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CONNIE: If you really understand the prophecies of Revelation, will you be able to predict exactly what will happen next month? Or does the Bible’s last book reveal something even more important than tomorrow’s news?

Giving God’s trumpet a Certain Sound for more than 70 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I’m Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I’m Lonnie Melashenko. Today we’re focusing our attention on the book of Revelation once again—particularly on the great prophecies of Revelation.

CONNIE: Lonnie, as a Christian, you can hardly help but hear a lot of different views on Revelation. It seems like every week someone comes along with a new idea—or a new date they’ve calculated for the end of the world—based on something they found in Revelation. But is that really how we’re supposed to use the book?

LONNIE: I think it’s important to study Revelation, but to always remember that it’s a “Revelation of Jesus Christ.” And some people miss that point. They focus on the beasts or the women or the angels of Revelation. But the focus is supposed to be on Jesus.

CONNIE: You’ll be taking us on a tour of the great prophetic messages found in Revelation in a few minutes, I know. But before you share that message, let’s listen in on a conversation Ken Wade had with Dr. Jon Paulien of Andrews University regarding the prophecies of Revelation in relation to the rest of the Bible.

KEN: Today I want to welcome Dr. Jon Paulien, the chairman of the New Testament department at Andrews University, welcome to our program.

JON: Good to be with you Ken.

KEN: Revelation is kind of the summing up of the Bible, I suppose you could say.

JON: Yes, that’s a nice way to put it. People are probably familiar that prior to the New Testament part of the Bible there were many prophesies in what some Christians called the Old Testament, or the Hebrew scriptures, and these play a central role in the book of Revelation. In fact some of these books, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zachariah, as much as 10% of these books are sited in some form or another in the book of Revelation.

KEN: That’s amazing! You can see a lot of references back to the Old Testament there.

JON: Absolutely! I would estimate anywhere between 600 and 2000 different references in the book. The reason why it can be difficult to determine a number is because he usually does it by illusion, to the word, a hint, a phrase. There’s no question that the book of Revelation comes across as sort of a climax to biblical prophecy and builds on the prophecies that came before, including the prophecies that Jesus gave when He walked the earth.

KEN: Now, what type of prophecy, if you were to categorize this, is Revelation?

JON: There does seem to be two major types of prophecy in the Old Testament. One of those is prophecy of immediacy; I think of the Day of the Lord prophecies for example, in the Old Testament prophets, where the prophet would talk about the future as if it was right at hand, and he would speak to immediate situations, yet it was clear that aspects of that were pointing on to a later time, so that’s one type. Another type found in the book of Daniel is a historical type, where there is a sequence of events running from that prophet’s time, right to the end. Now, scholars who study Revelation say that aspects of both types sort of blend together in this chapter, and one has to be sensitive in Revelation as to what type of these prophecies is to be more relevant.

KEN: Usually we see it called apocalyptic prophecy, but there’s an element of both in there then.

JON: That’s right. The book of Revelation opens up with the phrase, “The Apocalypse of Jesus”, but then in the first few verses it talks about this prophecy and then about John being a prophet.

KEN: What about the structure? We’re talking about the prophecies of Revelation today, but what’s the center, what is the most central part of the book of Revelation?

JON: When most of us are used to books written today, we think of the climax coming at the end, but in the Hebrew style of writing the climax often comes at the center, it’s kind of like an ABA style instead of an ABC style like we have in western culture. And the ABA style is sort of like a pyramid where the very center of the book can be the climax, and what comes after sort of repackages what came earlier in the book which then highlights that central part. In Revelation that center seems to be chapters 12-14. In fact, I know a couple of Catholic professors who feel that the very center of that center is the three angel’s message.

KEN: That’s very interesting, because one of the major beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventist church is the three angels’ messages. What’s the core of that then?

JON: Interesting point, because in the part about the three angels’ message, there’s one point to me that stands out as sort of the core of it all, the center of the center, and that is verse 7c, the part that says, “Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of waters.” In this section of the book of Revelation you have a beast and you have another from the land, and you have a dragon, and they’re sort of counterfeiting the work of God in this final crisis of earth’s history. Seven times there’s a command to worship the beast, or worship the image that he sets up, so you can see this call for a counterfeit to God being really central to this part. One time in this whole section is there a time called to worship God and that’s in the section 14:7, that call to worship God is then the key term in the book. So no matter how much you have trumpets, plagues, blood and violence, the key to the book is really calling the reader to put God first in their lives, and that the mighty work of God in the end will be the thing that matters.

KEN:I think that is a good point to end this on, and I think that the central focus here is that we keep our eyes on God, and that in the end He and no one else is in control, thanks again very much for being here.

JON: Thanks Ken.

CONNIE: Amen! Beautiful music from the American Boy choir.

LONNIE: That’s right. I love to hear those young voices singing God’s praises.

CONNIE: I do too. And if you’d like to know more about any of the music you hear on our broadcast, we encourage you to visit our web page at VOP.COM. You’ll find a wealth of resources there—materials you can use in your own sermons and talks, Bible study guides, news about upcoming Voice of Prophecy events, and much more.

LONNIE: For those of you interested in Bible prophecy, we have something brand new there on the web page. It’s our Focus on Prophecy course, in a form that you can study it right on the Worldwide Web, from anywhere in the world.

CONNIE: This beautifully illustrated course focuses on the great prophecies of both Daniel and Revelation, and you can study it either on the web, or via correspondence, right in your own home.

LONNIE: Next time you’re on the Internet, check out the web version at VOP.COM, or if you prefer, you can write to us at Voice of Prophecy, Box 53055, Los Angeles, 90053, and ask to be enrolled in the Prophecy Speaks course through the mail. From Canada, you can write to Box 2127, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 7V4.

CONNIE: We’ll give those addresses again in a few minutes, so you might want to get something to write on. But right now, it’s time to listen to Lonnie’s message for today: Great Prophecies of Revelation.

Great Prophecies of Revelation

Revelation. The very word has a mystique about it—doesn’t it? It implies that something important is about to be revealed—unveiled—opened up to our vision for the first time. And as we look today at the great prophecies of the last book of the Bible—the book of Revelation—I want to be sure you keep one thing in focus.

The book introduces itself as the revelation OF Jesus Christ. And it’s important to remember that. Because there are a lot of images that come up in the book—a lot of problems and opponents of Jesus Christ are unveiled here. But the focus of the book is on Jesus. So, as we look at the great prophecies of the book, we need to keep our eyes scanning the horizon to see Jesus behind the scenes in all of imagery.

It’s troublesome to realize just how far off the real topic you can end up being if you lose sight of Jesus.

We get all kinds of correspondence here in our office, and just recently—in August of 2003—we received an unsolicited email from a man who felt compelled to share his interpretation of what Revelation predicted would happen—all within that 31 days of the month of August. Now, when you listen to this program, which is slated to air after August is long gone, you’ll be able to check how many of his predications came true. Here’s just a sampling:

There will be nuclear war somewhere in the world.

Millions of people all over the world will die suddenly from unexplained causes.

The U. S. federal government will go into hiding.

Because of gas shortages trains will be the only means of long-distance transportation.

Europe will be overrun by gangs.

And the list goes on, pointing to millions of deaths for various reasons.

I’m not sure where in Revelation our correspondent got his ideas, but he’s certainly not the first person to think he’s found some startling news in Revelation that needs to be shared with the world.

But was that the intention of the apostle John when he penned these words? I don’t think so.

Yes, there are passages in the book that point to imminent doom for sinners. There are passages about the judgments of God being poured out. But there’s much more as well.

As Dr. Jon Paulien pointed out in our interview segment today, the center of Revelation is found in chapters 12 through 14, and the key messages are there as well.

But let’s take a moment to consider some of the other prophecies as well—and how they’re presented.

When you sit down to read the book, one of the first things you’ll encounter is a series of seven letters addressed to churches in the old Roman province of Asia—in the country we know as Turkey today.

And you might think at first glance that these letters aren’t even part of the prophecies of Revelation. They seem like something addressed to the situation current at the very time the book was written. What do they have to do with the future?

Well, for many years scholars have recognized that the seven churches or Revelation are addressed in the order you would encounter them in if you took a trip on the Roman postal road.

In other words, the list is sequential. And with that in mind, you can read into those letters the characteristics of the church in various stages of its development. Beginning with Ephesus and its “first-love” experience and concluding with Laodicea, which has grown lukewarm in its relationship to God. If you heard our interview with David Kinamon of Barna Research on a recent program, you may remember that he commented that Christians today tend to be much less committed to the church than they were in the past. Church is a pastime, or optional an event in our calendar, rather than a commitment. That reflects the status of the Laodicean Church—at the end of time, just before Jesus returns.

So, even in these letters we can see some of the great prophecies of Revelation.

There’s a whole series of sevens in Revelation.

There are seven seals, then seven trumpets, then seven plagues. Seven angels, seven thunders, seven lamp stands, seven heads, seven Spirits.

Most scholars consider the series of seven seals, found in chapters 6 through 8 to be another of Revelation’s predictions of what would happen in the world during the Christian era. That’s because in Revelation 4 and 5, you have John invited up to heaven to see what’s going on there in his day. First of all he sees God seated on His throne and sees the various angels, elders, and living creatures that inhabit the throne room. Then John sees a scroll sealed with seven seals in God’s hand. And the question goes out to all of heaven—can anyone open the scroll?

The answer at first is “No.” But then someone says “See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5, NRSV).

Now, Bible students quickly recognize this as a reference to Jesus Christ. He has conquered, and that enables Him to unroll the scroll and see what’s inside.

This is highly significant symbolic language. What is it that Jesus has done that earns Him the right to open this particular scroll?

The question is quickly answered when John turns and, instead of seeing a Lion as predicted, he sees “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” standing by the throne of God (Revelation 6:6, NIV).

Aha! You say. Obviously another reference to Jesus—the Lamb of God who was slain in order to provide forgiveness for our sins.

That’s right. But what many people don’t realize when they think about Jesus’ sacrifice is that His death on the cross did more than just make forgiveness for my individual sins available. The cross of Calvary is truly the crossroads of all of history. It’s the crucial point at which the future of the world was decided.

If God had not given His only begotten Son to die for the sins of the world, the world itself would have died instead. And all of life on it. History could not have gone on. Only the willing death of Jesus to provide grace and forgiveness made it possible for life to go on.

So, when the Lamb steps forward to take the scroll and open its seals, we see portrayed symbolically exactly what happened at Calvary.

By His death Jesus bought the future of the world.

He purchased the right to open the scroll that would reveal what would happen after Calvary.

And so the next three chapters of Revelation become one of the great prophetic passages in the book. Unveiling to the prophet’s eyes the broad brush strokes of what would come next. Study these chapters with a history book in hand, and you can see how their predictions of what was future in John’s day have now become a part of the history of the world.

Following the opening of the seven seals, we have the seven angels with trumpets, and many scholars believe that these prophecies narrow the focus of the prophetic telescope to zero in on events that would happen in the last days of earth’s history—so the seven trumpet blasts of Revelation 8 through 11 form another of the great prophetic passages of the book.

But as Dr. Paulien so aptly pointed out, Revelation moves toward the center. And the greatest prophetic passages in this great book are found in chapters 12 through 14.

Chapter 12 begins by revealing why there is so much conflict in the world today:

“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars” (verse 1, NKJV).

And as soon as he sees this woman—who represents the people of God—he also sees “another sign . . . in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads” (verse 3, NKJV).

Well, you can just guess that wherever you have a beautiful young maiden thrown together with a fiery red dragon, there’s going to be trouble. Conflict. Warfare. And in fact, we read in verses 7-9 that “war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (NKJV).

This passage symbolically explains so much about the root of all our problems here on earth. It all began up in heaven when Satan rebelled against God. When he was cast out of heaven, it wasn’t long before he landed down here and started tempting Adam and Eve. And because Adam surrendered His control of the planet to the devil, it’s been trouble ever since.

Revelation 12-14 has many other symbols as well, and we don’t have time to look at all of them. But what I want you to notice about these chapters that are central to the message of Revelation is how they conclude. Let’s look at Revelation 14:14, 15.

“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe’ ” (NKJV).

Now, that may sound a little scary—someone coming after the earth with a sickle! But in reality it’s good news. In fact some of the best news ever. Because it means that it’s time for Jesus to return and harvest the wheat—take His people home to live with Him for ever.
Now, who could call that bad news—except, of course, someone who wasn’t ready!

But the best news is that He’s waiting right now for all of us to commit our lives to Him, to let Him make us ready for that great day.

There are many more pictures, many more prophecies in Revelation—we won’t have time to look at all of them today. But there’s one we mustn’t miss. One that’s a precious promise for everyone who will let the Savior come into his or her heart and prepare them to be a part of this glorious scene:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ ” (Revelation 21:1-4, NIV).

The book of Revelation is chuckle-block full of great prophecies. Why not get it out and read it again today. And as you read, be sure to remember. The focus is on Jesus and His plan to return and restore all things to the way they should be.

And the focus is also on you. And Jesus’ plea to you that you would come to Him—day by day, moment by moment, and let Him prepare you to live with Him for ever!