Revelation

Just to do something different and to try and get some input and responses I thought that I would go verse by verse in the book of The Revelation.

As I have talked with and taught people now for longer than I can remember, it seems that everyone knows all about the 2nd Coming of Christ and the Revelation He gave to John...……..until they begin to talk. So with that in mind I thought I would share with you what I believe and if we get some responses I will continue. However if there is no responce or input then I will discontinue this effort.


Revelation 1:1...….
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:"

The theme of the book is clearly given and also who gives it.

1). The theme is to give those people who are alive just before Christ comes again the signs or things happening at that time.

2). The author is the Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all, no one knows the exact day of the Second Coming. Do not allow yourself to fall into the trap of Satan and believe what some person tells you. When someone wants you to buy there book or CD, they are LIEING!!!!!

First of all it must be understood that YOU or ANYONE else does not know when this event will take place.

Matthew 24:36...…...

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

This is not up for debate. When Jesus says NO ONE knows, then NO ONE KNOWS.


Now lets consider Matthew 24:34...……….
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

"This generation" is the key for Context. No one living when Jesus spoke those words lived to see "ALL THESE THINGS" come to pass.

The original Greek word used here can mean...."RACE" or FAMILY". That makes perfect sense in this context as the Jewish race has been preserved now for the past 2000 years. In spite of terrible persecution the Lord Jesus has kept that race of people and they exist now in the Promised land of which He gave to them going all the way back to Exodus.

"Revelation" means …….Uncovering or unveiling. So the question then must be----what is the revealing of?

The "THINGS" or EVENTS are those found in Daniels 70th Week or "Jacobs Trouble and some call this coming time as "The Tribulation Period".

If you are inclined to study deeply the Word of God, I would suggest at this time you read Daniel 7 thru 12 or at least have your Bible open to those passages.

Secondly, the key of understanding then is given to us in Matthew 24:32-34...……………..


'Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

I am one who believes that this happened on May 14th, 1948. On that day, the U.N. Security Council voted 15-0 to give Palestine back to the Jews and named that land "ISRAEL". It is of course -- The Promised Land. That act placed the nation of Israel back into the Land just as God promised them.

That act then has set in motion God's prophetic time clock. You see, we have been living in the Day of Grace or as some say, the Church Age which began when Jesus died and rose from the dead. God placed a "Time out" as you will or a GAP which is the time between the 69th and 70th Week of Daniels Prophecy.

(Read Daniel 9:23-27).

Messiah Jesus was "Cut Off" / Crucified exactly as Daniel said after the 62nd Week. So the SEVENTY WEEKS seen in Daniel 9:24 has not yet been lived hence the Church Age or Day of Grace we now live in. The EVENTS of Revelation 1:1 or the "Things" are then those events which will take place AFTER the 69th Week is completed which will actually be the 70th Week of Daniel.
 
Hello Major;

This is a good outline of your teaching.

In Revelation 1:1 Jesus was revealing to John the link to many events that will take place, but the important focus is Christ, His unconditional love, power and justice in Revelation. The world deceives our focus of Jesus coming back with trembling and fear instead of the hopes of God's plan for the end of the world.

The link to Revelation in Matthew 24:32-34 is when the fig tree blooms, a metaphor of all the events that will be fulfilled, yet not knowing when the Son of Man will return but how God will make obvious. In the meantime, stand firm and continue serving as the events take place.

The next link to Revelation in Daniel 9:23-27 is the 70 weeks which is interpreted as both the great Tribulation (in the future.) The times and numbers are still God's prophetic time clock as it must happen but as the same time we must remain firm in our faith that God's promises will remain to all who believe and serve Him.

In your teaching, I feel one of the keys of the second coming is if we know when Jesus is coming back, many would take advantage of the timing when to repent to God prior to the end.

God bless you, Major and your family.
 
Hello Major;

This is a good outline of your teaching.

In Revelation 1:1 Jesus was revealing to John the link to many events that will take place, but the important focus is Christ, His unconditional love, power and justice in Revelation. The world deceives our focus of Jesus coming back with trembling and fear instead of the hopes of God's plan for the end of the world.

The link to Revelation in Matthew 24:32-34 is when the fig tree blooms, a metaphor of all the events that will be fulfilled, yet not knowing when the Son of Man will return but how God will make obvious. In the meantime, stand firm and continue serving as the events take place.

The next link to Revelation in Daniel 9:23-27 is the 70 weeks which is interpreted as both the great Tribulation (in the future.) The times and numbers are still God's prophetic time clock as it must happen but as the same time we must remain firm in our faith that God's promises will remain to all who believe and serve Him.

In your teaching, I feel one of the keys of the second coming is if we know when Jesus is coming back, many would take advantage of the timing when to repent to God prior to the end.

God bless you, Major and your family.

You are very correct and thanks for the comment. I hope that we get a lot of action from this.

If we knew the tme and date, there would be uncountable numbers who live like the devil right up to that point.

The key IMO is Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus who was a Jew, was asked by His disciples who were Jews, what would be the signs of the end of the world.
Jesus came to bring salvation 1st of all to the house of Israel. Therefore the signs He gave to answer their question was focused on the nation of Israel.
Yes, the whole world will be involved but the center of the action will be Israel.

I really believe that is why there is so much drama and conflict in the middle east today. Therefor, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the specific unfolding of the "signs of wars and rumors of wars" that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24.
 
You are very correct and thanks for the comment. I hope that we get a lot of action from this.

If we knew the tme and date, there would be uncountable numbers who live like the devil right up to that point.

The key IMO is Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus who was a Jew, was asked by His disciples who were Jews, what would be the signs of the end of the world.
Jesus came to bring salvation 1st of all to the house of Israel. Therefore the signs He gave to answer their question was focused on the nation of Israel.
Yes, the whole world will be involved but the center of the action will be Israel.

I really believe that is why there is so much drama and conflict in the middle east today. Therefor, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the specific unfolding of the "signs of wars and rumors of wars" that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24.

Good morning my brothers. Major, this was a great idea on your part. I too hole that we get "a lot of action from this."

One of the passages from Matthew that makes the answer to the "when" question clear is 24:37-38 "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away." (NIV).

I find your discussion very timely, at least for me. I started really thinking about this a week ago. I was watching a re-run of the cooking program "God Eats." The host, Alton Brown, was asked what would be his ideal "last meal." His reply was that none of us know when our last meal will come (unless you are on death row). My thought was that we need to eat every mean as if it were our last, because, one day, it will be.

rtm3039

PS. Off to re-read Daniel...
 
You are very correct and thanks for the comment. I hope that we get a lot of action from this.

If we knew the tme and date, there would be uncountable numbers who live like the devil right up to that point.

The key IMO is Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus who was a Jew, was asked by His disciples who were Jews, what would be the signs of the end of the world.
Jesus came to bring salvation 1st of all to the house of Israel. Therefore the signs He gave to answer their question was focused on the nation of Israel.
Yes, the whole world will be involved but the center of the action will be Israel.

I really believe that is why there is so much drama and conflict in the middle east today. Therefor, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the specific unfolding of the "signs of wars and rumors of wars" that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24.

All, as a side note, have any of you ever watched the movie Troy? In thinking about the fact that none of us know when "it" will happen, I think there is one movie line that turns this unknown into a blessing. The line is: “The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
 
You are very correct and thanks for the comment. I hope that we get a lot of action from this.

If we knew the tme and date, there would be uncountable numbers who live like the devil right up to that point.

The key IMO is Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus who was a Jew, was asked by His disciples who were Jews, what would be the signs of the end of the world.
Jesus came to bring salvation 1st of all to the house of Israel. Therefore the signs He gave to answer their question was focused on the nation of Israel.
Yes, the whole world will be involved but the center of the action will be Israel.

I really believe that is why there is so much drama and conflict in the middle east today. Therefor, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the specific unfolding of the "signs of wars and rumors of wars" that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24.

Major, regarding your comment "I really believe that is why there is so much drama and conflict in the middle east today. Therefor, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the specific unfolding of the "signs of wars and rumors of wars" that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24."

Personally, I do not recall of any time when "drama and conflict" has not been available in the middle east.

I recall, during Desert Storm, when Iraqi forces were aiming scud missiles towards Israel, how hard the US worked to convince Israel not to retaliate and to allow our forces to knock those scuds out before they hit their targets. Many thought this was the sign of the beginning of the end. Sadly enough, we were not successful at hitting those missiles, yet Israel showed great retrain. Had they not, who knows how that conflict would have ended.

As it turned out, it was the US who lost the most from these missiles, when, on the last day of the conflict, one hit Riyadh and killed 27.

rtm3039
 
Major, regarding your comment "I really believe that is why there is so much drama and conflict in the middle east today. Therefor, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the specific unfolding of the "signs of wars and rumors of wars" that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24."

Personally, I do not recall of any time when "drama and conflict" has not been available in the middle east.

I recall, during Desert Storm, when Iraqi forces were aiming scud missiles towards Israel, how hard the US worked to convince Israel not to retaliate and to allow our forces to knock those scuds out before they hit their targets. Many thought this was the sign of the beginning of the end. Sadly enough, we were not successful at hitting those missiles, yet Israel showed great retrain. Had they not, who knows how that conflict would have ended.

As it turned out, it was the US who lost the most from these missiles, when, on the last day of the conflict, one hit Riyadh and killed 27.

rtm3039

I agree with you. The difference is the accumulative effect. Iraq did not have nukes.......Iran has or will have very soon. I do not think that Israel will allow that to happen and when Iran gets close to a deliverable nuke....Israel will attack Iran in an effort to stop that from happening.

That just maybe the event to set the "Wars" Jesus talked about in Matthew 24.
 
Good morning my brothers. Major, this was a great idea on your part. I too hole that we get "a lot of action from this."

One of the passages from Matthew that makes the answer to the "when" question clear is 24:37-38 "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away." (NIV).

I find your discussion very timely, at least for me. I started really thinking about this a week ago. I was watching a re-run of the cooking program "God Eats." The host, Alton Brown, was asked what would be his ideal "last meal." His reply was that none of us know when our last meal will come (unless you are on death row). My thought was that we need to eat every mean as if it were our last, because, one day, it will be.

rtm3039

PS. Off to re-read Daniel...

Agreed.
 
One verse a week out of the Revelation so today it is Chapter1 verse #2.

"who testifies to everything he saw-that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ."

John is told to bear record of 3 things...…….

1). The Word of God.
2). The testimony of Christ.
3). All the things he saw.

Lots and lots of people accept ESP. Many believe the rantings of Nostradamus. Some people just believe anything that is said to them and of course we all know that everything on the internet is always the truth.

What sets apart our God and His book of truth from all the other gods and nonsense and religious dogma, is that Gods book tells the future with 100% accuracy.

There are four principle viewpoints concerning the interpretation of the Revelation.

1). Preterist.
This view says that the events in the book were already fulfilled in the early history of the church.

2). Historical.
This view sees the book as portraying a panorama of the history of the church from the days of John to the end of time.

3). Idealist.
This view considers the book as a pictorial unfolding of great priciples in constant conflict without reference as prophecy at all.

4. Futurist.
This view sees most of the book, chapters 4 to the end as prophecy yet to be fulfilled. The Futurist view is the one I entertain. I has studied all the others and the Futurist view is the one that fits together completely with no work or manipulations to make anything understandable.

Christ Jesus is the center of the prophecy. Everything revoloves around Him and for Him.

Colossians 1:16-17 ..............
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

So then, that being understood we see in verse 2...….."Bare record".

That means John was a witness of what he wrote. He SAW the revelation and wrote down what he saw.

Now allow me to give you the key to understanding why some of the Revelation seems to be complicated. John, while on the island of Patmos was allowed to SEE the events that were to take place in the future. Some believe that he was seeing a vision and some believe that he was actually transported by the Holy Spirit into the future and then told to record what he saw. Either one of those explanations is acceptable to me.
The problem is that he did not understand what he was seeing. He was faithful to write it all down as best he could with the mind set he has as a man living in the 1st century.

What he was seeing was 2000 years in the future so he did not have the ability to translate what he SAW to what he knew to describe.

After we leave chapter 3, that will become more obvious as he will then be talking about future things and events.
 
One verse a week out of the Revelation so today it is Chapter1 verse #2.

"who testifies to everything he saw-that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ."

John is told to bear record of 3 things...…….

1). The Word of God.
2). The testimony of Christ.
3). All the things he saw.

Lots and lots of people accept ESP. Many believe the rantings of Nostradamus. Some people just believe anything that is said to them and of course we all know that everything on the internet is always the truth.

What sets apart our God and His book of truth from all the other gods and nonsense and religious dogma, is that Gods book tells the future with 100% accuracy.

There are four principle viewpoints concerning the interpretation of the Revelation.

1). Preterist.
This view says that the events in the book were already fulfilled in the early history of the church.

2). Historical.
This view sees the book as portraying a panorama of the history of the church from the days of John to the end of time.

3). Idealist.
This view considers the book as a pictorial unfolding of great priciples in constant conflict without reference as prophecy at all.

4. Futurist.
This view sees most of the book, chapters 4 to the end as prophecy yet to be fulfilled. The Futurist view is the one I entertain. I has studied all the others and the Futurist view is the one that fits together completely with no work or manipulations to make anything understandable.

Christ Jesus is the center of the prophecy. Everything revoloves around Him and for Him.

Colossians 1:16-17 ..............
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

So then, that being understood we see in verse 2...….."Bare record".

That means John was a witness of what he wrote. He SAW the revelation and wrote down what he saw.

Now allow me to give you the key to understanding why some of the Revelation seems to be complicated. John, while on the island of Patmos was allowed to SEE the events that were to take place in the future. Some believe that he was seeing a vision and some believe that he was actually transported by the Holy Spirit into the future and then told to record what he saw. Either one of those explanations is acceptable to me.
The problem is that he did not understand what he was seeing. He was faithful to write it all down as best he could with the mind set he has as a man living in the 1st century.

What he was seeing was 2000 years in the future so he did not have the ability to translate what he SAW to what he knew to describe.

After we leave chapter 3, that will become more obvious as he will then be talking about future things and events.

I tend to support the same conclusion. What happened to John happens to be often. Sometimes I work an investigation that is not only technical, but on a subject I know little about. I go out and determine what that person did. I then go to the authority (usually a policy, procedure, or manual,), and connect what that person did and what it violated. At the end, I write a report that makes me appear as a subject matter expert, but much of what I write is not something I can claim to be derived from personal understanding.

Imagine what a 1st Century man would think, if he was handed a laptop. Imagine how he would describe this tangible thing that could recognize you by your fingerprint, that included moving images, and could type what you speak into it.

rtm3039

rtm3039
 
I tend to support the same conclusion. What happened to John happens to be often. Sometimes I work an investigation that is not only technical, but on a subject I know little about. I go out and determine what that person did. I then go to the authority (usually a policy, procedure, or manual,), and connect what that person did and what it violated. At the end, I write a report that makes me appear as a subject matter expert, but much of what I write is not something I can claim to be derived from personal understanding.

Imagine what a 1st Century man would think, if he was handed a laptop. Imagine how he would describe this tangible thing that could recognize you by your fingerprint, that included moving images, and could type what you speak into it.

rtm3039

rtm3039

Ok, so now that I have armed myself with a little more knowledge, I see that the futurist’s viewpoint is build upon Revelations 1:19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” This divides Revelations into three parts; Revelations 1 (what was), Revelations 2 and 3 (what is); and Revelations 4 through 22 (what will be). Now, from what I have read, the only problem with this approach is that it might be too literal and does not take into account the symbolic nature of some of the language. Personally, while I agree with this viewpoint (futurism), I have always seen some of the language in the bible as more a case of symbolism rather that actual fact. One such example, which was cited in the material I read, was Revelations 19:15 “Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations…” To me, the “sharp sword” is symbolic of strong words (or the truth). If this is true, one can only wonder just how much symbolism is confused with fact and how important it is to fully understand the power of language in the bible.

One question You write: “What he was seeing was 2000 years in the future.” How did you derive the number of years?

Rtm3039
 
I tend to support the same conclusion. What happened to John happens to be often. Sometimes I work an investigation that is not only technical, but on a subject I know little about. I go out and determine what that person did. I then go to the authority (usually a policy, procedure, or manual,), and connect what that person did and what it violated. At the end, I write a report that makes me appear as a subject matter expert, but much of what I write is not something I can claim to be derived from personal understanding.

Imagine what a 1st Century man would think, if he was handed a laptop. Imagine how he would describe this tangible thing that could recognize you by your fingerprint, that included moving images, and could type what you speak into it.

rtm3039

rtm3039

You got it. That is why some things appear to be completely nuts when the truth is, John just did not know how to describe what he saw.

I think and we will discuss it when we get there, elements of modern warfare. How could he describe a modern tank when the language to do so did not exist?
 
Ok, so now that I have armed myself with a little more knowledge, I see that the futurist’s viewpoint is build upon Revelations 1:19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” This divides Revelations into three parts; Revelations 1 (what was), Revelations 2 and 3 (what is); and Revelations 4 through 22 (what will be). Now, from what I have read, the only problem with this approach is that it might be too literal and does not take into account the symbolic nature of some of the language. Personally, while I agree with this viewpoint (futurism), I have always seen some of the language in the bible as more a case of symbolism rather that actual fact. One such example, which was cited in the material I read, was Revelations 19:15 “Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations…” To me, the “sharp sword” is symbolic of strong words (or the truth). If this is true, one can only wonder just how much symbolism is confused with fact and how important it is to fully understand the power of language in the bible.

One question You write: “What he was seeing was 2000 years in the future.” How did you derive the number of years?

Rtm3039

From 95 AD when John wrote it to today.

Consider Rev. 1:16...........
"In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

In that place the sword seems to be an emblem of his words or doctrines, as penetrating the hearts of people; here it is the emblem of a work of destruction worked on his foes or as some say, Judgment.

Hebrews 4:12; …….
" The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, "
 
You got it. That is why some things appear to be completely nuts when the truth is, John just did not know how to describe what he saw.

I think and we will discuss it when we get there, elements of modern warfare. How could he describe a modern tank when the language to do so did not exist?
reminds me of the story of two blind men standing on opposite ends of an elephant and describing what they felt; two quite different descriptions of the same animal.
 
From 95 AD when John wrote it to today.

Consider Rev. 1:16...........
"In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

In that place the sword seems to be an emblem of his words or doctrines, as penetrating the hearts of people; here it is the emblem of a work of destruction worked on his foes or as some say, Judgment.

Hebrews 4:12; …….
" The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, "
I have so much to learn......

rtm3039
 
You got it. That is why some things appear to be completely nuts when the truth is, John just did not know how to describe what he saw.

I think and we will discuss it when we get there, elements of modern warfare. How could he describe a modern tank when the language to do so did not exist?
At one point, I thought I understood the meaning of unleavened bread, as it pertained to what the Israelites took with them out of Egypt. Then I read 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NIV) “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Now I wonder if this too was symbolic of an over-inflated ego (i.e. boasting).

rtm3039
 
Thanks Major -Great topic for some learning! Looking forward to the learning :)
A question: Aside from Daniel, what other books will be mentioned in the discussion / study?

Thank you for the comment.

In the Scriptures, "prophesy" makes up about 25% of all Scriptures.

It would be impossible to say which books will be in focus but probably ALL of them that apply will be referred to. Let me give you an example...………..

1.
We will see in Genesis 3:15 at His first coming, the seed of the woman, not of the man, shall have His
heel bruised by Satan; at His second coming, Christ shall bruise Satan's head.


2.
We will also see from Jude 14-15 that Enoch walked with God; and his preaching is given in one of the last books
of the Bible:
"Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying,
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment
upon all,"
 
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