This is a supplementary blog to the previous blog I wrote on
‘Corona-virus COVID 19 from the biblical perspective of end time prophecies.’ I
did mention there that I have given just a glimpse of prophecies regarding end
times prophecies from Revelation (Apocalypse
in Greek) and that details will follow if necessary. Some readers have raised a
few doubts about the prophecies in Apocalypse and I thought I better clarify
these as far as possible.
Apocalypse or Revelation is a difficult book to understand as
it is written mostly in symbolic language with hidden meanings, especially
based on the Jewish apocalyptic writings of intertestamental period.[1]
Still we can unravel certain predominant themes in it. Lot of misunderstood
interpretations have prevailed throughout the ages and today also regarding the
end-time predictions of this book. Let’s see some of these.
After the letters to the seven churches, the narrative passes
on to the heavenly scene where Jesus Christ, the slain Lamb starts to open up
the seven seals of the book lying in the hands of the Almighty God, containing
the end time revelations. The seals contain the opening plagues, which are
suffered both by the believers and the non-believers. Then the judgments become
more serious and deadly, with the seven Trumpet and seven Bowl judgments.
Before the start of these two judgments the believers are sealed by God so they
are protected from these plagues. But they are not protected from the
persecutions that will be launched by the unbelievers who work on behalf of Satan,
which also become more and more severe.
These judgments are sent on the world, to wake up the world
to take notice of the Creator of the world who had put up with millennia of
hard hardheartedness of the people, who have gone after other gods, idols and other
worldly matters like fame, name, money and enjoyment, without a care for God
who had created them. They did not worship the True God and thus invited the
wrath of God on themselves. The plagues sent are the final warning to the
mankind to repent their ways, return to the True God and get protected from
these end- time calamities. ‘Repent and return,’ is the call of God and to
believe his Son, Jesus Christ whom he had sent to the world to die on behalf of
the people to pay for their sin as a sacrifice offered. In his resurrection
there is hope and future for those who believe in him that they will also be
resurrected and inherit eternal life along with him.
The Great Tribulation starts with the seal judgments. Many think
that this will last only for seven years, based on Daniel’s prophecy, at the end
of which Christ will return. What we are sure is that Christ’s return will not happen
until “rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed,” who opposes and exalts
himself taking his seat in the temple of God in Jerusalem and declaring himself
to be God.[2]
This “lawless one,” is the Antichrist who is introduced as the Beast in the Revelation,
who is given the power to rule the earth for 42 months.[3]
The Beast along with his assistant the False Prophet, mislead the world into worshiping
him and persecuting the followers of Christ.[4]
The first thing to clarify is there is no mention of
‘rapture,’ in Revelation and it does not say that believers will escape the
judgments by being taken away before the horrible judgments fall on earth. From
Paul’s writings we know that when Christ comes back with his angles in the cloud
to claim his own in his Second Coming, the dead in Christ will rise first and
then the living believers will be translated to join the Lord in the air.[5]
This is the First Resurrection and the gathering of his saints. Christ returns
to earth only once, and not twice as some claim, once to claim his saints and
then to fight the enemy. When Christ returns, which is called the Second Coming
of Christ, he gathers his saints and also fights the army gathered by Satan at
Armageddon, defeating Satan and the earthly kings who had joined him.[6]
Satan is bound for a thousand years and thrown into the bottomless pit.[7]
With this victory, the Lord Jesus Christ establishes his
millennial rule on earth when he will rule over the people in justice and righteousness.
The saints are with him and rule with him, the Second Death having no claim
over them.[8]
They are not brought before the Great White Throne judgment of God at the end
of the world. The millennial rule is a theme borrowed from the Jewish
apocalyptic writings of the intertestamental period and hence many modern
theologians do not give much importance to it. However as it is written in
John’s Revelation, we need to accept it. It could be precisely thousand years
or indicate a long, long time.
After a thousand years, Satan is released from his prison for
a short time, and he goes around deceiving people of the world and gathering
them again for a fight against God. This is the final battle and there was no
actual fight, for supernaturally fire comes from heavens and destroys the whole
army of Satan’s earthly rulers. This fight is said to be fought in the vicinity
of the holy city, Jerusalem. The defeated Satan is thrown into the lake of fire,
where already his assistants Antichrist and the False Prophet have been thrown in.[9]
The Last Judgment takes place now, called the Great White
Throne Judgment. All the people living then and the dead during the thousand
years rule and those dead who were not resurrected when Christ returned are all
raised and judged here. The books are opened and according to their deeds written
there they will be judged. Those, whose names are not found in the Book of Life
kept by Christ, are all thrown into the lake of fire, where Satan had already been
thrown in. Death and Hades will also be thrown in to the lake of fire as the
last ones to be conquered. With Paul we can ask, “Where, O Death, is your
victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” for death has been swallowed up in
victory, the last enemy of mankind defeated.[10]
This great victory is followed by the passing away of the old
heaven and earth and the coming of new heaven and new earth.[11]
The holy city of Jerusalem descends from heaven as a bride dressed for her
groom, the city itself being the people of God and the bride, and Christ being the
groom. Both God and Christ will live with the redeemed people there.[12]
The Tree of Life will be there in the middle and people are free to eat of its
fruits.[13]
What a blessing! It is ‘Paradise Regained’[14]
literally, for Adam and Eve after their disobedience had been driven out of
Paradise so that they could not pluck the fruit of the Tree of Life and live
forever in that fallen, sinful state.[15]
Now the redeemed descendants of Adam are free to roam around in Paradise and
eat the fruits of the Tree of Life! What a privilege!
Finally in Revelation Christ says, “See, I am coming soon; my
reward is with me,” which is the eternal life, access to the Tree of Life and
the privilege of spending eternity in the presence of God and his Son, Jesus
Christ. His coming is nearing, it is almost at the door, as I had shown in the
previous blog; are you ready to receive him? Can you say along with the writer
of Revelation, “Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!”
[1]
The time between the Old Testament books and the start of the New Testament
books, roughly 400 years – from Malachi to Matthew’s Gospel.
[2] 2 Thessalonians
2:3-4
[3] Revelation
13:1-5
[4] Revelation
13:11-15
[5] 1
Thessalonians 4:16-17
[6]
Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:19-21
[7]
Revelation 20:1-3
[8]
Revelation 20:6
[9]
Revelation 20:7-10; 19:20
[10] 1
Corinthians 15:54-55
[11]
Revelation 21:1
[12]
Revelation 21:2, 3
[13]
Revelation 22:2
[14] John
Milton, Paradise Regained, Bibliotech,
reprint, 2018
[15]
Genesis 3:22-22
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