The prophecies contained within the books of Daniel, the Revelation and in the Gospels are multi faceted and have many levels, each of which is valid, but only if approached from a sincere desire to know and obey the truth. The Book of Revelation is an integral part of the whole message of God in the Bible, and the most important key to understanding the book of Revelation is the teachings of Christ. There are three main ways of interpreting the prophecies in Daniel and the Revelation, and they are all valid to some extent, as long as they are taken in their proper perspective. The first, and least valid interpretation is that the events prophesied about have already been fulfilled. Certainly, the events of 70 A.D. fulfilled Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple (Luke 21:6) and the encirclement of Jerusalem by the Roman armies (Luke 21:20). One can argue forever about whether or not there were great signs and earthquakes and distress at the time of the Roman conquest of Jerusalem; if you were a Jew in Jerusalem at the time you could, no doubt, give a convincing argument that this was what Jesus was talking about. Then again, the year 1666 was the culmination of a time when an entire third of the earth's population perished though the Plague, London was destroyed in a cataclysmic fire and many Christians from small communitarian sects were burnt and persecuted as heretics by a tyrannical institutional "Church". All through the ages there have been religious groups proclaiming the end of the world and the time of the fulfilment of the prophecies. However, the major and crucial point against the argument that the prophecies have been fulfilled is that Jesus says, "And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21:27) near the end of a sermon about the fulfilment of the end time prophecies. It is emphasised in Matthew's version of the same sermon that this second coming is visible and tangible to all people, (Matthew 24:27, 30) and that this coming is the destruction of all who rebel against God, and the beginning of the thousand year reign of Christ. (Revelation 11:15, 19:11-21, 20:1-4). These events obviously haven't happened yet anywhere in history. The second way of interpreting the prophecies is to maintain that they are not referring to any particular historical occurrence, but that they are rather symbolic of the battle between good and evil, and the way that love appears to lose but ends up magnificently triumphant. Every Christian has their own Great Tribulation to go through, (II Timothy 3:12) and will experience the coming of Christ in their life, if they hold on to the truth. The Revelation appears to speak of the judgement that is relevant to people of all times, not only the end times. (Revelation 20:12-13) This is perhaps the most valid interpretation and certainly the safest one, but there are too many prophecies about actual times and events to be the only valid interpretation. If there is one thing that these prophecies consistently predict, it is a world-wide crisis of a magnitude beyond any ever seen in history, and one that will never come again. (Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19, Daniel 12:1) It is a cataclysmic time that is the peak of the power of the forces of evil, but which ends up as the supernatural destruction, or at the very least the imprisonment of, these very same forces. (Revelation 6:16-17, 11:18, 20:10-15) One basic theme of the Revelation is that the meek, loving, kind "Lamb" which was slain (Jesus) is victorious over the "Dragon" (Satan) and the "Beast". This not only refers to the spiritual victory of love over hate, but also appears to refer to a future world empire and/or leader that follows and is possessed by Satan.
It seems that the time for the historical fulfilment of many, if not most, of the prophecies in the Revelation is the near future, but many of the prophecies have already been partially fulfilled, simply because the basic cornerstone of today's society is the same as has existed since ancient Babylon, and the forces which are leading to the fullness of the prophecies' fulfilment are around right now. It is just that today sees the culmination and peaking of many developments of history, which are gathering together towards a new world empire. (I John 2:18) This coming world empire is not an altogether new development. It is simply the culmination of all the human governments of history. In one of the most accurate and verified prophecies ever, Daniel foresees all the world empires from his time until the Kingdom of Heaven comes and destroys the final empire. (Daniel 2:44, 7:18). Daniel interprets a dream of a statue, predicting the Persian, Greek and Roman empires (Daniel chapter 2). Later on, he sees four beasts, which symbolised in turn the four empires: the Babylonian empire of his day, the Persian, Greek and Roman empires (Daniel chapter 7). Daniel notes that the fourth beast was, "diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful..." and the main emphasis of the rest of the prophecies in the Revelation as well as Daniel's is about this beast: the Roman empire or a unique empire (represented by the ten toes) which rises from the ruins of the Roman empire. It appeared that the Roman empire fell a few hundred years after Christ, but it actually merely divided into "East" and "West"; divisions that remain today, and which were actually predicted by Daniel. The two legs of the statue in Daniel's' dream fit perfectly with the continuation of the Roman empire as it co-opted (and almost destroyed) Christianity in two forms: The Byzantine Empire (which was the origin of the Russian and Greek orthodox churches) and the Holy Roman (Catholic) Empire. The two major world powers today are direct descendants of these two empires; although the communists have supposedly thrown off their feudal Byzantine heritage, the same spirit of tyranny remains, and although Protestant capitalism supposedly left Catholic feudalism behind, the same hoarding of wealth that was the shame of the Church is even more the definitive characteristic of the Western world. In the same way that the iron and clay of Daniel's statues feet do not mix, the present system of man is divided, yet still possesses the strength of the Roman empire. (Daniel 2:43) But these divisions will be overcome in the final empire to emerge. The fourth beast has ten horns, a characteristic that links this empire to the one spoken of in the 17th chapter of the Revelation (also Rev 12:3, 13:1)which has seven heads and ten horns. An angel explains to John that these heads symbolise, in turn, seven world empires of which 5 are fallen, (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece) and one is, (Rome) and the other is not yet come, which appears to be a future world government which gives rise to a world leader which is the most powerful earthly leader that will ever be, who is totally against God, and who gains power directly from Satan. (Revelation 13) Even though this final empire only appears to last for a few years right at the end of history, it is the ultimate empire which is the embodiment of all the empires of man that have ever been, and is the most significant one in prophecy. Revelation chapter
17 goes on to say that this beast is red (v. 3) and a prostitute called Babylon the Great sits upon the beast. An angel tells John that the prostitute is a great city that reigns over the kings of the earth (v. 18). Another angel goes on to explain that the main feature of this city is its wealth and importance as a place for trade (chapter 18). An interpretation that fits well that fits with modern day events is that the beast is The Soviet Union of Russia (red=communist) and the whore is the U.S.; like a prostitute it talks of love, (Christianity) but really only wants money. Today, the U.S. has political and economic dominance, but according to prophecy, the beast (The Soviet Union) will one day "...eat her flesh, and burn her with fire". (Rev. 17:16) Then the Soviet Union, in perhaps an altered form combined in a world empire including other nations, will go on to fulfil the rest of the end time prophecies which concern this final, terrible Beast.
Many of the things mentioned in the Revelation were simply impossible until less than a hundred years ago. Who could have considered even 200 years ago that it would be possible for men to destroy the earth (Rev. 13:18), but today we have grown accustomed to the threat of annihilation over our heads, through nuclear war as well as ecological collapse. John hears an explicit number of an army of 200 million (Rev 9:16), which has only really become possible since post-Mao China. Nuclear strikes are a very possible way of explaining the many passages of destruction by fire. (Rev 8:7-11, 16:8, 18:8-10) With 90% of the scientists that have ever lived being alive today, ours is certainly an age of many running to and fro, and knowledge being increased, which is a sign of the end according to Daniel (12:4). Only in today's society has it been possible to fulfil the prophecy, with modern worldwide telecommunications, that "...they of the people and kindred's and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies (of the two witnesses)" (Rev. 11:9). There are some very interesting things occurring that could be signs that the time is coming closer. The number 666 (Rev. 13:16-18) appears as a fundamental code built into the Universal Product Classification System (known as the "bar-code") which is a development of technology very amenable to some sort of universal person classification system and a cashless society based on a mark(perhaps some form of bar-code) without which one cannot buy or sell. The star which falls to earth and makes the waters "bitter" so that many men die is called "Wormwood" , which is translated as "Chernobyl" in Ukrainian. Radiation poisoning of water fits this prophecy perfectly, although the level of death which actually occurred (at least so far) is nowhere near the level prophesied about (Rev. 8:10-11). These occurrences are not total fulfilments of the prophecies, but their similarities are perhaps indications of what is to come. A vast pattern is coming together, and as the time comes closer, the fullness of the prophecies will be revealed more and more. The statistics of population growth, energy consumption, non-renewable resource consumption, species extinction, desert expansion, arms production, environmental destruction and pollution show an exponential growth towards inevitable disaster. In fact, the longer there is no world wide crisis to "fix" the problem, like widespread famine, war or disease to cause death to a large proportion of the world's population, the greater the crisis will be when it comes. It is impossible to physically maintain the present exponential growth of both greed in the developed world, and population in the developing world. Of course, there are more than enough resources for double the present population's needs, but this scenario assumes that the world systems will not change their basic attitudes of greed one bit, quite a reasonable hypothesis in the light of history, and even more reasonable if we assume that there was only one government system that was ever even slightly in line with God. That was the ancient Jews, and their claim to God's kingdom was lost with their rejection of the higher revelation of God's kingdom through Jesus. (Galatians 2:16 , 28-29) Actually, there is much in prophecy to suggest that the Antichrist will, at least initially, claim to be the Messiah to usher in the millennium, with his government as the visible kingdom of Heaven bringing peace and prosperity (Daniel 8:23-25), deceiving people into believing that he is the Christ. (Rev. 13:11, Matthew 7:15, 24:24) One of the most widespread themes of the increasingly popular and mainstream New Age movement is that disaster (Great Tribulation) can be averted if enough people change their consciousness to align with an emerging thought pattern, which arose in the 60's. This new pattern, at first, appeared to be more in tune with the practical applications of the teachings of Christ, with simple living, a caring attitude, sharing, being against the system and a lack of the hypocrisy so prevalent in the churches. However, as we go into the 90's, the New Age movement is becoming increasingly materialistic and aligned with the system, as it gains momentum and respectability . Indeed, because it doesn't even claim to be Christian, its potential excesses are far beyond that of the church, and its emphasis on hedonism, the occult and spiritism leave the door wide open to acceptance of Satan himself. Its philosophy is a perfect vehicle for the Antichrist, to use the misplaced hopes of a lukewarm population who want, at any cost, to avoid suffering. Perhaps Daniel hints at this when he says, "...by peace he shall destroy many" (Daniel 8:25).
The doctrine of avoidance of suffering is totally against the basis of Christianity, and indeed, is a false fairy tale. Yet this doctrine is almost universal; not only with the New Age, but also with the popular Pre-Tribulation Rapture theologists. One thing in the prophecies is sure; everyone will suffer. The fundamental question is whether we shall suffer for obeying God, or for disobeying God. If we choose to break ourselves on the Rock of Christ, we pay now, and suffer persecution, but even in this life we have spiritual comfort ad deep satisfaction from being true to our conscience, and in the future we have infinite reward. God promises to correct us, often painfully, as an expression of His love. (Rev. 3:19) If we choose to avoid suffering in the short term, we will pay much more later with no reward. In this case the best we can hope for is a speedy annihilation and we will probably suffer the unbearably tortuous wrath of God, with total despair and hopelessness ending in being crushed to dust by the Rock. (Luke 20:18, Rev. 14:9-11, all of 16) Indeed, the doctrine of suffering and enduring is central to Christianity. Not only did Christ provide the ultimate example of dying for love and God, but we are clearly taught to do the same. There is a fire that is coming; for the unbelieving it is a fire of destruction (Matthew 13:49-50, Rev.16:8), for the obedient it is a fire of purification (Mark 9:49). To the Christians who endure to the end, in obedience to God and who "overcome", belong rewards that include eternal life, salvation, sitting on the throne with Jesus, being God's children and a host of other things that are hard to understand at present, probably because the dimension of heaven is quite different from what we are used to on earth. (Rev. 2:26, 3:5,12, 21) The Revelation talks of a time of great persecution of Christians by the Antichrist (Rev . 12:13,17) , when it will seem that the Antichrist will have totally destroyed the Christians (Daniel 7:21, 25; Rev. 13:7). Many who were thought to be true Christians will lose their faith (Daniel 11:35) but this is only so that Christians will be truly tested to see if their ultimate faith is in God (Rev . 13:10), and to see if we will truly obey, endure and overcome, no matter what. It is hard to say for sure exactly how difficult these times will be; it seems that God will leave it up to our free will whether or not we shall disobey Him and will not give us testings beyond that which we can endure (I Corinthians 10:13). A central passage of this book is talking about a universal marking system without which, "...no man might buy or sell..." (Rev 13:17). Those who accept this mark "...shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and... be tormented with fire and brimstone..." (Rev. 14:10). God's people are those who "...had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name..." (Rev 15:2). The number of the beast is 666 (Rev. 13:18) and is an important clue to understanding this very clear cut way which God uses to separate His children from the devil's. There is only one other place in the Bible where the number 666 appears; the number of talents of gold Solomon received in a year (I Kings 10:14) . The connection between the two verses is that they are both referring to a means of exchange or money, the love of which is the root of all evil (I Timothy 6:10). Money is a subject that Jesus continually spoke about. It is the basis of all the empires of man, and the antithesis of faith in God (Matthew 6:24). We are urged to not worry about any of our material needs (v.25-31) and to seek above all what God wants (v.33). This is the solution to the puzzle of the book of Revelation, for it is by living by faith in God that we come out of Babylon (Rev 18:4) and refuse the mark of the Beast which most people will not believe they can live without, just as today most people do not believe that they can live without money. If we live without owning possessions (Luke 12:33, 14:33) and trust in God for food and clothes (in accordance with Christ's teaching) it will be a lot easier to obey the command to instantly run away, not even stopping to gather anything up, in the day when the "...Son of man is revealed"(Luke 17:31-36). The book of Revelation talks of the true church (the woman ) fleeing to a prepared place in the wilderness for the time of the Tribulation (Rev 12:6) by means of the wings of an eagle (v.14). Jesus mentions cryptically in Luke's passage about fleeing, that, "Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together" (Luke 17:37), which confirms that the church will be taken to the wilderness and protected (at least to some extent). Perhaps the eagles are some form of air transport that will bring scattered Christians together, away from the system, in the wilderness. The concept of not working for money, working for love, and trusting God is a theme that not only solves the puzzle of the Revelation, but is a recurring theme throughout the whole Bible. The wilderness faith of the Christians in the Tribulation is paralleled by the experience of the Jews in the Exodus from the Egyptian empire (Exodus 12 onwards) where they were fed manna which fell from heaven for 40 years. In the very beginning of the Bible was the curse that God put upon the disobedient Adam and Eve; most of the curse involved having to work in the dust for food (agriculture) instead of eating freely from the Tree of Life. Now Jesus has already set us free from the curse of working for food (Galatians 3:13). Indeed he even commands us not to do so (John 6:27). After the events of the Tribulation the faithful people who did good works (Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:12-13) receive the Tree of Life back again, and the curse will be totally lifted (Revelation 22:2-3). The book of Revelation is part of the overall message of the Bible, and has great relevance to how we should live our lives right now, as well as in the times of the end. Even if the time of the fulfilment of the prophecies was not about to come, it would still be very relevant, because the book of Revelation is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" and is specifically for those who obey Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1, 22:6). As John says, "...the time is at hand" (Rev 1:3). There is teaching in this book which we are urged to keep. (Rev 1:3, 22:7). Obedience to the teachings of Christ is a major key to understanding this book... especially , but not exclusively, in the end times. It seems that the rewards are for all of God's people throughout history. The price is everything (Luke 14:33) but the reward is more than we can possibly imagine (Matthew 19:27-30, Revelation 21:7). "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life" (Revelation 22:12-14). "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:7).
Back to End Time Prophecies...