A BENEFICIAL STUDY TOOL - revelationcommentary.org

1 A BENEFICIAL STUDY TOOLW elcome to ! We hope this commentary is a BENEFICIAL STUDY tool in your devotion to the Word of God. Before beginning to go through the content of revelation , we recommend that you read through the , , and sections to familiarize yourself with the framework concerning this incredible book of (1938-1999) Author of numerous eschatological books and Founder of Sola Scriptura and The Sign Ministries, was a graduate of Wheaton College, a leading Christian businessman, co-founder of churches and missions agencies, and was founder of The Scriptorium. The Van Kampen Collection is the largest private collection of manuscripts, artifacts, scrolls and early printed editions of the Bible in the world today. He held an honorary doctoral degree in humane letters from Indiana Wesleyan Van Kampen- (1946-2001) Bill was a graduate of Oregon State University, received his from Western Evangelical Seminary, and pastored churches for more than twenty years.

2 He served Sola Scriptura and The Sign Ministries as a writer, lecturer, and Bill Lee-Warner - Instructor, Biblical Research & Education, Sola Scriptura, graduated from Ouachita Baptist University then went on to Dallas Theological Seminary and received a Master of Theology degree. After graduate school, Charles taught Homiletics and Hermeneutics at Moody Bible Institute for six and a half years. "Coop" (as he likes to be called) is active in declaring, defining, and defending the premillennial prewrath return of Christ. For any questions regarding this project please contact Charles by or phone at Sola Scriptura at Charles Cooperemail- Instructor, Biblical Research & Education, Sola Scriptura, a graduate of Oregon State University, Gary worked at the Embassy in Moscow before attending Western Conservative Baptist Seminary and starting a Christian publishing ministry in Gary Vaterlaus7/11/03 1.

3 18 1 of 3 As an Instructor, Gary responds to correspondence and teaches the prewrath position of the book of RevelationStructure of the book of RevelationA Simple, Face Value Understanding of Prophetic Scriptures" revelation BEGINS"Chapter 1 - PrologueChapter 2 - The Seven Churches, Part 1 Chapter 3 - The Seven Churches, Part 2 Chapter 4 - HeavenChapter 5 - The Large ScrollChapter 6 - The First Six Seals"PARENTHESIS I - RESCUED"Chapter 7 - Deliverance"THE DAY OF THE LORD"Chapter 8 - Seventh Seal Events [Trumpet Judgments 1-4]Chapter 9 - Completion of 70th Week [Trumpet Judgments 5-6]"POST 70TH WEEK EVENTS"Chapter 10 - The Little ScrollChapter 11 - Daniel 9:24 Completed [Trumpet Judgment 7]"PARENTHESIS II - COSMIC CONFLICT HIGHLIGHTED"Chapter 12 - The BeginningChapter 13 - The Beginning of the EndChapter 14 - The End of the BeginningA. Deliverance of the electB. Decree to the wickedC. Destruction of the wicked"THE DESTRUCTION OF ANTICHRIST- THE FINAL WRATH OF GOD"7/11/03 1:18 2 of 3 15 - Prelude to Bowl JudgmentsChapter 16 - Bowl Judgments 1-7"PARENTHESIS III - DESTRUCTION HIGHLIGHTED"Chapter 17 - The Great HarlotChapter 18 - The Great CityChapter 19 - The Great Army"THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST"Chapter 20: 1-6 - The Beginning of the MillenniumChapter 20:7-15 - The End of the Millennium"THE CONCLUSION"Chapter 21 - New Heavens, New Earth, New JerusalemChapter 22 - Epilogue!

4 ! Sola and Developed by Sola Scriptura7/11/03 1:18 3 of 3 !INTRODUCTIONWith the continued growth of the prewrath position comes the need for more resources. Resources that explain how the whole of Scripture supports the prewrath timing of the Lord's return. The request for commentaries on the that explain it from the prewrath perspective has gone largely unanswered. We, therefore, offer this commentary as a temporary stopgap until more exhaustive works can be done. RevelationdynamicThis commentary is in nature because we will be adding to it as time goes by. While we are fairly confident that we understand the big picture, we recognize the need for an on-going STUDY of the many details contained in the . The more we STUDY the pages of this New Testament book , the more we learn. As you work through this commentary, please send us your comments and corrective suggestions. We are committed to an accurate teaching of the Word of God, and as such, we recognize that we do not have all the answers.

5 Therefore, if you have an insight that can be biblically verified, please pass it along to offer no defense of our belief that the recipient of the revelation was John the Apostle; that the date of writing falls near AD 96; that the revelation has epistolary, prophetic, and apocalyptic features, which must influence its interpretation; and that the book is progressive in nature with parenthetical details added for clarification. Where necessary we will comment on the structure of the book to understand the meaning of the text. For those who are interested in matters of background, please consult the first volume of David E. Aune's commentary on in the series. He does a very thorough job on these Biblical Commentary!Next Section: Overview of the book of revelation ! Sola 1:19 PMRevelation Commentary : IntroductionPage 1 of 2 !Previous Section: Introduction!OVERVIEW OF THE book OF REVELATIONThe book of revelation primarily concerns the Second Coming of Christ.

6 His Second Coming will be as judge of the world, unlike the first time when He came to die for mankind's sin. Several hundred years before the Lord came to earth to die on the cross, He communicated through an angelic messenger to Daniel, the prophet, essential information about the end times. The Lord, Himself, as recorded in the Olivet Discourse in the New Testament, taught His disciples more truth about the sequence of events that would lead to the end times and His return. Fifty plus years after the teaching of the Olivet Discourse, Christ, through an angelic messenger, revealed yet more end-time truth to John, information vital for the understanding of the last days. Ultimately, the prophetic truths contained in the book of Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, and the revelation can be traced to our Lord. It is the revelation about Jesus Christ as ultimate Judge, which gives us a synthetic view of both Daniel and the Olivet the first verse of revelation , chapter one, we are told that the contents of the book are written for the bondservants of Christ, the living elect of God who, by definition, must be the true church.

7 In addition, Christ tells John that it is imperative that believers read and heed the message of the book because what will occur in the future is critically important for every child of God going into the last days. John is also instructed to record warnings to seven local churches existing at the time the book of revelation was written. The warnings have both immediate consequences as well as consequences at Christ's Second Coming. Thus, in the last days described in the book of revelation , Christ weaves together three different programs for three different groups of people representing the entirety of mankind in the last days. Obedient and disobedient members of the church, unbelieving Israel, and the world in general compose these three of the warnings to the seven churches have direct, end-time consequences. It is possible that one of the questions on the mind of John, in light of these warnings, concerned what would happen in the last days to those who continued in disobedience or unbelief.

8 Beginning in chapter four, John is taken up into heaven where we, the reader, as is John, are given a marvelous view of the throne of God and the activities that will occur in the last days of human history as we know it. Other than the incredible glory of heaven itself, the focal point is an unopened scroll in the hand of Him who sits on a throne, sealed with seven seals. The question then arises as to who is able to break the seals, and thus permit the conditions necessary to effect the contents of the scroll. Pointing to the Lamb of God, one of the twenty-four elders told John that only the "Lion that is from the tribe of Judah" is worthy to open the scroll. This fact is supported earlier in the New Testament (cf. Acts 17:31). Only Christ has the right to judge the world in the last days because of His death and resurrection as the perfect Lamb of God at His first then begins to chronicle the events that will occur, beginning with the breaking of the seven seals.

9 The seals represent conditions that must first occur before God brings His final judgment upon the world. Christ had already taught His disciples and Daniel that 7/11/03 1:19 PMRevelation Commentary : Overview of the book of RevelationPage 1 of 3 final time of judgment would transpire within the context of the Seventieth Week. When all the prior conditions are met, He will then remove His faithful saints before He pours out His wrath on those who remain during the most prophesied event in all Scripture, the Day of the Lord. This judgment is described by Christ Himself as a judgment that will parallel the judgment of God during the days of Noah, but this last time, as Peter teaches, it will be a judgment by fire, not water!The first six seals are opened by the Lion of Judah, setting the stage for the final judgment of Christ. The fourth seal is broken and the wrath of Satan, through Antichrist, tests mankind in a final attempt to control all that dwell on the earth.

10 The sixth seal is opened and the sign of the Day of the Lord, foretold again and again in the Scriptures, is given. The sun, moon, and stars go dark, which is the sign warning the earth that the wrath of God is about to commence. The faithful within the church that have withstood the attack of Satan and his Antichrist are removed from earth to heaven. Special protection is given to a remnant of Israel that must go through Christ's wrath that is soon to follow. The seventh seal is opened initiating the Day of the Lord, the awesome and oft-predicted wrath of God. At the end of the sixth trumpet judgment, the final seven-year period of end-time events, prophesied by Christ in the book of Daniel, is brought to an end. Only seventy-five days remain before the actual rule of Christ begins on earth over the nation Israel, who, after the completion of the seven-year period, will soon come back into a proper relationship with their now depicts a strong angel coming down out of heaven with a small scroll.