Archive for apocalypse
Difficult Questions Answered
Q: Okay, I’m trying to put the basic idea of what happened in the first century into a more simple explantaion so I can understand it better. I’m going to try and type out how I think it works but it’s complicated.
So, Jesus came around to establish His kingdom. Now is that an earthly or heavenly one? Then he was crucified. Was that going to happen whether they accepted him or not because they could have after He died? John the Baptist was supposed to be Elijah but they didn’t accept him either. So, had the Jewish nation accepted him later on due to the preaching of the apostles, he would have come back around 70AD? But they didn’t because they formally rejected Him in 62AD?
So when Revelation says that the time is near and what not, is it referring to the time before the nation rejected Jesus? So was revelation then written before the Jews rejected Jesus? The most likely date I’ve seen spoken about is about 64/65 but does pushing it back 2 or 3 years conflict with anything?
A: Those are some good questions. Well, here is the matter as I see it. Humanly speaking, Christ came to offer the kingdom to Israel. Divinely speaking, He came to die for the sins of the world. The kingdom He offered is that mentioned in Daniel 2: 44, which will break in pieces all other kingdoms (worldly governments) and fill the entire earth. This could not have had respect to the church. The church is a “mystery” which was hidden in God. Therefore, it is not the subject of Old Testament prophecy. It was not revealed until well into the Acts period.
When John the Baptist said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” he meant the kingdom of Messiah on earth. It is this same kingdom which our Lord taught His disciples to pray for in Matt. 6: 10: “The kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.”
If the Jews had accepted John the Baptist’s mission, the hearts of the children would have been turned to the fathers (and vice versa), and the kingdom established in the first century, after Messiah’s crucifixion and exaltation at the right hand of God. All the prophecies would have occurred within the 40 year time-frame. Nero probably would have destroyed the temple, and his successor (Antichrist) would have made a covenant with the Jews lasting 7 years (Dan. 9: 26). The prophecies concerning the great tribulation would then have been fulfilled in the first century, and Messiah would have returned in A.D. 70 (or sooner).
When in Revelation we read, “The time is at hand,” we must see it as having reference to the then-impending dispensational crisis. Yes, I do believe the book was written about A.D. 60-62, before the Jews formally rejected the kingdom in Acts 28. This dating is based on internal evidence of the book itself, whereas other views rely on tradition. I feel it is the correct view.
Q: “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand” (Phil. 4: 5).
Paul was in Rome when he wrote this, so why would he say the Lord is near if the Jews had already rejected Him in Acts 28? The rejection seems to have happened early on in Rome and Paul’s trial is already underway. I can’t find a good argument to say that this took place during his stay in prison in that other place before the Jews’ rejection. Paul wouldn’t have been facing the threat of execution before he got to Rome. Also, near doesn’t seem to be able to be used as close by since it’s usually translated as soon or at hand.
A: In this passage, “at hand” is being used in a spatial sense. It could not have been used in a temporal sense, for the second coming was no longer imminent when Paul wrote. My view is supported by Paul’s later prison epistles, in which he advises the younger women to marry and bear children (1 Tim. 5: 14)– something he had previously advised against, for the time was short (see 1 Cor. 7: 29). The parousia is not mentioned in Paul’s prison epistles, for after Acts 28 it was postponed. The hope in this dispensation is not the hope of Israel (the parousia) but the hope of the church (see Phil. 3: 14; Titus 2: 14).
The Millennial Reign: Earthly or Spiritual?
Throughout the centuries, Christians and scholars have disagreed concerning the nature of the Millennial reign. Will it be earthly or heavenly? In this short podcast Brian Simmons touches upon the issues involved, and establishes the earthly nature of the Millennium by examining some key Biblical texts.
Listen now: millennium
Hippolytus of Rome– On The Coming Antichrist
(from Commentary on Daniel, c. 210 A.D.)
Thus, then, does the prophet set forth these things concerning the Antichrist, who shall be shameless, a war-maker, and a despot, who, exalting himself above all kings and above every god, shall build the city of Jerusalem and restore the sanctuary. Him the impious will worship as God, and will bend to him the knee, thinking him to be the Christ. He shall cut off the two witnesses and forerunners of Christ, who proclaim his glorious kingdom from heaven, as it is said: “And I will give (power) unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
As also it was announced to Daniel: “And one week shall confirm a covenant with many; and in the midst of the week it shall be that the sacrifice and oblation shall be removed” — that the one week might be shown to be divided into two.
The two witnesses, then, shall preach three years and a half; and Antichrist shall make war upon the saints during the rest of the week, and desolate the world, that what is written may be fulfilled: “And they shall make the abomination of desolation for a thousand and two hundred and ninety days.”
Charles H. Welch– Audio Lectures on Revelation
Studies In The Apocalypse (Part 22)
(6: 7) “And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.”
This fourth seal continues the train of events played out under the first three. It shows what will happen once the wars and famines have spread. In this self–satisfied age of ours, and as western Americans, we can hardly conceive of such things occurring in our part of the world. But a bit of sober reflection will quickly apprise us of our folly.
Not only has humanity long been heading downhill in a moral sense, but the vision in Revelation 6 tells us that at some future time the world must pay for its disobedience to God. In Ezekiel 16, God tells the prophet that Sodom was destroyed on account of “pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness,” as well as neglect of the poor. This should send a shout of warning to the nations now at ease. Once Christ begins breaking the seals, escape from tribulation will no longer be an option.
Many prophecy students think that the present Middle-Eastern crisis will bring about the conditions described so vividly in these seal judgments. A massive attack on Israel and western interests by a confederation of Islamic states, for instance, could precipitate the world into a WWIII scenario. This would certainly trigger wars and famines and pestilences, and make possible the rise of an Antichrist figure.
But let’s not forget who is behind the curtains. In the breaking of the seals, all judgments proceed from God. However, most of the disasters and depredations will be brought about by the immediate agency of the white horse rider. The red and the black are followed by yet another rider. Let’s find out who he is, and what events he brings with him to the inhabitants of earth.
(6: 8) “And I looked, and behold, a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
Wherever famine reigns during the tribulation, pestilence will rear its ugly head. We are not sure whether the pestilence here mentioned has causal connection with the preceding famines. However, it appears as one factor in a series of judgments which will come upon the world for its iniquity– warfare and famine being the other two. These judgments are set into operation, as we have seen previously, by the rise of Antichrist, which will probably take place during the first half of Daniel’s 70th week.
The color of the horse is “pale,” the Greek word chloros signifying a pasty green color. This is a corpselike hue quite in keeping with the rider who sits thereon, whose name is death. We are here informed that the events of the fourth seal must be more terrible than the previous three. This is why hell is seen following the pale horse rider as its attendant; to remind us that all death, which is separation of body from soul, will end in the gathering of bodies to the grave, and of souls to the “intermediate state,” where they’ll await the resurrection.
Here the word death is put by the figure metonymy, as the effect for the cause. The cause is sword, hunger, and pestilence. The effect is death. The jurisdiction of this seal is “a fourth part of the earth”–earth signifiying the Adamic creation, and not one particular part of the globe. The “fourth part” may refer, however, to the confines of the revived Roman empire, as many think, or even some unidentified nation which will play a key part in last-days events. It is most probable that it refers to the lands over which Antichrist will extend his dominion, as he marches forward on his career of conquest.
During the first half of Daniel’s 70th week, or toward the close of the sunteleia which merges into the 70th week, there will be a time of psuedo-peace, a sort of “calm before the storm.” Antichrist, a European leader, will come forward and make a covenant with the Jews (Dan. 9: 27). This covenant will include provisions of international protection for Israel, and a liberation of the Temple Mount from Muslim occupation, to allow the Jews to re-build their Temple.
Preparations for this Temple are already underway. Furthermore, it is believed that the Ark of the Covenant is secretly stored beneath the Temple Mount and accessible by way of the now-sealed Warren’s Gate entrance outside the Western Wall. Many feel the presence of the Ark to be indispensable in validating a re-institution of the temple service. Others are vigorously opposed to such a move, insisting that the Gospel superseded the Old Covenant system in such a way as to make any return to the priestly elements impossible, and even abominable in the sight of God.
But regardless of the controversy attending these issues, there are two organizations (The Temple Institute and The Temple Mount Faithful) whose sole purpose is to spearhead the rebuilding of the Temple. Once the temple is rebuilt, the Ark returned to the Holy of Holies, and the sacrificial system restored, a brief time of peace will follow for Israel. Antichrist will leave the Jews alone while he wages warfare elsewhere, bringing the nations under his dominion. This false peace will be shattered in the midst of the 70th week, when Antichrist breaks the covenant and desecrates the Temple.
What we have, then, in these seal-judgments ostensibly takes place during the first half of the 70th week, during the same period of false peace outlined above. With this in mind, the “fourth part of the earth” most likely refers to areas outside the land of Palestine.
As seen, the judgments will consist largely of pestilence, but will be accompanied by sword, and famine, and unnatural death, as well as the “beasts of the earth.” It is difficult to define what is meant by this last phrase. It most probably refers to wild animals which will enter into the towns and cities of earth to devour and destroy. This bespeaks very chaotic conditions characterized by the desolation of inhabited towns by famine, death, disease, and conquest. As the whole civilized world will be thrown into confusion at this time, it is not unreasonable to assume that the beasts of the earth, who now fear man, will become more rapacious as woodlands are contaminated, water sources polluted, and the bodies of men left in the fields by the battles waged as Antichrist marches forward.
It was such conditions as these against which Israel was warned by Moses: “I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number, and your highways shall be desolate” (Lev. 26: 22). We find in the next verse that the such afflictions will be issued for reformatory purposes (v. 23). Compare also with Ezekiel 5: 17 and 14: 5.
These depredations of beasts are Pre-Millennial in scope, as the prophecies of Israelite national restoration confirm. “And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods” (Ezek. 34: 25).
While it is possible that the beasts will ravage Palestine during the tribulation, their activities are not necessarily restricted to the Holy Land, because the Jews are now scattered throughout all the nations of the world. As the purpose of the Tribulation is to bring Israel under the bonds of the New Covenant, so the tribulation will be of a worldwide scale. Here, as we see in the “beginnings of sorrows,” the jurisdiction of these judgments is over the fourth part of the earth. The fulfillment of these Mosaic warnings and curses will be to urge the Jews to turn to their Savior, Who alone can and will restore them, on the condition of national repentance (Acts 3: 19-21; Matthew 23: 39; Leviticus 26: 40-45; Deut. 30: 1-10).
Needless to say, these will be very trying times for the inhabitants of earth. While Antichrist rises in power, and wars and rumors of wars rage abroad, we fully expect that many Christians, especially those who embrace “Covenant Theology,” will continue to deny that the Tribulation is in progress. It is these people who will become main candidates for the end-time deception that will cause large portions of the professing church to accept and endorse the agenda of Antichrist and the False Prophet.
More Hyper-Preterist Delusions
Here’s another interesting conversation between an orthodox Christian and a Hyper-Preterist, which proves the inconsistency of the latter view. Hyper-Prets claim that we’re in the “age to come” now, and yet they hold that salvation is still ongoing. But the orthodox Christian would say that an ongoing salvation proves we are still in “this age.” For whatever is “eternal” cannot be subject to change/flux. But the “age to come” is eternal. Therefore, since souls are still subject to change, we cannot be in the eternal age.
PreteristMouse writes: “Wow. Do YOU ever stop to look in the mirror at the hateful things that YOU say about those who sincerely believe our Savior spoke the truth?”
MillennialSaint: “Christ never taught your doctrines, did He??”
EndTimesMan: “Yes, of course. On the otherhand, for example, you say there is an end to the age to come but God says there is no end. We therefore in this example say Jesus did teach our doctrine. That is just one example.”
MillennialSaint: “Yes, that’s one example of your false assumptions. If the age to come is now, “salvation” is no longer possible (or necessary), for the eternal state of all men is already fixed & final. The fact that men’s souls are still changeable proves that Hyper-Preterism is false.”
EndTimesMan: “Wrong! Read Isaiah 9:7.”
MillennialSaint: “Yes, the kingdom will continue forever, ONCE the eternal state of all men is fixed at the general judgment. After the judgment there is no possibility of altering our spiritual states. If there is, we cannot say we’re in the eternal age. For that which is changeable cannot be eternal. Sounds like the logical error is on your side, Bo.”
EndTimesMan: “After the judgement, during the 1st century, which is exactly what Jesus taught, the eternal state for those judged was set but every generation after still must choose who they will serve. When death comes to each individual the judgement for the individual takes place with regards to Christ and with regards to works (1Cor 3). Your error is that you do not believe Jesus was speaking of the generation He said He was speaking of. Therefore you speculate, which is the hallmark of futurism.”
MillennialSaint: “You’re being inconsistent, and I can prove it. If each person who comes into this world is free to accept or reject Christ, then we are still in “this age.” Why? Because his/her salvific state is subject to change. But there can be no change/flux in eternity. If we’re in the eternal age, then the state of our souls is fixed and final. But, good men often become bad, and bad men often become good. Since all men are still in a state of change/flux, it’s obvious that we are not in the “age to come.”
EndTimesMan: “We are not talking about the eternal life in heaven only but the eternal age to come which is partly this life we are in and the rest our heavenly life with Christ. Offer scripture to prove yourself.”
MillennialSaint: “Ah! So you’re saying that the eternal state is entered after DEATH? Then “this age” couldn’t have ended in A.D. 70. Otherwise, we’d all be in heaven now. But if we’re not in heaven now, we’re still in “this age.” So you’re being inconsistent.
As for Scriptures, here’s one: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy stll: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev. 22: 11).
Notice the above verse was written BEFORE your alleged A.D. 70 general judgment. If the judgment already occurred, then the state of all men is unchangeable, as shown by the above verse. The time was “at hand” when John wrote, remember? Therefore, the space for repentance had just about ended. Wherefore John said, “Let good enough alone. He that is unjust, let him remain unjust. He that is holy, let him remain unholy. For pretty soon, the state of all men (both good and bad) will be fixed and final.”
Obviously, though, John was “in the Spirit in the day of the Lord.” (Rev. 1: 10). That is, he saw visions pertaining to “that day” (Great Tribulation) which were still future. The whole standpoint of his writings is not “A.D. 66-67″ but the “Day of the Lord.”
EndTimesMan: “Read it again, that is not what I said. Poor attempt on your part to say I said something I didn’t. Readers will see how I said it.vain attempt at proof. This has nothing to do with our discussion. You endevour to continue denying the timing Christ put things in. Once you come to the true timetables then the rest will fit. Your speculation is not impressive and actually speaks something else of you. You have no proof, do you?”
MillennialSaint: “Well, just like atheists, I give you proof and you refuse. This is nothing new. As for the timing, though, my last post proves my position. In the letters to the seven churches, Jesus tells them to “repent!” But in Rev. 22: 11, He says it’s too late to repent. Why the difference? Because the standpoint of the Apocalypse is not “A.D. 66-67,” but the “Day of the Lord.” John visions relate to the time of which he wrote, not the time at which he wrote.”
http://www.christiandiscussionforums.org/v/showthread.php?t=147767
Rev. E.W. Bullinger, D.D.– The Son of Man
(from The Apocalypse, 1909)
This is a title connected with the Lord Jesus in relation to the earth. Its first occurrence in Psa. viii. fixes its peculiar signification. That Psalm begins and ends with a reference to the “earth,” and, after speaking of “the Son of Man,” it adds: “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands.”
It will be found, therefore, that wherever this title occurs, it always refers to the Lord Jesus in connection with His dominion in the earth.* And, when used of His second coming, it refers to the judgment which He is then and there to exercise.
* See The Divine Names and Titles, by Dr. Bullinger.
It is most remarkable, and so remarkable as to make it practically conclusive, that this title, while it occurs eighty-four times in the New Testament, is never once used in the Pauline epistles addressed to Churches. [..] But while it has no connection with the Church, in the Epistles, it occurs no less than eighty times in the four Gospels and Acts, because there we have Christ on the earth, and the presentation of the King and the Kingdom.
But, when again he reveals Himself by this title, it is in the Book of Revelation (i. 13 and xiv. 14).*
* Between the Gospels and the Revelation there are only two occurrences, on where Stephen sees Him (Acts vii. 56) in a vision, standing as though to avenge the blood of His servant, then being shed on the earth (anticipatory of His action in the Apocalypse); and once in Heb. ii. 6, where it is merely a quotation of Psalm viii.
Thus we are pointed to the fact, and told (if we have ears to hear), that the Apocalypse relates to the coming of “the Son of Man” to exercise judgment in and assume dominion over the earth.
It is remarkable that the first use of the title in the New Testament is in Matt. viii. 20, where it is said: “The Son of Man hath no where to lay His head“: and the last is in Rev. xiv. 14, where the Son of Man is seen “having on His head a golden crown.” Both are connected with his “head,” and with the earth; while in the latter there is associated both judgment and dominion.
The significance of this title is further proved by its contrast with the title “Son of God” in John v. 25-27: “Verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of THE SON OF GOD, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also; because He is THE SON OF MAN.”
It is thus clear that the use of this title twice in Revelation (i. 13 and xiv. 14), and not once in the Church Epistles, is a further proof that the Church is not the subject of the Apocalypse.
