Partial Preterisim in Revelation through the Amillennial view.
This is my edited version of an article I read. I wrote this for clarity because truth matters, and for Christians to see another view of Revelation and to take away fear of the future.
The best way to understand Revelation is by asking what did it mean to the people that it was written too during the times that they were living in?
Please read each chapter of Revelation before each chapter breakdown.
Chapter 1: Jesus appears to John, to give a message to seven churches of what must soon take place because the time was near. Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ as in who Jesus is and what He did. Jesus is God and He ushered in the New Covenant.
The “coming of the Son of Man” is not referring to the Second Coming, but to the “judgment coming” of 70 AD, which John says was targeted against “the tribes of the Land” (the tribes of Israel). In the bible, the phrase “coming in the clouds” is an apocalyptic symbol for coming in judgement.
Chapter 2-3: Jesus has John write seven letters to seven literal churches in Asia (near the island of Patmos where John was). The theme of each letter also alludes to a section of the Revelation itself. Although the message was directly to seven literal churches that were in the world when John penned Revelation, they were also instructions and warning to the church throughout history. These letters are vital to keep a church healthy.
Chapter 4: John is taken to heaven. He sees the throne of God, the 4 “living creatures” and the 24 elders (who symbolically represent the whole Church). Some believe that this is symbolic of the rapture but the text states that only John is taken up to heaven for the purpose of receiving and conveying a message for the church.
Chapter 5: John sees God the Father holding the scroll of the New Covenant. It is sealed with seven seals, which was recognized in first-century Judea as being the “will” of a deceased person. This scroll of the New Covenant is the will of Jesus Christ himself, who ascends to heaven and takes the scroll to open it because only Jesus is worthy.
Chapter 6: John sees the first six seals of the scroll broken open. A scroll broken open was right before the events in the scroll were to take place. Daniel was told to seal up his scroll because it was for the time of the end (Daniel 12:4) John was told not to seal up the words of his scroll because the time was near (Revelation 22:10).
Each seal draws a parallel to the prophecies of Christ in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25, Luke 21 & Mark 13), and to the Covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. These seals were the series of events that take place in the first-century, culminating in the war of Rome upon Judea. (30-70 AD)
Chapter 7: John sees the whole Church (the great multitude), symbolically represented as a group of 144,000. The twelve tribes of Israel are named, but rearranged for symbolic purposes. Judah is placed at the first of the list, because Jesus is the “Lion of Judah”. Dan is removed from the list because Genesis 49 calls him a “serpent”, who is the enemy of the Church in the Revelation. Dan is replaced by Manasseh, similar to how Judas was replaced by Matthias. They are sealed with the seal of God, to show that they are protected from the wrath of Gods destruction of Jerusalem during the Jewish-Roman War. (67-70 AD)
Just as John hears of the Lion of the tribe of Judah he then turns and sees the Lamb that was slain, John hears of the 144,000 and then turns and sees the great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. The great multitude are the martyred saints that came out of the great tribulation which is different from the wrath of God from which the saints are protected. The great tribulation started the day Stephen was martyred and is still happing today.
Chapter 8: John sees the seventh seal broken open an answer to the prayers of the martyred saints under apostate Israel from Rev 6:9. The New Covenant has been fully established, and God’s wrath upon Old Covenant apostate Israel is poured out. John’s vision starts over, to show him the events leading up to the Jewish-Roman War from another perspective, via seven trumpets. The first four trumpets are blown, depicting the destruction that took place in Judea through plagues, famines, false teachings, etc.
Chapter 9: John sees the fifth trumpet blown. The saints are protected by Gods wrath by Gods seal (No Christians died in the fall of Jerusalem) Pagan Romans, symbolized as locusts (Joel 2:1-11), invade Judea. They torment the Christ-rejecting Jews for five months (May-September 66 AD), inciting them to rebel against the Roman Empire. (5 months is also an average life span of a locus). John sees the sixth trumpet blown. Roman armies stationed at the Euphrates River in Syria march on to Judea, straight to Jerusalem (Late 66 AD) where they kill numerous Christ-rejecting Jews who still did not repent. The king from the Abyss is the eighth king is satan who is the destroyer (Exodus 12:23).
Chapter 10: John has a vision of an angel. The angel symbolically depicts the uniting of the Jews (the Land) and the Gentiles (the Sea), and declares the “mystery of God” to be almost complete. [Romans 11.25; Ephesians 3.4-6; Colossians 1.27] The angel gives John a “little scroll” to eat and prophesy, a symbolic representation of John being given the Revelation itself.
Chapter 11: John is told to measure the Temple of God, which is the Body of Christ, the Church. [John 2.19-21; 1 Corinthians 3.16; Ephesians 2.19-22] The “outer court” of the temple and the city of Jerusalem (symbolic representations of apostate Israel) are left to the Gentiles (the Romans) to trample upon for 42 months. (February 67 – August 70 AD) John sees two witnesses (symbolic representations of the Law and the Prophets) persecuted by “the beast” (Rome) and “the great city” (Jerusalem being apostate Israel). They are depicted as being “conquered” by Rome, but are resurrected and taken to heaven, a depiction of Jesus’ life, which the Law and the Prophets pointed too.
“The great city” Jerusalem is destroyed, the seventh trumpet is blown which marks the end of our world as the time comes for judging the dead and rewarding the saints and the prophets (rev 20:11-15)
Chapter 12: John’s visions start over. A “woman” (ethnic Israel Genesis 37:9-10) gives birth to a “male child” (Christ) despite the opposition of the dragon (Satan). Christ is taken up to God’s throne (symbolically representing his victory upon the cross), and Satan and the fallen angels are exiled from heaven. The cross and resurrection brought the kingdom and salvation to the saints, these events ushered in the start of the thousand-year reign of Christ.
The dragon attempts to destroy the woman (Satan’s attempts to destroy the Jewish apostles when they founded the Church), but fails. He goes on to make war upon “the rest of the woman’s offspring” (the Church made up of both Jew and Gentile).
Chapter 13: Satan gives his power to the Roman Empire and its Emperors (depicted as a sea-beast with seven heads). John gives a prophecy about the Empire’s death and subsequent resurrection that took place following Nero’s suicide. (68-69 AD) John describes the present persecution of the Christians by the Roman Empire, prophesying that it would last for 42 months. (November 64 – June 68 AD) John sees apostate Israel (depicted as an earth-beast lamb the only clean animal beast) ally itself with the Roman Empire in this persecution.
Apostate Israel gave power to the beast when they had the Jews shout that they have no king but Cesar. The “mark of the beast” is Hebrew gematria that codifies the name of Nero Caesar into the number 666. The name is not believed to have been codified because John was afraid of persecution (he was already being persecuted), but because of the symbolism behind the number 666. The “mark” is not a literal tattoo (this would contradict John 3:16 and many other verses that promise salvation for whoever believes) but refers to how apostate Israel required its opponents to submit to the Roman Emperors or face persecution. Anyone who took the mark was spared from the wrath of Rome and apostate Israel.
Chapter 14: John sees the 144,000, representing the whole Church, standing upon Mount Zion with Christ. Babylon the great (apostate Jerusalem) is about to fall so Jesus harvest the elected saints from Gods wrath on the city (Matthew 24:31) Another harvest takes place, this time resulting in God’s wrath being poured out upon apostate Israel depicted as a “great winepress of the wrath of God”. John sees blood-wine flow out of the winepress, spreading for 1600 stadia. This is the approximate length of the Land of Israel (67-70 AD).
Chapter 15: John has another vision a different version of Gods wrath, he sees seven bowls containing seven plagues, ready to be poured out upon the beast kingdom and apostate Israel.
www.christianityboard.com
This is my edited version of an article I read. I wrote this for clarity because truth matters, and for Christians to see another view of Revelation and to take away fear of the future.
The best way to understand Revelation is by asking what did it mean to the people that it was written too during the times that they were living in?
Please read each chapter of Revelation before each chapter breakdown.
Chapter 1: Jesus appears to John, to give a message to seven churches of what must soon take place because the time was near. Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ as in who Jesus is and what He did. Jesus is God and He ushered in the New Covenant.
The “coming of the Son of Man” is not referring to the Second Coming, but to the “judgment coming” of 70 AD, which John says was targeted against “the tribes of the Land” (the tribes of Israel). In the bible, the phrase “coming in the clouds” is an apocalyptic symbol for coming in judgement.
Chapter 2-3: Jesus has John write seven letters to seven literal churches in Asia (near the island of Patmos where John was). The theme of each letter also alludes to a section of the Revelation itself. Although the message was directly to seven literal churches that were in the world when John penned Revelation, they were also instructions and warning to the church throughout history. These letters are vital to keep a church healthy.
Chapter 4: John is taken to heaven. He sees the throne of God, the 4 “living creatures” and the 24 elders (who symbolically represent the whole Church). Some believe that this is symbolic of the rapture but the text states that only John is taken up to heaven for the purpose of receiving and conveying a message for the church.
Chapter 5: John sees God the Father holding the scroll of the New Covenant. It is sealed with seven seals, which was recognized in first-century Judea as being the “will” of a deceased person. This scroll of the New Covenant is the will of Jesus Christ himself, who ascends to heaven and takes the scroll to open it because only Jesus is worthy.
Chapter 6: John sees the first six seals of the scroll broken open. A scroll broken open was right before the events in the scroll were to take place. Daniel was told to seal up his scroll because it was for the time of the end (Daniel 12:4) John was told not to seal up the words of his scroll because the time was near (Revelation 22:10).
Each seal draws a parallel to the prophecies of Christ in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25, Luke 21 & Mark 13), and to the Covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. These seals were the series of events that take place in the first-century, culminating in the war of Rome upon Judea. (30-70 AD)
Chapter 7: John sees the whole Church (the great multitude), symbolically represented as a group of 144,000. The twelve tribes of Israel are named, but rearranged for symbolic purposes. Judah is placed at the first of the list, because Jesus is the “Lion of Judah”. Dan is removed from the list because Genesis 49 calls him a “serpent”, who is the enemy of the Church in the Revelation. Dan is replaced by Manasseh, similar to how Judas was replaced by Matthias. They are sealed with the seal of God, to show that they are protected from the wrath of Gods destruction of Jerusalem during the Jewish-Roman War. (67-70 AD)
Just as John hears of the Lion of the tribe of Judah he then turns and sees the Lamb that was slain, John hears of the 144,000 and then turns and sees the great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. The great multitude are the martyred saints that came out of the great tribulation which is different from the wrath of God from which the saints are protected. The great tribulation started the day Stephen was martyred and is still happing today.
Chapter 8: John sees the seventh seal broken open an answer to the prayers of the martyred saints under apostate Israel from Rev 6:9. The New Covenant has been fully established, and God’s wrath upon Old Covenant apostate Israel is poured out. John’s vision starts over, to show him the events leading up to the Jewish-Roman War from another perspective, via seven trumpets. The first four trumpets are blown, depicting the destruction that took place in Judea through plagues, famines, false teachings, etc.
Chapter 9: John sees the fifth trumpet blown. The saints are protected by Gods wrath by Gods seal (No Christians died in the fall of Jerusalem) Pagan Romans, symbolized as locusts (Joel 2:1-11), invade Judea. They torment the Christ-rejecting Jews for five months (May-September 66 AD), inciting them to rebel against the Roman Empire. (5 months is also an average life span of a locus). John sees the sixth trumpet blown. Roman armies stationed at the Euphrates River in Syria march on to Judea, straight to Jerusalem (Late 66 AD) where they kill numerous Christ-rejecting Jews who still did not repent. The king from the Abyss is the eighth king is satan who is the destroyer (Exodus 12:23).
Chapter 10: John has a vision of an angel. The angel symbolically depicts the uniting of the Jews (the Land) and the Gentiles (the Sea), and declares the “mystery of God” to be almost complete. [Romans 11.25; Ephesians 3.4-6; Colossians 1.27] The angel gives John a “little scroll” to eat and prophesy, a symbolic representation of John being given the Revelation itself.
Chapter 11: John is told to measure the Temple of God, which is the Body of Christ, the Church. [John 2.19-21; 1 Corinthians 3.16; Ephesians 2.19-22] The “outer court” of the temple and the city of Jerusalem (symbolic representations of apostate Israel) are left to the Gentiles (the Romans) to trample upon for 42 months. (February 67 – August 70 AD) John sees two witnesses (symbolic representations of the Law and the Prophets) persecuted by “the beast” (Rome) and “the great city” (Jerusalem being apostate Israel). They are depicted as being “conquered” by Rome, but are resurrected and taken to heaven, a depiction of Jesus’ life, which the Law and the Prophets pointed too.
“The great city” Jerusalem is destroyed, the seventh trumpet is blown which marks the end of our world as the time comes for judging the dead and rewarding the saints and the prophets (rev 20:11-15)
Chapter 12: John’s visions start over. A “woman” (ethnic Israel Genesis 37:9-10) gives birth to a “male child” (Christ) despite the opposition of the dragon (Satan). Christ is taken up to God’s throne (symbolically representing his victory upon the cross), and Satan and the fallen angels are exiled from heaven. The cross and resurrection brought the kingdom and salvation to the saints, these events ushered in the start of the thousand-year reign of Christ.
The dragon attempts to destroy the woman (Satan’s attempts to destroy the Jewish apostles when they founded the Church), but fails. He goes on to make war upon “the rest of the woman’s offspring” (the Church made up of both Jew and Gentile).
Chapter 13: Satan gives his power to the Roman Empire and its Emperors (depicted as a sea-beast with seven heads). John gives a prophecy about the Empire’s death and subsequent resurrection that took place following Nero’s suicide. (68-69 AD) John describes the present persecution of the Christians by the Roman Empire, prophesying that it would last for 42 months. (November 64 – June 68 AD) John sees apostate Israel (depicted as an earth-beast lamb the only clean animal beast) ally itself with the Roman Empire in this persecution.
Apostate Israel gave power to the beast when they had the Jews shout that they have no king but Cesar. The “mark of the beast” is Hebrew gematria that codifies the name of Nero Caesar into the number 666. The name is not believed to have been codified because John was afraid of persecution (he was already being persecuted), but because of the symbolism behind the number 666. The “mark” is not a literal tattoo (this would contradict John 3:16 and many other verses that promise salvation for whoever believes) but refers to how apostate Israel required its opponents to submit to the Roman Emperors or face persecution. Anyone who took the mark was spared from the wrath of Rome and apostate Israel.
Chapter 14: John sees the 144,000, representing the whole Church, standing upon Mount Zion with Christ. Babylon the great (apostate Jerusalem) is about to fall so Jesus harvest the elected saints from Gods wrath on the city (Matthew 24:31) Another harvest takes place, this time resulting in God’s wrath being poured out upon apostate Israel depicted as a “great winepress of the wrath of God”. John sees blood-wine flow out of the winepress, spreading for 1600 stadia. This is the approximate length of the Land of Israel (67-70 AD).
Chapter 15: John has another vision a different version of Gods wrath, he sees seven bowls containing seven plagues, ready to be poured out upon the beast kingdom and apostate Israel.
Partial Preterisim in Revelation through the Amillennial view. Part 2
Chapter 8: John sees the seventh seal broken open an answer to the prayers of the martyred saints under apostate Israel from Rev 6:9. The New Covenant has been fully established, and God’s wrath upon Old Covenant apostate Israel is poured out. John’s vision starts over, to show him the events...
www.christianityboard.com
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