I begin my daily prayer with “A” (Adoration) in the “ACTS” (Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) prayer model that I use. I use the throne scenes in Revelation 4 and 5.
In Revelation 4 John is shown the throne scene with Father God represented by precious, bright stones on a throne, 24 elders on their thrones, 4 living creatures, 7 lamps, lightning and thunder, and a rainbow. The 4 living creatures worship 24/7, saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” The 24 elders bow down and worship, saying “11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
So I begin by worshipping the Father on the throne. But there’s more in Revelation 5. Father God on the throne in chapter 4 has in His hand a sealed scroll that predicts the events to happen soon but no one is found worthy to open the scroll except the Lamb, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David. Then the Lamb appears by the throne, standing but as if slaughtered (apparently bloody). The Lamb takes the scroll from the Father and will presumably open the scrolls one by one. The 4 living creatures and the 24 elders sing a new song (the song of Moses and the Lamb) and worship the Lamb: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation.You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” Then thousands of thousands of angels join the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures in worship: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing.” Then every living creature in heaven, earth, or sea begin to worship both the one on the throne (the Father) and the Lamb by the throne: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever.” The 4 living creatures say “Amen” and the 24 elders bow and worship.
So I hope this will help you with your daily worship of the Father and the Son. A couple of notes:
The song of Moses and the Lamb. AI: “The Song of Moses and the Lamb is a biblical hymn from Revelation 15:3-4, sung by the redeemed in heaven, combining praise for God’s deliverance (like Moses at the Red Sea, Exodus 15) with recognition of Jesus, the Lamb, for His ultimate victory and salvation, uniting Old and New Testament themes of God’s mighty, just deeds. It praises God as Almighty and King of nations, acknowledging His holy, marvelous, and true ways, and serves as a hymn of triumph over evil. ” Well said, AI, no doubt taken directly from a great article somewhere!
The church is those purchased with the blood of the Lamb who are the new kingdom of God, a spiritual kingdom. All Christians are spiritual priests who offer up to God spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5-9). Christians are reigning with Christ in this spiritual kingdom now. We are not waiting for Jesus to return to set up a physical kingdom. He never intended or planned to set up a physical kingdom. John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world”. Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Here are the facts from Revelation 20 on the millennium, the 1,000 years. Read the chapter.
Satan was bound in some way for 1,000 years. He was not allowed to deceive the nations for that period of time.
After the 1,000 years is completed Satan is released but only for a short time.
Those martyred for their faith in Jesus come to life and reign with Christ for 1,000 years. Their coming to life is the “first resurrection”.
The “rest of the dead” don’t come to life till the end of. the 1,000 years. They will be given the second death.
At the end of the 1,000 years Satan will be released for a short time to deceive the nations (20:3 said he could not do that for the 1,000 years).
The nations are called God and Magog from Ezekiel 38-39 where Gog (the leader of the land of Magog) and Magog (the land) will attack Israel in the “latter years” (38:8). Ezekiel said this had been prophesied by “God’s servants the prophets of Israel” (38:17). He says that God and Magog will be defeated and destroyed. He says that God then will pour out His Spirit on the house of Israel (Ezekiel 39:29).
Gog and Magog “surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city” but Gog and Magog are devoured by fire (Revelation 20:9).
The devil is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone.
There is then a great white throne judgement. Heavens and earth pass away. Death and Hades give up their dead to be judged. Death and Hades are then thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone which is the 2nd death.
I remind you that Revelation is predicting things that are near, to shortly take place (Revelation 1:1-3; 22:6-10). Thus we expect chapter 20 to take place shortly also. The key is #7 above. At the end of the 1,000 years Gog and Magog surround the “beloved city” and the “saints”. The beloved city would have to Jerusalem, so this would refer to the Romans (God and Magog) sieging Jerusalem in 70 AD, destroying the temple and the city. The saints attacked would be the Jews, God’s people of the old testament. Ezekiel said that the prophets had predicted God and Magog and indeed several prophets predicted the destruction of Jerusalem by the “nations” (the Romans) in 70 AD (Joel 3; Zechariah 14; Deuteronomy 30; Daniel 9,12).
Notice that #7 takes place at the end of the 1,000 years (#5). The end of the 1,000 years must be 70 AD. Therefore the 1,000 years must be the 40 year period from 30 AD (when the gospel was preached to the whole Roman Empire, the church was established, and Christians began to be martyred for their faith in Jesus) to 70 AD. The martyred saints during that period would receive their resurrected bodies (the 1st resurrection) spiritually and reign with Jesus in heaven during that period. The “rest of the dead” would be those who died in the Old Testament and were held in Hades waiting for their eternal fate. They would be raised in 70 AD just as Daniel 12:2 predicted would happen at the “end of the age” (i.e. the end of the Jewish age in 70 AD). The wicked would be raised spiritually to receive their fate, the 2nd death of fire and brimstone.
The pouring out of the Spirit on Israel (Ezekiel 39:29) is often predicted by the prophets (Joel 2:28-32; Isaiah 44:3; Zechariah 12:10). That was also fulfilled during the “last days” of the Jewish Age from AD 30 to 70 AD as seen in the book of Acts. The “Israel” the Spirit was poured out on has to be the remnant of Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah and who became the first church in the book of Acts. The Spirit was not poured out on the whole nation. Instead God judged the wicked unbelieving Jews and sent the Romans to kill one million Jews in 70 AD. That was the great white throne judgment.
Satan is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone at the end of the 1,000 years in 70 AD. I personally believe that means that Satan was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone in 70 AD b/c that is what it says. That means that Satan is no longer allowed to roam the earth and deceive people after 70 AD. He is “toast”, either annihilated or burning forever. Evil would continue after 70 AD since evil is the result of our lusts (James 1) and Satan. is not some omnipotent being who personally induces every person on the earth to sin. Spiritual death is destroyed in. 70 AD. The last enemy Jesus conquered was spiritual death (1 Corinthians 15:26) and spiritual death would be destroyed when the Law, the source of death (1 Corinthians 15:56), was destroyed in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed, the Law was finally removed once and for all (Hebrews 8:13 it “disappeared” in 70 AD), and spiritual death is destroyed for every believer in Jesus from AD 70 forward. Hades, the waiting place of the Olld Testament dead, was also destroyed in 70 AD. There was no need for a “waiting place” any longer. After 70 AD Christians who die go directly to be with Jesus. They will live spiritually even if they die physically (John 11:25-26).
That, right or wrong, is about as short and through as I can make it. That means the 1,000 years (the millennium) ended in 70 AD. The number 1,000 is a figurative number just like many numbers in the book of Revelation. That means that Jesus is not coming back to set up a 1,000 year reign on earth in a. physical power based kingdom. Most evangelicals believe that and are waiting for Jesus to come set up an earthly kingdom. They believe the battle of Armageddon will happen at the end of the 1,000 years, but Armageddon in the book of Revelation happened in 70 AD when the Romans attacked Jerusalem. Jesus’s kingdom was a spiritual kingdom, the church, not of this world (John 18:36). So many predictions for the beginning of the 1,000 years have failed. Dispensationalists thought it would begin in the 7th millennium since the creation, which, if you beleive the earth was created about 4,000 BC, would begin in the year 2,000 AD. It did not. All the false expectations of a millennium happening in our future is just an unnecessary distraction to the preaching of the gospel and the glory that should be given to God in the church. When predictions of a future 2nd coming and millennium don’t come true, many might lose their faith in the Bible since they think the predictions failed to come true. Instead of rejecting those false prophets who made the false predictions, they reject the Bible itself.
These are the conclusions of my study of the millennium. Thanks for reading even if you disagree!
If you are not into eschatology, you might want to skip this article! If you are interested, what did Jesus mean when he said “I am coming quickly” in Revelation 22:7,12,20?
Jesus said “I am coming quickly” 3 times in Revelation 22 (22:7,12,20). Does that mean “like a speeding bullet” but not necessarily “soon”? Or does it mean “soon” as translated in the ESV and the YLT (Young’s Literal Translation)? Does it mean that, when He does come, it will happen swiftly, but not necessarily soon? The Greek word is tachu: Quickly, swiftly, soon. “The adverb “tachu” is used in the New Testament to convey a sense of immediacy or urgency. It often describes actions that are to be undertaken without delay or events that are expected to occur soon. The term emphasizes the promptness or rapidity of an action or event.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: ταχύ(neuter of the adjective ταχύς), adverb (from Pindar down), quickly, speedily (without delay): Matthew 5:25; Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:8 Rec.; Luke 15:22 L Tr brackets WH; John 11:29; ἔρχεσθαι, Revelation 2:5 Rec.bez elz, ; ; forthwith, i. e. while in the use of my name he is performing mighty works, Mark 9:39.” An example of its use in Matthew 22:7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to report to His disciples.” So the use here is swiftly but also without delay. It is used two other times in Revelation: 2:16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. (ESV) 3:10 `Because thou didst keep the word of my endurance, I also will keep thee from the hour of the trial that is about to (mello in the New Testament always means something about to happen) come upon all the world, to try those dwelling upon the earth. (YLT) 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (ESV). In 3:10,11 the coming “soon” is tied to things “about to happen”, so the context shows that “soon” is the best interpretation of tachu in 3:11.
μέλλω (melló) (melló: to be about to, to intend, to be destined) is used several times in the messages to the seven churches. 1:19; 2:10; 3:2,10, 16. It is obvious that the meaning is things about to happen to the 7 churches. “The Greek verb “μέλλω” (melló) always means “about to happen” in the New Testament. It is often mistranslated “certainly or surely or just is to happen” but that is not how it is used in the New Testament. It always means “about to happen”. Young’s Literal Translation does a good job of always translating mello correctly as “about to”.
The 2nd coming is part of the predictions of Revelation. Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.” This is the same language as Matthew 24:30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ” That coming in Matthew 24 had to happen within that generation. 24:34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (genea in the New Testament always means a 40 year period or the people living in a 40 year period, just as we use it in the “baby boomers’ generation”). So what is the context of Revelation 1:7? The context is things that will happen shortly or soon. Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon (tachos: Speed, swiftness, quickness: Strongs “From the same as tachus; a brief space (of time), i.e. (with en prefixed) in haste — + quickly, + shortly, + speedily.”) take place. Tachos is the same word in Revelation 22:6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” The Greek for “near” is eggus: Near, close, at hand. “The Greek word “ἐγγύς” (eggus) is used to denote proximity in terms of space, time, or relationship. It conveys the idea of something being near or imminent. In the New Testament, it is often used to describe the nearness of the Kingdom of God, the coming of Christ, or the proximity of a person or event.” It is translated 29 out of 31 times used as “near”, so the context of Revelation is things that are “imminent”. Eggus is the word used in Revelation 22:10 And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” Just two verses after that is 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” There is that tachu word that means quickly, swiftly, soon, but the ESV translates it “soon” because it is predicting something that is “near” (22:10). The same with Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” One other thing. In 22:10, John is told “do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” Why is he told not to seal up the prophecies? It, again, is b/c their fulfillment is “near“. How could that be thousands of years later? Daniel was told to seal up his predictions, and his predictions would happen about 600 years after he made them. So to not seal up the predictions of Revelation would have to mean they were going to happen at least in the next few hundred years, and not thousands of years. But “near” makes it mean soon after Revelation was written.
Hopefully, that is enough Greek word studies and Revelation context (probably overkill for most readers). But it should be apparent (at least I think it is) that the events predicted in the book of Revelation were “about to happen”, “soon”, “shortly”, “near”. Not just some of the events, but all of them. The book begins and ends with the same words: “the time is near”, these things are going to happen “soon”. That would include the 2nd coming which be both swiftly, soon, without delay: usually translated “quickly” but “soon would be the better translation as in the ESV. Those who believe that the 2nd coming “quickly” in Revelation 22:7,12,20 does not mean “soon” are those who do not believe that John is predicting that the 2nd coming was “near” and would happen “soon”. So they take “quickly” to mean just “swiftly” but not necessarily “soon”, but that is not the context of the 2nd coming in Revelation. So, is John predicting that the 2nd coming was soon, near? If so, could he be referring to Jesus’ coming in judgment on the Jews in 70 AD, just as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:30-34, and not to some coming that would be thousands of years later? If he was predicting that Jesus’ 2nd coming would be soon, near and then it didn’t happen soon or near, then would that make him mistaken or a false prophet?
King Nebuchadnezzar II ruled Babylon from approximately 605–562 BCE. Daniel was carried captive to Babylon in 605 BC. In the king’s 2nd year (603 BC), Daniel’s 2nd year in captivity, the king had a dream of a statue. He was smart. He told his magicians to tell him what he dreamed and the interpretation and they could not. Imagine me asking you to tell me exactly what I dreamed last night! They went to kill Daniel and his 3 friends who had been elevated to counselor positions after refusing to eat the food in Daniel 1. Daniel asked for time to let God give him the dream and its interpretation. Here is an image of the awesome, giant, radiant statue that the king saw.
Daniel said the statue had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron and clay. He told the king that he, Babylon, was the head of gold. He doesn’t say in chapter 2 who the other 3 successive kingdoms will be after Babylon. A stone would crush the statue. In the days of the 4th iron kingdom, God would set up a 5th kingdom, His kingdom, that would never be destroyed. Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” I want to fill in the blanks on the last 3 kingdoms and God’s kingdom in the simplest way possible.
I. 47 years later in Daniel 7, in the 1st year (556 BC) of King Belshazzar of Babylon (556-539 BC), Daniel saw a dream of 4 beasts. Here is what he saw.
These beasts are the same 4 kingdoms as in the statue in chapter 2. Daniel does not say who the 4 kingdoms are so we still can’t identify the rest of he kingdoms after Babylon. Notice that the 4th beast had “iron” teeeth, 10 horns, and a “little horn” that comes up after the 10 horns. The “iron” part means this is the same kingdom as the 4th iron kingdom of ch 2. We can assume that the 1st lion beast is Babylon.
II. In the 3rd year of Belshazzar (553 BC), Daniel saw a vision that helps us identify the 2nd and 3rd kingdom of the statue (which is the same as the 2nd and 3rd beast in ch 7). Daniel tells us who the 2nd and 3rd kingdoms are:
So the powerful conquering ram would be the 2nd kingdom (the chest and arms of silver of the statue in ch 2 and the 2nd bear beast of ch 7) would be the Medo-Persians who conquered Babylon in 539 BC under Darius (Daniel 5:30) and Cyrus.
The high flying goat that crushes the ram would be the 3rd kingdom (the belly and thighs of bronze of the statue in ch 2 and the 3rd leopard beast in ch 7) would be the Grecian kingdom that conquered the Persians in 330 BC. The goat has a “prominent horn” which would be Alexander the Great who conquered the Persians and spread the Grecian kingdom all the way to India in 10 years (333-323 BC). But soon after that the prominent horn would be broken into 4 smaller horns. That is exactly what happened after Alexander died in 323 BC. HIs kingdom was divided among his 4 generals, creating 4 smaller kingdoms. The most notable of these 4 were the Seleucid Kingdom (Syris) and the Ptolemaic Kingdom (Egypt) who wrestled for control of the Jews and their land for the next 160 years after the death of Alexander until the Maccabean revolt which gained independence for the Jews in 167 BC. This is an amazing detailed prediction of events 200 years in the future. This has led the critics to say that Daniel was written in the 2nd century BC since no one can predict the future like that (but God can). The Romans then took over the Jews in 63 BC and controlled the Jews from then on. The Jews rebelled in 67 BC which led to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD.
III. So we can identify the first 3 kingdoms of the statue in ch 2 as Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. We still need to identify the 4th iron kingdom of the statue (the 4th iron teeth beast of ch 7). Several keys to filling in the blanks.
1) Mark 1:15 where Jesus said “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” (i.e. God’s 5th kingdom of Daniel 2:44-45 that God would set up during the days of the 4th kingdom). Jesus even said that some of those he was speaking to would still be alive to see that kingdom set up: Mark 9:1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God when it has come with power.”
2) That kingdom was to be a spiritual kingdom. John 18: world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” God’s kingdom would be a spiritual kingdom, not physcial power based like that of David’s kingdom. That spiritual kingdom would be the church. Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” For this prediction to come true, Peter had to use those keys to allow people to enter that kingdom of God. Peter did that in Acts 2 when he preached the first gospel sermon that allowed 3,000 to be baptized for the remission of sins and to enter the church kingdom.
3) A little syllogistic reasoning tells us that the 4th iron kingdom of the statue is the Romans Empire. a) the 5th kingdom (Daniel 2:44), God’s kingdom, was to be set up during the days of the 4th kingdom. b) that 5th kingdom (the church kingdom), was at hand, to be established while some listening to Jesus were still alive. c) since Rome was the kingdom ruling when Jesus said that the kingdom was at hand, then Rome must be the 4th kingdom of the statue of Daniel 2.
The church is the 5th kingdom of God set up during the days of the Roman Empires. We read of the establishment of the church in Acts 2.
So now we can present this image of the statue of Daniel 2, combining the 4 beasts of Daniel 7:
We can combine that image with the ram and goat of Daniel 8:
We can even add this image that fully explains (in fine print) the 5th kingdom of God, the church:
So now we realize that Daniel’s predictions in chapter 2 extend over 600 years into the future. Only a prophet of God can predict the future so accurately. Imagine someone trying to predict the superpowers that will come about in the next 600 years in our future. On a final note, the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD so the 5th kingdom, God’s kingdom, had to be established before 476 BC or else Daniel and Jesus are false prophets. Those who expect Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom must come up with some explanation if the 5th kingdom was not set up before 476 AD. So they say that Jesus postponed setting up that earthly kingdom b/c the Jews rejected him, left the church as a substitute, and will come back in our future (going on 2000 years now since Jesus’ predictions) to set up an earthly kingdom in some kind of a “revived Roman Empire” (some world government). Hebrews 10:37 refutes the idea of a delayed 2nd coming to set up Jesus’ kingdom: “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” Also, if Jesus did not come in his kingdom while some who were listening to him were still alive, then he is a false prophet. There are no scriptures that teach a delayed 2nd coming or a delayed establishment of the kingdom. If people will acknowledge that the kingdom of God is the church, a spiritual kingdom not physical, then the predictions of Daniel and Jesus are accurately fulfilled in the 1st century. There is no physical kingdom to be set up in our future, period. Those who still expect Jesus to come and set up an earthly kingdom are making the same mistake that the Jews who rejected Jesus made when they rejected him as the Messiah b/c they expected a physical, conquering Messiah who would set up a restored physical Jewish kingdom that would defeat the Romans. At least they are not making the same mistake of rejecting Jesus as the Messiah!
On a side note, the sea beast of Revelation 13 has the same lion, leopard, and bear imagery as Daniel 7 and therefore must be he Roman Empire. He also had 7 heads and 10 horns.
The 10 horns of the 4th iron teeth beast in Daniel 7 and of the sea beast in Revelation 13 would be the first 10 emperors of Rome beginning with Julius Caesar (the Jewish historian Josephus living in the first century AD said that Julius was the first king and Augustus was the 2nd).
The “little horn” that came up after the 10 horns in Daniel 7 is the same as the “small horn” that came up after the ram and goat in Daniel 8. That little horn in Daniel 7 would utter great boasts and wage war against the saints (the Jews). The small horn in Daniel 8 would come out of one of the 4 smaller kingdoms that the goat’s prominent horn would be broken into (the 4 smaller kingdoms when Alexander died) and would claim to be equal to God and would destroy the sanctuary (the temple) at the “time of the end” (Daniel 8:19 And he said, “Behold, I am going to inform you of what will occur at the final period of the indignation, because it pertains to the appointed time of the end.”) The “time of the end” in Daniel 12 refers to the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD, not to the end of the world. That small horn would even oppose the Prince of princes which must be Jesus (Daniel 8:25), so the small horn can’t be Antiochus Epiphanes who polluted the temple in the 2nd century BC as many think. It must be someone after Jesus. All this fits the 11th emperor Titus. Titus, the son of the 10th emperor Vespasian, was not an emperor yet when he led the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD, but he would later become the 11th emperor in 79 AD, so you can see why he is called the little horn or small horn. He is also the “man of sin” of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” That could only be Titus who actually entered the temple when he destroyed it and defiled the temple with sacrifices to the Roman gods. Many think that Nero was the man of sin but Nero never entered the temple. Many think that the man of sin, the little horn, the Anti-Christ will be someone in our future, but Paul said that mystery of lawlessness was “already at work” when he wrote 2 Thessalonians, not in the distant future, and there is no temple for the man of sin to “take his seat in” today.
That also tells us when the book of Revelation was written. It was written during the days of the 6th emperor, Nero who died in 68 AD. Revelation 17:9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.” At the time of writing Revelation, 5 emperors had already died (Julius through Claudius), the 6th (Nero) “is” (i.e. reigning at the time of writing. Since he died in 68 AD, Revelation had to be written while he was alive and before 68 AD.
I hope this has been pretty simple, logical, and most importantly, accurate.
King Nebuchadnezzar II ruled Babylon from approximately 605–562 BCE. Daniel was carried captive to Babylon in 605 BC. In the king’s 2nd year (603 BC), Daniel’s 2nd year in captivity, the king had a dream of a statue. He was smart. He told his magicians to tell him what he dreamed and the interpretation and they could not. They went to kill Daniel and his 3 friends who had been elevated to counselor positions after refusing to eat the food in Daniel 1. Daniel asked for time to let God give him the dream and its interpretation. Here is an image of the awesome, giant, radiant statue that the king saw.
Daniel said the statue had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron and clay. He told the king that he, Babylon, was the head of gold. He doesn’t say in chapter 2 who the other 3 successive kingdoms will be after Babylon. A stone would crush the statue. In the days of the 4th iron kingdom, God would set up a 5th kingdom, His kingdom, that would never be destroyed. Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” I want to fill in the blanks on the last 3 kingdoms and God’s kingdom in the simplest way possible.
I. 47 years later in Daniel 7, in the 1st year (556 BC) of King Belshazzar of Babylon (556-539 BC), Daniel saw a dream of 4 beasts. Here is what he saw.
These beasts are the same 4 kingdoms as in the statue in chapter 2. Daniel does not say who the 4 kingdoms are so we still can’t identify the rest of he kingdoms after Babylon. Notice that the 4th beast had “iron” teeeth, 10 horns, and a “little horn” that comes up after the 10 horns. The “iron” part means this is the same kingdom as the 4th iron kingdom of ch 2. We can assume that the 1st lion beast is Babylon.
II. In the 3rd year of Belshazzar (553 BC), Daniel saw a vision that helps us identify the 2nd and 3rd kingdom of the statue (which is the same as the 2nd and 3rd beast in ch 7). Daniel tells us who the 2nd and 3rd kingdoms are:
So the powerful conquering ram would be the 2nd kingdom (the chest and arms of silver of the statue in ch 2 and the 2nd bear beast of ch 7) would be the Medo-Persians who conquered Babylon in 539 BC. The high flying goat that crushes the ram would be the 3rd kingdom (the belly and thighs of bronze of the statue in ch 2 and the 3rd leopard beast in ch 7) would be the Grecian kingdom that conquered the Persians in 330 BC. The goat has a “prominent horn” which would be Alexander the Great who conquered the Persians and spread the Grecian kingdom all the way to India in 10 years (333-323 BC). But soon after that the prominent horn would be broken into 4 smaller horns. That is exactly what happened after Alexander died in 323 BC. HIs kingdom was divided among his 4 generals, creating 4 smaller kingdoms. The most notable of these 4 were the Seleucid Kingdom (Syris) and the Ptolemaic Kingdom (Egypt) who wrestled for control of the Jews and their land for the next 160 years after the death of Alexander until the Maccabeans revolt which gained independence for the Jews in 167 BC. This is an amazing detailed prediction of events 200 years in the future. This has led the critics to say that Daniel was written in the 2nd century BC since no one can predict the future like that (but God can).
III. So we can identify the first 3 kingdoms of the statue in ch 2 as Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. We still need to identify the 4th iron kingdom of the statue (the 4th iron teeth beast of ch 7). Several keys to filling in the blanks.
1) Mark 1:15 where Jesus said “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” (i.e. God’s 5th kingdom of Daniel 2:44-45 that God would set up during the days of the 4th kingdom). Jesus even said that some of those he was speaking to would still be alive to see that kingdom set up: Mark 9:1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God when it has come with power.”
2) That kingdom was to be a spiritual kingdom. John 18: world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” God’s kingdom would be a spiritual kingdom, not physcial power based like that of David’s kingdom. That spiritual kingdom would be the church. Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” For this prediction to come true, Peter had to use those keys to allow people to enter that kingdom of God. Peter did that in Acts 2 when he preached the first gospel sermon that allowed 3,000 to be baptized for the remission of sins and to enter the church kingdom.
3) A little syllogistic reasoning tells us that the 4th iron kingdom of the statue is the Romans Empire. a) the 5th kingdom (Daniel 2:44), God’s kingdom, was to be set up during the days of the 4th kingdom. b) that 5th kingdom (the church kingdom), was at hand, to be established while some listening to Jesus were still alive. c) since Rome was the kingdom ruling when Jesus said that the kingdom was at hand, then Rome must be the 4th kingdom of the statue of Daniel 2. So now we can present this image, combining the 4 beasts of Daniel 7:
We can combine that image with the ram and goat of Daniel 8:
We can even add this image that fully explains (in fine print) the 5th kingdom of God, the church:
So now we realize that Daniel’s predictions in chapter 2 extend over 600 years into the future. Only a prophet of God can predict the future so accurately. Imagine someone trying to predict the superpowers that will come about in the next 600 years in our future. On a final note, the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD so the 5th kingdom, God’s kingdom, had to be established before 476 BC or else Daniel and Jesus are false prophets. Those who expect Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom must come up with some explanation if the 5th kingdom was not set up before 476 AD. So they say that Jesus postponed setting up that earthly kingdom b/c the Jews rejected him, left the church as a substitute, and will come back in our future (going on 2000 years now since Jesus’ predictions) to set up an earthly kingdom in some kind of a “revived Roman Empire” (some world government). Hebrews 10:37 refutes the idea of a delayed 2nd coming to set up Jesus’ kingdom: “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” Also, if Jesus did not come in his kingdom while some who were listening to him were still alive, then he is a false prophet. There are no scriptures that teach a delayed 2nd coming or a delayed establishment of the kingdom. If people will acknowledge that the kingdom of God is the church, a spiritual kingdom not physical, then the predictions of Daniel and Jesus are accurately fulfilled in the 1st century. There is no physical kingdom to be set up in our future, period. Those who still expect Jesus to come and set up an earthly kingdom are making the same mistake that the Jews who rejected Jesus made when they rejected him as the Messiah b/c they expected a physical, conquering Messiah who would set up a restored physical Jewish kingdom that would defeat the Romans. At least they are not making the same mistake of rejecting Jesus as the Messiah!
I hope this has been pretty simple, logical, and most importantly, accurate.
Why is it important to study the visions in Daniel?
1To appreciate the eternal spiritual kingdom of God, the church.
2 To keep Christians from being deceived by false prophets.
3 To deepen our faith in God’s word and fulfilled prophecies.
We must begin by going back to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue.
How do we identify these 4 kingdoms in the statue.
1) Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon is the head of gold (605-539 BC).
2) The Medo-Persians (539-331 BC) conquered Babylon in 539 BC and would be the chest of silver in the statue. Ch 8 will verify by name the Medo-Persians as the 2nd kingdom. They diverted the river flowing through Babylon and enterd secretly on the dry river bed and entered the city, conquering it as Belshazzaar (the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar) was hosting a fiest to honor the gods of wine and gold (Ch 5). It says that night Darius took the city.
3) Alexander the Great and the Greeks conquered the Persians in 331 BC and ruled the world till 168 BC. Ch 8 will verify the Grecian Empire by name as the thighs of bronze in the statue.
4) The Roman Empire (168BC-476AD) will be the legs of iron. We know this b/c Daniel 2:44-45 says that in this 4th empire that God would set up his kingdom. Jesus came preaching that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” (the same kingdom predicted in Daniel 2:44-45). Mark 9:1 Jesus said that some of those listening to him would still be alive to see him coming in his kiingdom. Mt 16:18-19 Jesus told Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. Peter used those keys to open the kingdom to those 3,000 baptized in Acts 2 and they were added to the church, the spiritual body of Christ. The kingdom at hand was the church kingdom established in the book of Acts in the 1st century. Rome was the world power when Jesus said that, so Rome would have to be the 4th kingdom legs of iron that was ruling the world when that prediction was fulfilled.
A stone would crush all the kingdoms. That stone is Jesus. He did not physically destroy Rome or the other 3 kingdoms that no longer existed when he was on earth. His kingdom of Daniel 2:44-45 was a spiritual kingdom, the church. He said that his kingdom was “not of this world”. But Jesus did destroy the demonic princes that control all worldly kingdoms. This fulfilled Daniel 7:13 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him (Jesus) was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. .Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
From WVBS world video bible school
Ch 7: In the 1st year of Belshazzar of Babylon. A vision and dream of Daniel
Look at the statue image/chart to see this vision and what each animal represented. This vision matches the Daniel 2 statue perfectly. It also introduces that the iron beast had 10 horns, and a little horn coming up after the 10 horns. The iron beast is Rome, and the 10 horns would be the 1st ten emperors or kings (7:24) of Rome (from Julius Caesar, 63 BC, to Vespasian, 69-79 AD). Josephus says in a couple of references that Augustus was the 2nd king or emperor of Rome, so that makes Julius Caesar the 1st and Vespasian the 10th. Historians may record Augustus as the first emperor, but Josephus lived in the 1st century and he says that Julius Caesar was considered the first king of Rome, so we go with that. This vision also adds the throne scene (7:9-14) of the Ancient of Days sitting in judgment, with the Son of Man (Jesus) coming to Him in the clouds and being given a kingdom (7:13) which would never be destroyed (the same one a Daniel 2:44,45). Can you see why Jesus is called the Son of Man so many times in the gospels? Can you see why Daniel 7:13 is such an important prediction, as quoted by Jesus in Mt 24:30 with the Son of Man coming in the clouds to judge Jerusalem in 70 AD?
A boastful little horn comes up after the 10 horns who would wage war with the Jewish saints (7:21) for time, times, and half a time (7:25) until his dominion is taken away and “the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of all the kingdoms of the world under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom (7:26,27; same as 2:45; )”. This little horn is Titus who waged war with the Jews and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. He was not an emperor at that time (Vespasian his father was) but he would be the next horn or emperor, (79-81 AD) thus “little horn”. 2 Thess 2:4 he exalts himself above every so called god and takes his seat in the temple of God (only Titus did this, not Nero). He is known as the “man of sin”. 2 Thess 2:7 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. That verse shows that the man of sin was someone living at the time Paul wrote 2 Thess. Many call this man of sin the “antichrist”, but this man of sin is not one of the many men suggested to be him over the last 2,000 years. He is not some future antichrist man of sin to come. Daniel 7:21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Titus destroyed the temple in 70 AD and killed a million Jews (according to Josephus). He was not physically destroyed in 70 AD, but the demonic prince that controlled Rome (as well as all the demonic princes of all world kingdoms) was judged and destroyed by Jesus (as well as all demonic powers and Satan) and the kingdom of God, the church, became the eternal all powerful kingdom (spiritually, not physically since Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world, John 18:36) with Jesus reigning as king forever (Dan 7:13). Rev 11:15 concludes the predictions of the destruction of the temple in 70 AD with these words: Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
So now we add the ch 7 imagery to the statue of ch 2. They match up as the same 4 kingdoms.
From Answersfromscriptureonline.com and oldkaptnk2
From rapturemyth.com
Image by oldkaptnk2
In Revelation 13 a beast with 10 horns arises out of the sea that has lion, bear, and leopard traits. Rev 13:1 “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth.” That this was the same imagery from Daniel 7 would be obvious to the readers of Revelation, and the sea beast would be identified as the Roman Empire.
Rome was the world empire when Revelation was written and would be the one to fulfill the predictions in Revelation that were soon to happen shortly after the time of writing. Rome was the sea beast whom God would use to judge Israel and destroy Jerusalem.
As a side note, Rev 17 gives us the internal evidence on when the book of Revelation was written. Revelation 17:9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. Revelation was written during the reign of the 6th emperor, Nero (54-68 AD). It had to be written before he died in 68 AD. The only basis for the traditional date of 96 AD is an ambiguous statement by Ireneaus in the late 2nd century, who was a chiliast and did not understand the meaning of the book.
Ch 8: In the 3rd year of Belshazzar of Babylon.A vision and dream of Daniel.
Again, look at the statue. Gabriel even tells Daniel that the ram is Media/Persia (the 2nd kingdom) and the goat is Greece (the 3rd kingdom) with a conspicuous horn, Alexander the Great. The goat attacks the ram and tramples it under its feet. This vision speak of a “small horn” magnifying itself to be equal to the Commander of Hosts (God) and trampling the holy place (the temple) and the host (the Jews), which would fit Titus again, the little horn of ch 7. It also says that the holy place will be restored in 2300 evenings and mornings, which is the prophecy William Miller wrongly interpreted to be the return of Jesus in 1843 AD. The vision pertains to the “time of the end” which is the end of the Jewish Age at 70 AD. The small horn even opposes the Prince of princes, i.e. Jesus, in some way. Titus sought to destroy all Jews, Christian and non-Christian in 70 AD. Many try to say that this small horn of Daniel 8 was Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian king who polluted the temple with pig stew and killed many Jews, but he can’t be the samll horn b/c 1) This vision was about the time of the end, i.e. end of the age in 70 AD; 2) Antiochus did not oppose the Prince of princes, i.e. Jesus. The small horn of Daniel 8 and the little horn of Daniel 7 are the same and fulfilled in Titus.
From Selan free ppt download
So now we can add the imagery of Daniel to the statue of Daniel 2 and the imagery of Daniel 7.
From LiamCherry
These are amazingly accurate predictions of the future made by Daniel in the 7th century BC. His predictions cover the next 4 kingdoms down to the 1st century AD. Especially amazing are the predictions about Alexander the Great conquering Medo Persia and then being divided into 4 smaller kingdoms (all happening in the 4th century BC). Fulfilled prophecy such as this proves that Yahweh is the only true God and that the Bible is the word of God. You can see why the agnostic Porphyry (2nd century AD) tried to discredit Daniel’s predictions by saying that they were written after the fact and not by Daniel but instead in the 2nd century BC. But the Jews who were entrusted by God with collecting the inspired writings of the prophets collected the book of Daniel as written by Daniel in the 6th century BC.
I have several blog articles on Revelation, but this is more of a summary in one post.
Who? Who wrote it? Who was it written to?
The early church accepted John the apostle as the author. There was some speculation about another John the Elder but it was John the apostle who was exiled to Patmos.
It was written to the 7 churches of Asia (ch 1-3).
Who? Who wrote it? Who was it written to?
The early church accepted John the apostle as the author.
It was written to the 7 churches of Asia (ch 1-3). The map below gives a nickname to each of the 7 churches. Read ch 2-3 and see why each church is called by that nickname.
II. Where? Where was John when he wrote the book?
The Syrian translation of the NT, which dates to late 1st/early 2nd century AD, states that Revelation was written during the reign of Nero (thus before Nero died in 68 AD) which would make John being exiled by Nero, not Domitian.
John was exiled to the island of Patmos during the reign of Nero.
Some claim his exile was during the reign of Domitian (81-96 AD) based on a statement by Irenaeus in about 175 AD, but that statement is uncertain as to what Ireneaus is even saying.
III. When? When was it written? When would its predictions be fulfilled?
The internal evidence is conclusive. It was written before 70 AD.
Ireneaus statement (170 AD) is the sole early source of the tradition that John was in exile during the reign of Domitian, 81-96 AD (thus he dates the book 96 AD). Ireneaus statement is uncertain as to its meaning.
The internal evidence is conclusive, however. It was written in the early 60’s AD, and definitely before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD..
5 have fallen, one “is”.
17:7 the beast (the sea beast of ch 13) had 7 heads, which were 7 kings
(17:10). 5 had fallen (were dead) at the time of writing, and “one is”.
So the book was written during the reign of the 6th emperor. Starting with Julius Caesar, Nero would be the 6th emperor or king. He reigned from 54-68 AD, so the book had to be written before he died.
Some say Augustus was the 1st emperor, but Josephus, who lived in the first century and would know who was considered to be the 1st king or emperor of Rome, twice said that Augustus was the 2nd emperor.
The internal evidence wins out. The book was written before 70 AD.
Is there any other evidence for an early date of writing?
Gentry claims there are 145 scholars who advocate the early date of writing of Revelation, including the great church historian Phillip Schaff.
The Muratorian Canon of 170 AD says that Paul, following the example of his predecessor John, wrote to 7 churches. That means that John wrote Revelation before Paul wrote his last letter to a 7th church, and Paul died in 66-68 AD. Therefore, Revelation was written before Paul died and not in 96 AD.
The Syriac translation of the NT says it was written during the reign of Nero. Nero died in 68 AD, so it was written before 68 AD.
What if John died before 70 AD? That of course would mean that he wrote it before 70 AD.
Another proof of the early date is that John died before 70 AD.
Tradition says he lived to the age of 100 and died a natural death.
The church father Papias (100 AD) said that John died a martyr’s death at the hands of the Jews, just as Jesus predicted for James (James was killed with a sword by Herod in Acts 12) and John (Mark 10:35-45).
That could only have occurred before 70 AD when the Jews had the ability to kill anyone, just as they killed James the Lord’s brother just before 70 AD.
Although Papias does not give a date for the martyrdom of John, it is most likely that John died before 70 AD based on his statement.
Shortly. Soon. Near.
The books begins and ends with the statements that the predictions would “soon take place (tachos: Speed, swiftness, quickness)” (1:1), “time is near (eggus: Near, close, at hand)” (1:3), “soon take place (tachos: Speed, swiftness, quickness)” (22:6), “don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is near (eggus: Near, close, at hand” (22:10).
Many use 2 Peter 3:8 “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” to say that “soon” could be thousands of years.
But when the Holy Spirit say something is soon, at hand, etc. it must have meaning that is relevant to the readers. If I told my math class, “you need to do your homework each day because we have a test soon”. What if one of my students said, “do you mean the test is next year since soon can be a thousand years with God?”
For example, Jesus said “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand”. The urgency to repent is based on the nearness of the coming kingdom and judgment of those who don’t accept the Messianic kingdom.
Revelation 1:1-3. He writes to the 7 churches. He tells them “blessed is the one who reads, hears, and keeps the things written”. Why? “For the time (of fulfillment, Amplied Bible) is near. He doesn’t say “the time could be anytime”. He makes a statement: the time is near. A fact. A prediction.
John is also told not to seal up the predictions in Revelation. In contrast, Daniel was told to seal up the predictions in Daniel b/c the time for their fulfillment would be in the distant future, about 600 years after Daniel died. Not so with Revelation. The predictions would happen soon so don’t seal them up. Leave them open where people can read them and heed them (Rev 1:1-3).
So, whether early (before 70 AD) or late (96 AD) date of writing, that eliminates the views that Revelation is predicting anything beyond the first century. The historical view was that it predicted the Catholic Church and the beast was the Pope. The futurist view is that it predicts future end time events and an Antichrist beast and Armageddon that is still unfulfilled as of today. .
Mello in the book of Revelation.
The Greek word mello, which always means “about to be or about to happen” is used several times in the book (1:19; 2:10; 3:10,16; 6:11; 8:13; 12:5), indicating that the events predicted were about to happen.
From parousiafulfilled.com
Another important use of the word “mello” is in the Apocalypse (ie: Book of Revelation). Just as in the passages above, the author of Revelation also talks about the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ. The angel revealed to Apostle John that the parousia was “ABOUT TO” happen… it would be SOON. Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) ii of the New Testament renders the relevant passages correctly.
Here are some examples of the use of “mello” in Revelation, from YLT:
Another important use of the word “mello” is in the Apocalypse (ie: Book of Revelation). Just as in the passages above, the author of Revelation also talks about the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ. The angel revealed to Apostle John that the parousia was “ABOUT TO” happen… it would be SOON. Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) ii of the New Testament renders the relevant passages correctly.
Here are some examples of the use of “mello” in Revelation, from YLT:
Revelation 1:19 YLT – Write the things that thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is (are) about to] iii ) come after these things;
Revelation 2:10 YLT – Be not afraid of the things that thou art about to [Gk: μέλλεις : melleis : are about to] suffer; lo, the devil is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] cast of you to prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days; become thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of the life.
Revelation 3:10,16 YLT – Because thou didst keep the word of my endurance, I also will keep thee from the hour of the trial that is about to [Gk: μελλούσης : mellouses : which is about to] come upon all the world iv, to try those dwelling upon the earth v … So ‐‐ because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to [Gk: μέλλω : mello : I am about to] vomit thee out of my mouth.
Revelation 6:11 YLT – and there was given to each one white robes, and it was said to them that they may rest themselves yet a little time, till may be fulfilled also their fellow-servants and their brethren, who are about to [Gk: μέλλοντες : mellontes : are about to] be killed ‐‐ even as they.
Revelation 8:13 YLT – And I saw, and I heard one messenger, flying in the mid-heaven, saying with a great voice, ‘Wo, wo, wo, to those dwelling upon the land from the rest of the voices of the trumpet of the three messengers who are about to [Gk: μελλόντων : mellonton : are about to] sound.’
Revelation 12:5 YLT – and she brought forth a male child, who is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] rule all the nations with a rod of iron, and caught away was her child unto God and His throne.
What would be the point of telling Christians in the 1st Century about apocalyptic events, if those things were not expected for thousands of years… after they were all dead and their world had disappeared? How could those events have any meaning or significance to 1st Century people, if they would NOT live to see and experience them? It just doesn’t make any sense.
Conversely, if those early Christians were “ABOUT TO” experience great tribulations and persecutions, they would obviously find encouragement and hope in the knowledge that “SOON” their Lord Jesus Christ was “ABOUT TO” return and rescue them from their enemies… the last wicked and perverse generation of Old Covenant Jews and their temporary Roman allies.
The obvious meaning of the Greek word “mello” throughout the New Testament is that certain things were “ABOUT TO” happen… SOON… in a very short time. And when it refers to the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ, the word “mello” was clearly intended to warn people that it was “ABOUT TO” happen, in the lifetime of those early Christians. This is exactly what Jesus promised his disciples:
“27 For, the Son of Man is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work. 28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.” (Matthew 16:27-28 YLT)
IV. What? What is the book about?
The theme of the book.
The theme of the book is the “avenging of the blood of the apostles, saints, and prophets” (18:20,24).
The book is about the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
In ch 17 a harlot is riding on the beast (the sea beast, Rome, ch 13) indicating harmony between the two, but then in 17:16 the beast burns the harlot with fire.
17:18 says that the woman harlot is the “great city”.
The harlot has the name “Babylon” on her forehead.
In 11:8 the great city is where the Lord of the 2 witnesses was crucified (Jesus), so the great city is Jerusalem. 8 and their dead bodies (of the two witnesses) will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
So the sea beast Rome burns the great city harlot woman (Jerusalem). That is what happened!
So the harlot= the great city= Babylon= Jerusalem.
The main subject of the book.
So the main subject of the book is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and that fits the theme of ch 18 also.
It was Jerusalem that had killed the saints (Jewish Christians), apostles, and prophets (of the Old Testament), and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD would be God’s vengeance on the nation, just as Jesus predicted in Mt 23:34-36. 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[f] whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Some say Rome is the great city, but Rome never killed the prophets. But the Jews did.
The harlot, Jerusalem, is also called Babylon (17:5 ch 18) b/c of her sinful ways.
V. Why? Why was the book written? Why all the figurative language?
The book was written to warn the 7 churches.
The book was intended to be read, heard, and kept (heeded and taken to heart, Amplified Bible) by the original readers (1:1-3), so it directly applied to them, not us. The comments to the 7 churches (ch 2,3) prove that, predicting things about to happen to them (mello).
The book was written to declare the finished mystery of salvation.
10:7 says that the “mystery is finished as he announced the gospel to his servants the prophets” when the book’s predictions all come true.
The book sums up the eternal mystery of God’s plan of salvation as given through the prophets of the OT, which included the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.
Several places in the OT predict the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (Daniel 9, 12; Joel 3; Zechariah 14; Isaiah 65-66).
Ezekiel 40-48 even predicts the building of the new church temple, although he describes it in figurative language.
Heb 9:8 said that the “way into the new Holy of Holies has not yet been disclosed (fully) as long as the first tabernacle (the temple) is still standing”.
Thus it is essential that God remove the 1st temple to complete His plan of giving us the new church temple.
Ch 21 gives a picture of the new Jerusalem (the church, the bride of Christ) coming down to earth so God can dwell in his sanctuary, the church, on earth.
Ch 22 picture a river flowing from the new Jerusalem with the water of life and the tree of life with leaves for the healing of the nations.
Ch 22 is a picture of Eden’s Paradise Restored spiritually in the church as of 70 AD
But why describe the predicted events in such figurative language?
Won’t that make it harder to understand?
Why so much figurative language? John wrote about real events that would happen soon, but in figurative language.
In 13:18 he talks about the mark of the beast, 666 (using a numbers for letters system perhaps), but he says that those readers with insight could calculate exactly who he was talking about, probably Nero. John would not want to name Nero. It had to be someone living at that time if they were told that they could identify him.
Symbolic numbers in Revelation.
Other times, the numbers are symbolic, such as 4 (the earth number, the 4 directions, the 4 living creatures of ch 4 who execute God’s wrath on earth); or 7 (the complete number, the 7 churches, stars, Spirits, seals, angels, plagues, bowls of wrath, heads),, or 10 (10. Horns, 10 kings), or 12 (12 gates, pearls, foundations, apostles of the church in ch 22).
Big symbolic numbers. The 1,000 reign of Revelation 20.
Some bigger numbers are multiples of these symbolic numbers. 1,000 is 10X10X10.
The 1,000 years in ch 20 has been used to teach a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth when he returns, but it only refers to the 40 year period from Acts 2 (30 AD) to 70 AD.
Why do I say that? 22:7,8 says that at the end of the 1,000 years that Gog and Magog (as predicted in Ezekiel 38-39) will surround the “beloved city” which has to be Jerusalem. If this is an event soon to take place based on Rev 1:1-3 and Rev 21:4-7, then this has to be the Romans (God and Magog) surrounding Jerusalem in 70 AD. So the end of the 1000 years is AD 70. The 1000 years must be the 40 years from AD 30 to AD 70.
There is a 200 million man army (Rev 9:16) attacking (200X10^6), which is Rome.
There is the 144,000 who are sealed for protection (ch 7, 14). There are the 12,000 of ch 7 (12X1000).
Symbolic animals.
Other figures like the sea beast of ch 13 are taken from OT predictions (Daniel 7 names the next 4 kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greeks, Romans) using lion, leopard, and bear, the same figures used to describe the sea beast Rome in ch 13 (the iron beast in Daniel 2,7). Surely the readers of the letter would connect Daniel 7 animals with the Revelation 13 sea beast.
There is also an earth beast which is the Jewish false prophets.
The dragon in ch 12 and ch 20, which John tells us is Satan.
The 4 living creatures in ch 4 (the same figure in Ezekiel 1).
Apparently the Holy Spirit just wanted to describe these imminent events more powerfully than just literal language, the same way we use “it’s raining cats and dogs” to describe heavy rain. In the same way that C.S.Lewis in The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe used animals to portray the propitiation of Jesus’ death in Romans 3.
Then there is the lamb of ch 5, standing as if slain, the only one who could open the scrolls that would predict the imminent events.
Revelation 5:6-7And there between the throne (with the four living creatures) and among the elders I saw a Lamb (Christ) standing, [bearing scars and wounds] as though it had been slain, with seven horns (complete power) and with seven eyes (complete knowledge), which are the seven Spirits of God who have been sent [on duty] into all the earth. 7 And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
The 4 horsemen of ch 6 which represent conquest, war, famine, and death. This is taken from Zechariah 6.
The new Jerusalem, the sanctuary, the bride of Christ. .
21:1-3 The new Jerusalem comes down from heaven to earth so that God can dwell in his sanctuary forever. This was the “city which is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).
Revelation 21:1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (vanished), and there is no longer any [a]sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband; 3 and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [b][as their God,] 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the [c]former order of things has passed away.”
The new Jerusalem is not a physical city (as many say it will be) but is the bride of Christ, the church (Ephesians 5:25-33).
Revelation 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a vast and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy (sanctified) city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God
Ezekiel predicted all this 700 years earlier.
The prophet Ezekiel predicted this sanctuary on earth for God to dwell in his people. Not a physical sanctuary, but the temple of God where the Spirit of God dwells, i.e. the church.
Ezekiel 37:24 “My servant David will be king over them, and they all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. 25 They will live in the land where your fathers lived, [the land] that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they will live there, they and their children and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will put My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 Then the nations will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord who sets apart and sanctifies Israel [for holy use], when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”
The streets of gold. The river and tree of life.
Then in ch 21 he describes the soon to be finished church, the bride of Christ, as a city with 12 gates, precious stones, streets of gold with gates never closed, open to bring the nations in, no night there.
Ch 22 closes with a river of life and tree of life, all beautiful symbolic figures of the restoration of everything that was lost in the fall in the Garden of Eden. This was predicted in Ezekiel 47.
Revelation 22:Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ), 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion]; 4 they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.
Those figures just give us a beautiful picture of the completed plan of God that we have had now going on 2,000 years later.
But I thought the church was established in Acts 2 (30 AD).
It was, but the final, fully revealed and confirmed church, the new Jerusalem, was not fully established until the old temple had been destroyed in 70 AD.
This is the “already, not yet” phrase. They had salvation and the church but not fully realized till 70 AD after death was destroyed (1 Cor 15).
It is like electing our president on Nov 5. But his government doesn’t officially begin to rule until June 20, 2025. There is a transition period.
It is sad that people say Revelation 21-22 has not been fulfilled yet. They are looking for a physical city someday.
It is as if you have a new house ready to live in but don’t realize it and can’t enjoy living in it.
I hope this abbreviated synopsis of Revelation Is helpful. There is a great DVD called Revelation Illustrated that has every image of every chapter. Most of the images in this summary are from that DVD. These are copyrighted so be careful how you use them . There are many other things in Revelation but this is just a synopsis for you to study.
Nicky's Notes 