I had been meaning to do this for a long time. Finally, I have the time to make it happen.
What I (and you) are about to embark on is a complete verse-by-verse explanation of what many know as the last book of the Bible called “The Book of Revelation.”
Why Am I Doing This?
Quite frankly, I am 100% convinced that mainstream Christianity and all religious systems who have attempted to explain it have been – and are – wrong. I believe they are all prejudiced and have been blinded by the religious systems of the world they have been made to be loyal to. I believe that loyalty to religious systems is improper and loyalty is not to be to Caesar or any religious system or organization in the world. Neither to any person. Rather, loyalty is to be given exclusively to the One True and invisible God and to the only one He authorized as His spokesman, His Son Jesus Christ. Thus, that spokesman is the only Word of God.
What Religion Do I Belong To?
None. I am not a member of any religious system and neither will I join any of them. I have learned that The One True and Invisible God did not authorize the establishment of any religious system. I have learned that the religious systems on the earth – while looking pious and godly – are not from God or His authorized one.
My Background and Qualifications
More than 45 years of teaching and preaching the Bible. I have had to disqualify myself as a teacher because there is only one Teacher, Christ himself. This disqualification was in submission to the one who is our only Teacher. While many find what I believe about “The Bible” shocking. What is that? That the Bible is not the Word of God. That would be impossible. The Most High God has already chosen and authorized one as The Word of God. No book by any name or title can be that. (Luke 9:35, Matthew 3:17, and Revelation 19:13)
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. – Revelation 19:13
The Word of God is a person, not a book that came on the scene more than 1500 years after Christ’s ascension.
Many assumptions are made by those who belong to the world’s religions. They assume “The Bible” is scripture without knowing what scripture is. Scripture is anything that God Himself says or anyone he has spoken through such as His Prophets (who were never called the Word of God) and through the only one He authorized as The Word of God.
That said, what makes the Bible not scripture is that many others are quoted in “The Bible” including Satan the Devil. So are we to believe that since Satan is quoted (actually carrying on a conversation with Christ in Matthew Chapter 4), are we to believe that Satan’s words are The Word of God? They do appear in “The Bible.”
Because men say “The Bible” is scripture The Word of God does not make it true. Just as there is only one God, there can only be one Word of God, not two.
I get asked many times, “Well, how do you expect anyone to learn about God and His Son if it were not for the Bible?”
That statement alone shows one’s unfaithfulness to God and Christ. In Jesus’ day and in the days of his disciples after him, there was no such thing as a Bible. So how did they learn of God and Christ? They remembered what Christ taught them. That he would send the Holy Spirit and that it will teach them. No book would be sent. How does one receive the Holy Spirit? By asking the Father for it as Jesus directed. How does one ask? By prayer, something is misused and underutilized as the world has been duped to rely on what is written in a book. (John 14:26, John 15:26, Mark 11:24, and John 16:24)
How Will I Proceed?
I will cover several verses each time I post. They will be indicated in the title of the post. I will do my best to post each day – perhaps several times per day – or as circumstances permit.
I will make every effort to tie everything in so that one is not taken off on a tangent. I will stay focused.
Lastly, I will not favor anyone’s particular religious beliefs in this explanation and will not be tempted to be swayed by any of them. I proceed believing that they are all wrong. And, I know this will offend many. To offend is not my intention. To explain what I believe is the truth.
My explanation is just as viable – even more so – than what I have seen out here by way of explaining The Book of Revelation. That many will become heated over my explanation (while pretending that they are not heated) shows that they want agreement, not truth.
I do not seek agreement on what I discuss about The Book of Revelation. My only motivation for this is to get one to weigh, decide, and conclude for oneself. This oftentimes requires courage and a daring to think outside the boundaries set for many by religious organizations.
When necessary, I will refer to other sayings of God and Christ to support the discussion. I will use the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible primarily and other versions – including the KJV – to support the discussion.
Let’s begin.
Revelation Chapter 1:1-3
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. – Revelation 1:1-3
The very first verse in this book sets the tone for the rest of it. First of all, notice who the revelation is from and who gave it.
Revelation 1:1 tells us that it is a revelation from Jesus Christ that God GAVE him. So, Jesus is NOT the author of the book, God Himself is. So why would God give Jesus a revelation? Because Jesus is his only authorized spokesman, His Word (The Word of God).
Also, notice in Revelation 1:1 that this is NOT a Book of Revelation. More accurately, it is “A Revelation From Jesus Christ That God Gave Him.” But for the sake of the discussion, I will use the expression “The Book of Revelation.” I will leave it up to you to decide what you do with it.
There is more in Revelation 1:1. No other book in the Bible can claim direct authorship from God! Revelation 1:1 tells us who the author is, God Himself.
Personally, I do not believe that “The Book of Revelation” belongs among the other 65 books that make up today’s book called the Bible. It should be stand-alone.
Also, notice the reason or purpose why God gave Jesus the revelation: “to show his servants what must soon take place.”
It is that “what must soon take place” that has haunted me for many years and I had asked the Father repeatedly over the years for its meaning (among many other things I did not understand) and three years ago on a commute from work on a train I received an answer. I was just sitting there in my seat on the upper deck of the train enjoying the view (it was a cold rainy day). I heard a loud noise on the lower deck of the train and looked down to see what it was. It was nothing. Something in the luggage rack had come loose and fell over. It was when I settled back in and looked out my window again that I noticed how usually crystal clear my view was. It was still raining but the raindrops outside the window looked like clear diamonds. The trees outside as they moved passed and the buildings in the background looked usually different. It was as if my 20-20 vision was heightened 100-fold. I cannot explain it, but something was different, not only with the outside view but also with me.
I was not emotional. Anyone looking at me would not detect anything external going on. My eyes were not closed and I was not assuming some position of prayer or meditation. But a calmness settled in upon me as if preparing me to receive something. What, I did not know.
Then in a flash, I understood not only the meaning of “what must soon take place”, but the entire Book of Revelation. Yet, I did not ask for an understanding of the whole book. I did ask The Father in my younger years to please reveal to me the truth no matter how unpleasant it was. Reflecting on what I asked the Father, I did not realize what I was asking of Him at that time. I would not have been able to handle it because a religious system had influence, power, and control over me and any revelation of the truth from the Father would have clashed with what I was being taught and led to believe was the truth.
In His infinite wisdom, the Father allowed me to experience the captivity (of mind) of a religious organization to be thoroughly prepared to articulate it when speaking to others once I came out of it. I had to know and recognize the lie before being given the unadulterated truth. It was a baptism if you will.
Be careful what you sincerely ask the Father for, you might not like what you receive.
Anyway, I knew that few would accept or believe what I was given. I did not know what to do with it. I attempted to explain it to former religious associates and even some family members, but they were either unresponsive or felt I was betraying “the religious” organization. I was even told, “I hope you come to your senses and come back to Jehovah or Jehovah’s organization.” I was told also, “We will pray for you.” (I can pray for myself).
I felt bad for them because I knew how controlled and enslaved they were. While they thought themselves free and enlightened.
What Must Soon Take Place
God gave Jesus Christ a revelation (a revealing) of what must soon take place. The Apostle John was in prison on the Island of Patmos in Greece when the revelation was given to Jesus by God. Jesus dispatched his angel with the revelation message to have it delivered to John. John was told to “write down” everything he was shown in a vision (more on that in another post).
However, what John wrote down was over 1900 years ago. So what is soon? John was an old man in prison. Did he die in prison? We do not know. We do know that he was the only Apostle who did not die a violent death.
So, from what point in time does “To show his servants what must soon take place” apply? Does soon apply to some period back in John’s day? Or, is it a reference to something in a period future of John and even those living today?
One must keep in mind that Jesus had and has many servants throughout the stream of time. The Father is clear. He DID NOT say “to show some” of Jesus’ servants what “must soon take place” but his servants. That implies all of his servants.
Therefore, the revelation from Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place would have to apply to a future period on earth where all of Jesus’ servants are alive.
At present, most of those servants are dead and buried awaiting the promised resurrection. (John 5:28-29)
The only time when all of Jesus’ servants will be alive and together in one place will be at the promised resurrection which is yet future.
So, what is being said in Revelation 1:1 concerning “To show his servants what must soon take place” and how are we to understand it? This …
This is a revelation from Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place AFTER my 1000 year kingdom over the earth (which is yet future) ends.
What I am about to say will be difficult for many to digest: Many things have yet to run their course on earth before we see a start of the fulfillment of the things written in The Book of Revelation. These are …
- Christ must be coronated earth’s king in heaven. This will be an unseen and unheard event by anyone on earth. Thus, the start of his 1000-year kingdom over the earth (not on the earth). As king, he moves decisively with regards to what is on the earth. The following has to occur …
- Satan Abyssed for 1000 years. (The exact duration of Christ’s Kingdom over the earth)
- The destruction of this world (not the earth). That includes all existing governments.
- All of mankind must die (but not go into extinction or perish)
- All of mankind from the beginning must be resurrected back to life again. This will occur in stages.
- This resurrection will be onto an earth were no human governments exist. They will have been destroyed.
- People from all time periods – once dead but alive again – will reside together and be taught by those Jesus has appointed as his representatives (Kings of the Earth. More on them in future posts) who will be given authority as kings over them and they will learn to be servants of Christ. Just learning who it was that brought them back from the dead will be powerful incentive enough for them to learn about this king who as that kind of power to resurrect the dead.
- During that 1000 year time period, Christ – through his earthly kings – will have restored all of mankind to their Creator. Thus, a future time period will come upon the earth where there will be no more human rule and all of mankind will stand united, with one mind, before their Creator on earth. There will exist on earth a perfect righteous society. Perfect as Adam was in the beginning. Adam will be among them. No blemish will be found in them. (Yes, you and I. We have no say in the matter. Christ already paid the price for our eventual resurrections). Christ will have fulfilled his mission. His kingdom of 1000 years ends. (Revelation 20:4-6)
It is what occurs after Christs’ 1000 years kingdom ends is what we must take note of. Understanding this is more than half the battle in understanding The Book of Revelation and placing one in the correct time period for its fulfillment.
Recall that Satan is locked up for the duration of Christs’ 1000 year rule over the earth. One should be able to ascertain that Christ is not ruling as king over the earth at present because Satanic influence is rife in the earth today.
If Christ was ruling, Satan would be imprisoned in an Abyss and would be unable to interfere with the affairs of Christs’ 1000 year kingdom over the earth. Thus, Christs 1000 year kingdom over the earth is yet future.
So, what happens after Christs’ 1000 year kingdom over the earth ends. The Apostle John under inspiration tells us at Revelation 20:7-8. He writes …
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
Satan is released!
Now, let’s go back to Revelation 1:1.
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.
Drum roll. The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place is revealing to those servants (all of resurrected mankind) what will happen soon or shortly after his kingdom of 1000 years has ended and Satan is released.
Stop here if you have to. But think about this very carefully.
There will be a time period over this earth in the future where all of mankind will stand before their Creator, unblemished and without an intercessor. They will be as Adam was in the beginning. Did Adam have an intercessor or intermediary standing between him and his Creator? No!
The future mankind that Christs’ 1000 year kingdom will fashion will be without an intercessor or intermediary when Christ’s kingdom of 1000 years ends. Christ will have done his job. He will have restored all of mankind to their Creator. He will have finished the work his Father gave him to do.
When Satan is released after the 1000 years is over, he will see a perfect and united human society on the earth all under one umbrella of worship to their Creator.
As the Apostle John at Revelation 20:7-8 …
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
Satan goes out to deceive that entire human society whose numbers are like the sand on the seashore. They cannot be counted. Why? Because all of mankind will be resurrected.
Nothing Fulfilled Yet
What does this mean? It means that nothing in the revelation from Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place has had a start of being fulfilled.
There is are no beasts from the sea and the earth, no image of the Beast, no scarlet-colored beast with a woman riding on top, no False Prophet, no 666, no trumpets, no seals. These things are far into the future and will be established upon the earth when Satan comes up out of his Abyssing of 1000 years. And, when they are established, it will take hundreds of years to establish them. So, after Christ’s kingdom ends and Satan is released thereafter, many years will pass over the earth to establish these things and for the deceptive work to be perpetrated upon that future human society.
As I progress in the verse-by-verse discussion these things will become more apparent and you will see how everything fits perfectly like a pair of well-fitting shoes.
In the next post, I will cover Revelation 1:2-3. There are some valuable gems in those two verses you surely want to pick up and put in your pocket.
