The Letter

“The Letter” is one coherent and consecutive article and best read from the beginning. But in order to find later more quickly the single sequences the Subtitles are listed here.

3 is the number for God – God Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
4 stands in the Bible for the 4 directions as a symbol for ‘everywhere’.
3 + 4 = 7 ‘God + everywhere’ can be expressed as: ‘God is everywhere’, ‘God works everywhere’

It is like a parallel for his name Yahweh, which means ‘I am’. He is always there. He is always with us, we are never alone. It doesn’t matter what happens – may it be in our lives or in the history of the world – He is still in control of everything and He will lead the events in heaven and on earth to a good end. This is his way of salvation, his plan of redemption, his story of salvation.

Through this letter God sends us personally He wants to help us to trust Him also at the end of the time, and to cling to Him and to see how He handles this great controversy between light and darkness. He reveals himself and gives us courage along with it. On one hand God reveals his own story through this letter, on the other hand He shows us the course of his story of salvation. He does not leave us in darkness concerning the future, He proves himself to be trustworthy. He shows himself to be your mighty God, as He has already foretold in the Old Testament:

“I, the Lord, have called you. I hold you by your hand and I protect you.
I am Yahweh, this is my name.
Behold, the former things which I have foretold came to pass,
and new things I announce, before they happen I tell you of them.
I will turn the darkness before you into light, and rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do, and I will not cease to do them.
Yes, says the Lord, who created you, do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by your name.”

i. Isaiah 42:6,8-9,16; 43:1

In the Preface of the Revelation Letter we are introduced to the Instructor and the Writer. This Letter Preface contains John’s Testimony as well as assurances, promises and peace from God the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son. If we take the number 7 as ‘God is everywhere and with each one of us’, then it fits especially well for the Holy Spirit, since here in the Preface and also in other places of this letter He is portrayed symbolically as 7-forld.

Already here in the beginning of the Book of Revelation the Love of God towards us humans is mentioned. In his love He personally sends the Letter of Revelation to each one of us – his human children. And the Preface contains also his Assurance, that in this Story of Salvation He is with us and that He loves us more than his own life. He has proven this by dying for us to save us.

In addition Jesus has called us to be a kingly priesthood for his Father. In the Old Testament priests had the task to proclaim God’s good character and his good Word. They were representatives of God. And that are also all true believers today in the world. They are representatives of God which proclaim his good character and his good Word.

Therefore we also find here the exclamation: To Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. His power – as explained in Romans – are his Glad Tidings about his faithful character; it is the power which is able to redeem us. And God’s glory in the Bible is his love; and his love truly exists forever and ever.

The Main Subject of the Letter with its 7 Parts tells us of the Story of God: It is his story about his work, his character. At the same time this story is also his Story of Salvation in the great controversy and shows us God’s way with us humans from the time of the early Christians until the new world.The Introductions in the 7 Parts are sometimes like a transition from one Part to the next one. In these Parts we alternately look at scenes in Heaven and on earth. Often they are so connected to each other, that they show us how closely God unites Heaven and earth, and how closely He united himself and his fortunes with us humans.

In the Main Subject of the Letter the 7 Parts unfold one after another, everyone revealing to us another aspect about God, and showing us the story of salvation in logical steps.

1. The 7 Letters, which are addressed to 7 representative Churches, are also written to us. They are therefore for like a Preparation in the Salvation Story, like an instruction and teaching for the conflicts on earth, and this shows us God’s care for his human children.
2. The 7 Seals give us after that a short overview on the Course of the Salvation Story until the end of the world. They are therefore an enlightenment, a kind of a strategy, so that we may know what will come, and they reveal to us God’s Plan of Salvation.
3. The 7 Trumpets are signal instruments and they are like a Call in the Salvation Story to follow and cling to the truth. It is God’s watchman call, which also warns us of false teachings which portray God in a wrong way.
4. The 7 Victories tell us in a panoramic overview of the Victorious Power in the Salvation Story, since God and Jesus are fighting for us and they support us. And this is God’s Gospel, his good news, that his good character will bring about the victory.
5. The 7 Bowls describe the last days of the earth, and at the end the position of the redeemed and the lost ones – the Final Positions in the Salvation Story. God has to give the lost ones up, it hurts Him, and it shows us God’s Heart.
6. The 7 Testimonies answer at the end and in heaven all questions about God; they are the Clarification about the Salvation Story, the clarification about God’s Truth and righteousness.
7. The 7 Glories are describing finally the recreation of the earth and the live with God in eternity. It will be the Fulfilment of the Salvation Story, it will be the joy of the redeemed and God’s joy, too.

In the Introduction to the 7 Letters Jesus gives us the evidence of his principle according to the combination of ‘3 + 4 = God is everywhere’, since Jesus is here in the midst of the Churches (pictured by the 7 lampstands) and He holds the representatives or messengers of the Churches in his hand (the Greek word for ‘angel’ means ‘messenger’). These Letters with their encouragement, warnings, lessons, calls and promises show us God’s care for us as his human children, and they are to us like a Preparation in the Salvation Story.

This 1st Part was already back then for those Churches an encouragement and their described experiences are a bit mirrored in the meaning of their names. It was and is also an encouragement for the believers in every period of Christianity’s history until the end of the world. But most of all like any other letter in the New Testament these Letters are meant for us, since every believer is practically a representative of the people of God and God’s messenger Therefore, what can each one of us personally learn from these Letters for ones own life? Where do we need help to overcome weaknesses? And what promises does Jesus give to us?

In the first 3 Letters we find at the end of the Letter first the call of the Holy Spirit, then the promise.

In the next 4 Letters we find at their end first the promise and then the call of the Holy Spirit.

The 2nd and the 6th Letters contain no rebuke; the last Letter contains no praise, but the promise, that those who turn around and wholeheartedly overcome will eat the Lord’s Supper with Jesus in our eternal home.

In this last Letter Jesus is standing at the door – at the door of our hearts knocking, since He wants to live with us and come to us, as He will do visibly at the end of the world. With this picture He encourages us to spread the Gospel, since also the world shall know of his patient and courting love, which tries to reach everybody.

The Introduction of the 2nd Part – the 7 Seals – tells us that there is a big problem in the universe which nobody can solve, since it is sealed. John cries. It obviously seems to be a matter of life and death. But God is able to solve that problem through Jesus! These Seals deal with his solution for the problem of sin and distrust, it talks about God’s Plan of Salvation. With that plan He shows us like a strategy the Course of the Salvation Story.

Along with the first 4 Seals we see 4 horses called forth by the 4 living creatures – the cherubim angels of the Old Testament. It unfolds before us the events in this world beginning with the triumphant progress of the Gospel, followed by conflicts and persecution to suppress the Gospel, and the results of that suppression.

The next 3 Seals are opened up to us showing the time period prior to the return of Jesus (the end time) until the end of the world. Those Seals describe to us the confirmation of the martyrs in the heavenly judgement which takes place before the return of Jesus, and they tell us of the redeemed and the lost ones and their position at the end of the world – there will be a clear separation into two camps. At the end the service for prayers is finished – the censer of prayers falls to the earth – God has given his final answer. He has a solution to all the questions, He is capable of opening the seals and therefore of solving the seemingly unsolvable problem ... He is able to redeem ... and He will return to save us!

To blow the trumpets in biblical times was a signal of warning and a signal to face the fight as well as a call to come to worship services. Trumpets are therefore a signal instrument. They call; they call for attention and alertness. They ‘speak’ to us. This 3rd Part therefore deals with proclamations and the Word. It is God’s Watchman Call and a Call in the Salvation Story to cling to the truth and to detect false teachings about God.

In this Part we see with the signals of the first 4 Trumpets the fall of different objects. These are all objects which actually would be able to give light. They hit one after another the 4 creation elements earth, sea, water and heaven (E, S, W, H) and destroy them partially instead of illuminating them. So these objects definitely have nothing to do with the true Word which God proclaims to us in his Bible in order to enlighten us. Therefore we may see in these first 4 cases false proclamations, like wrong doctrines and the mixing of biblical teachings with human erroneous ideas. The false heralds and their messages are destroying people instead of enlightening and saving them. The Trumpets make us aware of this.

The next 3 Trumpets are the ‘3 Woe Calls’. Like in the Introduction to the 7 Letters the falling star in the first Woe Call is a symbol for an angel, a representative, messenger, leader. Thus it is a fallen angel, a false messenger – and this is Satan. He is the instructor of false proclamation and preaching, and is already in the Book of Isaiah called a fallen star. We also read here of tails, scorpions and serpents, which were in the Old Testament symbols for false prophets and heralds who by their false prophecy and false teachings, their mixed and false doctrines mislead people and poison them.

On the contrary the 6th Trumpet tells us also of the Instructor and the representatives of true prophecy and true preaching, it tells us of God’s witnesses on earth. And in contrast to the fallen star Satan we find here the description of a mighty Angel whose characteristics point to Jesus. Already in the Old Testament Jesus has been called the Angel of the Covenant, Angel of the Lord, and Prince of the angels, since He truly is the Lord over all the angels and God’s true messenger.

Finally along with the 7th Trumpet at the end of the world God himself puts into the centre of our attention his heavenly Arc of the Covenant which contains the true covenant words – the 10 commandments – and which also expresses his covenant with us and therefore his love for us.

In the 4th Part of the Revelation Letter the Sections are not numbered from 1 to 7. Bur this division we can discover in the text itself.

We can take it as an Introduction, that a first panoramic view shows us the great controversy over God and his Church. Satan proves himself to be a dragon that kindled that controversy already in heaven, taking one third of the stars (on third of the angels – the heavenly messengers) with him. On earth he carries on this battle by trying to annihilate the Son of God, and the true Church (God’s bride already in the Old Testament) has to flee to hidden places for a long time. But Satan will not win. God helps us to overcome, He gives us the Victorious Power in the Salvation Story by his help and his manifested faithfulness. It reveals his good character. And this is his good message, his good news throughout the battles, this is his Gospel.

In the first 4 Sections with its battles and victories we can again discover the 4 creation elements. These sections first show the fight in heaven. Jesus as Michael the Arc-Angel victoriously overcomes and wins in this controversy. In succession – by water, from the earth and the sea – the different attacks of

The 5th Section shows us next the true victorious ones God has fought for, which are in the presence of Jesus wherever they may be. After that in the 6th Section can be heard the calls to overcome by the messages of the 3 Angels, who proclaim the Gospel. Along with it the angel calls us to honour God, for his judgement has come. It is a judgement, which is not held by God, but one about God, since the whole controversy between light and darkness is about God’s character and how He reigns. Is Satan right with his charges against God? Or is Jesus’ testimony about God’s character true?

Finally in the 7th Section we see the controversy finished by the harvest at end of the world.

In the 5th Part 7 Bowls are poured out, which come from the temple. God empties something, He gives something up. In the Old Testament He used judgements to shake people up and lead them to repentance when there was no other way left to reach their hearts. In the Bible the ‘wrath of God’ means: God has to give the lost ones up if they have hardened their hearts this much that He can reach them no more. So with the 7 Bowls God definitely has to give up, it is the end just before Jesus returns. The emptying of the bowls and its results reveal the decisions of all people, it shows who is standing on which side. They show us the Final Positions in the Salvation Story, the position of the lost ones as well as the position of the redeemed – since the ones who overcame are already known in heaven when disasters begin to rage.

It isn’t easy for God to give up his lost children on earth. In biblical times people would cover themselves with a veil in grief or loss. We read that during the time the 7 Bowls are poured out nobody can enter the temple where God is, since it is covered, it is ‘veiled’. But exactly that may reveal to us, that God is grieving over his lost children, it may reveal to us God’s heart, since God’s glory – which veils the temple – is in the Bible his character of love.

The first 4 Bowls pertain again the 4 creation elements. Along with the 4th Bowl the decisions of the lost ones will be visible to us: Absolutely nothing can shake them up and lead them to repentance. God knows when everybody has made his final decision and when no one will switch sides whatever may happen. The faithful ones stay faithful, and among the others will be no person who turns around. These poured out Bowls reveal to everyone in the whole universe that God knows this point of time everyone has made his final decision, and therefore the time of Jesus’ return has come.

The next 3 Bowls affect the powers and their kingdoms. They prepare for the final war against the truth of God and his people. But at the end of the world the false religion with its false and mixed teachings – represented as Babylon – will perish together with its followers. By this the true believers will be freed.

In the 6th Part again the Sections are not indicated by numbers from 1 to 7. Only by the context we may detect them. In the Introduction the Messenger of God announces the Testimony of the judgement: Justice will be proven as correct, God’s truth will be revealed, his character and his way of working will be justified: In his love all He does is right, working in all his ways towards the redemption of the whole universe. Therefore this Part is the Clarification in the Salvation Story, the clarification of all the questions about God.

The first 4 Testimonies show us the two contrasting sides:

1. There is the harlot of false religion and her allies, her fornication in uniting with erroneous or mixed teachings, her guilt in persecuting the true believers, and her downfall.
   Her sins are mentioned, and the call is made for us to leave her.
2. The world laments her downfall.
3. In contrast heaven rejoices.
4. In contrast to the fornication of the harlot we see in heaven the symbolic wedding of Jesus with his faithful bride taking place, His faithful Church with its true faith is now revealed.
   In contrast to the sins of the harlot are mentioned the righteous deeds of the believers, in contrast to the call to leave the harlot is here an invitation call for us to join the wedding, and in contrast to the dethronement and downfall of the harlot, here Jesus definitely and completely receives his kingdom. That this wedding takes place before Jesus returns means: Already before He returns to the earth everything is revealed and settled. Everyone in Heaven has understood God’s righteousness through the testimonies in the pre-millennial judgement, He definitely and completely – unrestricted by false charges of opposing powers – takes over his kingdom.
5. The next Section, the 5th Testimony tells us of Jesus’ return, whereby the two persecuting powers of the world (‘2 beasts’) will definitely perish (symbolically in the ‘sea of fire’) and therefore will no longer exist. All the lost ones will die, and Satan will be bound on the destroyed earth (here called ‘the bottomless pit’).
6. The 6th Testimony shows us that the resurrected believers and the believers who still were alive at Jesus’ return will be in heaven, and for a 1000 years God together with them will hold court – which means, God will explain and clarify everything that needs clarification. All our questions He will answer and He will explain why the lost ones are not here in heaven. We and our concerns are so important to God that He will take time for every one of us to clarify things.
7. In the 7th Testimony we see then, that after this clarification time, when everything has been clarified, also the lost ones will be resurrected from their graves. None of them has ever made a definitive decision for God. On one hand it will be written in the ‘books’ as a testimony to us, on the other hand the lost ones themselves will reveal it to us by their actions, since as we will see ourselves, they will be once more ready to battle against God and the redeemed. Every one of us will understand that God knew their hearts. The lost ones too will finally acknowledge it, and together with Satan and the demons they will perish forever – symbolically in the ‘sea of fire’, which is a symbol for the second and final death, and it means they will no longer exist, just as the two powers will never again exist, which already perished in the ‘sea of fire’. And when the lost ones passed away also death will cease to exist. Finally also the earth, which has been destroyed by sin, will ‘flee away’.

In the 7th Part God describes us the future glory, which can be roughly divided into 7 Sections. As an introduction we are told that a new earth and a new heaven will be created. The battles and conflicts are all over, the past has gone, and the redeemed see the Fulfilment of the Salvation Story before them. The Paradise will be again on earth ... and this will not only be a joy for the redeemed, but it will be an incredible Joy for God himself too.

The 7 Glories describe to us his new world.

The first group of 4 Sections tells us mainly of God’s viewpoint:

1. of God and his dwelling among his family (his people)
2. of his promises
3. of his glory in the city of God
4. of Him being the Temple and the light.

The second group of Sections explains the result for the redeemed. It is a description

5. of the inhabitants of the new world
6. of the River of Life and Tree of Life, which serve the redeemed
7. of the glory of their life together with God in his kingdom ... for all eternity!

It will be so amazing, that it will be almost impossible for us to grasp it. Yes, it will breathtaking glorious beyond our most wonderful dreams ...

In the Epilogue of the Revelation Letter we find the testimonies, the promises, and the calls of Jesus and the Holy Spirit as well as the closing words of John.

The truth of the proclamations and promises are testified and assured to us, and again we hear God’s Call and his invitation. Like in the Letter Preface He gives us the Assurance that He is the Redeemer and that He takes care of us. Jesus finishes his Revelation Letter to us by announcing himself his return, and with the greeting of peace.

God is calling us; He longs for us – his children – to hear his call, so that He can save us.

He longs for his family.

The Revelation Letter is like a journey from the beginning of Christianity until the recreation of the earth. Many of the symbols and pictures are explained in detail throughout the Bible and by the historical past. But some of it we will only understand, when it takes place – as Jesus already told us. But even by with these pages it is discernable, that God cares for us and our life.

His Revelation Letter shows us also repeatedly, how the inhabitants of heaven do rejoice over our God. These glimpses into heaven may accompany us. They are one of the keys for the Book of Revelation. God has won his case already. It doesn’t matter what happens here on earth, in world’s history or in our lives, God holds everything in his strong hands and He will bring us safely home if we hold fast his hand. So Jesus wants to help us to persevere in faith and be victorious.

Heaven is priceless and nevertheless it is free for us as believers. God has opened the door for us, which no one can shut. God and his love are worth every effort.

Through the Holy Spirit Jesus walks with us on our way through life, and soon He will come visibly to us, we will see Him. So also we can join in the call, which is written at the End of the Revelation Letter:

Yes, come, Lord Jesus!

The gracious goodness of our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ may be with you!

i. Revelation 22:20-21

God says to you

“I am always with you,
until the end of the world.
Don’t be afraid.
I help you and I uphold you
with my strong Hand.”

i. Matthew 28:20; Isaiah 41:10

Jaimée M.