THE NEW TESTAMENT
BIBLE STORY
by Keith Hunt
Chapter One hundred-thirty
The
REVELATION
of Jesus Christ
Introduction and Story Flow
This introduction is taken from the NKJV Personal Study Bible,
Thomas Nelson publishers, 1990,1995.
The word "revelation" is a translation of the Greek term
meaning "apocalypse," which refers to an unveiling of God's
secret purpose.....An additional consideration in understanding
Revelation is the frequent use of visions and symbols. In
interpreting these, one should recognize that the author has
interwoven many echoes from the Old Testament.Attention to these
Old Testament settings may help us understand a given symbol or
vision....This book certainly had relevance to the situation that
surrounded its first readers. Yet its primary focus seems to be
on events associated with the return of Christ....
AUTHOR AND DATE
The tradition that John the apostle wrote Revelation was
almost unchallenged through the second century. Five time the
author names himself as John, but the term "apostle" is never
used....several ling-guistic evidences support the early church
tradition that John the apostle wrote the Revelation as well as
the Gospel and epistles of John.The Revelation uses some
vocabulary similar to the other books of John. also, the
Revelation, the Gospel, and the epistles of John are all fond of
contrasts.
Dating the composition of Revelation is complicated....
(Most give it as between 80 and 96 A.D. - Keith Hunt)
PURPOSE
In all this John's message is that God's victory has already
been won. The Lamb is the King of kings and Lord of lord.....
.................
I have not given a lengthy introduction as some Bible
Commentaries will do such as "Barne's Note on the New Testament.
It is not really relevant per se. and I will skip the "Outline of
Revelation" as presented in the above NKJV Personal Study Bible -
Keith Hunt.
REVELATION CAN BE UNDERSTOOD!
Let's make it very clear from the start, the book of
Revelation TODAY, CAN BE UNDERSTOOD! It is the REVELATION OF
JESUS CHRIST OF THINGS THAT MUST SHORTLY COME TO PASS, and He
bears witness by Himself and gave this prophecy to John to write
and who then bore witness to the Word of God, and to the
testimony of Jesus Christ, and to all the things that he saw.
There is a blessing for all who read and take head to the words
of this prophecy, and KEEP those things which as written in it;
for the time is near (1-3).
I want you to hang on to that phrase "for the time is near."
and we shall compare it with similar phrases. Some have or try to
understand this Revelation book as for the time shortly after the
life of John. The truth of the matter is the book is written
MAINLY in the time setting of the DAY OF THE LORD. That prophetic
time frame mentioned in TWO DOZEN OR MORE prophetic time frames
in the Old Testament, and the context of all of them is the
events of the last THREE AND one half YEARS OF THIS AGE. GETTING
EVEN MORE SPECIFIC, THE BOOK OF REVELATION IS PROBABLY TALKING
ABOUT "THE DAY" OF THE LORD, AS A DAY BEING ONE YEAR IN
FULFILMENT.
STORY FLOW
There is most clearly a STORY FLOW through the book of
Revelation. If we leave out what is not the story flow, but inset
passages that explain the symbols, or go back in an event to
bring you up to the overall present time we are in at that time
in the prophecy. So a certain amount of "drop back" scenes play
out in this mainly Revelation that is still yet beyond us.
Let me again state, this is A REVEALING OF WHAT MUST COME
SHORTLY BEFORE THE RETURN OF JESUS IN POWER AND GLORY.
Angels were sent to John to help him see many things and to
write about them, events that for the maim part of this book are
taking place in that section of prophecy called "the day of the
Lord" or "the day of God's wrath" or "the great day of His wrath
has come (chap.6:17).
Dr. Samuel Bacchiocchi - Departing from his church's general
understanding of this phrase, he disagrees with his Seventh Day
Adventist teaching on the phrase, as having nothing to do with
the 7th day of the week, or the literal day of the week (the
Lord's Day) some call "the Lord's day." It is correct to
understand that phrase as concerning the end-time period of the
last number of years at the end of this age. The phrase "Lord's
Day" is used in many of the prophetic books of the Old Testament,
and refers to that time period shortly before the Messiah comes
in glory and power to the earth (verses 1-3).
The OUTLINE STORY FLOW IS:
CHAPTER 1:9-19 John in the visionary Spirit see the glorified
Son of man.
CHAPTER 4. The setting of the vision continues in heaven at the
Throne of God.
CHAPTER 5. God hold a scroll in His right hand. No one is worthy
to open the scroll except the Lamb, the lion of Judah, the Root
of David, the Son of man, Jesus the Christ.
CHAPTER 6. The 7 seals and the opening of the first 6.
CHAPTER 7. The sealing of the servants of God. 12 thousand from
the 12 tribes of Israel and a great multitude. This part of the
vision does include a jump to where these servants or saints will
be with the Lamb of God (Christ) and the Father into eternity.
CHAPTER 7. The opening of the 7th seal. Seven angels with seven
trumpets prepare themselves to sound. FOUR trumpets are sounded
and various destruction come upon the earth. THREE trumpets
remain to be sounded (called Woe, woe, woe) - verse 13.
CHAPTER 9. The first WOE or 5TH TRUMPET sounds. The army from the
bottomless pit comes and torments people FIVE months (verses
1-12). The second WOE or 6TH TRUMPET sounds. The army from the
EAST of Euphrates comes and kills one third of mankind still left
on earth (verses 13-21).
CHAPTER 10. The vision continues and preparations words are given
to get ready for the third WOE or the 7TH TRUMPET, the LAST
TRUMPET, to sound.
CHAPTER 11: 14-19. The third WOE comes quickly - the 7TH TRUMPET
sounds. The time has now come for Christ to take the kingdoms of
this world and reign over them. The time of the dead to be
resurrected and given rewards. Jesus will come and destroy those
who are destroying the earth. The "temple of God" is opened in
heaven.
CHAPTER 14:1-20. Jesus is to come on the wings so to speak of a
white cloud. The harvest of mankind is to take place. Jesus will
make war and the wine-press of blood will be like a river.
CHAPTER 16. The 7TH TRUMPET WOE is made up of 7 LAST PLAGUES. The
6th vial is the gathering together of the armies of the Beast
power into the place called Armageddon. The 7th vial is a mighty
earthquake and hail, especially upon the prophetic "Babylon."
CHAPTER 19:11-16. Jesus' literal coming riding on a white horse
with armies from heaven. He takes rulership of the earth.
Destroys the "beast man" and the "false prophet" in the lake of
fire.
CHAPTER 20. Christ and the saints rule the earth for 1,000 years
(verses 1-6). Satan is chained and cast into the bottomless pit.
At the end of the thousand years Satan is loosed, another battle
takes place around Jerusalem. God is the winner.
The WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT (verses 11-13). Billions who lived and
were never called to salvation will be resurrected and offered
eternal life. They will have to live by the Bible, and receive
salvation exactly the same way as the saints already in the
Kingdom of God.
CHAPTER 21 AND 22. The NEW heaven and the NEW earth. God the
Father will come with the new Jerusalem from heaven, to live and
dwell with His children FOREVER MORE. We are given a small
glimpse into that eternal age, as it will be on this earth, as
the headquarters of the entire universe.
INSET CHAPTERS.
Basically the rest of the chapters and verses of the
book of Revelation are what we call INSET chapters. They tell us
VERY IMPORTANT things that effect the MAIN STORY flow. It is like
the Hollywood films that tell a story flow, but now and again
they go back in time, to different times and played out scenes,
that fill-in certain parts for our knowledge, to give us a better
and fuller understand of the main story flow events.
Example: Revelation 11:1-13. The inset is about the TWO
FINAL WITNESSES for God's truth living in Jerusalem for the 42
months that the Beast power exists at the end of this age. The 42
months include both the "great tribulation" and "the day of the
Lord." The Two Witnesses live and preach the truth of God during
that last period of time. They are killed and resurrected just
very shortly before Jesus returns.
Revelation 12 is an inset chapter. It is an overview of the
TRUE Church of God, going way back to Genesis 37 and up to the
coming GREAT tribulation, the wrath of the Day of God - last 42
months of this age.
.................
NOTE:
Many of the details of parts of the book of Revelation, such as
Chapter 13, are dealt with in detail in other studies on this
Website, under "prophecy" and "end times." I will in this New
Testament Bible Story, when we get to those chapters, refer the
reader to those in-depth studies, and not expounded them over
again.
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