Explain Revelations So Even I Can Understand It

[Wrangler]

Just read a thread about war in heaven via Rev 12:7. Though I read revelations 3x, I confess I cannot keep it in my head. I even read a book by a Rabbi who did an excellent analysis of connecting the many figurative passages.

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

In the thread referenced above, several poster got into the phases of tribulation and that is not made clear to me from the text. Like Nostradamus predictions, passages are written so figuratively, they can be taken to mean nearly anything.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

 

[Davy]

Just read a thread about war in heaven via Rev 12:7. Though I read revelations 3x, I confess I cannot keep it in my head. I even read a book by a Rabbi who did an excellent analysis of connecting the many figurative passages.

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

In the thread referenced above, several poster got into the phases of tribulation and that is not made clear to me from the text. Like Nostradamus predictions, passages are written so figuratively, they can be taken to mean nearly anything.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

Have you studied God's Old Testament prophets?

Without that you'll never get most of Revelation.

 

[Wrangler]

Have you studied God's Old Testament prophets?

Without that you'll never get most of Revelation.

Read. Study might be too strong a word. I realize the imagery is connected.

 

[Hidden In Him]

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

LoL. That book by the rabbi may have scrambled your head a little bit from the get Go, and made it more difficult to interpret rather than easier. Depends on what he was saying.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

4th grade level...

It's a book about what will come to pass in the end-times. Those who interpret it as not yet having come to pass believe it predicts a time when a figure called the Antichrist will rise to become the leader of a great empire in the earth, and he will attack the nation of Israel and try to exterminate the Jews, but the Lord Jesus Christ will return in power with His angels to defend those who trust in Him, destroy the Antichrist and his armies, and establish His kingdom on earth.

I'm not sure that does you much good, though. You seem very well-educated in most respects, and I'm sure you know most of that already. Why are you having so much trouble with it?

 

[marks]

It's a book about what will come to pass in the end-times. Those who interpret it as not yet having come to pass believe it predicts a time when a figure called the Antichrist will rise to become the leader of a great empire in the earth, and he will attack the nation of Israel and try to exterminate the Jews, but the Lord Jesus Christ will return in power with His angels to defend those who trust in Him, destroy the Antichrist and his armies, and establish His kingdom on earth.

Well done!

Much love!

 

[marks]

Just read a thread about war in heaven via Rev 12:7. Though I read revelations 3x, I confess I cannot keep it in my head. I even read a book by a Rabbi who did an excellent analysis of connecting the many figurative passages.

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

In the thread referenced above, several poster got into the phases of tribulation and that is not made clear to me from the text. Like Nostradamus predictions, passages are written so figuratively, they can be taken to mean nearly anything.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

I'd say if you want to understand it better read it more and more and more. I recommend 20, 30, 50 times? So you can start to get a better sense of the flow.

I find this kind of repetition useful alongside more detailed study so that I can have the entire landscape in view as I examine parts of it.

Much love!

 

[Pythagorean12]

Just read a thread about war in heaven via Rev 12:7. Though I read revelations 3x, I confess I cannot keep it in my head. I even read a book by a Rabbi who did an excellent analysis of connecting the many figurative passages.

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

In the thread referenced above, several poster got into the phases of tribulation and that is not made clear to me from the text. Like Nostradamus predictions, passages are written so figuratively, they can be taken to mean nearly anything.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

 

[Pythagorean12]

If you read Genesis first, Revelation is a real eye opener as to the nature and intent of God. Especially so when in the rest of the bible he tells us he predestined everything from beginning to end.

 

[Truman]

Just read a thread about war in heaven via Rev 12:7. Though I read revelations 3x, I confess I cannot keep it in my head. I even read a book by a Rabbi who did an excellent analysis of connecting the many figurative passages.

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

In the thread referenced above, several poster got into the phases of tribulation and that is not made clear to me from the text. Like Nostradamus predictions, passages are written so figuratively, they can be taken to mean nearly anything.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

Perhaps the first time I read it, I'd taken several purple microdots...really bad idea! Lol

 

[Marty fox]

Just read a thread about war in heaven via Rev 12:7. Though I read revelations 3x, I confess I cannot keep it in my head. I even read a book by a Rabbi who did an excellent analysis of connecting the many figurative passages.

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

In the thread referenced above, several poster got into the phases of tribulation and that is not made clear to me from the text. Like Nostradamus predictions, passages are written so figuratively, they can be taken to mean nearly anything.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

Its the Revelation of Jesus Christ as in who He is and what He did. He is God and He ushered in the new covenant.

Its a book of transition from the old covenant to the new covenant and from the earthly Jerusalem to the new Jerusalem

Read the book from the position of the 7 churches that it was written to. A soon coming persecution was coming but Jesus promised them that He would walk through it with them and that they would prevail

 

[Aunty Jane]

4th grade level...

It's a book about what will come to pass in the end-times. Those who interpret it as not yet having come to pass believe it predicts a time when a figure called the Antichrist will rise to become the leader of a great empire in the earth, and he will attack the nation of Israel and try to exterminate the Jews, but the Lord Jesus Christ will return in power with His angels to defend those who trust in Him, destroy the Antichrist and his armies, and establish His kingdom on earth.

@Wrangler.....I'm not good at a paragraph or two,

but this is one explanation that I would beg to differ with.....sorry HiH, its not about literal Israel....after the Jews had Jesus executed, God severed all ties with them, as Jesus said in Matthew 23:37-39. They would not see him again unless they were 'blessing him as the one who came in the name of Yahweh'......in the last 2,000 years, have they done that? Individuals have, but as a nation, God cast them off as those who murdered his prophets and who were serial covenant breakers. Once he had produced his Messiah, his part of the covenant was fulfilled, and he no longer wanted to have anything to do with that stubborn stiff necked people.

Literal Israel are blood spillers, and like their forebears, instead of putting their trust in their God, they allied themselves with nations whose worship they despise.....they have no relationship with the God of Abraham now because they failed to receive their Messiah, who was sent to save them and reward them for their faithfulness...but they always let him down in the worst way.....so God fulfilled Acts 15:14. He replaced them. (Matthew 21:43)

And yes, the Revelation was to take place “in the Lord’s day”...a time yet thousands of years into the future when John was given this vision.

There are many things that are “presented in signs” in this vision, as Rev 1:1 states.

Revelation 12 begins with a woman giving birth, which I believe depicts the birth of God’s Kingdom, the crown of 12 stars may indicate the 12 tribes of spiritual Israel....."the Israel of God". (Those mentioned by Paul at Galatians 6:16 and includes both Jewish and Gentile Christians)

Revelation 12:7-12...
"Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (ESV)

Since there was a war in heaven with Michael and his angels battling satan and his angels, we know who won, but we did not see any evidence of that war here on earth....only the end result that is spoken about in Revelation 12:7-12.

We would expect the devil, now confined to this earth, to increase his activities as his time becomes shorter. He knows the fate that awaits him, but he is going to increase the violence, selfishness, immorality and mayhem that are taking place in these "last days" as much as he can. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Its very much a case of rule or ruin....

I see Jesus' prophesy in Matthew 24:3-14 and Luke 21:17-19, had a dual fulfillment, first with the end of the Jewish system in 70C.E. and then beginning to see fulfillment again with the sudden outbreak of the "First World War" in 1914. Why do I say that? Because the first sign of the end was unprecedented warfare.....never in the history of mankind had the whole world been drawn into a global conflict of this magnitude....and virtually without warning. Alliances broke the world up into two opposing blocks of nations, and would do the same again in another global conflict, if such were to break out again.

Jesus said...."Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs." (Luke 21:10-11)

The weaponry used in that war was the most deadly ever used in any war before then.
Weapons of World War I

The Second World War was even more heinous.....Imagine the weaponry now if another World War was to break out.......it would be terrifying to say the least.

Earthquakes have also increased during this time of the end....along with the love of the general population becoming cold and uncaring.

We notice in Revelation 12 that this heightened activity of the devil coincides with Jesus receiving his authority as King....and that satan's eviction from heaven resulted in great joy for those who dwell there, but for the earth, it would be nothing but woe...increasing in intensity as the day for his the devil's imprisonment draws closer. Soon that "ancient serpent" will be in a maximum security prison for 1,000 years whilst Jesus brings humanity back into reconciliation with God.

That is how I see it.....

 

[NewMusic]

Hey Wrangler! Bless you in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

Revelation is one of the richest books in spirituality in the whole bible. It's filled with insights and visions of things from above and is a joy to read.

Genesis starts with the creation and at chapter 2:8 we read that God planted a Garden "of Eden" with two trees in its midst - The Tree of Life and a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Revelation's last chapter, 22, ends with the Tree of Life.

Most of us recognize the Tree of Life as an anti-type of Jesus Christ. So the bible starts and ends with the Tree of life which is Jesus Christ, The Alpha and the Omega.

Pretty cool!

Great news here, Wrangler. You've already read the Revelation three times you say, well just to make sure you did not gloss over the words, I'll repeat them:

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near.

Did you catch that? There are two blessings offered to people right at the very beginning of this book of Revelation. One blessing just for reading it (some translations say to read aloud, which I think could also be very good blessing, but I would not be dogmatic about it), and another blessing for heeding the things written therein (the words that follow and take them to heart and act on them).

I disagree with countless numbers who think that the letters to the 7 churches in Asia Minor recorded in chapters 2 and 3 of the Revelation have some mysterious meaning for the times that came after them. I read Jesus' words to those 7 churches and learn what I can from them and heed the warnings to each of them. But to think they are tied to the rest of the Revelation chapters 4 thru 22 or pertain to future "historic" generations (from the time they were originally written?) I do not in any way buy into that thinking. But the rest of the book of Revelation chapters 4/5 thru 22 were futuristic at the time John wrote the vision down. They apply to our time now, and even beyond our time now.

You might think of the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls of wrath, as spanning a period of time pertaining to the end days.

The 7 seals you read about from chapter 6 to beginning of chapter 8 might be the duration of the 7 year tribulation period known as a week of years according to the Old testament prophet Daniel 9:24. But the 7 seals may not span 7 years, but perhaps start earlier than what is known as the 7-year tribulation. Maybe the 1st seal began at WW 1, like Aunty Jane touched on, above. I don't think anybody knows for sure.

Then there are 7 trumpet blasts. These will span the period of the 7 years, from its start to finish. Why? Because Trumpet blast #1 states this:

Rev 8:7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth; and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

That Trumpet #1 will happen in the first half of the 7-year tribulation period (can be proven easily enough), while the last Trumpet blast #7 is the culmination of things marked by the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. Seen here:

Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall reign for ever and ever."

So the 7th trumpet means the Great Tribulation is ended, or about to end.

Most of us on here agree that the 7 bowls of wrath (i.e. plagues) listed in chapter 16, transpire in the last 3½ years of the age. This too can be figured out easily enough (saved for another thread discussion).

I'm going to create an image using Microsoft Paint right now, to illustrate what I just wrote.

Hope this helps.

 

[dad]

If you read Genesis first, Revelation is a real eye opener as to the nature and intent of God. Especially so when in the rest of the bible he tells us he predestined everything from beginning to end.

How about salvation, were we pre programmed for that?

 

[dad]

Hey Wrangler! Bless you in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

Revelation is one of the richest books in spirituality in the whole bible. It's filled with insights and visions of things from above and is a joy to read.

Genesis starts out with the creation and then chapter 2:8 we read that God planted a Garden "of Eden" with two trees in its midst - The Tree of Life and a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Revelation's last chapter, 22, ends with the Tree of Life.

Most of us recognize the Tree of Life as an anti-type of Jesus Christ. So the bible starts with a tree of life, and ends with a tree of life, which is figurative of Jesus Christ. The Alpha and the Omega.

Pretty cool!

Great news here, Wrangler. You've already read the Revelation three times you say, well just to make sure you did not gloss over the words, I'll repeat them:

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near.

Did you catch that? There are two blessings offered to people right at the very beginning of this book of Revelation. One blessing just for reading it (some translations say to read aloud, which I think could also be very good blessing, but I would not be dogmatic about it), and another blessing for heeding the things written therein (the words that follow and take them to heart and act on them).

I disagree with countless numbers who think that the letters to the 7 churches in Asia Minor recorded in chapters 2 and 3 of the Revelation have some mysterious meaning for the times that came after them. I read Jesus' words to those 7 churches and learn what I can from them and heed the warnings to each of them. But to think they are tied to the rest of the Revelation, chapters 4 thru 22 and pertain to future "historic" generations (from the time they were originally written?) I do not in any way buy into that thinking. But the rest of the book of Revelation chapters 4/5 thru 22 were futuristic at the time John wrote the vision down. They apply to our time now, and even beyond our time now.

You might think of the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls of wrath, as spanning a period of time pertaining to the end days.

The 7 seals you read about from chapter 6 to beginning of chapter 8 might be the duration of the 7 year tribulation period known as a week of years according to the Old testament prophet Daniel 9:24. But the 7 seals may not span 7 years, but perhaps start earlier than what is known as the 7-year tribulation. Maybe the 1st seal began at WW 1, like Aunty Jane touched on, above. I don't think anybody knows for sure.

Then there are 7 trumpet blasts. These will span the period of the 7 years, from its start to finish. Why? Because Trumpet blast #1 states this:

Rev 8:7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth; and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

That Trumpet #1 will happen in the first half of the 7-year tribulation period (can be proven easily enough), while the last Trumpet blast #7 is the culmination of things marked by the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. Seen here:

Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall reign for ever and ever."

So the 7th trumpet means the Great Tribulation is ended, or about to end.

Most of us on here agree that the 7 bowls of wrath (i.e. plagues) transpire in the last 3½ years of the age. This can be figured out easily enough (saved for another thread discussion).

I'm going to create an image using Microsoft Paint right now, to illustrate what I just wrote.

Hope this helps.



View attachment 18433

Not a bad effort. But I would place the bowls in the very very end time. Probably days or weeks.

 

[NewMusic]

Not a bad effort. But I would place the bowls in the very very end time. Probably days or weeks.

Well... hmmmm, the 1st bowl of wrath brings foul soars on anyone who takes the mark of the beast, which we see mandated by the false prophet in Rev. chapter 13.

Rev 16:2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and foul and evil sores came upon the men who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

That seems fairly close to the midpoint of the entire 7-year period, don't ya think? Perhaps a month of so afterwards?

I mean, people are mandated to take the mark in order to buy and sell. And then there are repercussions to that. Well, your guess is as good as mine. I suppose it could be a year or two later, for some type of an allergic reaction, or something triggered from the jab everybody is getting, the two things tied together.

 

[dad]

Well... hmmmm, the 1st bowl of wrath brings foul soars on anyone who takes the mark of the beast, which we see mandated by the false prophet in Rev. chapter 13.

Rev 16:2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and foul and evil sores came upon the men who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

That seems fairly close the the midpoint of the entire 7-year period, don't ya think?

Right those are who is affected. That does not mean it happens the moment they get the mark. They will still have the mark in the last weeks of the Tribulation.

Look at the second seal, all water turned to blood. How long can you live without water?

 

[NewMusic]

Right those are who is affected. That does not mean it happens the moment they get the mark. They will still have the mark in the last weeks of the Tribulation.

Look at the second seal, all water turned to blood. How long can you live without water?

heheheh... I'm not laughing at you. I'm just laughing in amazement at the horrors that are coming. They freak me out.

I'm not arguing with you. If people have gotten wise before that mark of the beast and started buying up thousands of bottles of water, or energy drinks, or even Coke cola... who knows.

 

[quietthinker]

Just read a thread about war in heaven via Rev 12:7. Though I read revelations 3x, I confess I cannot keep it in my head. I even read a book by a Rabbi who did an excellent analysis of connecting the many figurative passages.

The 1st time I read Revelations, I thought John must have been smoking something strong when he wrote it.

In the thread referenced above, several poster got into the phases of tribulation and that is not made clear to me from the text. Like Nostradamus predictions, passages are written so figuratively, they can be taken to mean nearly anything.

So, can anyone explain this book at a 4th grade level in just a short paragraph or two?

The book of Revelation is the story of how the the forces of light and darkness have been and are playing out and influencing the course of history..... primarily since the resurrection but not exclusively.
Revelation is much misinterpreted because its objective is not understood (ie, encouragement and hope) or it is disconnected from the historical narrative which is in the interest of certain players to distort.

The desire to understand and uncompromising self honesty at any cost is the prerequisite for gaining vision....all else becomes a labyrinth of confused disjointed fantasies.

 

[dad]

heheheh... I'm not laughing at you. I'm just laughing in amazement at the horrors that are coming. They freak me out.

I'm not arguing with you. If people have gotten wise before that mark of the beast and started buying up thousands of bottles of water, or energy drinks, or even Coke cola... who knows.

Well, no one says that air sealing would change whether it turned to blood. But when we see ALL the rivers and oceans turned to blood, there can't be much time left.

 

[NewMusic]

Well, no one says that air sealing would change whether it turned to blood. But when we see ALL the rivers and oceans turned to blood, there can't be much time left.

Agreed. The 1st half of the 7 years has 1/3 of the waters ruined, and by the latter half it's pretty much 100% of the waters.

The 1st half has 1/3 of the sunlight darkened, and by the latter half, well, maybe it does not pertain to sunlight and maybe it does, but an angel pours his bowl on the throne of the beast and its kingdom is in darkness.

Rev 16:10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish...

By the way, I think that verse 16:10 is perhaps the funniest thing in the bible. I mean, Jesus spoke a personal word to the false prophet back when He was walking the earth which was this:

Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

If you think about it, there's only one person to whom that statement could apply "in totality", although of course it is relevant to everybody. But only one person in particular is being set up to gain the whole earth, being groomed for world domination, etc. And that one person is the false prophet.

YES, YES, YES, I know the verse applies to me and everybody else, but just think about it. One guy in particular is going to gain the whole world for a season and do cataclysmic horror and damage to the planet and people.

And Jesus, Lord of Love and Mercy and Grace and everything, even back then was reaching out to this guy and trying to warn him, reason with him, make him wake up with that statement in Mark 8:36.

Anyhow... why is 16:10 humorous?

Because here's the "day" that all these Satanists and evil politicians and CEO's of big corporations (10 horns) are beginning to finally get their dream come true, their lord bad guy, to rule the earth and reign with him (Rev. 17:12) and this is their big field day, their shining glorious day come true, and guess what? God has an angel pour a bowl on their lord's kingdom and everything is plunged into darkness!

Ha!

Like your big dinner party that you planned a lifetime for, and every detail, and the dinner, desserts, drinks, champagne, decorations, the band, the videographers, dancers, everything to show off your Big Thing... and what happens? The electricity is cut off and cannot get turned back on.

Ruined!

I find that humorous.

And then do you notice all the kings coming to battle at Armageddon? Why is that? I think the false prophet can't hold it together. All the nations are assembling for a mighty war. I'm not giving political analysis, economics, etc. nor to what degree Israel is involved or targeted, cuz I don't know. But the one-world government is now everybody going to war with everybody. The false prophet can't hold it together.

Anybody that attempts to usurp the plans the Father has for His Son to rule the earth and to do so in righteousness, is confronted by the Father's anger and ruination. A very unpleasant affair. Look at all the empires of the past and how they fared. The Father has promised His Son a kingship and kingdom.

"Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet". Magnificent!