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INTRODUCTION
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TO THE BIBLE'S
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BOOK OF REVELATION
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Nearly three millennia ago, the prophet Isaiah predicted the Lord God of hosts will one day rise up and do a strange work on planet Earth. Moreover, he prophecied, when it comes it will be a destruction upon the whole earth (Isaiah 28:21-22). The last thing in the minds of sophisticated 21st Century men and women ... is that the one and only, true and living God, exists ... and that he is going to rise up shortly, and destroy the earth he has created. Yet, with one voice, Isaiah, and many other prophets of the Bible, say he is going to do. The book of Revelation is the most detailed discription of that coming annihilation. The lion’s share of its pages (chapters 6 through 18), give in-depth detail about the events, personalities, and timings of that future day of mankind's reckoning. It is, the great and terrible Day of the Lord, as the Old Testament prophrt, Malachi, put it. (Malachi 4:5b)
Asfar as prophecy is concerned, someone has dubbed the book of Revelation, The prophetic Grand Central Station of the Bible. For sure, that person certainly knew their Bible, because ... all of the great eschatological (end-time) themes of the Bible run to the book of Revelation like train-tracks to Grand Central Station. So, when it comes to end-time prophecy, Revelation is the Bible's most extensive book on the subject.
Back in 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then President of Iran, spoke at Columbia University. Speaking in Arabic, he began his remarks with a prayer, translated:
In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful … Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi and grant him good health and victory and make us his followers and those to attest to his rightfulness.
His prayer was a call for the Shia Islamic Messiah, Imam al-Mahdi (the Twelfth Imam), to appear and conquer the world (victory) … and for Ahmadinejad's audience at Columbia (those) to one day bow their knees (attest to his rightfulness) to this long-watched-for Islamic world dictator.
Many Muslems of Ahmadinejad’s sect, believe they can hasten the coming of their Twelfth Imam by starting the war of genocide that will lead to the defeat of the Little Satan (Israel) and its ally, The Great Satan (USA). Therefore, Amadinejad would like to personally start this imagined War. His regime published a video distributed to the Islamic world called The Coming Is Near. In it, the case is made that the great unrest in the Middle East is a sign of the Mahdi's soon arrival. Meanwhile, fanatic Islamic Holy Warriors continue to carry out their centuries old agenda of subjugating non-Muslims by force ... which, they believe, will ultimately result in Islam being the ONLY religion on Earth. Truly, as the Bible predicts:
…in the last days, perilous times will come… Second Timothy 3:1b
A major obstacle to Shia Muslem's agenda is the little nation of Israel. For decades, the eyes of the world have been drawn to this tiny country and its capital in Jerusalem. When Israel was re-established by the United Nations in 1948, for the first time in nearly two thousand years large numbers of Jews began returning to their ancient homeland. Immediately, war erupted as surrounding Islamic states attempted to eradicate the fledgling new nation. They were not successful, however. Ever since, however, war after war has continued to erupt against that tiny land. The current war in Gaza, for example, was instituted by Iran backed Hamas' with unbelievable atrocities on hundreds of innocent civialians (even women and tiny babies).
Enter, Bible Prophecy
The Bible predicts that in the last days both Israel and the ancient nation of Babylon will rise again to play key roles in the culmination of earth history as we know it. And, according to Scripture, Jerusalem will be centerstage. In fact, it will be siezed by Antichrist and become his capital city. The Bible further predicts that Babylon, will be the name Antichrist will choose to name his worldwide empire (Rev.17:18).
Ancient Babylon was located at the head of the Persian Gulf, where Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait are situated today. If you are familiar with the Old Testament, you will remember that it was at Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar, that man-worship first raised its ugly head when Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of himself and commanded that everyone must fall down and worship it (Daniel 3). However, three young Hebrews … Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego … refused to do so. So, Nebuchadnezzar had them cast alive into his super-heated fiery furnace. But the one true and living God miraculously intervened and rescued them and the three young Hebrews walked out of Nebuchadnezzar's furnace without a single hair having been singed, nor was there even the smell of smoke upon them!
Fastforward to our present day
Iran has long desired to conquer its neighbors. The last war that Iran initiated against Iraq cost over a million lives. And had it not been for the assistance of the United States, Iran would have prevailed. If Iran could succeed in conquering Iraq, much of the territory of the ancient Babylonian Empire would be reconstituted.
Allow me to set forth a possible scenario. If the Rapture of the Church were to occur today, the United States of America would be crippled beyond belief. Countless people in key and strategic roles throughout our nation would have suddenly just vanish from the earth. The end result would be chaos ... communications ... transportation ... utilities ... government ... and, most importantly, the military, would be severely crippled ... all in just a blink of an eye and an atom of time. Our nation would be paralyzed.
Three and a half years later, his conquest of the world would be complete, and the day would arrive to invade and conquer Israel. Breaking his treaty with them and seizing the their temple at Jerusalem, he would stake his claim to be "God". Then, as was the case with the ancient king Nebuchadnezzar before him, man-worship would once more be imposed upon mankind (Rev. 13). Man-worship, having begun in Babylon, would once again be centered in Babylon, in one last great Gentile, blasphemous, world-dominating theocracy. In Daniel 11:37-38, a passage that is speaking about the coming of Antichrist, we read,
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.(KJV)
Many have puzzled over that passage and sought to interpret it. I suggest, if Antichrist were a Moslem, the phrase the God of his fathers (from whom he will turn away), is referring to Allah ... and the God of forces (to whom he will turn), refers to Satan. According to the Bible, this switch of allegiance will occur when Antichrist seizes the Jew's temple at Jerusalem (midway through the Tribulation). Then, he will declare to the world that he himself is God and demand to be worshipped by all (Daniel 11:36; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). We will discuss this in greater detail when we come to Revelation 13.
As for Israel, she too would be little affected by the Rapture of the Church. Very few of her people would go missing as well. Today, Israel is the sole (though undeclared) nuclear-armed Middle Eastern power. Therefore, she would emerge from the Rapture as a power to be reckoned with. This is probably the main reason why Antichrist will make a treaty with her at the beginning of the Trib (Daniel 9:27). This prophesied treaty will ensure the peaceful existence of the Jews in their homeland during the first three and a half years of the Tribulation and give them the time and authority to rebuild the temple.
This is my take ... a likely scenario of what could happen after Christ removes his believers from planet Earth.
Many people are asking...
Are the world events I see happening today ... fulfilling Bible prophecies?
No, but they are stirrings that point to Antichrist's soon rise to power. Earth's history is fast approaching that great prophetic event. When it takes place in time, like passengers on a runaway train, the peoples of earth will be thrust into the amazing and perilous days of the Tribulation. Paul, Daniel and Jesus all said that Antichrist will come. The book of Revelation provides us a great deal more about him. Now, let me say a few words about this commentary . . .
First, Strange Work is unique among commentaries on Revelation because it takes the position that the visions of the book are in the exact chronological order of their future fulfillments. I am not aware of any other commentary that recognizes that. Although, at first glance, that may seem unimportant, in reality it adds a wealth of new and fresh insights to a numberof things that, in the past, have seemed too mysterious and difficult to interpret. Four examples come to mind.
It gives us:
A greater understanding of the judgment of the Sixth Seal, as to its timing, importance and literal character …Revelation 6:12-17.
An eye-opening understanding of the Cycle Judgments that demonstrate that they actually refer to the resurrection and judgment of all ungodly Jews from all time …Revelation 14:14-20.
The probable names of the seven kings foretold in Revelation 17, who are ... types ... of the coming Antichrist …Revelation 17:10-11.
A key to understand the mysterious ... 666 ... number of the beast using modern day binary code used to transmit data over the Internet … …Revelation 17:10-11.
Second, in Strange Work I make every possible effort to practice sound principles of Bible interpretation and biblical exegesis.. I am convinced that only when one insists on the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation of the Bible, will it consistently yield its true and correct meaning to us. Four examples come to mind.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Second Timothy 2:1. (NIV)
Third, in Strange Work, the actual biblical text, along with the most relevant scriptures, are printed out for you so that everything is right at your fingertips. You will not need to look up anything or even have a Bible in your hand. For the most part, I use the New King James Version of the Bible and take the liberty to capitalize and bold it for added emphasis. For what it is worth, I also studied Revelation in the NIV and the ESV but concluded that the NKJV was the best literal text to use for our study.
Fourth, in Strange Work, when the latest Greek scholarship adds new light, I have inserted the upgrades to the Bible verses. You will find the upgrades designated NU, which refers to the two classic works in the original language and manuscripts of the New Testament. The N stands for The Twenty-sixth Edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament and the U stands for The Third Edition of the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament, The New Testament Text. So, as you read along, you will be able to see where the latest Greek scholarship has clarified or improved the translation of the New King James Bible.
Now, I realize that Revelation can be a bit intimidating, especially for first time readers. But I strongly encourage you to stick with it. The blessings and rewards for doing so can be beyond measure. There are very few unsolved mysteries in the book of Revelation. After all, it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not a book that is hard to interpret. The difficulty is in simply believing what it so plainly says!
Before we start, I would like to acknowledge some of those who have so greatly helped me in my understanding of the Bible and in my study of Revelation. The following godly men have been used of the Lord to enlighten my own understanding and, help me with my walk with the Lord as well…
A Study in the Revelation ... E. F. Webber, D.D., F.R.G.S. Dr. Webber’s book was the first on Revelation that I read as a teenager. My saintly grandmother, Mrs. H.C. Hudson, who often listened to Dr. Webber’s radio broadcasts, sent it to me.
A Revelation of Jesus Christ ... J. B. Smith
The Apocalypse ... J. A. Seiss
Things to Come ... J. Dwight Pentecost
The Revelation of Jesus Christ ... John F. Walvoord
The Rapture Question ... John F. Walvoord
Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee ... J. Vernon McGee
Dr. Stanley A. Ellison ... Western Seminary, Portland, Oregon
Dr. Earl D. Radmacher ...Western Seminary, Portland, Oregon
Dr. John G. Mitchell ... Multnomah School of the Bible, Portland, Oregon
Dr. Roger D. Congdon ... Multnomah School of the Bible, Portland, Oregon
Finally, allow me to share an outline of Revelation. It is a good one to memorize. Most of it was Dr. Stanley Ellison's outline ... a true man of God and professor at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.
I. The vision of Jesus Christ in Glory (Chapter 1)
II. The vision of Jesus Christ midst his Churches (Chapters 2-3)
III. The vision of Jesus Christ in Coronation (Chapters 4-5)
IV. The vision of Jesus Christ in Judgment (Chapters 6-18)
V. The vision of Jesus Christ in Return (Chapters 19-20)
VI. The vision of Jesus Christ in Eternity (Chapters 21-22)
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Ready to begin? Well then, fasten your spiritual seat belt ... because we are about to experience the most spectacular, eye-popping, into the future, prophetic ride of our lives!
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
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