5 v.6 - Even though the capture of the ark was a punishment from Yahweh the actions of the Philistines were not justified. Therefore the hand of the Lord was heavy on them.

6 v.9 - Bethshemesh was in the land of Judah see v1 [Joshua 15:10] Given to the sons of Aaron see v 13 [Joshua 21:13 - 16] It was the place where the Ark rested when it returned from the Philistines [1Samuel 6:9 12 13 15 19 20]
6 v.13 - The wheat harvest was at the time of the feast of weeks [Exodus 34:22]
6 v.17 - 'and these are ...' causes one to conclude that the book of Samuel was written some time after the event and the writer is now referring to the items found by the ark which would still be seen in the days of the writing of 1 Samuel.

6:16-17 The mention of the five lords of the Philistines and the five cities seems to indicate that the Philistines, rather than sending the ark to all of the five cities decided that the ark was 'too hot to handle' after only three cities had been plagued. The five mice indicate that all five lords felt that they were guilty even though they had not had the ark in their city.

5:3,4 'fallen upon his face to the earth' is quoted (1 Samuel 17:49) to speak of the fate of Goliath. Their God was dead and this prefigured their champion.

6:19 So even though the men had seen a great deliverance and doubtless (or maybe not) realised that God had brought the ark back they still violated the sanctity of God by looking into the ark. Maybe they would justify their actions by saying that they wanted to check if the two tables of stone were still there. We can always justify our actions can't we?

5:5 The way that the Philistines superstitiously avoided treading on the threshold of the house of Dagon was mimicked by Israel (Zeph 1:9) in their false worship.

6:13 hat the men of Bethshemesh were 'reaping their wheat harvest' provides incidental evidence that we are shortly after the tie of passover.

God showed how displeased He was with Israel, when the ark was returned.  The town on Beth-shemesh
in Judah's territory, should not have touched the ark.  But they did, and 53,000 men died.

5:3,4 Yahweh's opposition to the Philistines and their half man/half fish god Dagon is reminiscent of His enmity with Egypt and its false gods.  In Egypt's case, ten gods were addressed with ten plagues to the end that the children of Israel were freed.  With the Philistines, one false god was countered and two plagues ensued to the end that the ark would be freed. 

5:6,9 Yahweh smote the Philistines with deadly hemorrhoidal tumors (piles).  He also smote the land with a plague of mice (6:5).  The Philistines must have known, however, that Yahweh was approachable through trespass (guilt) offerings as they made models of their tumors and mice out of gold (the most precious metal) to appease Him (6:3,4).

This episode illustrates that it is a most dangerous thing to oppose Yahweh (Psa 37:20; Heb 10:31).

5:7 The men of Ashdod realized that the ark should not remain with them, they successfully moved it to several of the large towns of the country, but the same pestilence broke out in every place and raged so fiercely and fatally that the authorities were forced to send the ark back into the land of Israel (V.8-10)

The five Philistine lords had witnessed many infallible proofs that the LORD was lord over their gods. In 5:2-4 God topples and breaks the image of Dagon. In v 6, 9, 11 He strikes the people of the chief cities of Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron with plagues of tumors and rats. In 6:5 the assessment of these lords, rightly, was that the hand of God was against their gods. These five lords of the Philistines watched as the Ark returned to Israel in miraculous fashion, proclaiming that it was the LORD, and not chance events, that had plagued them (6:9-12). And so, in 6:16 they saw the manner of worship of the Levites, witnessing a burnt offering to the LORD. Surely these five men would now draw near and ask to become followers of the God which had exalted Himself above their gods?

But they didn't, and they returned to Ekron the same day. What do you suppose they did there? In 2Kin 1:2 we read of a new god, Baal-zebub, lord of the flies, and prince of demons. Having been given the choice, these superstitious people had decided to serve a god representing the pestilence which the true God had sent upon them; the prince of demons, rather than the Lord of lords.

5:7        The response of the men of Ashdod is a tacit admission that Yahweh was stronger than Dagon.

6:7        Notice that the Philistines are aware, and remember, what God had done in Egypt and how Pharaoh had responded -  but the Exodus was at least 350 years earlier!

6:7 The Philistines used cows that were suckling their young to pull the cart carrying the ark. Then they took their calves away. The natural thing for the cows to do would be to follow a path to their young.  The unnatural direction would be away from the calves.  The Philistines reckoned that the direction the cows took would indicate whether the God of Israel was (supernaturally) directing the cows or not.                                                                                                 

6:19 The KJV records that 50,070 men of Beth-Shemesh died.  Some scholars believe that this number is due to a copyist's error.  The Septuagint, plus Josephus, records that the number is 70, hence that is number found in modern versions. 

6:7    We might think that the ‘new cart’ which David later used – 2Sam 6:3  was imitating the Philistines but doubtless David’s motives were higher than just imitating the Philistines.

The Philistines had witnessed and accepted the supremacy of the God of Israel over their own god Dagon.  And yet, it did not spur them to alter their religious affiliation.  Furthermore, in later conflicts with the Israelites, they had forgotten the supreme power of Yahweh and had to be reminded of it again.  Unfortunately, the same pattern of forgetfulness applied to the Israelites also.

6:13 Bethshemesh was a city of the priests – Josh 21:16 – so they should have known not to touch or look in the ark. But God was sending the ark to a place where there were priests to take care of it.

51:3 The Lord shall comfort Zion Zechariah 1:17

Vs.5,6 Israel is given the hope of deliverance and everlasting peace. This promise is given that will be realized through the Messiah.  The old (political) heavens and earth shall disappear to be replaced by the new in the Kingdom (Isa 65:17; 2Pet 3:13).  

Look at the phrase, my salvation.  The word salvation in Hebrew is yeshua (Jesus) which is clearly referring to our Lord, the Messiah, whose kingdom shall endure forever (Dan 2:44).  Furthermore: my righteousness shall not be abolished (v.6).  Again this is referring to Jesus who is given the title The Lord our Righteousness (Jer 23:5,6).

51:9,17 There is a call to God that He should ‘awake’ to which He responds that Israel should ‘awake’ and turn away from her idolatry.

Those who seek the LORD are not always the ones who are manifestly doing so. Often in the history of Israel it had been the pious and visibly religious leaders that were the most un-Godly. Repeatedly it was the Gentile converts here and there that showed more faith in God, for example Caleb, Rahab, and Uriah. The reason for this can be seen in the wording of the start of this chapter: "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD". It is much easier for someone who is away from God to realise the need to find Him, as these Gentiles did. Once they found God, the one they had sought, they viewed it as a very precious thing. The Israelite leaders, however, had it all handed to them on a plate and therefore didn't seem to appreciate the need to seek and pursue God.

There is a danger for us in this too. Many of us have been born into families where the LORD God of Israel is mentioned daily. We somehow feel that finding him isn't too difficult and that there is no urgency about it. However, for us the opposite is true. When we take the example of Israel (those who were born God's people) we see the real error of this way of thinking. Those who thought they were nearest to God were in fact the furthest away. We should realise instead how far away we are from Him and resolve to seek Him and pursue righteousness. For those of us not brought up with God as part of that upbringing, we should see ourselves privileged to have found God in a world which tries to obscure the way to Him. We should pursue all the more that precious knowledge we have found. In this chapter we see how the Gospel would be preached to God's people, and then to the rest of the world through the work of the Lord Jesus (v3-5). Now that Jesus has been revealed to us, righteousness is very near to us (v5) and we may be called His people (v4). All this is possible if we seek God and pursue the righteousness which is by faith like Abraham's example (v1-2, Gal 3:6-9)

51:1 The call to them that ‘follow after righteousness’ was a call to Israel to look beyond the law of Moses to the character of God. This is something Israel really had problems doing so Paul – Rom 10:8 – shows that they were still trying to establish their own righteousness b doing the law. Are we the same? Rather more concerned to highlight the good things we do rather than trust in the God who saves those who cannot save themselves.

51:15, Isa 51:15 Dividing the sea as Israel came out of Egypt was the act of making a covenant – Psa 136:13

51:11 The redeemed who return to Zion returns to the earlier words of the prophet – Isa 35:10

Vs.1-3 Yahweh exhorts His people to turn to Him because He has promised that they (the remnant) will enjoy the blessings of the Kingdom (See, for example, Psa 72:16; Isa 11:6-9).

V.8 See 50:9.

V.14 In the original sense, Cyrus would be the liberator of Yahweh’s people. In the end times, it will be Jesus, the Messiah, who will free Israel from the clutch of the enemy.  Remember that Hebrew prophecy often has duel applications; first, the more immediate historical use; then, the end-time manifestation.  Also, characters in the first use are types for the secondary application. Thus, Cyrus is a type of Christ.

V.15 Yahweh, as creator, can physically make the sea toss (divided KJV; stirs up ESV), and the waves to roar (Jer 31:35).  But, He can make peoples and nations do this in the figurative sense (Eze 26:3).  In this case, Yahweh is talking about Cyrus and Persia; and Jesus with His immortalized saints.

V.16 Yahweh has instructed both Cyrus and Jesus to do His will.

V.17 Yahweh caused Jerusalem to fall in 586 BC and Judah to be led captive to Babylon. In the end times, Yahweh will cause Jerusalem to be sacked again (Zech 14:2).

Vs.18-23 These verses apply only to the end time destruction of Jerusalem and its people, since after the exile there were those to guide because Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah were there. In the end-time application it will be Jesus who will give the cup of trembling (KJV); bowl of wrath (ESV) to the enemy (Zech 14:2-4).

v7 appears to refer to the insults of the Rabshakeh in 36:4-10, 13-20 and Sennacherib in 37:9-13.

v8 the moth eaten garment would appear to refer to the premature end of the glorious Assyrian army (37:36). This also appears in 50:9 probably referring to the same.

v12 confirms v7-9 by saying the same in different language.

v6 the heavens and earth disappear. Then in v16 they are re-made. In v13 the LORD says He alone stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth. Is that possible? In 49:13 the heavens and earth sing and rejoice. So it is obviously just picture language, and we need to look at the context to find out what they depict.

51:2  If Israel were to reflect upon the way that God had multiplied Abraham from ‘one’ to a multitude they would not fear their enemies.

12 v.7-11 - The battle is won, not by might nor power but by 'the blood of the lamb' marking the way in which we were redeemed. We cannot buy our salvation [1 Peter 1:18-19] nor can we win it by our own strength [Romans 5:6]. It is a gift through faith. [Romans 5:1]

13 v.9 - The call to listen with open ears echoes Jesus' repeated use of the idea in the gospels [Matthew 11:15 13:9,43 Mark 4:9,23 7:16 Luke 8:8 14:35] and in earlier chapters in Revelation [Revelation 2:7,11,17,29 3:6,13,22 13:9] And contrasts with Israel who were 'dull of hearing' because they had closed their ears. [Zechariah 7:11]

So here we are - right back in the garden of Eden - seeing the long planned salvation through the seed of the woman

Ezekiel sees men who have the seal of God in their foreheads. The beast seeks to cause men to change their allegiance. So that instead of thinking about God and His purpose all were to worship and think about the beast.

The way in which Ezekiel - speaking about Egypt and Daniel 7 - speaking about the Roman Empire and Daniel 8 - speaking of the Greeks are drawn together shows that this chapter is speaking of a force which manifests characteristics of all these nations.

The use of Daniel in this chapter highlights the value of understanding what Daniel is speaking about before trying to sort out what Revelation is talking about.

A quick overview of these two chapters shows that they deal with the rise of the apostate church that would oppose the Truth and its believers. 

The apostate church was able to operate with the blessing of the Emperor Constantine who embraced Christianity for his own political ends.  Thus, Imperial Rome became the state sponsor of the so-called Christian church.  

Constantine endorsed the Council of Nicaea's declaration of the doctrine of the Trinity (325 AD), and commanded that it must be believed by all Christians. Those who did not were deemed heretics and subject to abuse. This abuse continued for many centuries resulting in horrible conditions and death for true believers. 

The Lord Jesus will finally destroy this false system of worship when He returns.

12:7  Whilst it may seem obvious that there is a physical battle going on it clearly speaks of a conflict between two ideologies.

13:5  Whilst we have identified the ‘mouth speaking great things’ with Dan 7:8 we must also be aware of a New Testament link with Jude 1:16. Thus we see that what Revelation has to say had immediate relevance as well as a longer term fulfillment.

12:5The man child quotes Isa 66:7. His qualities match those that Jesus ascribes to his servants – Rev 2:27

12:4    The drawing of the stars of heaven is seen earlier in Dan 8:10.

12:6 A woman goes into the wilderness here for deliverance and we see a woman returning riding a beast – Rev 17:3 – is it the same woman who has been seduced by that which she fled from?

12:1 Remember that Revelation is a book of symbols. The symbols of this verse are:

-heaven  This represents a political heaven and not a celestial one.

-woman  This is a generic term for a female.  It could represent the bride of Christ (the true ecclesia),  but here it symbolizes a break-away religious system.  Her attire will explain more.

-the sun represents governing authority.  Many pagan gods, such as the Egyptian Ra (the sun god), were considered rulers.

-moon under her feet Anything under the feet is in subjection to what is above. The moon is subject to the sun for light.  And so, symbolically, the moon is reliant on the sun (government) for support.  In this case, the moon represents the apostate church (under the aegis of the woman) which would need government support to advance.

-crown symbolizes victory.  The woman, who we now see as symbolizing a religious system, has gained victory (domination) over all other religious claimants.

-twelve stars represents twelve princes (rulers) who would facilitate the apostate system to succeed.  Twelve is a representative number for a totality.  Can you think of other twelves, or multiples, in scripture, that can show you this kind of completeness.

Put together the pieces from above.  Where have you seen a statue or picture of such an image?

12:2,5 The child represents Constantine.

12:3 the dragon was a symbol of military Rome.

12:6 The woman here is the true ecclesia (The Bride of Christ) who was subject to persecution from the amalgamation of Constantine (Imperial Rome) with the apostate ecclesia that would become ecclesiastical Rome.  And so, the woman had to flee.  She would exist for 1260 years.

Michael  means one who is like the Son of God.  In this case, it represents Constantine who acted as if he were the Son of God.  He fought against pagan Rome in the name of ecclesiastical Rome.  He won (12:9).

12:10-12 Constantine and the Roman Church celebrate their victory in the name of Christ. The inhabitants of the earth are warned that the Roman Church will conquer those who do not believe as they do.

12:13-17 Now begins the persecution of the true ecclesia (woman) who, nevertheless will be sustained, as an entity, for 1260 days. If reckoned from Constantine in 312 AD, this would bring the time up to 1572 AD, the date of The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.

Chapter 13 will be discussed in December

-