Four Reasons we need to completely Rethink the book of Revelations
I've never been one for end-times doom and gloom. My gut-feeling has always been that the so-called rapture is pure fiction. In fact if you look at those who truly champion the Rapture theology, they have a strange and obsessive focus on the judgement fire of Hell rather than the Grace and Truth and Kingdom of Jesus Christ. That should sound alarm bells in your heart...
But no matter what your eschatology views maybe - I do not offer one here - there seems to be a lot of evidence in my opinion that we are completely misreading the Book of Revelations. Here's why in just a few quick points:
This is the foundation of Revelations. It is a message for the body of believers in Yeshua the Messiah to wake from their slumber, to open their spiritual eyes and understand the heart of the Lord. Most in the Church just skip this part! It needs far, far more attention because this is speaking of our condition today even though they were written 2000 years ago.
Is it a rebuke? Yes. Is it a condemnation? Absolutely not. These are some of Jesus' last words and they are solemn but they are all given out of His Exceedingly Abundant and Endless LOVE for us. They are given for us to experience the Kingdom of Heaven and do His will today.
We need to listen carefully to His words and not be afraid to Repent. Repentance is only sometimes about sin, but it is always about the root cause of sin which is our belief that we must provide for ourselves rather than rely on God. Repentance is just letting go of your of self-sufficiency and this requires a serious heart and mind change. Repent = Reform = Renew your Mind/Heart = letting of of self-sufficiency.
The Scroll had a very strong significance to John, an Israelite and Jew. There are many instances of this in the Bible, including the story of the Shunnamite woman who helped Elisha and Ruth. Essentially, if for one reason or another a property that belongs to someone is sold to one outside the family, then a Title Deed for that land, or scroll was written, with several seals (as they write, they would roll up one part, seal it and keep writing and then seal it again, etc). The scroll had to be written on two sides - one side describing the property and its purchase and the other describing what had to be done to redeem it. (I have not studied this in depth yet others have written of this).
Now there was a law that if a redeemer (ga-al in Hebrew) who meets certain qualifications is found, than the land can be redeemed back to its original owners. Essentially, this redeemer could take the scroll and unseal it restoring the deed back to the original owners.
Now, think a little on cosmic terms, like for example, how Adam forfeited our good and green Earth by doing what he did. That Scroll is the Title Deed of Earth, and Adam just handed it over straight into the hands of the Enemy. Alas! But look what happens...
In Rev 5 John sees this Scroll. It is somehow in the Hands of the Father and yet no one was found to open it and that is why John weeps. He was weeping because it essentially seals the ownership of the land (the world) to the Enemy! But then John is told not to weep for the Lamb of God was found to be worthy! And look at how the praise of Jesus results, look at what is sung exactly:
This is a major clue that what we are reading is a spiritual representation of the Redemption of the world unto Jesus as opposed to a book talking about plagues that God sends to punish the peoples. Again, I offer this humbly... the book of Revelations is in my opinion a book that is only now being Revealed for what it really is, a book of Redemption not Judgment.
As Jesus opens the Seals, there is a description of what (possibly) has already been happening to earth as a result of Adam's sin and giving the Title Deed of the World to Satan. And Jesus' opening them is to undo them! As Jesus opens each Seal, we see what the Seal was enclosing - in other words, it reveals the work of the Enemy in stealing, destroying and killing the earth (see John 10:10) So in this whole vision of the Seals, we see Jesus showing us what the result of the curse is and then His intention to redeem the earth. Look here...
As I was reading these Seals, and looking at the result (not what causes them but what is the actual result of these seals and then later the trumpets) I realized that these things are happening and have been happening for so long.
Today we stand in a world that has been nearly destroyed. Even from just 30 years ago, the Amazon forest is unrecognizable, entire species have been extinct because of the curse like never before in the history of mankind, the health of the seas, oceans and freshwater lakes are in peril, skies are so darkened from pollution that they block out the noon day sun and people suffocate, wars have killed huge proportions of humanity (WWI and WWII killed 200,000,000 and this was at a time when the population of the world was what, 1 or 2 billion?... That's 10 to 20%!!!), diseases plague mankind, natural disasters abound... friends, this is not the work of God, this is the work of the Enemy. And it is perfectly described in the Book of Revelations (see Rev 6-11).
True, for some of these things we see Angels unleashing them. There are things I can not explain... yet! But what I know now and what you also can so easily see is that these things have already been happening.
You know a while ago I had a prophetic revelation if you will. I realized that a garbage crisis of enormous and unprecedented proportions that was occurring in my country was the result of a spirit of corruption and uncleanness. What I found interesting was that the Lord showed me that it was a spiritual, unclean force that was manifesting in the country, in our realm, as garbage, pollution and the entire crises. Of course, the sins of the people have made such a spirit so strong and vice versa. But keep this possibility in mind as you read the following - things that exist in the spirit realm manifest very tangibly in our realm.
John saw the visions he did while he was "in the Spirit". When you read this book you immediately take it at face value. A star falls on earth called "Wormwood" (Rev 8:11) - aha! this is planet Nibiru! No, no, no... look, "wormwood" means "curse" (laa'nah in the native Hebrew of John). That was a symbol of a curse falling to the earth (read Deut 28).
Or consider the locusts, wow these guys are super scary (Rev 9:3). I believe this is spiritual vision through and through and each detail that John saw about these locusts is symbolic of something. I do not know yet what it is, but I'm pressing forward to discover it's meaning from a position of rest (that's the paradox of Jesus' ways). Yet though I do not know what the locusts and their symbolic details represent, I do know the result is the torment of many humans who would prefer to die than live. Is this a spirit of suicide? Or is it something more subtle? Or is this describing truly an apocalyptic phenomenon? Hey, maybe it will be literal.
The fact is, it can be both. But why is it still so unclear? It is unclear because the lens we are looking through is not the right one. We are looking at Revelations like a book of Judgment when it is a book of Redemption! I suspect as we look closer through the lens of Redemption we will uncover one amazing Revelation about Revelations after an another!
In the meantime, it's time we opened our eyes. In the Book of Revelations there are certain forces that have a spiritual significance that cause destruction, pain and death on all living creatures and the earth itself. If you don't believe me take a look at this video and this article (this is today's news) after reading this verse:
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Where the corpse is, their the vultures gather. Luke 17:37
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| Photo by Jason Wong on Unsplash; text by DR |
1) The Message of Jesus to the Church is the Main Thing - Be single minded, Renew your Mind
This is the foundation of Revelations. It is a message for the body of believers in Yeshua the Messiah to wake from their slumber, to open their spiritual eyes and understand the heart of the Lord. Most in the Church just skip this part! It needs far, far more attention because this is speaking of our condition today even though they were written 2000 years ago.
Is it a rebuke? Yes. Is it a condemnation? Absolutely not. These are some of Jesus' last words and they are solemn but they are all given out of His Exceedingly Abundant and Endless LOVE for us. They are given for us to experience the Kingdom of Heaven and do His will today.
As many as I love, I do convict and chasten; be zealous, then, and repent [or reform]. Rev 3:19
We need to listen carefully to His words and not be afraid to Repent. Repentance is only sometimes about sin, but it is always about the root cause of sin which is our belief that we must provide for ourselves rather than rely on God. Repentance is just letting go of your of self-sufficiency and this requires a serious heart and mind change. Repent = Reform = Renew your Mind/Heart = letting of of self-sufficiency.
2) The Scroll that Jesus opened is first about Redemption not Judgment
The Scroll had a very strong significance to John, an Israelite and Jew. There are many instances of this in the Bible, including the story of the Shunnamite woman who helped Elisha and Ruth. Essentially, if for one reason or another a property that belongs to someone is sold to one outside the family, then a Title Deed for that land, or scroll was written, with several seals (as they write, they would roll up one part, seal it and keep writing and then seal it again, etc). The scroll had to be written on two sides - one side describing the property and its purchase and the other describing what had to be done to redeem it. (I have not studied this in depth yet others have written of this).
Now there was a law that if a redeemer (ga-al in Hebrew) who meets certain qualifications is found, than the land can be redeemed back to its original owners. Essentially, this redeemer could take the scroll and unseal it restoring the deed back to the original owners.
Now, think a little on cosmic terms, like for example, how Adam forfeited our good and green Earth by doing what he did. That Scroll is the Title Deed of Earth, and Adam just handed it over straight into the hands of the Enemy. Alas! But look what happens...
In Rev 5 John sees this Scroll. It is somehow in the Hands of the Father and yet no one was found to open it and that is why John weeps. He was weeping because it essentially seals the ownership of the land (the world) to the Enemy! But then John is told not to weep for the Lamb of God was found to be worthy! And look at how the praise of Jesus results, look at what is sung exactly:
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book [scroll], and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Rev 5:19So why am I writing all this? Because the act of Jesus opening the seals is not an act that unleashes judgment but that executes REDEMPTION!
This is a major clue that what we are reading is a spiritual representation of the Redemption of the world unto Jesus as opposed to a book talking about plagues that God sends to punish the peoples. Again, I offer this humbly... the book of Revelations is in my opinion a book that is only now being Revealed for what it really is, a book of Redemption not Judgment.
3) The Book of Revelations describes what has been happening - not only what will happen!
As Jesus opens the Seals, there is a description of what (possibly) has already been happening to earth as a result of Adam's sin and giving the Title Deed of the World to Satan. And Jesus' opening them is to undo them! As Jesus opens each Seal, we see what the Seal was enclosing - in other words, it reveals the work of the Enemy in stealing, destroying and killing the earth (see John 10:10) So in this whole vision of the Seals, we see Jesus showing us what the result of the curse is and then His intention to redeem the earth. Look here...
And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.” Rev 21:5Each Seal uncovers a calamity of earth. The four horsemen (no where does it say these came from heaven) bring about political conquest and intrigues, war, famine, death, persecution of the church, further destruction and finally death of humans and the loss of so much life of the earth.
As I was reading these Seals, and looking at the result (not what causes them but what is the actual result of these seals and then later the trumpets) I realized that these things are happening and have been happening for so long.
Today we stand in a world that has been nearly destroyed. Even from just 30 years ago, the Amazon forest is unrecognizable, entire species have been extinct because of the curse like never before in the history of mankind, the health of the seas, oceans and freshwater lakes are in peril, skies are so darkened from pollution that they block out the noon day sun and people suffocate, wars have killed huge proportions of humanity (WWI and WWII killed 200,000,000 and this was at a time when the population of the world was what, 1 or 2 billion?... That's 10 to 20%!!!), diseases plague mankind, natural disasters abound... friends, this is not the work of God, this is the work of the Enemy. And it is perfectly described in the Book of Revelations (see Rev 6-11).
True, for some of these things we see Angels unleashing them. There are things I can not explain... yet! But what I know now and what you also can so easily see is that these things have already been happening.
Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. Rev 1:19 (this was Jesus talking to John)
Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Rev 4:8
4) It's Spiritual before it is literal
You know a while ago I had a prophetic revelation if you will. I realized that a garbage crisis of enormous and unprecedented proportions that was occurring in my country was the result of a spirit of corruption and uncleanness. What I found interesting was that the Lord showed me that it was a spiritual, unclean force that was manifesting in the country, in our realm, as garbage, pollution and the entire crises. Of course, the sins of the people have made such a spirit so strong and vice versa. But keep this possibility in mind as you read the following - things that exist in the spirit realm manifest very tangibly in our realm.
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| A very real world even caused by a spiritual force of evil. |
Or consider the locusts, wow these guys are super scary (Rev 9:3). I believe this is spiritual vision through and through and each detail that John saw about these locusts is symbolic of something. I do not know yet what it is, but I'm pressing forward to discover it's meaning from a position of rest (that's the paradox of Jesus' ways). Yet though I do not know what the locusts and their symbolic details represent, I do know the result is the torment of many humans who would prefer to die than live. Is this a spirit of suicide? Or is it something more subtle? Or is this describing truly an apocalyptic phenomenon? Hey, maybe it will be literal.
The fact is, it can be both. But why is it still so unclear? It is unclear because the lens we are looking through is not the right one. We are looking at Revelations like a book of Judgment when it is a book of Redemption! I suspect as we look closer through the lens of Redemption we will uncover one amazing Revelation about Revelations after an another!
--- Check this out.
In the meantime, it's time we opened our eyes. In the Book of Revelations there are certain forces that have a spiritual significance that cause destruction, pain and death on all living creatures and the earth itself. If you don't believe me take a look at this video and this article (this is today's news) after reading this verse:
Then the second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Then the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil, and many people died from the bitter waters. Rev 8:8-10Remember, try to find the spiritual meaning of these things that are causing these results.
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