Last time we talked about how Jesus was the strong angel. We see the strong angel appear again in Revelation 10, 1-7. "And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head and his face was like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire, and he had in his hand a little book which was open, and he placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land, and he cried out with a loud voice as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it and the earth and the things in it and the sea and the things in it that there shall be delay no longer. but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. "

If you look at Revelation 1:5-8, "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priest to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. "

Revelation 1:14-18, "and His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades. (v20) the seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches.

Hold on, there is a lot of great stuff here. First you can see the parallels of face and feet looking like they are on fire, you can see the book in His hands, and you can see the "Coming in the clouds" likeness. This is how you study the Bible. If you hear it once, you listen. If you hear it repeated over and over, you believe it. So, you can see how the strong angel is definitely Jesus.
Notice, "I am the first of the living dead" and "I am the first and the last". Does this mean that Jesus will be the last of the living dead? Can He come back physically, and be killed again, this time for the Jews? Why not? If He is the son of God, He can do whatever is needed. When He died on the Cross, Jesus said, "It is finished" In Revelation 10 it said, "the mystery of God is finished". Did you know that Jesus' ministry only lasted three and one-half years on earth before He was crucified? The perfect number is seven. Maybe Jesus will return physically for three and one-half years for the Jews?

In Revelation 11:7-15, "And whe they (the two great witnesses) have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great ciy which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. (v11) and after three and a half days the breath of life from God came into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them. and they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them "Come up here" and they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.
Most scholars believe that the two great witnesses are Moses and Elijah. There is really no way to prove it. But, wouldn't it be incredible if Jesus came for the Gentiles the first time and the Jews the second time.
Look at Hebrews 9:28, "so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him".
If we back up to Revelation 10, He put His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the land. The sea is symbolic of the Gentiles and the land is symbolic for the land of Israel. This same event was described in Daniel 12, the only difference was in Daniel, He lifted up His right hand and then His left hand. Why did He lift only His right hand in Revelation? He lifted His right hand up to heaven offering what was under His right foot to the Father, the saved Gentiles or the church. Also, notice in Revelation 1 that He had the stars in His right hand, which was the angels of the seven churches. After this time, there is no more salvation for the Gentiles. A little while latter He will lift up His left hand and offer up the saved Jews to the Father.
Topics to come: when is the end of salvation for the Gentiles? how are the Jews saved? what is the role of the two great withnesses?
We will look at those questions next time. God bless, Dean