"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:" (Revelation 1:1)
Revelation is a book written using signs and symbology to present a message. Jesus sent and signified it by his angel unto John. The purpose of using signs and symbology was to ensure that the message maintains it clarity down through the ages. Often the intent of signification is not sustainable; as many will reject reality and common sense in favor of a delusional or denominational narrative. To understand the book we must take the time to study the signs and symbology with the same patience researchers study the hieroglyphics of ancient civilizations. Rather than rushing to interpret the book to fit our sometimes ancient denominational indoctrination, we should study the book to discover the fruit of new knowledge that is waiting for us to uncover.
To validate the above thesis, in the 1800's, the theory and application of nuclear fission were undeveloped, yet the knowledge of nuclear fission was waiting discovery.
The basic problem with the interpretation of this Bible is the desire to incorporate too much into a verse through the substitution of a word and without regards to the order of the events. This process is supportive of a false narrative. False narratives regardless how small tend to shape our interpretation and lead us down a darkened path. For instance, 1st and 2nd John used the word antichrist to describe those that seek to deceive the Children of God. To promote an ideology that is acceptable to the mass we substituted, "the antichrist" for "antichrist", made him a person and sought to set a time for his arrival. This does not seem to be the intent of the writer. John is the only Bible writer to use the word "antichrist", but he never mentions "the antichrist". John's definition of antichrist was as follows: "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1st John 4:3)
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." (2nd Thessalonians 2:3) "That man of sin, not the devil but a spawn of the Devil, the son of perdition." Now, substitute the words, "the antichrist" for "the son of perdition", and we become at ease, deceived and distracted as we await the coming of, "The Antichrist".
Here again substitution plays and part in the understanding of this verse. "And shall go out to deceive the 'nations' which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." (Revelation 20:8) In this verse, if we substitute the "churches" for the word "nations", the prophecy is changed. We now become guilty of changing the meaning of the verse. The word "Church" is used seven times in the book of Revelation, after the third chapter, it is no longer used, in Revelation 18:23 the church has become the bride of Christ. It is unthinkable that the devil would be able to deceive the church once transformed into the bride of Christ.
The conscious of many is the church will not go through the tribulation. If we use today's church as a marker then we are yet to see the beginning of the tribulation. "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Revelation 3:10)
This promise was true for the historic church at Philadelphia because they had the hope of the Lord’s return before the tribulation. If this church prefigures the true church as a whole, as many believe, it points to a further conclusion that all true believers in this age will have the same hope. This seems to follow a pattern found even in the Old Testament. Noah was saved from the flood. He was borne safely above it. Lot was led out of Sodom before its destruction. Rahab was saved before Jericho fell. Enoch was translated before the flood. While analogies are not conclusive, the translation of the church before the tribulation would be in keeping with these precedents. This can pose a very thorny question as to the status of the church we will exploit this later.
"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." (Revelation 21:9)
In this study, I will not use scriptures to try to prove a point, because if you are reading this you have basic scripture knowledge and you have a basic interpretation of the scripture. Understanding the Word of God taught to look at how we interpret the scripture. I intend to challenge you to look at how you interpret the knowledge that you have attained. It is simple as the question of the earth, is it flat or is it round. The pollution of God's Word is in full effect with shaped scriptures.
The most common structured belief is, first the millennial, then the tribulation, followed by the battle of Armageddon, then the Rapture. The common belief is The Millennium described in Revelation describes an important interval lasting for 1000 years when Christ rules here on Earth. The rulership of Christ on Earth is supposed to coincide with the binding of Satan. This is often looked upon as a golden era; a time of universal peace. The ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism was the first to propose this concept. However, this is not entirely scripture.
When we read Revelation 20, there are questions that should form the bases of our quest for knowledge. Is Revelation 20 about judgment as a whole or is it leading up to a particular judgment? Where is the church and who is the Holy Angles? Remember what we have learned so far, "The saints shall judge the world." During the millennial is Christ ruling in Heaven or is it Heaven and Earth?
Let us consider that for a moment. Now I know it is hard for a Christian of faith to admit that the rulership of Christ is not in effect in the world today. Taught that God is in control and while we are sleep, he is solving our problem have become the mainstay of our Christian faith. A noble approach to a supernatural God, and when we look around many are tempted to ask, "Is this How Christ rule?" The event that was confusing to me was, after Christ had established his rulership here on Earth, a time of universal peace and happiness why would he interrupt his rulership and unleash the Devil. The way the pious prelate explained it to me seems to take some of the events out of sequence and presented Christ rulership in a discombobulated manner to justify the status quo.
Thought by some, the darkest part of the prophecies of Revelation is contained in chapter 20. Revelation 20 is not a separate prophecy; it is a recap of the events leading up to the conclusion of things. The conscious is, to justify the belief structure and to maintain the relevance of the organized denominational church it would be wise to content ourselves with general observations, rather than to be positive and particular in our explications of it as future events. The conscious seems to be flawed. What if we rearranged the events and show that one or more has already taken place or are in process. The question of why are we taught such things emerge and the answer can only be to justify a false and profitable narrative.
The Tribulation is a time of distress, misery, affliction, and persecution that the followers of Jesus Christ were instructed to expect, also referred to as the time of the Gentiles. The New Testament sometimes uses this word to denote a period of trial, trouble, and testing that will come to all humanity before the arrival of Christ to rule the world. (Jesus prayed for the Kingdom to come, on earth as it is in Heaven. Different views within the Christian community place the time of the tribulation and the arrival of the Kingdom at different points in relation to the Millennium.
In John's vision, the millennium begins Chapter 4, verse 1; he caught up, thus symbolizing the church. "After this, I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." (Revelation 4:1)
Paul described the event as such; "For the Lord, himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Since the church is considered, an integral part of salvation it is unthinkable to most that a millennial would begin with the church missing. Based on referenced scriptures (Hebrew 11:7; 1st Peter 3:20; 2nd Peter 2:5), it is also unthinkable that Jesus would allow his bride to go through the tribulation. The problem with the acceptance of this statement is what happens to those who are left to go through the tribulation if the church is missing.
In the book of Revelation, the apostle John describes the vast multitude of people who come out of this time of testing and trial. "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:13-14)
To some teachers of prophecy, the above verses are referring to a specific period called Tribulation. Based on a comparison of relevant prophetic scriptures, many people feel this time of trial will last seven years. While some reference the entire seven-year period by this designation, others refer only to the last half or three and one-half years of being Tribulation. This is done because it is believed the last half of the seven-year period will bring far worse suffering and trial than the first half.
Many try to figure out when this time of global tribulation, suffering and trials will begin. Jesus' Olivet prophecies, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, can be used to help determine when the end will come and the Second Coming occurs. Remember it is not for us to know the day or the hour, but it is for us to know the time and season. When his disciples asked Jesus what would be the signs of his coming to earth during the end time he stated several events. He first warned them to watch so that they would not be fooled.
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Matthew 24:4-12)
