REVELATION OVERVIEW

MESSAGE 8

• The Actual title is the Apocalypse of John or the Revelation of Jesus Christ

• Apocalypse means “uncovering, disclosing or revealing”

• EVERYONE THINKS ITS ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD.

We must stand back first and take it all in before we start looking too closely or it won’t make any sense

What if…….

Revelation was written as encouragement to the Christians

who had just gone through massive persecution at the hand of Nero and Jesus wanted to let them know that justice was coming soon

for them.

What if…….

Revelation was written to declare God’s divorce from unfaithful Israel and subsequent marriage to his new spotless bride, the church?Could we use the term “death” instead of divorce? True Judaism died in AD 70 because there were no more animal sacrifices. See Romans 7:1-6 Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots

What if….

Revelation was NOT a story of a world waiting for destruction but

rather a world experiencing redemption?

What if…

Revelation is not about the end of the world but rather

a new world order called the CHURCH?

WHEN WAS REVELATION WRITTEN?

AD 64-68or

AD 96

Arguments For AD 96

• Tradition says so.• Irenaeus wrote John was exiled to Patmos

during the reign of Domitian• Condition of the churches was bad therefore it

had to be 25 years for this to happen• They say the fact that the temple is still

standing has nothing to do with it• 7 Kings are not Roman It is kingdoms

WHY AD 64-68?

The oldest original manuscript of the NT is called the Syriac. At the beginning of Revelation there is this note:“Again, the revelation which was upon the evangelist John at Patmos, where he was thrown by Nero”

Tertullian states that John was at Patmos at the time of the death of Peter and Paul. Which would make sense why he took over pastoring those churches.

• Jerome, church historian, says that in AD 96 John was so feeble they had to carry him to church and he could only speak a few words

• Revelation 10:11

7 Roman Emperors• Revelation 17:10

Julius Caesar 49-44 BCAugustus 27 BC-AD 14 (Luke 2:1)Tiberius AD 14- AD 37 (Luke 3:1)Caligula AD 37-AD 41 (statue in temple)Claudius AD 41- AD 54One is now… Nero AD 54-AD 68One is to ComeGalba June AD 68- Jan AD 69 (Assassinated)

Revelation 1:7

• 7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

Revelation 6:9-11• When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath

the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.

Matthew 23:34-36

Therefore I am sending you [Jerusalem] prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you all this will come upon this generation

Luke 18:7-8

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”

If he is talking about persecution, it had to be before AD 96 because AD 70 ended it.

The Temple is Standing

Revelation 11:1

11 Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.

Let‘s revisit history

• AD 66- Romans started and then Zealots chased them out and killed many

• AD 67- April began the conquest • AD 68- Romans killing through Judea• AD 69- Romans advance on Jerusalem• AD 70 – Passover- April; July- tower came

down, August- Temple burnt – • Sept 8 total destruction of Jerusalem

• AD 67 = April to December 9 MONTHS• AD 68 = January to December 12 MONTHS• AD 69 = January to December 12 MONTHS• AD 70 = January to September 9 MONTHS• DO THE MATH

42 MONTHS

What does soon and quickly mean?

• Rev 1:1 - The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things

which must soon take place; and He sent and

communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

• Rev 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

• Rev 2:16 -Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

• Rev 3:11 - I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

• Rev 22:6- And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

• Rev 22:10 - And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

• Daniel 12:4- But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”

• Rev 22:12 - “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

• Rev 22:20 - He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

More reasons for AD 64-68

• There were only 7 churches listed….that’s it in AD 96?

• Why wouldn’t have John mentioned AD 70?If you were talking about NYC

wouldn’t you mention 9/11?If AD 70 had already happened wouldn’t there be SOMETHING in there about that?

• There is only one small window of time in which there were only seven churches in Asia. The early AD 60's. The apostle Paul established nine churches in that area, but only seven were addressed in Revelation.

• The reason for this is that the cities of Colosse, Hierapolis, and Laodicea, were all destroyed by an earthquake around AD 61. Laodicea was rebuilt soon afterwards, but the other two cities were not. This left only seven churches in Asia during the five years just prior to the beginning of the Roman/Jewish war.

• Of particular importance is the message to the church of Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13). In verse's 10 and 11, Christ told John to inform them that an "hour of temptation" was "about to come upon all the world," i.e., the Roman Empire. Christ then told them that He was coming quickly and that they should hold fast.

• The reason this is important (besides the fact that this was directed to an actual church in the first century) is that the first persecution of Christians took place under Nero Caesar in AD 64. Therefore, Revelation must have been written before that time.

Just a thought…..• Furthermore, those who hold that the book of Revelation was written long after

the destruction of the temple in AD 70 face an even more formidable obstacle! • Consider one of the most amazing prophecies in all of Scripture. Jesus is leaving

the temple when his disciples call his attention to its buildings. As they gaze upon its massive stones and magnificent buildings, Jesus utters the unthinkable: “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6).

• One generation later this prophecy, no doubt still emblazoned on the tablet of their consciousness, became a vivid and horrifying reality. As noted by Josephus, the temple was doomed August 30, AD 70, “the very day on which the former temple had been destroyed by the king of Babylon.”

• As incredible as Christ’s prophecy and its fulfillment one generation later are, it is equally incredible to suppose that the apostle John would make no mention of it.

• As the student of Scripture well knows, New Testament writers were quick to highlight fulfilled prophecy. The phrase “This was to fulfill what was spoken of by the prophet” permeates the pages of Scripture. Thus, it is inconceivable that Jesus would make an apocalyptic prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple and that John would fail to mention that the prophecy was fulfilled one generation later just as Jesus had predicted it

Why so confusing?

• Four score and 7 years ago…• We the people in order to form…• I pledge allegiance to the flag..• I have a dream…..

John used the EXACT language and illustration Ezekiel did to predict the fall of JerusalemAll Jews would have recognized this…….

Apocalyptic Language

Revelation• The Throne Vision – Rev 4• The Book – Rev 5• 4 Plagues – Rev 6:1-8• Saints slain under altar

Rev 6:9-11• Wrath of God- Rev 6:12-17• Seals on Forehead Rev 7:3• Coals from Altar- Rev 8• No More Delay- Rev 10:1-7

Ezekiel• Ezekiel 1• Ezekiel 2-3• Ezekiel 5• Ezekiel 6

• Ezekiel 7• Ezekiel 9:4• Ezekiel 10• Ezekiel 12

Revelation• Eat the book – Rev 10:8-11• Measure the Temple- Rev

11:1-2• Jerusalem= Sodom – Rev

11:8• Cup of Wrath –Rev 14• Vine of the Land- Rev 14:18-

20• Great Harlot – Rev 17-18

Ezekiel• Ezekiel 2:8-10

• Ezekiel 40-43

• Ezekiel 16

• Ezekiel 23

• Ezekiel 15

• Ezekiel 16, 23

Revelation• Lament over the City- Rev

18• Scavengers feast – Rev 19• First Resurrection – Rev

20:4-6• Battle w/Gog Magog- Rev

20:7-9• New Jerusalem- Rev 21• River of Life – Rev 22

Ezekiel• Ezekiel 27

• Ezekiel 39• Ezekiel 37

• Ezekiel 38-39

• Ezekiel 40-48• Ezekiel 47

Why did Jesus pick John?

• In John’s gospel, He adds several stories that are not in the other Gospels. He often focused on more heavenly themes.

Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 all record Jesus warning about Jerusalem… one book is missing……. JOHN

REVELATION IS JOHN’S MATTHEW 24!

THE EARTH(LAND) VS WORLD?

– Was this for Judea or for the United States, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, or Asia?

OR

John uses Ge’ 67 times in RevelationJohn uses Kosmos 3 times: Rev. 11:15: Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”

• John uses Kosmos 57 times in his Gospel where he meant the entire civilized world

• In I John he uses it 17 times

Two Perspectives

FROM EARTHRevelation 18:9-19

FROM HEAVENRevelation 19:1-6