"Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns....He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven...followed Him...." (From Revelation. 19:11-14)
So called "modern scholarship" has always fascinated me in its presumption. They relegate the reign of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom to the ethereal, the allegory, or some distant past. The literal return of Jesus, His Kingdom manifest, "in earth as it is in Heaven," and Jerusalem as, "the City of the Great King," King Jesus, are just parabolic references. This presumption reaches also to our text and the Book of Revelation in general.
Early Church Fathers say that Revelation was written around 90-95 AD, but the "moderns," who of course know much more and are more intelligent, say somewhere between 50 and 65 AD. The real reason they advocate the earlier dates is that they want no prophecy unfulfilled. Even some evangelical/charismatic teachers say that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD proves that "The Revelation of John" has been fulfilled. But when you take the word of those closest to the writing, you immediately have a problem. Revelation was written after the destruction of Jerusalem. So now what?!?
Speculation has abounded for centuries as to methods of interpreting Revelation. You can find any interpretation you like from as many commentators and self appointed prophets. But if you interpret Revelation in light of the rest of Biblical prophecies, you see a common thread. I think Billy Graham said it best in his film at the 1965 World's Fair in New York, "Man in the Fifth Dimension." He summed up eschatology by saying, "History is headed toward a dramatic climax." But it is not a "climax" to be feared, but to be welcomed. Notice Heaven's anticipation of the close of the age in the early part of the chapter, no fear, just-- "After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God....And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.'" What about you?!?
Father, in Jesus' Name, let me see, "Heaven opened." Amen.
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For signs of the close of the age, go to: www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
