Appendix F
Understanding
the
Apocalyptic charts
The
apocalyptic charts at the end of this study serve a
two-fold purpose. First, it attempts to identify the
order and timing of all apocalyptic elements-both
past and future. Secondly, it demonstrates the
controlling operation of a large prophetic matrix. (A
Chart Book can be obtained by calling (800)
475-0876.) This matrix of Daniel and Revelation has
two dimensions. First, there is the passage of time
(left to right). Secondly, there is collaboration
between the prophecies (top to bottom). Because
apocalyptic prophecy follows a consistent pattern,
the discovery of rules that makes this matrix
possible now brings a new level of understanding to
the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. For the
first time, the messages contained in these two books
of the Bible combine to make a scene just as they
read and when the prophecies are properly combined,
they reveal 17 extraordinary stories.
Review the chart twice
To
appreciate the meaning of the charts, view the charts
from left to right. For example, notice that Story 1
lists the elements of Daniel 2 as: Head, Chest,
Thighs, Legs, Feet, Toes, and Rock. These elements
are laid out according to their order given in the
prophecy. In other words, the kingdom symbolized
by the head is followed by a kingdom symbolized by
the chest, etc. By following the order of elements as
they are given, we not only mark the passage of time,
we can find our chronological position within the
prophecy. By finding our chronological position, we
can then see what is going to happen next!
After
observing the horizontal flow of the chart, study the
vertical alignment of the chart. For example, notice
the alignment of the chart below Medo-Persia. You
will find: Chest, Bear and Ram. These elements,
aligned from different prophecies, combine to form a
solid matrix about Medo-Persia, the second world
empire of apocalyptic prophecy. History confirms that
the Chest of Daniel 2, the Bear of Daniel 7 and the
Ram of Daniel 8 represent the same entity and that
this entity came to power about 538 B.C. Because
these three symbols represent the same entity, we
can align three prophecies and the resulting matrix
helps us understand things about the Medo-Persian
Empire that could not be otherwise understood.
For
example, Daniel was shown a sequence of events. This
vision is recorded in Daniel 7 (Story 2). The
sequence is as follows: Lion, Bear, Leopard, Monster,
Ten Horns, Little Horn, Judgment Day and Beasts
thrown into lake of fire. The problem with this
sequence of events is that we can historically
demonstrate the fulfillment of the Lion, Bear,
Leopard, Monster and Little Horn, but we can’t
historically demonstrate when the Judgment Day
scene occurs except to say that it occurs after the
Little Horn power. This is because the Judgment Day
scene doesn’t happen on earth. (See Daniel
7:9,10.) However, if we correctly align Daniel 7 with
Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 (Stories 3 and 4), we discover
the timing of the judgment scene to be 1844. From
this simple alignment and other supporting data, we
can easily calculate when the judgment scene
began.
Be careful
None of
the 17 apocalyptic prophecies are complete within
themselves. No one prophecy tells the whole story. In
fact, the full story is only revealed after all 17
prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are correctly
aligned. Many students of prophecy yield to the
temptation of minimizing some element as unimportant
if they don’t know what it means. Even worse,
some people will concoct elaborate conclusions
without first solving the whole equation. In other
words, until the full story is known, we can’t
have a complete understanding of any of the 17
prophecies. Therefore be careful in your study. We
can be sure that God did not include nonessential
elements in apocalyptic prophecy.
Puzzle solving
Prophetic
study requires patience and effort, for it is similar
to the assembly of a picture puzzle. If we correctly
assemble the obvious parts first, the obscure pieces
will finally fall into their right places. Bible
prophecy also unfolds like a flower. Ever since the
first apocalyptic prophecies were written, the people
of God have understood those portions of prophecy
that related to them. But, only the final
generation will understand the full story. God
designed that apocalyptic prophecy should operate
this way for three reasons:
First,
apocalyptic prophecy has kept hope alive for almost
2,000 years. That hope, of course, is the glorious
return of Jesus. Even though claims of prophetic
fulfillment have been declared and proven defective
in centuries past, the fact remains that hope in the
second advent is still alive.
Secondly,
God had apocalyptic prophecies written down in such a
way that their messages could not be fully understood
until the final generation should arrive. Soon, signs
in the heavens and on earth will draw attention to
the Bible as never before. By hiding the meaning of
the prophecies until the end of time, the discovery
of their understanding will generate global attention
as people learn that the Bible clearly explains what
is taking place! In turn, the Bible will be greatly
exalted before the world as the unfailing Word of
God.
Lastly,
the apocalyptic prophecies of Daniel and Revelation
bring all the themes of the Bible into crisp focus.
Apocalyptic prophecy exposes the comprehensiveness of
God’s salvation as nothing else can. In the
context of last day fulfillments, the essential
doctrines that support Bible prophecy combine to form
a wonderful view of God’s true character. Divine
love is His balance of mercy and justice and
everything that God does is fair. The five doctrines
that form the foundation of apocalyptic
interpretation are the truth about:
1.
The authority of God
2.
Then temple of God
3.
The return of God
4.
The salvation of God
5.
The condition of man in life and death
The more
you know about these five doctrines, the better you
will understand the prophecies and of course, the
stronger will be your appreciation of the goodness
and the love of God. Few people realize it, but the
events predicted in Revelation will soon expose all
the false doctrines and prophetic interpretations for
what they really are. God has carefully designed the
closing events of Earth’s history so that every
person may behold what His truth really is. Also,
understand that God is particularly interested in
reaching those who don’t want to know what the
truth is. As in the days of Pharaoh, the Bible
predicts that many will harden their hearts in the
face of God’s truth and when nothing more can be
done to save them, the door of mercy will close.
Not an infallible chart
This chart
represents the synthesis of my prophetic study for 30
+ years. The possibility of error is ever present for
I am human. My desire is that this chart will
stimulate deeper study and if it serves as a
springboard for better understanding, I shall be
pleased. So, I respectfully submit these conclusions
as “something to consider.”
To be
sure, many pastors and religious leaders will oppose
the placement of events and therefore, the
predictions of this chart. To these I can only extend
the ultimate challenge: “Do as I have done.
Distribute a detailed copy of your
chart.” By so doing, we can be impartially
judged in the near future. The presence or absence of
the things we put in print will clearly prove which
views are true and which are false. A printed chart
will serve as an unchanging witness between us.
While it
is not necessary that the reader agree with all of my
prophetic views, God desires that every Christian
place the prophetic elements somewhere and in some
order. Earth is not going to last much longer –
signs confirm every day. Soon, like the springing of
a trap, the great tribulation is going to break out
upon all inhabitants of Earth and if out prophetic
anchor is not carefully grounded in the Word of God,
we shall be overwhelmed and blown away by winds of
fear and confusion.
The fear
of Almighty God is about to fall upon all inhabitants
of Earth with sudden calamities. Then the world will
see just how terrible it is to fall into the hands of
the living God. The Lord will be fearfully exalted
throughout the earth as never before in the history
of man. Those who understand what God is doing
will go forth to tell others why
He is
sending judgments of destruction.
At that
time, the earth will be so distressed that the
inhabitants will be forced to give consideration to
the things taking place. Even though God’s
actions are often misunderstood, He does not suddenly
break into our daily activities without cause. Human
beings today have either forgotten or chosen to
ignore the fact that God’s visitation is
promised. Each of us will face our Creator and give
account for our words and deeds.
If we
refuse to live holy lives, if we neglect to search
for prophetic truth, we shall be left with nothing
but spiritual darkness. And what excuse for darkness
shall we offer God on that day if our ignorance has
been willful?
17 Apocalyptic Stories
The books
of Daniel and Revelation contain a total of 17
apocalyptic stories (prophecies). Each story is
identified by having a beginning point and ending
point in time. For this reason, all 17 stories will
neatly fit into time-lines forming a tight and
comprehensive matrix of events.
It is
important that we identify where each story begins
and ends. For this reason, all 17 apocalyptic stories
of Daniel and Revelation are chronologically
presented on the charts.
The reader
is reminded that the original manuscripts of Daniel
and Revelation did not include chapter and verse
designations. These “helps” were added
centuries after the manuscripts were written to
facilitate the study of the Bible. By having a
chapter and verse, students quickly find a sentence
or group of sentences for further investigation.
These well-intentioned helps can create a superficial
problem. Since we normally think of a chapter as a
complete unit, it is possible to overlook the
presence of the 17 stories because they are grouped
differently than chapter units represent. So, do not
be confused by the fact that stories can begin and
end anywhere within a chapter.
Start and stop
How can we
tell when one story ends and another begins? One
story ends and another begins when the next event
chronologically occurs before the previous event. For
example, suppose you are reading about the sixth
seals in Revelation 6. As you read verses 12-17, the
sixth seal is described. This seal describes the
second advent of Jesus and the sixth seal ends with
verse 17. After you finish reading verse 17, the next
verse begins talking about the four angels holding
back the four winds. See Revelation 7:1. Since the
four angels hold back the four winds before
the second coming of Jesus, the beginning of a new
story is detected. (It just so happens in this
case that a chapter break also occurs at the end of
the six seals story.) Remember though, a story does
not begin because a new chapter ends or begins. A
new story only begins when the next event
chronologically occurs before the previous event. This
simple process never fails.
Here is
another essential point: The elements of each story
happen in the order in which they are given. This
means that each story progresses from its beginning
point to its ending point just as it was written. On
a few occasions, the order of a story is momentarily
broken so that important details can be given to the
reader. However, these momentary breaks do not affect
the obvious sequence of the story.
Rules of interpretation
Rules of
interpretation are inseparable from the study of
prophecy for conclusions are directly connected to
the methods used during interpretation. If we
interpret prophecy using faulty rules, we end up with
faulty conclusions. It’s that simple.
Since
rules of interpretation are not written down in the
Bible, they must come from careful research and
observation. The unknown cannot be determined
without valid rules. This is true of every
science.
This is
critical: Man does not make up the rules of
interpretation; rather, man can only discover the
presence of rules. Rules are detected when we find
consistent behavior within prophetic elements. Once
consistency is recognized, we can then state the
rule. In other words, if we observe certain things to
always be true, only then do we identify the presence
of a rule.
Consider
this example. Sir Isaac Newton researched the effects
of gravity. He studied the behavior of gravity using
different experiments. After observing that gravity
behaved in certain consistent ways, he wrote down a
formula expressing how it works. In other words, Sir
Isaac Newton did not make up the rules governing
gravity. God did that. But, Sir Isaac Newton was able
to state the rules of gravity in such a way that the
effect of gravity could be accurately calculated and
understood by others.
The study
of apocalyptic prophecy is very similar to the study
of gravity. We reason from the known to the unknown.
Before we start to interpret those parts of prophecy
that are unknown, we have to discover the rules by
which fulfillments occurred in the past. By carefully
observing the behavior of apocalyptic prophecies that
have been fulfilled, we can discover rules by which
they work. After we understand the rules at work, we
can then begin to solve those portions of apocalyptic
prophecy that are unfulfilled by using rules of
interpretation that are always consistent.
One more
point. There is a world of difference between
prophetic truth and prophetic faith. Prophetic truth
refers to those prophecies or those portions of
prophecy that qualify as fulfillments. Prophetic
faith, on the other hand, refers to those prophecies
that are yet to be fulfilled. Since no one can prove
something that hasn’t happened, our prophetic
faith should be carefully built upon the truth that
comes from solid principles of interpretation.
What is prophetic
fulfillment?
So, how
can we know if a prophecy has been fulfilled? A
fulfillment is a full-filling of the prophecy. In
other words, a fulfillment occurs when all the
specifications of a prophecy are met. Every detail of
the prophecy must be satisfied before a fulfillment
can be declared. This also means that the
chronological order of the prophecy must be
satisfied. For example, some people may claim that
the fourth trumpet of Revelation 8 has already been
fulfilled. If their claim were true, they not only
have to demonstrate that all the details of the
fourth trumpet have been fulfilled they also have to
demonstrate that the fulfillment of the first three
trumpets has occurred in their order.
Personal observations
I have
observed the presence of four rules of interpretation
for apocalyptic prophecy. Keep in mind, there are
different types of prophecy and each type has its own
rules of interpretation.
- Each apocalyptic story is
identified by the presence of a beginning
point and ending point in time. Further,
events within each story are given in
chronological order.
- A prophecy or prophetic
element is not fulfilled until all
specifications of the prophecy are met. This
includes the chronology of the sequence.
- Students cannot make up their
own interpretations of symbols. If some
portion of a prophecy is declared symbolic,
the Bible must clearly interpret the meaning
of the symbol with applicable scripture.
- The use of the Jubilee
Calendar offers a simple solution to the
problem of which prophecies are day/year and
which are not. After the expiration of the
Jubilee calendar, all prophetic time period
are to be interpreted as literal time.
Supremacy of apocalyptic
prophecy
All other
prophecies of the Bible are subordinate to
apocalyptic sequencing. This means that apocalyptic
prophecy determines the chronological placement of
non-apocalyptic prophecies. For example, Amos,
Ezekiel, Joel, Obadiah and many New Testament
prophets believed that the great and awful day of the
Lord was “near” and plainly said so.
There’s no question that what they saw in the
vision led them to conclude that the “Great Day
of the Lord” was at hand. In Revelation, John
indicates that the fulfillment of the things he saw
was near or soon. The problem is that the
ancient prophets did not understand how their visions
fit into the larger chronology of God’s plan.
No one
prophet was shown everything that God intends
to bring about. No disciple of Jesus expected that
time would last almost 2,000 years. Paul sums up the
process of prophetic revelations saying, “In the
past God spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways…. For
we know in part and we prophesy in part.”
Hebrews 1:1, 1 Corinthians 13:9. Each time God spoke
to a prophet about the end of time, more detail was
provided. But, without the vehicle of apocalyptic
structures, prophecies about the “Great Day of
the Lord” cannot be chronologically placed nor
can their content be full appreciated.
The point
of all this is that apocalyptic prophecy serves as
the backbone of God’s chronology. Because this
backbone has not been correctly understood in times
past, people across the centuries have declared
prophecies to be fulfilled, when in reality
fulfillment did not occur. Remember, fulfillment
requires two affirming actions: first, all
specifications of the prophecy must be met; and
secondly, the event must happen in its chronological
order. If this little system of checks and balances
is ignored, the result will be prophetic confusion.
Conclusion
It is my
conviction that the judgments predicted under the
fourth seal will begin on or about the fall of 2011.
We don’t have to wait long to see if this is
true. Even if they don’t begin in 2011, the
whole world will soon behold His signal displeasure
with our corporate behavior. While I may be wrong
about the timing, there is no error about His coming
wrath. So, why not try to understand this? Either
way, you don’t have to wait very long to see if
it is true.
The 17 Prophecies
Story 1.
Daniel 2:31-35
Story
2. Daniel 7:2-12
Story
3. Daniel 8:1-12
Story
4. Daniel 9:24-27
Story
5. Daniel 11:2-12:2
Story
6. Revelation 4:1-6:17
Story
7. Revelation 7:1:8:1
Story
8. Revelation 8:2-9:21
Story
9. Revelation 10:1-11:19
Story
10. Revelation 12:1-6
Story
11. Revelation 12:7-14:5
Story
12. Revelation 14:6-15:6
Story
13. Revelation 15:7-16:21
Story
14. Revelation 18:1-8
Story
15. Revelation 19:1-20:10
Story 16.
Revelation 20:11-21:1
Story
17. Revelation 21:2-22:5
Epilogue. Revelation
22:6-21
The Chart
Book
A Do It
Yourself Guide To
Daniel & Revelation
