THE BOOK OF REVELATION

by Wayne Wells, godofmercy.com

Revelation is one of the more fascinating and controversial books in the Bible. Throughout the ages, men have tried to understand the many symbols contained within its pages. It speaks of different colored horses, trumpets blowing, bowls of wrath being poured out on the wicked. There are locusts that sting like a scor-pion, have hair like women and have teeth like lions. There is a beast with ten horns and seven heads and another one with two horns like a lamb but it speaks like a dragon. A harlot sits on a scarlet beast but the beast turns on the harlot and destroys her. What does all of this mean? Multitudes of explanations have been offered through the years. One of the most common errors made is that men have continually tried to make Revelation to be speaking of the time period in which they live.

During the Protestant Reformation, men such as Martin Luther thought Revelation was speaking of the rise, power and ultimate overthrow of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1800's, some taught the beast in Reve-lation 13 represented Napoleon and his armies as they marched across Europe. Others taught the American Civil War was the beginning of the judgments found in Revelation. In the 1930's and early 40's, claims were made that Adolph Hitler was the Antichrist. Various claims keep being made and there is always someone willing to believe whatever wild speculation that might be offered.

Even in more recent times, this desire to make Revelation fit current events can be seen. Do you remember all the speculation being offered in the early 1970's by men such as Hal Lindsey in his book "The Late Great Planet Earth"? He claimed Revelation was about a coming war in which the armies of U.S.A., Russia and China would all converge in WW III in the land of Israel. He even claimed that the second coming of Jesus would be no later than 1981. Now that the Soviet Union has broken up, the prophetic speculators are now changing their tune. Did you notice how quickly several books hit the stores when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait? After Desert Storm they quietly disappeared, waiting for another chance to reemerge with new theories. Now, the trend seems to be that Revelation is warning of a one-world government coming in the near future. There are certainly reasons to be concerned about an appearing of a "new world order" that is based on man's desires rather than God's. But before we go off in another tangent, trying to make Revela-tion to fit our current events, we should seriously ask, "Is this really what Revelation is talking about?"

One reason there is so much controversy concerning this book is that so many want to take symbolical lan-guage and make it literal. Then they will adhere to their literalism so strongly that they will ignore how their theories contradict many simpler passages in the Bible. We all must be patient with one another as we struggle to understand this difficult book, but we should never hesitate to point out flaws in systems of in-terpretation when they contradict God's Word.

For example, many of the more popular methods of interpreting Revelation teaches that Jesus will return to earth and establish His kingdom for 1,000 years some time in the future. In the first century, Jesus said "But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27). How hard is it to understand this statement? Was Jesus wrong, or did the kingdom come in the first century? The apostle Paul thought it came. He told the Colossians, "[God] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). When we can read that Jesus said the kingdom of God was to come during the lifetime of those listening to him and about thirty years later Paul taught that Christians were in the kingdom of Jesus at that time, shouldn't we accept the simple fact that the kingdom came in the first century? Even in the opening state-ments of Revelation, John wrote, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos... (Revelation 1:9). How could John be a companion in a kingdom that was not to come for another 2,000 years, according to our modern speculators?

These speculators who talk of the kingdom that is yet to come also teach that Jesus must rule over the world from Jerusalem while sitting on the throne of David. They take this from a prophecy given to David in 2 Samuel 7. There, David was told by God, "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Yes, Jesus is the seed of David, and yes, Gabriel announced to Mary that Jesus would be the one to sit on the throne of David (Luke 1:32). What does this mean? Does it mean that Jesus will literally be sitting on a physical throne in Jerusalem ruling over the world as many are teaching today? Why don't we simply ac-cept the explanation given by the apostle Peter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? On the day of Pente-cost, Peter told the Jews exactly what was meant by this prophecy in 2 Samuel 7. In Acts 2:29-32, Peter said, "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Ha-des, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses." How much plainer could we ask God to make it? In plain, simple language, God's Word tells us that the proph-ecy of Jesus sitting on the throne of David was referring to His resurrection. Where do these vain specula-tors get the gall to teach that this prophecy refers to a reign on a physical throne on earth sometime in the future?

Have you heard the speculators talk about how the Temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem? The usual version is that a Moslem mosque called the "Dome of the Rock" must be torn down and the Temple will be rebuilt in its place. Recently, some have begun to say they were wrong about the location of the Temple and now the Dome of the Rock doesn't have to be torn down. This will certainly make everything go better with the Moslems! The justification for this teaching comes from a prophecy in Amos. It says, "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ru-ins, and I will build it as in the days of old" (Amos 9:11). Scofield (the same one who wrote the Scofield Bible) claimed that this was the most important Old Testament prophecy for us today. He believed that it meant that the Temple must be rebuilt sometime in the future. What did Amos have in mind? Is there any way of finding out?

This prophecy can be found in one other place in the Bible. It is quoted by James in Acts 15 and James claimed that it has already been fulfilled! Acts 15 records the controversy in the early church concerning whether Gentiles could be accepted into the church. Peter reminded the assembly that the Gentiles first heard the gospel through his teaching (Acts 15:6-11). Then Barnabas and Paul spoke of their experiences with teaching Gentiles on their journeys (Acts 15:12). Then James said the Old Testament prophets agreed with the idea of Gentiles receiving the gospel and quotes Amos 9:11 to prove his point! Listen to the way James applied this prophecy in Amos. "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the LORD who does all these things.' Known to God from eternity are all His works" (Acts 15:15-19).

James understood that the tabernacle of David was rebuilt during the same time that Jesus was raised to sit on the throne of David to rule over His kingdom.

It is the same thing that Paul was trying to get the Ephesians to understand when he prayed that "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know 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" (Ephesians 1:18-21).

These are just a very few of the problems with the speculative theories concerning Revelation that are so popular today. They all come from the ongoing error of trying to make Revelation to be speaking of current events. Also, many today are making the same serious mistake the Jews made in the first century. These Jews were looking for a physical kingdom. Jesus taught, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36). Since Jesus did not offer what they wanted, they crucified Him.

The same ones that reject what Peter offered on the day of Pentecost concerning the throne of David in Acts 2:29-32 are the same ones who reject the promise he taught in Acts 2:38.