A Key to Revelations by Craig Paardekooper
In order to understand the Book of Revelations a first step is simply to list the series of events described.

Scene 1 : The 4 Horsemen (Rev 6)
4 main causes of death :“They (the four horsemen) are given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine andplague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. “Persecution of believers :“the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God (martyrs) and the testimony they
had maintained.” “each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer,
until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,[e] were killed just as they hadbeen.”

Earthquake :“a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned
blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strongwind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed
from its place.”
Hiding Beneath the Ground :“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, bothslave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains
and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us[f]So this period is characterized by famine, plague, war and social breakdown. 25% of the earth’s population are killed
at this time.
There are persecutions against Christians, who are slain because of their testimony.
This period ends with a large earthquake, and with the political and military leaders, the rich and powerful hiding incaves / bunkers in the rocks, beneath the ground.
It is odd that people are taking refuge underground after a huge earthquake, since they could easily be crushed ortrapped. It seems that they are more fearful of something coming from above.

Scene 2 : Sealing of the Elect (Rev 7)
The chapter opens with an announcement that 4 angels have been given the job of harming the earth and sea. But
the angels are instructed to wait until the servants of God have received a seal on their foreheads.
“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants ofour God.”
It is implied that this seal is a seal of protection – to protect God’s servants from the destruction that will be
wrought upon the land and sea.

Who is Sealed ?
144,000 from the tribes of Israel sealed :12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.
A vast number of gentiles sealed :“a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language”
who survived the tribulation : “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation;”
who are Christian : they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”
The 144,000 were “redeemed from the earth” (Rev 14 v 3)
“It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow
the Lamb where ever He goes. These have been redeemed from Mankind as first-fruits for God andthe Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”
In other words, the 144,000 are Christians from the 12 tribes, and are the first of the redeemed. There arealso a “great multitude” of gentiles who are redeemed “from every nation, tribe, people and language”

God promises to protect these people
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’[a]nor any scorching heat.
17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[So God is promising to provide them with shelter, food, water . Perhaps the main effect of the destruction wroughtby the 4 angels on the land and sea will be the loss of homes and habitats, food shortages, and water source
pollution.
God does not say that the Christian gentiles are sealed, but God promises to protect them just as He promised the144,000 that they would be protected.

Survivors of the Great Tribulation
14And I said unto him, “Sir, thou knowest.” And he said to me, “These are they that came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
21st Century New King James Version
14

I said to him, “My lord, you know [the answer].” And he said to me, “These are the people who comeout of the great tribulation (persecution), and they have washed their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb [because of His atoning sacrifice]. Amplified Bible
4“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” Then he told me, “These are the people who have come out of the Great
Persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb. JewishBible
14I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who havesurvived the time of great distress;[h] they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood ofthe Lamb. American Standard Version
It is suggested that the Tribulation period was the period of the 4 horsemen, which is why these people are said tohave survived the Tribulation. During the tribulation many were martyred, murdered, infected with plague, andstarved. Now God is sealing those of His people who survived that tribulation, so they are protected from theJudgements He is about to unleash.

Scene 3 : The Destruction of Land and Sea (Rev 8)
6Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

7

The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was
hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up,
and all the green grass was burned up.
8

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, wasthrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea
died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky ona third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third of
the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
12The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and athird of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also athird of the night.
13As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe tothe inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other threeangels!”

These texts vividly describe 2 meteor impacts – one impacting the sea, and another over land. Smaller meteors
preceded the large ones – forming burning hail. Many meteors are made of haematite that is reddish in colour. The
red dust also contains sulphur, which reacts with water to produce an acid – making the water bitter – and killing thesea creatures. The impacts also cause dust to be thrown into the air, obscuring the stars, dimming the sun light andmoonlight, and giving both a reddish hue.
The approach of these meteors would explain why the political and military leaders, the rich and powerful weretaking refuge in bunkers underground immediately prior to the sealing of the elect. They feared something fromabove, and assumed that any life on the surface would be extinguished, so they hid underground.
People should also seek high ground, since the impacts will produce tsunamis destroying many ships and coastalcities.
Such devastation would certainly be enough to bring the “New World Order” to a premature halt. Its operations
were probably suspended when its leaders ran for cover in preparation for the imminent impact. They simply
stopped governing, and hoped the meteors would do their depopulation work for them.

Scene 4 : The Bottomless Pit and Armageddon (Rev 9)9 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. Thestar was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss
This verse seems to say that the bottomless pit had a lock - like a prison, or like a door to anotherdimension - and it was now unlocked.
Who unlocked it ?
It was unlocked by “a star that had fallen from heaven to earth”. This phrase is reminiscent of the story ofLucifer who fell from heaven to earth.
What was inside ?

Unlocking the pit unleashed a battalion of demonic soldiers likened to a plague of locusts. These arecontrolled by an angel called Apollyon “Destroyer”
The Elect were protected
These were commanded not harm any plants or trees, but only those who were not sealed by God. So here
you can see that the elect are still on the earth (they have not been raptured away), but they are protectedfrom the judgements.
What did the demons do?
They tormented people for 5 months. But they had a more specific purpose. A huge army of military wasassembled at the Euphrates - 200 million personnel in total. The description of these demons is the same as
the description of the soldiers and of their vehicles provided later in verse 17-19.
Demons (Rev 9 v 7-10)
Like horses prepared for battle
Crowns of something like gold
Faces of men
Women’s hair
Teeth like lions teeth
Breastplates of iron
Tails like scorpions – stings in the tails

Soldiers (Rev 9 v 16-19)
Army of horsemen was 200 million

Heads of the horses were heads of lions
Breastplates of fiery red, blue and yellow
For their power is in their mouth and in their tails,
for their tails are like serpents, and with them theydo harm

The similarity in the description of what came out of the abyss, and the description of the army isdeliberate. The soldiers manifested the demons – they became possessed by them, and slaughtered a thirdof mankind.
What was this in preparation for?
You will see later that this gathering of military at the Euphrates was the beginning of the battle ofArmageddon. On one side we have God and his elect, and on the other side we have a vast army indefiance of God. The above texts suggests that this army became possessed by millions of demons that had
issued from the bottomless pit.
So Armageddon is a battle of spiritual good against spiritual evil. It’s a final battle between spiritual entities
being fought out through the medium of physical human bodies.
What is the bottomless pit?
It is possibly a gateway to an infinite (bottomless) dimension.

What seems certain is that this chapter is describing the opening of a gateway that releases millions offlying demonic entities whose purpose appears to be the possession of a human army in preparation for
the final battle of Armageddon.
Those sealed by God however are not affected. The sealed are
1. protected from being possessed by these entities
2. protected from being tormented by these entities.
3. Protected from being killed by the possessed army?
Armageddon is often depicted as a war of annihilation. On one side led by Apollyon (“the destroyer”) andhis minion entities, and on the other side God and his elect. So it’s a spiritual war with spiritual beings on
both sides.

The narrative sequence I have described so far, is repeated over again in later chapters of Revelation, butwith some extra detail added – filling in some of the blanks.
In order to demonstrate this, I am going to provide an outline of chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16 of Revelations.
You will see how it is describing the same sequence of events as chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Revelations.
These two parallel records paint a complete picture.

The Beast (Rev 13)
The beast has power for 42 months (3.5 years) over every tribe, tongue and nation. So it is a world empire.
The beast persecutes Christians and the worship of anything but itself.
Everyone must receive a mark in order to be able to buy or sell.

The 144,000 (Rev 14)
144,000 stand with Jesus on Mount Zion. These are the redeemed of Israel. Note that only the 144,000
stand with Christ on Mount Zion – these are the first of the redeemed from Israel. This particular group isregarded as very devout and pure. Perhaps they need that purity and strength in order to withstand theexposure to the natural and spiritual forces of the subsequent plagues.

The Seven Last Plagues (Rev 15, 16)These plagues are identical to the events described in Revelations 8 and 9.
Plague1

Rev 16
Foul and loathsome sores

2

Sea turned to blood. Every living
creature in the sea died

3.

Rivers and springs become blood

4.
5.

Sun scorches men with great heat
Darkness over the kingdom of thebeast

6.

Waters of Euphrates dried up, toprepare the way for the kings of theEast. The spirits of demons possess
all the kings of the earth to gather
them for battle at Armageddon.

Rev 8-9
The first angel sounded: and Hail and fire followed,
mingled with blood. A third of the trees were burned up,and all green grass as burned up
Something like a great mountain burning with fire wasthrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.,
and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and athird of the ships were destroyed.
A great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it
fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters
became wormwood, and many men died from the water
because it was made bitter.
Then the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun was
struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, sothat a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did
not shine, and likewise a third of the night.
Satan is given the key to the bottomless pit – releasing
millions of flying entities which torment people for 5months. They take the same form as the army of 200
million gathered at the Euphrates. A third of mankind is
killed by this army.

7.

Great earthquake, hail

As you can see, Revelations 16 describes the same events as Revelations 8-9. So the narrative follows arepeating cycle - with the same events described twice –Cycle 1
Period of the 4 horsemen
Sealing of the 144,000
Meteor ImpactsRelease of demons, and possession of the army of
the kings of the East, gathered at the Euphrates, tofight at Armageddon

Cycle 2
Reign of the Beast for 3.5 years
144,000 with Christ on Mount Zion
Meteor Impacts
Release of demons and possession of the world
leaders, an army gathered at the Euphrates, to fightat Armageddon

So we can see a simple plot.
Initially there is the reign of the beast where restrictions on buying and selling are used to coerce people
into becoming infected with plague, or suffer famine. There is social unrest, and anarchy. 25% of the earth
population is killed.
After 3.5 years, the leaders prepare for the imminent meteor impacts and take refuge underground,hoping that the meteors will do the job of depopulation. However, God seals the believers to protect themfrom the effects of the impacts.
After the meteor impacts, Satan is given the keys to the abyss (bottomless pit), and releases a vast army ofentities (demons). These torment people for 5 months, but those who were sealed by God are protectedfrom them. These demons take possession of all the world leaders, and also take possession of the army
under their command. The army is led by the kings of the East, and kills 33% of the remaining world
population. The sealed are protected from this slaughter. The army then gathers to fight against Christ, butis defeated.
So, if you survive the first 3.5 years, and if you are sealed by God, then you should be protected from all ofthe remaining events.
After the time of the Beast –1. You will be sealed and/or protected by God (if you accept and obey God)
2. The New World Order will end because its infrastructure will be severely affected by the meteors.
3. The New World Order will be disrupted because all of its leaders will be hiding underground, and so
will have ceased government activities on the surface to a great extent.
Shortly after the meteor devastation, the military and political leaders re-emerge from underground.
About this time, the Abyss is unlocked, and the unleashed demons influence the world leaders to gather avast global army to rout mankind – killing 33% of the survivors. Perhaps this was always their plan – to use
blunt force to bring about depopulation. Once possessed, the soldiers feel less reluctance to carry out thistask. However, this army will be defeated at Armageddon.

It’s hard to see how a hi tech New World Order could persist through all this – since all its infrastructure isdestroyed, its army defeated, and its leaders replaced by the victor, Christ, who assumes power andgovernance of the earth.

Can You Be A Neutral Observer ?
Even if you don’t support the New World Order, and manage to survive the 3.5 years of the Beast those
who are not walking with God will still suffer –1. the effects of the meteor – famine, water shortage, loss of home
2. the effects of the demonic invasiona. 5 months period of demonic harassment described in Rev 9 v 10
b. vulnerability to being possessed by these demons yourself
c. surrounded by possessed people committing atrocities
If you are not for God, then whatever emerges from the bottomless pit may not regard you as neutral.
Without protection you will fare the same as the others.
All this sounds very far-fetched …..
but if you survive the 3.5 years of the beast, then you will see for yourself.
When the first red dust begins to settle over the earth then you will know that it is true.