Created: Saturday, ‎August ‎10, ‎2013

My Interpretation of Revelation

By

Robert Andrew Quaife

(This is the first Christian paper I wront so I could get into College English.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book of Revelation is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible. Preachers and scholars each have dramatically different views of what this book means and what our future holds. In this quick study,  I would like to bring up some new questions, and answers, using scripture, and biblical common sense to give a better sense on what’s to come.

 

The book is molded with symbolism, showing the final climax of Heaven and Planet Earth. It was written by John the Apostle on the island Patmos from a vision that he saw. Despite what others believe, Revelation is not the only book of prophesy, to my knowledge one third of the bible is prophesy, some prophesy fulfilled and some yet to come. The visions of Daniel, the wars of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel, and the books Zechariah, Thessalonians, Timothy, and so on all correlate to Revelation.

 

Over two thousand years, people have been speculating on what these visions would look like when they come to pass. From what I see, people do not question what people in high places think, rationalizing that their higher education triumphs over some contradicting passages of the Bible. Also, people can believe so blindly in something that when the conflicting facts are found, they would rather push them aside, than tweak their theory. To top all of that off, some of the theology we are holding onto is based many years before the prophesies have been fulfilled, which could have changed what the theology would mean. Jews just came back to their homeland which fulfilled a major prophesy, which some preachers say sets the stage for the events of Revelation to take place (of course there are more prophesies fulfilled than just that one for them to say this). Therefore, you can understand that there is some room for error.

 

Hollywood movies and some YouTube videos I feel do not show a true environment of what the fulfillment of Revelation would be like, and giving natural causes to supernatural things. The famous movie and book series, Left Behind, shows the reign of the Anti-Christ.  In the movie, the Anti-Christ tries to explain the massive amount of people missing by saying, “Creating nuclear missiles has dissolved part of the human race”. However, he is deluding them from the fact of the Rapture of the Christian Church. The movie shows the Christians there, and the next minute they’re gone and their clothes are left behind. In actuality scripture says, every eye will see Jesus and they will tear their clothes in lament seeing him and the church flying through the sky. As a result, this would dramatically affect the upcoming events that the movie does not show, and it helps prove an upcoming fact that the Tribulation of Revelation will be very supernatural. When I watch the major YouTube videos for their interpretation of the “Time of the End”, they seem to make these supernatural events appear normal, by using symbols, such as helicopters and tanks. Revelation 9:17 depicts an army of  horses and riders from Hell with mouths like lions and tails like serpents. The YouTube videos explain this scene with helicopters, tanks, etc., but Revelation actually paints a more horrifying picture: fire will be coming down like rain, people will want to die but can’t, and stars will be falling from the sky. These visions just scream supernatural, showing beasts and terrifying situations that man has never even dreamed of. Daystar’s  John Hagee and Irvin Baxter also dilute the power of the supernatural by clamoring, that the Mark of the Beast is a microchip implanted under the skin. They suggest this because the book says no one will be able to buy or sell without this mark, and this is the only adequate answer for them. This is another example of people trying to make natural causes out of supernatural things. Based on the book of Revelation, I believe that there will be disciples of darkness sent daily to do their job, and by simply putting their hand over another’s hand, they will receive that mark of the beast.

 

Robert Morris explains his life in seminary with a common topic asked in school, “Do you believe in pre, mid, or post Rapture?” Meaning do you believe that the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) of the Christian Church will happen before, in the middle, or after the Tribulation in Revelation. Now the whole point Jesus died on the cross was for him to direct all Godly Judgment toward him, and that we would be the beneficiaries of his spiritual promises through our faith. The Tribulation period is God’s Judgment or punishment on the unbelievers and not, through the understanding of the Crucifixion, for the Christians. The Christians won’t be around during the Tribulation Period, but does that go as far to say that there will be a Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation period as the majority of Christians believe? Toward the end of the book during the Millennial Reign there is a great wall, square in shape which is one hundred and forty-four cubits long. Some people figured out that it just happens to be that this cube fits very well in the US.   On Dr. David Jeremiah’s sermon, “Is America in Prophesy in the End Time”, he could not find a definitive depiction of America in End Time Prophesy. Could it be that the great holy city in Revelation is in the US while the rest of the world suffers through the seven years of Tribulation? The fact that I can make a solid theory out of two strong facts really is not adequate. But it goes to show, there are details in scripture that could radically change the common Pre-Rapture interpretation.

 

            One concept that disturbs me is the interpretation of The Bride of the Lamb. In the end of Revelation, and during the Millennial Reign Jesus is married to the Bride of the Lamb.  Now many scholars have found that the Bride of the Lamb relates to Israel, Israel relates to the Church, and the Church is all the Christian people. So in retrospect, they are saying Jesus will be marrying all of the Christian people of all time, no matter male or female. Now I understand it can look like that, but its disturbing! While some characters of the Bible did have multiple wives, God never wanted man to practice polygamy: why would God turn around and do it himself? There is something called shadows in the Bible, which is usually an event that shows the framework of the future.  A lot of the shadow’s in the Old Testament foretold Jesus and the Crucifixion. Passover, for example, the people had to sacrifice a Lamb without blemish (a shadow of  Jesus) and take its blood and put it over the door so the death Angel could not enter. The New Testament says the blood of the Lamb washes away are sins. So one can see how Passover is a shadow of Jesus and the Crucifixion. Point being, there are many shadows in the Old Testament that portray one man dying on the cross, many things portraying one person, and not many things portraying many separate things. This is why I think the Bride of the Lamb, one woman, connects with Israel, and explains why the many references to Israel exemplify what the Bride of the Lamb will be like. In all honesty, Jesus marrying one awesome women fits more with God’s will throughout the Bible and just makes plain sense. 

 

            As this study comes to an end, I would like to stir up some scholars interpretations of Revelation with some valid points that have to deal with Jesus’s Second Coming. If you look at chapter twelve in the book there is a symbol of a Woman, the Dragon, and a baby. The Dragon, Satan, is very interested in possessing this baby, over all the people on the earth at that time why would he choose a baby? To complicate the situation, Revelation 12:5-6 says, “She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne”. Now the only person throughout scripture who rules with an iron rod is Jesus. So is this foretelling Jesus before his Second Coming, or is this explaining his time on earth before his great reveal?  Only time can tell. A second interesting scripture which would help this theory roll. Is chapter five, which says, “… Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much. Because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David (Jesus) , has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals” [Rev. 5:2-5]. Why didn’t the text say there was no one in Heaven, on Earth, or in Hell but the Lion of the tribe of Judah? Why does it wait for the next verse to say Jesus is worthy? That is very interesting to me. Some may say it’s a time-lapse vision, showing Jesus before the Crucifixion to the Second Coming. I believe that God put every scripture in the Bible for a purpose. If this was only a time-lapse vision, why didn’t He just leave it out? It is really up to you to be the judge.

 

            I would like to end this study by challenging the thought that every prophesy has been fulfilled for Jesus’s Second Coming. Dr. Cleflo Dollar, a very profound preacher, searched to see if this was true, and he found one scripture that hasn’t come to pass. Which is, “The Wealth of Solomon will come into the Church (Christian People)”. So I hope I brought up some new questions and answers to give you a better sense on what’s to come. Also, it’s important to note, don’t believe everything people tell you. And as scripture says, “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe” [John 14:29]. That things of the future will not be fully revealed until they come to pass.