Introduction to Revelation

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3. Day of the Lord prophecies

These prophecies are scattered throughout scripture and relate to the vindication of God and/or His people.  These prophecies have parallel applications for they demonstrate of God and /or the vindication of His people in a contemporary setting as well as a future time.  For example, Isaiah 24 and Ezekiel 7 can be seen as parallels of final days of Israel’s history and the earth’s history.  Sometimes, “Day of the Lord” prophecies have conditional elements embedded in them. Matthew 24 is also considered to be a “Day of the Lord” prophecy. The Prophecy concerning the end of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the end of the world mingled together because there are ominous parallels.

 

4. Local prophecies

Local prophecies apply to specific people, places and times.  For example, the prophecy concerning Nineveh is a local prophecy.  Local prophesies usually require a “local prophet” or messenger to explain or proclaim the prophecy.  In the case of Nineveh, Jonah was the local prophet.

5. Apocalyptic prophecies

Apocalyptic prophecy is defined as structural prophecy; that is, prophecy that that outlines a specific sequence of events that relates to or culminates with the end of the world.  Both the fulfillment and sequence of apocalyptic prophecy are unconditional.  A clear example of this type prophecy can be found in Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream outlined a sequence of kingdoms.  In Revelation, sequence and structure are defined by numeric order; i.e., trumpets 2 occurs after after trumpet 1.

             Apocalyptic prophecies sometimes have conditional elements within there structure relating to fulfillment.  For example, the winds of destruction are held back in revelation 7:3 until the servants of God are sealed.  That the winds will blow in unconditional; when they blow is conditional.

 

Distinctive treatment necessary

 

Each of the five prophecy types deserve distinctive treatment.  Mixing the prophecies or merging their respective rules of interpretation renders interpretation impossible. Since we are studying apocalyptic prophecy, we will focus on the rules that apply to this type of prophecy.

 

1. Apocalyptic prophecy always has a beginning and ending point in time they cannot have multiple fulfillments.  An apocalyptic sequence can only occur once.  Apocalyptic prophecy often contains events within the beginning and ending points whereby progression towards consummation can be determined.  These intermediate events must happen in order in which they are presented.
2. All prophecies of the Bible are subordinate to apocalyptic structure.  This means that apocalyptic prophecy holds greater weight in terms of chronology than non-apocalyptic prophecies.  No one prophet has been shown everything that God intends to bring about.  Each time God speaks to a prophet about the end of time, more detail is provided.  By first understanding apocalyptic structure, the visions of the prophets can then be organized chronologically.  An apocalyptic prophecy is not fulfilled until all the specifications and the chronology of the prophecy are both met.
3. When a prophecy becomes applicable, the language of the prophecy becomes applicable.  For example, John begins Revelation by saying, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place…” Revelation 1:1 The words “must soon take place” cannot mean 2,000 years.  Reason requires that words mean what they say.  The point is that when a prophecy becomes present truth, the language of the prophecy must be taken as literal or analogous unless it is clearly symbolic.  If the language is symbolic, relevant scripture must explain the meaning of the symbol.  Students cannot makeup their own interpretation of symbols.  The Bible must interpret itself.

The first point warrants some discussion.  As stated before, apocalyptic prophecy is prophecy that lays out a sequence of events.  According to rule 1, there are only a few apocalyptic prophecies in the Bible.  For example, in Revelation we have the seven seals, seven trumpets and the seven last plagues.

It is very important to understand the primacy of apocalyptic structure.  For example, the seven trumpets of Revelation are numbered, and follow a consecutive order.  If a student demonstrates an interpretation of trumpet 5, that interpretation must recognize the chronological timing of trumpet 4 because trumpet 4 must occur before trumpet 5 does!  If we apply rule 2 to the interpretation of trumpet 5, all details regarding trumpet 1-4 must be met too since all aspects of the trumpet prophecy have to be met in order to have a true fulfillment.  Since there is only one second coming of Jesus, prophecies having sequences that lead up to that event can only have one fulfillment. Said another way, if trumpets 1 through 5 occur, trumpet 3 can’t happen again because trumpet 6 is next sequentially.

Historical applications

Through the centuries, a number of so-called “fulfillments” have been demonstrated from Revelation.  The problem with these fulfillments is they cannot satisfy rule 2, which calls for fulfillments of all details relevant to the prophecy!  Since God gives the detail to the prophets, a fulfillment can only occur when all the specifications are met.  Read Revelation 9:13-21 in your Bible and then read this story:

In the 19^th century, Dr. Josiah Litch, a Methodist minister, concluded that trumpets 5 and 6 in Revelation 9 concerned Mohammedanism.  He was convinced that the 6^th trumpet described in Revelation 9 predicted the fall of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.  Dr. Litch wrote a book in 1838 titled, “The Probability of the Second Coming of Christ about A.D. 1843” and in it he wrote, “But the duration of their dominion (the Moslems) over the Greek empire…(is) 541 years and 15 days… If the time for commencing the periods was at the time of the onset of the Ottomans upon the Greeks, July 27, 1299, then the whole period will end in August, 1840.” Ibed, page 134.  As August 1840, drew near, Litch predicted the actual date to be August 11.

Casual students of world history are aware of the powerful Ottoman Turkish Empire.  Those fierce Moslems were undisputed rulers of the Middle East for several centuries. But the kingdoms of man come and go.  Ottoman glory faded due to a number of humiliating wars.  In 1774, Turkey signed a treaty with Christian Russia allowing Russia the right of approval in certain Turkish internal affairs.  In 1833 Turkey signed another treaty with Russia, which made the ruler of Turkey subject to the Russian tsar.  In exchange, Turkey was given protection from Egypt.  But in 1839, Egypt seized the Turkish navy as well as a great deal of land.  Turkey quickly appealed for help.  Four Christian powers (England, Russia, Austria and Prussia) forced a treaty between Turkey and Egypt, and it was signed in London in July of 1840.  Egypt released the Turkish navy, reduced the size of its army, withdrew from Syria and resumed paying tribute to Turkey.

On August 11, 1840, Turkey accepted the treaty!  Did this fulfill the prophecy of the 6^th trumpet?  The fact that something of political importance happened on the anticipated day of August 11,1840 sent shivers among prophetic students of that day.  They were convinced that the 6^th trumpet had been fulfilled!  But was the prophecy fulfilled?  Were all the details of the prophecy met?  A number of problems prevent this conclusion from being regarded as a fulfillment.  Four distinct problems stand out:

1.      There is no question that the sixth trumpet is a great war.  But, this trumpet does not identify which political power rises or falls as a result of the war.  Litch thought that the war between Egypt and Turkey qualified but the Ottoman Empire did not fall or collapse in August of 1840. In fact, Turkey is today a sovereign state.

2.      In October of 1582, ten days were eliminated from the calendar to correct the calendar with respect to earth’s position with the sun.  Dr. Litch did not adjust the timing of his conclusions to compensate, thus the August 11 date is invalid even if we follow his rules or concepts of interpretation.

3.      Dr. Litch assumed that the phrase, “an hour, a day, a month and a year” represented a quantity of 391 years, 15 days.  He arrived at this conclusion by assuming the phrase was cumulative and then he applied the day/year principle. It is now known that the phrase is translated incorrectly in the KJV. The phrase actually represents a specific moment in time rather than a sum of years.  Most translations of the Bible in this century support this corrected understanding.

4.      The final and greatest obstacle to Dr.Litch application is that fulfillment of the first 5 trumpets has not been clearly demonstrated.  If we follow the sequence of the seven trumpets, trumpet 6 can only occur after the first five trumpets!

 

To his credit, Dr. Litch later withdrew his announcement that the sixth trumpet had been fulfilled in August 1840.  He became convinced that what appeared to be a fulfillment, was not a fulfillment.  Dr.Litch later concluded, “the trumpets are yet future and will occur shortly before the second coming of Christ.”

 

This story is told to point out a very important issue.  Throughout the centuries, people have attempted to explain Revelation’s story and show that some piece or part has been fulfilled.  However, unless we maintain fidelity to the rules mentioned earlier, we don’t have fulfillment!  In this study, I believe that even though many have attempted to explain Revelation’s story through the centuries, the story belongs exclusively to the last generation.  Because they live at the end of time, they alone have this opportunity.

 

Revelation’s timing

 

In order to appreciate and understand Revelation’s story, the student has to determine a place in time where the story begins.  Most Bible students assumed the story began with the ascension of Christ (31 A.D.).  After all, there is no specific date mentioned in Revelation.

 

Remember, there is a demonstrated prophetic mechanism:  Prophetic things are understood on or about the time of fulfillment.  We will see in the next lesson that Revelation story has two parts.  The first part applies to the seven churches and the second part begins in 1844.  For now, you need to know a little more about 1844.  This year did not come and go unnoticed.

 

As the year 1840 approached, people in Europe and America came to understand the importance of the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14.  In America they were known as Millerites or followers of William Miller.  Miller, a licensed Baptist minister, set northeastern America astir with the prophetic message that Jesus was returning to earth “about 1844.”

Miller understood the “cleansing” of the sanctuary to be the cleansing of the earth from sin – thus, he concluded, the second coming must occur sometime during 1843 or 1844.

At the height of his popularity about 100,000 people of various denominations subscribed to his general conclusions that Jesus was about to return!

 

Miller was not a single voice preaching on the second coming of Jesus.  Other great preachers of this era include Charles G. Finney, Dwight L. Moody and Billy Sunday.  These and many others contributed to the great spiritual revival of America during the 19^th century.  Thousands in the eastern half of America gave their lives to the Lord.  Camp meetings were held and thousands attended.  A large number of Americans were “spiritually revived” and then disappointed.

Because Jesus didn’t come (as anticipated), the revival died.  Protestant churches in general became disillusioned with prophetic study.  General skepticism about prophecy characterized Protestantism for more than a century.  Then, in the early 1970’s, prophetic interest began to come alive.  Suddenly, Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” became a best seller.  And today, prophetic study continues to grow into a topic of considerable interest.

 

So when does Revelation’s story begin?

 

There are two answers to this question.  Notice what John is told; “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”  Revelation 1:19 Just like Daniel’s vision (Daniel 8-12).  John’s vision had information for “his day” and information for “our day.”  Because some of the information given to the seven churches related to immediate problems, John was clearly told to, “ Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”  Revelation 1:11 

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