By Marvin J. Rosenthal
Gift From God
For this hour of history, it is perhaps the most important book in the world. Some may challenge this assessment. I think they would be wrong.
- Without this book, we would be in darkness.
- Without this book, humanity’s existence would be like a story without an ending – a novel without a last chapter – a discordant, unfinished symphony of life.
That such a book exists which can accurately speak to us concerning the end of the age before the end of the age comes to pass, makes it among humanity’s greatest treasures.
Unfortunately, few understand its worth. It is not a gift from the “gods”; it is a gift from the one true God of the universe. Understanding the content of this book becomes increasingly critical as a growing number of indicators strongly suggest the earth is rocketing toward its end.
To understand the book to which I am referring and to embrace its precepts is the height of wisdom. To ignore it is the height of folly.
Tragically, the book – apart from its title – is unfamiliar to most, scoffed at by many, and understood by very few. Even Christians have often joined the bandwagon of opposition. Some commentators have called the book unintelligible, while others have made it a playground for their religious eccentricities.
No less a scholar than Martin Luther and the great reformer Ulrich Zwingli strongly denounced the book’s relevance and declared it had no place in the Bible. Another commentator suggested that the study of the book in question either finds or leaves the student mad.
Book of Light
No wonder the popular perception is that it is a book to be feared and shunned – a book of deep secrets, great darkness, and inscrutable mysteries. Unfortunately, such views are a major distortion of the reality. The book itself claims to be an “unveiling” with the intent that we understand its truth.
There is even a promise of divine blessing for those who heed its message, which obviously requires that we understand its message. I believe those who heed its message – when the events it depicts come to pass – will be blessed as promised.
It is, for some, a book of gloominess and darkness; however, it is for others a book of hope and incomparable light. It all comes down to perspective. For those in the dark and without Christ or hope in the world, it is a fearful book. For those in the light and with certain hope of eternal victory through Christ, it is a glorious book.
It is two more things. First, it is a final wake-up call for those who are in the darkness to come to the One who is the Light of the World before time runs out and righteous judgment falls on a godless world. And second, it is a warning to some who call themselves Christian but who are “tip-toeing through the tulips,” to stop playing at Christianity and get about the Lord’s business.
Satan wants desperately to keep men and women from the book because it details his crushing defeat and Christ’s total, unconditional victory at His coming.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, speaking to a joint session of Congress, gave his countrymen some good advice. He said: “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.”
He was, of course, speaking of our nation. His comment, however, has direct application for individuals. The Book of Genesis tells us where we are; the Book of Revelation – to which I have been repeatedly alluding – tells us where we are heading.
Genesis is the book of beginnings. It tells us of God, the human race, Satan, sin, and redemption. Without its teaching, humanity would morally be little different than the monkey in the forest swinging in the tree.
Revelation is the book of endings. Without its testimony detailing the events of the glorious triumph of Christ at the end of the age, humanity would be without hope in the world.
Various Viewpoints
Through the centuries some have attempted to explain the meaning of the Book of Revelation. The fruit of their labor has been dramatically uneven. Some attempts were fanciful and provided little helpful insight into the text. Others have built their interpretations on flawed foundations.
Most modern commentaries on Revelation early on tell their readers that there are at least four different ways to interpret the book.
The first is called the symbolic view. This view teaches that Revelation is not to be understood literally and that it has nothing to do with biblical prophecy. It is simply a vague symbolic portrait of the cosmic conflict of the ages. The only thing this view reveals is that those who champion it know nothing about the book upon which they are commentating.
The second is called the preterist view. This view takes its name from the Latin word praeter which means “past,” and use of that word in the title communicates the position’s major emphasis. For preterists, the Book of Revelation is about the “past.” It is primarily a book about history and not prophecy. It is, according to its advocates, largely, a history of the Roman persecution of the Church in the 1st century.
The third is called the historical view. This view interprets Revelation as a panoramic history of the Church and Western Europe from the 1st century and extending all the way to the second coming of Christ. It sees Revelation as a forecaster of history through various popes, the rise of Islam, the Protestant Reformation, and the French Revolution. In its vain attempt to have the Book of Revelation foretell history, it even attempts to identify Western political rulers such as Charlemagne and Mussolini. The historical approach to the Book of Revelation requires a fanciful imagination and an inclination to want to put a lot of square pegs into round holes.
The fourth is called the futurist view. This view normally interprets Chapters 4 through 22 as prophetic, as the book itself repeatedly asserts (Revelation 1:3; 19:10; 22:7; 22:10; 22:18-19). There are occasional glances backward, but they are always for the purpose of giving background for the prophetic event under discussion.
These chapters, according to futurists, describe literal events directly associated with Christ’s second coming during the 70th Week of Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27).
From among these four approaches, the futurist view alone is built upon a consistent, normative, hermeneutical (the principles and laws of biblical interpretation), and exegetical (getting out of a biblical text what it literally means) approach to Scripture.
This view understands that Revelation is a book of signs and symbols. However, it also understands that behind the signs and symbols is literal truth. The Book of Revelation is prophetic in nature and unveils the coming of the Son of God in power and glory.
The purpose of His coming will be to resurrect those who have died in Christ; deliver by rapture those made righteous through faith in Christ; judge this sinful, rebellious age during what the Bible repeatedly calls the Day of the Lord; defeat Satan and the Antichrist; and usher in a glorious age to follow.
Its Name
“Revelation” is the translation of the Greek word apokolypsis (the transliteration into English is the more familiar “apocalypse”) and comes from two Greek words. The first is apo which means “away from” and kalupsis which means a “veiling.” Taken together apokolypsis literally means “away from veiling” or as we would say, “an unveiling.”
It is an unveiling of the Son of God in infinite power and glory. It is not the unveiling of Christ as the Lamb as at His first coming; it is the unveiling of Christ as the Lion of Judah at His second coming.
It is not an unveiling of Christ in grace; it is an unveiling of Christ in glory. It is not an unveiling of Christ coming down the Mount of Olives on a donkey; it is an unveiling of Christ coming with the clouds on a white horse and with a two-edged sword and angelic army.
It is not an unveiling of Christ being unrighteously judged by Satan and wicked humanity; it is an unveiling of Christ righteously judging Satan and wicked humanity. It is not an unveiling of Christ turning the world upside down; it is an unveiling of Christ turning the world right-side up.
His unveiling, or “revelation,” will bring about what Luke called the “restoration” of all things (Acts 3:21). His apocalypse (unveiling) will not tell a story of “paradise lost” but of paradise gloriously restored to what it was in the Garden of Eden before the advent of sin. Once totally purged of the defilement of sin there will be a New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ is our Savior, Lord, and King. He is altogether wonderful. Should we, then, not be thrilled beyond description with the book that unveils Him rolling up His sleeves, going to war, defeating all enemies, righting all the wrongs of history, establishing a truly golden age on Earth, and in the doing display his intrinsic, eternal, perfections?
The answer is obvious!
Marv Rosenthal, founder and President of Zion’s Hope, was an acclaimed international Bible teacher for almost 6 decades.
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