charlesjTEXAX
16th January 2006, 10:54 AM
I want to tell you a story. First I am going to tell you this story MUST take place SHORTLY and then I will tell you “the time is NEAR.”
After I tell you that, I will then begin to tell you the story and I will finish the story. At the END of my story, I will AGAIN repeat myself and tell you, this must take place SHORTLY and don’t add anything to this story or take anything away from it for the time is NEAR.
Now, after I told you the story, wouldn’t you be looking for my story to take place SHORTLY? Or, would you think it was some 2000 years later? Of course not! You would expect the story (whatever it is) to take place shortly because that’s what I told you.
Well, that’s the way the Book of Revelation is. It begins with “it must take place shortly” (Rev 1:1) and “…the time is near.” (Rev 1:3). John gives the revelation (story) and then ENDS with the same statement
“…this must take place shortly.” (Rev 22:6) and don’t seal up the words this prophecy for the time is NEAR.” (Rev 22:10)
Let’s look at the beginning of the Revelation, (the story):
Revelation 1:1-3 NAS Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and 1communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who bore witness to athe word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Now, let’s look at the END OF THE REVELATION:
Revelation 22:6 6 And ahe said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.
Revelation 22:9-10 " 10 And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near
Always remember, when you are reading the Bible ask yourself, who is writing this book, why is he writing it, when did he write it and why did he write it?
Who is the audience?
Well, in this case, The Book of Revelation was written by John, it was a Revelation from the Lord Jesus and it was written to Christians in the first century. Why was it written? It was a WARNING message for the then Christians (most of which have Jewish backgrounds)
Also remember, in the first eight years of the church, most of the Christians were former Jews. Jesus started the church around 33 A.D. on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2.
Now, back to the Revelation. My point so far is The Book of Revelation has ALREADY taken place 2000 years ago! It happened just as John told them. It happened “shortly” after his writing. The Greek word for "shortly" means "at your elbow." That's how "close" this event was to take place, it was imminent!
I feel like the “key” to understanding the warning message is found in Revelation 13 & 17 along with the book of Daniel chapter 7. The Christians in the first century did NOT have the problems we have today. They KNEW what John was telling them.
Lets look at what I think is the key:
I will show you Daniel 7 first. Daniel sees a vision and three animals, lion, a bear and a leopard. John, in the Book of Revelation sees a leopard, a bear and then a lion, just the reverse order! Know why? Daniel is looking into the future, while John is looking backwards (already history) in time.
Read through what I have pasted below in Daniel and Revelation. Take a look at the kings listed and you will see that Rev 13 & 17 are speaking of these kings.
Don’t let the words of Daniel confuse you. Just read through it and it will start to make sense.
Daniel 7:1-8 NIV Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. 2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. 4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. 5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!' 6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. 7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast-- terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. 8 "While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
Here Daniel portrays a vision with three animals, a lion, bear, and leopard. But in Revelation 13:2, it is a leopard, bear and lion. John in the Revelation, is looking “backwards” in time, while with Daniel’s vision he is looking to the future.
Daniel 7:24 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
Daniel 7:24 speaks of ten horns which represents ten kings. Then another king arises (11th king) and “uproots” three of the earlier kings and the 11th king becomes the eighth.
In the Revelation, John doesn’t mention the three kings that are uprooted, he just passes over them and are completely ignored. John takes the vision from Daniel as he finds it – with three missing. But does John speak of eight heads? Yes, Revelation 17:11
Revelation 17:9-12 9 "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 12 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.
The seven heads (kings) are seven hills on which the woman sits.(Rome). Five of the kings have already fallen Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius & Nero. "One is", (Vespasian) present while John is writing Revelation and one is to come (Domitian).
You’ll note that the persecution of which John speaks is going to come on the saints (Rev 11:7; 17:8). You also must note that John says twice (17:8,11) that the beast “is not.” That is, “he isn’t here yet” (speaking of Domitian). Nero started the persecution of Christians and Domitian continued it. These were HORRIBLE beasts.
So, here is what you have:
In Daniel ...... ........................................In Revelation
1. Augustus ...... .........................................1. Augustus
2. Tiberius ...... ...........................................2. Tiberius
3. Caligula ...... ...........................................3. Caligula
4. Claudius ................................................ 4. Claudius
5. Nero ...... ...............................................5. Nero
6. Galba ----(Kings 6,7,8 were “uprooted” and not
7. Otho ------mentioned in the Book of Rev.)
8. Vitellius
9. Vespanian ...... ........................................6. Vespasian
10. Titus ...... .............................................7. Titus
11. Domitian .............................................. 8. Domitian
Who is the fourth beast of Daniel? Everyone agrees it is Rome and so is the beast of Revelation 13. The beast of Revelation 13 is a composite creature, made up of elements which composed Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.
Interesting huh?
After I tell you that, I will then begin to tell you the story and I will finish the story. At the END of my story, I will AGAIN repeat myself and tell you, this must take place SHORTLY and don’t add anything to this story or take anything away from it for the time is NEAR.
Now, after I told you the story, wouldn’t you be looking for my story to take place SHORTLY? Or, would you think it was some 2000 years later? Of course not! You would expect the story (whatever it is) to take place shortly because that’s what I told you.
Well, that’s the way the Book of Revelation is. It begins with “it must take place shortly” (Rev 1:1) and “…the time is near.” (Rev 1:3). John gives the revelation (story) and then ENDS with the same statement
“…this must take place shortly.” (Rev 22:6) and don’t seal up the words this prophecy for the time is NEAR.” (Rev 22:10)
Let’s look at the beginning of the Revelation, (the story):
Revelation 1:1-3 NAS Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and 1communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who bore witness to athe word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Now, let’s look at the END OF THE REVELATION:
Revelation 22:6 6 And ahe said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.
Revelation 22:9-10 " 10 And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near
Always remember, when you are reading the Bible ask yourself, who is writing this book, why is he writing it, when did he write it and why did he write it?
Who is the audience?
Well, in this case, The Book of Revelation was written by John, it was a Revelation from the Lord Jesus and it was written to Christians in the first century. Why was it written? It was a WARNING message for the then Christians (most of which have Jewish backgrounds)
Also remember, in the first eight years of the church, most of the Christians were former Jews. Jesus started the church around 33 A.D. on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2.
Now, back to the Revelation. My point so far is The Book of Revelation has ALREADY taken place 2000 years ago! It happened just as John told them. It happened “shortly” after his writing. The Greek word for "shortly" means "at your elbow." That's how "close" this event was to take place, it was imminent!
I feel like the “key” to understanding the warning message is found in Revelation 13 & 17 along with the book of Daniel chapter 7. The Christians in the first century did NOT have the problems we have today. They KNEW what John was telling them.
Lets look at what I think is the key:
I will show you Daniel 7 first. Daniel sees a vision and three animals, lion, a bear and a leopard. John, in the Book of Revelation sees a leopard, a bear and then a lion, just the reverse order! Know why? Daniel is looking into the future, while John is looking backwards (already history) in time.
Read through what I have pasted below in Daniel and Revelation. Take a look at the kings listed and you will see that Rev 13 & 17 are speaking of these kings.
Don’t let the words of Daniel confuse you. Just read through it and it will start to make sense.
Daniel 7:1-8 NIV Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. 2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. 4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. 5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!' 6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. 7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast-- terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. 8 "While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
Here Daniel portrays a vision with three animals, a lion, bear, and leopard. But in Revelation 13:2, it is a leopard, bear and lion. John in the Revelation, is looking “backwards” in time, while with Daniel’s vision he is looking to the future.
Daniel 7:24 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
Daniel 7:24 speaks of ten horns which represents ten kings. Then another king arises (11th king) and “uproots” three of the earlier kings and the 11th king becomes the eighth.
In the Revelation, John doesn’t mention the three kings that are uprooted, he just passes over them and are completely ignored. John takes the vision from Daniel as he finds it – with three missing. But does John speak of eight heads? Yes, Revelation 17:11
Revelation 17:9-12 9 "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 12 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.
The seven heads (kings) are seven hills on which the woman sits.(Rome). Five of the kings have already fallen Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius & Nero. "One is", (Vespasian) present while John is writing Revelation and one is to come (Domitian).
You’ll note that the persecution of which John speaks is going to come on the saints (Rev 11:7; 17:8). You also must note that John says twice (17:8,11) that the beast “is not.” That is, “he isn’t here yet” (speaking of Domitian). Nero started the persecution of Christians and Domitian continued it. These were HORRIBLE beasts.
So, here is what you have:
In Daniel ...... ........................................In Revelation
1. Augustus ...... .........................................1. Augustus
2. Tiberius ...... ...........................................2. Tiberius
3. Caligula ...... ...........................................3. Caligula
4. Claudius ................................................ 4. Claudius
5. Nero ...... ...............................................5. Nero
6. Galba ----(Kings 6,7,8 were “uprooted” and not
7. Otho ------mentioned in the Book of Rev.)
8. Vitellius
9. Vespanian ...... ........................................6. Vespasian
10. Titus ...... .............................................7. Titus
11. Domitian .............................................. 8. Domitian
Who is the fourth beast of Daniel? Everyone agrees it is Rome and so is the beast of Revelation 13. The beast of Revelation 13 is a composite creature, made up of elements which composed Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.
Interesting huh?