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4. Local
prophecies: Local prophecies apply to
specific people, places and times. For example,
the prophecy concerning Nineveh (Jonah 1) is a
local prophecy. Local prophecies require a
messenger to explain or proclaim the prophecy. In
the case of Nineveh, Jonah was the messenger.
Before the flood, Noah was the local messenger.
At the time of the First Advent, John the Baptist
was the local messenger. Even though the messages
of local prophets belong to a specific time and
place, timeless principles sustain their value.
God is constant and the history of local
prophecies offer important parallels that we will
observe as we approach the end of Earth’s
history. Jesus compared the days of Noah with the
end of the world saying, “As it was in
the days of Noah so it will be at the coming of
the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37)
5. Apocalyptic
prophecies: The apocalyptic prophecies of
Daniel and Revelation are chronological
prophecies that outline a sequence of events that
occur over the course of time. Apocalyptic
prophecy is identified by the presence of a
beginning and an ending point in time. Both the
fulfillment and the sequence of events in this
type of prophecy are unconditional. The first
example of this type of prophecy can be found in
Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar’s vision outlines a
sequence of kingdoms that rise to power in the
order predicted. Sometimes, the sequence or
structure of apocalyptic prophecy is defined by
numeric order. For example, the second trumpet in
Revelation 8 occurs after the first trumpet. The
critical point is that chronological order is always
maintained in apocalyptic prophecy; otherwise, no
one could determine the order of events.
Distinctive
Treatment Necessary
It must be emphasized
again that each type of prophecy deserves
distinctive treatment. Mixing and/or merging
rules of interpretation will reduce the
interpretation of Bible prophecy to confusion.
The Bible student must identify the type
of prophecy under investigation before he can
apply the right set of rules and reach the
intended conclusion.
The
Difference between Prophetic Truth and Prophetic
Faith
There is an important
difference between prophetic truth and prophetic
faith. Prophetic truth looks to the past.
Prophetic truth identifies those prophecies or
elements of prophecy that qualify as fulfillments.
Prophetic faith, on the other hand, looks to the
future. Prophetic faith anticipates the
fulfillment of prophecy. Since no one can prove
that a prophetic conclusion about the future will
be accurate, our prophetic faith should be
carefully built on valid rules of interpretation
that demonstrate perfect fulfillment in ages past.
In other words, a valid set of rules will
position and interpret the prophetic elements of
the past and the future with the same precision.
What
Is a Prophetic Fulfillment?
The second rule of
apocalyptic prophecy states, “A
fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy occurs when
all of the specifications within that prophecy
are met. This includes the order of events
outlined in the prophecy.” Every detail
within a prophecy must be satisfied before a
prophecy can be declared fulfilled. Because of
the first rule, the chronological order of the
prophecy must also be satisfied. For example,
some people claim that the fourth trumpet of
Revelation 8 has already been fulfilled. If this
claim were true, they would have to demonstrate
that all of the specifications of the fourth
trumpet have been met, and they would have to
demonstrate the fulfillment of the first three
trumpets as well.
What
Does “Soon” or “Near” Mean?
Some people argue that
God’s sovereignty is limited if certain
prophetic events have to occur before Jesus can
return. This argument is without merit when we
understand that God Himself established a course
of events that will lead up to the Second Coming.
The Father set the limits of time fore the
duration of sin according to His own authority
before the world began. (Acts 1:7) God has
revealed His plan and schedule through
apocalyptic prophecy, and He will fulfill all
that He has predetermined. (Isaiah 46:11)
Some people claim the
urgency expressed by Bible prophets should not be
taken seriously. They say, “Words like near
and soon should be understood from God’s
perspective because with God, a day is as a
thousand years and a thousand years as a day.”
(Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8) For the following
reasons, this use of God’s Word is faulty
and these texts do not support the ambivalent
meaning, which is imposed on them. Think about
this: God deliberately embedded eighteen
time periods in the seventeen prophecies of
Daniel and Revelation so that students of
prophecy might understand the timing of His plans!
Why would God use words like near and soon if
He did not mean what He said? The words “soon
and “near” have to be understood within
their intended context; that is, when the time
for prophetic fulfillment arrives, words mean
what they say. The problem, though, is that Bible
writers shared an interesting phenomenon. They
consistently interpreted their visions as though
the end of the world was going to occur in their
day! As you read these nine texts, notice when
these words were written and their choice of
words:
- (Obadiah
1:15) “The day of the Lord is
near for all nations.” (840 B.C.)
- (Joel
2:1) “Let all who live in the land
tremble, for the day of the Lord is
coming. It is close at hand.”
(820 B.C.)
- (Isaiah
13:6) “Wail, for the day of the Lord
is near; it will come like
destruction from the Almighty.” (730
B.C.)
- (Ezekiel
30:3) “For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near –
a day of clouds. A time of doom for the
nations.” (580 B.C.)
- (Zephaniah
1:14) “The great day of the Lord is
near- near and coming quickly.” (630
B.C.)
- (1
Corinthians 7:29) “What I mean,
brothers, is that the time is short.
From now on those who have wives should
live as if they had none.” (A.D. 50)
- (1
Peter 4:7) “The end of all
things is near. Therefore be clear
minded and self-controlled so that you
can pray.” (A.D. 60)
- (James
5:8) “You too, be patient and stand
firm, because the Lord’s coming is
near.” (A.D. 60)
- (1
John 2:18) “Dear children, this is
the last hour; as you heard that the
antichrist is coming, even now many
antichrists have come. This is how we
know it is the last hour.” (A.D.
90)
Because thousands of
years have passed since these words were written,
should we say these Bible writers were wrong with
respect to timing? Yes, they were premature. (Review
item number six and smile!) Of course, we should
neither lose faith in the prophets nor should we
throw out the Bible, because these faithful Bible
writers did not know that thousands of years
would come and go before Jesus would return to
Earth. In fairness to them, we must remember that
their understanding of God’s plan was
incomplete because the book of Daniel had not
been written (in some cases) or unsealed (in
others). Paul died before the book of Revelation
was given and he knew there was more to God’s
plan than what had been shown. Therefore, Paul
wrote, “For we know in part and we
prophesy in part.” (1 Corinthians 13:9)
The issue of timing is not hard to sort out if
you properly understand the process of
inspiration. God revealed selected scenes to His
prophets through the ages, which they merged
into the reality of their day and time. Therefore,
they all thought the end of the age was near.
None of the disciples thought Jesus would wait
two thousand years to return to Earth. Peter
really believed what he wrote, “The end of
all things is near.” Even the prophet Daniel
could not know the timing of the events he was
shown.
How can a person claim
the coming of Jesus is near if he does not know
the amount of remaining time? Recorded history
has shown that twenty-one civilizations have come
and gone. Just because our world is in a big mess
today with immorality, wars, natural disasters
and hatred, does not prove that Jesus is coming
soon. These events have happened before. One
element conclusively proves the coming of
Jesus is near. When the book of Daniel is
unsealed, the final generation will have the
proof that the end has come before the
Great Tribulation begins! Of course, when the
Great Tribulation begins, many people will
conclude the end has come. Should we eagerly
anticipate the end? Yes! The end of sin and
beginning of eternal life is the insatiable
desire of every “born again” heart! We
are going home, and the books of Daniel and
Revelation tell us when and how. God has a
predetermined timetable for planet Earth. Outside
of apocalyptic prophecy, there is no possible way
to know the details of this timetable or when the
end of time will occur.
Revelation’s
Matrix Expands Daniel’s Matrix
In our study on Daniel,
we learned how the prophecies of Daniel
harmoniously “stack” on top of each
other and form a matrix. As the stack grows
taller – prophecy-by-prophecy – the
story becomes more specific and less abstract.
God uses repetition and enlargement
To tell a very big story
with few words. No prophecy in Daniel and
Revelation tells a complete story. No prophecy
stands alone. However, if they are properly
“stacked” on top of each other, the
prophecies tell a comprehensive and compelling
story that flows from a unified matrix. Because
there is a deliberate “stacking” order
to the prophecies of Daniel, each prophecy
contributes something important to the bigger
picture. This feature makes the study of prophecy
difficult at first. You almost have to understand
the whole story before you can appreciate the
fascinating details of each part.
By putting the prophecies
of Daniel in a matrix, God does not have to
repeat foundational elements in succeeding
prophecies once they have been introduced. This
is why the books of Daniel and Revelation are so
short. The prophecies of Revelation “stack”
on top of the matrix, which began in Daniel.
Since most prophetic expositors do not understand
this matrix and fail to comprehend the rules that
are sealed until the time of the end, they cannot
see “the forest” for trying to arrange
“the trees.” The matrix resolves a
number of issues by providing some forcible
organization for all of the information.
I call it “forcible
organization” because the rules organize the
data. It is like organizing furniture in a room.
The big pieces of furniture have to be put in
their places first. If this simple point
is overlooked, the mover could be forced to
rearrange the entire room, or dispose the larger
items that will not fit. (I know from first hand
experience.) In a similar way, the matrix in
Daniel and Revelation forces large events (like
kingdoms and large time periods) and small events
(like the appearing of the 144,000) to be placed
in proper order. The rules produce an arrangement
of bog parts and little parts that would be
otherwise impossible to determine.
The beauty of this
approach is that the four rules force us to
organize the prophetic elements of each prophecy
in chronological order. Even though our
understanding of some elements may be foggy or
incomplete, we do know the order in which they
occur. As we place the pieces in their stated
order, the matrix aligns prophetic elements in
the stack above with elements in the stack below.
Soon, a comprehensive picture forms because the
matrix forces all of the pieces into their proper
place.
Truth is always truth and
when valid rules of interpretation are used,
everyone can reproduce this process of discovery,
regardless of religious bias.
Unfortunately, millions
of Christians do not know about the five
essential doctrines, the necessity of rules of
interpretation, or the historical matrix, which
the book of Daniel produces. Consequently, they
are easily misled by fuzzy logic. Preacher’s
present sweet sounding prophetic interpretations,
which the bible does not teach, and laymen cannot
determine if their words are true or false. If my
assessment of Bible prophecy is correct, the
world will experience a rude awakening very soon.
The Great Tribulation crisis will suddenly
commence and most of the Christian world (not to
mention the non-Christian world) will be
overwhelmingly surprised. My observation is that
the fulfillment of Daniel and Revelation will be
very different from what most Christians expect.
A
Brief Summary of Revelation
Before we examine the
twelve prophecies of Revelation, a brief overview
of the book of Revelation might be helpful. Of
course, this summary may be different from
anything you have read before, so please regard
this summary as a hint of where this study on
Revelation will lead us.
The
Seven Churches
The messages sent to the
seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are not
apocalyptic prophecies because they do not
conform to the four rules governing apocalyptic
prophecy. For example, there is no beginning
point in time or ending point in time for each
church in Asia Minor. Chronological order cannot
be imposed on the seven churches because all
seven churches existed simultaneously. Nothing in
Revelation 2 or 3 indicates that each message
covers a phase or a time period in Christian
history during the past two thousand years. In
fact, textual evidence in Revelation 1-3
indicates the opposite. All seven churches
existed at the time John received the vision and
there are specific statements given to each
church concerning their particular situation at
that time. The Lord singled out seven of the
churches in Asia Minor (there were more than
seven Christian churches in existence at that
time) because these seven churches faced
issues and problems that would afflict all
Christian churches until the end of time. The
number seven indicates wholeness or completeness,
and the principles underlying the messages to the
seven churches are timeless and applicable in
each generation.
The Lord told John to
write everything he was shown and send it to the
seven churches in Asia Minor for at least two
reasons. First, Jesus wanted His followers to
know that even though He had been in Heaven for
sixty years, He closely watched over His churches
on Earth. He wants Christians in every age to
know that He is very much alive and intimately
concerned about us even though we cannot see Him.
Second, Jesus directed John to send a copy of the
Revelation vision to the seven churches to insure
this vision would be preserved for centuries to
come. Whether John made seven copies of the
vision or whether each church made a copy for
itself is unknown. The messages to the seven
churches and the vision of Revelation have been
preserved for about two thousand years. The
messages to the seven churches require spiritual
discernment. Those who have ears to hear what the
Holy Spirit says can discern their true condition
and position before the Lord by examining the
awesome messages sent to the seven churches.
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