Revelation upon Revelation

I'm not sure where to begin with this. After all, people historically have gone over the top with their revelations on the Book of Revelation. And let's be clear: John, the author, told us specifically not to add or remove anything from the book. So I will do my best to explain my understanding without any presumptions that my understanding is correct. This is simply my humble conjecture; it is not gospel truth. We see but dimly and even the brightest of all men (someone smarter than myself) can only understand scripture as God chooses to reveal it.

I have written before that with every prophecy there is a revelation, an interpretation, and finally an application. The Book of Revelation is filled with revelation upon revelation. The Book of Revelation includes many interpretations as well as references to other symbols found earlier in the Bible. There are many educated theologians with vastly different understandings of this book... because it is prophetic! And as such prophecy often only becomes clear after God’s promises have transpired. 

It is good to read from different perspectives of those who have studied the book. It's even better to discern the doctrinal bias that influences the different interpretations, and it's best to prayerfully consider what the Holy Spirit is saying to you as you seek to understand what the Father has revealed to Jesus through John for the benefit of his church in this final book of the Bible.

The first five chapters are important, and they should not be dismissed lightly. For example, they contain important descriptions of symbology that is used later in the book. They also contain the promise that God has a blessing for anyone who reads the book as well as anyone who hears it read aloud. Nonetheless I'm going to skip forward to chapter 6 as it starts to describe a scroll, closed by seven seals that only Jesus, the Lamb of God, is worthy to open. I join with many others in the belief that the scroll is in fact a deed to the earth, and that Jesus is opening this deed in his rightful claim as King of the Earth and all that is in it.

As Jesus is opening up the scroll, we see also the sounding of seven trumpets. Seven seals and seven trumpets, which from my perspective are all completing at the same time. So just as the seals represent the transference of ownership to King Jesus, the trumpets announce His coming. With the sound of each trumpet, there is a visible and tangible activity that proclaims He is coming soon! 

Throughout scripture we see the trumpet or the shofar used in different contexts. The trumpet is used to proclaim the coming King; it is a call to battle, rallying the troops and gathering the people together. The trumpet is used to praise God, announcing holy activity such as the procession of the Ark of the Covenant or on a holy day such as the Day of Atonement. The trumpet is used as well to invite the Lord to fight on behalf of his people as in the case of Gideon’s victory, or when Jericho was conquered with seven trumpets blasts. It also signals disaster, and the trumpet sounds a warning for all people to take heed and avoid destruction.

It is God's will that no one should perish, and He is long-suffering: holding out for the last convert. I believe the silence in heaven that immediately follows the opening of the 7th seal in chapter 8 reflects the solemnity of the moment, the nearness of God’s just judgement as the 7 trumpets announce His return. The scroll, the seven seals, and the seven trumpets lead us to a pivotal point in Revelation 10 & 11 that is more briefly described and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 by Paul: 

With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God's trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. (CEV)

I agree with many that Paul’s depiction above describes the Rapture of the Church, when we will be caught up and carried to Jesus, ascending into the air similar to how he did. What I see in Revelation chapter 10 and 11 is a longer description of this event. In Revelation 10:3 the archangel crowned with a rainbow reminder of God’s promise (See Genesis) shouts something, and Revelation 11:11-12 describe the command that is issued. Verse 15 of that chapter completes Paul’s prophecy with the sounding of the 7th trumpet and the proclamation from heaven:

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and he will rule as King forever and ever.”

I agree with many that the rapture of the church and Christ’s second coming are two separate events, and that his second coming occurs at the end of the tribulation. Revelation 10 & 11 are typically understood to occur midway through the seven-year tribulation period. I believe the 2nd half of the 7-year Tribulation is the Great Tribulation which is the righteous outpouring of God's wrath upon an unrepentant people who have refused to yield to his good and perfect ways. For this and other reasons, I believe in what is called a Mid-Tribulation Rapture. 

I agree with many as revealed by scripture that God will save his people from His Day of Wrath, and I understand God's wrath will be poured out through seven bowls as described in subsequent chapters of the Book of Revelation. The first half of the tribulation is the apparent victory of lawlessness, secularism, and of man establishing himself as his own deity. It is a time of great suffering for God’s people, a time when they must resist both the wicked temptations of this time period and endure the affliction of a world system opposed to God and His ways. The man of lawlessness appears to have won, and he appears to have stamped out all resistance from God's people. However, with the last trumpet blast, sounding after the last seal has opened the scroll, God comes to fight on behalf of his people, redeeming them from the assaults of wicked men, who are destroying the earth. And so the wrath of God against the irredeemable begins. 

I humbly submit this as my understanding and ask that you explore for yourself the blessing God has in store for you when reading the last book in the Bible. It was the first book of the Bible I read, trying to understand it before I had even accepted Jesus as my Lord. It made no sense to me at the time; it can only be understood in the context of the rest of Scripture and even then, only as revealed by the Holy Spirit. It cannot be understood as a mere intellectual exercise. So pray, read, and pray some more. As a co-inheritor of God’s Kingdom:

It is the glory of God to hide things but the glory of kings to investigate them. 

~ Proverbs 25:2 GW

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copyright ©2023 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/) 


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