Getting Started with the Book of Revelation

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of
the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait
for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

       Habakkuk 2:3

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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:

1. (Obadiah 1:15) “The day of the Lord is near for all nations.” (840 B.C.)

2. (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.)

3. (Isaiah 13:6) “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.” (730 B.C.)

4. (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.)

5. (Zephaniah 1:14) “The great day of the Lord is near- near and coming quickly.” (630 B.C.)

6. (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)

7. (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)

8. (James 5:8) “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” (A.D. 60)

9. (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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