Revelation and Bible Prophecy

1 1 Revelation and Bible Prophecy A Comparison of Eschatological Views: Dispensationalism and Preterism Major Keywords: Heaven, Hell, christ s Second Coming, End Times, Rapture, Revelation , Prophecy , Eschatology, Dispensationalism, Preterism, Apologetics Search for Keywords, Phrases, or Bible Verses in this Book ( , place of the dead or life of Joseph or Job 19:25-27 or Matthew 24:15 ) using the PDF find or search feature on your computer. Date of Last Update: January 14, 2022 Author: Ed Knorr, PhD Table of Contents Introduction.

2 2 Chapter 1: General Topics in Prophecy .. 33 Chapter 2: Heaven and Hell .. 219 Chapter 3: The Mystery of the Church; the Church and Israel .. 286 Chapter 4: The Rapture .. 301 Chapter 5: The Bema Judgment Seat of christ .. 366 Chapter 6: The Magog Invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 .. 382 Chapter 7: The Temple .. 418 Chapter 8: The Olivet 445 Chapter 9: The Tribulation (the 70th Week of Daniel) and the Antichrist .. 486 Chapter 10: Revelation .. 556 Chapter 11: Babylon .. 658 Chapter 12: The Battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming .. 675 Chapter 13: The Millennium.

3 692 Chapter 14: The Eternal State .. 739 References .. 757 2 Introduction Eschatology is the study of last things or the end times ; but implicit with that is a new beginning: the future Millennium and the Eternal State, and both involve people and the earth. The word eschatology is derived from the Greek word eschatos meaning last . This book is about a fascinating debate going on in evangelical Christian circles regarding the book of Revelation and other books of the Bible that have eschatological themes.

4 We will take a big picture approach to see the purpose and goal of Bible Prophecy , but we ll also go into detail as we explore prophetic passages from almost every one of the 66 books of the Bible . The pieces of the prophetic puzzle will gradually snap into place. It will be shown that saved persons of all ages past will get resurrected (real) bodies, and will forever enjoy the new heavens and new earth ( Revelation 21-22) and before that, the millennial /Kingdom reign of Jesus christ on earth, where the world will experience tremendous prosperity, peace, justice, and righteousness with no more war ( Revelation 20, and many other Bible verses from both the old testament and the New testament ).

5 If you re interested, keep reading! God has a personal interest in you. In my opinion, the eschatological model that is the most consistent with the Bible is the dispensationalist (futurist) one. This view states that most of the events described in the book of Revelation are in the future. It interprets Scripture literally, wherever possible. Furthermore, many future events in the old testament including passages from the books of Daniel, Zechariah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc. line up with key passages in the book of Revelation .

6 In fact, from Genesis to Revelation , the books of the Bible fit together wonderfully to provide a complete panorama of human history, including God s future plans for mankind. An opposing viewpoint that has gained some popularity is the partial preterist position. The word preterist in Latin means past . Preterists believe that most, or all, of the events in the book of Revelation have already taken place, with most preterists applying the fulfillment mainly to 65-70 AD (with 70 AD being the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple); however, a second camp within preterism views prophetic fulfillments in both the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the fall of Rome in the 5th century [Pate, 1998].

7 The preterist viewpoint implies that many key prophecies need to be understood symbolically rather than literally because many prophecies are written in apocalyptic language ( , a genre that makes use of hyperbole and symbolism). This book will give the best arguments for both preterism and dispensationalism. I believe that the evidence greatly favors the dispensationalist position. This view best harmonizes the Scriptures, facts, and doctrines. It is supported by archeological and historical evidence confirming past fulfillments of Prophecy ; consequently, we have strong reasons to believe that unfulfilled Prophecy will also be fulfilled.

8 Just as the first coming of Jesus christ the Messiah ( , the Anointed One, the Son of God) was literal, so will be the Second Coming. 3 This book addresses questions about the Bible such as: Is the book of Revelation to be taken literally? Is Revelation mostly historical or is it mostly about the future? Is the Antichrist mentioned in 1 John 2:18 a real human being who will appear on the world stage prior to the Second Coming of Jesus christ ? Will there be a cashless society? Will there be a pretribulational rapture?

9 Is the 70th Week of Daniel that was prophesied circa 540 BC a literal 7-year Tribulation period immediately preceding the return of Jesus christ ? Could this happen in our lifetime? On the doctrine of imminence (Latin: any moment ): could christ rapture (remove) and translate (to glorified bodies) the Church at any time? What does an end times timeline or Revelation timeline look like? Is a European superpower part of a revived Roman Empire described in the book of Daniel? Is the Antichrist the world s final Gentile leader?

10 Will there be a literal, 1,000-year Millennium, when Jesus christ physically rules and reigns on Earth, and the Earth is greatly transformed? Is Satan imprisoned during the Millennium, and then released at the end of the 1,000 years prior to his final attack on Jerusalem? Is hell a real place? Is Heaven a real place? Will we have real bodies upon resurrection? What happens after we die? The word Revelation comes from the Greek word meaning to reveal . Prophecy is not written to scare us; but, rather, to prepare us [Hindson, 2012b].