REVELATION

[CLee622]

I know it is a large, debated topic. But I wanted to start a thread for people to freely share their thoughts, convictions and questions etc on the last book given to us by the last surviving apostle at the time...John.

Exiled and a prisoner on the island of Patmos, he received this message.

Let's hear it, y'all.

 

[Locutus]

You'll get all sorts of opinions from the various theologies out there.

The main thing that is needed to understand the book of revelation is the identity of the whore of Babylon - it is the key. Most theologies incorrectly identifty the whore.

Most theologies ignore the time statments, usually trying to explain them away.

The book is bracketed from and back with these statements:

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy....for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

 

[Ahwatukee]

The main thing that is needed to understand the book of revelation is the identity of the whore of Babylon - it is the key. Most theologies incorrectly identifty the whore.

Good evening Locutus,

The identity of the woman who rides the beast, Mystery, Babylon, is just one topic of the book of Revelation. The purpose of the book of Revelation is not solely to provide the identity of the woman who rides the beast. The purpose of the book of Revelation is stated right in the first verse:

"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place."

Much of the book of Revelation is geared towards the day of the Lord, the wrath of God, which will take place via the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments, which are those events which "must soon take place" and which culminates with the Lord's return to the earth to end the age.

 

[Yahweh_is_gracious]

I don't bother with reading Revelation. It doesn't make any sense to me, and listening to or reading the interpretations of it does nothing to help me understand it. Someday I hope to learn enough that I can read Revelation and understand it, but currently I am too ignorant to speak about it intelligently. It (Revelation) sure is a hot topic with some folks, and I'm happy for them to have something they enjoy talking about.

 

[CLee622]

Don't bother reading! You're silly.

I believe the Spirit can reveal truth to to those willing...ready... all scripture is profitable.

It's a beautiful letter. I'm reserving most of my input until I see others' ... patience.

 

[88]

I know it is a large, debated topic. But I wanted to start a thread for people to freely share their thoughts, convictions and questions etc on the last book given to us by the last surviving apostle at the time...John.

Exiled and a prisoner on the island of Patmos, he received this message.

Let's hear it, y'all.

**** Chapter 2 & 3 of Revelation -- 7 letters to 7 Churches are good messages for today's Church---- lukewarmness----- persecution----- leaving your first Love---- faithfulness ----- false teachers ---- I will share more later, but if you read chapter 1 it tells you how to break the book apart---- things which you have seen -----things which are----things which shall be hereafter (Revelation 1:19)---- things which you have seen---John seeing the Lord on Patmos----- things which are--- the 7 actual Churches in Asia Minor---- things which shall be hereafter ---- Chapter 4 ---- come up hither (Rapture of Church and the Tribulation)...

 

[Yahweh_is_gracious]

Don't bother reading! You're silly.

I believe the Spirit can reveal truth to to those willing...ready... all scripture is profitable.

It's a beautiful letter. I'm reserving most of my input until I see others' ... patience.

To me, Revelation reads like a set of stereo instructions. I might be silly, but I'm also being honest. No point in trying to market myself as the utmost Biblical scholar. I only grasp about one-half of one-percent of all Biblical teaching so far. Understanding, for me, is likely going to take me the rest of my life.

 

[PrynceNY]

Love the book of revelation. I always enjoyed reading about the future events that will come to pass.

 

[followjesus]

I know it is a large, debated topic. But I wanted to start a thread for people to freely share their thoughts, convictions and questions etc on the last book given to us by the last surviving apostle at the time...John.

Exiled and a prisoner on the island of Patmos, he received this message.

Let's hear it, y'all.

Revelation 1:1- 3 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."


v.19 "Write the things which thou hast seen, AND THE THINGS WICH ARE, AND THE THINGS which shall be hereafter"




to me, and i think alot of folks miss this, v 19 John is told to write the things that already are, and also the things which will be afterward.




if I am going to explain something that i know is coming, I may have to start at what has already taken place to reveal the whole picture of what is coming. Alot of people look at revelation as a future event, not considering that it was written 1900 years ago, and John is not only told that He will be shown things which are ahead, but He is told to write things that ARE currently, and also things ahead.


its definately a different view than many hold, but when prior prophecy is then studied along with the gospel and things Jesus said such as " the prince of this world is coming" and the fact that there were evil spirits wreaking havoc in the 4 gospels, and Jesus saying " i saw satan fall from Heaven as Lighting" the fast that the epistles often make clear that the world is darkened already , and that satan is going about to devour....things like the dragon beoing cast into the earth with his angels, or the Lamb being exalted to the throne already have happened.


I look at revelation in the light of " let thy will be done in Heaven as on earth, some things are happening in Heaven, and others on earth.


Just my unpopular view though God bless you

 

[Ahwatukee]

I don't bother with reading Revelation. It doesn't make any sense to me, and listening to or reading the interpretations of it does nothing to help me understand it. Someday I hope to learn enough that I can read Revelation and understand it, but currently I am too ignorant to speak about it intelligently. It (Revelation) sure is a hot topic with some folks, and I'm happy for them to have something they enjoy talking about.

Greetings Yahweh_is_gracious,

Well, your honesty is refreshing. The only way to read and understand the book of Revelation is by reading it and continuing to read it. It should be read in the literal sense, that is, at face value. Symbolism should only be applied when the literal sense doesn't make good sense. It is also beneficial and needful to read other information regarding end-time events such as Matt.24, 1 Thes.4:13-18, 1 Cor.15:50-54, the book of Daniel and other scriptures throughout the NT.

In addition, God wants us to read this book, for it is the Revelation i.e. the unveiling of things previously covered, of Jesus Christ which God the Father gave to him to show his servants (all believers) the things that must soon take place.

There is also a blessing for those who read the words of the prophecy of that book and those who hear it and guard/watch over the things written therein. There is also a curse at the end of book for anyone who adds to or takes away any words from the prophecy of this book.

My advice to you is, and I am sure that you already know, is to ask God for understanding every time you read. Read the book and read again and don't stop reading it. I have been studying end-time events for over 40 years and I continue to study them and am forever camped out in the book of Revelation.

Blessings in Christ

 

[BigJa]

I know it is a large, debated topic. But I wanted to start a thread for people to freely share their thoughts, convictions and questions etc on the last book given to us by the last surviving apostle at the time...John.

Exiled and a prisoner on the island of Patmos, he received this message.

Let's hear it, y'all.

What happened to the seven Churches
that you can read about in the Book of Revelation?

Where did they go? Do you know?
Are they on earth today?

 

[Ahwatukee]

[QUOTE]What happened to the seven Churches
that you can read about in the Book of Revelation?

Where did they go? Do you know?
Are they on earth today?[/QUOTE]

Greetings Bigja,

The seven churches in Revelation were literal churches that existed at the time John received the information from the angel. They are also representing types of churches/individuals that can be found throughout the church period and in fact represents the entire church period right up to the Lord's appearing when he gathers the church.

In Revelation 1:19 John was told to write the following:

What you have seen = Includes everything from Rev.1:1 thru 1:19

What is now = Represented by the letters to the seven churches, which represents the entire church period.

What must take place later = Represents what takes place after the "what is now" i.e. after the church period.

That said, we are currently still in the "what is now" part of Revelation, with the "what must take place later" approaching quickly. The "what must take place later" part of Revelation is identified by that voice that sounds like a trumpet which says, "come up here and I will show you what must take place after this," the majority of which is given to the day of the Lord, the wrath of God, which will be carried out via the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments.

If you can except it, Revelation 4:1 is prophetic of the church being caught up. That voice that sounds like a trumpet is synonymous with that "trumpet call of God" found in 1 Thes.4:16, which is a detailed account of the gathering of the church. John is standing in as representing the church and the voice like a trumpet is calling the church up, which in the chronological order of Revelation, takes place prior to the opening of the 1st seal.

 

[BigJa]

Greetings Bigja,

The seven churches in Revelation were literal churches that existed at the time John received the information from the angel.

Then where did they go? Why are they not on earth today?

 

[Ahwatukee]

Then where did they go? Why are they not on earth today?

HiBigJa,

They are on the earth. They would be any church world-wide that has the same qualities and characteristics as those mentioned in Revelation.

 

[BigJa]

HiBigJa,

They are on the earth. They would be any church world-wide that has the same commendations and rebukes as those mentioned in Revelation.

How did you arrive to this conclusion?

 

[Ahwatukee]

How did you arrive to this conclusion?

In the letters to the churches, Jesus commends and rebukes them, which was not only directed to those churches of Asia, but is to be applied to the entire church throughout the entire church period. In other words, for the reader, if the shoe fits ....

 

[BigJa]

but is to be applied to the entire church period to the end.

How did you arrive to this conclusion?

 

[RomansToPhilemon]

I know it is a large, debated topic. But I wanted to start a thread for people to freely share their thoughts, convictions and questions etc on the last book given to us by the last surviving apostle at the time...John.

Exiled and a prisoner on the island of Patmos, he received this message.

Let's hear it, y'all.

Revelation is fun, but I think a lot of saved people are wrapped up in the wrong books of their bibles. Our focus is mystery, Romans-Philemon, not prophecy, Hebrews-Revelation.

With that said, Revelation is a fun book to talk about. What's even more fun is to show people that Revelation can be understood entirely today, minus a few small minor details. And even those can probably be figured out with a great understanding of all the scriptures. Revelation may be a book for a future people, but it's also a good book to test your knowledge of the scriptures. This is why most fail at interpreting it as well as most leave it alone!


[video=youtube;HOlngw9OEHQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlngw9OEHQ[/video]

 

[FreeNChrist]

I know it is a large, debated topic. But I wanted to start a thread for people to freely share their thoughts, convictions and questions etc on the last book given to us by the last surviving apostle at the time...John.

Exiled and a prisoner on the island of Patmos, he received this message.

Let's hear it, y'all.

The basic objective of the book of Revelation is to call Christians in all churches in every age to repentance from the sin of religiosity, the substitution of our activity for the activity of God.

 

[BigJa]

The basic objective of the book of Revelation is to call Christians in all churches in every age to repentance from the sin of religiosity, the substitution of our activity for the activity of God.

How come the word "Christian" is not in the Book of Revelation?