This lesson shows how the “Son of Man” is the glorified Lord Jesus Christ, as John sees Him on Patmos in Revelation 1—as the eternal High Priest and coming Judge. His appearance reveals divine majesty and authority: head and hair white like wool, eyes like flaming fire, feet like burning brass, voice like many waters, seven stars in His right hand, a sharp two-edged sword (representing the Word of God) from His mouth, and a face shining like the sun. John falls as dead in awe, but Christ comforts him with the words “Fear not; I am the First and the Last…I am alive for evermore…and have the keys of hell and of death,” reminding every believer that the entire book of Revelation is first and foremost the Revelation of Jesus Christ—the victorious King who will judge the world and care for His own through the coming Tribulation.

This episode explores the Antichrist. Called “the Beast” in Revelation 13, he is a human Jewish man who will rise to global power from among the Gentile nations immediately after the Rapture of the Church. He will initially appear peaceful, signing a seven-year covenant with Israel, but midway through the Tribulation he will be assassinated, resurrect from the dead (counterfeiting Christ’s resurrection), and then demand worldwide worship while blaspheming God, desecrating the temple, and brutally persecuting believers for the final 3½ years. Still, God will sovereignly limit the Beast’s reign, ultimately destroy him at Armageddon, and cast him into the lake of fire. This prophecy serves both as a warning for those left behind and as encouragement for today’s believers to focus on Christ’s return at the Rapture rather than speculating about the Antichrist’s identity.

There will be much deception in the future Tribulation, and the False Prophet will be at the center of it all. In this lesson, we learn that as the Antichrist’s religious right-hand man and the Holy Spirit’s counterfeit, the False Prophet appears lamb-like but speaks with satanic authority, performs lying wonders, commands the world to build and worship a living, speaking image of the resurrected Antichrist, and enforces the visible mark of the Beast so that no one can buy or sell without it—while true believers must endure by faith, trusting God for daily provision as taught in the Sermon on the Mount. There is also considerable deception today under grace, and we need to stay vigilant and focused on Christ and His Word to guard against Satan’s subtle doctrinal errors.

Following the Rapture of the Church, at the beginning the Tribulation, God will supernaturally raise up two literal witnesses in Jerusalem to preach the saving message of the gospel of the kingdom—repentance and faith in Christ as Messiah— with many responding in faith. We see in this episode that, empowered by the Holy Spirit, these individuals will prophesy and perform miracles for 1,260 days. At the Tribulation’s midpoint, however, the Beast kills them and their bodies lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem while the world rejoices. But then, after the Spirit of life resurrects them and they ascend to heaven in a cloud before their enemies’ eyes, God begins pouring out His judgment, reminding us to be grateful for this age of grace and to witness boldly in the power of the Spirit while we still can.

During the Tribulation, there will be a group of people who will be “God’s Untouchables.” The 144,000—12,000 Jewish men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel—will believe in the true Christ and not be influenced by the satanic corruption of that day. This lesson shows they will faithfully bear the fearful persecution and threats of the Antichrist (“the Beast”), and, having been supernaturally protected by God’s seal on their foreheads, will endure to the end of the prophesied seven-year period. In stark contrast to the Beast’s followers, these blameless servants illustrate God’s faithfulness to Israel during Jacob’s trouble, and their example of total devotion, truth-speaking, and sacrificial service offers timeless principles for believers today to walk as children of light and hold forth the Word of life.