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Introduction
- Book of Revelation
The
Apostle John is the author of the Book of Revelation. He wrote it
when he was about 92 years old, while a prisoner of Rome on the
remote desert penal colony of Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea.
Patmos was a quarry mine for the Roman Empire, and was home to many
political and religious prisoners or slaves. John, the beloved
apostle of Jesus, was being held as a prisoner of Rome on this
island for his incessant preaching about Jesus. Rome believed that
banishing the old man John to the remote and forsaken island of
Patmos, that his voice would be quieted. John was aged in years, and
close to the end of his life, probably sent to Patmos in the year 95
by the Roman emperor Domitian, who was reportedly angry at the fact
that John was not killed when he was dipped in boiling oil. Since
John was a contemporary of Jesus, John would have been by that time,
well over 90 years old - making him very likely the only apostle to
survive to such an old age. The rest of Jesus apostles and disciples
were martyred decades earlier. It was as if God supernaturally
preserved John to bare record of The Revelation!
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Where the Book of "Revelation" was
received by John
Patmos, Greece - where the Apostle
John was exiled |
John's love for Jesus was so strong, that he continued to defy the
Roman magistrate's order to no longer proclaim Jesus as Messiah,
Savior and Lord; even while a prisoner. On Patmos, John was thrown
in with violent criminals, but simply won many of the criminals to
faith in Jesus.
It was on Patmos that John wrote down in a scroll all that "he saw
and heard". John's sworn testimony about how he received the
messages is given in the first chapter.
According to Greek Orthodox Tradition John's vision came to him on a
Sunday after saying Mass and preaching the Gospel. Saint John, to
escape the heat of the day, remained in the cave where he said Mass.
It was here that one day the Lord came to Saint John in a vision.
When Saint John awoke, he dictated his revelation to his scribe.
It begins with this assurance:
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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: Who bare record of the word of God, and of
the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he
saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that
hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Revelation 1:1-3 (KJV) |
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Cave of John the Apostle |
The Book
of Revelation, what God revealed to the Apostle John, is a great
prophecy mystery. It's a riddle wrapped in an enigma. It has
drawn the attention of numerous scholars throughout the ages, all
trying to interpret the meaning of it. The stakes are worth
the challenge to would-be code breakers, because the book of
Revelation describes the end of one world and the beginning of the
next. A key to understanding most Old Testament prophecies is
to think Israel, the Jews, and Jerusalem in particular. Just
as Jesus' mission was to save the Jews - it was the mission of the
prophets to pass God's Word and His warnings on to them.
Revelation has been noted in some cases to "parallel" what God
revealed to the Prophet Daniel, some 600 years earlier. For
instance, speaking about Jerusalem being in control of the gentiles
for "42 months", it appears that God is also telling us that the
Gentiles will do something in an area of the temple mount which God
was aware of beforehand -- so He marked it off. It also tells
us that someone would control Jerusalem for 42 months.
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the court which is without the temple leave out, and
measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and
the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and
two months. Revelation 11:2 |
According
to Bible scholar Ellis Skolfield, Daniel 12 describes what will be
put into this area God marked out, and it tells us when it would be
built and agrees with John's "revelation" that Jerusalem would be
being under foot of the Gentiles for 42 months. The Gentiles
are anyone who is not a Jew. In this case the Muslims. A
by-product of this is that if God thinks the Muslim shrine to the
pagan god Allah and the false prophet Muhammad is a pagan
"abomination", then He is also telling us that Islam is false - and
it disgusts Him. Also, of interest are the two prior verses in
Daniel (9-10), which tell as when this prophecy will be "cracked" we
will be in "the time of the end". It also tells us of scoffers
(wicked that will always refuse to accept), who will most likely be
atheists, pagans, and pagan Muslims.
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Daniel
12:11 "And
from
the
time
that
the
daily
sacrifice
shall
be
taken
away,
and
the
abomination
that
maketh
desolate
set
up,
there
shall
be
a
thousand
two
hundred
and
ninety
days.
12 Blessed
is
he
that
waiteth,
and
cometh
to
the
thousand
three
hundred
and
five
and
thirty
days.
13 But
go
thou
thy
way
till
the
end
be:
for
thou
shalt
rest,
and
stand
in
thy
lot
at
the
end
of
the
days."
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It
appears Skolfield's teaching that the "abomination of desolation"
already happened exactly on schedule (Daniel's 1290 day prophecy)
is correct.
When the pagan
Islamic Dome of the Rock and the al-Aksa Mosque were built on the
temple mount, it made the temple mount "desolated" or contaminated.
This was built during the 685 to 705 AD period. During Daniel's day,
we know that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple in 586 BC. We
also know from Jeremiah that sacrifices occurred on the temple mount
for a year or so after it was destroyed.
Jeremiah 41:5: That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh,
and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven,
and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings
and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
So what happened 1290 old testament years in a period of a year or
so surrounding 586 BC? The Muslim Dome of the Rock was built on the
Temple Mount!
This abomination was built during the 685 to 705 AD period. It took
that long to build. During Daniel's day, we know that Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed the First Temple in 586 BC. We also know from Jeremiah
41:5 that sacrifices occurred on the temple mount for a year or so
after The first Jewish Temple it was destroyed.
The formula for this is converting Old Testament years (360 days a
year) into what we are on (solar years-or 365.24 days) is this:
OT prophetic years of 1290 times .9857 = 1271 solar years.
Take 705 AD as the year for the Dome of the Rock and add 586 and you
get 1291. That's Exactly as Daniel said when you add the short time
Jews visited the mount to make sacrifices after it was destroyed.
1335 - the "double check" number:
It gets even better than this. The Prophet Daniel gave us
another number that when added with the same formula, takes us
exactly to 1948 --when the Jews were restored to the land. Remember
1948 was their Independence Day when they officially became a nation
again after 2500 years.
1335 times .9857 = 1316. 1948 (when Israel became a nation) minus
1316, brings us back to another date the God of prophecy wants us to
be mindful of. That equals 632 AD, the date that
Muhammad of Islam died.
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A little after midday of 8 June, 632, the 62 year old
Muhammad
died in the house of his wife A'isha who he married when
she was 6 (or 7) years old. Muslim historians back to
the early 800's A.D. tell us that Muhammad consummated
his marriage with A'isha when she was only 9 - when he
was in his 50's. See the Muslim references for this:
here |
But
what about the 42 weeks of Revelation, you may be asking?
Old
Testament calculations:
42 x 30.44 = 1278.48 years
A solar year (which we are on) is 365.24 days. Divide 365.24 by 12
months in the year = 30.44 days
In 688 AD the Dome of the Rock was largely built and the Muslims
were in control of Jerusalem. In 1967 the Israeli's finally regained
control of Jerusalem after 2500 years. So the Gentiles (Muslims)
controlled Jerusalem and the Holy Mount for 1278.48 years as this
prophecy predicted.
1967 - 1278.48 = 688.52
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1967
Jews finally in control of Jerusalem again |
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The Muslims probably thought they were building their monstrosity to
their false prophet Muhammad and their false pagan god on the spot
where the Holy of Holies was. When actually they built it about 300
feet south of the House of The Lord. God had already measured out a
place for it (to keep it away from Him), which is called the Court
of the Gentiles.
Because of the extraordinary vision and prophecy revealed to John
many of the descriptions appear vague and somewhat confusing to
many! John was commanded to write about the things to which he was
an eye witness! It must be remembered that John was writing down
what he was seeing and His 1st Century understanding was probably
not compatible and adequate to describe things that he saw and now
exist in the 21st century. We have found it very helpful to pray to
God for understanding before reading Revelation.
Bring yourself
back to the Apostle John's time
Put yourself in John's place for a moment. You are miraculously
transported from the primitive, non-technical age of the 1st century
into the 21st century. You witness the most horrific war of all
times, fought with machines completely beyond your comprehension.
John is trying to describe things such as:
-supersonic jet aircraft
-modern helicopters
-battle tanks
-ICBM's
-biological and chemical weapons
-aircraft carriers
-laser weapons
-space stations and satellites
Some of the above is taken from the excellent book by Hal Lindsey,
entitled "Apocalypse Code"
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I
turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was
someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his
feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were
white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing
fire. His feet were like bronze glowing In a furnace, and his voice
was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held
seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword.
His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw
him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right
hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last.
I am the living one; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and
ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 1 :12-18
The Greek word for Revelation is apokalupsis which literally means,
"unveiling" or " to remove from covering", or to “open and unloose
(unseal) the detail”. Old Testament Prophet Daniel was informed to
“seal up” the prophecy concerning these things until “the time of
the end”. The book of Revelation however unseals that epic volume,
and is in fact the unveiling of Jesus Christ. It is the unveiling of
Jesus Christ because only he is worthy to open, or unveil, and
remove the covering from the previously sealed book of prophecy. The
book unveils his relationship to the church throughout the long
drama of the Church Age, his judgments of this world, and the
nations of the world, and it conveys to the present world things
that shall come to pass in the near future. The purpose of the
Revelation is also to reveal to Christ's watchful servants, all the
details concerning the things that must shortly take place, in the
interim leading directly to our Lord's grand return to the world
stage. He will return as a conquering King, the Lion of the Tribe of
Judah, which is the exact reversal of his first advent when he came
as a meek, humble sacrificial Lamb, a lamb slain even before the
very foundation of the world.
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