Being the first book of the Bible (other than Genesis which I read before I was saved just to say I read the Bible) that I truly read and cared for, Revelation has since fascinated me. In fact, my favorite verse if Revelation 21:4, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
PROPHECY
Many of the Bible's prophets claim that there is going to be an end to this world. But, should we believe them? Of course!
Revelation talks about the end. I had always been a pessimistic person, so maybe that is why Revelation interests me and takes my breath away so much. And it holds so many promises of the end. Such as is Rev. 21:4.. And what a promise it is!
Then, sometimes, just the wording of certain verses in Revelation is memorable. For example, Revelation 22:13 reads "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
But what does Revelation really stand for?
From the book by J. R. Porter, "The Illustrated Guide to the Bible," Revelation is....
"....(The Apocalypse)
"Traditionally attributed to the apostle John, son of Zebedee, Revelation is in the form of a letter to seven churches in Asia Minor. The author sees an apocalyptic vision of a great sacrificial Lamb. The Lamb receives a scroll from God anbd breaks the seven seals on it one by one: the first four seals produce four apocalyptic horsemen, the next two raise the dead, and the last brings silence. Seven angels then blow their trumpets in sequence: the first six blasts cause destruction on earth; the seventh joins heaven together with what remains. A woman in childbirth appears: the child is taken to heaven. The angels under the archangel Michael defeat a seven-headed dragon. a terrible beast emerges. its lesser companion....deceives the world into worshiping it.
"The day of judgment breaks. Seven angels empty bowls of plague representing God's anger on to the world and over the beast. The cities of the world collapese and vanish. Babylon, the 'Great Whore,' burns and the world laments her passing. Songs of victory resound in heaven. The new age begins - after which Satan is released for a short time before his ultimate end. Then there is a new heaven and a new earth, and on the earth a new, messianic city of Jerusalem...."
That's Revelation, paraphrased. Yet, what reason do we have to believe in this book written by John?
Well, Grant R. Jeffrey did thorough research on Revelation and Armageddon. He concludes, as many Bible scholars may, and as even Ryan does, that the Bible has predicted incidents that have occurred.
In his book "Armageddon: Earth's Last Days," Grant R. Jeffrey writes, "Consider one area of specific prophecy and its fulfillment. Throughout the Old Testament, there are hundreds of prophecies in which God promised that He would send a Messiah to save humanity from their sins. To illustrate the precision of biblical prophcey, let us examine three specific predictions made by three different prophets and their detailed fulfillment in the life of Jesus Christ hundreds of years later. We will examine, as well, the probability or odds of these events occurring by chance alone so that you can see how impossible it is that these prophecies were made by man's wisdom...."
He goes on to conclude that Jesus's birth (Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:23-24), location of birth (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1) and the fact that he would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12, Matthew 26:15), all combined to result that "there is only one chance in 120,000 that any man would fulfill all three prophecies by chance. For those who believe that Jesus simply arranged the events of His life to fulfill these predictions, I would respectfully point out the difficulty most of us would have in arranging our ancestors, the particular city of our birth, and the exact price in silver of our betrayal."
Deeply examining some of the predictions, Grant lists eleven. Let me narrow it down breifly:
1. The promised Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1).
2. The promised Messiah would be preceded by a messenger. (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:1,2).
3. The promised Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a colt. (Zechariah 9:9, Luke 19:35-37).
4. The promised Messiah would be betrayed by a friend. (Psalms 41:9, Matthew 26:47-50).
5. The promised Messiah would have His hands and feet pierced. (Psalm 22:16, Luke 23:33).
6. The promised Messiah would be wounded and whipped by His enemies. (Isaiah 53:5).
7. The promised Messiah would be sold for thirty pieces of silver. (Zechariah 11:12, Matthew 26:67).
8. The promised Messiah would be spit upon and beaten. (Isaiah 50:6, Matthew 26:67).
9. The promised Messiah would have his betrayal money thrown in the Temple and given for a potter's field. (Zechariah 11:13, Matthew 27:5-7).
10. The promised Messiah would be silent before His accusers. (Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 27:12-14).
11. The promised Messiah would be crucified with thieves. (Isaiah 53:12, Matthew 27:38).
In the end, Grant writes, "The Combined Probability: One chance in 10 to the 19th power
"or
"One chance in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000"
There is no way this could have been made up. If you believe it was a coincidence.. Tell me, what's the biggest "coincidence" in your life? And does that even match up to this TRUTH ??
Therefore, what is "predicted" in the book of Revelation.... Well, we should believe in it. And it is so beautiful, I wonder why we the people wouldn't want to believe in....
HEAVEN
I remember that when I first got saved, I kept questioning Ryan about Heaven. Revelation, again, holds another answer to one of my questions.. "What will Heaven be like?"
"And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundatoin was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 21:10-22:5).
Revelation 22:6 concludes, "And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done."
ARMAGEDDON
"And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." -Revelation 16:16
The end of the world is referred to as "Armageddon." Most everyone knows that. There was even a movie made on the subject.
The Bible says, and allow me to repeat, "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were ipon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a telent: adn men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." (Revelation 16:16-21).
With the end of the world, comes the Rapture of the Church. "....the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven...." (I Thessalonians 4:16). All those who have trusted Christ and are saved shall be saved from the end of the world whereas others shall not.
The Bible concludes that there will be three and a half years of peace before the anti- Christ reveals himself. As he sacrifices a pig on the alter of a Church, the people realize he is not the Christ, and that is when the three and a half years of war occur. After the three and a half years of terror, come Christ's 1,000 years of perfect peace. Afterward, Satan is let loose for a short season. Despite the fact that there were a thousand years of trusting the Lord, Satan still finds followers for himself. Then he is cast into hell, whilst all faithful Born Again believers are brought up to Heaven to be with the Lord in a glorious place of perfect peace.
Places To Go
