Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisrael and Mishpachah, welcome to Part LXXVI (76) and to our very final study of the Book of Revelation on this the last day of the biblical year. There were, I admit, times when I didn't think we would make it. These last weeks certainly have been one almighty uphill struggle and it has required every last drop of will, determination and effort to complete each lesson as my heath has continued declining. My only prayer for today at least is that I be given the strength to complete this one last assignment.

Today's segment of Scripture consists of the last verses of the last chapter, chapter 22, verses 8 to 21. This is best described as an Epilogue and in that regard has much in common with the Prologue of the first 8 verses of chapter 1. A prologue, for those who may not be familiar with the terminology, is a kind of introduction or preliminary discourse; by contrast, an epilogue is a kind of appendix or concluding part. Both are addressed to the readers or listeners of the book. An epilogue is a kind of 'rounding-off' of what has already been said to bring the discourse to a neat conclusion.

Now we have been treated to a whole swathe of essential biblical doctrines in the Book of Revelation over 76 lessons and I hope you'll agree with me that true to my promise, it resolves all important doctrinal controversies of the faith. And it will resolve one more important doctrinal issue before we end, thereby appropriately 'signing off' its testimony, but it's not something you will necessarily have noticed unless you have been paying close attention and have been carefully arranging all the truths in this writing in your mind as we have gone along. You can't be a casual student of the Book of Revelation and expect to get anything out of it.

What is this essential doctrine? Well, it's this: have you noticed that the same title applied to Elohim (God) in chapter 1 (verse 8) is applied to Christ in chapter 22 (verse 13)? This is most important because it's telling us not only that Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) is Elohim (God) but that the Elohim- or Godhead at its most fundamental, primary level, is triune, consisting of three Divine Beings: Elohim (God the Father), the Lamb (Yah'shua/Jesus) and the Ruach (Spirit) who are purposefully all present. However you want to try and formulate the Elohimhead (and that can be done at many different levels) we are forced to acknowledge that the Lamb, Yah'shua (Jesus), is Divine - that He too, like the Father, is Elohim (God). That He could do all He does, and be all He is, can only reasonably be expained by His being Deity and not just a mere mortal as some messianics accuse Him of being, or the Jehovah's Witnesses who claim that He is some sort of secondary 'god' (with a small 'g'). Though there are those who would attempt to wriggle out of such an obvious conclusion by various scriptural gymnastics, from Revelation 1 to Revelation 22, and from Genesis to Revelation, the testimony rings out that the Messiah (Church) is Divine. He is Elohim (God).

Rather than give a summary, long or short, of what we spoke of last week because I am pressed for time and I don't want to make this too long-winded, what we're going to do today is get straight into today's text, discuss it, and then give a Grand Review of the whole book at the end and draw out from that what I consider to be its most important points. In doing that, I hope to at least cover some of the material I was forced to drop from what I had originally planned would be around 100 parts long. And it may well be, if I am still around, that I will drop in some appendices here and there in the various segment commentaries to augment the original course. But I can make no firm promises.

The actual text we're going to look at has no linguistic difficulties to speak of apart from one very significant and controversial textual variation in verse 14 that is the difference between 'keeping the commandments' and 'washing your robes clean' both of which are true biblical statements verified by the Book of Revelation elsewhere. Accordingly I am retaining both in the text. A second issue concerns earlier editions of the New King James Version (NKJV) which we use which, of all Bible versions I am aware of, is the only one which dropped verse 21 in its first printings and was very much the 'odd man out' because of that until the translation committee wisely rectified the problem and later reincorprated verse 21. For the sake of those who, like me, have earlier printings, I have re-incorporated verse 21 back into the text. As I have been too ill and tired to do a full analysis of the different Bible versions (perhaps I will complete this task another time), I have focussed only on the more radical differences like verse 14 and small variations between Greek and Aramaic texts that are mostly of a cosmetic nature. So let's now read the Epilogue to the Book of Revelation:

"8 Now I, John ('Yochanan' - AENT, HRV; 'Yohanan' - ISRV), ['am the one who' - NIV] saw and heard these things ('matters' - ISRV) (Rev.1:1). And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet (Rev.19:10) of the malak (angel; 'Messenger' - AENT, CLNT, ISRV) who showed me these things ('matters' - ISRV). 9 Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the nevi'im (prophets), and of those who keep the words of this book ('scroll' - CLNT) (v.10,18-19). Worship Elohim (God).' (Rev.19:10)

"10 And he said to me, 'Do not seal ['up' - NIV] (Dan.8:26) the words of the prophecy of this book (Dan.12:4; Rev.10:4), for the time ('era' - CLNT) is at hand ('near' - KNT, CLNT, NIV) (Rom.13:11). 11 He who is unjust ('does evil' - AENT, HRV; 'does wrong' - ISRV, NIV; 'the injurer' - CLNT), let him be unjust ('do evil' - AENT, HRV; 'injure' - CLNT; 'continue to do wrong' - NIV) still; he who is filthy ('vile' - NIV), let him be filthy still ('continue to be vile' - NIV); he who is righteous ('just' - KNT, CLNT; 'does right' - NIV), let him be righteous ('practice righteousness' - AENT) still ('go on doing justice still' - KNT; 'continue to do right' - NIV); he who is qadosh (holy: 'set-apart' - ISRV), let him be qadosh (holy; 'set-apart' - ISRV; 'hallowed' - CLNT) still.' (Ezek.3:27; Dan.12:10)

"12 'And behold ('Look!' - KNT), I am coming quickly ('soon' - KNT, NIV; 'swiftly' - CLNT; 'speedily' - ISRV) (v.7,20; Mt.16:27), and My reward ('wage' - CLNT) is with Me (Is.40:10; 62:11), to give to ('recompense' - AENT; 'pay' - CLNT) every one according to his work ('what he has done' - KNT, NIV) (Ps.62:13; Prov.24:12; Mt.16:27). 13 I am the Alef and the Taw (Alpha and the Omega) (Rev.1:8), the Beginning ('Origin' - CLNT) and the End ('Completion' - AENT; 'Consummation' - CLNT) (Rev.21:6), the First and the Last.' (Is.41:3; 44:6; 48:12; Rev.1:17)



"14 Blessed ('Happy' - CLNT) are those who do His ['Master YHWH's' - AENT) mitzvot (commandments) / ('wash their robes [clean]' - Nestlé-Aland Text: NIV, JB, NLT, NASB, etc.) (Rev.7:14), that they may have the right ('authority' - HRV, ISRV) to ['eat from' - KNT] the Tree of Life (Rev.2:7), and may enter through the gates ('portals' - CLNT) (Rev.21:12) into the City (Rev.21:27). 15 But outside (Dt.23:18; 1 Cor.6:9-10; Gal.5:19-21; Col.3:5-6; Rev.21:8) are dogs ('curs' - CLNT) (Phil.3:2) and sorcerers ('enchanters' - CLNT; 'enchant with drugs' - ISRV; 'practice magic arts' - NIV) and sexually immoral ('fornicators' - KNT; 'paramours' - CLNT; 'those who whore' - ISRV) and murderers ('manslayers' - AENT) and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices ('loves to invent' - KNT; 'fabricating and findling' - CLNT) a lie ('does/practices falsehood' - AENT, CLNT, HRV, ISRV, NIV). 16 I, Yah'shua (Jesus) (Rev.1:1), have sent My malak (angel, 'Messenger' - AENT, CLNT) (v.6) to testify to you (plural) these things ('matters' - ISRV) in the messianic assemblies (communities, congregations, churches; 'ecclesias' - CLNT) (Rev.1:4). I am the Root (Rev.5:5) and the Offspring ('race' - CLNT) of David (Is.11:1; Mt.1:1), the Bright ('splendid' - AENT; 'resplendent' - CLNT) and Morning Star.' (2 Pet.1:19; Rev.2:28)

17 And the Ruach (Spirit) (Rev.2:7; 14:13) and the Bride (Rev.19:7) say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires ('is inclined' - AENT), let him take ['the free gift of' - NIV] the Water of Life ('living water' - AENT) freely ('gratuitously' - CLNT; 'without paying' - ISRV) (Jn.4:10).

"18 For I testify to ('warn' - NIV) everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book ('scroll' - CLNT) (v.7,10,19): If anyone adds ('appends' - CLNT) to these things ('them' - NIV) (Dt.4:2; 12:32; Prov.30:6), Elohim (God) will add ('append' - CLNT) to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away ('eliminates' - CLNT) from the words of the book of this prophecy (v.7,10,18), Elohim (God) shall take away ('eliminate' - CLNT) his part from ('share in' - KNT, NIV) the Book ('log' - CLNT) of Life (Rev.12:7), from the Qadosh (Holy; 'Set-Apart' - AENT, ISRV) City, and from the things which are written ('described' - NIV) in this book ('scroll' - CLNT) (Dt.4:2; 12:32; Prov.30:6).



"20 He who testifies to ('bears witness of' - ISRV) these things ('matters' - ISRV) (Rev.1:2) says, 'Surely ('Yes' - NIV) I am coming quickly ('soon' - KNT; 'swiftly' - CLNT; 'speedily' - ISRV) (v.7,10).' Amen.

"Even so, come, Master Yah'shua (Lord Jesus)! (1 Cor.16:22)" (Rev.22:8-20, NKJV).

"The grace ('favour' - HRV, ISRV) of the Master Yah'shua (Lord Jesus) be with [all] [the qodeshim (saints; 'set-apart ones' - HRV; 'Set Apart believers' - AENT, ISRV; 'God's people' - NIV)] (Rom.16:20). [Amen]" (Rev.22:21, NRSV) [1].

Everybody and everything connected with the Divine World is now present in this new Echad Unity World that is the Holy City and the Israel over which it presides. This will extend to the whole planet and thence to the whole created Universe after the Millennium. For now, though, the focus, as it was last week in the last segment, is the New Jerusalem, the Garden City of Eden-Astara...Eden because it is of the original life and purity of the first Eden, and Astara (meaning 'Star') because it is a 'City or Community of the Qodeshim (Saints, Set-Apart Ones)', the Bride of Messiah, who is Himself "the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright [Morning] Star (Aster)" (Rev.22:16) as we have just learned in today's segment.

For the Bride consists of 'morning stars' by association with the Morning Star, as we learned in chapter 2:

"To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations:

'He will rule them with an iron scepter;
he will dash them to pieces like pottery'-

just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach (Spirit) says to the messianic assemblies (churches)" (Rev.2:26-29, NIV).

You'll be learning more about the Eden-Astara Principle over the coming months. The point once again is this: the Elohimhead or Godhead is fully present - Yahweh the Father, Yah'shua (Jesus) the Son and the the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), here called in the symbolism of this Book, 'Elohim' (God - since the Father is Head), 'the Lamb' (since He was, and is, our Eternal Sacrifice) and 'the Ruach (Spirit)'. Everything is 'filled to the brim', is 'full' and therefore 'fulfilled' or 'filled-full'. This is what the English word 'fulfilled' means when it was used throughout the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament). Everything is brought to completion because it is filled up to the top so that nothing more can be added. Everything and everyone is here that can be here because they are worthy - the Bridegroom becausew He conquered death and the Bride because she has overcome the flesh.

"This is," to borrow the opening words of the famous hymn by Maltbie D. Babcock, "my Father's world", a song that celebrates nature, and goes like this:

This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas -
His hand the wonders wrought.

But now nature is glorified and the original Garden is back once more, with all nature singing praises to Yahweh the Father who built this world through the instrumentality of His Son. But now there is a City too, the City of Astara, the City of the Morning Star, Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), and the two are one, like two twin sisters, who think and feel alike even though they themselves are different aspects of the whole. The name Astara comes from the Greek 'Aster', here used in the Greek translation of the Book of Revelation, that comes from the root word 'stronnumi' (meaning to 'spread' or 'spread out' like a carpet), which combined with 'aster' give us our English word 'Astronomy', the study of the complete 'spread' of the heavens. This comes from another root, stereos (from which we get the English word 'stereo') meaning 'steadfast', 'strong' or 'sure'. The 'star-bearers' are quite literally, then, 'rulers' who are 'steadfast', 'strong' and 'sure'.

These rulers are the 'spread-ers' or 'colonisers' of the Gospel message in the souls of men, the evangelist-witnesses of the Master - the stellar-chilren of the Master or 'Lord of the Stars', or 'Heavens' if you like, though by the time the Millennium has ended, you will remember, Christ will have returned all authority and rulership (Mt.28:18) back to the Father so that He might be "all in all" once more (1 Cor.15:28), as at the beginning.

So this world is returned or restored to the Father by the Son in three stages:

• 1. At Calvary;
• 2. At the Second Coming; and
• 3. At the end of the Millennium.

• 1. the Father (who is All in All);
• 2. the Firstborn Son (who is in the Father); and
• 3. the Firstborn Children of the First Resurrection Qodeshim, the Bride, the Remnant.

In today's Epilogue there is a strong emphasis on the fact that the time is short. Yah'shua (Jesus) is coming "soon" we're are told three times (Rev.22:7,12,20). The fact that two millennia have elapsed since this was said and written should not lead to complacency on our part, for this isn't simply about the return of the 'Morning Star' at a future point in time (during the Last Generation) but also about the spiritual 'rising' of the Morning Star in our hearts today until it is fully risen and has reached its spiritual zenith point, and we enjoy the fullness of His presence in our hearts through overcoming leading to a full sanctification. This 'making sacred' is accomplished through the female Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and is why, like the Bride herself, the Garden and the City are represented as twin-sisters - Eden (which means 'delicate', 'delight', 'pleasure') and Astara (which means 'star', 'spreader' or 'coloniser'). Yahweh's people are colonisers...colonisers of Sacred Land and this is why, in part, Joseph is described as "a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb (spread) over a wall" [2][3] for that is his disposition. And indeed the Joseph tribes have colonised vast terrorities around the world, from Germany and Britain to North America, Southern Africa and Australasia, and have ruled large areas of the world, about a third of the whole planet.

Life by its very nature grows outwards, expanding, but sacred life does so in a delightful, pleasurable and delicate way. Two mornings ago I was taken in vision into the Holy City, the first time I have ever seen it. I was at the edge of a great body of water which was forming in front of my eyes. That is to say, what happened was that I initially looked out over what looked like a huge frozen lake extending all the way to the horizon, though it wasn't ice and it wasn't cold. Curious, I bent down to touch it. It was solid. I tapped it with my knuckles and it reverberated with a dull sound like metal covered with a layer of plastic. I turned to look elsewhere, and when I turned back seconds later, it had become crystal clear water and was teaming with young fish of all kinds.

Curious, I reached down and picked up one of the larger variety which turned out to be far bigger than I had supposed - it seemed to instantly grow in my hand upon being touched. It did not object to my lifting it out of the water and even though it wanted to return there, it suffered no ill effects from being in the air as a fish in our natural world would. Though I am no fisherman, I knew instantly it was a baby pike. It was, however, not fully developped, being no longer than my hand, and at length I returned it to the pure waters. Where I come from in the Far East, the pike symbolises strength, power and courage and amongst the native Americans is similarly associated with warriors and heroes. I was being shown one of the character traits of qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) who make up the Congregation or Assembly of the New Jerusalem. They are strong and courageous both like the pike and as a lion which is one of the twin symbols of the Bridegroom. It seems (surprise, surprise) that the Bride is like Him in that respect for you will remember there are no 'cowards' in the Kingdom (Rev.21:8). That was an Eden- or Garden-aspect of the City. I was also taken to an assembly consisting of thousands of people that represented an Astara- or City aspect of the New Jerusalem. I don't know what the meeting was about as it hadn't yet begun and the people were still gathering. I only wished to mention this by way of illustration of the two chief elements of the place: garden and city.

So, whilst the actual Second Coming hasn't yet taken place, the day of opportunity (according to this Epilogue) is still here. The thirsty may still drink the water of life as a free gift (Rev.22:17). But choices must be made now because the time is coming when the moral direction of our lives will be fixed forever (Rev.22:11).

Remember, Pharaoh hardened his heart against Yahweh seven times, so then, since this was his absolute resolve - his definite choice for evil - Elohim (God) hardened it for him three times requiring no agency on his part (Ex.7-11)! So be warned! If you persistently harden your heart against Elohim (God) a time will come that He will take over and do the hardening for you, and when He does that, know that it cannot be resisted! That is why some people cannot repent now though they had plenty of opportunity to do so before. Why? Because seven is the number of completion and perfection, and in the case of Pharaoh and of so many wicked people like him, of imperfection. He made an ultimate choice for sin consisting of seven consecutive hardenings, as Judas Iscariot presumably did too that culminated with Satan entering his heart and in his betrayal of the Son of Elohim (God) to death, thereby becoming a son of perdition or destruction (Jn.17:12; 2 Thes.2:3). Do not squander what agency you may still have because there is an end to it if, with determination and singleness of heart, you stubbornly refuse to do what is right by pursuing the Lie (Satan) instead of Truth (Christ - Jn.14:6).

Paul warns us:

"What then shall we say? Is Elohim (God) unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses,

'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' (Ex.33:19)

"It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on Elohim's (God's) mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.' (Ex.9:16) Therefore Elohim (God) has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden" (Rom.9:14-18, NIV).

Yahweh foreknew what Pharaoh would choose. Please understand that this is not a licence for believing in Calvinism or absolute predeterminism. Individuals choose their fate but Yahweh chooses historical outcomes collectively-speaking. Yahweh is not random in His displays of mercy and hardening, even though it may appear to be such to us mortals, nor did He pre-determine every single thing we would do before He created man. Pharaoh had already rejected Him by the time of Yahweh's hardening of his heart - he had made his final choice - so Yahweh simply sealed that choice and made it permanent ahead of his death so that He could use him as an instrument in His Grand Historical Design. Whom, where, when, and how He chooses for such tasks falls within the purview of His sovereign will just as He uses wicked dictators in every age to chasten empires and peoples that have fallen into gross sin and to awaken His own people when they grow careless. But the stark warning here - and we must not forget this - is that there will come a point at the end of world history, as we have been talking about throughout this course on the Book of Revelation, when what happeed to Pharaoh happens to everyone who defies and disobeys His will. Do hurry and make your choice and remain faithful and constant. Decide and be true to the end, come what may.

You see, there are really only two categories of people in the very end - and that's where we have reached in the Book of Revelation. There are those who "go on washing their robes" (Rev.22:14; cp. 7:14) and thus enter the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the Garden City of Eden-Astara, and those who are kept outside like the wild curs - those worthless, ill-bred, cowardly, snappish dogs - of the Middle East today. That's what's meant by 'dogs' here, a depiction of undisciplined, unruly, unclean, vicious, cowardly human beings, not your beloved house-trained pet animals! So this is now the third time a list of disqualifying offences has been included in this sublime Finale (Rev.22:8,27; 22:15). Why? Because John's readers - and us - need constant reminding that behaviour and works matter, and that the glories of the future will not come automatically and indiscriminately in spite of what you do or don't do - just because you have believed in Jesus, Yeshua or Yah'shua, and just because you belong to a church or messianic congregation...is meaningless unless you constantly "press on towards the goal and win the prize for which Elohim (God) has called us heavenwards in Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus)" (Phil.3:14, NIV) and you "make every effort...to be qadosh (holy, set-apart), for without holiness no one will see the Master" (Heb.12:15, NIV).

Now another way we're told believers can forfeit the future is by tampering with this Book of Revelation, either by addition or subtraction. (This is not, as this passage is commonly abused by Protestants, a reference to the whole Bible, which did not yet exist with two Testaments at this time - only the Tanakh (Old Testament) existed at the end of the first century and all references to Scripture are exclusively to this collection). Since the Book of Revelation is a 'prophecy' in the traditional Tanakh (Old Testament) sense of the word, with Yahweh speaking through His servant, to alter it in any way is to commit sacrelege, incurring the severest penalty. It is unlikely unbelievers would even bother to do this. It is much more likely to be done by those who take upon themselves the task of either translating the original or explaining and interpreting it to others, a reason I did not dare to attempt what I have done until I was nearly 70 and was finally given permission to do so. So may Yahweh have mercy upon me if I have offended Him in this way! It's why I have gone to great trouble - something I never usually do - spending upwards of 5 hours a week laboriously going through the Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew texts and all the versions if the Bible I possess to make sure every nuance is considered, however cluttered and messy it looks. We have a duty to treat this particular book with the greatest of care for as Peter said:

"...no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but qadosh (holy, set-apart men) of Elohim (God) spoke as they were moved by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit)" (2 Peter 1:20-21, NKJV).

That said, the final note in today's Epilogue is positive, not negative, and is summed up in one word: "Come!" On the one hand, this is the invitation on the lips of the Messianic Community (Church) to the whole world, to whoever will respond to the Besorah (Gospel) (Rev.22:17; cp. Jn.3:16), and on the other, it is addressed to the Master Himself: "Amen. Come, Master (Lord) Yah'shua (Jesus)" (Rev.22:20). This dual plea is characteristic of the True Bride who is moved by the Ruach (Spirit) (Rev.22:17) and is experiencing the grace of the Master Yah'shua (v.21). All the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) cry: "Come!", both to the renegadae and to its returning King.

Shall we, then, finish this 2½ year-long course on this note or should other things be said? I struggled long and hard on this question. It's difficult to know, I have wanted to say so much more, but it hasn't been possible, and I am absolutely commanded to finish this course today. So permit me to invite you to linger just a little bit longer than usual while I give you one last Grand Summary so that we can understand why this course has been so important and why it should become a key teaching for those coming to this work hereafter and especially for those undergoing Priesthood training as Elders.

Why is the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation so important? Let's let the book answer that question itself. Firstly it is described in its first verse as "the revelation of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)" (Rev.1:1), not 'a revelation of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)' - it is both from Him and about Him. In both ways, then, He is central to its message. If the theme of the book is the 'end of the world', as we're often told, then Christ is that end for the righteous, in the same way that He was described as 'the beginning' (Rev.22:13). Yahweh's Plan is "to bring all things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ" (Eph.1:10, NIV), His plenipotentiary [4], and then return everything back to Himself when all independent - and especially rebellious - authority has been subdued:

"Then the end will come, when He (Christ) hands over the kingdom to Elohim (God) the Father after He has destroyed all [independent & rebellious] dominion, authority and power. For He (Christ) must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he 'has put everything under his feet.' Now when it says that 'everything' has been put under Him, it is clear that this does not include Elohim (God) [the Father] Himself, who put everything under Christ. When He has done this, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under Him, so that Elohim (God) [the Father] may be all in all" (1 Cor.15:24-28, NIV).

Please note carefully that this is immediately a corrective to the false Trinitarian notion of the orthodox church's later creeds which claim that the Son is absolutely and permanently co-equal with the Father (and likewise with the Ruach haQodesh/Holy Spirit too). Such co-equality, which may be said to currently exist for now (Phil.2:6), is representational only. When a diplomat is sent abroad as a plenipotentiary to represent his king or government, the absolute authority given to him only extends for as long as he is abroad or for the duration of an assigned mission. A perfect biblical example would be the authority extended by Abraham to his servant Eliezer to make key decisions in securing a wife for his son Isaac (Gen.24). Once a plenipotentiary returns home, or the mission is concluded, that authority immediately ceases. The same is true here of the Son of Elohim (God). Once He has subdued all rebel forces in the Creation, which only finally happens at the end of the Millennium with the crushing of the final Rebellion instigated by a briefly released Satan (Rev.20:7ff.), He relinquishes His authority and therefore co-equality back to the Father and returns to being His 'No.2' as a Son - the Son - the only Begotten Son of Elohim (God).

That's the first important point I want to re-iterate one last time. The second point is this: the Prologue and Epilogue both focus on Yah'shua's (Jesus') return to planet earth (Rev.1:7; 22:20). I saw a meme on Facebook the other day which claimed that Heaven is our final home. Millions of Christians have been taught this dogma but it's not true. Our final home is earth - a glorified earth. The Book of Revelation teaches that uniquivocally. Heaven is but a 'traveler's inn', a resting place along the way for those who aren't here on the earth already when Yah'shua (Jesus) returns. You see, that last generation of the saved never goes to Heaven - Heaven comes down to it. It's already home.

The next point I want to make is this: the hinge on which future history swings from getting worse to getting better is the Second Coming (Rev.19:11-16), thus putting the lie to both the false 'Kingdom Now' theological doctrine and the so-called 'Christian' political system known as 'neoconservatism'. Those evangelicals trying to force the world to become 'Christian' through political action are acting counter to the whole stream of prophecy represented by the Book of Revelation. The world, and the system that runs it, will never become the Kingdom. It has to be destroyed. And when it is, the world won't be populated by millions of believers but by a tiny Remnant huddled away in a dozen safe spots. Those two pictures are entirely different. The Book of Revelation paints only the latter one. Uniquivocally. When Yah'shua (Jesus) returns He won't find faith on the earth (Lk.18:8). It will all but be extinct save in a tiny Remnant.

Moreover, it is "this same Yah'shua (Jesus)" (Ac.1:11) whom the malak (angel) said would return just after He had ascended into heaven. He is the Lamb of Elohim (God) who came first of all to take away "the sin of the world" (Jn.1:29). That was Part 1 of His mission. Throughout the Book of Revelation, the Lamb looks "as if it had been slain" (Rev.5:6). Presumably the scars will still be visible on His head, side, back, hands and feet (Jn.20:25-27) when we see Him again. There are frequent reminders in the Book of Revelation that He shed His blood to redeem human beings of every kind (Rev.5:9; 7:14; 12:11).

Yet the Yah'shua (Jesus) of the Book of Revelation who comes at the end of history is also very different from the man of Galilee. Indeed, His first post-Ascension appearance to John was so awesome that His talmid (disciple), who had been closest to Him in mortality (Jn.21:20), fell in a dead faint (Rev.1:17) upon seeing Him wearing the new mantle of His Second Coming. You will recall His snow-white hair, blazing eyes, sharp tongue, shining face and burnished feet (Rev.1:14-15; 2:18), all very different from the Man of Galilee whom John had personally known.

And though there are brief glimpses of the angry Yah'shua (Jesus) in the Gospels (Mk.3:5; 10:14; 11:15), His sustained 'wrath' in Revelation now strikes terror in the hearts of all kinds of people, who would rather be crushed by falling rocks than to look into His eyes (Rev.6:16-17). This is 'no gentle Jesus, meek and mild' and though that would be a doubtful description at any time, it is particularly inappropriate here. This is not the mortal Messiah we are being presented with but the glorified One.

Here's something else to take away from this study. Many believe Yah'shua (Jesus) preached and practiced pacifism, despite His assertion to the contrary: "Do not suppose," He said, "that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Mt.10:34; Lk.12:51). Of course, it is possible to try and 'spiritualise' away these words but they are far less easy to explain away in the Book of Revelation, where the most natural understanding of the final conflict is physical. This is going to be about as 'down to earth' as it gets and the aftermath worse than any war humanity has ever witnessed. The slaughter in the trenches of the First World War or the mass killings by communists in Russia and China in the 20th century were nothing compared to this. And that was terrible enough!

Yah'shua (Jesus), after all, rides down from heaven on a horse of war rather than a donkey of peace, does He not? (Zech.9:9; Rev.19:11 cp. Rev.6:2) His robe is "dipped in blood" (Rev.19:13) but not His own this time. Though the only sword He wields is His tongue, the effect of using it is to slaughter thousands of kings, generals and mighty men (both the volunteers and conscripted), as once that same tongue dealt death to a fig-tree (Mk.11:20-21) and you'd be surprised how many liberals that has upset! They 'ain't seen nothing' yet though this time they won't be protesting because they'll be far too busy trying to hide themselves from His overwhelming presence of holiness.

So Yah'shua (Jesus) is clearly depicted here as a mass executioner, with the vultures gorging themselves and cleaning up the mess afterwards. Now this graphic portrayal comes as a bit of a shock to some respectable worshippers who are more used to seeing the Saviour gazing benignly fom stained-glass windows at them. So it will be an even greater shock to those who use the weeks of 'Advent' in the orthodox Christian Church calendar to present Him in nativity plays as a helpless baby. He will never be that again. There isn't a wiff of vulnerability on the Lord of the Second Advent.

So here's a challenging question for some: Has Yah'shua (Jesus) changed? We know that old-age mellows some but others become cantankerous and even malicious. And I admit I have become irritable in all my pain and sickness. Are we to suppose that this alleged 'change' has happened to the Saviour over the centuries? Well, I hope you are appalled by such a question - Yah forbid it should be that way! That would indeed be wrong thinking but there are many who would be prepared to go down that avenue of thought and so end up drawing all the wrong conclusions.

What has changed is not the Saviour's character or personality. What has changed is His MISSION. His first visit, to quote His own words, was "to seek and save what was lost" (Lk.19:10, NIV). Again, citing His own words, He did not come "into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world" (Jn.3:17). He came to give human beings the opportunity to be separated from their sins before all sin has to be destroyed. His second visit is for the exact opposite purpose to the first one - to destroy rather than to save, to punish sin rather than pardon it, "to judge the quick (living) and the dead" to quote the words of the one orthodox Creed that is 100 per cent biblical which we of course accept - the Apostles' Creed.

You know, one of the biggest clichés said amongst Christians is that Yah'shua (Jesus) 'loves the sinner but hates the sin'. I myself cite that many times. Certainly the first part - loving the sinner - was true in His first mission but it is the second part - hating sin - that will become more than apparent during His second. You see, those who stubbornly cling onto their sins must face the consequences because He is returning to violently deal with what humans stubbornly cling to. Clinging onto something that has to be exterminated puts you in the direct line of fire of the returning Messiah! At that time of setting everything straight, again quoting the Saviour's own words, "the Son of man will send out His malakim (angels) and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil" (Mt.13:41, NIV). I repeat, those are His own words. And this 'weeding' will be as thorough as it will be fair. But if it is to be totally fair, it must be applied to believers as well as unbelievers, as Paul teaches in Romans 2:1-11, where the apostle concludes that "Elohim (God) does not show favouritism".

So once again, we need to remember that the Book of Revelation is addressed exclusively to born-again, spiritually regenerated believers - to us - making nonsense of the claim by dispensationalists that the Book of Revelation is only for Jews because all the believers have since been raptured away to heaven. No, my friends, everyone will be here to face the music who was born in that last generation and you're not going to see anyone magically raptured into the sky to escape judgment. Not a chance! Indeed, the depictions of His fierce opposition to sinning are intended to induce a wholesome fear in the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) themselves as an incentive to "obey Elohim's (God's) mitzvot (commandmenmts) and remain faithful to Yah'shua (Jesus)" (Rev.14:12, NIV), something the Jews are already supposedly doing but lack faith in Christ. In fact, they aren't doing either! Failure to obey the Torah of our Heavenly Father will cost Christians dearly, and especially those who believe in a 'rapture' and think they're too pure to be judged. So if you have been casual, indifferent or even hostile to the commandments - whether some or all of them - and if you have believed the lie that all you have to do is 'believe in Jesus' because the commandments and not the penalties that have been "nailed to the cross" (Col.2:14), please wake up and obey before it is too late. I may well believe in the truth of a traffic sign saying 'one way only' but if I try to drive in the wrong direction against the flow of the traffic at breakneck speed I risk causing a pile-up and killing myself. 'Rapturists' are in no less danger because their belief system is a delusion that is emphatically rejected by the Book of Revelation. Sorry, we're all remaining behind to face the consequences of our chouces.

This is the thing...and it has been my urgent message to Evangelical Christians from the beginning of my ministry which is now in its 40th year: it is all too easy for those who have experienced the very real and wonderful grace - the undeserved loving-kindness - of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) - to forget that He will still be our Judge, even as the apostle Paul warned us which the disobedient and liberal seem to have selective blindness towards:

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad" (2 Cor.5:10, NIV).

Next point. Of the 250 names and titles given to Yah'shua (Jesus) in Scripture, a considerable number of them are used in the Book of Revelation and some are unique to it, found nowhere else. He is the "First and the Last", the "Beginning and the End", the "Alef and Taw", the "Alpha and Omega". He is the ruler of Yahweh's creation and that is His relation to our Universe. He was involved in its creation, He is responsible for its continuation and He will bring it to its consummation (Jn.1:3; Col.1:15-17; Heb.1:1-2). So when you chance upon some messianics (and perhaps others) who claim He was not divine but only mortal-human, the absurdity of that claim should at once become obvious to you.

He is also called "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root and Offspring of David". He is 'Messiah ben Judah' or the Messiah of the Tribe of Judah and that is His relationship to Yahweh's chosen rulers, up to the First Coming. But Yahweh has a different set of rulers from His resurrection up to the Second Coming and this is why in addition, He is traditionally known in Judaism as 'Messiah ben Joseph' too or the Messiah of the Tribe of Joseph [5], making Him the Messiah of All 12-Tribed Israel. (This has led many to mistakenly believe there are two distinct Messiahs). This is why the Tribe of Joseph, and specifically Ephraim, is in charge of the Final Gathering and the Second or Last Exodus.

Next, Christ is further described in the Book of Revelation as "Qadosh (Holy, Set-apart) and True", "Faithful and True" (Rev.19:11), and the "Faithful and True Witness" (Rev.3:14). He is the "Living One" (Rev.1:18), who "was dead and is alive for evermore, who holds the Keys of death and Hades" (Rev.1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14). That is His relation to the Messianic Community (the Church) or Messianic Israel, which is True Israel. We are also reminded to recall His passion for truth, which is for reality and integrity, as opposed to hypocrisy. This should likewise be our passion.

He is described as the "King of Kings and Master of masters (Lord of lords)". He is the "bright [and] morning star", the Aster (Gk.) or Kokhav (Heb.) [6], the one still shining when all others (including today's 'celebrities') have disappeared. This is His relation to the world. One day His authority will be universally recognised.

So many of these titles are introduced with a formula familiar from the Gospel of John: "I am". This is not just a personal claim. The phrase sounds so much like the Name by which Elohim (God) revealed Himself again to Moses that using it directly led to assassination attempts and ultimate execution for Yah'shua (Jesus) (Jn.8:58-59; Mk.14:62-62). That it was intended to indicate shared divinity and functional equality as plenipotentiary with His Father Yahweh (Phil.2:6) is confirmed in the Book of Revelation by Father and Son claiming exactly the same titles such as 'Alpha and Omega'.

And so the testimony of the Book of Revelation is that the world is coming to an end, not to utter destruction as some teach, but to its goal, and that end or goal is personal rather than impersonal. In fact, its end or goal is a person. Yah'shua (Jesus) is the 'end' or goal. To study the Book of Revelation primarily to discover what the world is coming to is to miss the whole point. The essential message is about who the world is coming to or, rather, who is coming to the world (Christ) and who is going to be booted out of it (Satan).

For this reason, true believers are perhaps the only ones who are longing for 'the end' to come or for the 'goal' to be reached, with every generation hoping that this will happen during their lifetime. For them - for us - the end is not an event but a person. We are eagerly awaiting 'Him', not 'it'. For when He comes, He will bring everything else that is needful with Him.

And so it is that the penultimate verse (Rev.22:20) contains a very personal and appropriate summary of the whole book. "He who testifies of these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon'." To which those who have understood can only give one possible response: "AMEN. COME, MASTER YAH'SHUA (LORD JESUS)."

And that, brethren and sisters, is the end of the the Story that began in Genesis. We have finally come to the end of our very long Book of Revelation Study which I am fervently praying will bless many, and especially those of the Last Generation. It has been a hard slog, I have to admit, and especially painful over the last few weeks because of my advancing illness and age. I am soon to be 70 but it feels like 90. The years have taken their toll and I am in need of a rest and complete change from this kind of ministry, but I do not regret for one minute that we did this.

And before I end I must credit N.T.Wright, David Pawson and E.W.Bullinger for having been the inspiration for so much of the material in this course on whose backs I have climbed to gain a better view of the world of the Apocalypse. They have saved me a lot of spade work that would otherwise have made the research work twice as hard and taken twice as long. I wouldn't have managed without them. So a special thank-you to these Anglican brethren.

Today is also, deliberately, the last day of the current biblical year and this year is also the 40th year since I was called into the ministry and told to organise this work in Oxford, England, in 1984. Only one you in this assembly was there on that day - you were only 2 years old at the time and almost certainly remember nothing. Little did I know what that unexpected and unsought for revelation received in 82 Banbury Road would change my life forever and unleash all that has come forth since. I can hardly believe it myself. Tomorrow is the biblical New Year, starting the month of Aviv and the countdown to the spring festivals and the Passover Season 14 days thereafter. This is the year we have been waiting for, the year I have been anticipating for so long and those who are still with us and assemble on Aviv 14 now have the opportunity to link arms and move ahead.

So in the same way that the wicked in the Book of Revelation suddenly find themselves in the Lake of Fire one minute and outside the Holy City the next, so we shall soon find ourselves entering a new spiritual anointing and increasingly experiencing a taste of the reality of the Holy City in similar fashion. We are starting the last phase of our journey that began in that mixture that was the confusion of the churches when we were known as the 'Independent Church', saw us pass between the Evangelical and Messianic Houses as 'Messianic Evangelicals' and beyond in to the valley and heading towards the metaphorical mountains so ably depicted in the ministry's official painting of our spiritual journey by Grace van Staden of South Africa (see below).

We are finally in that part that will see some of us emerge from that long 'valley of waiting' and begin the ascent into the mountains in what I am calling the 'Eden-Astara' or 'Holy City' phase, the revelation for which has been received over the past year and is still coming. It is the time - and a great and marvelous time it shall be for those whose hearts are fully comittted to this work. More about that tomorrow. May Yahweh bless you and keep you until we assemble again tomorrow afternoon is my prayer in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] The earlier editions of the NKJV was practically the only version that for some reason omitted verse 21 - even the KJV, which is of the same Textus Receptus family of translations, contains it. However, the verse does come with a number of variants, some omitting "all" and some "the saints" and others the "Amen". It is possible that it was not originally an organic part of the revelation but either John signing off or a later scribal addition. In either case, nothing of a prophetic nature has either been added or subtracted. The verse is present in the Aramaic version and in every other Greek-based New Testament in my large collection.

[2] Joseph-Ephraim, the firstborn of Israel after Reuben was deposed, was the greatest coloniser or 'spreader' in history settling around the world spreading the Gospel as he went. This calling came to fruition in the nation of Great Britain in whose shadow the United States (West Manasseh) and Germany (East Manasseh) would follow, and to a lesser extent, the Netherlands (Zebulun). As we speak now, the American Empire and its NATO Alliance is falling as all the others have fallen before them (like the Soviet Empire) because of wickedness.

[3] Reuben, who was the firstborn of Israel until he fell and was replaced by Joseph-Ephraim, and who likewise followed his birth impulse to 'spread' and colonise. This came to fruition, first, in the Roman Empire, and latterly in the nations of France, Spain and Portugal who, like Britain, had great maritime empires, but who spread a corrupt form of the Gospel, Roman Catholicism. They have all long since fallen because of wickedness.

[4] From the Latin plenus (full) and potentia (power): a person invested with absolute, full, complete or total power of independent action (like a diplomat)

[5] D.C.Mitchell, Messiah ben Joseph (Newton Mearns, Campbell: 2016) & Firstborn Shohr and Rem: A Sacrificial Josephite Messiah in 1 En.90:37-38 and Deut.33:17 (Journal for the Study of the Peudepigrapha 15.3: 2006), pp.211-28

[6] By contrast, and in distinction from a regular star or sun, a planet is known as a 'walking star' in Hebrew.

Acknowledgements

[1] Tom Wright, Revelation for Everyone - The New Testament for Everyone Commentary Series, Vol.19 (SPCK, London: 2011)
[2] N.T.Wright & Michael F.Bird, The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature and Theology of the First Christians (Zondervan Academic, SPCK, London: 2019)
[3] E.W.Bullinger*, Commentary on Revelation (Kregel Classics, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1984)
[4] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary (JNT Publications, Clarksville, Maryland: 1992)
[5] ESV Study Bible (Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois: 2011)
[6] The NIV Study Bible (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1995)
[7] Ed. J.R.Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (MacMillan, London: 1909)
[8] David Pawson, Unlocking the Bible: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible (Collins, London: 2007)

*E.W.Bullinger was a brilliant Anglican clergyman and scholar whose works merit careful study by serious students of the Bible. He was, however, seriously in error in at least three main areas, namely, (1) he believed the 'Church' has been raptured before the Book of Revelation opens, (2) he believed that the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3 are 7, literal Jewish churches or assemblies yet to come, and (3) he believed in a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture.

• C. The Far Future
  • C1. Chapter 19
    
    • C1.1. Yahweh's Victory Celebration (19:1-10)
    • C1.2. The Beast Defeated (19:11-21)
  • C2. Chapter 20
    
    • C2.1. The Millennial Reign (20:1-6)
    • C2.2. The Final Judgment (20:7-15)
  • C3. Chapter 21:1-21
    
    • C3.1. The New Heaven & Earth (21:1-5)
    • C3.2. The New Jerusalem (21:6-21)
  • C4. Chapter 21:22-22:21
    
    • C4.1. New Jerusalem (21:22-22:7)
    • C4.2. 'I am Coming Soon' (22:8-21)