2And I looked, and saw there a white horse whose rider carried a bow. And a crown was given him, and he rode forth conquering and to conquer.
The Muslim Madhi is described this way.
9When the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed for [adhering to] the Word of God and for the testimony they had borne.
10They cried in a loud voice, O [Sovereign] Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?
11Then they were each given a [b]long and flowing and festive white robe and told to rest and wait patiently a little while longer, until the number should be complete of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
The final judgment is the Great White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20.
12When He [the Lamb] broke open the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun grew black as sackcloth of hair, [the full disc of] the moon became like blood.
14And the [c]sky rolled up like a scroll and vanished, and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place.
17For the great day of His wrath (vengeance, retribution, indignation) has come, and who is able to stand before it?
I am guessing most of the commentaries will link this to Armageddon during the Tribulation before the Kingdom – rather than the real final battle between God and evil at the END of the Kingdom – briefly mentioned in Revelation 20.
Zechariah 12-14 is a prophecy about Israel that seems to echo Revelation 20 – outlining the history of Israel from the Tribulation through the Great White Throne judgment:
3Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.
4And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from the east to the west by a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south.
5And you shall flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal, and you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and the Lord my [Zechariah's] [a]God shall come, and all the holy ones [saints and angels] with Him.
I believe this describes the final battle at the end of the Kingdom and just before the creation of a new Earth. In verse 5, we have God and the host of heaven coming to do battle. I believe this is the God-head rather than Christ alone as at the end of the Tribulation.
Then look at verse 3: “as when He fought in the day of battle.”
When did the Messiah fight another battle? Revelation mentions 2 wars between Christ and Satan’s forces: 1 to begin the Kingdom. 1 at the end of it.
So, when would “as when He fought in the day of battle” be?
It seems obviously to be the first war – which would make the current one the second…
Regardless, in both Zechariah and Revelation here have extreme events taking place during the battle. Elsewhere, you will read time-indicators such as “like never has been seen before or ever will again” – and my question is: If Satan and his followers are so clearly going to be released from the bottomless pit to fight one last war against God and the Messiah’s rule on Earth at the end of the Kingdom, it would seem these time-markers are most likely for the end of the Kingdom?
Chapter 7
Here we see the 144,000 out of Israel sealed from harm. This seems much more like the Tribulation period, but how does that work with Chapter 6…? Just below, we’ll see this seems to be after the Tribulation and at the start of the Kingdom…
3Saying, Harm neither the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we have sealed the bond servants of our God upon their foreheads.
4And [then] I heard how many were sealed (marked) out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: there were 144,000.
In the next verse, we see a mixed multitude of believers standing before – a throne:
9After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
Next is the time-marker:
Who are these [people] clothed in the long white robes? And from where have they come?
14I replied, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
So, it would seem the 144,000 out of the tribes of Israel are linked with this great mixed multitude of believers who are pictured as having come THROUGH the Tribulation – and thus stand at the gates of the Messiah’s Kingdom!!
This is highly interesting for several reasons:
Why are the 144,000 sealed if this is after the Tribulation? Perhaps, maybe, because not everyone in the Kingdom will accept Christ as savior or enjoy His rule – which is described as being an “iron fist” elsewhere.
Zechariah 14 seems to describe this aspect of the Kingdom:
16And everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths.
17And it shall be that whoso of the families of the earth shall not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.
18And if the family of Egypt does not go up to Jerusalem and present themselves, upon them there shall be no rain, but there shall be the plague with which the Lord will smite the nations that go not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
19This shall be the consequent punishment of the sin of Egypt and the consequent punishment of the sin of all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
In short, not everyone who enters the Kingdom will make it to the eternity of bliss on the new Earth after the Kingdom ends its 1,000 years…
Perhaps the 144,000 are selected believers out of the tribes of Israel who will spread the faith in Christ during the Kingdom?
The verses after it seem to confirm this:
14I replied, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15For this reason they are [now] before the [very] throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple); and He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence.
16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun smite them, nor any [d]scorching heat.
17For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
I believe this is the Kingdom period and Jerusalem.
It doesn’t seem to be heaven itself: Why would the mixed multitude of believers need to be “protected” and “sheltered” in Heaven? The reason they would need it in the Kingdom is clear: there will be one last war with Satan at the end of it.
In fact, the reference to the sun smiting them is likely directly tied to that last battle:
7And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his place of confinement,
8And he will go forth to deceive and seduce and lead astray the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth–Gog and Magog–to muster them for war; their number is like the sand of the sea.
9And they swarmed up over the broad plain of the earth and encircled the fortress (camp) of God’s people (the saints) and the beloved city; but fire descended from heaven and consumed them. [II Kings 1:10-12; Ezek. 38:2, 22.]
Joel 2 seems clearly to be about this final war between God and Satan at the end of the Kingdom:
1BLOW THE trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand–
2A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations.
3A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes].
I already mentioned the time-marker: like never before or after.
The Tribulation can’t be that, I think, if we know in very clear terms in Revelation 20 that there will be one last battle when Satan is let out of the bottomless pit…
I think “the land is as the garden of Eden before them” is also an indicator. Will the Earth look like the Garden of Eden going into the Tribulation? Look out your window…Does that look like Eden? Does the land of Israel look like Eden today? I don’t’ think so…
But, the Kingdom will be a return to Eden-like conditions around Jerusalem and in every Kingdom where the Messiah and God and the Holy Spirit are accepted and worshipped. Zechariah 14 noted above describe this.
So, this incredible war that destroys an Eden-like Earth would most likely be within the Kingdom, not before it is established…Continuing Joel:
11And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God's] word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?
The “burning” of God’s enemies is even more clear in Revelation 16:
7And [from] the altar I heard [the] cry, Yes, Lord God the Omnipotent, Your judgments (sentences, decisions) are true and just and righteous!
8Then the fourth [angel] emptied out his bowl upon the sun, and it was permitted to burn (scorch) humanity with [fierce, glowing] heat (fire).
9People were severely burned (scorched) by the fiery heat, and they reviled and blasphemed the name of God, Who has control of these plagues, and they did not repent of their sins [felt no regret, contrition, and compunction for their waywardness, refusing to amend their ways] to give Him glory.
I believe this is the end of the Kingdom as Satan’s last rebellion is put down in a most extreme way…and put down forever.
This all seems to fit together well – internally in Revelation itself but also with other End Times prophecies.
I believe most people see this as the Tribulation before the Kingdom, but it seems to me to much more fit the final war…
The 144,000 and those in the mixed multitude who turn to Christ for salvation will be sealed and shielded from the great fire and destruction that will consume Satan’s host just before they are tossed into Hell for eternity at the end of the Kingdom…(Edit: I’m not sure now if the whole of this mixed multitude will escape death or hardship during the last great war.
When Revelation 16:17 calls this Armageddon, then I have to start to believe Armageddon is not fought before the Kingdom…
16And they gathered them together at the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon. [II Kings 9:27.]
It includes incredible events and the “never before or after” time-marker:
18And there followed lightning flashes, loud rumblings, peals of thunder, and a tremendous earthquake; nothing like it has ever occurred since men dwelt on the earth, so severe and far-reaching was that earthquake.
It is hard for me to imagine that Armageddon would take place before the start of the Kingdom when a final rebellion is going to take place – a final rebellion by Satan and his entire host of supernatural forces and those humans who refuse to obey God – just before they are going to be cast into hell for eternity…
So, back to the end of Chapter 7:
15For this reason they are [now] before the [very] throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple); and He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence.
16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun smite them, nor any [d]scorching heat.
This DOES seem to clearly fit into the start of Kingdom period and for those who do accept Christ as savior and God’s will as expressed by His iron rule during the 1,000 years – once they are given the opportunity to witness Jesus personally and directly.
— I tentatively believe the verses on the mixed multitude of true believers who will be protected by the Messiah during the Kingdom also fits some ideas I’ve been mulling over the last few years about —
how people who lived before Jesus – or – in areas where the gospel never had the chance to reach – or perhaps also those who were in areas where the gospel could reach but were dominated by a different tradition —-
but also people who believed in God – bearing witness to the influence of the Holy Spirit and the signs of God He built into the universe -– people who never rejected the Holy Spirit – and people who never gave into the influence of Satan and worshipped the calling of the flesh –
will be given a chance to know Jesus as Messiah.
(Which would make sense of a truly mysterious passage in Matthew 12:31 – “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy (every evil, abusive, injurious speaking, or indignity against sacred things) can be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the [Holy] Spirit shall not and cannot be forgiven.”)
Perhaps they will be raised at the start of the Kingdom. Then they will have no excuse for not believing in Jesus as savior and part of the 1 true God in the Trinity.
The witness to God will be direct and unavoidable. There will be no excuse for rejection.
There will be no excuse when God has the final judgment at the end of the Kingdom.
Many commenters have talked about the Old Testament saints and what will happen to them at the End Times. Most I’ve briefly looked into say they will enter the Kingdom.
I believe the mixed multitude is likely broader than just the Jews with faith in God who lived before Jesus walked the Earth, was crucified, and rose again and ascended into heaven.
I don’t know how much broader the resurrection into the Kingdom will be. It seems likely only God knows for sure.
If this interpretation is wrong however, I would not want to be a person today who rejects Jesus as savior after having heard the gospel – banking on the idea they will be given a second chance during the Kingdom…
