devil, the old serpent, the dragon is called a crooked serpent, whom the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth had created:
Job 26:13
13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
Isaiah 27:1
27 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Note: The sea, means the unorganized masses of people made up of non-believers and believers alike. Matthew 13:47-48
Leviathan, the crooked sea creature, whale or crocodile, which is symbolic in Holy Scripture the Holy Bible to mean more than one person or Kingdom: either Pharaoh, the King of Egypt,which is compared to such a sea monster, because of the river Nile, that watered his country:
Ezekiel 29:1-5
1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:
3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
4 But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.
Or,Leviathan, the King of Babylon, which city was situated by the river Euphrates, and is described as dwelling on many waters like a sea monster:
Jeremiah 51:7-14
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
Note: "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, . . ." By whom the Lord poured out the drink of His vengeance, His wrath, to whom it pleased Him. The Roman Catholic "church," with the golden cup in her hand . . . Revelation 17:3-5 , Cup.doc
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.
11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
Note: Caterpillers in the Hebrew here means: To lick up; a devourer; specifically, the young locust -- cankerworm, caterpillar. surely I fill thee with men as with caterpillars; or "locusts" which march in vast numbers, and make sad desolation where they come. To which a numerous army may fitly be compared, and which is here meant, even the army of Cyrus, that should enter Babylon, and fill it, as it did. So the Lord of Hosts hath sworn by his word, surely I will fill thee with armies of many people as locusts, and they shall lift up a shout against thee, as soldiers do when they make the onset in battle when they make their attack on a city.
Or,Leviathan, the King of Tyre, which was situated in the sea, as it seems most likely that all tyrannical oppressors and cruel persecutors of the Church are intended, who shall be destroyed, and particularly pagan Rome, signified by a red dragon, and then papal Rome . . . :
Revelation 12:3
3 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.
Pagan Rome is then signified by Papal Rome, by a beast "pope" that the dragon (satan, the devil, the crooked serpeant) gave his power to, which rose out of the sea, and by another out of the earth, which spoke like a dragon:
Revelation 13:1
13 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Which signifies both the eastern and western antichrists. The eastern antichrist, the Muslims, whose dominions are large, like the waters of the sea; and the western antichrist, the whore of Rome, the Roman Catholic "church," described as sitting on many waters:
Revelation 17:1-2
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Both pagan Rome and papal Rome, the papacy, the "pope," the Roman Catholic "church" which are comparable to serpents and dragons for their cruelty and poison. Moreover, satan, at the head of all these, called the dragon, the old serpent, and the devil, who is the great enemy that will be destroyed, as satan, Lucifer, the crooked serpent will be taken and bound a thousand years, and then, being loosed, will be retaken, and cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false Prophet will be:
Revelation 20:1-15
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Psalm 74:13-14
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Note: "dragons in the waters" . . . Pharaoh's army.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Note: A great monster of the sea, a whale or crocodile, meaning Pharaoh.
Psalm 104:26
26There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Note: "There go the ships: . . ." From place to place, from one end of the world to the other, for the sake of merchandise. ". . . there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein." Either the crocodile, which is both a sea and river dweller, some call it a dragon, it is a sportive creature, tumbles about in the great sea, and plays with the waters of it, which it tosses up in great quantities; and with the fishes of the sea, which it devours at pleasure, and laughs at the shaking of the spear, which is representative of satan, the old serpent, the crooked serpent, as Leviathan who is the Prince or King over all the children of pride, the children of wrath.
Job 41:34
34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
Note: Job 41, satan, leviathan the piercing serpent, the crooked serpent, is a king over all the children of pride.
Isaiah 27:1
1In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong swordshall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
The Church, God's Chosen, have power over serpents (devils, demons, scorpions):
Luke 10:19-20
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Note: Scorpions here are a kind of serpent, as they are subtle, venomous, and mischievous, which have stings in their tails. Scorpions are continually thrusting out, and striking with their tails to do harm, that they may lose no opportunity of doing hurt. Thus, fitly here wicked men are described with their subtlety and mischievous nature are thus like scorpions. Be not afraid of their words with which they are like briers and thorns, like unto scorpions, being very grievous, defamatory, and mischievous, nor be dismayed at their looks: their frowning furious and angry countenances, forbidding with which, as well as with their words, to quickly disapprove and stop God's messenger from speaking His Truth before them.