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Contents

 

Foreword

 

1.  The Final Seven Years

 

2.  The End of Israel’s Harlotry

 

3.  The End of Gentile World Power

 

Appendix 1     Jerusalem and Babylon, Old Testament, New Testament

 

Appendix 2     Crowned Rulers — Christians, Israel

 

Appendix 3     Jonah — Christ, Israel

 

 

Foreword

The Old Testament presents the complete history of Israel, from the nation’s call through Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) to that future day when the Jewish people will be brought into a full realization of their calling (Isaiah 53:1ff; 54:1ff).  But by and through the course of this revealed history, because of continual disobedience extending over centuries of time, God eventually uprooted the Jewish people from their land and drove them out among the Gentile nations.  And God’s purpose for dealing with His people after this fashion was to effect repentance by and through Gentile persecution, resulting in both the nation of Israel and the Gentile nations ultimately realizing that which is stated in Genesis12:3:

. . . in you [Abraham and his seed through Isaac and Jacob] all the families of the earth [individuals comprising all the surrounding Gentile nations (cf. Genesis 18:18)] shall be blessed.

Revelation chapters six through nineteen have to do with the final seven years of God’s dealings with a disobedient people that are scattered among the nations in the preceding respect.  These chapters provide numerous details concerning a sequence of events surrounding Israel and the nations during and at the end of the final seven years of the 6,000 years comprising Man’s Day (during and at the end of Daniel’s unfulfilled Seventieth Week), anticipating the 1,000-year Lord’s Day to follow.

Gentile persecution will reach an apex during these final seven years under the reign of the one to whom Satan will give “his power, his throne, and great authority” (Revelation 13:2); and Israel in that coming day, left with no place to turn other than to the God of their fathers, will be brought to the place of repentance, with Gentile world power destroyed at the end of this time.

This climax seen in the book of Revelation is the identical climax seen in the Old Testament account, previously revealed through “Moses and all the Prophets” (cf. Luke 24:25-27).  The structure of the latter must be the same as the structure of the former.  Later revelation must be completely in line with and rest upon former revelation.

Thus, the book of Revelation couldn’t possibly be structured after any fashion other than that which is previously seen in the Old Testament.  The only logical and possible way one could expect Revelation chapters six through nineteen to end, preceding events seen in chapter twenty (events as they pertain to the 1,000-year Messianic Era), would be the same way matters surrounding Israel and the nations are brought to a conclusion in the Old Testament, preceding the same events seen in Revelation chapter twenty — Israel’s harlotry being done away with, Gentile world power destroyed, and the Messianic Era then ushered in.

Bringing all of these things to light and reaching this climax, chapters six through sixteen form foundational material and they build into the climax seen beginning in chapter seventeen.

Then, beginning with chapter seventeen and continuing through the first part of chapter nineteen, Israel is brought to the place where the nation is no longer involved in harlotry, followed by cleansing; and the latter part of chapter nineteen continues with the subsequent destruction of Gentile world power, followed by the long-awaited Messianic Era in the first part of chapter twenty.

The book of Revelation, in the preceding respect, is simply a detailed reiteration of numerous events in the Old Testament that bear on the subject.  The book consists simply of closing and final commentary on that which is previously opened up and revealed in the Old Testament.

Interpretation in the book of Revelation must come from Scripture itself.  Scripture must be compared with Scripture, under the leadership of the indwelling Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-13).  One must begin with that which is revealed elsewhere in the book of Revelation and then move back into other New Testament as well as Old Testament Scriptures.  There is no other way to come into a proper understanding of this book or any other book in Scripture.