What Are the Interpretive Keys to Unlock the Apocalypse?

I'm sure there will be lots of advice from folks that know much more than I but I would start by a study of the Book of Daniel and Matthew chapter 24.

Another book to have on hand is Things to Come by J. Dwight Pentecost. Pentecost details most of the popular positions.

Beyond that I would say plan on spending a lot of time on this study. Try to take as much literally as possible.

I'm getting ready to do an in-debth study of this book also. I have a commentary which is A-mil (the NICNT), I'm in the process of selecting a companion volume that is pre-mil. I just finished reading Revelation through 2 times and now I'm going back to Daniel before I start my study of this book. I wish you well with your study.

Tom

 

Took the words right out of my mouth!

Also, consider these factoids while doing your study:

1. The Day of the Lord is the Day of the Lord's wrath
2. Wrath is not the same thing as tribulation
3. The great tribulation is cut short

While you can't find out WHEN all the end time things will begin, you can learn a lot about the chronology of events by starting with the Day of the Lord and the signs that accompany it (sun turns black, moon turns to blood), and then working your way backward and forward from that point. You won't need a decoder ring for this. The text plainly says things like, "Immediately after..." For example:

There you have it. Immediately after the distress of those days (the great tribulation, from context), comes the Day of the Lord.

Finally, I suggest you resist all of the symbolizing people do to the text. Don't telescope the Day of the Lord into seven years, for example, as some people do. There's no reason to do that, except to "fix" the Bible to make it say what you want.

 

I'd say start with John MacAurthor

 

A few helps from my experience -- Chapters 1-6, 8-9, 13, 16, 19-22 make up the chronology into which certain events in 7, 10-12, and 14-18 must inserted chronologically.

The horses and riders are man on man judgment -- the trumpets are Satan on man -- the bowls are God on man. The riders are false Christianity ridden by the Pope, Islam ridden by their Mahdi or an imam, Russia ridden by their dictator (Putin?) and Israel ridden by "Death and hell" covenant with AC. They all come against Israel beginning about midtrib (Dan 11:40, re: "prince, KoS, KoN;" Zech 6, re: 4 chariots of horses; and 12-14).

Realize that the 7th judgments are initiated where they appear but are not performed until Rev 16:17-21 and in reverse order since the 7th judgments each include or encompass the subsequent 7.

The white horse rider's trib career is seen in Rev 17 -- his GT career in Rev 13 -- his economic career in Rev 18 (although economic Babylon is not controlled by him until midtrib.

Is "horses" where you are starting?

skypair

 

Btw

Day of the Lord refers to God's dealing with Israel again. There are no DOtL's in the church era because this is the Spirit's era of dealing with believers. Thus, DOtL starts after the unexpected rapture and ends at the end of the MK.

skypair

 

Newspaper prophecy, you mean? Some believers think we are close enough to the last days to actually see the horses. We can see Israel revived (Mt 24:32) for sure and Israel is the key to what transpires in the tribulation. Luke even would have us look at "all the trees," not just the fig tree as we see the end coming.

Then take Zech 10 and see that Israel is "set up" for the end times with the Zech 11:1-3 war coming soon.

Course I realize Revelations is a hard study for Reform types seeing as Israel is "out of God's picture" for good. But there is no mistaking the 144,000 sealed Jews in Rev 12.

LaHaye comes closest to my own eschatology. His book "Charting the End Times" is good.

skypair

 

TC

I've found a wholistic approach to the book that does not sever chapters 1-3 from 4-22 to be helpful. Instead of being caught up in correlating events in the book with news from around the globe, it is better to stand in awe in God's holiness and His promise to set the world aright. This book was written to strengthen churches in their faith and has something to say to us today beyond figuring out which symbols mean which things.

BJ

PS-Beale's commentary is helpful as well as Osborne's.

 

Yeah -- a little bit scarey, eh? I think I saw him and Bob Church discussing how Passover 2007 might be rapture day. Well -- it's come and gone and I couldn't detect their foundation for it anyway.

skypair

 

Books that have been helpful to me on the book of the Revelation are as follows;

The Book of The Revelation by William R. Newell
Exploring Revelation by John Phillips
The Revelation of Jesus Christ by John Walvoord
The Revelation Record by Henry M. Morris
Expository Sermons on Revelation by W.A. Criswell
The Revelation by A.G. Gaebelein
The Revelation by F.W. Grant
Lectures on the Book of Revelation by H. A. Ironside
And about anything by Renald Showers

 

Good advice. His two volumes on the Rev are excellent. I also like Walvoord, of course that tells you my position on Rev. I used to tell people to study Daniel first, now I tell them to study Gen 12, 15, 17 as well as the Land and Davidic Covenants. Any interpretive scheme that sees the church as the new Israel will fail to take literally the many things in Rev that can be taken literally.

 

Re Renald Showers, his easy read "There Really is a Difference" on the future of a literal Israel is very good. Not technical by any means and readily understandable by the average student.