Wrong All Along: Revelation Revisited

Introduction

My inspiration to study and write about the Book of Revelation did not arise on my own initiative. A Word-hungry brother in our Sunday night Bible study, whom we will refer to as Chuck for the purposes of this book, asked if we could explore the seven churches of Revelation. We completed that study in about four weeks. At its conclusion, he inquired if we could continue our exploration of Revelation. We did so. Fifteen months later, we had only reached chapter 18. I have always been fascinated by Revelation, but understanding it seemed an insurmountable challenge. The extensive use of symbolism and frequent shifts in events were so daunting that I would retain only the aspects I understood. As for the rest, I accepted the interpretations of the distinguished men and women of God I had listened to and watched on television. Topics such as pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, rapture, beasts, seals, trumpets, and angels were overwhelming. It was simply easier to let these heroes of the faith interpret those obscure scriptures for me. Yet, there was one significant issue with this approach: not all my heroes shared the same beliefs. Houston, we have a problem!

As born-again believers, we uphold the Bible as inerrant and divinely inspired by God Almighty. We know it is impossible for God to lie. Thus, if we can correctly interpret His words, we will discover the truth. We read in 2 Timothy:

[2 Timothy 3:14-16 NKJV] But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Therefore, I persisted in my studies, teaching what I was learning and sharing common interpretations for everything I did not understand. However, the more I studied, the more confused I became. Realizing that what I had been taught all my life contradicted what I was reading, I altered my approach. Previously, I had manipulated the scriptures to align them with my beliefs rather than letting the scriptures interpret themselves. Consequently, I adopted a new strategy: I resolved to rely solely on scripture to form my understanding. I avoided reading any commentaries and focused on deep study, prayer for wisdom, and seeking revelation. This shift proved to be a game changer. When the Holy Spirit began to illuminate the truths to me, the revelations flowed ceaselessly. It was as if the Holy Spirit had connected a USB to my mind and initiated the download process. I found myself immersed in reading, writing, and seeking for 12 to 14 hours a day, consecutively. Sleep became rare. I couldn't shut it off. By setting aside my prejudices, beliefs, and biases, the Holy Spirit took charge. I spent countless hours writing non-stop, comparing translations from Greek, Hebrew, and English. But it required removing myself from the equation for the revelation to truly flow.

So, ask yourself, How many of my beliefs are based on what others have told me versus those I have verified myself through the Scriptures? This book will provide an exhaustive study of the Book of Revelation, with a focus on chapters 4 through 22. I will briefly cover chapters 1-3, as chapters 2 and 3 warrant a separate study in themselves. We will also undertake a deep dive into the Book of Daniel, chapters 7-11. My findings will be supported by numerous scripture references from both the New Testament and the Old Testament.

Before we begin, I want to express my gratitude to my Bible Study Family, who encouraged me and fueled my quest with their hunger for God’s truth. My mother, who would say that it is my aversion to being wrong that spurred my search for truth, is also a cherished part of our Bible study group. To her, I extend my deepest thanks. She is the spiritual warrior of our family, covering us all with her prayers and declarations. I also wish to offer special thanks to the most wonderful person I know, my wife, Danielle. You are my greatest blessing. I thank God every day for the way you love me and our beautiful children, Avigail and Fisher.

Chapter 1

Jesus’ Words in Matthew 24

Matthew 24:1-31

Understanding Revelation doesn’t have to be intimidating or daunting. If you can erase everything you've ever been told, taught, or pressured into believing, comprehension becomes much simpler. Approach the Book of Revelation with a blank slate. Imagine you’ve never heard anything about the end-times. Picture yourself as a first-time church attendee, sitting next to a dear friend who cared enough to invite you. All you know about Jesus is what your friend has shared; that Jesus is the Son of God and that He loved you so much that He left Heaven and came to Earth to save you from your sins.

[John 3:16 NKJV] For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The idea might seem far-fetched, and the prospect of living forever cool, so you decide to give it a try. Now, consider this: if Jesus loved you enough to leave the perfection of heaven to be beaten beyond recognition and crucified, just so you could spend eternity with Him, does it seem plausible that He would be secretive about what to expect before His return? That doesn’t make much sense. In fact, the entire Bible is replete with prophecies about Jesus’ first and second comings.

I will be using the New King James Version of the Bible for my references. My mother also gave me a Greek to English Interlinear New Testament, translated in the King James Version, which I will consult. I could use external references to enumerate how many prophecies discuss Jesus’ birth, crucifixion, resurrection, His return, and various other facts and data. However, this book is not that type. When I embarked on this journey to understand Revelation, I resolved to rely exclusively on the Bible. I prioritized avoiding commentaries, opinions, or sermons. After all, listening to others' opinions for centuries has only led to greater confusion. My mission was to focus solely on the inspired word of God and seek guidance from the Holy Spirit. Does the name Holy Spirit intimidate you? It shouldn’t. It simply refers to the Spirit of God. Indeed, before Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He assured His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be sent in His absence.

[John 16:12-13 NKJV] I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come.

In another book of the New Testament, Ephesians, the apostle Paul wrote to the new Christians (believers) informing them of his prayers for their spiritual enlightenment.

[Ephesians 1:15-23 NKJV] Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

If the Bible encourages us to pray for wisdom and understanding, then we certainly should. The Bible, being the inerrant word of God, assures us that its contents are factual and reliable. We believe that all scripture was penned by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And if the Holy Spirit inspired these writings, who better to ask for their meaning than Him?

Therefore, clear your mind of any preconceived notions regarding the end-times or the Book of Revelation. Pray. Ask God to enable you to discern truth from fiction. When we request wisdom from God, it honors Him, and He eagerly awaits to enlighten you with the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Do not merely read the scriptures; meditate on them. It won’t be long before God begins confirming His truth—the only truth—to you, revealing who He really is. Consider what Jesus said in the Book of John:

[John 14:1-6 NKJV] Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Remember, the Book of Revelation is aptly named for its purpose: to reveal. It is included in the Bible because God wants us to understand what the world will look like before His return so that we can be prepared. Bearing all this in mind, let us begin with Jesus' own words about the end-times, a period He discussed before His departure. It is documented in the first book of the New Testament that Jesus and His disciples, upon leaving the temple one day, broached the topic of the end-times. Refer to Matthew 24 for an extensive discussion on this topic, mirrored in Mark 13. As you read, maintain the mindset that you have a loving Father in heaven who sent His Son to die for you, ensuring that you could spend eternity with Him.

[Matthew 24:1-31 NKJV] Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Even if you are new to end-time prophecy and are reading this for the first time, it really isn't too difficult to understand what Jesus is saying. It’s quite straightforward. However, let’s examine it together. Keep in mind that Jesus is simply answering the three questions His disciples posed. He isn’t using parables or cryptic language. He's directly addressing their inquiries:

When will these things be? This is answered in verses 4-14.

What will be the sign of your coming? This is addressed in verses 15-28.

What will be the sign of the end of the age? This is explained in verses 29-31.

When will these things be?

When many deceivers come saying I am the Christ,

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars (but the end is not yet),

When nation rises against nation and kingdom against kingdom,

When there are famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places,

When they deliver you up to tribulation and kill you,

When you are hated by all nations because of Jesus,

When many will be offended, and will betray one another, and hate one another,

When many false prophets rise up and deceive many,

When lawlessness abounds and the love of many grows cold, and

When the gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world and then the end will come.

I’d say that is straightforward, don’t you think? Now let’s look at the second question.

What will be the sign of your coming?

When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (we will explore this in depth later),

There will be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor shall ever be,

The days will be shortened,

People will be saying, Look! There is the Christ, and

False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive many.

Jesus then told the disciples that just like when lightning strikes in the east and can be seen in the west, that is how obvious it will be. He warned them that anything short of a sudden, magnificent event that everyone can see will not be Him. Now let’s look at Jesus’ response to the third question.

When is the end of the age? (The disciples are asking Jesus when He will return for His church.)

Immediately after the tribulation of those days,

When the sun is darkened and the moon does not give its light,

When the stars fall from heaven,

When the powers of the heavens are shaken,

The Son of Man will appear in heaven, and

All the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

He will send His angels with the sound of a trumpet, and

They (His angels) will gather together the elect from the four winds and from one end of heaven to the other.

If we were to stop right here and not study any other end-time related scriptures, would you feel somewhat confident that you would recognize the season when Jesus will gather all believers (the elect) to Himself? There are a few points that may make you scratch your head to understand, but for the most part, Jesus’ answers are straightforward, descriptive, and precise. There are no parables or codes in His response. The disciples asked Him questions, and He responded like a friend who wanted to ensure His friends understood the answers.

As you progress through this book, if you ask the Holy Spirit, Please grant me a spirit of wisdom and revelation and guide me into all truth, He will faithfully pour out revelation to you as you study His word and this book. You will finish this book with the revelation that Jesus wants you to have. Warning! If you bring any preconceived notions, biases, prejudices, or beliefs into this study, the truth of God’s word will be distorted. If you start to feel confused or encounter a passage that seems too obscure to understand, return to Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 to remind yourself of how He simplified it for our understanding. Remember, the Bible was written for us but not directly to us. Every book, prophetic scripture, and epistle in the Bible was addressed to a specific audience or individual, in a specific era, with a specific cultural background, for a specific purpose, and under specific circumstances. It's also important to note that some of the events John saw in his visions will happen consecutively and some simultaneously. John could only record one event at a time. I will do my best to cross-reference these scriptures and align them so that you can distinguish between separate events and singular events recorded across various scriptures.

The most effective approach to the Book of Revelation is to divide it into visions. Assuming that Revelation is one continuous vision playing out sequentially is a fundamental misunderstanding of the book. I will demonstrate through cross-referencing within Revelation that many events traditionally taught as separate are actually the same events viewed in different visions. We will not proceed through Revelation from chapter 1 to chapter 22 sequentially, as that would only contribute to the confusion. I have organized the visions to clarify what you should look for and anticipate. This organization does not necessarily reflect the order in which John received these visions, nor does it imply that the order in which I present the scriptures is exactly how they were originally recorded. However, piecing together the visions in this way will help you understand the sequence of events John saw and recorded. After reading this book, many of the beliefs you currently hold about the Book of Revelation and the end-times will likely be challenged.

Let’s start with a few house rules. There are certain phrases that I will use frequently. To save typewriter ribbon, I have created acronyms for these common phrases:

a. LLA – Let’s look at,

b. TIAT – This is Alex thinking, which means it is just my opinion and not verified in the scriptures, and

c. IDK – I don’t know.

Additionally, there are what I like to call nuggets scattered throughout the scriptures that showcase the magnificence, splendor, genius, and omniscience of God Almighty. Occasionally, I may digress to highlight the profound intellect interwoven into His word; aspects so intricate that it is astonishing to believe the Bible was written with such precision, coordination, and accuracy by at least 36 authors over a span of 1500 years without modern technologies like computers or email. These nuggets are too significant not to share. They stand as a testament to the validity of the scriptures. We maintain that every word in the Bible is the inerrant and inspired breath of God.

Chapter 2

A Visit from the King

Revelation Chapter 1

The first verse of the book of Revelation clearly outlines what the book is, where the revelation came from, to whom it was given, and for what purpose.

[Rev 1:1-3 NKJV] The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

The word Revelation in Greek means unveiling or disclosing what has not previously been known. This is crucial for understanding that the very name of the book signifies revealing knowledge about future events, not past occurrences. This revelation from God was given to Jesus, who then conveyed it to John through His angel. Verse 1 emphasizes that its purpose was to inform John about events that would soon occur. This is a book of prophecy about the future, not a historical record. John's testimony, as stated in verse 2, confirms his role as a witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ. Verse 3 underscores the importance of studying the Book of Revelation. It informs us that the prophecy will be delivered to a single reader he who reads, who is to share it with a congregation those who hear. It asserts that whoever reads this book and hears the words of the prophecy—and keeps those teachings—will be blessed. It further indicates that these events are imminent, reinforcing that they are in the future from when John received the revelation.

[Rev 1:4-6 NKJV] John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Let’s look at (LLA) ...from Him who is and who was and who is to come.... This refers to God Almighty. We know it is not Jesus because the verse continues to mention seven Spirits who are before God's throne and Jesus Christ Himself. The number seven symbolizes perfection and completion. Jesus is described as the "firstborn