Sep 15, 2015

It is always nice to finish a project. Having finished the first draft (weblogs) of our study in the book of Daniel, I will have to go through it again and smooth out some of the rough spots before the final proofing can begin. Also, I will have to create some time lines to make the books easier to visualize—especially the last portion. The lunar and solar years can be quite confusing, because this is totally new to most people.

I have already been working on this ahead of time, and I was hoping to be able to have this study available at the Tabernacles conference. However, it is not likely that it will be finished by that time. There is too much to do, and too many other local projects that must be done while writing books.

The study in Daniel will be offered in three spiral-bound books.

Book 1 covers Daniel 1-6 (the historical chapters)

Book 2 covers Daniel 7-9 (revelatory chapters, first half)

Book 3 covers Daniel 10-12 (revelatory chapters, second half)

I am getting closer to the study in the book of Revelation. I presume that will be my next project, although one never knows how God will lead. Malachi is the OT transition between Daniel and Revelation. In a broader sense, the entire NT is the main historic transition between the two. Daniel 9 brings us to Christ in the revelation of the 70 weeks, and the book of Revelation picks up the prophetic story from a higher platform.

The book of Daniel was sealed in his day (Daniel 12:9), and the seals were opened only after the prophecies began to be fulfilled. John’s book of Revelation was not sealed (Revelation 22:10), because “the time is near.” These were prophecies “which must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1). Of course, the prophecies covered a long span of time, but they were to begin shortly. If there was to be a 2000-year “gap” until these prophecies would be fulfilled, then the angel would have told John that his book—like Daniel’s—was also to be sealed until the appropriate time.

Nonetheless, men’s eyes are often blind, even though the books are unsealed. With the book of Revelation, the problem is the veil over our eyes, preventing us from truly understanding what we are reading.

The Book of Revelation

Most people interpret Revelation as a literal account of future events occurring in a seven-year tribulation period. This is a relatively new view from the mid-1800’s. The early Church had no idea what to think of the book, because most of the history being revealed was yet future. Then the Middle Ages brought widespread illiteracy and ignorance for close to a thousand years. When people went to church, it was not to engage in any serious Bible study, but to take sacraments, make confessions, give money, and build cathedrals.

With the Renaissance, the printing press, and the Protestant Reformation in the past 600 years, the Scriptures began to be translated into the common languages of the people, and therefore were more widely studied. They noticed a correlation between the book of Revelation and historical events that had occurred over the previous 1000-1500 years. And so the so-called “Historicist” view of Revelation was born, where the book (beginning in chapter 6) was interpreted in terms of actual events taking place in European history.

I have already written books explaining the first five chapters of Revelation. You may want to read them before we get started on a new study of Revelation. I plan to start in chapter 6.

Revelation 1: The Unveiling of Jesus Christ

The Seven Churches (covering chapters 2-3)

Revelation 4-5: The Throne of God

Revelation 6-8 covers the history of the Church under Rome in the first few centuries until about 600 A.D.

Revelation 9 covers the rise of Islam from its beginning in 612 to its peak in 1453 when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul).

Revelation 10 reveals the “little book,” which was made possible by the printing press, which was invented in China but first used in the West about the time that Constantinople fell. The first book to be printed was the Gutenberg Bible in 1452. This in turn spawned the Protestant Reformation, once it was possible for poor people to own their own Bibles.

Revelation 11 and 12 are interim chapters.

Revelation 13 and 14 speaks of the two beast-systems that have prevailed for the past few centuries until the present time.

Revelation 15 and 16 present the overcomers and their spiritual work in preparing for the fall of the beast systems.

Revelation 17-19 is about the fall of the beast systems and particularly the final phase known as Mystery Babylon.

Revelation 20 is about the Great Sabbath, that is, the seventh millennium, in which the earth is given rest from the oppression of the beast powers. It begins and ends with a resurrection. After the second resurrection, all of the dead are raised and summoned to the Great White Throne for judgment.

Revelation 21 shows the results of that judgment. Heaven comes to earth in a cosmic marriage, with the New Jerusalem pictured as the bride.

Revelation 22 shows the blessed conditions of God’s New World Order, and the book then closes with John’s conversation with “the angel” who was showing him these things.

This is a basic outline of the book of Revelation as I see it. I expect this study to take up most of the year 2016. If you have kept up with me on the study of Daniel, especially chapter 11 and 12, you will find that the history of the Grecian Empire prophesied by Daniel in these chapters is the same sort of prophecy as seen in the historical sections of the book of Revelation. The main difference is that Daniel described conditions under the third beast, while John described conditions under the fourth beast.

It is important to understand this connection, so that the historical interpretation of Daniel 11 and 12 continues without change into the book of Revelation.

My Challenge of Faith

I did a series on the book of Revelation in my Foundation For Intercession newsletters about 12-14 years ago. It was incomplete, however, because I did not have a complete revelation about chapters 7, 11, and 12. Hopefully, this time the Father will see fit to fill in those gaps and give me a complete revelation.

For me, every time I begin a study of a particular book, it is a step of faith on my part. Although God has revealed much to me in past years, there are parts of Scripture that I never understood until I did the series. So when God tells me to do a study on one of the books of the Bible, it excites me, because I know that the time has come for those veiled chapters to be revealed. Yet at the same time, my flesh is fearful that God will remain silent when I arrive at those chapters. That is where walking by faith becomes necessary as a way of life. In doing these weblogs, launching out in a new study is an act of faith, because I must assume that when I arrive at the veiled passages, the revelation will continue to flow, revealing what I need to know each day.

My previous FFI series on the book of Revelation could never be put into book form, because it remained incomplete. I did not want to fill the gaps with my own personal understanding. When I write these books, I need to have confidence in my heart that I have presented the truth by some level of divine revelation, rather than leaning on my own understanding.

I believe that our next study of this book will fill in the rest of the details as God gives revelation. I believe that we have come to the time when the veils have been rent, enlightening the eyes of those who study to show themselves approved unto God.