GLORIFIED , RESURRECTED BODY: 1 Cor 15:20-23, 35-57, Phil 13:20-21, John 17:6, 2 Cor 5:1-5. 1 Cor 15 gives a fairly comprehensive explanation of the glorified, resurrected bodies that believers will receive at the rapture. 1 Cor 15:20-23 tells us that Jesus was the firstfruits in that he was the first to be resurrected from the dead and receive a glorified body. It follows by saying that those who belong to him will also receive a glorified body at the harvest time. We are further told that this resurrected body will not be a natural, human body of flesh and blood, but will be a spiritual body. It seems clear from a study of John 17:6 and Phil 3:20-21 that our glorified body will be like the glorified body that Jesus had after his resurrection. We also see from John 17:6 that this is the same nature Jesus had before coming to earth and before the creation of the earth. A study of the word “naked” reveals that that Adam and Eve were originally created with glorified bodies (see 2 Cor 5:1-4). They were created in the image of God, and it seems that Jesus had this type of image. As described in 1 Cor 15:51-53 we will again receive this type of image at the rapture of the church. Our perishable bodies will be instantly changed into imperishable, eternal, glorified bodies. It is clear from a detailed study of Rev 21-22 and John 12-17 that a glorified body is necessary in order to be able to live and participate in a united heaven and earth, the new order mentioned in Rev 21:1-4. Adam and Eve were able to do so before their fall into sin and all believers will be able to do this after they receive glorified bodies at the rapture.

GRASS AND SOMETIMES TENDER PLANTS: Rev 8:7, 9:4. Sometimes symbolic of good men, sometimes symbolic of evil men and sometimes symbolic of man in general. Symbolic of good men in Deut 32:2, as those who absorb the teaching, the word of God; in Job 5:25, Isa 44:4, 66:14, Micah 5:7, as the children of God. Symbolic of evil men who do wrong and who will soon wither and die away, of those who hate the things of God in Ps 37:2, 90:5-6, 92:7, 102:11, 103:15, 129:5-6, Isa 5:24, 37:27. Symbolic of men in general in Isa 40:6-8, 51:12, 1 Pet 1:24. We see in the first judgment that all the grass on the earth was burned up. The word all here likely means that people in all parts of the earth, or people of all types were burned up by the events in the first judgment. It clearly does not mean that all people on earth were consumed by fire in the first judgment.

GREAT MULTITUDE: Rev 7:9-17, 19:1-9. A large group that suddenly appears in heaven, apparently at about the midpoint of the tribulation period. The great multitude is described as being so large it could not be counted and from every nation, tribe, people and language. They are seen in heaven standing before the throne and the Lamb wearing white robes and carrying palm branches. The twenty four elders are surprised at their sudden appearance and ask who they are. Notice that the twenty four elders are already in heaven when the great multitude suddenly appears. They had obviously been suddenly raptured to heaven from earth; they had obviously not appeared one by one. I see four possibilities as to the identity of the great multitude and to the time when they were raptured. (1) The great multitude may be the church and the saints. If that is the case they would have been raptured on the very first day of the tribulation period. (2) It is possible that those making up the great multitude were saved as a result of the work of the two witnesses, including the 144,000, in the first half of the tribulation. In that case they may have been part of the mid-tribulation rapture (judgment 5 rapture) of believers killed in the first four judgments. This rapture includes the two witnesses and the 144,000. It takes place at the very end of the fifth judgment, five months after the midpoint of the tribulation. (3) It does not seem that there is a great revival on earth during the second half of the tribulation since it is indicated in the 4th and 5th bowl and 6th trumpet judgments that the people on earth failed to repent of their sins. The only chance for revival in the second half of the tribulation is when an angel proclaims the eternal gospel to the entire world just before the Second Coming. This is a last chance for those living on the earth. The angel exhorts the world to “Fear God and give him glory because the hour of judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water,” Rev 14:6-8. We do not know what the effectiveness of this was in getting people to accept Jesus. We are told that many Muslims will eventually turn to Jesus as their Savior and defender and swear allegiance to him. This happens because of the fear that springs from the wrath they are undergoing. They cry out to Jesus as the Jews do and he comes to rescue them, Isa 19:16-22. Egypt and Assyria in particular are mentioned. It is possible that these may make up the great multitude we see in Revelation chapters 7 and 19. If that is the case then this group would have been raptured just after the presentation by the angel and just before the Second Coming. That is highly unlikely because in that case there would not be any people left on earth after the sheep-goat judgment to begin the millennium. (4) It seems clear to me from Rev 19:6-9 that the great multitude shown there is the bride of Christ. That would have included all of those in (1) and (2) above, who would likely have been taken to heaven in two rapture events. I believe that they would be separate rapture events since the fifth judgment rapture seemed to include only those who had been killed in the service of Christ in the tribulation. In that case the great multitude seen in Rev 7:9-17 would have been only those in (2) above since they had just shown up in heaven. We know that this rapture took place about 5 months after the beginning of the fifth judgment from the following logic.

The antichrist sets up the abomination in the temple in Jerusalem at the midpoint of the seven year tribulation period, Dan 9:27. Jesus told the disciples in Matt 24:15 that when the Jews see the antichrist spoken of in Daniel in the temple setting up the abomination of Dan 9:27 that they should flee to the mountains. Rev 12:14 says that the Jews will do just this and flee to safety for 3 ½ years. This 3 ½ years would put their flight at the exact midpoint of the seven year tribulation. Thus Israel was not in their hiding place until the midpoint of the tribulation period. Satan was thrown out of heaven and fell to earth in the fourth judgment, just before the midpoint of the tribulation. Rev 9:1 confirms that the star that fell to earth in the fourth judgment was Satan. Rev 12:13 says that as soon as Satan was thrown to earth he pursued Israel in their hiding place. Satan’s pursuit of Israel in their hiding place as recorded in Rev 12:13 would thus have been at the end of the fourth or in the fifth judgment. However, Satan used the evil angels released from the Abyss in the fifth judgment in his pursuit of Israel. Thus the pursuit had to be in the fifth judgment. These angels from the Abyss could not begin their work until the midpoint of the tribulation because it involved rounding up all of the believers in the world and they were protected supernaturally by God for the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation. These angels were only given five months to do their work, Rev 9:5, 10. When they accompanied Satan in pursuit of Israel God sent them back to the Abyss, thus ending their five months on earth. They were spoken of in Rev 12:15-16 as spirits, as “water like a river” who were swallowed up by the earth. In Rev 12:17 we see that Satan then gave up on this and went back to Israel to kill the Christians, the two witnesses who had been rounded up. We are told that the two witnesses had finished their 3 ½ years of work on earth and were then allowed to be killed, resurrected and raptured, Rev 11:7, 11-12. Satan had them killed, they lay dead in Israel for three days and were then miraculously resurrected and raptured to heaven. All of this took place in the fifth judgment, in the five months immediately after the midpoint of the tribulation period.

GREAT PROSTITUTE, MYSTERY BABYLON: Rev 17:1-18, 18:1-24, 19:1-3. There are about 25 clues to the identity of the great prostitute given in Revelation chapters 17-19. Some of them seem to be contradictory until we decipher the symbolic language used. The great challenge in determining the identity of the great prostitute is finding a candidate which fits all of the clues without any contradictions. We will next look at a condensed summary of the 25 clues. It seems that the prostitute is (1) Reliant upon the antichrist, the beast, (2) an apostate religion that openly rejects Jesus, (3) a religion that once had some Christian roots but it now rejects Christ and is Satanically inspired; those in the apostate religion that become believers just before the Second Coming are warned by God to get out of the false church, (4) a large group (most) of people from all over the world, including people of every nation and language, (5) apparently destroyed by literal fire by the antichrist, but it turns out that he only changes the prostitute; Jesus finally destroys her completely at his Second Coming. He does so by fire; he sends everyone who is a member of the apostate church to the lake of fire where they are destroyed, (6) very wealthy and the leaders of the nations of earth share in the wealth, (7) a great consumer and her apparent destruction by the antichrist causes the merchants of the world to mourn, (8) held responsible by God for the deaths of many believers and servants of God all over the world, and (9) completely destroyed very quickly by fire by Jesus at his Second Coming. Analysis of these clues leads to the following conclusion: The great prostitute is the future Jesus rejecting apostate religion of the end times that is Satanically inspired and led by the antichrist in the great tribulation. She includes the remnants of all of the world’s religions after the rapture of believers to heaven, including Protestants, Catholics, Islamics, Mormons, Buddhists, etc. The antichrist believes he has destroyed this mystery Babylon when he forces all members of every religious group to accept him as the god of the world. In effect he has not destroyed mystery Babylon, he has only changed her in God’s eyes. She was and still is an apostate one world religion. Jesus finally and totally destroys her at his second coming, as he speaks the word and all unbelievers are sent to the lake of fire.

 GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT: See Judgment, Great White Throne.