66) The Book of Revelation

REVELATION reveals the Lord Jesus Christ's holy hatred and righteous judgment on Satan, sin, and sinners who rejected the blood atonement of the loving and sacrificial Saviour. When sinners reject the love of God through the free gift of salvation, they will receive the judgment of God's fiery wrath (6:16-17). When the Lamb of God is rejected by the world, the Lion of the tribe of Judah will judge the kingdoms of the world in order to establish His everlasting kingdom (Isa. 9:6-7; Rev. 11:15). The Lord Jesus is coming back, and boy is He mad!

Revelation parallels the book of Daniel. It is one of the easiest to understand by honest and sincere students of the word; however, it is also one of the most difficult to believe because of the strange doctrines and events. The book of Revelation and the book of Jonah are two of the most maligned books in the Scriptures. Revelation is probably the most fascinating and the most misunderstood book in the entire Bible.

Self-conceited scholars attack the authority and authorship of the book because it records a judgment on their foolishness (Rom. 1:18; Rev. 22:18-19). Satanic scholars malign the book because the book records the end of the Devil, his children, the kingdoms and religions of the world, and the world itself (John 8:44; Rev. 20:1-3). Alexandrian scholars attempt to confuse the application of the mysterious religion of Babylon to Papal Rome. If the book was written during the reign of Nero, the events could foolishly be applied to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by Titus in 70 A.D. The Apostle John wrote the book when he was exiled on the isle of Patmos during the reign of Domitian around 95 A.D. The mysterious religion is not Pagan Rome; it is clearly Papal Rome of Vatican City (1 Tim. 4:1-6) See pdf on “Who is Mystery Babylon?” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-jqUGvJuiJhk0BqGMhXjxOk-sJqd3bf0/edit

The general aim of the book is Jewish, but Christians may receive spiritual instruction. The time period is Jacob's Trouble (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1). Daniel's Seventieth Week covers seven years, but John focused upon 42 months possibly because the prophetic time clock has 2300 days left of the full seven years (Dan. 8:14) or the first years of the Tribulation will seem calm through a false peace and safety (Dan. 9:24-27; 11:21-24; 1 Thess. 5:1-5).

A threefold outline for the book is given in 1:19 and there are two occasions when the door of heaven is opened. Someone goes up on the first opening (4:1) and someone comes down on the second opening (19:11). John miraculously traveled to the time between the openings; therefore, the first three chapters became the past, the middle sixteen chapters became the present, and the last three chapters became the future for John during the vision of Revelation.

The theological foundation of the book reveals a pre-tribulation Rapture of the believers in Christ and a pre-millennial Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. Scientific experimentation and history reveal the degeneration of the world and its kingdoms. The world and its deceivers are waxing worse and worse (2 Tim. 3:13) and the only permanent solution is the glorious return of the perfect and sinless Saviour and King (19:16). The numbers seven and twelve are salient in the book. Seven represents perfection and twelve represents the Jews. The seventh and final millennium on earth will be a Jewish kingdom under the Jewish Messiah (John 4:22). The book contains 22 chapters and 404 verses.